Call for Proposals to Organize Parallel Sessions

Once again, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) is organizing the Inter-American Conference on CSR. The National Business Association of Colombia (ANDI) is our local partner in Cartagena, Colombia.

As in previous years, the Conference continues with its regional emphasis, focusing on promoting the business case and carefully analyzing basic issues to mainstream CSR in the private sector. The central theme is the Business of Inclusion, focusing on the role of the private sector in fostering a more equitable and sustainable development by including the people at the bottom of the economic pyramid - the majority- in productive initiatives that provide economic and social development opportunities. Additionally, companies can develop products and services based on the needs of this population, improving their standard of living and also accessing new markets.

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) means taking into account all stakeholders in the decision-making process. As part of this strategy, companies are entering a new working space called “inclusive business” in the CSR frontier. An inclusive business is an initiative that, without losing sight of its objective of generating benefits, contributes to overcoming poverty and social exclusion by incorporating low-income and marginalized citizens in its value chain. Through such efforts, low-income individuals that have been historically marginalized and excluded can be incorporated into the value chains, be it as suppliers, distributors, clients, workers or partners, thereby fostering their social and economic inclusion. Such strategies should have a positive impact on the bottom line while also generating employment and improving social welfare and economic development.