Economy 

paper: Chile

Corporate Social Responsibility

in Chile

Paper prepared Dante Pesce with collaboration from

Andrea Henriquez, Nelson Nuñez, Ana María Roa and
Karina Toledo
VINCULAR at Pontifical Catholic University of Valparaiso-
Chile

August, 2005
Economy paper: Chile

Table of Contents

1. CSR in Chile: Vision and Drivers ···············································································CL-1

2. Attitudes towards CSR ·······························································································CL-2

3. CSR Players in Chile ············································································································ CL-2

3.1 The Private Sector ····································································································CL-3

3.2 The Public Sector ·····································································································CL-4

3.3 Civil Society ·············································································································CL-5
3.4 The Consumers ·········································································································CL-5
4. Next Steps for CSR ····································································································CL-6

4.1 Scaling up existing initiatives ···················································································CL-6

4.2 CSR into the competitiveness agenda ·······································································CL-6

4.3 CSR and SMEs ·········································································································CL-6

4.4 Awareness riaising and capacity builidng ·································································CL-7

 Economy paper: Chile

1. CSR in Chile: Vision and Drivers services, or to the satisfaction only of its
shareholders, but has evolved towards an
The antecedents of Corporate Social integrated vision based on the creation of value
Responsibility (CSR) in Chile date back to 1920 for its different stakeholders; without whose
when a series of philanthropic actions were first support the organization would cease to exist.
glimpsed. In the beginning, these activities,
which were circumstantial and disconnected Nowadays there is greater maturity in the
from business strategy, reflected the personal application of the concept of CSR as companies
desires of philanthropic businessmen. But the are evolving from the image-marketing linked to
globalization of the economy, the liberalization philanthropy, towards building a reputation
of markets and an increasingly demanding based on the coherence of an internal focus on
society began to spur the modification of CSR where a concern for the workers is
paradigms towards fostering positions of greater emphasized, 1 and towards forging an external
commitment with society and at the same time a organizational focus like a commitment to the
reality where spaces in which government, the community, mostly linked with education.
private sector, and civil society interacted.
Many issues linked with social responsibility are
Today, this concern is no longer an incipient implied by the Free Trade Agreements (FTA)
theme. Instead it is beginning to be developed subscribed to by Chile with developed countries.
more extensively. Representatives of each sector These Agreements force businesses to
of society are starting to understand that they incorporate best practices in all their productive
are not independent from the rest, that they have process in order to assure their competitiveness.
an important role in the development of this It is for this reason that CSR is becoming a key
issue. They have come to realize that the entities strategy for businesses, specially export oriented
which compose it should not be institutions that industries.
are not too inward looking, but should be
institutions that behave in a responsible way Another concrete but more recent aspect that has
with each of the other members of the groups surfaced in the business orientation of CSR is
they interact with and be capable of participating the establishment of commitments and the
in the country’s social development. inclusion and/or enlargement of this concept in
the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) via
In general this concept has driven society to the support of important international
begin familiarizing itself with the issue. It has institutions. 2 In Chile it is becoming more and
also convinced businesses to start adopting more important to forge strategic alliances with
corporate politics that cover aspects linked to parts of the production chain that used to be the
CSR. like a concern for the workers’ integral weaker links.
development, environmental care, and
community relationships, among other aspects.
The international context of commerce, the
It was not until after the 1990s that it began to be pressure of diverse social actors and the
understood within Chile that CSR was a convictions of some businessmen are motivating
business vision that harmoniously integrated a businesses to incorporate CSR into their
respect for ethical values, people, the business strategies. While this trend has become
environment and the community, into a single evident on the level of large global companies, it
business strategy. This concept began to gain has also been gaining ground among businesses
importance and interest from a more proactive in developing countries, among them SMEs,
perspective, as much from the business
community as from the state and civil societies
connected through NGOs with the 1
environmental themes of human development Mori polling has being consistently showing this
and the promotion of human capital. trend during the last 4 years.
2
There are projects funded by Inter-American
Development Bank (IADB) and Governmental
Consequently, the role of businesses is no longer Agency for Economic Development (CORFO).
deemed restricted to the production of goods and

