Against the backdrop of Sao Paulo's critical water shortages, close to 30 participants from Europe, Brazil, India and China came together in an inspiring setting of Santa Cruz Cabrália to discuss the cross-sector partnerships that Europe and emerging economies can drive forward to accelerate more resilient urban infrastructures.
The 3rd BMW Foundation Global Table, supported by the Earth Security brought a new light and a greater understanding by senior corporate leaders, government decision-makers and civil society to the sensitivities, opportunity-mindset, and obstacles to the collaborations that Europe and key emerging economies must now embark on. Greater business opportunities in emerging markets are marred by greater levels of risk. More holistic development mindsets, innovative strategies and, above all, a better quality of dialogue and relationships across the cultures of the stakeholders involved must be prioritised in partnership approaches.
Alejandro Litovsky, CEO of Earth Security and a co-facilitator of the discussion, provided a starting point for discussions in this short article: ‘The Challenge of Building Resilience to Climate Change'. A series of new models of collaboration were envisioned during this process, which will be picked up again at the Berlin Global Forum in November. They included a mechanism to link global sustainable infrastructure investments to municipal level community hubs in the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro; and a sustainable mobility agenda that would connect the skills and interests of international companies with city governments and grassroots youth networks.
Participants of the meeting:
- Amann, Ralf – Director Brazil, gmp – von Gerkan, Marg und Partner, Rio de Janeiro
- Becker, Thomas – Vice President, Corporate and Governmental Affairs, Communications China and the Americas, BMW Group, Munich
- Bhattacharya, Avijit – CEO, Tata Cleantech Capital Ltd, Mumbai
- Boscov, Adriana – Corporate Sustainability Study Center, Fundação Getulio Vargas (FGV), Rio de Janeiro
- Corral, Thais – Founder, Rede de Desenvolvimento Humano, Rio de Janeiro
- Engelke, Lutz – Founder, TRIAD Berlin Projects, Berlin
- Fergütz, Oskar – Program Director Sustainable Cities and Extractive Industries, Fundación AVINA, Rio de Janeiro
- Head, Peter – Founder, The Ecological Sequestration Trust, London
- Hipp, Markus – Executive Director, BMW Foundation Herbert Quandt, Berlin and Munich
- Klabin, Roberto – President LIDE SUSTAINABILITY, LIDE - Grupo de Líderes Empresariais, São Paulo
- Litovsky, Alejandro – Founder and CEO, Earth Security, London
- Lopes, Laís Carvalho de Figueiredo – Special Advisor to President Dilma Rousseff, Brasília
- Militelli, Valeria – Corporate Affairs Director, Cargill, São Paulo
- Moura Costa, Pedro – President, BVRio Environmental Exchange, Rio de Janeiro
- Müler, Alexander – Secretary General, Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies, Potsdam
- Nery, Luciana – Deputy Chief Resilience Officer, Rio de Janiro's Operations Center, Rio de Janeiro
- Orofino, Alessandra – Founder, MEU Rio, Rio de Janeiro
- Passy, Solomon – Founder and President, The Atlantic Club of Bulgaria, Sofia
- Piñeiro, Arturo – President, BMW Group Brazil, São Paulo
- Robins, Nicola – Founder, Incite, Scarborough
- Serre, Julien – Policy and Strategy Adviser, European Investment Bank, Luxemburg
- Shi, Ming – Free Journalist and Publicist, Berlin/China
- de Simoni, Walter – Project Manager, Climate Finance, Latin America Regional Climate Initiative, Rio de Janeiro
- Thamotheram, Chandraraj – CEO, Preventable Surprises, London
- Wolf, Gregor – Program Leader Brazil, The World Bank Group, Brasília
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