Rhodes is a beautiful Greek island with a lot of history and culture. Every year, thousands of tourists vacation on Rhodes. I also traveled to Rhodes with my family in 2023. We were drawn to Rhodes not only by its history and culture, but above all by the option of starting spring a little earlier in Greece than is possible in Germany. We were thus attracted by the Greek food, the breathtaking beaches and, at the time of our trip, above all the weather.
For me, it is always important on every trip that I learn something for my daily business. What did I learn for my business in this context during the trip to Rhodes? In summary, I gained many impressions about sustainability in practice and saw how far we often are from theory. I will try to explain below what sustainability has to do with banking & finance.
Dirt on the Beach of Rhodes Endangers Flora and Fauna
Plastic pollutes the oceans, harms wildlife, and microplastics can also be harmful to humans, or so researchers suspect. Microplastics are created by the breakdown of large plastic parts into tiny particles, which then enter the environment. Microplastics are now found in water, soil, air and even in the human food chain. Interesting in this context is the podcast episode “Successes in collecting plastic waste from the sea” .
I also had an interesting conversation about Rhodes in terms of history, culture, economy and environment with Marios Pieri, owner of the Vergina Sun Hotel in Faliraki. Outside of the season, typically from May to October, regular cleaning campaigns take place. The locals collect garbage on the beaches and try to protect their home in this way. However, you can also see in many places that this is a seemingly endless task, because garbage still dominates on some beaches in Rhodes.
Prasonisi Beach – Vacation on Rhodes in the Garbage
Source: Own photo
It is Sustainable if Everyone Reduces Waste – not Only on Vacation in Rhodes
From the conversation with Marios Pieri, I learned a lot about the actions of the locals to get rid of the garbage, but in the further course of the trip I was also surprised about many things. Because everyone can contribute to ensuring that not so much waste is produced in the first place. Mike Berners-Lee explains in his book “How bad are bananas?”* quite vividly how we leave a CO₂ footprint in everyday life. Waste is a particularly critical issue. We all produce waste knowingly or unknowingly. I myself was shocked by a photo in my photo library from my vacation on Rhodes. Actually, you only want the best for your child, but especially with toys it sometimes has to be cheap, because the little ones don’t play with it for long and it doesn’t fit in the suitcase either. Everything made of plastic – good in the sense of sustainable is different!
Children’s Toys in Retail on Rhodes
Source: Own photo
Reduce Consumption of Disposable Plastic
I was amazed not only by the children’s toys on Rhodes! While plastic bags and plastic straws have largely disappeared from retail and gastronomy in Germany, the following image remains symbolically in my memory of my vacation on Rhodes.
Coffee is drunk on Rhodes almost exclusively as Coffee2Go in paper cups with plastic lids. In addition, the plastic straw is obligatory, as Greek coffee is otherwise difficult to drink. at least that’s the opinion of a café owner in Faliraki on Rhodes. But unfortunately not an isolated case but the rule …
Greek Coffee on the Beach in a Paper Cup with a Plastic Straw
Source: Own photo
Sustainability Has many Facets and is therefore Complex
Individual measures alone are not enough to change the world and stop climate change. Nevertheless, they can make a positive contribution and serve as a role model for others to bring about greater changes together. An example of this is the automotive industry, where clear differences between Greece and Germany were seen, especially on vacation on Rhodes.
In general, cars in Greece have a higher average age structure compared to Germany. Which is probably also partly due to economic and financial reasons, as not everyone seems to be able to buy a new car regularly. In conversation with Marios Pieri, I became aware once again that the people on Rhodes have an average lower income than many people in the rest of Europe and many cannot work at all in winter.
What does that have to do with sustainability? Not generally considered, but specifically on Rhodes and the people living there, I asked myself whether it is more sustainable to use a car for a long time or to buy a new one. There is no clear “right” or “wrong” with regard to this question, as it depends on various individual factors. New cars are more efficient in terms of fuel consumption due to technological advances. However, a longer service life of a car can generally help to reduce resource consumption and the environmental impact overall. Perhaps it is therefore better for the prosperity of the island of Rhodes if cars are driven there longer: Because cars are not produced there, but they are maintained there. This is good for the income of the people living there as well as for the environment.
Old Cars on Rhodes in Daily Use (Mercedes-Benz L 1113 Built until 1984)
Source: Own photo
Forest Fires Destroy Habitats
In 2021, there was a heat wave of historic proportions with up to 50 degrees during the day and 30 degrees at night on Rhodes. This resulted in devastating forest fires and tourists had to be evacuated on vacation on Rhodes. The major fire got out of control and destroyed a lot of nature on the island.
Around “Farma of Rhodes Petting Zoo” you could still see the extent well two years later. It was interesting how the petting zoo was able to save most of its animals and it was amazing with how much commitment everything was rebuilt and a great experience for the visitors was created. With a visit you can certainly make a small individual contribution to the future of Rhodes and it is certainly a good alternative to further children’s toys made of plastic for your own children.
Traces of the 2021 Forest Fire in the Petting Zoo on Rhodes
Source: Own photo
I also noticed positively the use of reusable drinking cups in the Labranda Blue Bay Resort on Rhodes*. Even if the system with the reusable cups was not yet thought through to the last detail during our stay, it was at least a commendable step in the right direction.
And what does all this have to do with banking & finance and personal finances? To put it in a nutshell: Sustainability can no longer be ignored in a strategic asset allocation in the long term, because otherwise a portfolio cannot be built robustly for the future.
Sustainability Has a Positive Long-Term Impact on Corporate Valuation
Companies and the individuals behind them who are concerned with sustainability today will also benefit positively from it in the long term. Among other things, the current study “Corporate collaborations, decarbonization and equity value creation” by Carolin Schellhorn shows that sustainable management will have a particularly positive impact on the valuation of shares. Decarbonization will have a positive impact on the forecast of future cash flows. The effect on debt capital will not be as strong at first. Accordingly, the performance of those companies that strategically deal with sustainable action will probably develop significantly better.
Own Research in the Thematic Context – Sustainability in Corporate Practice
While the colleagues were concerned with the evaluation of sustainably acting companies, I was more concerned with the question of how one must position oneself from a corporate perspective with colleagues in the study “Inclusive Measurement of Public Perception of Corporate Low-Carbon Ambitions: Analysis of Strategic Positioning for Sustainable Development Using Natural Language Processing”. We already assumed that the topic of sustainability is becoming more important and therefore dealt with how those responsible must publicly place sustainable topics.
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