Ecology is the theme of the last encyclical published by Pope Francis. The subject began to take prominence in the Decade of 1970, mainly in the Stockholm Convention, in 1972, when the subject was treated exclusively by academic area. 20 years later, the ECO 92 amplified the issue and Governments around the world began to pay attention to the need for more environmentally friendly relations with nature and the human being itself.
In 2012, the Rio+20 brought new debates on the subject, this time with wide participation of civil society. In his encyclical Francis points out “the political submission before technology and finances shows itself the failure of the global meetings”, said the Pope.
Professor of the Social Communication Department at PUC-Rio, Maria Isabel Monteiro Barreto, addresses this theme in her completion of course work (MBA in People Management) “Human Skills for Sustainability” presented at IAG-Business School / PUC-Rio and states that ecology is not only a problem but a process that has to be lived from the inside out in order to achieve the necessary transformation to then reach the level that society needs.
The research deals with how the ecology is associated with companies, pointed to by the Pontiff as cause the problematic. Discussions based on Social Responsibility actions, awareness on the use of natural resources and recycling does not cover the key stakeholders and also transformers agents. Businesses need environmentally friendly relations with their human resources, since they are inserted into this process and integrate society, which is the main interested in changes in ecology for a healthier planet.
The Vision 2050 Report, developed by 29 global companies associated with the World Business Council For Sustainable Development (WBCSD) presents solutions to replace the current model of development, to one based on balanced use of renewable resources, on recycled of are not and also on involvement and articulation between corporations, Governments and civil society, in order to establish a gradual global awareness about sustainability. For the researcher, “the effective change to implement true sustainability concept, this new paradigm, it will only occur when people go within and act in a conscious and definitive way.”, she said.