Turkey's business leaders want G20 to focus on eco-friendly growth

ISTANBUL

Promoting sustainable and eco-friendly growth should be among the priority issues on the agenda of the next G20 summit, to be held in Turkey, business leaders have said.

A global survey initiated by the Turkish Industry and Business Association (TÜSİAD) to define the private sector’s priorities has also revealed the importance of the fight against corruption, as it shows business leaders think improving anti-corruption efforts should be among the top issues to be discussed at the G20 summit.

As Turkey will take over the G20 presidency in 2015, TÜSİAD commissioned Ernst and Young to conduct the survey among business leaders from six G20 countries (Brazil, France, India, Turkey, the U.K. and the U.S.), with a special focus on the increasing role of emerging markets.

Promoting sustainable and eco-friendly growth, developing human capital and promoting employment appeared as the highest rated priorities in both developed and emerging markets.

Improving anti-corruption efforts and enhancing and better distributing global welfare come in as the third and fourth priorities, yet their relative importance differs to some extent in emerging and developed markets. Fighting against corruption is more applauded in developed markets than in emerging ones, but the latter puts more emphasis on enhancing global welfare.

A difference also appears between emerging and developed markets when it comes to policies to be adopted, which have been placed into two categories: governance and control (G and C), and entrepreneurship and innovation (E and I).

Removing bureaucratic barriers and promoting ease of doing business, which is under the category of G and C, is the highest rated policy. Providing easier access to financing for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) is categorized as E and I.

Assuring transparency and fairness in government procurements and approvals fall under G and C, and supporting renewable energy production, which fall under E and I, are other high-priority policies for the business community.

Emerging markets tend to prioritize policies under the category of G and C, while developed markets emphasize E and I more.