While right now the key factor is the survival of the supply chain, after overcoming the pandemic it will also be necessary to address the challenge of sustainable food systems, which play an essential role in maintaining the health of people and the planet – highlighted Diane Holdorf on 1 April, 2020 during BCSDH’s virtual business breakfast and Action 2020 Forum that focused on food and biodiversity, with close 100 participants.

Diane Holdorf, Managing Director of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) Food and Nature program, delivered a highly successful and thoughtful presentation at the Business Council for Sustainable Development in Hungary’s (BCSDH) Virtual Business Breakfast and Action 2020 Forum. The business breakfast of the organization, which has 92 member companies responsible for 30% of Hungarian GDP, was followed by a workshop with company executives and experts. This served the purpose of helping the business sector to take real steps forward in the area of food sustainability and biodiversity.

In his opening remarks, Attila Chikán Jr., President of BCSDH, emphasized: “In the field of sustainable development, we often say that business as usual is no longer viable and cannot be allowed to continue. Now the world has turned on its head because of coronavirus. Business is anything but ordinary. While some sustainability aspirations are being neglected, it is our common responsibility to develop new impetus for climate protection and to create a sustainable world once our current problems are solved. Thus the professional work continues at BCSDH.”

Agriculture is estimated to be responsible for 23% of GHG emissions, as well as around 80% of deforestation and 70% of freshwater use worldwide. Hungary has one of the largest proportions of  obese people in Europe, and produces about 1.8 million tons of food waste each year, about a quarter of which comes from households. Around 46% of Hungary’s total area is arable land, about 60% of which is threatened by soil degradation, and has very low ecosystem service capacity and biodiversity.

“We are living in challenging times, and the pace of change has accelerated. Our future depends on our ability to create a system that supports healthy people and a healthy planet. We have been able to produce a great amount of food for the world’s population, and there are already solutions that allow us to feed the growing population. But our current systems make demands that go way beyond the resources of our planet” – explained Diane Holdorf.

The business breakfast was followed by a virtual Action 2020 Professional Forum, the primary purpose of which was to initiate joint thinking and work in the business sector that will make a real impact. A total of 60 corporate executives, professionals, academic and civilian experts participated in four groups at the forum. Sixty companies have already joined the program.

The main objective of the Action 2020 Hungary program is to promote the creation of a sustainable, safe, and local food production and supply system, which can provide everyone with a healthy, balanced diet, while also restoring and preserving biodiversity.

Davos, Switzerland, 21 January 2020 : Today at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Business for Nature -a global coalition of influential organizations and forward-thinking businesses – is calling for concrete action from governments to deliver a new deal for nature and people. 2020 provides a historic opportunity as world leaders and governments come together at several key moments to determine the planet’s future.

According to the World Economic Forum’s Nature Risk Report launched a few days ago, businesses are more  ependent on nature than previously thought. Around $44 trillion of economic value generation – more than half of the world’s total GDP – is moderately or highly dependent on nature and is therefore exposed to nature loss.

More than 360 companies from the Business for Nature community have already made commitments to help reverse nature loss. By doing so, they are responding to the very real and significant risks that are posed to economies, communities and livelihoods.
There is action, but it’s not enough. Businesses need to urgently scale and speed up efforts, and require ambitious policies to encourage the transformative change that the world’s scientists tell us is necessary to mitigate climate change, promote sustainable growth and halt the decline of biodiversity.

To develop these robust policy recommendations, Business for Nature engaged hundreds of companies from 15 sectors, operating in five continents, as well as many other organizations.

These bold actions on nature – if adopted – have the potential to unleash new opportunities and support
business to do even more, which in turn leads to greater policy ambition. Businesses are pushing for
governments to adopt these policies because they understand that social and economic prosperity, and the
success of their businesses, rely on a healthy natural world. And that to resolve the climate and biodiversity
crises and reduce inequality we must protect, conserve and restore nature.

Speaking at the launch event in Davos, Eva Zabey, Executive Director of Business for Nature said, “Financial
performance is irrelevant on a dead planet. Businesses are uniting behind and calling on governments to support these recommendations to create a level playing field and a stable operating environment. By demonstrating the hidden value of nature and the economic consequences of our failure to protect ecosystems, we can incorporate nature into the heart of mainstream business, finance and government decision-making.”

Dr Anne Larigauderie, Executive Secretary, IPBES said, “The IPBES Global Assessment Report made it clear that properly protecting nature’s contributions to people requires a globally sustainable economy. The necessary evolution of financial and economic systems can only be achieved in partnership with responsible decision-makers, in Government but also critically, with the private sector. IPBES therefore welcomes engagement and initiatives, such as these important policy recommendations from Business for Nature, as vital contributions to the growing wave of awareness and more ambitious action for biodiversity.”

This year provides a unique opportunity to forge international agreements as leaders did for the Paris Climate Change Agreement in 2015. A new deal for nature and people would put environmental and social development at the heart of our economic, political, social and financial systems. Businesses are uniting and appealing to world leaders and governments to adopt the policies announced by Business for Nature today – and they are ready to help. Many businesses have already made commitments to not only protect, but restore nature. Business cannot solve these challenges alone; political leadership is needed to catalyze more business action.

