By Caesar Vallejos
EBC Correspondent
“Sustainable development is not just a road map,” James Donovan, ADEC Innovations CEO and Global CEO Alliance (GCEOA) Chairman declared during Green Talk, a corporate sustainability lecture organized by Citi Green Team Philippines on August 17, 2016, at Citi Tower in Makati City.
“What most businesses fail to realize is that sustainable development is a radically new way of combining technology, business model and innovation to create new industries and exponential growth,” he explained.
Addressing Citigroup’s sustainability strategy team, Donovan challenged the banking industry to always integrate Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) in interfacing with customers. He cited Citigroup’s study that climate change will cost up to USD72 trillion of the world’s GDP.
At the event, he shared his insights on impact investing, corporate leadership in sustainability and the results of the COP21 climate change conference in Paris earlier this year.
Responding to Donovan, Citigroup Chief Country Officer Aftab Ahmed said that customers do care about sustainability and it is the role of the banks to help these customers do their part for the larger good of the community.
Donovan also shared insights from his own experiences as CEO of ADEC Innovations and invited Citigroup’s leadership to join the Global CEO Alliance. His participation in Green Talk is part of his advocacy and long-term efforts to reach out, educate and partner with other business leaders in addressing the urgency and opportunities for growth in sustainable development.
ADEC Innovations is an impact investing company that designs, develops and delivers a diverse data management and technology portfolio of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) solutions. The Global CEO Alliance, also chaired by Donovan, is a platform for multi-stakeholder partnership among chief executives, governments and individuals towards a programmatic approach in addressing the challenges of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.