Managing
the Territory
Investment for Managing the Territory
The Sustainable Development Portfolio enables the implementation of the social settings management strategy, with investments in its three strategic areas.
The investment executed in 2022 for each of these areas is specified below:
| Strategic pillar | Strategic investment value29 | Mandatory investment amount | Total amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Engagement | 30,799 | 9,568 | 40,367 |
| Social investment | 253,601 | 10,336 | 263,937 |
| Subtotal | 284,400 | 19,904 | 304,304 |
| Physical security | NA | NA | 243,759 |
| Total | 284,400 | 19,904 | 548,063 |
Note: Also, for the period of 2022, more than $238 MCOP were executed in sponsorships (commercial initiatives).
Social investment at Ecopetrol is the business practice to contribute to the sustainable development of its communities of interest or in regions around the country where such contributions are in harmony with the corporate strategy. Its purpose is to boost local growth to improve the quality of life of the population and reduce unsatisfied basic needs, thus consolidating high levels of trust in the territories of influence.
The Management of the Environment focuses on three prioritized strategic options in the Local Development roadmap:
- Revitalization of local economies
- Education
- Access to public services
- 01
Education, Sports, and Health
(Ecopetrol Educa) - 02
Inclusive Rural Development
(Ecopetrol al Campo) - 03
Entrepreneurship and Business Development
(Ecopetrol Emprende) - 04
Public and Community Infrastructure
(Ecopetrol Construye) - 05
Utilities
(Ecopetrol Agua y Vida and Ecopetrol Conecta)
In addition to social investment, Ecopetrol also invests in engagement, which are institutional and community strengthening initiatives to shape suitable and trained people to take on the challenges of transforming their territories.
social investments and those financed through the works-for-tax mechanism.
Social investment materializes through projects that are identified and prioritized in the territories in consultation with the Community and the State. The projects are formulated, structured, and executed with technical rigor, both for investments deployed voluntarily by the Company with its own resources, as well as for mandatory investments or tax mechanisms such as Works for Taxes.
| Year | 2021 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|
| Distributed economic value | 199,057 | 284,400 |
(GRI 201-1, 11-14-2, 11-21-2) (WEF 18, 21, 32E)
| Region | Voluntary Social Investment | Mandatory Social Investment | Total investment Social |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sur | 11,481 | 1,600 | 13,081 |
| Piedemonte | 28,163 | 5,039 | 33,202 |
| Orinoquía | 48,470 | 3,874 | 52,344 |
| Oriente | 10,297 | 7,306 | 17,603 |
| Caribe | 19,599 | 274 | 19,874 |
| Catatumbo-Arauca | 43,924 | 783 | 44,706 |
| Central | 34,837 | 1,028 | 35,865 |
| Corporate | 82,294 | – | 82,294 |
| Transport environment | 5,335 | – | 5,335 |
| Total | 284,400 | 19,904 | 304,304 |
To learn about the specific results in 2022 for each of the
lines of investment, visit the Ecopetrol website by clicking here.
Education, Sports, and Health (Ecopetrol Educa)
Investments in education and sports enhance quality, coverage, and school retention. With this pillar, Ecopetrol contributes to promoting the rights of children and youth, the dissemination of culture, peaceful conflict resolution, and strengthening democratic principles. By 2024, Ecopetrol seeks to benefit more than 626,000 children and youth, equivalent to 7% of the enrollment of public institutions in the country. By December 2022, 586,049 students had benefited, representing 93.6% of the goal set, of which 128,258 benefited in 2022, with an emphasis on the following actions:
Education:
Greater retention rates: measures adopted for children to remain in the school system and make good use of their free time. The following projects stood out in 2022: Música en las fronteras by the Batuta National Foundation; Ella es astronauta program, which seeks to train girls in female empowerment and STEM skills (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics); and projects for the provision of school kits and furniture.
Higher quality: back-to-school strategy focused on promoting teacher training, provision of teaching material, and follow-up on the appropriation and sustainability of the investments.
