Inactivity is the norm in South America when it comes to corporate responsibility, says Oliver Balch
When you talk about corporate social responsibility in Europe,
people think you’re being oxymoronic. In South America, they just think
you’re moronic. The problem of kick-starting CSR in the region’s 35
countries owes much to historical and cultural factors. With protected
markets and state-led economies the norm until recently, public
expectations of private business are limited to the traditional
pursuits of profit-making and job creation. Tax contributions,
regrettably, don’t make it on to the list.
Structural barriers also pose a problem for CSR (abbreviated as ‘RSE’
in Spanish). The usual drivers – business climate (variable at best),
civil society participation (nascent), public policies (often
counteractive), environmental management (largely ignored), corporate
governance (lacking transparency), media criticism (silent) and
consumer pressure (absent) – all conspire to paint a grim picture for
development of a responsible corporate culture.
That said, notable efforts are being made to promote awareness in the
region. The Empresa network (www.empresa.org) is frequently cited by
ethics advocates as a ray of hope. Of the national groups it
represents, the star pupil is Brazil’s Instituto Ethos
(www.ethos.org.br), thanks mostly to the levels of business
support it enjoys. From a pan-regional perspective, the Inter-American
Development Bank also now runs a corporate responsibility programme,
and last month held its third inter-American conference on CSR.
Yet information on the degree to which businesses are embracing the CSR
challenge is hard to interpret. Recent figures for the Global Compact’s
membership show 441 South American companies, which represents just
over a fifth of the total worldwide. Anecdotally, Brazil is reckoned to
be the regional leader (it’s also home to Natura, a South American
version of The Body Shop), followed by Chile, Argentina and Mexico. The
relative development of their economies and high levels of foreign
investment certainly make them a better bet for CSR.
In terms of CSR practice, however, philanthropy remains very much the
order of the day. ‘Although there are some interesting signs of
increasing interest, there is still much to do in promoting real
implementation and in disseminating the social and economic benefits of
CSR practices’, a recent report by the Inter-American Development Bank
concludes.
What to do then? Improve government capacity, enhance the investment
climate and link CSR to specific country needs, the bank responds.
Argentinian CSR specialist and journalist Florencia Lafuente advocates
a stronger recipe: ‘We need an Enron experience’, she says, ‘although I
fear it would have to be much, much worse!’
Oliver Balch is a journalist based in Argentina who specializes in corporate responsibility
