The event will serve as a forum for dialogue on the future of the mining sector, bringing together perspectives from across the industry to address challenges, opportunities, and the sector’s contribution to Colombia’s economic and social agenda.

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The Medellín utility unit, EPM, contributed $20 trillion COP in revenue and $4.9 trillion COP in net income. Management attributed the stability of these figures to a diversified portfolio. Power generation remains the primary driver of profitability, accounting for 49% of net income, followed by energy distribution at 27%. The water, sewage, and waste management sectors contributed 15%, while transmission and natural gas accounted for 3% and 1% respectively.

In 2025, Grupo EPM obtained results that confirm its ability to advance in complex scenarios, reflecting work to achieve lasting efficiencies.” — John Maya Salazar, General Manager of EPM

Financial leverage remained within contractual covenants. The debt-to-EBITDA ratio for the group closed at 2.9x, comfortably below the 3.5x threshold required by many credit agreements. For the individual EPM entity, the ratio stood at 3.5x. This solvency allows the organization to continue its capital expenditure program, which saw $5 trillion COP ($1.36 billion USD) invested in infrastructure and social programs throughout the year.

John Maya Salazar, General Manager of EPM (photo courtesy EPM)

A significant portion of the capital budget was directed toward the Hidroituango hydroelectric project. Approximately $1 trillion COP was allocated to Stage 2 of the project, specifically turbine units 5 through 8. Beyond energy, the company continued funding the Unidos por el Agua and Unidos por el Gas initiatives, which target utility access for vulnerable populations in the department of Antioquia and other regions.

Dividend and Fiscal Transfers

During the 2025 fiscal period, EPM executed transfers totaling $2.6 trillion COP to the Distrito de Medellín. These funds, representing 55% of the utility’s 2024 net income, serve as a primary funding source for the municipal development plan. Additionally, the group generated $21.8 trillion COP in total added value across its areas of operation, including $3.7 trillion COP in taxes, fees, and contributions to the state.

The company is currently undergoing a structural reorganization intended to modernize its operating model. According to management, this transition is designed to improve strategic efficiency as the group faces future macroeconomic shifts. The group’s economic footprint in 2025 included $6.7 trillion COP paid to suppliers and the financial system, along with $3 trillion COP dedicated to direct and indirect employment costs. Total reinvestment into the group’s various subsidiaries reached $5.6 trillion COP to ensure infrastructure modernization.

Financial data and sustainability reports are routinely filed with the Superintendencia Financiera de Colombia. Interested parties can find further information on the company’s investor relations portal or through the Alcaldía de Medellín official website.

Above video: An aerial view of EPM’s Hidroituango hydroelectric dam(video © Loren Moss)

The Colombian government has formally submitted a technical and scientific dossier to the European Union seeking authorization to market cacay flour as a “Novel Food.” This regulatory category governs the entry of non-traditional food products into the European market.

The submission is the first of its kind for an Amazonian product from Colombia. It follows a 2024 initiative involving the Ministry of Commerce, Industry, and Tourism and the [suspicious link removed]. The process was supported by the Sustainable Forest Territories (Territorios Forestales Sostenibles or TEFOS 3) project, a program funded by the British Embassy and the German Cooperation GIZ.

Diana Marcela Morales Rojas, the Minister of Commerce, Industry, and Tourism, stated that the application positions cacay as a strategic component of the national portfolio of high-value natural ingredients. The technical dossier was structured according to the guidelines of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). To meet these standards, Colombia provided evidence of safe historical consumption for at least 25 years, alongside data on nutritional profiles, safety, traceability, and sustainable production processes.

The administrative validation phase is expected to take one month, followed by a technical and scientific evaluation by EFSA that may last up to nine months. Six Colombian companies participated in the drafting of the expediente, providing technical data and validating industrial processes to demonstrate the feasibility of large-scale production under international standards.

“This step positions the cacay as a strategic ingredient within the Colombian portfolio of high-value-added natural products.” — Diana Marcela Morales Rojas, Minister of Commerce, Industry, and Tourism.

