The 1st edition of the UP seminar had as its theme “Pragmatic analysis on the “P” of ESG: How Private Social Investment can be an effective tool for promoting human development (People)”.
In this edition, the UP was divided into 2 panels, which addressed issues directly related to the theme of the year, with ample space for questions and answers, since one of the objectives of the seminar was to produce a position paper that would serve as a reference for companies and social investors.
Opening video
Panels
Save the humans
Contemporary society is obsessed with issues related to the environment and animal care. In fact, we tend to consider Planet Earth as being at our disposal and we forget that we are part of the Nature we inhabit, and not its users. The consequences of this poverty trap are most clearly seen in the reactions of Nature itself, such as the effects of climate change, but these are only symptoms of a larger problem.
The private sector has the vocation and the opportunity to play a leading role in the agenda for promoting human development and, consequently, for building a more humane world. However, to do so, it needs to review and reposition its corporate social investment strategies, as it is practically unanimous that the “S” is the most complex aspect of the ESG agenda and, as a result, is often relegated to the background. The “S” (People) needs to be the priority and the most urgent, because we understand that without the full development of People, the “E” and “G” cannot be achieved in a sustainable way, but only as a palliative measure.
In this panel, we will discuss together which main elements and behaviors need to be reviewed and improved so that companies' social investments generate sustainable impact and contribute to reducing inequalities of opportunity and combating the problem of the poverty trap.
Urgency is not synonymous with Hurry!
Any review and repositioning of strategies will require changes in how companies communicate their social investments, which will also demand new perspectives and understandings of what constitutes impact and success in an initiative. In other words, the internal effort to revise social investment strategies will require us to communicate this appropriately to clients, employees, and board members—something essential to ensuring that the new policies gain acceptance and the necessary patience (time) for them to generate transformative results.
In this panel, we will address aspects related to defining impact and success in transformative projects and discuss possibilities and key elements to enable internal and external communication that supports the sustainability of new social investment strategies.