Sostenibilidad y negocios verdes en América Latina

This chapter in the first-ever business history textbook on Latin America examines the impact of modern business enterprise on the natural environment of the region between the 19th century and the present day. It argues that although global capitalism created much wealth for Latin America, this was at the cost of massive ecological destruction. During the first global economy in the nineteenth century considerable wealth was created from the exploitation of natural resources for the land-owning elite, at the cost of large-scale ecological destruction. During the Great Reversal in the mid-20th century, public policies aimed at “catching up” resulted in the proliferation of hydro-electric schemes and resulting co-creation of ecological damage by firms and governments. In the new global economy since 1980, renewed economic growth and consumerism resulted in mountains of waste in increasingly polluted mega-cities. Biodiversity and the natural environment have been challenged across the subcontinent. However, there were interesting positives as these ecological horrors also created opportunities for a surprising cohort of green businesses across sectors ranging from beauty and health to ecotourism. In the 21st century, the chapter argues that both business and governments in the region needed to address sustainability issues far more seriously, before a point of no return is reached.