Survey shows Chilean firms boosting sustainability efforts but face a long road ahead

Chilean companies are putting more focus and resources into sustainability, although there is still a long road ahead when it comes to putting the principles into practice as most sustainability projects are focused on governance, according to a study carried out by the Santiago chamber of commerce (CCS), non-profit Accion Empresas and CLA Consulting.

“These advances in sustainability should only be the first step. There’s a lot more to do still, and that depends partly on directors’ conviction around this issue, that they are really willing to put sustainability at the center of their strategy,” CLA Consulting founding partner Juan Pablo Eichholz told BNamericas after the presentation of the study’s results.

In the March survey, 81% of firms consulted said they had at least one department that handled sustainability issues, while 56% had a sustainability policy, up from 53% a year ago. 

Of the organizations with a delared policy, 41% said these underwent changes over the past year compared to only 26% of respondents in 2022.

Also, 63% of respondents said that budgets allocated to sustainability will increase in the next two years, while 33% believe they will remain around the same and only 4% believe they will fall.

Productive firms – defined as those that generate a physical impact – were far more likely to have a sustainability policy (66%) versus service firms (40%).

When it came to ESG projects, 77% of respondents said their companies had engaged in initiatives related to governance, while in the case of social projects the number fell to 62% and in environment-related ones only 49%.

“If there isn’t good corporate governance, it is difficult to carry out everything that is related to environment and social issues,” Eichholz said.

During his presentation, the consultant credited new norms such as a 2021 rule established by securities regulator CMF that obliges companies to include sustainability and corporate governance information in their annual reports.

Anglo American’s corporate affairs, permits and environment VP Juan Pablo Scheaffer said during the same event that sustainability actions can also improve companies’ ties to communities where they operate and also with their own workers.

“The challenge is to show organizations that this is a good investment,” he said.

The full study can be seen here (in Spanish).