Peru needs more than just more investment, more growth, or greater operational efficiency. It also needs business leaders who understand that a well-managed company can become one of the most effective institutions for rebuilding the social fabric. This assertion stems not from a romanticized view of business, but from practical observation: wherever a company operates, employs people, and purchases from suppliers, it shapes habits, establishes standards of fairness, introduces norms, and fosters trust; or conversely, it generates vices, creates injustices, promotes informality, and undermines trust.

La historia empresarial ofrece ejemplos sugerentes. Dave Thomas, fundador de Wendy’s, no limitó su preocupación social al éxito de su cadena de restaurantes. A partir de su propia experiencia como niño adoptado, impulsó la Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption, fundada en 1992, orientada a encontrar hogares permanentes para niños que se encuentran bajo protección del Estado y que esperan ser adoptados. Wendy’s presenta esta iniciativa como una causa institucional vinculada al deseo de que cada niño tenga una familia estable y amorosa.

Blake Mycoskie, fundador de TOMS, incorporó en 2006 el modelo One for One, inspirado por la necesidad de niños sin zapatos en Argentina; la empresa señala que desde entonces ha usado el negocio como medio para servir a comunidades vulnerables, y reporta más de 100 millones de vidas impactadas. James Cash Penney, fundador de J.C. Penney, abrió en 1902 su primera tienda bajo el nombre Golden Rule Store y desarrolló desde muy pronto un plan de participación de utilidades para sus colaboradores.

En el Perú también encontramos experiencias que apuntan en esa dirección. Antonio Armejo, desde ilender, promovió en Santa Clara la creación de Más Futuro, como una manera concreta de asumir que la empresa no debía limitarse a instalar una planta moderna, sino convertirse en un buen vecino, capaz de contribuir a la seguridad ciudadana de la localidad y al desarrollo social de su entorno.

También puede mencionarse el caso de Manolo Zúñiga y PetroTal en el Lote 95, en Puinahua, Loreto, donde la creación del Fondo 2.5 expresa una comprensión territorial de la sostenibilidad: parte del valor generado por la operación se orienta a responder a necesidades concretas de la población local, fortaleciendo la legitimidad social de la empresa y su compromiso con el desarrollo del territorio.

Estos ejemplos no deben copiarse mecánicamente. No todo modelo de donación es sostenible, ni toda iniciativa social transforma realmente un territorio. Pero sí muestran algo decisivo: algunos empresarios han entendido que la empresa puede atender una necesidad social concreta sin dejar de ser empresa.

Johannes Messner lo expresó con claridad cuando afirmó: “resulta evidente lo acertado de la idea de la reforma social cristiana, de que la cuestión social ha de ser resuelta sobre todo en la empresa, si ha de serlo de alguna manera”. La frase es exigente. No significa que el Estado no tenga responsabilidad, ni que la empresa deba sustituir a la política pública. Significa algo más profundo: si la cuestión social no entra en la empresa: en sus relaciones laborales, en su cadena de valor, en su modo de operar, en su presencia territorial y en su comprensión de la persona, difícilmente será resuelta de manera duradera.

The social deterioration in our country compels us to take this thesis seriously. According to the National Institute of Statistics and Informatics (INEI), in 2025 monetary poverty affected 25.7% of the population; although this decreased compared to 2024, it still affects a quarter of the country. Extreme poverty reached 4.7%, equivalent to 1.6 million people; and 32.8% of the population was in a situation of monetary vulnerability. Rural poverty reached 35.5%, with departments such as Cajamarca, Loreto, Puno, Pasco, and Huánuco registering the highest levels.

Job insecurity is equally critical. In 2025, 70.2% of the employed population held informal jobs; in rural areas, this figure reached 94.8%. This means that millions of Peruvians work without sufficient social protection, job stability, or full access to labor rights. Added to this are severe nutrition and health problems: anemia affected 34.9% of children aged 6 to 35 months, with a higher incidence in rural areas; and chronic malnutrition affected 12.1% of children under five. Moderate to severe food insecurity affected 30.5% of the Peruvian population in 2025, according to the first official measurement by the National Institute of Statistics and Informatics (INEI) with technical assistance from the FAO.

Citizen insecurity has also become a direct threat to social life and business operations. The National Institute of Statistics and Informatics (INEI) estimates that the homicide rate rose from 7.4 per 100,000 inhabitants in 2019 to 10.7 in 2025; and reports of extortion increased from 16,346 cases in 2022 to 26,585 in 2025. Finally, the Comptroller General’s Office estimated that corruption and misconduct in public office generated losses of approximately 24.268 billion soles in 2023.

Given this reality, corporate sustainability cannot be reduced to reporting ESG indicators, complying with regulatory requirements, or funding philanthropic campaigns. A sustainable company is one that understands the territory where it operates, identifies its structural problems, recognizes its social actors, strengthens local capacities, and contributes to making the society in which it works more viable. Sustainability, viewed from the perspective of the company’s role in society, requires moving from the question “What reputational impact does this problem have on my company?” to a more demanding question: “What real problem in this territory can I help solve through my business activities?”

This changes the agenda for both the board of directors and the business owner. Poverty in the region cannot be viewed merely as an external factor; it can become an opportunity to develop local suppliers, generate formal employment, train young people, raise production standards, and strengthen family economies. Insecurity cannot be understood solely as a cost of surveillance; it requires rebuilding trust, collaborating with authorities, streamlining supply chains, protecting workers, and reducing opportunities for extortion. Informality should not be seen only as unfair competition; it is also a call to create pathways to formalization, technical assistance, and market access. Anemia, food insecurity, and low-quality education are not problems external to the business: they affect the country’s present and future human capital.

From the perspective of Christian social doctrine, this responsibility is understood more profoundly. Saint John Paul II pointed out in  Centesimus annus  that profit is a legitimate indicator of good business performance, but not the only one; a business does not exist solely to generate profits, but as a “community of persons” at the service of society. Benedict XVI insisted in  Caritas in veritate  that the economy needs justice, gratuitousness, solidarity, and responsibility for the common good; he even maintained that economic activity must make room for the logic of giving and forms of reciprocity that do not destroy the market, but rather humanize it. And Francis linked integral ecology with the care of the most vulnerable, showing that there is no true environmental sustainability without social justice.

Therefore, for a Christian business leader, sustainability is not a management fad. It is a consequence of seeing each person as someone endowed with dignity, called to develop, and deserving of real opportunities. Christian solidarity is not limited to donating resources; it requires involvement, understanding, accompanying, correcting unjust structures, and creating conditions so that the most vulnerable can develop their potential. It is not about turning the company into an NGO, but about managing it with a deeper understanding of its mission.

Peruvian business owners can ask themselves, with great clarity: What capabilities is my company leaving in the country? How many local suppliers have improved thanks to our presence? How many workers have formalized their economic lives? How many families have greater stability because of our way of operating? What have we done to reduce conflict, mistrust, or dependence on social assistance? What significant social problem have we helped solve without abandoning our core business?

Peru needs business leaders who don’t just resist social decline, but who dare to reverse it. Business owners, directors, and managers have a historic responsibility. Where the state is slow to act, where institutions are weak, where poverty persists, and where violence threatens daily life, businesses can be spaces of order, justice, decent work, learning, cooperation, and hope.

Peru’s social issues will not be resolved solely by government ministries, nor only through public programs. If they are to be truly resolved, they will also be addressed within and through businesses: in how they hire, buy, sell, train, engage in dialogue, invest, measure results, and interact with the local community. This is the kind of sustainability we need: sustainability oriented toward the common good, rooted in the local area, and driven by genuine Christian solidarity.