According to the World Bank, more than half of the world's GDP is generated in sectors that rely heavily on the services provided by the environment. However, the integrity and functionality of these natural assets are increasingly compromised, as 60% to 70% of the world's ecosystems are being degraded more than they can recover.
For the market to function effectively, it is essential that economic agents have clear, objective and non-discriminatory rules. In this scenario, complying with the standard is not a simple task and requires that the information disclosed by the different bodies be consistent and aligned with the same objectives.
With the gradual increase in the legal obligations of companies; ensuring compliance with the regulations that apply to the company, and consequently avoiding sanctions by the competent authorities, has become a preeminent and challenging activity.
Corporate Governance is understood as the set of rules, principles, policies, and procedures that regulate and define the structure and operation of a company's governing bodies. It establishes and regulates the relationships between shareholders, the board of directors, the management team, and stakeholders, regulating the decision-making process for long-term value generation.
Environmental monitoring is defined as the measurement and evaluation of physical, chemical, and biological indicators of an identified environment for a determined period of time, with the purpose of measuring the changes that can be generated in the environment.
When we talk about social aspects within ESG criteria, we refer to organizational policies and practices related to human rights, business ethics, supply chain management, inclusion, worker health and safety, and social impacts resulting from corporate operations.
ESG practices have taken a predominant role in the business world and have become a requirement for companies. More and more investors are looking to allocate their money in organizations that are aligned with good practices in the environmental, social and corporate governance fields. With this new trend, avoiding simulating compliance with ESG criteria is one of the major challenges facing the market. This practice, known as greenwashing, is the attempt by an organization to make its products or services, and itself, appear sustainable when in fact they are not.
Latin America is one of the regions hardest hit by climate change in the world. Brazil, Mexico, Venezuela, Chile, and Argentina are the countries most likely to experience extreme annual droughts. To combat this, countries have implemented national sustainable finance policies. That is, they have started to take social and environmental factors into account in long-term investment decisions.
Social concern for sustainable economic development has led investors to require more ESG information to determine where their interests will be best protected. The regulations, for their part, have not been left behind and have adapted to this new panorama. It is in this context that the Chilean Financial Market Commission (CMF) published the General Standard 461, which incorporates sustainability and corporate governance issues in the organizations' Annual Report.
Chile is the second-largest producer of salmon in the world after Norway, concentrating 26% of world production. In 2020, the Latin American country harvested 1,043,144 tons according to the Chilean Salmon Council. Maintaining production of this scale in a meticulous manner requires an ecosystemic approach that includes the management of industrial waste, involvement with the communities in the areas of influence, and proper management of legal responsibilities.
