ABSTRACT
This chapter presents Colombia profile that includes sustainable enterprise in context; priority issues, trends, government policies and case studies. On closer examination of Colombia's large companies, although many claim to be sustainable enterprises, it is a typically "weak sustainability", in which it is seen as acceptable to substitute the loss of environmental capital with improvements in human capital. Hence, the focus is mostly on social impact strategies through foundations, cross-sector partnerships and alliances with the government, rather than dealing with environmental impacts. Condimentos Putumayo is a social enterprise that arose out of an initiative of the Government of Colombia and the US Agency for International Development with the purpose of substituting illicit crops for pepper plants. This enterprise is made up of leaders and farming families from Putumayo, a remote region noted for being a centre of armed violence and criminality in the country, who decided to become Agricultural Entrepreneurs for Peace. Diseclar is a sustainable enterprise that is currently in its start-up phase.
