Contents 1
Summary.....................................................................................................................................................................................3
2
Introduction .............................................................................................................................................................................4
3
Why has the Embassy prepared this report? .....................................................................................................5
4
Organizational Profile .......................................................................................................................................................6
5
Management approach of the Embassy .................................................................................................................7
6
Actions in the field of CSR................................................................................................................................................8 6.1 6.1.1
Cooperation Funds .............................................................................................................................................8
6.1.2
Small Projects Funds .........................................................................................................................................9
6.1.3
Orange Plaza .......................................................................................................................................................12
6.1.4
CSR promotion through Economic Diplomacy .................................................................................13
6.2
Internal CSR...................................................................................................................................................................14
6.2.1
The Blue Flag: beyond environmental benefits................................................................................14
6.2.2
Professional Volunteer Program..............................................................................................................21
6.3 7
External CSR.....................................................................................................................................................................8
Regional CSR .................................................................................................................................................................23
Final Comments ....................................................................................................................................................................24
2
1
Summary
The world is producing and consuming products at a rate that is not sustainable. Natural resources are being depleted and economic inequality between people is increasing. It is important that governments, universities and civil society join forces to ensure a change in our practices, so that future generations can benefit and enjoy everything the world has to offer. For this reason, corporate social responsibility (CSR) is one of the 4 most important issues for the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in San José, Costa Rica. CSR means taking responsibility for the social, environmental and economic impact on society of your own corporate practices. As an embassy, we support efforts in the region to promote sustainability, and we increase awareness about key themes such as circular economy and inclusive societies. But we are also convinced that we must set a good example. Our CSR work focuses on three areas: external, internal and other embassies. Internally, we have a volunteer program for our officials and we participate in a local sustainability program called Bandera Azul. Externally, to promote CSR, we support projects in Central America and the business community. Finally, we provide assistance to Dutch embassies in Latin America, exchanging our experiences and useful tools for the implementation of CSR through economic diplomacy in their own resorts. The actions taken have allowed us to not only reduce the environmental impact of the embassy in terms of energy, water and fuel, but also to create economic value in a time span of 4 years.
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2
Introduction
It is a pleasure for The Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to present its first Corporate Social Responsibility report. This is an effort to document the actions that have been performed by the Embassy in 2015 with regard to sustainability. The report contains 4 sections. The first part explains the resolution to carry out this report. The second part describes the organizational profile of the Embassy. Thirdly, it explains the management approach of the Embassy. Finally, the fourth part details all the implemented actions of the Embassy in the topic of CSR. In this report, we set out to make our outcomes visible in terms of the triple P: People, Planet and Profit. The aim is to contribute to companies and organizations of several types so that they could generate environmental, social and economic value from our experience.
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3
Why has the Embassy prepared this report?
Nowadays, economic diplomacy constitutes one of the main areas of work of the Netherlands in Central America. On one hand, it helps companies to establish commercial relations between The Netherlands and the region; on the other hand, it contributes to develop a healthy business climate, through the promotion of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). This way, we aim to foster a more sustainable progress and a business environment characterized by fair and integral relations between consumers, companies and the public sector. CSR begins with a system of values of an organization and a focus based on the principles of doing business. The following step to boost the internal and external commitment towards sustainability consists of reporting the effort in this field. The premise is that transparency is a catalyst for innovation and a chance for developing towards a more sustainable economy. For the Netherlands, economic diplomacy and CSR go hand in hand. Therefore, the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, apart from promoting CSR in the Central American Business Community, has the aim to inspire other organizations to operate in a responsible way. CSR is not a luxury, but an organizational strategy that produces great benefits for companies and organizations alike, and mainly for the society in general. It has been proven that companies and organizations that apply CSR, consistently obtain bigger profitability, finances and reputation, which contributes to improving the competitiveness. This way and with the perspective of promoting the success of organizations that work with and for a culture of integrity and corporate social responsibility, we present in this brief report the actions that we have carried out about CSR during 2015.
