Sustainable development a challenging balancing act, speakers at Apec CEO Summit say
Maintaining a balance between the economy, society and environment is a challenge towards sustainable development, Peru's First Vice President Dina Ercilia Boluarte Zegarra said on Thursday.
She was speaking during the session on “Building Sustainable Economies, Businesses and Societies” at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) CEO Summit being held at Athenee Hotel in Bangkok.
She said Peru is working on maintaining the balance between the three dimensions to prevent damage to the next generation, secure needs for the future and protect the environment.
On tackling inequality, she said Peru is working alongside the private sector and fostering partnership with foreign investors.
Given its high index of poverty, the country has developed social programmes to promote social inclusion, she added.
“Growth has to be with humans at its core," she said.
Chile's President Gabriel Boric said balancing immediate needs with long-term ones are necessary for sustainable development.
He said democracy is a solution for balancing immediate needs as it can help build confidence among people and drive the country forward.
“Protecting and improving democracy, in my opinion, is the key to sustaining the people’s well-being,” he said.
Despite a stable economy, technologies, resources and renewable energy, he said it would be meaningless if there is no equal society.
"We need social reform, otherwise we will have social problems,” he said.
Suzanne Gaboury, director-general of Asian Development Bank (ADB)'s Private Sector Operations Department, said the private sector should take a role in driving the economy towards sustainability.
She added that ADB is offering financial assistance to enable the Asia-Pacific region to become prosperous, inclusive, resilient and sustainable.
"There is a need for the private sector to come in for ideas," she said.
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG) president and CEO Hironori Kamezawa said digital transformation, sustainability and culture are three big topics for CEOs in these changing times.
He urged private banks to provide support for sustainable finance to enable CEOs to achieve their ambitious goals.
"We need innovation in sustainability-linked finance to help incentivise customers to reach goals," he said.
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