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OAS held Multisectoral Dialogue on Corporate Social Responsibility in Jalisco, Mexico

The Organization of American States (OAS) today celebrated the Multisectoral Dialogue called "Jalisciense Perspective of Social Responsibility" in the Mexican city of Guadalajara, with the participation of various stakeholders in the public and private sectors in order to boost responsible development in the State of Jalisco.

The event, which was organized with the support of the Ministry of Economic Development (SEDECO) of the Government of the State of Jalisco, and the Chamber of Commerce of the United States, Chapter Guadalajara, counted with the participation of various representatives of the public and private sectors, academia and civil society. Multisectoral dialogue is part of the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) program of the OAS, which is implemented with the support of the Government of Canada.

During the opening ceremony, the OAS Representative in Mexico, Aníbal Enrique Quiñónez Abarca, said that promoting social and economic progress "is not the task of a few, but the task of all society, and CSR must reflect the multisectoral commitment with development."

The President of the Chamber of Commerce of the United States, Chapter Guadalajara, José Miguel Zozayacorrea said that "today one cannot think of doing business without doing it responsibly, and understanding the problems that exist in countries like ours."

Meanwhile, the Consul General of Canada in Guadalajara, Francis Uy, focused his speech on explaining the CSR strategy for the Canadian extraction sector operating abroad, called "Building the Canadian Advantage.” "The strategy was launched in 2009, with the aim of improving the competitive advantage of Canadian extractive sector companies by improving their ability to manage social and environmental risks," said the Canadian diplomat.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Consul General in Guadalajara, Susan Abyeta, said that "companies are increasingly able to find a way to be sensitive not only to shareholders but also to the communities in which they operate. The challenge is to integrate these types of programs into the DNA of a corporation."

Meanwhile, the Secretary of Labor and Social Welfare of the State of Jalisco, Jesús Eduardo Almaguer Ramírez, said that CSR "begins where the law ends." “When it becomes law, the socially responsible actions cease to be voluntary actions of social responsibility and become bound to the fulfillment of the law." That is why - the Mexican official continued - this space for dialogue and multisectoral reflection is of paramount importance, because it reviews and evaluates the role that the public, private, academic and civil society sectors play in the area of their competences." Almaguer Ramírez said that the State of Jalisco will incorporate in its public policies the conclusions of this dialogue, and added that he is convinced that the "true sustainable development of a society can only come with a committed economic development with the local community and its people ."

The event began with a plenary session, followed by two panels in which a discussion about the current state of CSR in Jalisco was generated on how to provide a framework for the final recommendations. Good practices in sectors such as the agricultural industry, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), academia, civil society and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) were also shared. Then, there was a round table, which served as the basis for a series of recommendations for advancing CSR in Jalisco, from the perspective of each one of the sectors and stakeholders present.

The complete and detailed list of recommendations is available on the Interamerican Community of Responsibility (ComunidadRSE) here.

For more information, please visit the OAS Website at www.oas.org.

Reference: E-107/14