What we can do today and now to build a sustainable tomorrow was the theme announced by Greensavers at its sixth annual conference. Rogério Júnior, the magazine's managing director, welcomed the participants, drawing attention to the turning point we are currently undergoing, a multi-dimensional epochal shift that requires a real transformation in the way we relate to the planet and to the future.

The path begins with the decisions we make today, internalizing that the time for reflection has passed and that the emerging challenges we face demand collective action. In practice, he underlines, "we will have to rethink how we produce, consume, nourish ourselves, move about, and even the way we measure the success of these actions."

In short, we must dare to redefine the concept of progress to "find a balance between growth, well-being and preservation," he argues. And although Portugal has been making progress in water management, energy, and waste management, there is still work to do, combining ambition with realism and tradition with innovation for an integrated view of sustainability based on the motto: "use less and do more."

For Rogério Júnior, ESG has brought a new perspective on the way we view the Economy, where profit is no longer the sole factor of success. And as the ecological footprint continues to exceed what the planet can regenerate, it is urgent that sustainability exit the reports and enter daily routines, as a collective construction, a pact among companies, governments and rigorous academic rigor joined with the commitment and energy of citizens.

Helena Freitas, professor in the area of Biodiversity and Ecology in the Department of Life Sciences at the Faculty of Science and Technology of the University of Coimbra, opened the day's program as keynote speaker, to talk about the major challenges of the ecological transition with planetary-scale impacts: "today we face a deep crisis of living systems in the component of their interaction with life in general, health, food, and the economy itself."

The fact that we, in the present, have a reasonably good knowledge about a large part of the ecosystems, also allows us to gain a deeper awareness of the damage that has been caused to the "natural capital," she continues. Since half of the global GDP relies on the stability of ecosystems, the lecturer has no doubt about the need to ensure that these are functional, by rethinking the type of consumption in the European continent that uses and abuses the resources of the Amazon rainforest, for example. It is, in fact, this intensive and irresponsible extractive logic that has affected tropical forests particularly, so important for biodiversity and for the planet's stability.

Helena Freitas also highlighted the interconnection of ecosystems and how they operate in a causal nexus, from microbial species (which comprise 90% of our genome) to fungi - vital sources in production and many medicines such as antibiotics and antivirals - through pollinating insects, essential agents in fruiting, and other decomposer organisms present in biochemical cycles that preserve functional and natural life.

The collapse of these "strategic services of nature," as the professor notes, due to the "wear of ecosystems at a devastating pace," endangers a legacy of many millions of years. With an average extinction rate of species a thousand times higher than the natural rate, we must empower ourselves to preserve our natural areas and treat it as a priority.

Reminding that despite our relatively short time on Earth, 300,000 years of a journey still young, "we have already caused a brutal impact on the planet," she asserts. And since nothing on the planet exists in isolation, we will have to reconnect with nature, in a harmonious relationship "not only for survival but for humanity," the specialist says, reinforcing the idea that the seed is the most extraordinary embryo of terrestrial ecosystems and that it only germinates and grows if conditions exist for it. Providing conditions for natural restoration is everyone's responsibility, Helena concludes, quoting primatologist and activist Jane Goodall: "contrary to what we think, each one of us counts."

"Decide Today, Ensure Tomorrow"

The morning continued with the panel "Decide Today, Ensure Tomorrow," moderated by Marta Rangel. In this conversation, Julieta Silva (Voltalia) noted that Portugal is recognized in Europe as an example in the area of renewables, a pioneer in implementation and a territory rich in soil, wind, water and essential resources. Notwithstanding the favorable conjuncture, "we are losing the train. We had the conditions to undertake several projects and keep them at the forefront, but public policies of the last years hinder progress, and Spain managed to advance a little further," warns the business developer, "at this rate, we will hardly reach the 2030 targets."

Regarding the role of consumers and companies for a more sustainable future, José Borralho, Chairman & Inspiration Officer of ConsumerChoice, believes that "to act we need to rethink business models, shareholders want profit, but only 3% of entrepreneurs are willing to give it up in favor of more sustainable choices." Moreover, it is mandatory that "brands communicate what they execute" and that the consumer, for his part, aligns his values with the choices he makes in practice.

