Corporate Social Responsibility seeks to benefit civil society and to contribute to sustainable development in the region
Social Responsibility touches on many important themes including labour rights, human rights, the environment, governance, and other aspects of great importance for our societies.
The active implementation of socially responsible practices, and particularly of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) with regard to the practices of private companies and labour organizations, will be a crucial contribution to the sustainable development of the region.
SEDI and the OAS consider Corporate Social Responsibility to be an area of importance
With this in mind, the NPA program of SEDI has been progressively increasing its participation in CSR-related initiatives, focusing on building local capacities, working across multiple sectors and benefiting each of the member states of the OAS.
We support capacity-building activities and awareness campaigns in association with the Multilateral Investment Fund of the IDB
As part of the NPA program’s portfolio supported by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA-ACDI), the Executive Office of SEDI in association with the Multilateral Investment Fund of the Inter-American Development Bank (FOMIN/IDB) have provided essential support for the creation of capacity-building and awareness-building efforts undertaken by the Forum Empresa, an organization with a network based out of Santiago, Chile.
The project, implemented during the 2003-2007 period, incorporated diverse components such as education, training for capacity-builders, technical assistance to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in CSR practices and the development of promotional and training materials.
Creating Results
The project contributed to the promotion of CSR practices in the four participating countries (Brazil, Chile, El Salvador, and Peru), through:
-
The training of 363 owners and CEOs of large businesses in CSR
-
The training of 207 SMEs in CSR
-
The training of 192 consultants to stimulate CSR practices in SMEs
-
The development of 8 CSR manuals
-
The establishment of 10 associations with large businesses for the purpose of introducing CSR practices to the SMEs that make up their supply chains
-
Allowing for the participation of 41 SMEs in the implementation process of CSR practices
For additional information please visit the Forum Empresa website and click on “IDB/OAS Project” in the upper left part of the page: http://empresa.org/.
Additional Results: Based on the success of this project in Latin America, the Executive Office began a new phase of the project in the Caribbean in 2008. The implementation of this project is coordinated with the Young Americas Business Trust (YABT) and financed by CIDA’s Hemispheric Integral Development Program (HIDP).
For any additional information on this project, please send your inquiries to Zakaria El Goumiri, Project Coordinator.
If you have any comments or requests, please contact Zakarias ElGoumiri, Project Coordinator
|
