In this sense, it is worth commenting on some of the trends that are already glimpsed under the great umbrella of social responsibility and sustainable development, and that will surely be increasingly present on the business agenda, with the intention of not leaving them out of the picture. corporate sustainability models, or where appropriate, reinforce them to keep them updated.
In the first place, there is undoubtedly the triple environmental crisis caused by climate change, the loss of biodiversity and the generation of waste, which puts significant pressure on economies and markets, and consequently on production models, questioning the way in which this has been carried out on a daily basis, and proposing alternative models such as the circular economy, or the establishment of goals based on science to face these environmental challenges, or even the commitment to achieve net neutrality regarding the greenhouse gas emissions towards the year 2030 or 2050, for example, with all that this entails.
On the other hand, there is also everything that has to do with the promotion and respect of Human Rights from the company, based on its deep knowledge and understanding and a serious commitment to the issue, which leads to due process. diligence to identify risks, impacts and opportunities in the direct operations of the company, but also throughout its entire value chain, so that these can be managed and the pertinent actions are taken towards their compliance and progress.
We cannot ignore the great interest that the incorporation of ESG factors has aroused (environmental, social & governance) in the business sector, particularly from the financial perspective, as an element that allows these criteria to be integrated into the company’s operations, so that it can later be measured and reported to the various stakeholders, as well as analyzed and evaluated by third parties with multiple applications, from rankings to the inclusion of those with the best results in responsible or sustainable investment indices.
And hand in hand with the above, there is also the growing pressure from investors, regulators and authorities, among others, for companies to be more transparent in terms of the disclosure of their non-financial information, and specifically about their accountability. in terms of sustainability, for which reason frameworks, standards, guidelines, taxonomies, and even regulations in this regard will continue to be developed, which affect the quality and content of the so-called sustainability reports, seeking a greater obligation for certain sectors or types of organizations, greater homogeneity and standardization in the way of measuring and reporting, as well as greater quality and focus on the most relevant, significant or material issues of the companies’ sustainability performance.