Corporate Sustainability: The Key to a Better Future for Mexico

In the face of the significant transformative changes the world has experienced over the past 25 years, companies must continually evaluate and redesign their business strategies to seek new development opportunities that meet current needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own. In other words, sustainability must be at the core of everything.

The objective of any company should be, in fact, to remain profitable while operating with purpose and conducting sound business practices that provide products, goods, and/or services that add value to society, shaping our communities with more sustainable foundations. Additionally, companies must strengthen relationships with stakeholders to consistently create shared value.

Various studies have been conducted on this topic, but I want to highlight one carried out by SAP in 2023. This study surveyed hundreds of senior executives from medium and large companies operating in Latin America across different industries, including oil and gas, mining, agribusiness, automotive, pharmaceuticals, construction, and consumer goods. The study concluded that no more than 5 out of 10 companies in Mexico consider it important to have sustainability strategies as an integral part of their business plans.

Furthermore, it is crucial to recognize that Mexico faces significant economic, ecological, and social challenges. A way to address this reality is for the country’s 3.2 million employers, of which around 95% are micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), to appreciate, recognize, and develop the interconnection between their businesses, the environment, and society to consistently and sustainably create long-term shared value. While it is true that MSMEs may face greater obstacles in developing and maintaining such strategies, their flexibility, due to their size, can be an advantage compared to larger companies. Therefore, the Mexican business sector should aim to adopt ESG criteria as part of their strategy, encompassing environmental, social, and governance factors, without neglecting the financial factors.

To achieve this, all companies must work on three elements:

• Environmental: Focused on the concern and threat humanity faces due to climate change. It is essential to define actions to reduce impact and environmental footprint. This includes carbon emissions and energy efficiency, water consumption and conservation, waste management, and the health and safety of people.
• Social: Focused on the impact a company can have on individuals and society as a whole. This includes respecting human rights, ensuring well-being, providing dignified working conditions, promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion, and fostering the development of management and commitment with various stakeholders, including the community, suppliers, employees, and customers.
• Governance or Good Governance: Based on the practices a company follows to manage its business ethically, transparently, and efficiently at all organizational levels, including internal and external communication processes.

Each of these factors contributes to building the path toward corporate sustainability, which is a comprehensive source of competitive advantages and tangible benefits, such as enhanced company reputation, risk mitigation, long-term value creation, fostering innovation and competitive differentiation, attracting and retaining talent, and adapting swiftly to any regulatory or normative changes.

No Mexican company should adopt and commit to sustainability solely for the sake of meeting regulatory requirements; it should be a central component of their strategic and commercial plans. 

Mexican entrepreneurs must face environmental challenges with transparency, integrate environmental criteria into daily operations, work differently to strengthen social practices of diversity, equity, and inclusion, and continuously improve good corporate governance toward sustainability. This approach should become imperative for boosting competitiveness.

Companies that lead in implementing sustainable practices will not only gain the trust of conscious investors and customers but will also be better positioned to face future challenges and seize new opportunities. 

Ultimately, as environmental and social awareness deepens, companies in Mexico are destined to play a crucial role in building a more ethical and responsible business environment. This is a moral duty each company has to contribute to a fairer, more sustainable future, and, therefore, to build a better country that contributes to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement, aiming to strengthen the global response to climate change within the context of sustainable development and efforts to eradicate poverty.