Sustainable BusinessRecent posts
IDB Invest Structures the Largest Blue Bond in History: $1.35 Billion
The transaction supports the expansion of wastewater collection and treatment in the State of São Paulo and improves living conditions for 2.5 million people through an innovative financing solution.
Governance and Succession: Securing the Future of Mexico’s Nonbank Financial Institutions
IDB Invest study: key findings and a roadmap to strengthen governance and CEO and senior management succession planning in nonbank financial institutions (NBFIs).
Korea's Cutting-Edge Innovations to Transform Agribusiness in Latin America and the Caribbean
Discover how IDB Invest connects regional agribusinesses with leading innovators in Korea to accelerate smart agriculture, agritech, and sustainable growth.
Greening corporate value chains lowers environmental impact and lifts competitiveness
By David Bloomgarden and Michael Hofmann Adidas, one of the world’s top two sportswear manufacturers, recently ended its business relationship with 13 of its Asian suppliers as a result of their severe or repeated noncompliance with labor, health, and safety workplace standards at their factories. This is one example of large multinational corporations working harder to demonstrate to their ever-more-demanding stakeholders that they operate sustainably. As a result, companies’ sustainability strategies are increasingly directly relevant to their operations—and are resulting in positive financial returns. An analysis of S&P 500 companies confirmed that businesses that have built sustainability into their core strategies achieve financial profitability that is significantly higher than that of their laggard peers—by between 18% and 67%.
Development finance institutions and private sector innovation
By Andre Averbug Development finance institutions (DFIs) can play an important role promoting innovation for increased competitiveness and sustained development in their client countries. Properly executed programs and projects can leverage private investment placement, develop local capital markets, improve resource allocation, as well as avoid moral hazard.
A Green Revolution under the Central American Sun: Solar energy in Honduras
[caption id="attachment_2625" align="alignleft" width="448"] Solar energy in Honduras: the roof of Embotelladora de Sula[/caption] The same sun that bathes Central America’s beaches is an increasingly valuable asset for many companies in the region. That is the case with the Honduran bottling plant Embotelladora de Sula, one of the largest rooftop photovoltaic projects in Latin America.
Three reasons why sustainability supports SME growth
Doing business these days is about more than just profitability. It’s also about sustainability, even for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Despite this, lots of SMEs are standing on the sidelines, hesitant to make investments in sustainability that don't guarantee an immediate return. So let's look at these three reasons to invest in SME sustainability initiatives:
Three surprising habits of highly productive women in the private sector
In Argentina, 61 percent of mothers work outside the home. In Chile, the US and Mexico, those numbers are 59 percent, 57 percent and 42 percent, respectively. Globally, that percentage is growing. As I prepare to join these women after the birth of my second child, I know I must find ways to be more productive and disciplined in my corporate environment. To tackle this, I spent my last weeks of maternity leave seeking the advice of the most highly productive women in the private sector I know. Their surprising answers on work-life balance, professional success and doing more with less offer tools for women, men and companies more broadly.
How new technology can make business sustainable
Did you know that when Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone, his initial idea was to develop a device for people to hear live orchestra? The world undoubtedly changed when it was introduced. But it was actually the consumers who turned it into a different innovation, preferring to call friends and family than listen to music. This is just one example how innovation and science are transforming society.
