Asociacion Civil Labor is a private non-profit organization founded in 1981 in llo, a city located in an important mining and fishing region in southern Peru. Its original mission was to defend labor rights and promote leadership among workers in the mining industry, but during its first decade of operation this evolved into the defense of sustainable community development and the rights of communities affected by extractive activities. The labor case is particularly relevant for the analysis of some of the typical challenges faced by organizations whose institutional performance e is oriented toward advocacy and the defense of basic citizen rights. Over the years, Labor consolidated itself as an institution and had an important impact on the defense of the environment, the creation of greater awareness of the impact of the extractive activities, and the generation of public policy toward this sector in Peru. This case is particularly interesting because of the close relationship that the NGO maintained with the municipal government, which generated favorable results for the population of llo but also produced dilemmas with regard to the identity, mission, and autonomy of Labor. These dilemmas reached a critical point in 1997, when the proposal to build a new coal-fueled energy plant in an area zoned for tourism and recreation generated contrary opinions among the municipal authorities and the NGO staff, and divided the local population. The decisions that Labor made on this issue would have long term repercussions for the organization, which would have to redefine its relationship with a significant part of the population of llo as well as with municipal authorities and the NGO donors.
The Antamina Mining Company (Compania Minera Antamina, or CMA) is the world's 3rd largest producer of zinc, 7th of copper, and the largest combined operation for both minerals. This Peruvian company, whose operations are located between 4,200 and 4,700 m.a.s.l., is a leader in environmental and social responsibility. Although CMA was a fairly new company (the exploration and construction phases of the mining operations took place between 1997 and 2001, the year in which the production phase began), it had to face a series of complex challenges in order to become an economically viable organization that was both socially and environmentally responsible. Meeting these objectives has implied developing institutional capacities (conflict resolution, management of adverse social contexts, multiculturalism, self-learning, and innovation) that normally appear much later in a company's evolution. Shows some of the typical challenges that managers must face when engaging in large-scale initiatives. CMA's executives worked with tight deadlines and in a high-risk context to make quick decisions whose consequences would have long-term implications, since they would determine the type of relations the company would maintain with diverse stakeholders. In order to make these decisions, they had to establish priorities among at least three distinct logics: i) that of construction and production, where tight time limits, engineers' technical criteria, and cost reduction predominate; ii) the environmental logic, where caution predominates along with impact assessment and an active international community of stakeholders; and iii) the community-based logic, where to co-exist with the primarily indigenous and poor peasant families directly affected by the project it is necessary to obtain a so-called "social license". This phase took place in a context in which CMA had the pressing need to secure financing from international banks.
Cementos Lima S.A, is a leading organization in the Peruvian cement sector, with 44% of the national market share and a growing presence in certain international markets. Parallel to the growth of the company, population centers have grown up in the areas adjacent to the cement plant. As time goes by, the neighboring communities have come to literally surround Cementos Lima S.A. and have developed a complex relationship with the company. On one hand, the residents in these areas are directly affected by the company's industrial operations, which produce negative effects on the environment. On the other hand, these same individuals benefit from the company's social initiatives over time. As the organization's social actions began to evolve, from disarticulated and basically philanthropic practices towards an attempt at more formal and effective projects in the community, a "breaking point" is produced in the company's management focus. This situation is generated by the company's plans for export growth, which implies physical expansion of their activities, and as a result a larger impact on the surrounding community due to the necessary increase in the transportation flow of primary materials and finished products. To meet its new transportation needs, the company has planned two major projects. Both projects require the approval of the neighboring community, as part of the authorization process established by municipal authorities. In the face of observed reluctance among the neighboring communities to approve these projects, company officials have begun to reexamine the way they have been managing community relations and the importance that these relationships have in achieving their strategic objectives.