It is one of the "faces" of sustainability in Italy. Always appreciated in his public speeches and engaged on various professional fronts, Carlo Paris, Independent Board Member, Advisor for Sustainability, dedicates his commitment to accompanying listed companies and SMEs on a path of sustainable development, in the medium to long term and the creation of value for all stakeholders. At the dawn of one of ALTIS' innovative paths, in 2014-2015, he was alumnus of the first edition of the Master dedicated to the Third Sector, yesterday Emse, today Emtesis. His attendance at the Graduate School therefore has a long history, which recently experienced another interesting chapter with a testimony at the Master in Sustainable Business Administration – MSBA. Our dialogue tries to retrace it.
What topics did you address?
The day concerned the experience in the boards of directors of companies called upon to address the issue of sustainability and compliance with regulations. We started from a general picture of the characteristics of companies, from start-ups to listed companies which, in different ways, find themselves dealing with these problems.
What emerged?
We reflected on how the philosophy behind sustainability is a way of thinking that should be integrated into every phase of the life cycle of companies, even where regulations do not make it mandatory. From the very first steps, for a fledgling company, but not only, today it is important to set up the thought of a strategic plan that is consistent and congruent with sustainability issues.
Is there a risk that sustainability will be perceived as a burden and reduced to compliance?
These issues are regulated by international rules and practices, but they require an upstream commitment on the part of the company, without which any rule risks becoming ineffective or being applied rigidly, resulting in non-functional to achieve the goal.
Does analyzing the past help?
The evolution of these issues in recent decades has shown, unfortunately in retrospect, following several dramatic events, that the pursuit of profit as the only objective does not protect the protection and resilience of companies. Recent history is full of episodes in which very wealthy companies have almost disappeared from the market because they underestimated the non-financial aspects of their business.
Can you remind us of any of the examples covered in the classroom?
The environmental disaster of BP in the Gulf of Mexico, in 2010, where the maintenance costs of the valves of oil platforms had not been adequate and the case of Kodak, which disappeared for having underestimated the impact of technological evolution, in particular of digital photography, or NIKE accused of resorting to child labor in Asia. Or the scandals of a financial nature and lack of transparency of Parlamat, Enron, World, and Toshiba.
What lesson can be learned from these cases in which well-positioned companies have almost suddenly recorded huge losses?
These adverse events have contributed to the development of a new environmental awareness over the decades and, at the same time, have delivered an important lesson to the financial markets, which have realized that they do not have enough information to assess the reliability of their investments from an environmental and social point of view. The consequence, after a long process, was the arrival at the new regulation of 2019, with banks requiring companies to provide additional information of a non-financial nature.
But, as mentioned earlier, the production of information becomes a bureaucratic mechanical act without an upstream alignment on the values and basic beliefs...
It does not become just a bureaucratic act but, often and willingly, the data are provided in an untruthful or distorted way, generating phenomena labeled as greenhashing and the like. It is therefore worthwhile, when one is starting one's career, to reflect not only on how, for example on how to carry out reporting, but also, I would dare to say above all, on the choice to which one is called with respect to profound consistency with these values.
Is it a question of identity?
When you get out of the how to do and enter into the why and want to be, touching aspects of your deepest being, you have to deal with the theme with a certain delicacy. With the awareness that it is not so much the immediate feedback that counts, but what fruits these reflections will bring over time. Who do I want to be and represent, in relation to myself and to others? What purpose do I direct my work towards? What meaning do I attribute to my personal and work experience? On what ground will I "test" my intelligence? It will be life that will bring out the chosen position, beyond declarations of principle: this applies both to personal life and to companies.
His was therefore a testimony on the root of any discourse on sustainability, a reflection on how to position oneself in the world. In light of your great experience, what is your answer?
It is a reflection that comes from my personal life cycle: I was born in 1956, I consider myself a baby boomer... If we want to put it better, I belong to the generations of those who helped to rebuild economies in the post-war period. There had already been 10 years of development after the end of the conflict but the 60s, 70s and 80s, in which I trained and started working, were those of the economic boom.
In the eighties, at the time of the Reagan presidency, after graduating in economics he attended an MBA in the United States...
The emphasis on economic growth, multi-denationalization, expansion at all costs and industrial growth was very strong. To add another historical note, a few years earlier, in 1976, the Nobel Prize had been awarded to Milton Friedman, who put the interest of shareholders before any other consideration. This is to say that my generation was the interpreter of a certain industrial dream: in hindsight, it must be recognized that we have pursued it by losing lucidity on the environmental and social consequences of this approach. Decades later, my task is to look back, gain awareness and leave a testimony to the new generations.
How?
First of all, with a spirit of restitution, to those interested in learning, of the luck that our generation has had in being able to grow up in a season of peace. As in the culture of the American Indians, the elders of the village went to train the young warriors on the signs of the forest, I too set out in this wake.
Meanwhile, our forests have become sick and reduced...
All the more reason, we elderly have the social responsibility to teach the "young warriors" of tomorrow that without changing course there will be no positive future in terms of climate and environment.
We have exploited a third of the planet's resources, now we are turning to the other two-thirds of the submerged lands. With what spirit do we do it?
Let's go back to the role of companies and managers of the future...
We believed that resources were unlimited and we had no direct experience of the environmental, social and health consequences of certain choices. To stay in Italy, let's think of the Land of Fires in Campania or Ilva in Taranto and the increase in the number of oncological diseases. But in general, think of the traces of plastic that are found everywhere, in the environment as well as in our bodies. Today we have matured this awareness and we must give it back and share it, looking for a new way of life.
Is this the link between environmental consequences and social inequalities?
There are many imbalances to be remedied. Let's limit ourselves to an example: if the world's wealth is concentrated for the most part in 5% of the population, while the rest find themselves without water or in situations of poverty, we cannot complain about migration. These are obviously problems of a general nature that involve everyone, from institutions to personal testimony.
How do you deal with them?
Of course, with work in the many areas of strategic consulting in which I am engaged, from small to large companies. But also by continuing to study... As if I were still a student: I attend many courses on sustainability to stay updated on new regulations, so complex that they have now become a profession. I therefore believe it is important for me to convey the message that we must continue to study.
What are we not yet ready for?
I launch one idea among many. We need to create an alliance with female intelligence to be more and more complementary. It is not a question of replacing men with women, but of recognizing the excellence of both, working together for a better future.
Article by Nicola Varcasia