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Economy paper: Chile

especially those that participate in supply chains

or are part of greater suppliers. Contribution to community: For 69% of the
respondents, the contributions made by the
The phenomenon described above has been corporation to the community are considered
pushed and fortified by the growing prominence highly relevant. When asked about the form
of consumers in developed countries who are contribution should assume, respondents
adding to the price and quality variables identified three major issues:
additional elements with which to discriminate Corporations’ helping improve links between
between products and services, such as the education vis-à-vis market needs and future
adequate treatment of workers, constructive work opportunities,
relations with suppliers, adequate management
of the environment, etc. Corporations’ investing on improving the
employability of existing workers by better
2. Attitudes towards CSR equipping them for an increasingly competitive
environment and corporations’ providing
Qualitative research conducted by Vincular is opportunities for local small and medium size
consistent with the polling done by Mori in enterprises to succeed alongside them as long-
terms of Chilean attitudes and perception related term partners.
to CSR practices. The six most relevant issues
that reflect significant changes in Chilean Consistency between speech and practice: Of
society are as follows: the respondents, 66% expressed their
appreciating a corporation than can demonstrate
Quality of life in the work place: The poll a clear link between its public commitments and
revealed that 92% of the respondents consider real practices. The respondents indicated
the “quality of life” in the workplace as the concern for some very visible corporations that
number one consideration in describing a appear to be generous, but are not necessarily
corporation as “responsible”. This perception concerned about relevant CSR practices,
underscores the concern for working conditions especially those pertaining to working
and the need for adequate conciliation between conditions. Chileans are suspicious about
work and life. For Chileans, CSR starts at home. marketing giveaways rather than CSR policies
It was also part of the political platform of both and practices.
major political coalitions in the December 2005
elections. Equal treatment/opportunities: Around 64%
of the respondents showed concern for
Concern for the environment: According to discrimination in the work place and the absence
79% of the respondents (only 63% last year), the of equal opportunities, a marked increase from
environment is the second most relevant issue the previous year’s figure. Chileans are
related to CSR. Recent corporate scandals increasingly appreciative of corporations that
related to bad environmental practices and provide opportunities for women and do not
increasing concern for the environment among discriminate against them. This stance reflects a
Chilean citizens accounts for this perception’s marked change in Chilean society. It is very
rise. Also on this point, both major coalitions are likely that the next President will be a woman.
proposing to establish a much more robust
environmental institutional framework. Other issues that are important but less relevant
to Chileans are those related to complying with
Responsibility to consumers: Some 75% of the legal obligations, paying taxes adequately, being
respondents held a positive attitude towards transparent, doing some charity work and
corporations that were transparent and fair to attributes related to its core business.
their consumers. The relatively weak legal
environment, inadequate protection extended to
consumer rights, and the limited education and 3. CSR players in Chile
income of Chileans have made it possible for
some corporations to commit abuses. Respect Considering the favorable context for CSR
and fairness are thus highly appreciated. expansion in Chile, different players are

