The Action 2020 Hungary program is the Hungarian adaptation of the global Action 2020 program of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development – WBCSD.
The Action 2020 Hungary program has multifold effects.
Sustainability is not only fostered through the identified business solutions and the results of the practices of member companies, but through the process of the program itself which is based on dialogue, shared thinking, scaling up and continuously challenging ‘business as usual’.
In 2014, BCSDH worked on adapting this program to local conditions. The following process chart describes the most important steps of this process.
Currently, the Hungarian process is a world-first, as players from the business sector have initiated proactive and forward-looking forms of cooperation with well-known scientific and NGO experts to establish national-level sustainability objectives. Even the process of participation is exemplary, bringing about important sustainability benefits, not to mention the significance of the issues that have been raised: the business integration of macro-level risks, impact measurement and the search for solutions that go beyond ‘business as usual’.
Dr. László Pintér, docent at the Environmental Science and Policies Faculty of Central European University (CEU) and Head Associate of the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD)
The Action 2020 Hungary program is harmonized with the global, European Union and national strategic objectives – the source reference of data and trends used is available on the sub-page of each focus area.
Hereby, we wish to thank all experts representing NGOs, science and corporates, as well as the top leaders of companies for their active contribution to the program of Action 2020 Hungary. List of scientific and civil experts participated in the process of Action 2020 Hungary.
Background of the program
Action 2020 is WBCSD Vision 2050 one of the business sector’s platforms for action and contributes to the Vision 2050 of WBCSD.
Vision 2050’s long-term perspective frames the short term societal must-haves and strategic goals of Action 2020. In contributing to these goals, business solutions are identified and concrete action is taken on the path to sustainable development.
800 acknowledged scientists and researchers were involved in the global program and nine priority areas were identified, from which five were selected for the Action 2020 Hungary program: Food and Feed, Sustainable Lifestyles, Employment, Climate Change and Water. More than 100 scientific and civil experts and business CEOs actively contributed to defining the goals for Hungary.
The nine priorities and global aims of the WBCSD program were created so that regional network partners, together with their member companies and with independent scientific and civil experts, can tailor the program to their country’s needs. This is necessary because of the local circumstances, risks, challenges, cultural differences and because of local business opportunities. In 2014, BCSDH worked on adapting this programme to local conditions..
During the localization phase of the program and while setting the targets for Hungary we mainly considered the following factors:
• the need to align targets with pre-existing national strategic goals, and/or
• common scientific agreements that have identified problems or goals, and
• ensuring that the contribution of business sectors to these areas will be potentially significant.
The program is unique, as after the facts, trends and goals were discussed by scientific and civil experts they were aligned with the potential contributions of the business sector through discussion with CEOs. The process resulted in the Action 2020 Hungary goals, as articulated by BCSDH, that integrate sustainable development features and incorporate stakeholders’ opinions and expectations.
Data provided in the ’facts and goals’ section were taken from publicly-available, official, credible, international and Hungarian sources. A list of these sources is available on the sub-page of each focus area.
Sponsors of the Action 2020 Hungary program in 2019:
