Sustainable BusinessRecent posts
Latin America and the Caribbean at the forefront of energy and technological progress
The region is rich in essential minerals and has the potential to develop its value chains. Countries must overcome several challenges to take advantage of these resources and their benefits. This requires transparency, governance, and attracting private investment.
We Helped a Solar Plant Hire More Women. Will the Industry Follow Suit?
The Lucayas Solar Power Project in the Bahamas marked a milestone by pioneering the integration of women in the construction of solar photovoltaic plants. What we learned in the process can help other companies’ commitment to gender equity.
Overcoming Three Challenges to Unlock the Potential of Green Hydrogen
Several countries in Latin America and the Caribbean have an adequate renewable energy generation capacity, abundant water resources and other favorable conditions to diversify the power generation matrices and decarbonize energy-intensive industrial segments. Breaking down legal, regulatory, financial, technical and market barriers can help them lead the charge on clean energy initiatives.
Energy Efficiency: A game changer for business & the environment
Energy efficiency is a simple concept. Do more with less. Channeled through a wide array of industries and organizational departments in Latin America and the Caribbean and elsewhere, a serious approach to energy efficiency has many winners - consumers, private firms and governments.
Impact Investing: Does intent matter?
Impact investing in Latin America and the Caribbean was highlighted at the the IDB’s annual meeting in Bahía, Brazil. One of the first sessions of the day began with the story of a loan officer evaluating the credit profile of “Helena” – an intelligent, ambitious student seeking a university loan and representing many others like her in the region. Thanks to a bank loan, "Helena" would have a chance to further her education and strengthen her economic opportunities. But is this impact investing?
Game Changer #1: Renewable energy for a more sustainable future
Seguir a @BIDSecPriv The intersection of energy and sustainability is an issue important to me both professionally and personally. Prior to the IDB’s Annual Meeting, I wrote about the climate change challenges facing Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). Then at the Annual Meeting, I focused on private sector solutions and proposed three game changers.
Bring your own WHAT to class???
Seguir a @BIDSecPriv BYOD, not to be confused with BYOB, stands for Bring Your Own Device and is an emerging trend in education. With the penetration rate of mobile and other devices skyrocketing both globally and in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), many youngsters are simply inseparable from their devices. The number of mobile subscriptions was estimated to reach the seven billion mark in 2013, higher than the human population (Faille & Morrison, 2013).
-
Smart Energy for a Sustainable Future
Seguir a @BIDSecPriv My life began in a small town and has taken me to many fascinating places – Dusseldorf, Caracas, Santiago and Washington, DC, among them. My journey has taught me a lot about sustainability as it relates to both individual lifestyle decisions and business decisions. There are several trends that piqued my interest in energy and sustainability.
-
Three lessons from the German "Mittelstand"
Can Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) be inspired by the the German “Mittelstand”? In Germany, the “Mittelstand,” or small and medium enterprise (SME) sector, is thriving. A conference last week in Stuggart, Germany, hosted by the Federation of German Industries (Bundesverband der Deutschen Industrie e. V.), an umbrella association that represents sector associations, firms and millions of workers, highlighted investment opportunities for SMEs. What I uncovered while participating on the Mittelstand panel were several salient linkages to LAC’s SME and green growth sectors.
