“Sustainable Act” was created to empower SMB with data, knowledge, and tools aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). Within the context of this Project, on November 10, the Center for Business Innovation of Porto Business School fostered the launching session of Seal SMB Sustainability and the Roadmap for Sustainability. The conclusions of “Covid-19 Impact Study on Sustainability” were also presented.
There are multiple paths towards a journey of sustainability according to the mission, vision, strategic goals, and level of maturation of the company. Adopting a formula that fosters the smart growth of companies is as vital as moving from knowledge to action.
The Project “Sustainable Act” was born to provide knowledge and tools that support SMB towards sustainability. In this session, the Roadmap for Sustainability was presented: a set of tools created by Porto Business School to endorse companies, in particular SMB, towards a sustainable future.
FAST is a self-diagnostic tool for sustainability and transformation for SMB to evaluate their contribution for the SDG. It is fundamental the company comprehends its level of commitment and achievement in this area and getting access to a portfolio of good practices and strategies that promote their own evolution.
The Barometer of SDG in the Portuguese SMB, as a collective tool, aggregates the data collected through the FAST tool, providing a comparative analysis of SMB in the national context.
Within this set of tools, the spotlight also includes the training initiatives: the workshops about the SDG; the sustainable talks, informal conversations about different themes in this field; and the Open Executive Programme Sustainable Management with a duration of 88 hours.
The Seal SMB Sustainability (Selo PME Sustentabilidade, in Portuguese), also launched in this session, holds the mission of acknowledging good practices of the companies in the field of sustainability and that are aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals. This free of charge initiative will be promoted by Porto Business School in partnership with Aliados Consulting starting next year.
The textile industry is considered as one of the most polluting in the world due to the high emissions of greenhouse gases, together with the high consumption of water.
Adalberto’s experience in its journey of transformation towards a sustainable future was the motto of César Lima’s presentation.
Adalberto, with more than 50 years in the market, grew from a family business into being a European leader in printing exquisite fabrics. César Lima, CEO of this Portuguese business that has invested a lot in their journey of sustainability, was the special guest of this event.
In a pandemic scenario, it is vital to understand the relation between companies and sustainability as the initiatives that are being implemented in a covid and post-covid world Porto Business School and Aliados Consulting developed the “Covid-19 Impact Study on Sustainability”.
The Center for Business Innovation invited Inês Santos Silva, Cofounder and Executive Director of Aliados Consulting, shared the conclusions of this Study.
48.7% consider Sustainability very important within the strategy of the business, however 43.6% of the companies affirm not holding a budget for Sustainability. These numbers that reveal a degree of oblivion when it comes to budget.
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) cover fundamental questions, such as peace, security, and climate changes. Talking about sustainability means talking about social, economic, and environmental sustainability.
When asked about the SDGs to which they are most dedicated, 7.7% of companies indicate the eradication of hunger and 10.3% the eradication of poverty, while 64.1% elect climate action and 59% mention sustainable production and consumption.
Inês Santos Silva highlights “it says a lot about our country. We are a country, where most of the social factors are a guarantee already. It is in environmental sustainability where companies feel they can make the most difference”.
In a post-pandemic future, 66.7% consider sustainability a competitive factor, but 47.4% affirm they have not adopted budget measures for this field. Inês Santos Silva highlights “businesses do not know what to do”; “they know it is importante, but do not know yet how to achieve it”.
Patrícia Lopes Teixeira, associate dean of Porto Business School, underlines the pandemic brought a wider perception concerning themes related to sustainability.
We are living a disruptive time and we should rebuild the economy, businesses, and a new way of living in society. For Patrícia Lopes Teixeira, “we have the opportunity to do it better” and the School has a pivotal role in this transformation.
