Sustainable development goals in Bolivia: assumptions and realities

The concept of sustainable development is incredibly humanistic and noble in theory, and there is no other option for human civilization if it wants to survive the next century. However, this concept appears quite challenging to achieve in developing countries. In particular, due to high poverty levels in Bolivia, this is more of an ideal than a practical theory. Because our globe is a single balanced biophysical system, sustainable development is a global process considered more of an assumption in developing countries due to pressing economic needs. Thus, few Bolivian firms may theoretically attain sustainable development in the short term. We predict that there is no short-term sustainable development for firms in developing countries like Bolivia. We surveyed representative Bolivian firms to analyze their current corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices to attain sustainable development goals (SDGs). We developed a new survey based on the B Lab’s SDG Action Manager tool (B Lab Global 2022) and surveyed five firms regarding their CSR practices and relationship to the SDGs. Our results indicate that firms primarily work in different degrees on SDG 1 (no poverty), SDG 3 (good health and well-being), SDG 4 (quality education), SDG 8 (decent work and economic growth), SDG 9 (industry, innovation, and infrastructure), and SDG 15 (life on land). But they have substantial limitations regarding achieving the bulk of the SDGs through their current CSR practices. Based on our results, we discuss future implications for practitioners.