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 Economy paper: Chile

promoting and expanding CSR in the country. Currently, four Mutuales represent 70.000
Key players and examples of on-going businesses. This represents 100% of the
developments are the following: incorporated businesses that have workers who
receive payment and social benefits.
3.1 The Private Sector
The rate of accidents in Chile is among the
The concern for sensitive topics by society is a lowest in the world, developing countries
traditional attitude of Chilean businesses that included.
largely originated from the strong influence of
the Catholic Church. This social activity • Chile Good Agriculture Practices Standard:
associated to philanthropy has been constituted In the agricultural sector, and according to the
in an effort to take a step towards coming up data provided by the Fundación para el
with a systematic response and commitment on Desarrollo Frutícola, FDF (Foundation for
the part of the company vis-a-vis its various Fruit Industry Development), until year 2004
stakeholders. around 1,200 businesses had adopted the
Chilean Good Agricultural Practices Standard
Several examples indicate how entrepreneurs are (Chile-GAP 3 ). This standard which was
becoming more conscious of the benefits arising recognized in Europe encompassed
from practices linked with CSR and its environmental, labor and good food safety
incorporation into their management system practices. It is considered the first robust step
within the context of open markets. They towards CSR in the agriculture sector.
recognize that interest in this topic is growing, Meanwhile, the 2005 Chile-GAP will also
for which reason the business focus traditionally cover the avocado and wine industries which,
centered on the satisfaction of the investor is combined with the previous sectors, will reach
beginning to extend its vision, paying attention approximately 2500 producers.
to a more extensive group of stakeholders.
• Chile Clean Production Agreements:
The president of the Commission of CSR of the Increasingly, more and more businesses from
highly representative Confederation of different industry sectors are subscribing to the
Production and Trade (CPC), Mr. Gonzalo Chilean Clean Production Agreements (CPA) 4 .
Garcia has declared that “Legitimizing CSR as From the wine-growing industry, 522
an indissoluble element of all business businesses encompassing 849 facilities (660
management is an objective that is increasingly vineyards and 189 vineyards), have signed this
being fulfilled: definitely, CSR today is a agreement. Meanwhile, in the fruit industry
fundamental topic in the country.” this agreement has been signed by 884
businesses consisting of owners of orchards,
CSR is being transformed from an emergent packers, cold-storage plants owners and
issue to being constituted as an essential element exporters.
of differentiation, leadership, and excellence in
business management. The following are some • Dual Education Program: Another important
significant examples: milestone worth mentioning is the
involvement of 7,322 businesses in the dual
Health and safety mutual help associations
(or mutuales) are organizations dedicated to 3
Chile GAP Standard was develop by the Foundation
improving health and safety conditions in the for Fruit Industry Development, which depends from
work place. They were created by the private the Agriculture Exporters Association and counted
sector 46 years ago as nonprofit groups. From with the support of Government throw CORFO and
the very start, they their Boards included union the Chilean National Standards Body. More
leaders. Years later they were regulated by a law information at www.asoex.cl and www.fdf.cl
4
that was passed. Notably under the socialist The Clean Production Agreement is a voluntary
government (1970-73) and the right wing industry based approach to overcome collectively
environmental issues. It has being lead by the
dictatorship (1973-90) they were not modified.
Business Associations with support from
They continue to exist as a partnership between Government throw CORFO, providing co-financing
business and labor up till to the present. for SMEs that become part of the agreement.

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Economy paper: Chile

education program espousing theoretical– Producción). These government agencies

practical education, where the practical phase pioneer projects oriented to the development of
is carried out in the company’s facilities. pilot experiences in CSR, and expect them to
Implemented gradually since 1990 on a evolve into regular public policies.
voluntary base by the private sector in
partnership with the Ministry of Education, Some signature initiatives are the following:
this German-develop program offers technical
training for high school students and coaching • CORFO (www.corfo.cl.). This is a
by real workers. It has become a useful government agency responsible for the
recruitment procedure. Employment rates improvement of production and
among students who graduate from this system competitiveness, especially among SMEs. In
significantly surpass those of traditional partnership with several business associations,
education graduates. with co-financing from the Interamerican
Development Bank and facilitated by Vincular
at the Catholic University of Valparaiso,
CORFO has committed funding to facilitate
• GRI Reporting: There is a growing interest in the integration of CSR into several industry
GRI reporting among local businesses. Some strategies. It has also piloted project with the
corporations like ACHS (achs.cl), Codelco SMEs within them. This project of CORFO,
(codelco.cl), Forestal Terranova, Gerdau-Aza unique in the context of Latin America,
(aza.cl), Shell-Chile, Endesa-Chile and considers US$2.500.000 in investments. It is
Chiletabacos issue reports under the Global expected to expand to more industries and to
Reporting Initiative (GRI) form through which include all their business members.
they present their economic, social and
environmental performance. Some Industries,
led by their business associations and with
Vincular facilitation develop GRI Industry
Reports and derive some sector-based
indicators for use in future individual and
aggregated CSR reporting. A pilot initiative
includes up to 150 SMEs GRI Reports and up
to six Industry-based reports.

• The United Nations Global Compact: There

are also companies and associations such as
Asociación Chilena de Seguridad, ACHS
(Chilean Safety Association), Banco Estado,
CMPC Enterprises, Forestal Terranova, Grupo
Santander-Chile, Escondida Mining Company,
Toop and Brand and Vincular from the
Catholic University of Valparaiso that have
subscribed to the United Nations Global Pact .