Marcos Sá, the communications director of EPAL, offers another angle: "I am communicating not to sell because I want to save the resource; at EPAL we deal with a product that is globally scarce, we have to manage it sustainably and with a public service mission," he explains.

And if older generations still have in memory the water failures that afflicted several parts of the country, creating a series of difficulties, "we have to work with the generation starting from 30+; at EPAL we bet on environmental education, we go to schools and to companies, to ministries and institutions, we carry out corporate awareness," he reveals. Marketing and communications campaigns, with the disclosure of the number of liters consumed per capita in Portugal, have borne fruit in changing mindsets and reducing water consumption.

Agriculture continues to claim 70% of the water in the national territory, also "30% water losses on average in the distribution networks," numbers that, although showing some evolution, reveal that there is more ground to cover. The priority, he concludes, "is water for human consumption; everything else can be with recycled water and with more investment."

Followed by an inspirational Green Talk with biologist, chef and founder of Rota das Algas, Joana Duarte, who spoke about the nutritional potential of algae as an alternative to the over-exploitation of other dietary sources.

Rota das Algas, an educational experience in contact with nature

The multitrophic aquaculture, without synthetic fertilizers, with high productivity rates and no need for soil, could constitute a future solution, since algae, in addition to being rich in fiber and with low fat, have a good amount of minerals, vitamins and fatty acids. With 400 species of algae on the Portuguese coast, 95% are edible; the consumption of this trending product requires some moderation, especially for people with thyroid health issues. And because they are an easy-to-cultivate dietary alternative, they are beginning to attract the attention of economic groups, hence it is important to invest in legislation, monitoring and evaluation of sustainability costs from a perspective of more intensive production.

Rota das Algas "provides an educational experience in contact with nature, looking at people as agents of protection. We gain ecological awareness when we know a place; it becomes easier to protect it," notes the biologist, concluding: "people need, more and more, this contact with nature, the reconnection with the tangible environment as opposed to the world they are always seeing through digital windows."

"It Is Not Possible to Achieve Sustainability Without Changing the Economic Model"

After the coffee-break, it was Mário Parra da Silva, president of the Portuguese Association of Business Ethics (APEE), who took the stage with a presentation dedicated to the importance of ethics in corporate decisions.

For the also secretary-general of the United Nations Association, what is at stake is sustainable development, the human impact on nature and what is putting humanity itself at risk: "it is not possible to achieve sustainability without changing the economic model," referring to the fact that large companies are counter to nature due to constant calls for consumption.

Parra da Silva defends the UN's view: "to be competitive within a sustainable development model, rethink how we produce, how we consume water and energy, raw materials and involve the circular economy throughout the production chain." He ends with a warning: "it is necessary to educate for experiences rather than possession. The happiness of having must be replaced by the happiness of being."

"Caring for the Earth in the Name of the Future"

The morning ended with the panel "Caring for the Earth in the Name of the Future," with the presence of Rita Cardoso, climatologist and researcher at the Instituto Dom Luiz, Vasco Silva of WWF Portugal, and Miguel Branquinho, landscape architect and renaturalization specialist at GEOTA. The discussion focused on forest-related themes, such as the predominance of monocultures, the abandonment of rural areas, fire as an integral element of this biome, the conscious management and supervision of the territory, vegetation planning and changes in the landscape.

The session closed by Emília Alves, a business coach who recently released the book "Leading with Purpose -- Regenerative Leadership for a Sustainable Future." The specialist offered strategies for personal and corporate reprogramming to achieve regenerative leadership, based on "values that endure over time and allow us to develop, grow."

Today's managers, the change leaders, "must be flexible, but also adaptable; we cannot act on what we do not know," she stresses, adding that "leadership must provide the resources for things to happen. The mark of a leader is their legacy, made of objectives realized along a path."

"Companies must have solid foundations." Knowing that purpose and meaning are built and reinforced day by day, the business coach, whose work aims to transform leaders and businesses into success, recalls the aforementioned scientist Jane Goodall, who believed that caring is not about domination and that one must have the courage to return to the essential.