LiderCom discusses the implementation of a Racial ESG protocol in Brazil

JP Morgan Executive Director Gilberto Costa is one of the leaders of the initiative, which will be officially launched in September

Social inequality is one of the most crucial challenges of Brazilian society and is deeply related to the racial issue. According to IBGE data from 2016, among the poorest 10% of the Brazilian population, 78.5% are Black (Black and Brown), and 20.8% are White. Among the wealthiest 10%, the situation is reversed: 72.9% are White and 24.8% are Black.

For the executive director of the JP Morgan bank, Gilberto “Giba” Costa, one of the leaders of the Pact for the Promotion of Racial Equity, the topic has been mobilizing the attention of the press and business leadership. During another LiderCom meeting, Giba explained what the Pact is about, its goals, and his role in this initiative involving a vast network of agents in favor of individuals, organizations, and companies taking a leading anti-racism stance.

Association of the Pact for the Promotion of Racial Equity

The Pact for the Promotion of Racial Equity is a non-governmental organization with a high potential for impact in the short, medium, and long term. It aims to change the racial issue in Brazil, structurally and strategically, by creating a racial ESG protocol for Brazil, promoting greater racial equality, centered on improving the quality of public education and professional training. The initiative seeks the voluntary engagement of large Brazilian and global companies.

“ When they presented the initiative to me, what caught my attention was the fact that we had people from the third sector working together with businessmen, executives, and investors,” said Giba. “We are a group of supporters formed by representatives of the Black movement, institutional investors, companies, and civil society organizations.”

According to the executive, to work on the racial issue in Brazil strategically, it is necessary to act based on four pillars: (1) the structural change through racial ESG protocol guidelines; (2) the transformation of the racial issue into an objective and measurable issue, through the Racial Balance Index (IER), which measures how much a company is more or less close to racial equity in the region where it operates; (3) the adoption of affirmative policies aimed at the racial issue, that is, the company must invest in education and culture in the region where it operates; and (4) make a social investment with racial impact. “By committing to these items, the company will be audited annually by entities of the Black movement, to avoid having more advertising than practical actions; companies need to prepare people for them to stay.”

The Pact Council is made up of 13 members, with at least 50% women and representatives of the Black movement, and its president is currently Professor Hélio Santos.

The entity will be officially launched in September when the first meeting will be held so that companies can join without any fee. “The company is committed to the ESG protocol of racial equity, but it is not necessarily necessary to adhere to the index when joining.”