Narratives of Corporate Sustainability

Abstract

Corporate Sustainability has been continuously a relevant topic for the past two decades, with unprecedented attention on businesses for their role in building a sustainable society. This study centers on Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), a region holding substantial economic potential that still deals with significant development challenges. Given this scenario, this research aims to investigate corporate sustainability narratives in the region, aiming to uncover trends and patterns. Applying Landrum's Unified Model of Corporate Sustainability, the study conducts keyword-based content analysis on the sustainability discourse of 30 selected Latin American companies. The purpose of utilizing such methodology is to observe how Latin American corporations interpret and communicate their commitment to sustainability, exploring whether these narratives genuinely translate into a dedication to creating value for human dignity and the environment—a perspective aligned with a 'Strong Sustainability' worldview. The findings, in line with Landrum's model, indicate a prevalent narrative of 'Weak Sustainability' LAC’s selected corporations. While partially confirming LAC companies’ alignment with global discourse, as institutionalized by reporting initiatives such as the GRI, these results form a foundational step for investigating country and industry-specific narrative trends. Explorations that follow this study will be looking to discern if LAC, as a region, has different priorities when it comes to Corporate Sustainability. Identifying these nuances is deemed important to develop a regional-sensitive approach to advocate for a stronger commitment to sustainability within LAC's private sector, fostering positive systemic change and equitable development in the region.