How to Build Back Better with the European Pact for Sustainable Industry According to Forética

What is the role of sector and cross-sector collaboration in achieving the SDGs and in building a sustainable Europe? How can the European Pact for Sustainable Industry foster collaboration in Spain and in Europe? We asked Germán Granda, Forética’s General Director.

On May 29, CSR Europe was pleased to interview Germán Granda, Forética’s General Director, on the potential of the European Pact for Sustainable Industry in Spain to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.

What role do you think sector and cross-sector collaboration plays in achieving the SDGs and in building a sustainable Europe?

After the COVID-19 outbreak, we are all rethinking the future of sustainability. How to return to a new normal and build a more resilient society are at the core of the debate in both the public and private sector.
In this respect, the 2030 Agenda offers a good roadmap to overcome the social and economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic. However, to achieve the 2030 Agenda, we cannot ignore the importance of collaboration among different actors.
Fostering collaboration is more important today than ever before. Especially, sector and cross- sector collaboration can boost the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals and have a bigger impact on sustainability agendas at national and EU level. If we want to have a fair recovery, undoubtedly it is time to start building new alliances. For this reason, Forética has just launched the Future of Sustainability project in which more than 60 companies collaborate to shape the future of sustainability and analyse the long-term impact of COVID-19 from an ESG perspective.

In your opinion, how can the European Pact for Sustainable Industry foster collaboration in Spain and in Europe?

Fostering collaboration is key to boost sustainability both at national and European level. This Pact offers companies and industry federations the opportunity to connect with different actors and scale up the impact of their individual efforts.
With the Pact, companies, hand in hand with their industry federations can shape innovative solutions by taking advantage of collective knowledge and best-practices.

What are the main obstacles to reaching the SDGs in Spain and how can the Pact provide a guide for companies?

Inequalities and climate emergency are the major obstacles to achieve the SDGs. Spain is one of the most unequal counties in the EU: more than 26% of the population lives at risk of poverty or social exclusion and 1 in 3 children are at risk of poverty. These figures will be even worst after the COVID-19 crisis. On the other hand, Spain is vulnerable to the climate crisis and its direct impact on human health and the economy.
Now is the right moment to act. The EU is contributing to make sustainability mainstream, especially through the European Green Deal, and we must keep the momentum going. In addition, as SDG 17 clearly states, collaboration is central in the 2030 Agenda. The Pact is an additional push to achieve the SDGs by 2030.

How do you think the European Pact for Sustainable Industry could contribute to build back better the European economies?

As we are faced with unprecedented times, putting people first is essential. This means that all policies and initiatives to build back better should boost fairer societies and tackle inequalities. In order to do so, collaboration between the private and public sector and other stakeholders is fundamental.
With the Pact, companies are acting to put sustainability and people at the centre of their actions, contributing to build back better the European economy and ultimately, to build new partnerships that will leverage new solutions and allow coordinated action to face this unprecedented situation.

How do you foresee Foretica’s contribution to the Pact?

Much like the Pact, collaboration is at the core of Foretica’s work.
At the same time, over the last years, we been working with our corporate members through Cluster and Actions Groups around different aspects very relevant in the business sustainability strategies nowadays. Our main initiatives are:

Are you a National Partner Organisation, a company or industry federation? Are you ready to scale-up your sustainability efforts? Engage with us!