3.2 The Public Sector

Government supports the promotion of concrete

CSR initiatives under a vision of
competitiveness through the National
Commission of Technological and Scientific
Investigation (CONICYT, Comisión Nacional
de Investigación Científica y Tecnológica) and
the Corporation of Production Development
(CORFO, Corporación de Fomento de la

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 Economy paper: Chile

The National Standards Body (Instituto flourishing new group of CSR-related NGOs is
Nacional de Normalización. www.inn.cl.). As playing an increasingly influential role,
part of CORFO, the Chilean National Standards becoming visible to the business community. It
Body is actively participating in the is making significant advances in the diffusion
development of the ISO26000 standard for of CSR.
Social Responsibility. It has established a
national “Mirror Committee”, with more than 60 More traditional NGOs have made less of an
active participants from all sectors, including impact on the business sector and consumers,
unionized workers and the main business but some are starting to get better organized.
associations. It has become one of the most Red Puentes is a network of NGOs focused on
visible and active players among developing looking after impacting and partnering with
countries. Further because of Chile´s openness business. NGOs in this group are active
to the world market, there is a clear incentive to members of the Chilean National Mirror
be part of the Global Setting on Social Committee on ISO for Social Responsibility.
Responsibility. They network on an international level.

• Comisión Nacional de Investigación Traditional civil society does not take advantage
Científica y Tecnológica (www.conicyt.cl) Its of the newest trends, and instead confronts
mission entails advising the Chilean business with traditional strategies that were not
government in the fields of science and completely successful in the past. Exceptions to
technology. CONICYT, through FONDEF, 5 this are those NGOs that have adopted a
the Fund of Scientific and Technological different attitude (like Teletón, Hogar de Cristo)
Development (Fondo de Fomento al by establishing partnerships with business and
Desarrollo Científico y Tecnológico), financed integrating top managers into their boards.
the project entitled “Development of a
Management System for Corporate Social Traditional civil society has a crafted response to
Responsibility” allowing the development of the most habitual paradigms, and the mainly
practical management CSR tools and training assume roles related to welfare. Nevertheless,
materials, which are increasingly being used. the academe emphasizes where initiatives of
Vincular executed this over US$500.000 participation in themes of social responsibility
project. arise. For example, the Catholic University of
Chile is part of the SEKN network, while the
• FONDEF project II: A second project was Catholic University of Valparaiso developed the
recently awarded to Vincular. It entailed initiative, Vincular. The network Construye País
developing practical tools to better link University is composed of thirteen universities
competitiveness with the quality of life in the that promote a proactive social approach in
workplace, which is the most critical factor society.
linked with CSR in Chile. This second
investment significantly demonstrates the
drive of some government agencies to 3.4 The Consumers
contribute to the development and
establishment of CSR in Chile. The concept of Corporate Social Responsibility
is widely known and its exercise demanded by
numerous consumers across the world,
3.3 Civil Society especially those in developing countries. The
phenomenon has reached Chile so that every day
The relationship between the third sector and Chileans are more familiar with this concept and
CSR is evinced by a regional phenomenon, the more Chileans increasingly value the practice of
presence of two groups: (i) civil society being socially responsible.
organized for the sake of CSR; and (ii) civil
society organized to undertake issues of public It is important to emphasize that the MORI 2005
interest. As part of this phenomenon, the study revealed how highly Chileans value CSR.
In fact, the number of consumers who declared
5
Ver http://www.fondef.cl that a business sells more if it is socially

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responsible has increased from 41% in 2002 to These challenges can be translated into powerful
55% in 2005. future opportunities when CSR will have formed
part of their management systems, but which
Asked during studies, consumers maintain that such will require considerable and continuing
CSR adoption in Chile is not generalized as yet change efforts.
as the national business sector has but a short-
term utilitarian point of view that first needs to
change for a sustainable approach to be attained. 4.2 CSR into the competitiveness agenda
In this regard citizens expect the business sector
to take care and commit to the development and A challenge in the years to come entails
improvement of society’s quality of life. The improving the link between CSR and the
businesses that adopt this plan do not only competitiveness agenda. The conditions
guarantee their sustainable success, but also prevailing in Chile for the development of CSR
foster greater competitiveness and a reduction in are encouraging, but it remains imperative for
their organizational costs. the CSR agenda to be formally aligned with the
mainstream competitiveness strategy.