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4
Organizational Profile
The Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is a regional diplomatic headquarter located in San José and represents the interests of The Netherlands in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. One of main tasks of the Embassy consists of offering assistance to Dutch citizens, companies and Dutch organizations present in the region of Central America. It also helps authorities, residents and companies from Central America to establish contacts with the Kingdom of the Netherlands (The Netherlands, Aruba, Curacao and Saint Martin). The Embassy in San José is part of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Netherlands with headquarters in The Hague. The ministry is made up by a network of diplomatic missions in the whole world:
114 Embassies 24 Honorary consulates general 345 Consulates general 12 Permanent representations for international organizations, including the United Nations, the European Union, the NATO, the OECD, the OPCW and the OSCE 2 Embassy offices (Almaty and Pristina) 22 Business Support Offices 2 Agro business support Offices
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5
Management approach of the Embassy
The Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in San José houses 18 government employees. Five of them are diplomats, while the others are local hired staff with functions in: economic diplomacy, human rights, peace and justice, communication, administrative- and consular services. Even though in formal terms the embassy has a functional structure, the ways of operating have varied significantly in recent years. The Embassy became increasingly project-oriented in the before mentioned areas and that responds to the established strategic objectives in the annual plan. It means the organizational dynamic is less hierarchic and more horizontal. At the same time a new approach to working, known as “Het nieuwe werken” (smart working) has been implemented. The tasks are based more on results now, giving flexibility and the opportunity to staff for more creativity in their (approach to) work, with less supervision and more trust in the capacities and responsibility of the staff. This new approach is supported by flexible working hours and supporting technologies to carry out the work. A high speed internet connection is provided in the office. Besides, for flexible work, smartphones and other tools are provided to facilitate work at distance. So it’s made possible not necessarily being physically present at an assigned desk at the office, all the time. Your workplace is now dependent on the nature of work and the degree of coordination that is needed. Under this logic, the installations of the embassy have been redesigned to boost this new focus. Previously, every staff member had his own place at the office. Currently flexible working places have been created, where no one is in the position to claim own space, which stimulates teamwork and helps projects. In the same line, half of the space of the embassy has been redesigned as an executive centre that has been named “Orange Plaza” (OP). OP has 7 multi-purpose meeting rooms and is equipped with video beams, screens and high speed internet. This has led to an impressive impulse of “smart working” and has differentiated the diplomatic work in the country.
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6
Actions in the field of CSR
Several actions executed in the subject of CSR in 2015, respond to the annual plan of the embassy and the management approach described in the previous section. In particular:
Allocating funds of cooperation for the promotion and implementation of initiatives of CSR in the region of Central America. Using Orange Plaza as a space of positioning and diffusion of CSR. Launching of an internal voluntary program in Corporate Social Responsibility for staff members. Promoting CSR by means of the Economic Diplomacy. Continuity was guaranteed for the program of the Blue Flag.
In the following subsections details are presented for each of these actions.
6.1
External CSR
6.1.1
Cooperation Funds
At the beginning of 2015, the formal closure of a project in Panama was realized, which had to finalize in 2014 according to the accepted time line. However, extension was approved by the embassy in San Jose that permitted enlarging the impact and range of the project. The following table shows the main details of the project:
Human Rights Fund Name of Project: Country: Executing party: Period: Current situation: Budget:
Promoting Corporate Social Responsibility through the development of programs for the prevention and eradication of child labor in Panama Panama National Council of the Private Enterprise (CoNEP) December 2012 – December 2014 Completed USD $ 646.000,00
Project objective: Activate business participation and social mobility through the adoption of social responsibility strategies, preventing and eliminating child labor (in its worst forms), to ensure that the country meets the Millennium Development Goals, specifically the goal to eradicate the worst forms of child labor in 2015-2016, and to completely eradicate child labor by 2010.
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Results: A) According to the Panamanian Statistic Institute, child labour decreased in the last 2 years by 50%. This means that 23.700 children have stopped working and went back to school. This project contributed in obtaining these positive results. B) The international Project Management Association (IPMA) granted the Silver Award in the Category C Community Service Project Management during the IPMA Awards 2015, for the outstanding social contribution of this project.
