By Alyaa Natasha Azhar
KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 14 (Bernama) -- Businesses need to integrate nature into their business models and prioritise long-term societal impact over short-term financial returns to achieve sustainable prosperity, said World Economic Forum (WEF) board of trustees Co-Chair André Hoffmann.
Hoffmann, who is also vice-chairman of Roche Holding AG, said the existing capitalist model, which focuses on maximising short-term shareholder returns, is showing its limits.
"Now we know. We have reached planetary boundaries, as Johan Rockström explained yesterday, and there is a cost to using these natural resources. So if you really want to create prosperity as we have at the moment, to maintain that prosperity, we're going to have to look at not only planetary boundaries, but also we're going to have to look to reintroduce nature into the way we do business. And that's really the key of this," he told Bernama on the sidelines of the Global Tipping Points Conference 2026 here today.
Hoffmann warned that focusing exclusively on short-term financial gains while neglecting natural and social capital could create an inherently unstable system. He said businesses needed to assess their impact on human, natural and social capital, and understand how the three were interdependent in managing risks and generating produced capital.
"How do we understand how to navigate these three capitals in the least risky way for producing the produced capital, which is the one we measure. And I think for me, I could turn that around ,and when people tell me we can't afford it, I would say you cannot afford to not afford it. You cannot afford to ignore it because your business is in danger if you only look at tomorrow and not the day after tomorrow," he said.
Addressing fast-growing ASEAN economies like Malaysia, Hoffmann advocated for a transition away from linear economies towards circular and regenerative models. He said the region's rapid growth offered an opportunity to learn from mistakes made elsewhere, adding that countries needed to regenerate nature rather than focus solely on resource exploitation.
"The beauty of coming to countries where there is high growth is that we can try to avoid the mistakes that were made somewhere else and focus just on exploitation. Indeed, if we want to be successful, we need to learn to regenerate. We need to be able to give back more than we take," he continued.
On the global backlash against Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) criteria, Hoffmann acknowledged that reporting requirements had become a burden for some entrepreneurs but stressed the importance of incorporating ESG considerations more sincerely and competently.
He also called for stronger public-private partnerships and appropriate regulatory frameworks to enable businesses to create value for society while supporting entrepreneurship. He said business success should be measured by its contribution to society rather than financial gains alone. “We need to redefine success. Success is not a full bank account, nor is it a growing dividend all the time. Success is a positive contribution to society,” he added.
-- BERNAMA