Interview with Paola Ghillani

swissVR Monitor: Your vision is for a better world through a responsible and sustainable economy. Companies are now focusing less on social responsibility and sustainability and more on artificial intelligence, geopolitics and the drive for cost savings. Why are social responsibility and sustainability taking a back seat?

Paola Ghillani: The world is going crazy and becoming lawless, and we see major investments in weapons of mass destruction, AI and warfare robotics. I’m not sure this is going to be sustainable in the medium to long term if basic human values and ethics are not upheld and integrated into corporate strategies and management. Most of us – and especially the younger generation – are aware of this and want to be acting responsibly. For a company, sustainability is about adding value by balancing economic, social and environmental aspects for a more positive impact in these areas. AI is of course an important tool for companies wishing to be more efficient in terms of sustainability: we can no longer ignore it, and it is growing exponentially. But we are all experiencing it live, in real time, so even experts are not yet able to put the appropriate and necessary ethical guard rails in place to protect humanity.

swissVR Monitor: In our survey of Board members, only a few respondents report that social responsibility and sustainability will be a major focus of their work in 2026. Is the interest in these two issues now over? Or do you see them making a comeback soon?

Paola Ghillani: A responsible Board member sees sustainability as an integrated part of the company’s strategy and management and crucial to ensuring a positive economic, social and environmental impact. And that positive impact means healthy longevity for the company and for future generations. Sustainability is really not about doing good social and environmental things here and there.

swissVR Monitor: But why should Boards insist on responsible and sustainable business practices in their companies even – or especially – in turbulent times such as those we are currently seeing?

Paola Ghillani: We all have to decide whether we want to use our talents and energy to contribute to GDP – what I call the ‘Great Destruction of People’ – or rather to use them to reshape the world into a place where the economy is at the service of life and human development. Health, satisfaction with life and true progress are not just about the growth and productivity dictated by GDP. A responsible and sustainable economy is part of the solution. And a company that puts human values centre stage can avoid the kind of reputational risk that can destroy value in a second: think of Tesla and Elon Musk, for example. Customer and employee trust is crucial to ensuring a company’s sustainability and longevity.

swissVR Monitor: How can Boards ensure that their own company does not lose sight of social responsibility and sustainability in the face of current challenges but continues to push it strategically?

Paola Ghillani: That’s very easy. The Board should make sure that the strategic plans proposed by the C-suite include strategic objectives with measurable KPIs covering not just the usual economic and financial aspects but also the social and environmental ones. This holistic approach, implementing a triple bottom line, enables companies to surpass expected results and ensures that employees are motivated to work for a company that is helping to create a better life on the planet.

swissVR Monitor: Which aspect of social responsibility and sustainability do you see as the main issue facing companies and their Boards in 2026?

Paola Ghillani: As a Board member, I would try to make sure that the company works on two issues: first, investments and/or developments in the field of cleantech, to make the company more autonomous in energy terms and/or to sell cleantech solutions that will help other companies to achieve energy autonomy; and second, investment and/or development in the field of sustainability AI and responsible AI. Sustainability AI includes analysing and processing economic, social and environmental data to enable the company to identify the actions it needs to take to improve both business results and social and environmental impact. It can also support investment decisions in the category of sustainable/responsible investment. Responsible AI means aligning AI, particularly agentic AI development of the company, with global sustainability goals and fostering responsible AI that supports the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as far as possible. Ethical guardrails need to be put in place, and the Board sets the tone from the top and should help to simplify and structure things in an increasingly complex geopolitical context while at the same time protecting the human values that make the company attractive to customers, employees and responsible investors.