#NoReturn: CEOs Launch Campaign to Stop the World from Going Back to Normal

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – In 2009, the Swedish scientist Johan Rockström from Stockholm University led a group of researchers who published a study called Planetary Boundaries. The work, updated six years later, presents nine environmental criteria that make human life possible. These criteria, or boundaries, work together. A shift in any one of them influences the others. Most importantly, Rockström’s work has determined metrics to monitor boundaries and a limit to them. If crossed, the consequences will be disastrous.

The study fell like a bomb among policymakers, entrepreneurs and investors. For the first time, the interference of humanity in the functioning of the planet could be quantified in a universal language. The data are not good. Three boundaries now show indicators above the limit: climate change, nitrogen cycle and loss of biodiversity. The conclusion everyone has reached is: we need to save the planet.

Rockström, in a sense, disagrees. The question is not to save the planet, but rather to save humanity. “The planet does not care the least about what is happening,” said the scientist in an exclusive interview with EXAME. “Earth will continue to exist regardless of what humanity does. We won’t”. The reasoning is simple. The world has existed for over four billion years. During this time it has undergone all sorts of temperature changes, faced volcanic eruptions, earthquakes and even asteroids. The modern human being, bipedal and with opposing thumbs, has been here for about 50,000 years, almost a negligible fraction of time.

The problem is that, over the past 50 years, humans have become an even greater force than eruptions, earthquakes and asteroids. The development of cities, the use of fossil fuels, the disposal of plastics and the destruction of forests are putting such pressure on the planet’s natural balance that some scientists, including Rockström, consider that today’s mankind has become its own geological age. Human beings have the power to determine whether or not the planet will be habitable in the future.

The pandemic has brought some urgency to this matter. The economic consequences of the virus, the result of environmental imbalance (animals and humans living in a degraded environment), are only a preview of what would happen if the planetary boundaries were to collapse. And worst of all: according to Rockström, dealing with climate change is the easy part of the equation. “One thing is linked to another, but protecting biodiversity is much more complex,” says the scientist.

For Rockström, it is society that is in control of this planetary ship called Earth. For mankind to continue to exist, all people need to become planetary administrators.

#NoReturn

The good news is that there is a safety zone where mankind can promote economic development without changing the planet’s geological profile. All it takes is a few adjustments, such as eliminating the use of fossil fuels, fighting social inequalities, reducing the use of plastics as much as possible, among other “green” initiatives. And a group of over 30 CEOs and dozens of executives and social organization representatives are committed to making this happen.

Part of this group has joined the #NoReturn campaign, developed by the AlmapBBDO agency for the Global Pact Brazil Network, an organization linked to the UN that promotes the Objectives of Sustainable Development in the business environment. What they ask is that the world will never again return to normal. The first initiative of the movement came as a video, which explains the reasons behind the initiative. The piece includes Artur Grynbaum, CEO of Grupo Boticário, Juliana Baiardi, president of Atvos, Guilherme Wegee, CEO of Malwee Group, Luana Genót, executive director of the Brazilian Identity Institute, Eduardo Fisher, CEO of MRV, and Andreia Dutra, president of Sodexo. In parallel, other CEOs and executives are involved in an online debate on climate change, promoted by the Brazil Global Compact Network.

“We are talking a lot about a resumption. But, this word refers to a place where you were. But this place was not good”, states Carlo Pereira, executive director of the Brazil Global Compact Network. “The Covid crisis is an environmental issue, which has become a health crisis and is now becoming a humanitarian and economic problem. We can’t use nature in such an inappropriate way again”.

The starting point is economic. “It is cheaper to take care of the planet”, says Indian economist Pavan Sukhdev, president of WWF global council and CEO of GIST Advisory. Sukhdev, former executive of Deutsche Bank, is also the author of a revolutionary study: The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity, which became known in the financial market as TEEB. In the paper, published in 2008, he presents the concept of “natural capital”. Basically, Sukhdev defends that capital exists in other forms other than financial – for instance, human, environmental, social capital, among others.

