Figure 11. ESA and the ESA factors at the Utility Company

116 | Carlos Fúquene Retamoso

CEO’s concern about conformity and traditions has supported the firm while focusing on shareholders’ satisfaction, management of relations with regulators and communities, all of which has resulted in the branding of the company and the maintenance of its portion of the market. The traditional and conformity values of the CEO propelled the participation of employees in voluntary programs related to social activities and supported the execution of programs related to environmental education.

Additionally, the CEO’s perspective towards compliance has supported the adoption of parent company´s practices, the use of reward and recognition to keep relations with nearby communities and the adoption of mitigation programs for biodiversity restoration. Finally, the manager´s leadership style supported business acquisitions, purchase of technology updates and fostered the initiatives for electric mobility in the city through the integration of different market players and regulators.

The theoretical model of the present work was applied to the Utility Company. The way in which the influencing factors shape the adoption of environmental strategies in the Company is outlined in Figure 11 and explained below.

Parent Company

Secondmover companies

Gr Environmental een processes Strategies Adoption strategy to be legitimate

Compliance -oriented managers Stable Business models

Figure 11. ESA and the ESA factors at the Utility Company.

4.4. Oil & Gas Company.

Oil and Gas Company started as a publicly-held company in 1951 and since 2003 it became a public stock-holding corporation (88% state-owned). The

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Company focus on upstream and midstream operations in the oil, natural gas and energy industry. The firm is listed at NYSE since 2008 and has been included in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index. Oil & Gas Company reported a net profit of 3.7 billion USD in 2018 (Chiquiza, 2019) and has 20.000 employees who support the operation in the country.

• Observed environmental strategies.

The environmental strategies of Oil & Gas Company were associated to green processes strategies in addition to their commitment to compliance, social projects and voluntary programs, environmental reporting and support for environmental conservation programs.

Green processes strategy included practices associated to processes improvement and the implementation of closed loops. Processes improvement was performed through the use of environmental indicators for process monitoring and the implementation of actions to increase oil refining efficiency. Additionally, the company implemented closed loops for gas in plants and fields in addition to re-circulation of rainwater for domestic and firefighting systems. Company, also injected wastewater in wells as a discharge mechanism.

Compliance strategy included practices associated to environmental license such as environmental impact assessments, preparation of environmental management plans, mitigation and compensation activities, establishment of effective relations with regulators, dialogues with communities to inform about the environmental impacts of projects, substitution of restricted materials and renewal of permits associated to the use and exploitation of natural resources. Specifically, CO2 compensation practices were performed through forest plantations and substitution of restricted materials were related with the development of diesel with a less amount of Sulphur, in compliance with resolution 182087 (Resolución 182087, 2007; G. Rodriguez, 2014).

The development of social projects included educational programs in culture and society, co-financing of infrastructure and public utilities, financing of social entrepreneurship and support of rural development projects. The educational programs covered the training of personnel from municipalities where the company operates, in order to build the ability to manage social and environmental projects and evaluate and preserve endangered species of special interest. Additionally, in relation to public utilities, Oil & Gas Company has co-financed projects focused on the improvement of the basic sanitation conditions of communities, contributing