Analysis of implementation of corporate sustainability: case Bogota - Colombia

Abstract

In Bogota, as around the world, sustainability is currently a topic of high interest in business theory. But in practice, the companies have lagged in the adoption of this issue, mainly because there are not many requirements in the markets in which they participate. Companies also have a reductionist point of view in setting priorities for day-to-day activities. Further, business managers lack a clear concept of the business value of sustainability initiatives. Thus, only a group of large companies and some media companies carry out sustainability programs and publish formal reports. This article presents a brief description of how Colombian companies have tackled the concept of sustainability and an analysis of barriers in the implementation process. The main conclusion presented is the need to integrate sustainability into the routine process improvement efforts and into the business strategy, as a tool for improved innovation, efficiency and associativity. In addition, it proposes the sustainability as a managerial tool.