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Beyond Philanthropy (Winter 2008 Preview) by Bill Gates* . Looking back over the last 30 years, there’s no question that technology has created an unprecedented wave of innovation, economic growth and social opportunity. Yet, technology in itself is not a cure-all for any nation’s social ills, or a guarantee of economic prosperity. To build and sustain healthy communities, nations must address basic human needs—such as nutrition, healthcare, education, and housing—while pursuing sound economic and regulatory policies. . I have seen firsthand, however, how software can enable and augment socioeconomic development. The key is that the use of software and computers must be integrated with broader efforts to promote individual opportunity and business innovation, such as through investments in infrastructure, education and workforce training, and through policymaking that encourages open markets and protects intellectual property. . My family’s foundation—the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation—is working to address... . To read more, subscribe and receive an instant digital copy of the Winter issue. Already a subscriber? Login Now. . *Bill Gates is chairman and co-founder of Microsoft Corporation. Since 2000, he has been co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, dedicated to reducing inequities in health and education in the United States and around the world. __________________________________________ How to Fulfill the Promise of CSR (Winter 2008 Preview) by Richard Feinberg* . Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a booming business in Latin America. Major companies like the Chilean copper giant Codelco and the Brazilian energy multinational Petrobras proudly use their environmental stewardship and good labor practices to demonstrate that their corporate operations are aligned with social goals. Across the region, Latin American firms are making social investments in education, health and community development. .
Yet corporate Latin America still trails behind Europe and the
United States. Only 93 of Latin America’s top 500 firms participate
in the European-based Global Reporting Initiative, the cutting-edge
international benchmarking exercise that sets the global standard
for CSR—and 40 of those companies are from just one country: Brazil. . Since regional corporate CSR reports often lack... . To read more, subscribe and receive an instant digital copy of the Winter issue. Already a subscriber? Login Now. . Also Read a Miami Herald op-ed drawing on his AQ article. . *Richard Feinberg is a professor of political economy at the Graduate School of International Relations and Pacific Studies of the University of California, San Diego and is a prominent writer, consultant and lecturer on corporate social responsibility and trade. He served as a senior White House advisor on Inter-American Affairs during the Clinton administration. __________________________________________ Corporate Inclusion (Winter 2008 Preview) by Sylvia Maxfield* .
In addition to traditional ways of thinking about corporate social
responsibilities, businesses .
Women now occupy more than 50 percent of entry-level management
positions in Latin America’s corporate world. A research project
conducted by the Simmons School of Management’s Center for Gender in
Organizations and Ernst and Young showed that in . That’s remarkable progress even in just two years... . To read more, subscribe and receive an instant digital copy of the Winter issue. Already a subscriber? Login Now. . *Sylvia Maxfield is an associate professor of management at the Simmons School of Management and the author of numerous books and articles on political economy. __________________________________________ Profits and the Poor (Winter 2008 Preview) by Patricia Márquez and Michael Penfold* . Can the private sector fight poverty and still make money? Social initiatives have become increasingly attractive to companies around the world who believe that pursuing strategies which empower low-income groups and impoverished communities is also smart business. In Latin America, that argument has become the focus of debate among scholars and anti-poverty activists who question whether integrating low-income groups in the global or national economy through markets—“democratizing the economy,” as the development economist C. K. Prahalad has called it—really represents a passkey to social change. .
Much of the attention to so-called “bottom-of-the-pyramid”
strategies has focused on the activities of major multinationals,
such as Unilever in India and CEMEX in Mexico. But three recent case
studies conducted by the Social Enterprise Knowledge Network (SEKN),
a partnership of eight business schools in Latin America (EGADE,
INCAE, IESA, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile,
Universidad
del Pacífico, Universidad de los Andes, Universidad de San Andrés,
and Universidade de São Paulo), the Harvard Business . The case studies examined three business... . To read more, subscribe and receive an instant digital copy of the Winter issue. Already a subscriber? Login Now. . *Patricia Márquez is a professor at the University of San Diego and member of the Latin American Social Network. Michael Penfold is an associate professor at the Instituto de Estudios Superiores de Administración (IESA) and Director of Ecoanalítica in Venezuela. __________________________________________ Why Brazil Leads the Region in CSR (Winter 2008 Preview) by Regina Scharf* .
