Green Companies Must Also Strive to be Inclusive, Says Victor Pineda

“My personal journey is really about inclusion,” announced Victor Pineda. Speaking during the annual Sustainable Brands conference in Detroit, Pineda, an internationally renowned advocate for human rights, made the case that companies who want to embrace the ethical standard of green business should include everyone in their business plan.

“Brands can be regenerative. They can be responsive and radical,” he said. “I think brands can embrace all of us. They can give us a feeling of belonging.”

The call was a unique one in the conference, whose theme of “redefining the good life” has attracted a broad spectrum of topics related not only to sustainability but to quality of life, as aided by consumer products.

Pineda claimed that a truly successful brand will try to be responsive to all people. This, he asserted, does the dual work of expanding one’s business while providing a sense of inclusion for consumers who otherwise may have felt left out.

He went on to describe his quest for self-discovery as someone who didn’t fit society’s norm and how he came to the conclusion that companies are an incredible force for changing the status quo.

“We have to recreate these systems…Let’s not miss out on the capacity of the disabled…Let’s embrace the human condition,” Pineda said. “Being human is about finding strength together.”