UN official: corporate sustainability is vital for business

Corporate sustainability is important for business and should be accounted for in PR and corporate responsibility budgets, stated Samir Mammadov, Country Manager of the UN Global Compact program, at the ministerial roundtable held within the framework of the 13th session of the World Urban Forum (WUF13) in Baku.

"We should not look at sustainability as something we will deal with sooner or later. Otherwise, it will pass us by as a missed opportunity. If we don't ride this wave, it will later become a market norm, and we won't be in a position to benefit from it. I by no means deny individual responsibility. It certainly exists. But corporate sustainability for business should be in profit and loss statements, not in presentations," he noted.

The guest added that his expectation from WUF13 is related to greater involvement of the private sector in the processes: "In fact, this is already happening and I can see it. The investors, CEOs, and CFOs who are here today and throughout this week will leave understanding how they will benefit from these conversations, new ideas, and how they will advance this further in the business community. They should ensure that the business community, again, views this as something other than a risk of missed opportunity."