Brazilian companies practice
social responsibility with a degree of sophistication . “In Brazil, social responsibility has evolved in waves, and such evolution is happening at a faster pace,” says Ricardo Young, president of the Ethos Institute for Business and Social Responsibility, a not-for-profit group that has worked with business members to help raise the ethical standards of Brazilian corporations for almost a decade. According to Young, many businessmen already have a very advanced vision. They know, for example, that even if they reduce water consumption per unit produced, the impact will increase if sales increase. “Some companies have gone so far as to discuss limiting production,” he says. “If cadmium reserves are finite, it becomes clear that we cannot keep producing cell phones at the current rate.” . A good example of how this consciousness is... . To read more, subscribe and receive an instant digital copy of the Winter issue. Already a subscriber? Login Now. . *Regina Scharf is a Brazilian journalist and has worked on environmental issues for 20 years. She has won numerous awards for her work, including the Reuters-IUCN Press award for Latin America and the Prêmio Ethos. __________________________________________ Beat the Heat (Winter 2008 Preview) by Sasha Chavkin* .
Extreme climate events are presenting a new and unexpected
challenge to the private sector in Latin America. While attention
understandably
focuses on the ordinary citizens caught up in catastrophes such as
the
floods in Tabasco, Mexico and Hurricane Noel in the Dominican
Republic, the
painful economic effects on the hemisphere’s business community are
often
lost in the news coverage. With mounting evidence that the frequency
and
severity of such disasters are squarely linked to global warming,
firms that
operate, invest or are based in Latin America must act aggressively
to reduce
their losses from the twenty-first century’s increasingly volatile
climate. The good news is that there are concrete and effective methods of adaptation—responses that reduce harm from current and anticipated impacts of climate change and that can prevent the private sector from getting caught flat-footed. These measures employ existing technologies, in areas from energy efficiency to water management to building design, which can help firms diminish the economic sting of global warming. The six guidelines for reducing environmental risk will put businesses on their way to effectively coping with the heat. . The challenge of implementing these adaptations... . To read more, subscribe and receive an instant digital copy of the Winter issue. Already a subscriber? Login Now. . *Sasha Chavkin is a Middlebury Fellow in Environmental Journalism. A 2005-2006 U.S. Fulbright Fellow in Lima, Peru, he was a regular contributor to the Peruvian news magazine Caretas, and his work has appeared in The Nation, Latinamerica Press and Quehacer. __________________________________________ Dispatches from the Field: Oaxaca (Winter 2008 Preview) by Stephen Kurczy and Nathan Paluck* .
In
November 2006, days after 4,000 Mexican federales reclaimed
Oaxaca’s . “You talk to him and you fall in love,” was Prieto’s simple explanation. But protests built on passion alone can come to unfortunate ends. Even as Sosa was picking up late adherents to his cause, Oaxaca was plunging further into economic and social disarray. The continuing turmoil has persuaded the U.S. State Department to issue advisories (the latest one was extended to April 2008) against travel to one of Mexico’s most fascinating regions, which in turn has helped depress tourism, the state’s principal industry. While global supporters continue to show solidarity with teachers—last October, about 200 events around the world raised awareness of the movement—for many Oaxacans, such solidarity seems misplaced. The protests resulted in 23 deaths, cost some $30 million in property damage, and created tensions between teachers and the public that last to this day. . Reaction: The protest was born in... . To read more, subscribe and receive an instant digital copy of the Winter issue. Already a subscriber? Login Now. . *Stephen Kurczy is an independent journalist. Nathan Palluck is a project associate for Innovations for Poverty Action based in Mexico.
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