In our last article, we discussed the importance of companies in the fight against climate change through examples of the practices implemented by Tesla, Google, and other big names in the business world. But what happens in Latin America? In such a region of the world, with its diversity of environments and cultures, enterprises should also commit to saving the planet.

   Such is the question that a team from Marketing decided to answer by studying successful cases of companies putting environmentally friendly measures into action. While their end goal of making a workshop wasn't completed, the results of their work are worthy of review.

   For the investigation, each member chose up to two companies from their respective countries (Paraguay, Costa Rica, Colombia, and Peru), all within different categories, like national chains of supermarkets, universities, coffee farmers, or concrete sellers. The focus of their projects was also wide-ranging, going from direct actions, like recycling, to secondary, yet equally important ones, like education; their only requirement was recognition from international organizations. 

   Some examples of companies taking the direct approach were Las Tacuaras S. A., a big poultry farm from Paraguay, and Cecovasa, from Perú, which specializes in the production and merchandising of coffee. Both of their plans focused on reforestation to counter the damage done to the lands they used for their business practices, like plantations.

   On the other side, are the examples of UNACEM, another Peruvian business dedicated to concrete, and the chain of supermarkets Los Jardines, also from Paraguay. In the case of UNACEM, they focused more on educating local environmental committees through workshops and consultancies. Meanwhile, Los Jardines chose to support sustainable enterprises by involving the community.

   Companies tended to take a much more integral approach in the rest of the countries. Such was the case of Florex, a company from Costa Rica that makes cleaning products, which decided to build the first eco-factory in the country, designed and created to take advantage of natural resources, like sunlight and rainwater.

   Another fascinating case was the Universidad del Norte from Colombia, which has built a full-coverage plan to reduce waste inside its campus, including reuse, recycling, and reforestation programs that call for the student population's involvement. The best representation of this is the Casa de Estudio Alfredo Correa de Andreis building, which is 100% sustainable.

   In the end, these multiple examples show, once more, how important it is that companies take responsibility for the environment since they have the financial resources and connections to make a worldwide impact. After all, caring for the planet is a task for everybody, and any action, no matter how big or small, is necessary to make a significant change for our home.

Investigative team: Beatriz Ramirez, Gabriela Araya, Marjoris Parejo, Eva Ancalla

Article written by: Ximena Velasco