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Earth Hour 2025 with Miarakap and WWF: Discovering responsible corporate practices

Posted on 24 March 2025

Since its creation in 2007 by WWF International, “Earth Hour” has become an essential event for nature.

Today, it is the world's largest citizen mobilization for nature, and calls for collective awareness and action in the face of the double crisis of biodiversity loss and climate change.

Companies play a key role in meeting these global challenges. At the heart of economic and social dynamics, they are encouraged to adopt practices that limit their negative impacts, while creating value for society and the environment. Against this backdrop, Miarakap, a blend finance specialist in Madagascar, and WWF joined forces for a panel discussion on responsible business practices. The panel brought together some 60 entrepreneurs, students, associations and institutions to explore the business models of three pioneering Malagasy companies: Basan, Le Complexe and Andao Company. Business models that integrate responsibility and sustainability at the heart of value chains to reconcile socio-economic impact and financial profitability.

Basan, with 75 years of expertise in agriculture, industry and distribution, is fully committed to environmental initiatives. According to Tahina Randriarilala, Director of Sustainable Development, “Faced with the various crises linked to energy, climate and raw materials, it is essential to rethink the business model to go beyond the traditional one”. One example is agriculture, where the effects of climate change, with its changing rainy seasons, water stress and soil erosion, have led the Group to develop resilient and regenerative agriculture.

Le Complexe, a company specializing in collective catering and leader in its field with 14,000 meals prepared every day, considers responsible practices to be a conscious choice. Going beyond legal obligations enables to create added value by seeking and prioritizing sustainability and the positive impact of actions, particularly through waste recovery and solidarity-based hiring.
"These responsible practices are levers of performance and competitiveness, which both transform lives and preserve the planet. We are deeply convinced that these practices have made us the leader we are today" shared Sarah Randriamalandy, Marketing and Sales Director - ESG Manager.

At Andao Company, a young company involved in waste collection and recycling, awareness-raising and citizen mobilization are present throughout the value chain, from collection through processing to the product. “Sustainability is what makes us”, emphasized CEO Zina Raminosona. His speech focused in particular on the challenges and opportunities of responsible practices. Committed company status, which recognizes companies' social commitments and makes them a marketing vector, does not yet exist in Madagascar. Yet such status opens doors to investment and financing opportunities.

The approach to responsible corporate practices is not limited to impact entrepreneurship, but is part of a broader vision, integrating voluntary commitments and sustainable strategies adapted to each business model. The commitment of companies to place responsibility at the heart of their strategy, by adopting sustainable practices, marks a crucial step in the trajectory to halt the loss of biodiversity and climate change, to guarantee a viable future for generations to come.

Supported by the Dutch Fund for Climate and Development (DFCD), this event was a great opportunity to raise awareness and promote sustainable business models that benefit nature, climate and communities, while providing inspiration for other economic players.