UNCTAD, the Guatemalan Ministry of Economy (MINECO) and the Center for the Action of Corporate Social Responsibility in Guatemala (CentraRSE) organized a meeting to present and discuss proposals for a guidance for sustainability reporting for companies in Guatemala and a guidance for the preparation of a corporate governance code. The roundtable took place on 17 June 2022 in a virtual format.
The documents presented during the roundtable represent the start of implementation of Guatemala’s Action Plan for high quality sustainability reporting developed as one of the main outputs of the Development Account 11th Tranche Project titled Enabling policy frameworks for enterprise sustainability and SDG reporting in Africa and Latin America.
In his opening remarks, Mr. Marco Tulio Molina, Minister Counselor of the Guatemalan Mission to the WTO and other international organizations, stated that the sustainability reporting guidance and the guidelines for the preparation of a corporate governance code discussed at this roundtable provide great value as a reference for companies in Guatemala.
Mr. Andreas Kuestermann, Board Director of CentraRSE, stressed that “...the importance of promoting a voluntary framework for the construction of Sustainability Reports for companies in Guatemala, as a fundamental milestone for the Sustainable Business agenda because it will offer tools aligned with essential and forward-looking course of action for Responsible Business conduct at a global level considering our country’s perspective, priorities, and initiatives.”
Ms. Isabel Garza Rodriguez, Economic Affairs Officer of UNCTAD, highlighted that the proposed documents consider international best practices as well as the specific needs of Guatemala. They aim at strengthening the sustainability reporting infrastructure in Guatemala and promoting comparability and reliability of the information.
Representatives from the Ministry of Economy (MINECO), the Center for the Action of Corporate Social Responsibility in Guatemala (CentraRSE), the Professional Body of Public Accountants and Auditors of Guatemala, the Coordinating Committee of Agricultural, Commercial, Industrial and Financial Associations (CACIF), the Planning and Programming Secretariat of the Presidency (SEGEPLAN), the National Stock Exchange (BVN), the Registry of the Securities and Merchandise Market, and the National Competitiveness Program (PRONACOM) provided comments and suggestions to enhance the proposals and further adapt them to the national needs.
In addition, another roundtable to discuss recommendations to improve the process to collect data to measure the contribution of the private sector to the SDGs with a view to include it in the Voluntary National Review of Guatemala was organized at the end of June.
