Corporate Social Responsibility in Representative Economies of Latin America Kelly Desy Adriana Suarez Carla Ricchetti Deborah Batista Maria Luisa Betancur

OBJECTIVE Analyze how corporate social responsibility can serve as a tool for Latin American countries to reach the Millennium Development Goals Investigate private sector and NGO social initiatives in representative countries in Latin America that aim to improve the wellbeing of the civil society Examine the corporate social responsibility environment in three representative countries of Latin America to find out how these countries can better enable CSR

DEFINING CSR World Bank working definition: “The commitment of business to contribute to sustainable economic development by working with employees, their families, the local community and society at large to improve the quality of life in ways that are both good for business and good for development.” This paper’s guiding definition: “The notion that businesses owe to the society in which they operate a commitment to conduct operations, processes, products and services in a responsible manner that ensures sustainability and positively impacts social and environmental conditions.”

METHODOLOGY Extensive literature review Analysis of 3 different countries in Latin America Level of CSR development Ranking on the 2005 The National Corporate Responsibility Index Interviews with scholars and practitioners in the field who actively participate in CSR efforts around the world Questionnaires to CSR promoting NGOs Extensive analysis of the main stakeholders involved in CSR activities in each country: government, private sector, civil society, universities, NGOs/BINGOs, media and consumers Assessments of economic, political and social data from each of the countries

CSR in BOLIVIA Ranked #80 (out of 83) on the 2005 National Corporate Social Responsibility Index Most prominent CSR private sector actors in the mining and energy sectors Could be compromised with the recent nationalization of the natural gas industry Civil society’s unrest and protests seem to have influenced government nationalization initiatives creating a disconnect between the public and private sectors The government does not seem to be coordinating with either the private sector or Bolivian CSR-focused NGOs, despite having a Ministry of Sustainable Development Consejo Boliviano de Responsabilidad Social Empresaria (COBORSE) National reference in the promotion and diffusion of the culture and practice of CSR in Bolivia in order to support sustainable development Bolivia is now Latin America’s leader in certified timber products. Forestry law established strict social and environmental harvesting conditions Sociedad Boliviana de Cemento (SOBOCE) CSR program focused on local capacity building in ecotourism enterprise and community support

CSR in COLOMBIA Ranked 56 out of 83 countries on the 2005 National Corporate Social Responsibility Index Philanthropy is still the most prevalent form of private involvement in social initiatives The concept of CSR has evolved into CSR activity has focused on conflict resolution and violence abatement due to Colombia’s civil war

CSR in BRAZIL Few specific CSR-promoting regulations and incentives Government weak involvement as a player Strong participation of the private sector in CSR activities/projects Midia – learning process Positive influence of Instituto Ethos and other NGOs/associations Consumer – increasing awareness

FINDINGS CSR is a voluntary practice Philanthropy is the most common form of CSR CSR initiatives are concentrated in certain areas of the country The media has a large and powerful presence The NGOs working to promote CSR primarily collaborate with the private sector General lack of accountability and nationally accepted CSR compliance measures Lack of government participation in creating a CSR-enabling environment

CONCLUSIONS Each country has its own particularities in terms of CSR implementation CSR activities - tailored to social and economic features unique to each country Government has a key role to play in creating CSR -enabling environments Partnerships between multiple stakeholders

RECOMMENDATIONS NGO assistance and consulting encourage private corporations to follow CSR practices and to institutionalize them in their business strategies and to create a sense of voluntary good corporate citizenship Reciprocal effort on behalf of the government to adopt socially responsible behavior and programs while setting up mechanisms for ensuring compliance through greater transparency, better record keeping, and monitoring is essential for enabling CSR The government should include CSR into a formal national strategy aligning public policy with current CSR initiatives to synchronize efforts between private, public, and civil sector actors to better achieve development goals Media should be utilized as the voice of the civil society’s reactions to business and government involvement in CSR. Media should also serve as a vehicle for the private sector and government to communicate CSR actions and practices to the civil society

CONCLUSION “CSR could be an effective policy instrument to combat high levels of inequality, poverty, inadequacies in education and to help the government achieve its social and economic development goals, especially in Latin America, where countries deal with a wide range of social and environmental issues and have tight budgets”