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.
3 Ways CEOs can address the Gender Wage Gap
In her Oscar acceptance speech heard around the world, Patricia Arquette challenged people of color and the LGBT community to help fight for wage equality for women in the United States, the same way these women stood with them in their fights for equality. Ironically, Ms. Arquette was addressing the Oscars’ most homogenous group of attendees, and one that was not reflective of the movie industry’s diverse consumer base.
How can banks jump-start Brazil's energy efficiency market?
Last year, I traveled with a team of IDB private sector specialists to São Paulo. There we hosted, in partnership with the UNDP, two one-day trainings for commercial banks. The purpose was to introduce the characteristics of financing energy efficiency projects to relationship managers and credit risk officers of the participating financial institutions. We demonstrated through a dynamic process and real case studies how they could overcome the typical barriers to investment in energy efficiency projects.
How sustainable is your morning coffee? 3 Tips to Reduce its Impact
Coffee is cultivated in over 70 countries around the globe and it is considered one of the world's most valuable agricultural commodities. In the United States alone, the coffee industry is valued at an estimated $30 billion. But the question for both producers and consumers is: how sustainable is coffee?
How Sustainable Tourism in Jamaica Opened Doors for Youth
A Jamaican-born IDB investment officer shares his experience filming the story of youth at risk in his hometown of Kingston * By Stefan Wright If you had told me two years ago that my tourism project would lead me to be part of a team filming a video in a music studio, I wouldn’t have believed you. But that is precisely what happened, together with Jamoi, one of several young Jamaican men who had turned his life around with this project – a project which combined sustainable tourism in Jamaica and at-risk youth.
Counterintuitive ideas are the right answer for sustainable enterprises
Most business models are formulated by the top of the pyramid. Many business leaders and academics write on the must haves of a successful base of the pyramid (BOP) business model. Still quite a few of those business endeavors fail. While reasons for failure vary, experience shows that the ability to observe, listen and understand the BOP’s social codes and priorities is key to successfully formulate and set up profitable, sustainable enterprises that target low-income markets.
Millennials and Shared Value: a perfect business strategy
Much has been said about the millennials, those born between 1980 and 2000, accounting for approximately 80 million people in the United States, and what they represent for the future of our society. For businesses, for example, it is crucial to understand this new generation, both as consumers and employees, otherwise companies run the risk of becoming irrelevant and antiquated. A recent Deloitte Survey shows that companies will need to change the way they do business in order to accommodate this new generation. Millennials do not begrudge businesses making a profit, but they also believe that businesses should have a purpose: being a catalyst in making a lasting, positive impact on society.
