Balance, respect and long-term management define a sustainable company, according to a report by AVE and Étnor

The Valencian Association of Entrepreneurs (BIRD) and the Foundation for Business and Organizational Ethics (Etnor) have published the report 'Moving towards a more sustainable society: the role of entrepreneurs' which contains the conclusions of the Sustainability Workshop.

Jesus Conill, professor of Moral and Political Philosophy at the University of Valencia and also a member of the Étnor executive committee, has highlighted that "balance, respect and long-term approach define a sustainable company." This is due to the new role of the consumer who looks towards a more sustainable society through their consumption habits.

Increasingly engaged with the present and future of the planet, consumers are asking themselves what lies behind the company, what it does and what its values and principles are, and in this regard, information plays a fundamental role. Therefore, "the basic strategy of a sustainable company consists of achieving a balance between the various aspects of sustainability and profitability, prioritising the long term and competing for values, given that consumers choose based on value and not only on price," says Conill.

The report also includes the results of the IX Report on the social impact of companies and of the Deloitte Sustainability Report 2023 , Of these, it can be highlighted that 80% of the participating companies consider the SDGs for the development of their sustainability strategy and 71% of them estimate that the SDG 8 “Decent work and economic growth” is the most priority, followed by SDG 13 “Climate Action” (60% of the companies).

Decalogue of conclusions from the report

1. Moving towards a more sustainable society is everyone's responsibility, especially that of business owners, who can and should contribute to achieving it with their daily actions.
2. Companies must have sustainability incorporated into their strategy (environmental, social and economic).
3. The consumer has an important role in the path towards a more sustainable society, through their consumption habits.
4. Social agents have a decisive role in raising awareness in society
5. In the face of regulatory challenges, the speed of regulations can be a threat to small and medium-sized businesses
6. The “agenda” must be accompanied by rules that regulate and ensure the behavior of all those involved equally (without losing competitiveness).
7. A sustainable company attracts and retains talent
8. Sustainability can be approached out of conviction or convenience, but let's avoid ESGwashing
9. Innovation makes a decisive contribution to sustainability goals
10. We try to do the greater good, rather than settling for the lesser evil.

Download the full report here