4. Next Steps for CSR There exists a significant opportunity to really

incorporate CSR in the normal way of
In the Chilean national context, the next steps conducting business. Clear business case is
for CSR adoption are focused basically in four needed for both public and private sectors. Pilot
important aspects: scaling up already existing initiatives have being mentioned, but an explicit
experiences, the incorporation of CSR within public policy oriented to promote CSR is
SMEs, and getting CSR to be part of the national nonexistent.
Agenda of Competitiveness.
There might also be an opportunity to formally
establish a political position. Currently, CSR is
4.1. Scaling up existing initiatives not clearly represented in government. It appears
that CSR is better established within business
In Chile there has being a notable development organizations. Chile’s institutional framework
of the theme in conceptual terms— that CSR has does not consider CSR part of one specific
gained prominence as a subject for most ministry, but based on how well accepted CSR is
important business organizations. Thus, there today. The incentives of doing CSR may soon
now exist institutions focused on the emerge.
development of the subject. Advances in the
inclusion and development of CSR projects in 4.3 CSR and SMEs
SMEs have been noted. The challenge now lies
in scaling up, based on what has already been A long road lies ahead where the relationship of
achieved. small and medium enterprises with CSR is
concerned. However, that a foundation has
Most of the companies that promote or are already been put up implies that further
identified with CSR still approach the subject achievements which will enable an equally
from the point of view of community investment, competitive market economy for businesses of
marketing with a cause, or the achievement of all sizes and sectors is not too far away.
technical-productivity, quality control guidelines.
In that sense, one of the tasks for the near future
There is also an increase in the number of is to ensure that SMEs also become managers of
businesses that incorporate ISO regulations and socially responsible businesses. The challenge
certifications in their management. Nevertheless, lies in defining the strategies that SMEs will
CSR initiatives do not, thus far, constitute many have to develop in line with socially responsible
companies the initiatives of several companies, policies.
thereby implying a big challenge for those who
wish to call themselves “socially responsible”. The myth that only large businesses can be
socially responsible is disappearing. Small and

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 Economy paper: Chile

medium enterprises from the manufacturing, there are other academic institutions are offering
fruit-growing and winegrowing industries are basic courses, which are limited in terms of
formally adopting Corporate Social coverage.
Responsibility into their business strategies. 6
At this point, universities are expected to
Large businesses are increasingly demanding the integrate CSR into more career programs. While
observance of CSR standards among their this trend has already been noted in some MBA
supply chains, which consist mainly of SMEs. programs, it is predicted that in the next few
These SMEs have grown increasingly aware that years, the trend will be entrenched in the
in order to remain competitive and to be standard curriculum of any MBA student, and
integrated into the most dynamic sectors of the beyond that, of almost all careers as well.
economy, they have to show that they are
dependable commercial associates aligned with
their clients’ needs. 7

Some industrial sectors like the fruit exporters,

such as the Eurep GAP, have internally adopted
the variables of CSR required by their markets,
as part of their own management. As a result,
fruit exports are qualified to respond to these
demands. The same thing is happening in other
sectors of the economy, such as wine-growing,
marine and forestry.

4.4 Awareness raising and capacity building

Many awareness raising and capacity building

activities are taking place in Chile. Universities,
NGOs, business associations are organizing
workshops, events, conferences, etc.
Increasingly cases are being documented, and
CSR is being incorporated into MBA and other
academic programs more regularly.

Such efforts should be sustained over time. They

must accompany the development of CSR. Still
there is need not only to better integrate CSR
into the business community mainstream agenda,
but also to raise awareness among many other
stakeholders, whose role in the advancement of
the field should be identified.

Much more capacity building has to take place.

Many executives declare their frustration over
the lack of practical tools and training to help
them do their job better. Vincular has a formal
certificate program on CSR. On the other hand,

6
Throughout a Project implemented by VINCULAR
and funded by IADB and CORFO and with
participation from the main Businesses sectors.
7
Eva Ramos, Corporate Social Responsibility
Director at Ecology and Development Foundation
(Spain).

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