Under the leadership of the Honduran Council of Private Enterprise (COHEP) and its affiliated organizations, three Honduran companies—Ingenio Azucarero Choluteca, Banco Atlántida, and Corporación Petrolera Montecristo (COPEMSA)—have taken concrete steps to promote Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) principles. These efforts are part of the International Labour Organization’s (ILO) “Leader” programme, which supports the development of ESG-related risk and opportunity matrices and stakeholder maps for participating companies. The initiative reflects a growing commitment in Honduras’s private sector to align corporate practices with sustainable and responsible business standards.
The ILO “Leader” programme aims to build COHEP’s capacity to navigate ESG-related opportunities and challenges while responding to increasing societal expectations. With technical support from the ILO, COHEP crafted a strategic framework structured around seven pillars. This includes a newly developed Code of Good Practices informed by successful ESG initiatives led by companies in banking, renewable energy, and NGOs. The ILO’s Practical Guide for Business Organisations was adapted to the Honduran context and used to train staff from affiliated organizations participating in the pilot ESG programme.
To lay the groundwork for the initiative, a survey of COHEP’s 64 member business organizations was conducted to assess their knowledge and engagement with ESG. The findings revealed a strong interest in ESG implementation, with larger companies showing more advanced practices, while smaller firms faced knowledge and capacity challenges. The insights gathered were enriched through a workshop on good business practices, where sector-specific ESG priorities emerged: environmental concerns dominated in renewable energy, social factors in agriculture, and governance in banking.
Building on this understanding, the ILO tailored its training programme to address the Honduran regulatory and business environment. The training explains ESG principles, outlines their benefits, identifies challenges and opportunities, and showcases both national and global best practices. The programme also includes guidance on implementation and communication. The training was validated through a pilot course delivered to business participants from February to March 2025, along with “training of trainers” sessions for three major associations: APAH, AHIBA, and CCIT.
Looking ahead, the course will be digitalised and offered in a hybrid format. It will include both a self-guided component and live sessions led by trainers certified under the “Leader” programme, further expanding access and scaling ESG capacity building across Honduras’s business sector.
