'Sustainability more urgent than ever'
01/29/21
Maria van der Heijden talking about corporate social responsibility during the pandemic
The corona pandemic has now had us in its grip for almost a year. But it could help us to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Climate Agreement.
‘Corporate social responsibility now occupies a higher position on the agenda. COVID-19 will eventually disappear, but the same cannot be said of the underlying problems, such as climate disruption, declining biodiversity and the gap between rich and poor’, says Maria van der Heijden, Executive Director of MVO Nederland. ‘The current situation has placed these themes emphatically back at the forefront and underlines the urgent need to reorganise our economy.’
Maria van der Heijden, Executive Director of MVO Nederland
The pandemic versus climate disruption
‘The pandemic highlights the strong link between nature and people. It also shows the limits of globalisation and how difficult it is to solve a global problem like a pandemic with local or national decisions. What we need are global decisions,’ argues Van der Heijden.
She draws parallels between solving the pandemic and solving the climate problem. ‘You can't fix the climate “locally”. It has to be done globally, or you get nowhere. COVID-19 claims victims every day and so does climate disruption, but we don't count the latter group. The government can and must take much firmer action to solve the climate problem at global level.’
New Economy Index (NEx)
MVO Nederland is also looking to make its own contribution to solving global challenges, which is why it launched the New Economy Index (NEx) last year. This large-scale study shows that 12.1 per cent of the Dutch economy is sustainable. The NEx annually indicates the ‘new’ percentage of the economy. ‘New’ means that the business model is circular, climate-neutral and inclusive - also in the supply chain.
The study found that an NEx of twenty per cent could be a tipping point. From that point on, the economy becomes more and more sustainable and virtually closes off the way back to the old, non-sustainable economy. ‘That is why it is so important for us to reach this tipping point quickly. The target is 2025, but Dutch companies still need to do a great deal to achieve that,’ says Van der Heijden.
Shorter supply chains
COVID-19 could make an important contribution to achieving the NEx target of at least twenty per cent by 2025. ‘We have seen that the loss of many international transport alternatives and factory closures has made the supply chain extremely vulnerable. Companies are therefore looking at more robust and shorter supply chains. In the long run, a shorter supply chain is good for the environment.’
‘To achieve the SDGs by 2030 we need a group of frontrunners who have been involved in the new economy for some time before then. We hope that the urgency created by the pandemic will help us to achieve that.’
Conditions for support
‘European governments are now digging deep to bail out companies in financial need because of the lockdowns. We’d like this financial support to be linked to conditions for a green recovery,’ says Van der Heijden. She sees this as a perfect opportunity to accelerate the greening process. ‘Governments are now spending billions of euros that they won’t have available next year. If that spending is not linked to the task of combating climate disruption, it will all have been for nothing. We cannot live indefinitely on a finite planet.’
Important to look right now at how you can organise things more sustainably
Van der Heijden advises companies that ‘it is very important to look right now at how you can organise things more sustainably and differently. This will give you a huge advantage in the long run. MVO Nederland's director also has criticisms of the government. ‘Government regulation is one of the strongest tools for steering people's behaviour. That’s important, because society as a whole has yet to recognise the urgency of becoming more sustainable. Government regulations could go a long way in changing that. The government should therefore take a much firmer stance,’ says Van der Heijden.
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