ABSTRACT
This chapter provides Venezuela profiles, including key information about the relevant corporate sustainability and responsibility (CSR) history, country-specific issues, trends, research, education and leading organizations. As in most of the Latin American countries, social responsibility actions in Venezuela began in the 19th century as an initiative of the private sector. In Venezuela, two CSR models have been applied. The first is based on the model of social responsibility and corporate ethics applied in two dimensions—ethics, oriented to human rights, and strategy, projected towards entrepreneurial responsibility and positioning as a consequence of the social commitment of companies. The second model is based on the sustainable human development approach introduced by the United Nations Development Programme which includes productivity, equity, sustainability and empowerment dimensions. A series of CSR-related laws has been enacted in Venezuela, establishing the values and governing principles of CSR, as well as determining the obligations to be fulfilled.
