Corporate Sustainability Practices in Latin America

Welcoming Remarks:

• Mateo Samper, Director, Public Policy Programs, Americas Society/Council of the Americas

Panelists:

• José María Sanz-Magallón, CEO, Telefónica Internacional USA, Inc.
• Rodrigo Calderón, Vice President for Public Affairs and Communications, Coca-Cola Latin America
• Francisco X. Santeiro, Managing Director, Customs and Regulatory Affairs, FedEx Express Latin America & Caribbean
• Zoe Tcholak-Antitch, Director, North America, Carbon Disclosure Project (Opening Remarks & Moderator)

Summary

Americas Society/Council of the Americas hosted an April 27 panel during which speakers from leading global corporations presented their companies’ views on sustainability and environmental initiatives in the region. The discussion highlighted prospects for implementing low-carbon growth strategies and focused on how their companies incorporate innovative and sustainable solutions into Latin American production and business operations.

Corporate Sustainability Projects on the Ground

Zoe Tcholak-Antitich of the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) talked about her organization’s work to promote awareness of corporate carbon emissions and create solutions to tackle climate change. The CDP provides benchmarking tools that share information on the corporate carbon footprint across the world. Its reports are increasingly used by investors, stakeholders, and consumers to determine investment choices and advance emissions reduction.

Panelists spoke about their companies’ regional and global environmental initiatives. Rodrigo Calderón of Coca Cola stated that the company depends on agricultural supply, making sustainability necessary for the wellbeing of its products. In terms of the company’s initiatives, Calderón said, “Coke’s sustainability starts in the fields and spans all the way to the point of sales.” Its projects include wind-energy farms; efficient harvesting of sugar cane, oranges, and mangoes; reforestation; and watershed restoration. The company is also working to convert all of its trucks (the largest fleet in Latin America) to hybrids, reduce energy consumption of its refrigerators and vending machines, and reduce packing and bottling materials by releasing new product containers—such as the 100 percent recyclable PlantBottle. Coca Cola’s main Latin American sustainability projects are located in Mexico and Brazil, while some smaller projects are being implemented in Colombia and Central America as well.

Francisco Santeiro of FedEx Express outlined the company’s main goals, which include sustainability for all points of business and reducing the company’s carbon footprint by 20 percent by 2020. Santeiro said that FedEx’s sustainability practices fall under two main initiatives: Earthsmart, an environmental vision for customers, employees and global communities; and the Global Citizenship Report, a comprehensive view of the company’s sustainable practices. Since FedEx’s success as a company relies heavily on transport, the company is using more fuel-efficient vehicles such as Boeings and the FedEx OptiFleet E700 hybrid trucks.

José María Sanz-Magallón of Telefónica opened his presentation by saying: “It would be irresponsible and impossible for a large company to not be sustainable today.” According to Sanz-Magallón, the telecommunications sector is part of the solution to the climate change problem. Telefónica has worked to reduce energy consumption in both its business operations and within its offices. The company collaborated with Global eSustainability Initiative to publish Smart 2020: Hacia una economía baja en carbono en la Era de la Información, a report on the potential to make a global transition toward a green economy.

Global Partnerships, Communication, and Advocacy

Panelists agreed that, besides providing green products and services, communications and global partnerships are integral parts of a sustainability agenda. All panelists noted the importance of promoting a culture of sustainability to their customers, business partners, and youth. As companies incorporate green practices into their operations, their customers become accustomed to new corporate environmental practices such as electronic billing and recycled packaging. Companies also gain leverage in their sustainable practices when partnering with international organizations and NGOs. Santeiro highlighted examples of joint initiatives with non-profit organizations, including FedEx’s awareness program about educating children on traffic safety, a reforestation project with the organization Reforestamos México, and a sustainable transport project with EMBARQ (World Resource Institute for Center for Sustainable Transport).

After the January 2010 earthquake in Haiti, Coca Cola found a sustainable way to help in the relief effort by launching the Haiti Hope Project in partnership with the IADB, USAID, and TechnoServe. This project manufactured an Odwalla drink with mangoes harvested by Haitian farmers, with proceeds going to the development of mango agriculture in Haiti. International meetings and summits such as the UN Climate Change Conference this past November and December in Cancun also allow for business leaders to interact and network with officials from the public and non-profit sectors in order to advance a global climate change agenda.

The Financial Returns of Sustainability

Tcholak-Antitch opened the Q&A session by asking panelists how companies can track the financial benefits of reducing carbon emissions. Although financial returns are not at the forefront of a sustainability agenda, Sanz-Magallón noted that “sustainability maximizes returns in the long-term and that it presents opportunities, not just risk.” Calderón pointed out that corporate sustainability is progressing in a way that companies don’t expect, which pushes all companies to think in new and innovative ways in order to reduce their carbon footprint. Looking into the future, companies are also realizing the importance of sustainable practices.

Tcholak-Antitch noted that an increasing amount of companies that report to CDP appoint board level responsibility for climate change issues. The push for corporate sustainability in Latin America is a relatively new effort in the region. But these companies exemplify how their initiatives are not just humanitarian addenda to a corporate strategy, but an integral component to operating business in a world where environmental conservation must be a priority for all.