6.1.2
Small Projects Funds
The funds for small projects, internally known as the PKA-ODA, consist of a fund designated for El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua, which is 25.000 euros per country. The purpose of these funds is to help initiatives in the field of CSR; to foster the sustainable development and to fight the poverty in the region. In the following two subsections, the actions undertaken with these funds will be described.
6.1.2.1
Small Projects Funds, period 2014-2015
Along 2015, two projects that began in the last trimester of 2014 were finalized, as will be shown in the following tables: CSR Project in Guatemala FUND PKA-ODA GUATEMALA Name of Project: Country: Executing party: Period: Current Situation Budget:
Publication about cases of best practices of Corporate Social Responsibility in Guatemala Guatemala Centro para la Acción de la Responsabilidad Social Empresarial (CENTRARSE) November 2014 – July 2015 Completed USD $ 31.306,00
Project Objective Collect 50 to 60 cases of best CSR practices, which can be replicated in different industries and company sizes.
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RESULTS: A very good quality publication on CSR best practices in Guatemala was developed, which can be found in a digital format on the web page of Centrarse. It can be accessed and downloaded for free. The publication has an excellent criticism by business chambers and other organizations. The examples of best practices in several industries contributed to the understanding of the dimension of competitive potential benefits by implementing CSR. At the same time the project generated links between the private sector, academy and different actors in the society to collaborate in the subject of documentation and promotion of CSR. CSR Project in El Salvador FUND PKA-ODA EL SALVADOR Name of Project: Country: Executing Party Period: Current Situation: Budget:
Improve performance of Salvadorian SMEs through the implementation of responsible business practices with an emphasis on environment El Salvador Fundación Empresarial para la Acción Social (FUNDEMAS) October 2014 – August 2015 Completed USD $ 24.277,50
Project Objective: Improve performance en CSR of SMEs, with emphasis on the environment.
RESULTS: The project optimized the environmental performance of the selected Salvadorian SMEs, through implementing the tools to measure the environmental impact of companies in order to adapt to climate change. This way, SMEs achieved operational efficiency that translates in costs reduction and in mitigation of operational risks.
6.1.2.2
Small Projects Funds, period 2015-2016
At the end of 2015, four projects in the field of CSR started and will end in 2016. The following tables show some descriptive facts about these projects.
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FUND PKA-ODA EL SALVADOR Name of Project: Country: Executing party: Period: Current situation: Budget:
Strengthening the competitiveness of SMEs through a transforming and high impact training model: MBA Micro. El Salvador Fundación Salvadoreña de Apoyo Integral (FUSAI) December 2015 – June 2016 In progress USD $ 27.500,00
Project objective: Strengthen and develop the entrepreneurial capacity of 60 entrepreneurs of SMEs, transforming them into competent entrepreneurs with access to local markets.
FUND PKA-ODA GUATEMALA Name of Project: Country: Executing party: Period: Current situation: Budget:
Training program in Guiding Principles for Business and Human Rights for the business sector. Guatemala Centro para la Acción de la Responsabilidad Empresarial (CENTRARSE) December 2015 – October 2016 In progress USD $ 33.783,00
Project objective: Raise awareness and strengthen the capacities of the business sector in the subject of Business and Human Rights, through a methodology of workshops.
FUND PKA-ODA HONDURAS Name of Project: Country: Executing party: Period: Current situation: Budget:
Social inclusion to strengthen value chains Honduras Fundación Hondureña de Responsabilidad Social Empresarial (FUNDAHRSE) December 2015 – October 2016 In progress USD $ 32.480,00
Project objective: Strengthen the competitiveness of 60 SMEs in food, communications and construction sectors to maintain their activity in the market as strategic suppliers of medium and large business in their respective sectors. 11
FUND PKA-ODA NICARAGUA Name of Project:
Country: Executing party: Period: Current situation: Budget:
Contributing to poverty reduction through training in Corporate Social Responsibility, Human Rights and Business, and Financial Education for collaborators of Small and Medium Enterprises in Nicaragua Nicaragua Fundación Unión Nicaragüense para la Responsabilidad Social Empresarial (UNIRSE) December 2015 – Augustus 2016 In progress USD $ 28.750,00
Project objective: Facilitate training tools in CSR, the UN Guiding Principles on Human Rights in Business, Financial Education for collaborators of SMEs in Nicaragua, so that they will implement CSR programs and good practices for the protection of human rights, and that they will replicate Financial education themes as a tool for reduction of the internal poverty in the businesses
6.1.3
.
