by Roberto Salas, GrupoNueva’s Chief Executive Office and General Manager of MASISA
Nowadays, sustainability in the business environment must be seen as an opportunity for companies. These companies must get involved inside the economic, social and environmental trends offering opportunities through:
- Business management innovation and efficiency.
- Commitment and participation inside the social issues that affect our end markets.
- Implement a responsible environmental management as part of the the business strategy
GrupoNueva is an investment holding company, specialized in the business of forestry and wood derivatives, creating sustainable value for its stakeholders through its triple bottom line approach.
GrupoNueva is the controlling shareholder of the multinational corporation Masisa S.A., one of the leading companies in Latin America in the wood boards for furniture and interior architecture business, who has 12 industrial complexes in Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Venezuela and Mexico, and more than 242 thousand hectares of planted forest in the region.
MASISA is committed to managing its business in a sustainable way, incorporating social and environmental variables as an integral part of its business strategy. The Company’s strong commitment to sustainable development has led to its market differentiation due to its responsible management of social and environmental issues.
External certifications and the use of the Sustainability Scorecard (SSC), which is the application of the Balanced Scorecard tool to the Triple Bottom Line approach, enable us to manage and systematically integrate to the business strategy the social and environmental issues.
MASISA’s road to leadership is the path it follows to be leader of sustainable development in the region. The path starts with the “basic management level,” i.e., make sure that the Company complies with legislation in the countries where it operates and therefore obtain government authorization to operate, but more important, Masisa secures and maintains a social license to operate based on dialogue and consultation with its stakeholders, in consistency with its Triple Bottom line culture.
This leadership model also entails identifying operating risks and impacts, detecting future trends, and seeking business opportunities to contribute resolving social or environmental problems.
The last stage of Masisa’s sustainability strategy is to attain a leading position within this industry on two issues that impact its business: Climate Change and Inclusive Business.
About Inclusive Business, MASISA seeks to promote businesses that offer opportunities to improve the quality of life of low-income sectors and that, in turn, improve the Company’s profitability.
According to Masisa`s core business, the company has decided to implement an ambitious project to develop small and medium size carpenters, improving their skills, at the same time that create a new direct relationship with their customers .
Nowadays, following the trends of sustainability in the world, MASISA gave another step ahead and started working with a green building approach, offering ecological products and services that improve life quality for millions of consumers promoting and more energy efficient and environmentally friendly way of constructing.
In summary, the new role beyond the traditional is that companies should be seen as part of the solution to the problems facing society, and not just as part of the problem, using their capabilities and resources. The leading companies in the world are already doing!