“Who’s responsible for corporate responsibility?” This was the question delegates at a recent conference in Chile were invited to discuss. Members from across the spectrum – business, government and civil society – took it in turns to step up to the microphone, put their hands on their hearts and confess to their part in the grand responsibility experiment.

Given that most attendees were converts to the corporate responsibility movement, the enthusiasm was perhaps unsurprising. Even so, the significance of such a co-operative spirit should not be underestimated. As with much of the world, Latin America does not boast a long tradition of collaborative action.

Until recently, the region’s corporate sector would have been hesitant to accept it had any social role beyond the creation and subsequent redistribution profits, whether through wages, taxes or golf club membership fees.

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