Madrid, 10th July 2019 – This morning, Lupicinio International Law Firm and the Spanish Exporters and Investors Club organized a breakfast meeting to discuss the importance of sustainable development within business. One of the conclusions made was that companies should not just support these developments for ethical reasons alone, but also because they can contribute to new business.
In this regard, under Agenda 2030, high commissioner Cristina Gallach affirmed that within developing countries, only 30% of agricultural production complies with industrial processes. Meanwhile in developed countries, this figure stands at 98%. This suggests that there are great opportunities for countries en route development within agricultural business. What´s more, there remains a shortage of basic infrastructures such as IT or electric power in many countries.
Clara Arpa, a spokesperson on the board of directors for the Spanish Exporters and Investors Club, has emphasized that companies play a fundamental role towards SDGs, becoming key drivers for achieving the proposed goals and contributing to generate better opportunities and wellbeing. Likewise, Arpa has championed the advantages of integrating SDGs into corporate strategy: “Sustainable practices neither consume nor damage the companies’ budget, rather, they optimize efficiency, reduce costs and make the company more attractive to investors”.
The managing partner of Lupicinio International Law Firm, Lupicinio Rodríguez, has emphasized the demand on the part of society for companies to integrate their objectives: “More and more companies are publishing reports on Sustainability, Management or other”.
Rodríguez has also mentioned that at the legislative level, with entrance of the Directive 2014/95/EU on the disclosure of non-financial information and diversity, there is support for a reporting strategy on the activity of companies on environmental and social matters, the respect of human rights and the fight against corruption and bribery.
The day concluded with a practical guide on how the SME can engage in sustainable development: by encouraging employee training, opening new businesses and activities in developing countries and by encouraging wage gap reduction.