“No other country has a natural capital like Brazil. It is a real power”, said Sukhdev to EXAME, “This capital will be the big business, from now on. The world does not need more production. There are already enough products. What will ensure economic growth are environmental services, biotechnology and particularly human capital”.

Business Revolution

What attracts CEOs to this agenda is not only the chance to stand constructively before consumers. It is also the opportunity to convey the desire to promote changes in their sectors.

For the Swedish heavy vehicle manufacturer Scania, joining this new environmental agenda is a matter of survival. “We know that the transport sector will change, going from fossil fuel to electrification,” says Christopher Podgorski, CEO of the company in Latin America. “And that’s fantastic. We have an engineering challenge ahead of us, but we can build a better world. The environmental agenda provides us with the possibility of evolving”.

This reinvention of an industry is also what motivates Italo Freitas, CEO of AES Tietê energy concessionaire. “We can even contemplate changing the nature of our business,” says Freitas. “The progress of energy supply will be achieved through wind and solar sources. Distributed generation (small generation systems, such as domestic solar panels) will be a reality. In this scenario, the role of a distributor starts to be the manager of energy assets. This means not only charging the consumer for the energy used, but also developing packages according to each client’s profile, also adding other services. Maybe we will sell a clean energy package together with a Netflix subscription.” It may seem utopia, but it’s the new normal CEOs are seeking.

Below is the list of CEOs and leaders who took part in the climate change debate:

Ana Buchaim, director of B3
Ana Toni, Executive Director of the Climate and Society Institute
André Clark, CEO of Siemens Energy
Andreia Dutra, president of Sodexo
Artur Gynbaum, CEO of Grupo Boticário
Caio Magri, CEO of Ethos
Carlo Pereira, Executive Director of the Brazil Global Compact Network
Carlo Mussi, Director of ECLAC Brazil
Carlos Nobre, Climatologist at IPCC member
Christopher Podgorski, CEO Scania Latin America
Cristiano Cardoso, CEO of Klabin
Daniela Lerario, System B
Denise Hamú, UNEP representative in Brazil
Denise Hills, Natura’s vice-president
Eduardo Fischer Teixeira de Souza, MRV CEO
Emilly Ewell, CEO of Pantys
Gonzalo Munõz, founder of TriCiclos
Guilherme Weege, CEO at Grupo Malwee
Henrik Henriksson, CEO Scania Group
Ítalo Freitas, CEO of AES Tietê
Jianqiang Zhao, CEO of CTG Brazil
Johan Rockström, Director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research
Jonas Lindstrom, Executive Director of the Swedish-Brazilian Chamber of Commerce
Juca Andrade, vice-president of B3
Kalil Cury Filho, founder of GIST Impact
Karine Bueno, Santander’s sustainability superintendent
Lauro Marins, executive director of CDP in Latin America
Lila Karbassi, director of UNGC
Liz Davidson, UK Ambassador
Luiz Carlos Xavier, coordinator of the Braskem climate platform
Manfredo Rubens, BASF CEO
Marcelo Castelli, CEO of Votorantim Cements
Marcelo Cerqueira, vice-president of Braskem
Marcos Matias, CEO of Schneider Electric Brazil
Maria Luiza Paiva, director of Suzano
Mariana Vasconcelos, CEO of Agrosmart
Nicky Fabiancic, UN Coordinator
Pablo Fava, CEO of Siemens Infrastructure and Industry
Pavan Sukhdev, CEO of GIST Advisory Switzerland and chairman of the WWF board
Renato Horta Franklin, CEO of Movida
Ricardo Rodrigues de Carvalho, CEO of CBA
Rodolfo Sirol, director of sustainability at CPFL Energia
Rodrigo Figueiredo, Ambev Vice President
Solange Ribeiro, CEO of Neoenergia (Iberdrola)
Teresa Vernaglia, CEO of BRK Ambiental
Viviane Martins, CEO of Falconi
Walter Schalka, CEO of Suzano

Source: Exame