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3.2 WorkplaceThe CSR workplace area is not perceived, by SMEs,as relevant for the survival and competitiveness oftheir business in the short term, mainly because ofthe high level of unemployment and informalemployment. However, they think that in the longtermworkplace issues, such as employment policies,child labor rights, health and safety norms, genderpolicies and compliance may affect both SMEcompetitiveness and Colombian economic growth.While the development of activities in theworkplace area, aimed at improving conditions foremployees, has not yet begun in Colombian SMEs,it has begun in other types of organizations such aslarge companies, financial institutions and stateorganizations that are already engaged in humanrights campaigns and in better workplace practices.The efforts of these organizations serve as anexample for society and the organizations often tryto engage SMEs in their programs.Since November 2004, the Government ofColombia has continued to advance the social andlabor agendas. In addition to carrying out actionssupported by the Labor Reform and a SocialDevelopment Policy Loan (World Bank, 2006), newinitiatives have been undertaken in several sectors,most notably in the education sector with greateremphasis on pre-school and post-secondary (nonprofessional)education. The government continuesto experiment with employment programs to supporthard-to-employ workers, and a renewed initiative toidentify and correct the structural constraints.There are only 50 companies in Colombia whosehealth and safety management systems are certifiedagainst OHSAS 18001 (Colombian SecurityCouncil, 2006).3.3 CommunityIn Colombia, the community area of CSR is notperceived as valuable, by SMEs. Their opinion isthat community issues such as public-privatepartnerships are not widespread and are perceivedas affecting only the overall sustainabledevelopment and not SME development at present,or in the mid- to long-term.The research on CSR in Latin American SMEs(Vives, Corral and Isusi, 2005) emphasizes thatColombian CSR activities directed towards localcommunities is low compared to those in otherLatin American countries. For example, educationalactivities (run outside the enterprises) are backed by9.7 percent of interviewed Colombian companies,compared to 23.6 percent overall in Latin America;actions directed towards disabled and poor peopleaccount for 9.6 percent in Colombia compared to26.7 percent in the region; and participation inpublic activities accounts only for 5.5 percent inColombia compared to 18 percent in Latin America.3.4 EnvironmentIn Colombia, SMEs perceive the environment areaof CSR as valuable for their operations. They thinkthat environment issues such as environmentalmanagement, regulation 61 and compliance,monitoring and climate change may affect theireconomic development in the mid- to long-term.In a recent survey of the Andean region, whichcompares Colombia to Ecuador, the researchersclaim that Colombia is by far the country with thestrongest and best-developed environmentalregulatory institutions. The results of regressionanalysis 62 and qualitative responses from firmsconfirm that government regulatory pressure is themost important influence on firm behavior.61 For a complete overview of the environmental regulatory system, see Blackman, A., Hoffmann, S., Morgenstern, R., and Topping, E., 2005.62 www.cid.harvard.edu/esd/programs/urbanmgt/envcost.html70 Recommended actions to foster the adoption of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) practices in Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs)
However, market pressures, primarily exportmarkets, persist as a significant determinant ofenvironmental behavior, despite the strong role ofthe state. In this sense, trade is good for theenvironment. Those firms with a greaterparticipation in export markets rely more oninnovative solutions to pollution reduction ratherthan end-of-the-pipe technologies, which treatpollution at the end of the production process. 63Moreover, considerable public and private resourceshave been committed to the reduction of pollution,resulting in improvements in water quality. 64The Renewable Energy index ranks Colombia 23 outof 109 countries (World Health Organization; WorldResource Institute, 2005; and International EnergyAgency, 2001) 65 . Moreover, there are only 275 ISO14001 certified enterprises in Colombia (ISO 2005).As for Colombia’s engagement in the Kyoto Protocol,there are three registered Clean DevelopmentMechanism projects in the country 66 .Colombia’s emissions of Greenhouse Gas (GHGs) arevery modest (0.2 percent of global emissions, with 0.6percent of the global population). With these lowintensity emissions, opportunities exist to mitigateemissions in key sectors. Opportunities for GHGmitigation are being pursued in renewable energy,wastewater treatment and energy efficiency (Jepirachi,Amoya, Rio Frio and Furatena projects). Adaptationmeasures are also being explored and implementedthrough the Amoya region and the recently approvedIntegrated National Adaptation Project. Still, theNational Strategic Study and the first NationalCommunication estimated that 21 percent of GHGemissions in the country are due to land use changeand that over 40 percent of the opportunities for GHGmitigation in the country are related to reforestation.Yet, so far, only one carbon sink project for the KyotoProtocol is in the portfolio (World Bank, 2006).Even in Colombia’s delicate environment,environmentally responsible activities are perceivedby companies as related not to preservation orconservation, but to the improvement ofcompetitiveness because of their ability to reduce costsand promote efficient consumption (Gutierrez, 2004).On the other hand, Colombian NGOs are particularlyactive on environmental preservation campaigns. 