Report (Part 5): Sustainable Development Convention 2002

Highlights of Day 1

Time: 31 October 2002, 10:00 Location: Salle A Chair: Peter Sissons Presenters/ Participants: Ms. Promise Mthembu, International Community of Women Living with AIDS (South Africa)
Ms. Julia Hausermann, President, Rights and Humanity
Dr. Ashok Khosla, Founder, Sustainable Development Alternatives and former director, United Nations Environmental Programme
Mr. Mike Horner, IBEX Knowledge Systems  Reporter: Julie Archer and Makoto Fujiwara (ICVolunteers) Languages: English Key words: Sustainable development, finance, credit, microcredit, bank, international, business

Rather than providing his own summary of the previous day's events, Mr. Peter Sissons, the chair of this highlights session, invited four representative speakers to provide their perspectives in an interview-style panel discussion. The bulk of the discussion centred on that morning's keynote speech by Mr. Michael Hoelz of Deutsche Bank, though there was some reference at the end to the workshops of the previous day.

Ms. Julia Hausermann, President of Rights and Humanity, said that what had struck her most about the speech by Mr. Hoelz was his emphasis on cultural diversity as the driving force of innovation. He also talked about sustainable development being a collaborative process, which Ms. Promise Mthembu (International Community of Women Living with AIDS) felt was an extremely important point. Panelists discussed whether or not the principles of sustainable development have really permeated the business community, or whether they are paying lip service to these concepts due to pressure from non-governmental organizations and civil society in general. Mr. Mike Horner from IBEX Knowledge Systems said that people like Mr. Hoelz should be distinguished from their organizations because while they may have some power and influence within their businesses, they do not represent the thinking of everyone in upper management or on the boards of directors. He also observed that banking practices change very slowly. Dr. Ashok Khosla agreed that many corporate leaders have mastered the jargon of sustainable development and attend all the right conferences but do not take concrete action to forward sustainability. Ms. Mthembu noted that Mr. Hoelz speaks with authority on behalf of the sustainable development activities of Deutsche Bank and that the bank must be held accountable for its commitments. Ms. Hausermann talked about the potential for showing the banking community how women's and human rights actually contribute to economic development ? in other words, talking about the social "bottom line" in terms that mean something to financiers. Dr. Khosla talked about "getting to action" and obtaining finance for sustainable development projects by critiquing the projects from the perspective of financiers and ensuring a solid business case.

Surprising Issues
A particularly interesting aspect of the discussion was panelists' agreement that businesses, NGOs and civil society are operating in a "government-free zone" in terms of sustainable development. Governments have not demonstrated leadership in the area of sustainability, and there are important opportunities for powerful organizations such as Deutsche Bank to influence law-makers and change business culture. Ms. Hausermann admitted that she is less optimistic about governments changing than she is about the business world because it is easier to help businesses see how sustainable development is actually in their own best interests, whereas governments are not as forward-looking in terms of financial results. Ms. Mthembu added that governments need both the support and the pressure of civil society organizations and the business community to act despite their vested interests in power and control.

Interesting Questions
In the brief question period that followed, a delegate raised the issue of public awareness through the media, which provides relatively little information on sustainable development. One panelist agreed that the media need support to publish and broadcast more on sustainability, observing that few people were satisfied with the reporting on the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg earlier in the year. A couple of delegates mentioned their media projects designed to encourage broader reportage.

Conclusions
In terms of the previous day's activities, panelists agreed that the commitment to collaboration on sustainable development was clearly present and that potential partnerships for the technical, financial or management support of projects had been discussed by delegates after every workshop. Some of the conclusions reached after Mr. Hoelz's keynote presentation included the need to approach big business and financiers about sustainable development in terms of its good business case rather than purely in terms of ethics. The consensus was that despite the presence of some high-profile companies pursuing sustainable development and the existence of people like Michael Hoelz in the banking industry, the principles of sustainability have some way to go before they become part of conventional business practice. Panelists also agreed that governments need to be pushed on issues of sustainability since they are not taking the initiative, and that this is potentially a role for civil society and business working in partnership.