Ernst Young (EY) held an event on Tuesday 19 September focusing on the current ESG (Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance) challenges on the agenda of organisations.
According to the World Economic Forum’s 2023 report, the top ten global risks identified are mostly made up of environmental and social risks, including failure to mitigate and adapt to climate change, natural disasters and extreme weather events, loss of biodiversity and collapse of ecosystems, natural resource crisis, erosion of social cohesion and social polarisation. In this sense, EY argues that there is a need for organisations to be prepared, in the short and long term, to face these challenges.
“First we must recognise that there are climate risks and Mozambique has been an example of this, but when we look at business activity, we must recognise these challenges and act first to mitigate them. In the meantime, companies, as well as society in general, must learn to adapt to this reality,” said Manuel Mota, EY’s leader in the area of sustainability and climate change in Portugal, Angola and Mozambique.
Despite the fact that this is a topic that is not yet much discussed in Mozambique, Manuel Mota emphasised that the existence of foreign companies already focused on this issue is a great advantage for the country. “The fact that we have banks with origins in Portugal or South Africa, for example, has a positive impact, since they feel, in a way, obliged to direct capital towards ESG-related activities.”
In addition to the actions of companies, education is also seen as a key factor in combating these challenges, as it is necessary to train young people to be more aware of environmental impacts and to seek out organisations that defend these causes.
Alongside this theme, Manuel Mota also said that Mozambique must invest in the future, guarantee security with regard to the availability of energy for the population and make a gradual transition to renewable energies.