More coverage: Ecopetrol fosters training for employment and benefits the best students in the regions in which it operates, through initiatives such as Bachilleres Ecopetrol, the Generación E Program led by the Ministry of National Education and Icetex, and the Utopía Program in partnership with Universidad de La Salle, and also through public infrastructure improvements.
Health
Ecopetrol Salud: health investments to trigger actions to improve the quality of the health service, including the provision of medical equipment to strengthen the health system and the organization of health days in the Catatumbo Region, with the support of Fundación Operación Sonrisa and Profamilia, which benefited the children and mothers from the U’wa Indigenous community.
Inclusive rural development – Ecopetrol al Campo
These investments seek to connect rural communities to production chains by taking advantage of market opportunities, strengthening capacities in the territory, and the sustainable use of natural resources. Ecopetrol has set out to benefit 4,475 small producers by 2024. 3,921 producers were benefitted in 2022, reaching 87.6% of the goal set. 15 projects were completed in 2022, involving farmer families from Meta, Putumayo, Arauca, and Santander.
Also, as part of the implementation of the Comprehensive Agricultural Solutions Program – Agrosol, whose purpose is to strengthen family farming and food security, 11 projects were completed aimed at providing technical assistance to rural inhabitants in Meta, Boyacá, Putumayo, Norte de Santander, Casanare, and Santander.
An inclusive food supply model was implemented in the municipalities of Villavicencio, Acacias, Castilla, and Guamal (Meta), in partnership with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations – FAO. This project supported 480 producers from 18 organizations in the four (4) municipalities, which made up the Meta Food Supply Network, by comprehensively strengthening their productive, associative, logistics, and commercial capacities, with more than 20 commercial agreements reached and $2.8 billion pesos in sales.
18 projects continue in execution, with the participation of 6,101 farmer families, to strengthen productive chains in cocoa, coffee, fruit trees, bananas, vegetables, livestock, poultry, pig farming, and environmental services, among others.
A cooperation agreement was signed as part of the convention between the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and Ecopetrol, in order to strengthen the productive capacities of the rural population, through the project titled Building Rural Entrepreneurial Capacities, Confidence, and Opportunity – El Campo Emprende. This project will benefit more than 3,100 farmer families in 33 municipalities and 11 departments around the country.
Entrepreneurship and Business Development - Ecopetrol Emprende
The interventions in the Entrepreneurship and Business Development pillar are intended to strengthen the business fabric by generating capacities for entrepreneurship and innovation, thus favoring the generation of income, employment, and economic diversification of the territories. To this end, Ecopetrol has set the goal of reaching 13,501 beneficiaries by 2024. 11,750 entrepreneurs, businesspeople, and youths benefited as of December 2022, equivalent to 87% of the goal set, of which 10,531 were benefited during 2022.
Some of the most relevant initiatives in 2022 include the consolidation of the Ecopetrol Emprende program at the national level, which is executed in partnership with CREAME Business Incubator, and whose objective is to contribute to economic reactivation and diversification by offering specialized business support and connecting with funding sources and commercial scenarios.
2,010 youths between the ages of 14 and 28 from the municipalities of Puerto Wilches (Santander), Tauramena (Casanare), and Villavicencio (Meta) benefited from the Jóvenes 4.0 Innovando y Transformando Territorios program, in partnership with Universidad Nacional de Colombia, and the Sacúdete con los Jóvenes del Territorio program also benefitted 7,120 youths from 10 municipalities. Both programs develop pedagogical processes to foster a mindset for innovation and entrepreneurship, and offer training in technologies and skills for the fourth industrial revolution (4RI).
Infraestructura pública y comunitaria - Ecopetrol Construye
Ecopetrol’s social investment in this pillar is intended to improve land intercommunication conditions to facilitate commercial exchanges, reduce travel times and transportation costs, as well as create spaces for coexistence, participation, education, and recreation.
