For more than 40 years, the United Nations (UN) has been home to historic debate and exchange of ideas about key challenges facing our planet. Yesterday we had the honor of joining a distinguished UN panel of experts and analysts to discuss the role companies must play in charting a green and sustainable future.
“If you rewind to the 1950s, we had only 3 billion people on the planet,” said Tod Arbogast, director of Sustainable Business at Dell. “Today we’re approaching 7 billion and by 2050 we could have 9 billion. We must take action now to protect and preserve our world’s natural resources.”
Arbogast discussed Dell’s progress in fulfilling its commitment to become the ‘greenest’ technology company on the planet. “We are driving new efficiencies across our entire business,” said Arbogast.
Goldman Sachs’ Michael Moran touched on the importance the investor community is placing on for the need for companies to consider long-term environmental uncertainties.
“If you believe this, we want to see you preparing for this,” Moran said.
And don’t forget about your employees.
“According to a recent survey, 92 percent of prospective employees said they want to work for a green company,” said Andrew Winston, founder of Winston Eco-Strategies and author of “Green to Gold: How Smart Companies Use Environmental Strategy to Innovate, Create Value, and Build Competitive Advantage.”
Conservation International’s Glenn Prickett weighed in on the importance of helping developing countries preserve and restore vital ecosystems.
“Twenty percent of the world’s CO2 is caused by the destruction of rainforest. That’s pretty compelling,” said Prickett.
Fortune Small Business’ Brian Dumaine moderated the hour and a half discussion. Dumaine is author of “The Plot to Save the Planet.”
What role should businesses play in restoring and maintaining the health of our planet? We’d like to hear your thoughts and ideas on innovative strategies move us all closer to a greener future. Feel free to share them here or at www.regeneration.org.