Our Communities - GeoPark

Our Communities

We want to be the neighbor and partner of choice by creating a mutually beneficial exchange with the local communities where we work.


2022 Highlights

3,000+

Job opportunities generated in our value chain

88%

of social investment focused on rural areas

120,213

Beneficiaries of social programs

450

Local suppliers integrated into the value chain

20,400+

Neighbors in operating areas took part in 1.348 meetings

93%

of enquiries resolved through the “Cuéntame” grievance mechanism

US$5.1 MM

in social investment

Our Model

Stakeholder Dialogue and Consultation

We promote spaces for dialogue with our communities, authorities and other stakeholders, giving them precise and timely information about our activities and the characteristics of our projects.

Social License and Due Diligence

Our commitment to Good Neighborliness starts with the identification and early analysis of social environment related risks and their qualitative and quantitative evaluation. Preventive management plans and due diligence allow us to mitigate the impacts on nature and the communities, and ensure the successful and responsible development of our operations.

The “Cuéntame” Program

Our “Cuéntame” program is the mechanism that facilitates timely and effective attention to requests, concerns and claims from our neighbors.

Awards
Best social practices in the energy industry
For two consecutive years, the Government of Colombia has awarded us with the recognition 'Significant Experiences in the Implementation of Good Environmental and Social Practices for the Mining-Energy Sector'.

Our model was chosen in 2018 and 2019 as an industry best practice for social conflict prevention and value chain management.

Agreements and Partnerships

We put all our effort and energy into creating value for our neighbors and delivering on our commitment to being Good Neighbors. Our work shows that our company can grow in harmony with the environment and the people in the territories where we operate and gets reinforced with the partnerships we have established with organizations including regional development bank Findeter, Colombia’s Family Welfare Institute, the Minuto de Dios Corporation and the Batuta Foundation.

Our Support for Children’s Wellbeing

In our contribution to improving the quality of life in communities in the territories we operate in, our youngest neighbors matter. We have outlined a goal of strengthening safe spaces for children in these communities so they can effectively enjoy their fundamental rights.

We believe that education is one of the pillars of sustainable development, and because of this we have led projects to donate study kits to our neighboring communities; support music teaching to children in Putumayo together with the Batuta Foundation; provide equipment to all school canteens in Puerto Guzman in partnership with the Putumayo Government and the Ministry of Education; and strengthen the STEM skills of Casanare students with the installation of LEGO classrooms for all the community to use. As well as creating continuous education and recreational opportunities, the projects promote fundamental values of peaceful society such as respect, solidarity and teamwork.

Healthy and Sustainable Communities

We accept the challenge of leaving a legacy of prosperity to the communities that host us, under a model of sustainable development and in accordance with regions’ productive, social and cultural dynamics. In support of this, we started a process with regional development bank Findeter to promote the socioeconomic transformation of the territories that make up the area of influence of the Llanos 34 block in Tauramena and Villanueva, Casanare. The initiative will classify the economic strengths of the area and identify opportunities to partner with public and private entities to develop productive projects.

Our actions also aim to create value for our neighbors, through access to quality housing that satisfies their basic human and family needs. GeoPark partners with the Minuto de Dios Corporation in developing a housing program to improve the living conditions of our neighbors in Casanare and Putumayo, through which we make significant efforts to guarantee that homes have ideal conditions and comply with all criteria of structural design, living space and space distribution, basic sanitation, aesthetics and security.

Through our commitment to our neighbors’ health and well-being, we support the medical-surgical brigades of the Colombian Civil Air Patrol (PAC) in different municipalities of our area of influence. The brigades provide communities with free of charge appointments in pediatrics, dermatology, optometry, ophthalmology, ultrasound, surgery and family planning, as well as general surgical procedures.

Transferring Knowledge to Our Communities

We recognize the great value of the knowledge and experience of the people who are part of the GeoPark team, and we encourage the exchange of that knowledge among our employees and with our neighbors and other stakeholders. At GeoPark, we create academic opportunities to promote collective learning, based on a sustainable relationship with our communities of training and mutual benefit.

In 2020, to realize this goal we made different partnerships with institutions and educational centers that build on and add to our spirit of promoting the exchange and management of knowledge. In Argentina’s Neuquen province we held a series of training sessions for students, teachers and education sector authorities with the support of the Neuquen Province Ministry of Education, and we also signed an agreement with the ADENEU SME Center to develop a knowledge transfer cycle from GeoPark employees to suppliers and other companies in the region.

 

For more details see our SPEED/ESG Report.