By José Ángel de la Paz

In order to share aspects of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) trends in the Latin American region, Dr. Ezequiel Reficco was invited to the “Advancing China and LAC’s Sustainable Development Seminar”, held in September 2019, in Beijing, China.

The EGADE Business School research professor joined approximately 40 international CSR experts, who exchanged points of view with representatives from international organizations and China’s private sector.

The seminar was convened by the think tanks Inter-American Dialogue, Beijing Rongzhi Corporate Social Responsibility Institute and Charhar Institute.

At the seminar, Reficco participated in the panel “Corporate social responsibility in Latin America: wide-ranging requirements and expectations”, with specialists from law firms, such as TozziniFreire Advogados (Brazil), and academic and research institutions, including Centro Vincular de Sostenibilidad Corporativa (Chile), Universidad del Pacífico (Peru), Comunidad de Estudios Chinos y Latinoamericanos (China), Fudan University (China), among others.

The participants, Reficco explained, examined the efforts made by Chinese companies to meet Latin America’s expectations and international standards in relation to corporate social responsibility.

“The group also discussed the structural factors that contribute to achieving best outcomes and sustainable operations in Latin America, seeking to help China succeed in its agenda in the region and generate broader support for the fulfillment of the UN Sustainable Development Goals,” he said.

During the exchange with experts, Reficco put forward his interest in investigating the effect of overseas social investments by Chinese firms.

Within this area of research, last May, Reficco won the 2018 Case Writing Competition of the European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD), in the “Inclusive Business Models” category, for the case For&From: Inditex Group’s Social Franchise.