Orange Plaza
As a part of the new dynamic of diplomatic work promoted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in The Netherlands, known as “smart working”, the Embassy decided to redesign half of its facilities to an executive centre known as Orange Plaza. It provides the possibility to expand and diversify the field of action, through the development of partnerships with multidisciplinary teams and involvement of strategic allies in Corporate Social Responsibility who make use of or visit the facilities. Specifically, the following events took place within Orange Plaza:
National Advisory Board of Social Responsibility (Consejo Consultativo Nacional de Responsabilidad Social - CCNRS): Meetings of the board of directors and key stakeholders. I Social Responsibility Workshop for Journalists: Around 40 journalists of different media and organizations exchanged knowledge about Social Responsibility and best practices to communicate on this subject. Conference about the Ruggie Principles: With the distinguished presence of Mrs. Montserrat Solano (Ombudswoman), SMEs and representatives of various organizations learned about the relation between human rights and business through the framework of the Ruggie Principles: the responsibility of the state to protect human rights, the responsibility of the companies to respect human rights and the obligation to compensate the transgressions to human rights. MVO Nederland: On the occasion of the visit of Mrs. Reina Buijs, Deputy Director- General for International Cooperation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in The Netherlands, the embassy organized a breakfast and webinar with MVO Nederland. Members of the team responsible for the National Plan of Corporate Social Responsibility of Costa Rica assisted
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6.1.4
the webinar to learn and exchange experiences and knowledge in the formulation of this type of plans. Visit of the First Lady to Costa Rica: Mrs. Mercedes Peña, First Lady of the Republic of Costa Rica visited Orange Plaza. On the occasion of her visit, a presentation of the embassy work in the field of CSR in the Central American region was given. University for International Cooperation: Seminar on planning of scenarios about climate change. Local decision makers were trained in how to think of different future scenarios related to the climate change and how to incorporate these scenarios in the agenda of national planification. LatinClima: Webinar about climate change for a network of Latin-American journalists. Arias Foundation for Peace: Meeting of stakeholders for education and work for youth. Launch of the publication: Culture of Corporate Social Responsibility: situation of work and youth. Green Earth Tour: Conference and training session for young leaders about the importance of leadership in the community to construct social impact and adaption of climate change Sustainable Pineapple Platform: multi-sector dialogue with private sector, NGOs and government.
CSR promotion through Economic Diplomacy
As part of the work of the embassy in the field of economic diplomacy, the most relevant undertakings of 2015 are:
Strategic Alliance with the Chamber of Industries to grant the National Award for Social Responsibility of the Program of Excellence. The winning company will obtain a ticket, financed by KLM, to visit the Netherlands in 2016. This trip will be for 3 days, filled with visits to organizations and businesses in the same sector, to learn about Dutch best practices in sustainability and CSR, as well as to exchange experiences. At the end of 2014, Costa Rica initiated a process for the elaboration of a National Plan for Social Responsibility, under the flag of the Ministry of Economy. The embassy set up various meetings with government officials who have a roll in the program, to share with them the Dutch experience in the field and to offer technical assistance and CSR tools, which had a very positive response. Five government officials responsible for developing a National Plan of Social Responsibility of Costa Rica have been awarded a grant to take a crash course on Corporate Social Responsibility with the Business Development Agency (AED). The experience was very positive for the officials, as they acquired knowledge and innovative tools in the field of CSR, to be used in their work formulating the National CSR Plan. The Passport for Corporate Social Responsibly has been translated into English and made public. This document contains a wide arrange of information about the significance of CSR and its relation with international businesses, guidelines of the OECD, human rights and the environment. Besides, it explains the ethics of profit and how to produce benefits with the help of CSR. Furthermore, it contains a directory of CSR organizations in the Netherlands. In short, it is a very complete guide for almost every organization interested in entering the world of CSR to obtain a competitive advantage. The National Plan on Human Rights and Business of the Netherlands has been translated as well. It is a document that outlines the existing policies in the Netherlands to prevent 13
businesses disrespecting human rights, either directly of as a part of a value chain. It also presents the Ruggie Principles and describes additional steps to take in this field. The social media have been consistently used to promote CSR. The embassy has a policy of publishing a message about sustainability and CSR every Thursday on the Facebook page, with the goal to communicate and educate the general public on CSR.
