What is the connection between technology? Environmental sustainability? How can artificial intelligence or data analytics drive sustainability efforts within organizations? And what role can technology play in creating awareness in society? Actually, we can talk about one Green technology?
These and some other questions were put on the table in the meeting, that International Environment Day, the United Nations Global Compact has organized Disruptors led by Vanessa Rodríguez, Communications Director of Spain; Xavier Ribera, Director of Communications, Corporate Relations and Sustainability at BASF; Marta Pietrafida, General Director of Ossabiens Iberia; José Ignacio Marquez, Director of the Sustainability Area of Integra Technologies; and Federico Sainz de Robles, CEO of Sepiia.
If anything was clear at the start of the meeting, it was that technology is one of the key levers in the quest to achieve companies with a low impact on the environment. So, for example, in our country 31% of companies already use some form of technology solution to achieve their sustainable growth goals.Vanessa Rodríguez from the United Nations Global Compact Spain points out.
Round Table World Environment Day
The system actually helps companies access efficient and environmentally friendly technologies and, above all, practice sustainability. “We train and train “For companies already under contract, which already number more than 1,700 in Spain, but also for their suppliers and, in short, for the entire value chain,” explains Vanessa Rodríguez.
BASF is one of the companies that is part of the agreement and one of the companies trained in sustainability, shares Xavier Ribera, director of communication, corporate relations and sustainability of the company, as he expressed, “Sustainability is placed at the center. We want to create chemistry for a sustainable society in our operation, which means that as a company, our operation and in processes, to be more sustainable. Build products that help our customers be more sustainable“.
Measure environmental impact
A low impact on the environment is the origin of the Sepia fashion brand. “Our clothes try to make people’s everyday lives easier, but also have that Positive impact on the planet,” declares its CEO, Federico Sainz de Robles.
To do this, Sepia creates its own materials, all of which are made from recycled components, and we measure the real impact of our clothing through four indicators: water consumption, C02 emissions, use of chemical products and The rest of the generation“.
Vanessa Rodriguez (Global Compact).
Precisely Measure environmental impact The operation of a company is one of the challenges that technology presents as the perfect partner, something that Integra Tecnologia knows very well.
“What they demand most from us as technical advice is solutions that allow them to adapt their processes to sustainability criteria and measure how close or far they are from these indicators,” says José Ignacio Marquez, Director of the Sustainability Area. Integrated technology.
“We help them Dashboards It allows them to know what situation they are in and make decisions quickly based on that data,” he affirms.
Adaptation and decision-making aimed at conforming to the different Ethics This is based on sustainability, points out Marta Piedrafita, general director of Osapiens Iberia.
Martha Pietrafida (Osapians)
Thus, he adds, “Technologies like Artificial intelligence Or the IoT allows these companies to speed up the times they need to adapt their operations to various regulations, which are few and far between, such as the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD). A few months.”
Duties to be performed”More than 300 million people will work in sustainability-related jobs by 2030More than 12 billion euros of investments will be allocated,” reveals Marta Pietrafida.
Federico Sains de Robles (Sepia)
But how advanced are Spanish companies in this requirement and obligation to comply? SDG goals? Unfortunately, the answer is that they are making enough progress, but not at the rate they should.
“We have only achieved 15% of the Sustainable Development Goals,” points out the United Nations Global Compact Spain’s Communications Director, in that sense, “Proliferate technical solutions So they can reach more people, more companies much faster.
Jose Ignacio Marquez (Integra Technology)
According to José Ignacio Márquez from Integra Technologies, “In Spain” We will not move unless forced to to achieve something. It is difficult to do things until we are forced to do them, and when we have to run, running in a hurry is never good company, because it only makes us worry about the urgent and forget what is important.”
Xavier Ribera of BASF admits that “we are a country of pushback” and argues that sometimes it is because we don’t have enough confidence that we need to be more sustainable. “Sustainability sometimes involves reducing our income but it has to be done“.
And, in that situation, it demands regulation, but very “inter” and intelligent and “Less bureaucracy To promote consistency among companies and not lose competitiveness compared to other countries”.
These standards are seen as equally important and necessary by Marta Pietrafida of Ossabians Iberia, who calls for greater inspiration. More help So companies can move forward in sustainability. “There’s still a lot of ambiguity in the regulations, and that doesn’t make compliance any easier,” he points out.
For his part, Federico Sainz de Robles from Sepiia argues that we must, in addition to innovative companies that strive to have an increasingly small environmental impact, remembering that sustainability is not an option. Consumer education Further. “If we as companies comply with the requirements established by law, it’s no use if the customer doesn’t demand that type of product or doesn’t want to pay for it.”
Awareness, regulation and technology as a common denominator will therefore be a winning combination to achieve a more sustainable world of companies and citizens. Of course, as Vanessa Rodriguez of the United Nations Global Compact concluded from Spain, “It should be A human technologyIn the service of people, it helps break down gaps and transform human rights into the digital sphere.