67The Colombian Council for Sustainable Developmentdefines Environmental responsibility as ‘Eco-efficiency,’described as “the continuous process of maximizationof productivity of resources minimizing waste andemissions, and generating value for the company, forits customers, shareholders and others stakeholders”.Environmental activities include, among others,minimization of waste generation, control and integrityof the process, the control and mitigation throughsecondary reductions, adequate monitoring systemand waste management, impact assessment,and reclamations.The results of a study in Colombia 68 confirm theeffectiveness of using information as a tool forpromoting pollution abatement. The simple act ofgranting the public access to pollution monitoringinformation of industrial firms proved to be a significantfactor in encouraging environmental activities. This is alow cost and easily replicated strategy that should befollowed in other CSR areas as well.4 Recommended ActionsThe main actors able to strengthen CSR in Colombiahave been classified in the following four categories:a) Multilateral Development Institutions (MDIs), b)national governments and local authorities, c) businessassociations, and d) civil society. These fourcategories of actors may act via all or some thefollowing strategies, as defined in the Introductory63 The survey shows also that in Colombia well over half of the firms that engaged in pollution reduction activities did so with some kind ofchange in the production process. Water pollution reduction entailed more end-of-the-pipe technology while air pollution was morefrequently accomplished through change in processes. Almost 2 out of 3 firms that reduced water pollution improved their long-termcompetitiveness in doing so. For air, the prospects are even more positive, with 4 out of 5 firms improving their long-term profitability.64 For a complete analysis, see the valuable Project Enhancing Competitiveness While Protecting the Environment, run by Universidad delos Andes in Bogota, Colombia; Escuela Superior Politécnica del Litoral (ESPOL) in Guayaquil, Ecuador; and Universidad del Pacífico inLima, Colombia and sponsored by Corporacion Andino de Fomento, visit: www.cid.harvard.edu/esd/programs/urbanmgt/envcost.html65 www.maplecroft.com66 www.unfccc.int67 NGOs are also active in areas of conflict, generally where there is an internal armed conflict, i.e. Peace Brigades International (PBI),Consultancy for Human Rights and Displacement (CODEHES),68 www.cid.harvard.edu/esd/programs/urbanmgt/envcost.htmlColombia 71
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Recommended actionsto foster the ad
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Recommended actionsto foster the ad
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table of contentsI Acknowledgements
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Chapter 6: Mexico1 Executive Summar
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acronymsCDMCSRECFLAFSCGDPGHGGRIHRWI
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strong internal relationship, in ot
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programs that affect the private se
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Section Four - Recommended Actions
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(Technology Index, Public Instituti
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BibliographyESADE, SDA Bocconi, Nor
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The following chart shows competiti
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CSR area significanceThe following
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structured philanthropic policies,
Page 28 and 29: the private sector and to develop g
Page 30 and 31: c. Facilitating, recommended action
Page 32 and 33: BibliographyAnselmi, P. (2005) ‘L
Page 34 and 35: APPENDIX 1 - ARGENTINA’S STAKEHOL
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Page 38 and 39: 2 Economic and SocialFrameworkBrazi
Page 40 and 41: 3 Current State of CSRThe concept o
Page 42 and 43: micro and small companies based on
Page 44 and 45: Brazil ratified the Kyoto Protocol
Page 46 and 47: - Improve monitoring systems andenv
Page 48 and 49: e. Endorsing, recommended actions f
Page 50 and 51: Websites consultedwww.accountabilit
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Page 56 and 57: A stable macroeconomic framework, s
Page 58 and 59: An investigation of Chile’s equit
Page 60 and 61: CSR area significanceThe following
Page 62 and 63: powerful, but are mainly involved i
Page 64 and 65: Fomento al Desarrollo Científico y
Page 66 and 67: a. Improving Promotion and Advocacy
Page 68 and 69: Websites consultedwww.accionrse.clw
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Page 75 and 76: In addition, corruption is a widely
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Page 81 and 82: - Sponsor a human rights campaign t
Page 83 and 84: . Improving Promotion and Advocacy,
Page 85 and 86: Websites consultedwww.accountabilit
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Page 93 and 94: El Salvador’s competitiveness. Co
Page 95 and 96: ecome key organizations in the batt
Page 97 and 98: According to Vives, Corral and Isus
Page 99 and 100: subsequent survey, by the World Ban
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Page 103 and 104: 4.4 Civil SocietyIn this study, civ
Page 105 and 106: Tsukamoto, M, Twose, N., (2003) ‘
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Page 109 and 110: Chapter 6: Mexico1 Executive Summar
Page 111 and 112: OrganizationWEFWEFWEFIndexNumber of
Page 113 and 114: there is a general confusion about
Page 115 and 116: CSR area significancemaxCSR actual
Page 117 and 118: and because of institutional voids
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Page 121 and 122: - Participate in the publication of
Page 123 and 124: López-Acevedo, G., (2006) ‘Mexic
Page 125 and 126: AppendixThe following stakeholder m
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Peruvian civil society has a strong
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environment, and they have waste tr
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Not even the lack of relations and
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- Create awareness of accountabilit
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These two groups will likely implem
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Websites consultedwww.accountabilit
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APPENDIX 1 - PERUVIAN STAKEHOLDER M
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Chapter 8: Venezuela1 Executive Sum
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OrganizationWEFIndexNumber of Count
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3 Current State of CSRCSR actual po
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cooperatives and farmers 114 Unfort
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a. Mandating, recommended actions f
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BibliographyArmas, V. (1999) ‘Esp
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AppendixThe following stakeholder m
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