6.2
Internal CSR
6.2.1
The Blue Flag: beyond environmental benefits
From 2012 onwards, the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands has participated actively in the Blue Flag ecological program. The Blue Flag is an award that is annually granted in Costa Rica to reward efforts and voluntary work in the search of the conservation and development, in accordance with the protection of natural sources, the implementation of actions to cope with climate change, the pursuit of an improved hygienic situation and improvement of public health of the inhabitants of Costa Rica. The Embassy has won the Blue Flag 3 times (2012, 2013 and 2014) in the category of Climate Change, getting a star on each occasion. It should be noted that with obtaining the Blue Fag in 2012, the Embassy of the Kingdom of The Netherlands was the first embassy to obtain this award in the country. In 2015, at the opening of the “Special Events category” of the Blue Flag, once again it was the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to be the first embassy to win this award. In this category, the Kingsday was awarded the Blue Flag for its attention to sustainability. Having obtained the Blue Flag in two categories doesn’t just mean that the embassy achieved a positive environmental and social impact. The implementation of this initiative in CSR has also resulted in economic value for the embassy, being an organization of such a small size. Let’s have a look at some results related to the action taken to reduce the consumption of water, electricity and fuel: Electricity: - Reduced consumption of 45% in 2015 compared to 2011. - An accumulated economic value of US $33.457,85 between 2011 and 2015. Water: - Reduced consumption of 72% in 2015, compared to 2011. - An accumulated economic value of US $6.441,21 between 2011 and 2015. Fuel: -
Reduced consumption of 43% in 2015 compared to 2011 An accumulated economic value of US $4.917,08 between 2011 and 2015.
ATTENTION: It should be noted that the monetary figures above are the result of a measurement referred to the base year (2011) in which we started with the Blue Flag. For the calculations, the price rates and the exchange rate of each year were used. The idea of this exercise is to reflect on the economic value that follows from applying the sustainability criteria. 14
The following graphs show the annual electricity consumption (kilowatt / hour), water (cubic meters /m³) and fuel (litters), and their respective monetary value. Also, the economic value achieved by implementing the Blue Flag program compared with the scenario of not having participated in the program. Electricity
Annual consumption of Electricity in KW/H 100.000
89.549
KW/H Annual
80.000 59.628
60.000
54.198
50.994
Reduction of 45% in 2015 compared to base year (2011)
49.183
40.000
Electricity
20.000 0 2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
Year
Annual consumption of Electricity in US$ USD $ Annual
$20.000
$17.272,66
$15.000
$11.927,69
$12.974,24
$11.429,91
$12.596,67
$10.000 Electricity
$5.000 $2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
Year
15
The next graph shows a comparison between the economic value of maintaining a constant annual consumption of KW/H as in 2011 (89.549 KW/H) and the economic value created by implementing the Blue Flag program from 2011 until 2015.
