Doing Business with the World - Mapeo de Promotores de RSE

Doing business with the worldMultinational companies based in Europe, North America,Japan and other “developed” areas face a very realchallenge. They cannot continue to do business only intraditional markets that are stagnating and shrinking, at leastin relative terms. They recognize that business should flow toareas where populations are growing, and especially in areaswhere both populations and economies are growing, inorder to enhance its sustainability.This led the Council to organize around the issue of base-ofthe-pyramid,or pro-poor, business – doing business with thepoor in ways that are profitable, and thus potentiallygrowable without limit, but also that help people create theirown “sustainable livelihoods”. Or put another way, todemonstrate that globalization can be more inclusive. Itseemed to many members a good time to get involved insuch business projects, because:Framework conditions in developing countries areimproving (more on this below). Many developingnations are improving governance, legal structures andinvestment infrastructure.Lower communications and transportation costs allowmore geographically dispersed production and sales.Public expectations of corporations are changing, ascommunities and civil society increasingly expectcompanies to address societal issues in the process ofdoing business.New, and better, partners are available. Not too longago, many not-for-profits, NGOs, foundations, citizens’groups and multilateral organizations were not interestedin working with business. Today, many of these groupswant to help companies operate in poor countries andpoor neighborhoods. They also understand howcompanies can help them realize their own goals, such asimproved sanitation, water supply, healthcare, housingand business opportunities in the developing world.The members of the Development Focus Area at the WBCSDare working to: Develop suppliers from low-income communities in thecountries in which they operate, thereby buildingcapacity, generating employment and bringing smallbusinesses into the formal economy; Develop innovative and affordable products and servicesthat improve the overall quality of life of the low-incomesegment; Provide and operate basic services such as water,sanitation, energy, housing, healthcare andcommunications services to improve access and socialwell-being; Bring others together to improve the investment climate,including dealing with corruption, and improve overallhealth and education levels in the developing world.Business can provide the resources and technologies that goa long way towards eradicating poverty. This has been thetraditional role of business in the developed world.Governments too have an important role: first, establishingframework conditions to allow businesses – small and large,local and multinational – to accomplish this task, and thenestablishing policies that use these new resources to helppeople create their own sustainable livelihoods.The pages that follow offer a business perspectiveon some of the key challenges and opportunitiesinherent in doing business in ways that bringsustainable development to all. The selected issuesare not exhaustive, but have been chosen to reflectboth traditional areas for development actors andbusiness respectively. A further, web-based datasource covering additional topics is also available(www.wbcsd.org/web/doingbiz.htm). By touchingboth bases we hope to illustrate how business canengage in the generation of profits and thepromotion of human progress.7