Launch of Sustainability ROI Handbook in Brazil | 2018
Archive Emerging Market Multinationals Network for Sustainability
On March 13, at the facilities of the Getulio Vargas Foundation (FGV) in São Paulo, the “Sustainability Return on Investment Handbook: How to Analyse the Financial Return of Sustainability Projects” was officially launched. This document is the outcome of the second phase of the EMM Network’s initiative “Sustainability ROI” and reflects the learnings of the work conducted in 2015 by seven Brazilian EMM member companies in cooperation with EMM Network’s technical partner GVces (Center for Sustainability Studies of the São Paulo Business Administration School of Fundação Getulio Vargas). See here for more information on the initiative in Brazil (the handbook can be downloaded below).
In the beginning of the presentation, Diego Angelino and Cristina Fedato welcomed the nearly 140 participants on behalf of the EMM Network for Sustainability. He then gave an overview over the progress and results of the SROI initiatives in Brazil, Mexico and China as well as an outlook on how these initiatives are expected to proceed on a global level. Following this, the researcher responsible for the SROI initiative at GVces, Paula Peirao, presented the handbook, its methodology, structure and content.
More specifically, in the form of concrete steps, which are the result of the systematization of the member companies’ experiences, the handbook presents practical recommendations for sustainability managers on how to analyse the financial return of sustainability projects. These steps include the development of a schedule, the carrying out of a first financial analysis, the development of a monitoring plan, and the establishment of a procedure for risk management. In order to demonstrate the practical relevance of these recommendations as well as to give useful examples, the handbook also includes testimonies and results of the case studies, which were part of the initial phase of the initiative.
Thereafter, representatives of three of the participating member companies (Siemens, Grupo Boticário and Bradesco) discussed on stage their experiences as well as related challenges and opportunities.
As part of the event, Luciana Alves from GIZ Brazil, also presented the results of their related initiative “Biodiversity Conservation through the Integration of Ecosystem Services into Public Policies and Business Performance”. A panel of experts analysed potential approaches of business activity in this context, as well as the added value of tools such as SROI for achieving a better valuation of ecosystem services.
Diego Angelino closed the presentation with a brief evaluation of the achievements so far and the perspectives of the SROI initiative. The next steps are the development of a global handbook, based on the experiences of all three initiatives in Brazil, Mexico and China. Moreover, the focus of new activities will be shifted to the implementation of the guidelines, in the form of further pilot projects in Latin America.
