{"id":2108,"date":"2021-03-12T17:00:32","date_gmt":"2021-03-12T17:00:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.uantwerpen.be\/business-economics\/?p=2108"},"modified":"2021-03-13T12:54:26","modified_gmt":"2021-03-13T12:54:26","slug":"ceo-debate-international-week-sustainability","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.uantwerpen.be\/business-economics\/ceo-debate-international-week-sustainability\/","title":{"rendered":"“Antwerp is really a place where you can innovate in a sustainable way”| Wrap-up of the CEO debate during the International Week on Sustainability 2021"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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To finish the 8th edition of our International Week on Sustainability, the Faculty of Business and Economics organised an online CEO debate with 5 captains of industry,\u00a0<\/b><\/span>for the participating students of the I-Week 2021 (coming from 24 different nationalities and 4 different continents).<\/span><\/p>

\"Herman
Prof. Herman Van Goethem<\/figcaption><\/figure>

During his introduction\u00a0prof. Herman Van Goethem<\/a>\u00a0(Rector of University of Antwerp) highlighted the importance of the reflection about how the world should look like tomorrow. He also expressed his appreciation for\u00a0prof. Rudy Martens<\/a>: \u201cRudy Martens was a passionate visionary when he set up this course on sustainability in 2014. I hope that all the international students who are participating today have a \u2018Rudy Martens\u2019 at their university, who helps them reflect and debate on the issues of tomorrow.\u201d<\/span><\/p>

Prof. Luc Van Liedekerke<\/a> was the moderator of the CEO debate: \u201cIt is really important that CEOs talk directly to students.”<\/span><\/p>

The students who were participating in the I-Week 2021 could submit questions in advance.<\/span><\/p>

Does the Covid-19 situation make it harder for companies to pursue their environmental sustainability goals?<\/span><\/h2>
\"Marie
Marie Delvaulx<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Marie Delvaulx<\/a> (Network director at The Shift)<\/span>: \u201cNo, <\/span>Covid doesn\u2019t stop the drive to accelerate sustainability. <\/span>We need to act even faster. We argued for many years about why sustainability was needed. That is no longer an issue. Now, it is time to talk on how we should do this. And how we can accelerate it. Of course, many companies are experiencing difficulties in surviving financially, but the <\/span>crisis had let many organizations to rethink their business and sustainability. Partnerships and co-creation are opportunities given by the corona crisis.<\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/p>

UAntwerp alumnus Jacques Vandermeiren<\/a> (CEO at Port of Antwerp Bruges): \u201cSustainability is more than ever important in the strategy and the heart of companies. Covid will accelerate the train to more sustainability in Europe. For our port community and the chemical industry, now is the moment to make the transition to make a more sustainable industry. When I look around at the port of Antwerp, I see great cooperation recently. The sustainability agenda is more important than ever, everywhere.\u201d<\/span><\/p>

\u00a0<\/div>

Do you think the bonuses of CEO’s (which are very high) are in line with a sustainable world? Do you think it will change soon?<\/h2>
\"Thomas
Thomas Leysen<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Thomas Leysen<\/a> (Chairman of Umicore and Mediahuis): \u201cI don\u2019t think bonuses cannot be matched with sustainability. The targets have to be right, that\u2019s key. You have to make sure that the reward system is well designed and that it rewards the right things. Long term financial performance results must be measured instead of financial short-term results. Also remuneration targets for non-financial indicators have to be set up, like strategic parameters and stakeholder satisfaction.\u201d<\/p>

Do you think that customers will be more inclined in the future to shop local (\u2018support your locals\u2019) after the corona crisis or have people become even more used to shopping online?<\/h2>
\"Wouter
Wouter Torfs<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Wouter Torfs<\/a> (CEO at Schoenen Torfs): \u201cI totally agree that there is a tension between the digitalisation of the economy, and the fact that people are buying from abroad. Covid has accelerated that evolution. Our shops were closed for three months in 2020. That meant a big loss for our company. At that moment, people had to buy their stuff on the internet. But the minority realizes that if you buy something at big internet companies like Zalando and Amazon, there are no taxes paid in Belgium and no jobs are created in our region. That is the reason why I started the campaign \u2018#kooplokaal\u2019 with some other Belgian retailers. On the level of consciousness, the message was understood. There was also a lot of attention in the Belgian press for the campaign. But we still noticed that there is a large spread between the politically correct citizen (who says \u201dyes, I should buy local\u201d) and the economic customer who still looks for the lowest price online. Some customers still seem to underestimate the impact of a shorter supply chain on their carbon footprint.\u201d<\/p>

What was for BASF the hardest obstacle you had to overcome when integrating water circularity in your company? (Quality regulations, costs, …?)<\/h2>

Jan Remeysen<\/a> (CEO at BASF Antwerp): \u201cThe driving force in sustainability is a balance between costs and ecology. To produce more ecologically, can at the same time be better for your financial position, as well as for the climate. It is not a black or white story. You have to focus on the financial, social and ecological position of your company.\u201d<\/p>

The Port of Antwerp, for example, is located on borders of protected natural areas or residential areas. How do companies deal with this constraint while there is an increase in e-commerce, globalization and expansion? (Did COVID-19 have an effect on this trade-off?)<\/h2>

Jacques Vandermeiren<\/strong>: \u201cWe have to find a balance. Luckily for us, many employees of the Port of Antwerp live nearby, therefore the region knows the value of the port also in terms of employment. It is a real challenge to develop a sustainability growth agenda in this country. In Bruges, there is a little bit more space to grow than in Antwerp. In general, our country is already very dense. Not only for a port it is difficult to expand, it is also complex to build soccer stadiums, shopping centers and even wind turbines. In Belgium, open communication and stakeholder involvement are very important. We involve our stakeholders from day one in an open discussion.\u201d<\/p>

How do you stimulate your employees to act greener? (Going to work by bike, no plastic bottles at work,…)<\/h2>

Marie Delvaulx<\/strong>: \u201cIt is important that your employees understand why a company is working on sustainability. You have to make it very concrete and invite them to discover on how the can contribute themselves. When your employees have the feeling to be part of the change, they will be your best ambassadors.\u201d<\/p>

Wouter Torfs<\/strong>: \u201cFor example, we adjusted our car policy this year: those colleagues who still want a company car can only choose from electric cars. In addition, we launched a programme with electric bikes. We know that most of the store vendors live less than 10 minutes from the store, they can come by bike without any problem.\u201d<\/p>

Jan Remeysen<\/strong>: \u201cAt BASF, we almost copied Wouters idea. Biking is good for the health of our employees. Besides, everyone knows in the Antwerp region it’s not a bad idea to do things by bike.\u201d<\/p>

Jacques Vandermeiren<\/strong>: \u201cAt the port, we had a lot of workshops on what sustainability means for us as team. We used the Sustainable Development Goals. To give an example: we collected old computers from our employees, cleaned them and donated them to schools. That is a concrete action on how we implement one of the SDG\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>

We all know that sustainability costs money for the firm, how do you compete with companies that don\u2019t invest in it and can produce cheaper?\u00a0<\/h2>
\"Jan
Jan Remeysen<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Jan Remeysen<\/strong>: \u201cIt is a challenge. We should not generalise, saying that China is not engaged in sustainability. For example, China sells more electric cars in percentage terms than Europe. However, in some sectors and domains, regulation and policies in China (and other places in the world) are less strict.\u00a0In that case, you can do two things:<\/p>