Sustainable BusinessRecent posts
Addressing gender-based violence from the private sector: the experience of Laboratorios Bagó
Francisco Méndez, CEO of the pharmaceutical company, shares his company's efforts and achievements in fostering an inclusive and safe work environment.
How Responsible Investments Can Empower Young Women and Girls in Miches While Boosting Tourism
In partnership with Fundación Tropicalia, IDB Invest fosters a more inclusive and sustainable growth path in the Dominican Republic by focusing on their untapped potential.
A Few Very Good Reasons to Protect the Integrity of Gender Bonds
Latin America and the Caribbean has become a leading region in gender bond issuance aimed at bolstering women’s empowerment. These instruments offer a promising capital market solution to mobilize funds towards projects that help accelerate parity.
Five ways the IDB is scaling up green private sector investment
Recently several colleagues and I traveled to Copenhagen, Denmark, to participate in the Global Green Growth Forum (3GF) Annual Summit along with 450 other leaders from government, private sector and civil society. I had the opportunity to address three panels and used the forums to discuss ways the IDB’s private sector is tackling the climate crisis.
"A man is not a financial plan:" Banks globally target women clients
Westpac's Larke Riemer is director of women's markets and not shy about her business, offering straightforward advice for women clients. Five top leaders in women's banking, including Riemer, spoke today on an eye-opening panel at the 47th annual FELABAN (Latin American Federation of Banks) conference in Miami, FL. The session highlighted how to strengthen female financial inclusion.
Approaching infrastructure from all angles: sustainable opportunities in Latin America and the Caribbean
“Please see if it is feasible to create these roads so that they will pay for themselves,” famously declared Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the United States’ 32nd president. In Latin America and the Caribbean, such a boundless, timeless statement holds true for the majority of today’s infrastructure projects. An IDB study recently affirmed that investments in infrastructure provide financial returns upwards of 70 percent. But in the region and across the globe, the goal of infrastructure should not only be financial profitability. Given the long life of infrastructure assets and their importance for country competitiveness, the social and environmental rationale for high-quality, reliable and sustainably constructed infrastructure is equally captivating.
From knowledge to reality: Leveling the playing field for women
What a coincidence that during the same week, the IMF published “Women, Work and the Economy”, the Clinton Global Initiative announced numerous initiatives to empower women and the IDB hosted Jackie VanderBrug to kick off a speaker series highlighting influential professionals who promote women in the private sector. While long overdue, the issue of gender is getting the traction it deserves.
The private sector and trade: ensuring hardware and software compatibility
Like a computer, hardware and software must be compatible. The absence of one or the lack of coordination among the two can leave the whole system inoperable. When it comes to trade, Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) is making gains in “software” in the form of free trade agreements (FTAs), trade finance and customs modernization, yet more is needed to bolster integration “hardware” – infrastructure and logistics, such as roads, rails, ports, airports and broadband connections.
Measuring results and unlocking value
The more meetings and events I attend, the more results measurement is part of the conversation. What are the goals and targets? How are you going to measure results? Are those results the most meaningful?
