ARGUMENTS FOR SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS – Special Guest: Prof. Jeffrey SACHS World-renowned economist, bestselling author, and global leader in sustainable development Open webinar for anyone interested in sustainability in business

In 1987, the United Nations defined sustainability as development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Nearly 30 years later, on September 25, 2015, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development was adopted. This agenda encompasses 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and 169 targets spanning all three dimensions of sustainability: social, environmental, and economic. It is an ambitious global plan for people, the planet, and prosperity, requiring extensive mobilization and active involvement from all sectors of society.

One thing is clear: sustainable development through the implementation of the 2030 Agenda is the most complex challenge humanity has ever faced. How well are we responding to this challenge? Halfway through the timeline, only about 12% of the SDG goals have shown sufficient progress, according to the special edition of the progress report published by the UN Secretariat in 2023.

Here are some key statistics that illustrate the gap:
According to the Stockholm Resilience Centre, 6 out of 9 planetary boundaries were exceeded last year. Crossing these boundaries could rapidly alter the environment that has allowed human civilization to flourish over the past 10,000 years. OECD data shows that over 40% of the world’s population now lives in areas of water stress, and by 2050, 240 million people will lack access to clean water. According to the European Environment Agency, the average global temperature between February 2023 and January 2024 was 1.52°C above pre-industrial levels (1850–1900).

Experts warn that exceeding the 1.5°C threshold poses enormous risks, including declining quality of life, disruptions to global supply chains, heightened poverty risks, and threats to countless human lives. The "Circularity Gap 2024" study found that in the past six years, the global economy consumed resources equivalent to the entire 20th century. Most raw materials still come from virgin sources, and the proportion of reused materials has steadily decreased from 9.1% in 2018 to 7.2% in 2023, a 21% decline.

The "Global Risks Report 2024" from the World Economic Forum identifies 5 out of the top 10 global risks for the next decade as environmental, including extreme weather events, critical system changes, biodiversity loss, resource scarcity, and pollution. UN data indicates that about 3.6 billion people live in environments extremely vulnerable to climate change, and on average, over 20 million people are displaced annually within their countries due to climate-related events.

The World Economic Forum reports that over half of global GDP (approximately $4 trillion) depends on nature, making economic systems increasingly vulnerable to biodiversity loss. Experts emphasize that restoring nature is a unique opportunity to address both the climate and biodiversity crises. The 2030 Agenda cannot become a reality without transitioning from the current economic model—focused on profit, shareholder interests, resource consumption, waste generation, and social inequality—to a sustainable economic model that is transparent, responsible, equitable, regenerative, profitable, and socially beneficial. A sustainable future is unattainable without the active and consistent involvement of the private sector, from large corporations to SMEs.

The transition process is far from easy but is inevitable. Businesses face multiple, simultaneous pressures: rapidly evolving legislation, conditional access to capital/financing, activism, growing consumer demand, and employees' preference for responsible companies. Delaying adaptation to this new reality may mean missed opportunities and heightened risks—financial, operational, reputational, regulatory, social, or competitive.

Despite the inherent challenges of change, the benefits of integrating sustainability into business practices are numerous and increasingly evident. For example, the 2022 global study "Innovating for a Sustainable Future" by NTT, involving 500 companies across seven industries and eight markets, showed that 44% of these companies improved profitability as a result of their sustainability initiatives.