Responsabilidad ambiental empresarial en Ecuador: hacia un modelo integral de gobernanza y debida diligencia
Corporate Environmental Responsibility in Ecuador: Toward an Integrated Model of Governance and Due DiligenceBarra lateral del artículo
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La responsabilidad ambiental empresarial ha transitado de un modelo reparatorio hacia uno preventivo fundamentado en sostenibilidad, gobernanza y debida diligencia ambiental. El objetivo de esta investigación fue analizar críticamente el régimen jurídico ecuatoriano de responsabilidad ambiental empresarial y formular el Modelo Jurídico Integral de Responsabilidad Ambiental Empresarial (MJIRAE). Se empleó una metodología jurídica cualitativa con métodos dogmático, analítico y comparado, revisando doctrina, legislación nacional, instrumentos internacionales y jurisprudencia constitucional ecuatoriana. Los resultados evidenciaron que la Constitución, el Código Orgánico del Ambiente y la jurisprudencia constitucional incorporan principios preventivos coherentes con las tendencias internacionales, pero su aplicación fragmentada en el ámbito empresarial limita la efectividad del régimen ambiental. Se concluye que el MJIRAE articula los fundamentos constitucionales, el cumplimiento normativo, la gobernanza ambiental corporativa, la debida diligencia y la restauración integral en un sistema preventivo que fortalece la interpretación sistemática y la gestión ambiental empresarial en Ecuador.
Corporate environmental liability has evolved from a remedial model toward a preventive approach grounded in sustainability, governance, and environmental due diligence. The objective of this study was to critically analyze the Ecuadorian legal framework governing corporate environmental liability and to formulate the Comprehensive Legal Model of Corporate Environmental Liability (MJIRAE). A qualitative legal methodology was employed, using doctrinal, analytical, and comparative methods to examine legal scholarship, national legislation, international instruments, and Ecuadorian constitutional case law. The findings demonstrated that the Constitution, the Organic Environmental Code, and constitutional case law incorporate preventive principles consistent with international trends; however, their fragmented application in the corporate sphere limits the effectiveness of the environmental liability framework. It is concluded that the MJIRAE integrates constitutional foundations, regulatory compliance, corporate environmental governance, due diligence, and comprehensive restoration into a preventive system that strengthens systematic legal interpretation and corporate environmental management in Ecuador.
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