Figure 10. ESA and ESA factors at the Chemical Company

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close relation with stakeholders in order to achieve a reputation as a responsible company. His concern about behavioral norms has supported both the culture of the firm over time and the abidance by the parent company’s guidelines towards the development of social programs. Specifically, the CEO has supported the participation of employees in voluntary programs (i.e. environmental education) focusing in the surrounding communities that are located nearby the facilities, which has fostered the implementation of additional social plans in conjunction with the municipality government.

Evidence shows that the leadership style of the CEO corresponds to a transactional constructive style in which a manager uses a clear set of rules to facilitate the exchange process between the company and the shareholders and interested parties. His leadership style has focused on the management of relations with regulators and investments in communities to introduce new products achieving win-win deals. For example, the CEO fully supported some initiatives that are considered sympathetic toward stakeholders’ management, through their participation in government’s projects that provide water solutions for communities where the Company can allocate its products. From the data collected, it could be inferred that his leadership style has played an essential role in the adoption of compliance, resource-efficiency and exchange reward strategies.

First-mover companies

Market position

Gr Environmental Strategies een processes strategy Adoption to be competitive

Profit-oriented managers Dynamic Business models

Figure 10. ESA and ESA factors at the Chemical Company.

104 | Carlos Fúquene Retamoso

4.3. Utility company

Utility company is a private and foreign company that generates, distributes and commercializes energy in different parts of the world. The company operates and maintains energy infrastructure in Colombia (e.g., dams and thermal plants) and sales and supplies energy all over the country. Utility company operates in the five continents and has presence in several countries of Latin America. Company reported an EBITDA for 466 million Euros in 2018 (Rodríguez, 2019) and has 6.000 employees who support the operation in the Country.

A subsidiary of the company was created in 1997 when “the [Colombian] law allowed private investors to buy public electricity companies” (Cavaliere et al., 2007) and private investment was allowed for managing energy generation plants (El Tiempo, 2005). Sales of public electricity companies was triggered by the economic difficulties of the electric sector in the late 90´s in Colombia (Cavaliere et al., 2007). Nowadays, the Utility Company maintains its participation in the market with 13 plants for energy generation along the country. Finally, three different international investors have bought the former subsidiary company over the last 20 years.

Utility Company operates under an oligopolistic structure established by the Colombian government, wherein three companies have a moderate concentration of the market in order to avoid an advantageous position of any of them.

• Observed environmental strategies:

The environmental practices observed at the Utility Company were associated with a green processes strategy (i.e. adoption of industry standards and pollution prevention practices) in addition to their commitment to compliance for the fulfillment of environmental regulation to develop energy generation projects (i.e. licensing for projects, application for mandatory permits, substitution of restricted materials, social initiatives required by law and pollution control and of voluntary programs in addition to their engagement in lobbying activities and alliance building with governmental organizations).

Green processes strategy included pollution prevention practices associated to the optimization of operations and the implementation of preventive maintenance. Additional practices included the adoption of GRI guidelines

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for self-reporting and the implementation of ISO 14001 standards. Additionally, in 2016 the Company received the CSR award granted by ANDESCO (National Association of Utility Companies). Such environmental excellence award recognizes companies that achieve a remarkable CSR performance in Colombia.

In relation to their commitment to compliance, Utility Company obtained, in 2009, the approval of the environmental license required to develop its more recent energy generation project in Colombia (Utility Company, 2013). To comply with the request of the local authorities, Company prepared an environmental management plan to cover mitigation, correction, prevention and compensation measures for the environmental aspects identified for the implementation of the project. On a daily basis, the environmental strategy of the company includes the fulfillment and renewal of environmental permits related to landfill use, forest exploitation, water usage, emissions and water concessions to perform energy generation projects while mitigation measures included the decontamination of reservoirs (Utility Company, 2016b).

It was also possible to observe the substitution of toxic materials by the acquisition of power transformers that use PCB-free oil, in order to comply with the Colombian environmental regulation. In 2016, Utility Company replaced 93 PCB-oil transformers and implemented the decontamination of 164 transformers (equivalent to 65 tons) in the same year using the ultrasonic washing technique (Utility Company, 2016b). In 2017, the company continued with the decontamination of transformers, retiring an amount of 4.7 tons of PCB oil (Utility Company, 2017). In 2018, the task continued, allowing to withdraw 25,17 tons of solid material and 9,63 tons of PCB oil from 71 transformers (Utility Company, 2018). The acquisition of PCB-free-oil power transformers was carried out in response to Resolutions 222 of 2011 and 1741 of 2016 of the Colombian law, enacted by the Ministry of the Environment, which focuses on the environmental management of PCB-contaminated equipment and waste.

In addition to environmental regulation, the power sector pays an environmental tax that corresponds to 6% of the value generated by hydro-electric power and 4% of the value generated by thermal plants (Velez, 2012). Utility Company is required by law to invest 1% of the value of its projects in social initiatives located in the region surrounding the facility (Velez, 2012). The social initiatives of the organization were found to be related with the construction of infrastructure to benefit communities (e.g., park remodeling