Bertrand Badré, former managing director of the World Bank and current CEO of the fund “Blue like an Orange Sustainable Capital” defines himself as “a climate lover, promoter of a fair and sustainable economy and a financier”. He is known for his commitment to finance and sustainable growth. One illustration of this dual engagement is its investment fund whose purpose is to deliver market-level financial returns whilst at the same time achieve credible, sustainable development outcomes. This fund is the empirical achievement of his desire to change the economic model.
Bertrand Badré has been writing for several years, and his books reflect his commitments. In “Money Honnie: si la finance sauvait le monde”, prefaced by Emmanuel Macron and Gordon Brown, he demonstrates that finance can and must serve the common good. Still on this theme and adapting to the current context, Bertrand Badré published “Voulons-nous (sérieusement) changer le monde?” on September 11th, 2020. (In it), he tries to rethink the world and finance after the Covid-19 crisis. He is accustomed to times of crisis since he already held the position of Chief Financial Officer of Crédit Agricole during the financial crisis of 2008. He claims that it is necessary to question the dominant paradigm of profit-seeking companies led by Milton Friedman. His approach is part of a long-term process to achieve an economy based on sustainable development. All the crises we are going through are creating new challenges that need to be urgently addressed. Bertrand Badré wants to seize “the last chance” to achieve a sustainable and resilient future. But to do so, the rules and the system must change, as he argues: “Human Beings and the Planet must be put at the heart of the economic equation”. Plus, he is convinced that one of the solutions to the world’s problems could be finance. This is why he tries to make people understand that today this field has changed and must become a means to an end. One certainty is that we must take advantage of the current pandemic to do what we were unable or unwilling to do during the last crisis.
A great and sustainable future is not certain. Therefore, we must take every possible precaution to avoid further depletion of resources. Bertrand Badré is convinced that it is the responsibility of everyone, workers, entrepreneurs, consumers, to participate in the creation of a more sustainable world. But finance will also play a major role in this process. In his words: “Let’s revolutionise the current economic and financial system to avoid a real revolution”.
Ninon Paulissen