The cacay nut, native to the Amazon and Orinoquia regions, produces a seed containing up to 60% oil rich in omega-6 and omega-9. The flour, a byproduct of the oil extraction process, contains approximately 40% protein and high fiber content. Beyond its nutritional applications, the crop is integrated into agroforestry systems aimed at restoring degraded lands and promoting biodiversity.

Currently, the cacay value chain involves more than 500 peasant and indigenous families. If approved, the flour would join Colombia’s non-traditional export basket to Europe, reinforcing a bioeconomy model based on fair trade and the sustainable use of biodiversity.

650+ Senior Global Banking & Markets Attendees

350+ Pre-Arranged Business Meetings

89% Director Level or Above

110+ Industry Expert Speakers

Benefits of Attending

“Human rights education is fundamental to addressing respect and promotion of [human rights]. We can’t require people to be committed to initiatives that they are not aware of, or that demand respect for [principles] if they ignore it. Our role today as a company is to sensitize our employees, in all their roles, in order to empower them for the world we live in, to be informed, assertive and responsible actors,” says Chris Daes, COO of Tecnoglass.

The training includes two sessions, an initial one with the presence of the Atlantico Regional Ombudsman, Miguel Linero De Cambil and the National Director of Promotion and Dissemination, Gisella Arias; and the closing will be run by Colombia’s National Defender, Carlos Camargo Assis (a government position).

“This will be the first training of a cycle of activities planned not only to train the companies, but to leave installed capacity so that the same companies have the power to train their employees,” says Carlos Camargo.

Tecnoglass asserted that these voluntary activities reflect its commitment to sustainability immersed in its culture, decisions, processes, products and governance as an integral part of its business and reaffirms the protection of human rights throughout its value chain for all stakeholders.

Photos courtesy Tecnoglass

The “green seal” accreditation, awarded internationally by the nonprofit group, aims to acknowledge centers that have proven to use energy efficiently, not harm the environment, and generally operate using sustainable practices. The data center is now the second in Colombia to receive this distinction, according to the company.

The news comes on the heels of this center receiving “Level IV” certification from ICREA two months ago in January. Among other factors, level four is reserved “certified high security” data centers that have achieved “High Security World Class Quality Assurance” and uptime availability of 99.99%. ICREA’s certification scale ranges from level one to level six.

GlobeNet, a Fort Lauderdale, Florida-based telecom infrastructure provider, opened the 200-square-meter in Barranquilla in October 2017 to add capacity along Colombia’s Caribbean coast and add another connection point for the region.

“We strive to achieve maximum efficiency with the use of minimum energy resources,” said Eduardo Falzoni, CEO of GlobeNet.

Photo: GlobeNet’s data center in Barranquilla, Colombia. (Credit: GlobeNet)

The funding is intended to benefit some 170 municipalities in need of development now that the government has formalized a peace agreement to end more than a half-century of conflict with the nation’s largest ex-guerrilla group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).

The IDB highlights the fact that, over 13 years, between 1990 and 2003, around three million hectares of forest were lost in Colombia. Soil degradation also marred roughly 1.5 million hectares, “badly hurting agricultural production and consequently socioeconomic development in the localities involved.”

The loan, cataloged officially as “CO-L1166: Sustainable Colombia Program,” is intended to help finance the restoration and protection of these environments while at the same time boosting the income for the rural population and the “technical capabilities” of the government to serve the needs of these areas.

Photo credit: Jared Wade

Colombia’s minister of finance, a cabinet-level position held currently by Mauricio Cárdenas, will sit on three of the four committees for the state-controlled company.

The following is a full list of the committee members who were approved by the board.

