In 2021 we drove our neighbors’ progress

Colombia – Responding to demanding challenges that 2021 posed, we made decisive contributions to the well-being of the territories we operate in. In a challenging context of economic slowdown and high levels of Covid-19 contagion, we implemented high-impact initiatives in Colombia and Ecuador that helped us contribute to closing gaps and fulfilling the 2030 Agenda.

Health and wellness, our way of promoting the quality of life in our neighboring communities
We strengthened our commitment to being our communities’ neighbor and partner of choice through different activities that aimed at contributing to our neighbors’ integral development and helping them access quality health and education services:

• More than 1,700 neighbors in Colombia received specialized medical attention thanks to the partnerships we developed with the Colombian Civil Air Patrol and the Colombian League against Cancer.
• We donated oxygen supplies to the local hospital in Tauramena, Colombia for patients affected by Covid-19.
• In Ecuador we supported a Sucumbios Government medical brigade in the Miss Ecuador pre-cooperative, benefiting more than 850 patients.
• We donated more than 2,200 study kits to students in Casanare, Colombia and Sucumbios, Ecuador.
• In Colombia, we gave 800 children and young people access to digital tools so that they could continue their studies from home.
• More than 100 children and adolescents benefitted from a partnership with the Braian Angola Foundation that promotes sports training and positive lifestyles through playing basketball.
• We provided training in leadership, peace, reconciliation and dialogue skills, with a focus on human rights, to more than 130 social leaders in Casanare, Colombia.

We support local economic recovery
We contributed to the recovery of local economies through hiring local labor, promoting supply chains in the territories and supporting rural entrepreneurs:

• In 2021 we increased the hiring of local staff by 20% in Casanare, Colombia, where 78% of our operations workforce is local.
• We began the process of supporting 12 of our contractors in the Llanos 34 block in Colombia to attain Good Labor Practices certification.
• In partnership with the Ecuadorian government’s Red Socio Empleo employment program, we held registration drives to sign up to the service in more than six (6) pre-cooperatives, helping our neighboring communities to access job opportunities.
• To contribute to the food security of our neighboring communities in Ecuador, in partnership with the Municipal Decentralized Autonomous Government of Shushufindi we created a nursery where 300 families can grow produce.

We help preserve the environment
We honor our commitment to value natural resources and make every effort to mitigate the impact of our operations and contribute to the preservation of the environment through the following initiatives:

• We announced our strategy to reduce Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions with ambitious targets. By 2025 we expect to reduce our emissions by 35–40% and by 40–60% by 2030, before meeting our goal of carbon neutrality by 2050.
• We joined the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development’s Colombia Carbon Neutral Program.
• We started construction of a 10MW photovoltaic solar plant and a project to interconnect the Llanos 34 block with Colombia’s national grid.
• We strengthened the hydrometeorological network of the Institute of Hydrology, Meteorology and Environmental Studies (IDEAM) in the hydrographic zone of the Meta River in Colombia, helping improve water management, comprehensive risk management and climate change adaptation.
• We contributed to Colombia’s national reforestation goal by planting more than 4,400 saplings in several planting drives in Tauramena and Villanueva municipalities.
• We reinforced our contribution to caring for terrestrial ecosystems through our partnership with the Orinoquia Biodiversa Foundation (FOB) to monitor the biodiversity of flora and fauna in the areas of influence of our operation in Colombia.
• We completed a reforestation project in the area around the Espejo block in Ecuador to help recover vegetation cover. More than 13,000 timber and fruit trees were planted alongside the La Sur, Eno and Shushufindi rivers, as well as around streams and ponds in the block’s area of influence.
• We supported a micro-basin protection initiative led by the Ministry of Environment, Water and Ecological Transition, PROAmazonía and the Decentralized Autonomous Government of Ecuador’s Sucumbios Province to reforest farmland on the banks of the main rivers in El Eno, Lago Agrio canton.

In 2022 we will continue work on the execution of important socio-environmental initiatives in the territories we operate in. We will also continue to promote our commitment to work hand in hand with institutions and our neighboring communities to build a legacy of prosperity and development in the areas we operate in.

For more information on our work in Colombia click here, and in Ecuador click here.