Conselho Empresarial para o Desenvolvimento Sustentável
BCSD Portugal
O BCSD Portugal – Conselho Empresarial para o Desenvolvimento Sustentável é uma associação sem fins lucrativos, de utilidade pública, que agrega e representa empresas que se comprometem ativamente com a sustentabilidade.
ID: 645236722991-57
Lobbying Activity
Response to Sustainable Products Initiative
2 Nov 2020
Please, see attached the BCSD Portugal's feedback on the Roadmap for the Sustainable Products Initiative.
Read full responseResponse to Update of the 2012 Bioeconomy Strategy
20 Mar 2018
Conselho Empresarial para o Desenvovimento Sustentável (BCSD Portugal), a Portuguese private sector stakeholder, welcomes the opportunity to give inputs to the update of the European bioeconomy strategy.
Please see attached the pdf file with BCSD Portugal's feedback.
Read full responseResponse to Institutional investors' and asset managers' duties regarding sustainability
11 Dec 2017
Conselho Empresarial para o Desenvolvimento Sustentável (BCSD Portugal) welcomes the initiative “Institutional investors’ and asset managers’ duties regarding sustainability” and the opportunity given to stakeholders to comment on the Inception Impact Assessment.
The European Union (EU) has committed to achieving a net zero economy by 2050 and has accepted the UN’s Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Attaining these commitments entails the adoption of new frameworks for action and a shift towards sustainable investments. Private and public flows of money towards low carbon and sustainability goals will be decisive. Investments should be shifted towards activities that increase environmental awareness, protect biodiversity and ecosystem services, mitigate climate change, develop new skills and produce social added value.
It is BCSD’s view that the goals of this initiative can be achieved by non-legislative action and public policies such as producing guidelines that can clarifying the existing duties and the long-term benefits of sustainable finance. There are plenty of financial institutions and players within EU countries that are not familiarized with the concept of sustainable development. There is still room for raising awareness and exploring private instruments before imposing new regulation. Revisiting existing provisions of EU legislations governing institutional investors and asset managers through legislative action could prove too costly for finance players and discourage innovative approaches.
Nevertheless, the focus on sustainable finance is an absolute necessity and BCSD Portugal believes further action must be taken to promote the benefits of sustainable finance and to inform interested stakeholders of the path adopted by the EU (a path that sooner or later will be reflected in legislative options).
Other than disclosure, investment policy and asset allocation, risk management and governance arrangements, policy options should cover:
• Cost of capital: decrease cost of capital flow to investments/funds/loans that contribute to sustainable development, particularly green economy and circular economy;
• Carbon price: investors can be required to consider long-term sustainability if measures like carbon pricing are in place and directly influence the long-term stability of businesses;
• Awareness within the financial sector: there is a massive lack of awareness inside the financial sector about the relevance that sustainable finance has for long-term sustainable and inclusive growth, as well as for strengthening financial stability. As such, its highly recommended to create mechanisms and incentives that create a need for the financial sector to educate their workers and board members on these issues;
• European standards and labels for green bonds and other sustainable assets: establishing a normalized framework for green bonds and other sustainable assets (such as minimum key indicators disclosed).
Furthermore, climate, environmental, social and governance issues should all be applied. Governance criteria can embed sustainability in financial institutions and act as the backbone for a complete shift towards low-carbon financing. Climate and environmental issues are at the heart of EU commitments and must be enabled by appropriate finance mechanisms. Lastly, social issues have always been at the heart of EU policy and should therefore be considered in all relevant policies and mechanisms.
(...)
Read full responseResponse to Carbon Leakage List 2021 - 2030
13 Nov 2017
Conselho Empresarial para o Desenvolvimento Sustentável (BCSD Portugal) welcomes the opportunity given to stakeholders to comment on the Inception Impact Assessment for the Carbon Leakage List 2021 – 2030.
The European Union (EU) has committed to achieving a net zero economy by 2050. This is a much-needed ambition for human progress in the 21st century, but it cannot be achieved at the expenses of growth: economic development will remain a key driver of change and innovation in a decarbonized Europe.
The potential relocation of production in face of strict environmental regulations would entail job losses, decreases in investments and lower tax incomes. The EU needs to keep working on the improvement of the mix of climate and economic policies. BCSD Portugal believes the overall goal of the EU in this regard shall be to promote the rapid transformation of European industries towards zero or low carbon models.
Ponderings on carbon leakage must acknowledge that the costs of carbon pricing and overall stricter environmental regulations are among many factors contributing to relocation decisions (such as energy costs, availability of skills, market proximity and high-quality infrastructures). Thus, further assessment is needed on the impacts of climate and energy on the competitiveness of European’s industries. The methodological choices the EU Commission is now facing with regards to the Carbon Leakage List 2021 – 2030 require a further assessment of factors such as: life cycle assessments developed between alternative energy mixes, global benchmark and best practices from other cap and trade experiences and sectoral impact analysis.
Furthermore, BCSD Portugal believes the following considerations should be acknowledge by the EU upon determining the Carbon Leakage List for 2021-2030:
• A strong carbon price across Europe is a key driver of a decarbonized EU in 2050;
• Industries throughout Europe can remain competitive in a net-zero scenario if there is an increased penetration of renewable energies along with improved carbon sequestration from natural systems;
• Highly efficient installations should be rewarded;
• The transition of energy intensive industries can be leveraged through public funding and the adoption of measurable, enforceable and transparent performance criteria linked to finance;
• More data is needed on the impacts of climate and energy on industry’s competitiveness;
• The deployment of technological breakthroughs can be encouraged through sector collaboration and R&D policies;
• The creation of standards and norms (such as eco-design) can elevate the environmental requirements of imported products;
• New ideas can be introduced to address the lack of insufficient free allowances such as recycling revenues from auctioning;
• There is an ongoing necessity for the EU to engage in global talks and agreements towards similarly strict environmental policies aiming at creating a global level playing field;
• Future skills will be needed for industry to transform;
• The EU-ETS scope can be enlarged to include more businesses and drive them to reduce their GHG emissions.
BCSD Portugal is a non-profit association of public interest that represents companies engaged with sustainability. BCSD Portugal has more than 90 business members, 20% of which are micro and SME with the remaining being large companies. The member companies have a wide sectorial representation: utilities, mobility & transports, gas & petrol, energy, tourism, food, retail, metal industry, services, waste management, etc. In total, the turnover of the members is close to 65 billion euros, 38% of Portuguese GDP, and aggregate about 270,000 employees.
Our vision: “In 2030, Portugal is at the forefront of European countries regarding business solutions that promote a low-carbon economy, that enhance ecosystems services and that contribute to well-being”.
Read full response