Corporate Social Responsibility in the Americas conference held in Uruguay

With more than 800 attendees and presentations of numerous case studies, the 7th Annual Inter-American Conference on Corporate Social Responsibility, entitled ‘Facing Challenges with Responsibility,’ took place from 1 to 3 December in Punta del Este, Uruguay. The Inter-American Development Bank’s annual event was held this year in cooperation with the Uruguayan government and the DERES association of Uruguayan companies active in corporate social responsibility.

Conference sessions addressed the new global challenges that the business sector is facing, such as the financial crisis and climate change, in addition to permanent issues such as corporate social responsibility, competitiveness and poverty reduction through economic inclusion.

Despite the advances, CSR in Latin America has a long way to go. According to The State of Social Responsibility According to Latin American Company Executives, 2009, a survey of 1,500 business executives in Latin America carried out by Forum Empresa (Company Forum), 41.7 per cent say ‘relations with workers’ is one of the issues in which companies have been making headway as part of their CSR strategies. At the other extreme, nearly 30 per cent say corporate governance is the area where the least progress has been made. The report is the first regional survey of the state of CSR in the Americas.

For more information
www.csramericas.org
Full report available at www.empresa.org/sitio-2009/documentos/EstadoRSE_FE.pdf