Align brands with SDGs: Experts at Sustainability Summit

Bangladesh Innovation Conclave initiated the Sustainability Summit 2024 was held at a city hotel yesterday with a call to align brands and business practices with the sustainable development goals (SDGs).

Bringing together brands, industry leaders, and experts to discuss and exchange ideas on the sustainability agenda in business, the summit also awarded several businesses for their sustainability commitments.

"Sustainability is not charity, it has business cases," said Unilever Bangladesh Chairman and Managing Director Zaved Akhtar in his keynote.

Akhtar, also the president of the Foreign Investors' Chamber of Commerce and Industry, shared insights on why sustainability is critical for Bangladeshi businesses and how they should pursue it.  

As the world is increasingly looking for sustainability, Bangladeshi exporters cannot afford any slack or delay in embracing sustainability, he added.

Bangladesh Innovation Conclave founder Shariful Islam said, "Not just discussing sustainability as a concept, but as a practice that must be embedded into the DNA of every brand and organisation."

AkijBashir Group Chairman Bashiruddin Ahmed presented the case study of his ventures' sustainability moves for a better future of the businesses themselves and all the stakeholders.

For instance, investing in technologies to reduce water consumption in manufacturing plants by 80%, or setting up 12 megawatts of solar power capacity to run its gigantic jute mills, or recycling plastics, everything proved to be strengthening the businesses, according to the entrepreneur.

During a panel discussion "Why Bangladeshi Businesses Should Embrace Sustainability for the Future World," East West University Faculty of Business and Economics Dean Professor AK Enamul Haque said Bangladesh, due to its population density, is far ahead of the neighbouring countries in terms of output per acre and using similar technologies results in comparatively higher pollution per acre.

Quicker adoption of sustainability is the way out, he suggested, adding that the country should not eye technology purchases, instead it should invest in research and development for future edges.

Representatives of the academia, businesses, financial institutions, corporate executives and professionals discussed hands-on experiences with implementing SGD, common challenges and major questions related to SGD. Also, collaboration opportunities and their potential impact on brands were explored alongside emerging SDG trends.

AkijBashir Group was the title sponsor of Sustainability Summit 2024 which was held in association with Intellier Limited and The Daily Star. The International Advertising Association Bangladesh, the Asia Marketing Federation, and the Marketing Society of Bangladesh were in collaboration with the event.