Electricity $25.000
$22.964,67 $21.436,78
USD $ Anual
$20.000
$17.912,94
$20.071,72
$17.272,66
$15.000
$12.974,24 $11.927,69
$10.000
$12.596,41 Absolut costs
$11.429,91
Costs without Blue Flag
$5.000
$2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
Año
The following graph shows the evolution of the economic value created with the Blue Flag Program:
Electricity - Economic Value $12.000
Total accumulated EV:
$10.000
$10.368,26
US$ 33.457,85
$8.000 $6.000
$8.462,53
$8.641,81 Accumulated
$4.000 $2.000 $- $2011
$5.985,25
2012
2013
2014
2015
16
Water
Annual consumption of Water in m³ 600
548,1
Reduction of 72% in 2015 compared to base year (2011)
M3 Annual
500 400 300
234,1
200
145,7
100
153,3
Water
93,6
0 2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
Year
Annual consumption of Water in US$ $1.600
$1.456,63
USD $ Annual
$1.400 $1.200 $1.000
$772,24
$800
$547,32
$600 $400
$554,28 $399,41
Water
$200 $2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
Year
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The following graph shows a comparison between the economic value of maintaining a constant consumption of water in m³, based on 2011 (548.1 m³) and the economic value created by implementing the Blue Flag program between 2011 and 2015.
Water $2.500
$2.226,13
$2.380,66
USD $ Anual
$2.278,83 $2.000
$1.828,83
$1.500
$1.456,63 Absolut Costs
$1.000
$772,24
Costs without Blue Flag
$554,28
$547,32 $399,41
$500
$2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
Año
The following graph shows the evolution of the economic value created with the Blue Flag Program:
Water - Economic Value $2.500
Total accummulated EV: US$ 6.441,21
$2.000 $1.981,25
$1.500
$1.724,55
$1.678,81
Accummulated
$1.000 $500 $- $2011
$1.056,60
2012
2013
2014
2015
18
Fuel
Liters Annual
Annual consumption of Fuel in Liters 4500 4000 3500 3000 2500 2000 1500 1000 500 0
4202,45
4100,60 3139,36 2464,67
2382,99
Reduction of 43% in 2015 compared to base year (2011) Fuel
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
Year
USD $ Annual
Annual consumption of Fuel in US$ $4.500 $4.000 $3.500 $3.000 $2.500 $2.000 $1.500 $1.000 $500 $-
$3.920,81
$4.152,66 $3.183,02 $2.377,47
$2.697,72
Fuel
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
Year
19
The following graph shows a comparison between the economic value of maintaining a constant annual consumption of fuel with base year 2011 (4.202,45 L) and the economic value created by implementing the Blue Flag program from 2011 to 2015.
Fuel $5.000 $4.500
USD $ Anual
$4.000
$4.255,80
$4.757,48
$4.260,90
$3.920,81 $4.152,66
$3.500 $3.000
$4.053,77
$3.183,02
$2.500
$2.697,72 Absolut costs
$2.377,47
$2.000
Costs without Blue Flag
$1.500 $1.000 $500 $2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
Año
The following graph shows the evolution of the economic value created with the Blue Flag Program:
Fuel - Economic Value $2.500
Total accumulated EV:
$2.000
$2.059,76
$1.500
$1.676,30 Accummulated
$1.000 $1.077,88
$500 $- $2011
US$ 4.917,08
$103,14 2012
2013
2014
2015
20
Finally, the following pie chart shows the cumulative total economic value created by reducing consumption of electricity, water and fuel, between 2011 and 2015.
Accumulated: US$ 44.816,26
$4.917,08
$6.441,21
Fuel Water
$33.457,85
6.2.2
Electricity
Professional Volunteer Program
In 2015, the Embassy initiated an internal volunteer program in Social Responsibility. The idea of the program is that employees contribute with their talents, knowledge or experience, to projects or organizations working in subjects that are aligned to objectives of our embassy. In this way, the program is aimed to create shared value and not just actions of willingness. To comply, the employees have to spend a minimum of 16 hours of their regular working hours within another organization.