Risk and Audit Committee

• Jaime Ardila (as financial-accounting expert)
• Horacio Ferreira
• Yesid Reyes
• Joaquín Moreno
• Carlos Gustavo Cano

Businesses Committee

• Minister of Finance and Public Credit
• Horacio Ferreira
• Joaquín Moreno
• Carlos Cure
• Jaime Ardila
• Carlos Gustavo Cano
• Mauricio Cabrera

Corporate Government and Sustainability Committee

• Minister of Finance and Public Credit
• Yesid Reyes
• Horacio Ferreira
• Carlos Cure
• Jaime Ardila
• Carlos Gustavo Cano
• Mauricio Cabrera

Compensation and Nomination Committee

• Minister of Finance and Public Credit
• Ana Milena Lopez
• Carlos Cure
• Joaquín Moreno
• Mauricio Cabrera

Photo: Colombian Finance Minister Mauricio Cárdenas, now sitting on three Ecopetrol committees, speaks at a World Economic Forum event in Medellín in 2016. (Credit: World Economic Forum)

The race was originally scheduled for this coming Sunday, March 26, until Medellín Mayor Federico Gutiérrez and other stakeholders in the city issued an environmental “red alert.”

Banco de Bogotá is a primary supporter of Carrera Verde for the third straight year, while Fundacion EPM, Grupo Éxito, and the U.S. embassy in Colombia are among the others that provide support.

Despite the postponement, after “air quality reached critical levels,” said Banco de Bogotá in a statement, the associated environmental fair will go on as scheduled. It will be held in the Parque de los Deseos from 1:00 pm to 7:00 pm on both Friday and Saturday (March 24-25).

“The decision to postpone the competition is a responsible act for the associated companies and, mainly, for the registered participants, since — according to the mayor of Antioquia’s capital, Federico Gutiérrez, and the metropolitan board — physical and recreational activities outdoors in the city, mainly for children and older adults, are dangerous to your health due to pollution,” said Elsa Matilde Escobar, executive director of the Natura Foundation.

Banco de Bogotá said that it will continue to support the causes underlying the mission of Carrera Verde, particularly in regard to promoting the recovery of the forests of Colombia. “Every step becomes a tree for the planet — that is the power of doing things together,” said the Bogotá-based financial institution in a statement.

The top four banks in the world were all from Australia, including the top three that were given gold status: Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd, National Australia Bank Ltd, and Westpac Banking Corp. Along with Bancolombia, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia and Banco Santander SA of Spain were also included in the silver class grouping.

Photo: Bancolombia headquarters in Medellín, Colombia. (Credit: Bancolombia)

RobecoSAM’s “Sustainability Yearbook 2017” covers virtually all industries, not just financial services. Air France-KLM took home first place in the airline category, for example, while Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Nestle finished number one in computers and food products, respectively. RobecoSAM says that only the top 15% of companies within each sector are selected to even be included in the analysis showing that it believes Bancolombia really is among the best of the best. There were 256 banks evaluated in this year’s report.

“This recognition is an achievement that has a great significance for everyone, not only for our organization but also for Colombia,” said Juan Carlos Mora Uribe, president of Bancolombia.

In terms of banking, RobecoSAM says that it is seeing industry firms of all stripes increasingly focus on sustainability because investors and, consequently, boards are demanding it. In addition to lowering regulatory scrutiny and overall risk, it is simply improving the potential to make money.

“By effectively integrating sustainability and principles of ethics and customer-centricity throughout the bank, both credit and operational risk levels are lower, which enhances a bank’s capacity to generate long-term economic, environmental, and social value,” states the firm in its report.

While sustainability discussions generally focus on environmental impact, RobescoSAM is trying to get the word out that other aspects are equally vital. In particular, RobecoSAM CEO Aris Prepoudis says that right-minded companies need to care about communities enough to ensure that their operations don’t harm human rights.

“Over the past few years, investors, consumers and society at large have been paying closer attention to companies’ social impacts, particularly in the area of human rights,” wrote Prepoudis. “With the launch of the UN Guiding Principles for Business and Human Rights in 2011, companies have also begun to recognize that the protection of human rights is not the sole responsibility of the state and that they too are also responsible for ensuring that their activities do not have a negative impact on people.”

Its annual yearbook also found that many companies talk a lot about sustainability but fewer actually walk the walk. Four of out five firms in their study claimed to value their overall impact on the world. But when held up to scrutiny, analysts agreed that only 25% of those put real value on their impact in practice.

Prepoudis believes that the changing nature of expectations means that this needs to change. “By evaluating corporate sustainability practices, we are sending the message that investors expect companies to focus on long-term value drivers rather than on short-term profits,” he wrote.