With an eye on the SDGs and ESG, the association launched on October 28th, the Sustainability Diagnosis, an unprecedented tool to measure habits and actions aimed at the sustainability of companies in the technology sector
Attentive to discussions on the environment and in line with the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) of the Global Compact of the United Nations (UN) and ESG (Environment, Social and Governance) practices, ABES – Brazilian Association of Software Companies announces partnership with Rede Brasil do Pacto Global. The partnership seeks the joint development of initiatives for dissemination, mobilization, engagement and sharing of knowledge that strengthen the implementation of common themes of organizations, including, Integrity, Human Rights and Environment and Sustainability.
In addition to the partnership, the association launched the Sustainability Diagnosis, a pioneering and unprecedented tool for analyzing management performance from the perspective of sustainability and ESG concepts, which seeks to understand the state of social responsibility and sustainability of companies associated with ABES and other technology-based companies. The launch took place during the Roundtable 'The importance of sustainable development for the competitiveness of your business', on October 28th.
The Round Table was attended by Rodolfo Fücher, president of ABES; Helen Pedroso, Director of Institutional Relations of the UN Global Compact; Andreia Amorim, CEO of Prosperitate Consultoria em Sustentabilidade; Aron Zylberman, Vice President of the Board of Directors of Instituto Brasil de Governança Corporativa, mediated by journalist Sabrina Neumann, from Um Só Planeta.
“We are happy to collaborate with Rede Brasil of the Global Compact, in the dissemination and engagement of the IT sector in the SDGs – Sustainable Development Goals and initiatives for the 2030 Agenda. As part of this partnership, we are launching an online diagnosis for companies of technological base, which aims to bring issues related to sustainability to the management of companies even closer”, says Rodolfo Fücher, president of ABES.
Sustainability diagnosis
O ABES Sustainability Diagnosis was prepared by the association, in partnership with Prosperitate Consultoria em Sustentabilidade, to become a tool for inducing sustainable development, guided by good ESG practices and policies. It is being launched just as the market turns to the COP26 discussions, which will take place from October 31st to November 12th, in Glasgow, Scotland.
“Technology and software companies have a strong power of transformation in their hands, but most still have difficulty seeing their role and social and sustainable impact in the world. This is why the ABES Sustainable Diagnosis initiative is so important. Companies that insist on doing business for profit alone are doomed to failure. It is past time for the market to understand that profit must be associated with the result of a process in which the purpose moves people and, in this sense, the best path is governance based on ESG”, stresses Andreia Amorim, CEO of Prosperitate Consultoria in Sustainability.
The tool is supported by nationally and internationally recognized references, implemented by institutions such as IBGC, Ethos, Global Compact and GRI, and guided by the Sustainable Development Goals to achieve the 2030 Agenda of the United Nations. The diagnosis offers alternatives for improving tech management, for a sustainable future, guided by the ESG principles, as it delivers to the responding company an analysis of the management maturity stage and, at the end, offers a series of suggestions for actions to improvement of their practices.
ESG
In order to ensure an ethical and sustainable business environment, in addition to being innovative, dynamic and competitive globally, and with the purpose of building a digital and less unequal Brazil, in which information technology plays a fundamental role in the democratization of knowledge , ABES has created a series of initiatives in order to contribute to the development of companies in the technology sector, facilitating the implementation of ESG (Environment, Social and Governance; in Portuguese: Environment, Social and Governance).
ABES continues its commitment to the mobilization for the reduction of inequality, reaching 8 of the 17 SDGs. The initiative aims to support social inclusion actions that promote training in the digital area, through resources obtained from the recycling of disused technology and telecommunications equipment, reinserting materials into the production chain through reverse engineering. In addition, the mobilization helps to raise awareness among entrepreneurs and employees about the correct disposal of their equipment and complies with the Environmental and IT Safety Legislation, which generates a positive impact on the environment and society.
Regarding governance, ABES helps companies to implement their own compliance programs. For this, it developed the An Ethical Company Program – an initiative that aims to improve the ethical and moral standards of companies interested in adopting an Integrity Program that, in addition to promoting a culture of ethics in corporations, allows for the mitigation of the penalties brought by the Anti-Corruption Law ( Law 12,846/2013) and meets the requirements of other applicable laws. By offering, free of charge to member companies and partner entities, three services that make up the main pillars of an effective Integrity Program - a Code of Ethics and Conduct model, periodic training directed at company employees and an independent whistleblowing channel - the association encourages the market to follow the path of ethics and integrity.
About ABES
ABES, Brazilian Association of Software Companies, aims to contribute to the construction of a more digital and less unequal Brazil, in which information technology plays a fundamental role in the democratization of knowledge and the creation of new opportunities for all. In this sense, it aims to ensure a business environment conducive to innovation, ethical, sustainable, dynamic and globally competitive, always aligned with its mission of connecting, guiding, protecting and developing the Brazilian information technology market.
Since its foundation in September 1986, ABES has sought to be relevant to its members and a national and international reference in the technology sector. Currently, the entity represents approximately 2 thousand companies, which total about 85% of the software and services segment's revenue in Brazil, distributed in 24 Brazilian States and the Federal District, responsible for the generation of more than 210 thousand direct jobs and annual revenue of the order of R$ 80 billion in 2020.
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