Discussing sustainable business and the shifting of values in capitalism at the Forum 2000 Conference

Monday 12^th October 2009

As part of the Business and Economy Roundtable series at Laterna Magika, two panel discussions dedicated to the themes of “Shifting Values in Capitalism” and “Sustainable Business” took place over the course of the first working day of the Forum 2000 Conference. Experts and prominent businessmen such as John Zogby, Founder and CEO of Zogby International, Jan Švejnar, Professor of Business and Economics at University of Michigan and Chairman of CERGE-EI or Camilla Schippa, Senior Vice President of Global Peace Index were brought to discuss some of the phenomena of today’s crisis - stricken world from the economic and business perspectives.

Pepper de Callier, Chairman of Bubenik partners and a known columnist and commentator, began the panel on “Shifting Values in Capitalism” by bringing up the issue of the current mistrust people have in business and their general shift towards social responsibility, enquiring whether we are really seeing a shift of values in capitalism and whether this will last. Muriel Anton, CEO of Vodafone Czech Republic, said that in this changing world, many companies are looking at not only profits, but at their people and the planet as a whole. She added that this crisis period is also a “period of testing businesses in terms of whether or not they can keep [corporate responsibility] as part of their fundamental premise.” Frank Lampl, President of Bovis Lend Lease on the other hand stated his belief that globalization caused the degradation of values, and that short-term interests caused no one to react to the crisis in time. John Zogby also discussed the new set of needs for consumers in developed countries, such as mentoring, volunteerism, and “doing it ourselves.”

The panel on “Sustainable Business” addressed the future of sustainable business in Europe an the industrialized world, where sustainability refers to economic, social, and environmental concerns. Having recognized the failures of the current system and the way in which they contributed to the recent economic crisis, the panelists argued that by encouraging progress in areas such as technology, education, regulation and incentives, governments and entrepreneurs could work together to create a sustainable business model. Camilla Schippa emphasized the assets of societies to have a “free flow of information” and education. In addition, by learning more about the impact of one’s actions, businesses will “have broader goals than just profit,” said Jan Švejnar. Although the discussion raised more questions than answers, all of the panelists agreed that the new face of sustainable business would necessitate increased awareness and a focus on risk management and behavioral economy, not just profit maximization.