To promote sustainable development in the territories, local and national partnerships were established in 2022 to diversify the infrastructure investment strategy. The partners include the municipalities of Puerto Gaitán, Castilla la Nueva, Acacías (Meta), Aguazul (Casanare), Arauquita (Arauca), Barrancabermeja (Santander), Ubalá, Santa María (Boyacá), and Medina (Cundinamarca); as well as the governorship of Santander and Casanare, and the Agency for Infrastructure of Meta, and other hydrocarbon sector operators. National partners include the National Federation of Coffee Growers – FNC and the United Nations Development Program – UNDP, which are strategic players working jointly with the communities to reach dispersed and rural areas of difficult access.
Intervention in 4.55 km of tertiary roads and 1.5 km of secondary roads. The partnership with the mayor’s office of Barrancabermeja (Santander) is also worth highlighting, which allowed the paving and construction of complementary works in the road section spanning from the village of La Ceiba to Monumento al Obrero (3.8 km), in the township of El Centro; as well as the strategy in the region of Magdalena Medio, for the maintenance of 113.3 km of tertiary roads, through direct contracts, in the municipalities of Sabana de Torres, Yondó, Rionegro, Cantagallo, San Vicente de Chucurí, and Barrancabermeja (Santander).
Road Infrastructure
As a goal for 2024, Ecopetrol has set out to intervene 958 kilometers of roads.
As of December 2022,
708 kilometers have been intervened which represents
74% of the goal set;
- 204.18 km (176 km of voluntary investment and 28 km of works for taxes) of this section correspond to projects completed in 2022, benefiting more than 546,900 people and contributing to the dynamism of the regions, access to better land mobility conditions, and the generation of employment, mostly local.
Some of the important advances include the research project for the development of new technologies for intervention in the tertiary road network by using bituminous material based on oily waste, executed in partnership with Universidad Industrial de Santander, and with the participation of Ecopetrol in the 4th round of innovation and sustainability in transport infrastructure – ‘’sustainability and resilience in transport infrastructure,’’ which ranked among the 11 selected technologies that will continue on the path towards regulation.
Public Infrastructure of Community Interest
The intervention of 49 community infrastructures benefiting 6,400 inhabitants concluded in 2022, including the construction of the Plaza de Mercado El Achiote Puerto Caicedo (Putumayo) in partnership with the municipal mayor’s office; the construction of one (1) community booth in Valle del Guamuez (Putumayo), the adaptation under contract of a community hall in Cartagena (Bolívar), and a digital classroom in Castilla la Nueva (Meta), all focusing on the promotion of community participation.
Public Services
This pillar seeks to improve access and coverage of basic public services for the communities in the areas of influence, in order to raise their living standards and close existing gaps due to unsatisfied basic needs.
Ecopetrol Agua y Vida – Drinking Water and Basic Sanitation
Ecopetrol has set out to benefit 1,329,704 people with access to drinking water and basic sanitation by 2024. 798,110 people have benefited as of December 2022, which is equivalent to 60% of the goal, of which 763,436 people benefited during 2022.
In 2022, with the involvement of the Ministry of Housing, City, and Territory, a new specific agreement was signed with the Public Services Company of La Guajira and the municipality of Manaure (La Guajira) for the construction of one (1) production module and six (6) public fountains that will improve access to drinking water for more than 13,500 members of the Wayú community in the Medio and Alto Guajira Indigenous Reserve.
Given the challenge of benefiting more than 1.3 million people by 2024 and 2.4 million people by 2040 with access to water for human consumption, through basic supply and sanitation solutions, continuity was given to the agreement signed with the Ministry of Housing, City, and Territory to promote social investment strategies with national programs designed to close gaps in terms of access to water in rural areas by implementing conventional solutions, such as differential or alternative schemes.
Ecopetrol Conecta - Energy and gas
Ecopetrol Conecta contributes to closing gaps in terms of access to public energy and gas services. By 2024, Ecopetrol has set out to connect 70,000 households to the gas grid. By December 2022, 18,374 households have already been connected to the gas service since 2019, which is equivalent to 26% of the goal set, of which 7,683 households were connected during 2022 in the municipalities
Ecopetrol has set out to benefit 1,329,704 people with access to drinking water and basic sanitation by 2024.
