Building a sustainable future: Examining the impact of sustainable management on financial performance, climate innovation, and value creation in essential sectors

Abstract

Sustainable development has become one of the most important global goals of our time. Defined in the Brundtland Report in 1987 as development that meets present needs while safeguarding the capacity of future generations to meet their own, numerous efforts have been made to drive a paradigm shift that balances economic growth, environmental protection and social development. Despite notable progress, the effects of prolonged anthropogenic pressure that has exceeded six of the nine known planetary boundaries are becoming increasingly evident and alarming. This is compounded by a 'polycrisis' scenario, marked by the COVID-19 pandemic, geopolitical conflicts that worsen the scarcity of resources and heighten energy and food security challenges, and the intensification of extreme climatic events. In this context, the need to redirect business efforts towards sustainable objectives can no longer be deferred. Essential sectors, which serve as pillars of economic and social stability, play a central role in this transition. In particular, the biopharmaceutical sector, key in the development of vaccines against COVID-19, alongside the food and beverage sectors and the utilities industry, fundamental to ensuring access to the essential resources addressed by the water-energy-food nexus approach.