Karl-Johan Persson, CEO, H&M Group said, “We have set Science Based Targets and are working towards our ambition to become fully circular and climate positive, but it is not enough. Biodiversity is key for the future of the planet. All actors need to take their responsibility seriously to drive the change needed. Companies need to commit and act, governments need to facilitate the process through ambitious laws and implementation thereof. It is only through collaboration that we will solve the challenges with the loss of nature we face today.”

Roberto Marques, Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors and Group CEO, Natura &Co said, “The planet cannot wait. At Nature &Co we strive to balance economic, environmental, and social goals across all
aspects of society, and scale our collective efforts without delay to tackle the climate crisis. The responsibility is on all of us to work together to protect the world’s natural resources, and ultimately the well-being and future of our communities.”

Svein Tore Holsether, President and CEO, Yara International said, “The window of opportunity to reverse nature loss is closing fast. Decisive action is needed to transform our economy into one that comprehends the environmental, societal and business value of protecting nature. Inaction is not an option.”

Alan Jope, CEO, Unilever said, “The science on nature loss is terrifying. Nature underpins everything on this planet. A New Deal for Nature and People in 2020 that brings transformative change to our relationship with our planet is absolutely critical. Business should be at the fore of calling for this change.”

Wiebe Draijer, CEO, Rabobank said, “ We believe that the transformative change needed to reverse nature loss, climate change and inequality cannot be achieved without proper incentives and financial mechanisms. That is why as a globally operating specialised food and agriculture bank, Rabobank wholeheartedly support this concerted effort to work in effective public-private partnership to protect nature as part of our mission. ”

Rodolfo Lacy, Environment Director, OECD said, “The loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services is costing our economies trillions of dollars a year. Government and business must scale up action to protect and restore nature. Governments need to reform the financial support they provide that is harmful to biodiversity. Business also has a key role to play including by understanding its dependence and addressing its impact on biodiversity. These Business for Nature recommendations provide valuable guidance on how to implement transformative changes.”

Only together will business, governments and civil society be able to unlock new opportunities to deliver the global systemic and transformative change for everyone and everything to live sustainably on a healthy planet.

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– Link to full policy recommendations
https://www.businessfornature.org/policy

Business for Nature – we catalyze business leadership to drive policy ambition Business for Nature is a global coalition bringing together influential organizations and forward-thinking businesses. Together, we demonstrate business action and amplify a powerful business voice calling for governments to reverse nature loss.
https://www.businessfornature.org/

On November 28, 2019, a declaration of cooperation between the Hungarian Circular Economy Platform and the Holland Circular Hotspot was solemnly signed at the first Circular Economy Summit.

The Circular Economy Platform, which was established as an initiative of the Business Council for Sustainable Development in Hungary (BCSDH), the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and the Ministry of Innovation and Technology just a year ago, has taken an important step towards promoting the circular economy with this collaboration. Through this partnership it will be possible to get to know about the best international examples of circular economy initiatives and related knowledge and tools, to share domestic experiences, and to foster the shared work of governments in terms of disseminating good solutions for achieving EU goals. Along with the ceremonial signatories, another 80 companies and organizations have already joined the Platform.

“I am proud that through cooperation with the Holland Circular Hotspot, we are gaining access to leading international know-how, which will help the Circular Economy Platform Hungary to put the circular economy on a more dynamic path in our country. With the involvement of business-, governmental- and scientific-, as well as professional and social organizations, we can achieve our goal: a sustainable economy” – said Attila Chikán Jr., President of BCSDH. “BCSDH and its partners play a prominent role in facilitating the paradigm shift and joint thinking, along with building a community of forward-thinking change leaders and sharing business solutions that make a real impact” – he added.

Transitioning to a circular economy is a great business opportunity today. The core of the concept is not yet deeply understood by most companies, although the use of this model can increase the resilience of the world economy and facilitate the achievement of the Paris Climate Change Agreement and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. The circular economy could generate business opportunities worth $ 4.5 billion worldwide by 2030.

A survey undertaken by the Circular Economy Platform confirmed that, as of today, most companies still identify the circular economy with waste management. The need to share knowledge and to highlight good practices and business solutions was thus identified. The respondents themselves confirmed that collaboration, knowledge sharing, and governmental incentives are needed to start changing the present economic model and making up for lost ground.

“The goals of the circular economy can only be achieved with the active involvement of stakeholders, which requires opportunity and interest. The Circular Economy Platform will play an important role in creating this opportunity by providing the right framework for the business-, government- and scientific sector to foster collaboration and knowledge-sharing. To create interest, we need to ensure the existence of conditions that help the economy to embark on this new path, while also raising interest in learning about and applying this new approach. The Ministry of Innovation and Technology has set the goal of understanding the interests of economic operators through legislation that is aligned with the goals of the circular economy. In addition, the ministry has provided grants worth 244 million forints to small- and medium-sized enterprises for projects that include creative and innovative ideas. These projects aim to prevent waste production or increase the reduction and recycling of waste, this way helping achieve the goals of the circular economy” – said Ferenc Hizó, Deputy State Secretary for Sustainable Development, in an opening speech that represented the Ministry of Innovation and Technology.