Investments for Institutional and Community Strengthening
Throughout 2022, 88,538 people benefited from institutional and community strengthening programs and projects. Some of the projects completed in 2022 are the humanitarian aids provided with the support of the Colombian Red Cross.
The ongoing initiatives include the implementation of the project to strengthen young leaders in Puerto Wilches (Santander), in partnership with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime – UNODC, and for the youth groups in the rest of the country, in partnership with Asociación Amigos del Museo Nacional. The qualification of 65 Community Action Boards from Meta began in 2022, in partnership with the Administrative Unit for Solidarity Economy Organizations, in order to enable these organizations to develop their capacities as financial managers of their own territories within the framework of the Law.
Execution of Social and Engagement Investments
In 2022, social and engagement investment projects and initiatives (strategic/voluntary and mandatory) were executed for 304.304 BCOP (See Figure 41). This shows a 38% increase in the amount executed compared to the previous period, due to the increased budget allocated to the fulfillment of commitments and sustainable development investment plans in the territories, in addition to the entry into operation of the different vehicles signed in 2021 for more than 500 BCOP.
The strategic (voluntary) and mandatory investment executed in 2022 is classified within the following lines of investment and other investments (See Figure 43), generating impact on different Local Development dimensions in the territories (See Table 104).
| Lines of Investment | 202 Results |
|---|---|
| 1. Education, Sports, and Health (Ecopetrol Educa) | No. of beneficiaries: 128,258 No. of institutions strengthened: 2 |
| 2. Inclusive Rural Development (Ecopetrol al Campo) | No. of Indigenous Communities supported: 2 No. of small and medium-sized producers: 2,179 |
| 3. Entrepreneurship and Business Development (Ecopetrol Emprende) | No. of beneficiaries: 10,531 |
| 4. Public and community infrastructure (Ecopetrol Construye) | Km of roads intervened: 176 No. of structures built: 4 No. of structures intervened: 60 |
| 5. Utilities (Ecopetrol agua y vida and Ecopetrol conecta) | Water Gas |
| Engagement – Institutional and community strengthening | Institutional and Community Strengthening No. of beneficiaries: 88,538 No. of institutions strengthened: 233 |
Ecopetrol’s strategic investment is built by identifying opportunities to contribute to local development within the framework of defined social lines of investment. Projects and initiatives are prioritized in consultation with the Stakeholder Groups (national, departmental, and local governments, society, and community) and are rigorously structured as an integral part of the Company’s environment plans to enable operations.
On the other hand, the mandatory investment consists of investments made by Ecopetrol to meet the social obligations contained in the contracts with the National Hydrocarbons Agency – ANH, and imposed by the environmental authorities as part of the processes of granting of permits and licenses, as well as other obligations, such as those arising from the processes to guarantee the right to prior consultation, which are executed not only to comply with legal requirements but also as opportunities to contribute to the improvement of the socioeconomic conditions of the territory.
Compared to the previous year, there was a significant increase in Public and Community Infrastructure investments in 2022, with an additional investment of 33.6 BCOP, including the construction of classrooms at the Henry Daniels school, Castilla La Nueva (Meta) Phase II, with an execution of 5.331 BCOP for the Orinoquía region; and in Inclusive Rural Development investments, with an additional investment of more than 11.7 BCOP, including the project to strengthen the livestock production process in the Alto Unuma Reserve (Meta), with an execution of 4.661 BCOP in the Oriente region and the MAS Meta II project – Supporting rural entrepreneurs (Meta), with an execution of 2.69 BCOP in the Orinoquía region.
Of the investments distributed by region, the national investments managed from the corporate level can be highlighted. Moreover, the Orinoquía region stands out with the execution of more than 52.3 BCOP, mainly due to the rural gasification project in Guamal (Meta), with an execution of 11,828 BCOP; similarly, the Catatumbo – Arauca region, with the execution of more than 44.7 BCOP, mainly due to the Metropolitan Aqueduct project of Cúcuta, Villa del Rosario, and Los Patios (Norte de Santander), with an execution of 33,626 BCOP. (See Figure 44).
