In an environment in which it is increasingly required to champion and integrate sustainability into daily life, the company is concerned. Addressing the challenges imposed by Europe or complying with the Sustainable Development Goals are part of the strategic plans of companies, which warn of “a regulatory tsunami” that they face every day. The term was coined by the vice president of the Valencian Association of Entrepreneurs (AVE), Agnès Noguera, who yesterday presented the conclusions of the sustainability workshop carried out by the entity together with the Étnor Foundation and in collaboration with Deloitte.
"Do we want to develop the SDGs either out of conviction or out of necessity?" Noguera asked. In the reflection we can sense the concern pointed out by Jesús Conill, professor of moral and political philosophy at the University of Valencia and who explained that the company You are in “a new environment" in which you must know how to move and make changes. And this is where you feel the pressure of pressure from board members, management, regulators or the Government, shareholders and/or investors .
From the CEV they explain that there are numerous companies that are implementing CSR programs and actions, many even did so before it was called that. They add that there are many large companies that make their reports voluntarily, either for internal purposes as a summary of their actions or also to highlight their CSR activities, since only companies are required to present non-financial reports of ESG (environmental, social and governance issues) those with more than 250 employees.
José Antonio Jiménez, director of Sustainability and Climate Change of Risk Advisory at Deloitte, gave notes yesterday about the pressure that companies feel, who explained some conclusions of the IX Report on the Social Impact of Companies and the Deloitte report on sustainability according to CxO 2023 Impact . “The impact of these demands will be important on the operations of companies and will increase in the coming years,” said Jiménez.
According to their data, Spanish managers already rank climate change as a lower priority compared to other urgent issues, but their organizations continue to increase investments in sustainability. Still, 77% of Spanish CEOs said their companies have increased these investments in the last year. Only 3% of the Spanish organizations surveyed decreased them in the last year.
“Regulatory pressure has been brutal in the last six or seven years and we see a double clamp: the regulations that apply to companies and then also those required by the regulations of the banking world,” argued Jiménez. Next, in a subsequent round table with Violeta González, Com
The report presented yesterday concludes that the “enormous” information derived from the many regulations and legislative changes derived from the European commitment to sustainability is not easy to assimilate and manage in companies, especially in SMEs.
He also points out how sustainability requires significant investments in technology (in AI and renewables, for example) and its schedules are very demanding. “The tension between short-term investment and possible expectations of long-term economic benefit and social profitability constitutes an important challenge,” concludes Professor Conill, member of the Étnor executive, in the document. He adds to the report that, in the face of the regulatory challenge, the speed of regulation can be a threat to small and medium-sized companies.