Copies of Material Matters, one of the foundational texts on the theme of the circular economy, were specially published for this event in English. One of the authors, Sabine RAU-OBERHUBER, who came to Hungary at the invitation of Embassy of the Netherlands, gave some insight into the book to participants.

‘’If we want to provide clean water, food and shelter, decent work and well-being for nine billion citizens, as enshrined in the UN Sustainable Development Goals, then we need to act now by transitioning to a circular and sustainable economy to ensure we are not too late. Our embassy, as one of the founding members of the Hungarian Circular Economy Platform, supports the goals laid down in the Memorandum of Understanding that include, among others, sharing knowledge and best practices for closing the material loop’’ – highlighted René van Hell, Ambassador of the Netherlands in Hungary in his introduction.

“The circular economy is about rethinking how we use our raw materials and resources to create a sustainable economy free of waste and emissions. It means shifting from the current linear model of “take, make, waste” to an economy where we “reduce, reuse, recycle” – said Tibor Bodor, Country Manager, ING Bank N.V. Hungary Branch, who welcomed the new form of cooperation as the host of the conference.

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Circular economy

According to the current so-called linear economic model, technical and biological components are extracted from nature, transformed, and are then disposed of without recycling.
In contrast, in the circular economic model metabolic processes are involved in a closed circle, waste is almost 100% recycled, and biological

Circular Economy Platform spornsors in 2019:

We kindly invite you to the celebration event of the 70th anniversary of the foundation of the SOS Children Villages.

This event could not have been organised without the help of the Austrian Embassy, the Austrian-Hungarian Business Council, the German-Hungarian Industrial and Commercial Chamber and the Budapest Marriott Hotel.

The SOS Children Villages, founded in Austria, provide fond and secure homes at foster families and in youth homes to 400 children in Hungary and to 84 000 children globally.

This international organization, currently operating in 136 countries, celebrates its 70th birthday this year.

You can sign up here https://www.sos.hu/70years/

“Executives of the world’s largest companies are fundamentally questioning the former ‘corporate value / shareholder value’ business paradigm” – said Prof. Dr. René Schmidpeter at BCSDH’s business lunch, which focused on climate adaptation and water. The award-giving ceremony of the “For a Sustainable Future” prize was also held at the event to recognize outstanding leaders and business solutions. 

10 October 2019, Budapest – An introduction to the three-point recommendation for the business sector which shows how to promote sustainable water management was presented at the business lunch of the Business Council for Sustainable Development in Hungary (BCSDH). The organization, which embraces 90 member companies that contribute approximately 30% of Hungary’s GDP, has now presented the For a Sustainable Future Prize for the third time in three categories: Change Leader, Leading Women, and Business Solutions. 

 Creating sustainable values and having a positive impact on society are just as important – if not more so – than profitability. – Speech of Prof. Dr. René Schmidpeter

“Given the current global social and economic challenges, we need to think about the future as consistently as we did after World War II” – said Prof. Dr. René Schmidpeter, Director of the Center for Advanced Sustainable Management (CASM), General Secretary of the World Institute of Sustainability and Ethics (WISE) – “Companies have to realign their business models, minimizing any negative effects and keeping the positive effects for society as high as possible. The more positive the impact, the higher the entrepreneurial return. More and more top executives are realizing that these far-reaching environmental and social changes are leading to unpredictable risks but, at the same time, are also creating unforeseen business opportunities.”

Prof. Schmidpeter highlighted that Europe could be the driving force of this new world, as the social market economy that ensures welfare and well-being creates a good basis for resolving paradoxes, such as the incommensurability of profit and sustainability, thus creating an “eco-social” market economy.

BCSDH’s recommendations for sustainable water management

 “Given the fact that climate change is one of the biggest global challenges and many of its impacts will occur through water, the development of companies’ water management practices can make a significant contribution to climate adaptation processes. There is no company that does not depend on this natural resource” – said Attila Chikán Jr., President of the BCSDH in a speech that also introduced the three-point recommendation which was put together by BCSDH and the leaders of its member companies to help the business sector take the steps necessary to promote the uptake of sustainable water management practices.

Over 80 CEOs, civil and scientific experts took part in the preparation and wording of the recommendation. As a result, solutions have been identified for both the business sector and its stakeholders that can positively impact sustainable water management.

On our Business Lunch, 33 successful, young professionals, who successfully completed the „Future Leaders” talent program 2019 had received a certificate.

Click here to see the photo gallery of the event.

Sponsors of the Action2020 program in 2019:

The Business Lunch, like most events of BCSDH, was carbon-neutral.

Carbon Neutralization Sponsor of BCSDH in 2019: