Being in business is about more than just the bottom line, according to the Costa Rican-American Chamber of Commerce (AMCHAM), which yesterday recognized eight companies and one newspaper for their “corporate social responsibility.”

During a ceremony in Heredia, north of San José, AMCHAM unveiled the winners of this year's Contribution to the Community Awards, an initiative started by the chamber 10 years ago to encourage businesses to carry out educational, social and environmental programs.

The grand winner in the Large Business category was the Compañía Bananera Atlántica, a branch of Chiquita Brands International, for its “Nature and Community” program, which protects more than 100 hectares of forest and educates citizens about environmental responsibility.

Ecodesarrollo Papagayo S.A. won the grand prize in the Medium Business category for its program “ Papagayo Peninsula,” which promotes responsible development in the Papagayo Gulf, off the northern Pacific coast.

Wal-Mart Costa Rica was honored in the Social Responsibility category for its program “ Fertile Land,” while the beverage company Florida Ice and Farm won in the Environmental category for its recycling and dengue prevention program. In the Education category, Microsoft Costa Rica took home the prize (all winners received elegant glass trophies) for its “ Alliance for Education” program, and the Arias & Muñoz law firm won as a medium business in the Education category for its ELW program to teach English to lawyers.

AMCHAM gave honorable mentions to Sykes Latin America for its program “Planting Hope” and Procter and Gamble Costa Rica for its “Eliminating Barriers” program.

The chamber also recognized the first winner of the Alberto Martén Chavarría Award created this year for media coverage of corporate social responsibility. The honor went to Carolina Acuña, of the daily La Prensa Libre.

The luncheon ceremony was attended by guest of honor President Oscar Arias, who bestowed the winners their trophies and seized the opportunity to speak to the roomful of businessmen and women about his tax-reform initiatives.

“The tax reform my government is proposing can be seen as an extension of the principles of corporate social responsibility you all represent,” Arias said.

By Katherine Stanley
Tico Times Staff | kstanley@ticotimes.net

Public Education Minister Leonardo Garnier signed a letter of intent yesterday to put the story of a turtle called Hope – the protagonist of a new picture book designed to teach kids about the importance of conservation – into the hands of students nationwide.

The book forms the heart of an educational program implemented by the Epic Foundation this year at Escuela Buenaventura Corrales, the downtown San José primary school where yesterday's event was held. Leading up to the presentation, students studied marine life and participated in a painting contest; the 50 winners, who depicted dolphins, whales and other creatures, received copies of “Hope” and a chance to visit Costa Rica's famed Isla del Coco, a national park off the Pacific coast.

The nonprofit foundation is the brainchild of Cuban-American businessman Eduardo Acosta, the former vice-president of the Los Sueños Resort near the central Pacific beach town of Jacó. The idea of using the nation's schools to help ensure that the country's young people will protect the environment occurred to him during his first trip to the island, he told The Tico Times.

He worked with Costa Rican artist Ferlander Arguedas to create the paintings for “Hope,” which depict the eponymous turtle floating happily in a pristine sea, then watching as shark-finning, damaging fishing practices, oil slicks and other forms of human interference gradually destroy the ocean.

With the support of Garnier, the foundation hopes to expand the program in the months ahead. Corporate sponsors can buy copies in the book in bulk – for 350 books, they'll pay only $350, said Quirós – and donate them to the school of their choice. In addition, any school can hold a marine-life painting contest and, along with foundation personnel, nominate one student for an Isla del Coco trip.

For more information, visit www.epiccostarica.org and keep an eye on future editions of The Tico Times.

-Tico Times