6.2.2.1
Social Responsibility fair
The launch of the professional volunteer program in Social Responsibility was carried out through an internal fair in Orange Plaza, in collaboration with Federation of Social Organizations (Federación de Organizaciones Sociales - FOS). The activity consisted of two parts: in the first part, the embassy employees received training by FOS about the meaning of voluntarism and the criteria 21
to determine the participation in some volunteer initiatives. In the second part, an exhibition was held with the presence of the following organizations:
Guías y Scouts de Costa Rica Asociación de Voluntarios para el Servicio en Áreas Protegidas de Costa Rica Manos sin Fronteras TECHO FOS
At the fair, the Embassy staff had the opportunity to meet the representatives of the above mentioned organizations, which explained which projects were available or open for volunteer work. This way, the option to perform voluntary work was provided by the Embassy.
6.2.2.2
Specific actions of voluntary work by the staff
Federación de Organizaciones Sociales After the Social Responsibility Fair with FOS, a requirement emerged for this organization to meet the new lines and trends of work of the Dutch NGOs, under the challenge of the reduction of funds under the traditional scheme of cooperation. The ambassador prepared a series of 3 conferences in FOS, where she explained the new paradigm of NGOs and gave various recommendations and strategies to provide operational and financial sustainability.
Entrepreneurship club of INCAE Business School The Officer of Economic Diplomacy organized 3 brainstorm sessions for the exchange of knowledge about Dutch innovations, in order to provide inputs to students of INCAE Business School in the field of entrepreneurship with the aim to improve the productivity and competitiveness of Latin American companies. Chamber of Industries of Costa Rica The CSR Officer contributed as a judge in the jury for the category of Social Responsibility of the program of Excellence of the Chamber of Industries. A project of Social Responsibility from a cooperative of electrification has been evaluated in the north of the country. The Excellence Program awards yearly companies that stand out by realizing the best continuation in its processes. Association Friends of the Rio Torres The Public Diplomacy Officer provided a workshop on strategic planning for the Association Friends of Rio Torres, so they could formulate a work plan in order to develop the banks of the River Torres in a sustainable way. This association is made up of volunteers who mostly live in San José and required guidance to better coordinate their actions to fulfil its intention of rescuing the Torres River.
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6.3
Regional CSR
Under the program “smart working”, the Dutch embassies in Latin America decided to work in a more strategic and integrated manner. The idea of this collaboration is that each embassy specializes in a specific economic sector and provides assistance or advice on this sector to other embassies in the region that require contacts, reports, data or consultancy when economic diplomacy is conducted in this sector. Due to the hard work that has gone into developing Corporate Social Responsibility by the Dutch Embassy in San José over the recent years, it was decided to allocate this theme to our embassy. In itself, CSR is not a sector, but a cross-cutting theme. Therefore, the role of the Embassy in San José is to lead regional efforts in CSR. With CSR as a focal point, the embassy in San Jose has received inquiries from other embassies, mainly on how to integrate CSR into their work within the field of economic diplomacy. To do this, besides giving tips, we have provided them with tools such as the CSR Passport and the National Plan for Human Rights and Business, which we have translated into Spanish.
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7
Final Comments
Contrary to what is established as conventional knowledge, Corporate Social Responsibility is no longer synonymous with philanthropy. In the Netherlands there is a clear point of view about CSR: it is not a luxury but a strategy that produces great benefits for both the implementing companies and society in general. It has been proven that companies, who implement responsible practices in environmental, social and corporate governance matters, obtained consistently greater financial profitability, which contributes to improving the economic competitiveness of countries that actively promote CSR. Dutch business culture is renowned around the world for putting special emphasis on the sustainability issues. For its part, Costa Rica is a world leader in the field of environmental protection and nature conservation. In addition to their central role in important processes as the COP21, they are also on the way to joining the OECD. The momentum of CSR naturally unites us as strategic partners in creating shared value of regional scope. With this publication, we aim not only to share information about our practices and actions in the field of CSR, but also to encourage and inspire other public and private organizations to recognize the need for their operations to be more sustainable and responsible. Thus, we also aim to increase confidence and improve decision-making of governments, investors, consumers, citizens, among others, who are increasingly demanding reliable information about the impacts on the environment, economy and society.
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