APDay Palm 2023: Building a Sustainable Humanity through Collaboration and Responsibility

On June 14, it took place at the Palau de Congresses in Palma de Mallorca the fourth edition of the APDay Palmthe long-awaited annual meeting in which the best experts share inspiring ideas that allow people and companies pursue a more sustainable humanity. As pointed out in the opening President the APD To dances, Lawrence Fluxon: “Companies are called upon to work responsibly, and that implies having the capacity to adapt, innovate, invest in training and be open to collaboration.” 

Companies are called to work responsibly, and that implies having the capacity to adapt, innovate, invest in training and be open to collaboration.

In the same sense, it was expressed Adrian McNicholl, Director of Clinical Operations at Laminar Pharma, who highlighted the importance of caring for three pillars: caring for people, society and the environment. “Betting on the planet and people, in addition to immense social benefits, can be a highly profitable business model for your talent, your human capital and your investors,” he said.

Planet: Building a more sustainable humanity

According to United Nations figures, more than 400 million tons of plastic are produced annually, and it is estimated that between 19 and 23 million of these tons end up each year in lakes, rivers, and seas. The first APDay round table, moderated by john alba, COO of Adalmo, focused on sustainability and care for the environment, and on the importance of joining efforts between governments, society and companies to face the challenges. In Alba’s words: “it is a matter of putting our creativity and capacity for collaboration at the service of a common purpose: caring for the planet. And in the case of companies, a transformation, an adaptation and even the creation of new business models are necessary”.

You have to know how to use technology to improve things, not to further exploit the sea

Also Pablo Rodriguezenvironmentalist and PhD in Marine Sciences, called for greater institutional and business collaboration on that path towards a more sustainable humanitysince “facing the fight against climate change requires a series of changes at an unprecedented speed and of a magnitude never seen before, and for this reason everyone and all agents are needed.”

One of the great environmental concerns in which the experts agreed is the care of the seas and oceans. Loss and degradation of habitats caused by construction at sea level and by trawling, overfishing, pollution or invasive species, are some of the causes of the degradation of the Mediterranean that pointed out Kike Ballesteros, oceanographer and marine biologist. “You have to know how to use technology to improve things, not to further exploit the sea,” he warned.

Facing the fight against climate change requires a series of changes at an unprecedented speed

For Chisco Garcia, Founder of the 3S Institute and member of the advisory board of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, circularity is definitive in sustainability, and recommended dedicating efforts to think about the end-of-life protocol of products: “we should not put any product on the planet without thinking about how it will end. We must give it a good end of life so that it can be used again in the best possible way or become a truly necessary item”, he assured.

Caring for people, key to business sustainability

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Already in the second round table, focused on caring for people, Sonia OjedaDirector of APD Zona Baleares, recalled the importance of the analysis: “Analyzing the concept of the culture of care we will know where we come from; analyzing the concept of mental health we will know where and how we are; and by analyzing exemplary leadership we will try to find out where we are going”.

The experts agreed that to achieve a more sustainable humanity New leadership is needed that puts the employee at the center of the company’s strategy. According to Elena PerezChief Human Resources & ESG Officer of Hotelbeds: “companies have many challenges in relation to the well-being of mental health and the well-being of people, and we need a lot of dialogue to reach solutions that work for both the organization and the employee” , pointed out at the same time that he demanded a greater humanization of the leader.

The leader of the future must have emotional intelligence, social skills, listening skills, the ability to motivate and know how to communicate

In this sense, he also expressed Ignacio Martinez, Paleontologist and Professor at the University of Alcalá de Henares, who in relation to how the leaders of the future should be, assured that “being a leader is not a trade. Being a boss and being a leader is one thing, but leadership is a capacity, a virtue that helps you lead better. It is a capacity that is acquired and can be formed”.

And to become better leaders…

Doctor of Clinical Psychology, researcher and writer Laura Rojas-Marcos, recommended self-care and learning to make better decisions. And for that he recalled that “the leader of the future must have, above all, emotional intelligence, social skills, listening skills, the ability to motivate and know how to transmit and communicate properly.” “If we share the same values, we are not only going to go faster, we are going to go further”, he concluded.

To close this new edition of APDay, Enrique Sanchez de Leon, General Director of APD, recalled that this is a meeting that wants to talk about the soul of companies and people. And, being convinced that technology will greatly help the progress of humanity, he encouraged us to reflect on what part of our soul we are going to give up in exchange for all these advances.