CSR360

Introduction to the Partner

Amartya is a social enterprise that seeks to promote business models that are both socially and environmentally sustainable. We believe that sustainability, in all its forms, can only be attained through the promotion of ethical leadership and the active participation and cooperation of all sectors of society.

Amartya promotes systematic change through the development of social projects that involve the cooperation of distinct actors. We are convinced that no sector, whether it be governmental, commercial or from the civil society can bring sustainability in all its forms, solely by itself.

Our mission is to contribute to the promotion and practice of Social Responsibility and Sustainability as essential values for optimizing business practices in the private sector, influencing the government’s public policy, and strengthen social engagement in the community.

We work within an organizational structure supported by three fundamental pillars of action:

• The promotion of Sustainability and CSR in the corporate world.
• The development of conceptual knowledge in the social field through research.
• The development of empirical knowledge through the management of social projects that will articulate the interests of the three sectors (government, social sector and private sector).

CSR Area

We provide companies with the experience necessary for successfully designing, implementing, and evaluating socially responsible business practices.

We strive to make CSR an integral part of the strategic planning, decision-making, and general management of each company, with the goal of adding value both to the business and to society as a whole.

CSR ACADEMIC PROJECTS:

The University of Sodertorns, Kulturstudier AS and the social enterprise Amartya offer an international one semester full-time course (30 ECTS credits) in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). The course is offered twice per year in Buenos Aires, Argentina, starting in February and August.

This course provides a comprehensive overview of the CSR debate, and gives the student a thorough understanding of how to integrate CSR into corporate strategies, decision-making and management, to add both financial and non-financial value to the company and society in which it operates.

The course is divided into 5 main sections. The first section looks at the development of CSR within a broader socio-economic and political context. It will examine different approaches to understanding CSR, why it has developed into an influential concept in both business management and public governance, and what role it can play in the pursuit of sustainable development.

For more information visit www.amartya-ar.net

Social Projects Area:

CONSUMA DIGNIDAD

ConSuma Dignidad is a project designed to promote practices of responsible production, commercialization, and consumption. Its central objectives are the creation and strengthening of a network of organizations specializing in Fair Trade, Economic Solidarity, and the promotion of Responsible Consumption.

Consuma Dignidad facilitate the development of a network of producers that share fundamental values such as the use of dignified labor conditions, no child labor exploitation, a fair price for the producers, making of democratic decisions, respect for the environment and transparency. Consuma Dignidad work together with the producers in order to strengthen their productive and institutional processes, at the end of reaching models of production that are economically, socially and environmental sustainable.

Parallel to the work with participating organizations, the project raise consciousness among consumers regarding ethical and sustainable consumption. Consuma Dignidad work on the positioning of Fair Trade/ Economic Solidarity and the specific promotion of the products of the network through communication campaigns oriented to key sectors of society.

For more information visit www.consumadignidad.org.ar

DONCEL

Doncel is a social inclusion project directed at youths under the age of 21 that live in public Institutes. We propose to create new opportunities for these youths through an assistance program that integrate them into the workforce.

Currently, in Argentina, it is estimated that there are more than 20,000 youths living in Institutions. At the age of 21 these youths are forced to leave the Home without familial support, decent preparation, or substantive work possibilities.

Consequently, once out of the Home, they enter a situation of high social vulnerability.

The youths most commonly enter into these institutions due to situations of family abandonment and/or abuse. Therefore, living in Homes is a clear improvement for the youths because they are removed from their previous harmful environment. However, in the long run, living in the Home can have dangerous consequences due to the social isolation that the institutionalization promotes. In this way, those who should be empowered instead fall into a situation of social exclusion that labels them and prevents them from developing in a healthy manner.

It is essential to create a stable work integration for these youths that promote construction of plans for life outside of the Home and a more optimistic view of the future.

For more information www.amartya-ar.net/english/doncel_project.pdf