ICC Colombia
“The corporate and business sector has a dual role in relation to climate change and the loss of biodiversity. First, companies suffer the negative consequences of changes in the environment, and secondly, they have a direct responsibility preventing, generating and mitigating emissions”
From the institutionality represented by the Chamber of Commerce of Bogotá, an identification of the problems of climate change and the loss of biodiversity in relation to the business sector has been carried out, which has made it possible to address them from four main strategies: i) the bioeconomy as a new way of generating profitable and sustainable businesses; (ii) sustainable finance for biodiversity and climate change; iii) how to innovate to solve environmental challenges in the productive sector; and iv) inclusion and diversity for productivity.
Challenges of the productive sector and value chains around climate change and biodiversity loss
The corporate and business sector has a dual role in relation to climate change and the loss of biodiversity. First, companies suffer the negative consequences of changes in the environment, and secondly, they have a direct responsibility preventing, generating and mitigating emissions.
Regarding the former, it is clear to companies that there is an impact of climate change and biodiversity loss on their operation and that in many cases this directly affects their cost structure. A survey on decarbonization and climate action conducted by the CCB in 2023 to nearly 500,000 companies in its jurisdiction, including 92,8% microenterprises, showed that 67,9% of economic units see a latent risk of price increases associated with climate change, about 48,9% recognized risks of changes in consumer preferences and 48,3% in temperature changes. Strikingly, only 25,2% perceive a reputational risk in relation to this issue.
Concerning the second way of relating the environment to productive activity, companies are responsible for implementing emissions neutrality schemes to prevent, reduce and mitigate the impacts of their activity on the environment. Related to this, the most important challenge is related to what businesses know about the topic: 32,8% of the productive units have limited or non-existent knowledge about what climate change is.
This materializes in a limited capacity to implement effective measures, which originates, according to the CCB survey, in that 80,7% do not make any type of measurement. In view of this, only 21,2% have plans or programs to reduce the environmental impact of their operation. The barriers to implementing these instruments are for 50,2% of companies the lack of knowledge, for 44,9% the absence of financial resources and for 27,7% the lack of equipment or machinery.
This diagnosis has been fundamental in defining the roadmap to intervene and work with economic units to prevent, reduce and/or mitigate the impacts of their operation on the environment.
Actions to address the challenges of climate change and biodiversity loss on the productive sector
The Bogotá Chamber of Commerce, with a clear diagnosis of what companies need and with the key premise that we must transform our business models so that sustainability ceases to be an exception and becomes the norm, addresses the problem by prioritizing four strategic ones:
- Bioeconomy, a new way of generating profitable and sustainable businesses: this strategy promotes the obtaining of natural ingredients in the cosmetic and food sector, favoring sustainability and reindustrialization through the bio-ingredients ecosystem, which incorporates companies from different regions of the country to promote a more equitable distribution of economic opportunities and growth in the national and international market. This is supported by the development of a methodology of technological appropriation in chaining schemes, which will be socialized with entrepreneurs so that they can strengthen their business ideas.
- Sustainable finance for biodiversity and climate change: considering the need for companies to access resources to invest in productive reconversion or compensation processes, this approach focuses on holding sustainable finance roundtables, which since 2022 have been attended by more than 345 companies to connect supply and demand in terms of investment in sustainability. This is complemented by the creation of a specific program to accompany companies in the financial and environmental structuring of sustainable projects that allow them to access capital, helping them connect with sources of financing to implement clean technologies, reduce their emissions and improve their energy efficiency, among other issues.
- From science to action: how to innovate to solve environmental challenges in the productive sector: on this front, The Chamber of commerce of Bogotá sought to promote research and innovation, with science-based goals, to solve the environmental challenges faced by the business sector. To this end, the CCB is working, within the framework of a DeepTech Alliance, to create an ecosystem that allows entrepreneurs and researchers to develop businesses based on applied science to solve environmental challenges. This goes hand in hand with promoting innovation for environmental purposes in the Cluster of the Chamber of Commerce of Bogotá in sectors such as fashion, logistics and transport, electric power, construction, containers and packaging, and creative and cultural industries, as well as in the recently created Water and Circular Economy Cluster.
However, the most important structuring project in this axis is the creation of the Bogotá Science, Technology and Innovation Campus, which will be a space in Bogotá and the Region to promote the meeting and exchange between citizens, academia, the public and private sectors to promote sustainable solutions, clean and efficient technologies, job creation and economic development. to effectively solve social and business problems.
- Inclusion and diversity for productivity: with the premise that the environmental solutions that emerge from the business sector must be accompanied by the promotion of equity, diversity and inclusion, initiatives have been developed such as the Productive Inclusion Network that promotes the empowerment of vulnerable populations and those with greater gaps in access to the market; and the “Believe in you” network with women entrepreneurs and businesswomen who seek their economic empowerment through access to incentives for the creation, formalization and strengthening of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises led by women.