social and environmental · social and environmental management - 2018 sustainaility eport 2 social...

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Social andenvironmental

management in projects

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Social and environmental management in projects

It is the set of environmental and social activities carried out by Grupo EPM as a developer of projects transforming the regions in which it operates. The purpose is to contribute to the construction of competitive and sustainable territories, by handling negative impacts and enhancing positive ones, as well as to avoid the materialization of risks in the construction and operation phases. This largely depends on the capacities to manage the socio-political dimension, the understanding of social and environmental forces, and the construction of trust in the territories, among others.

Today, infrastructure projects are being built for the country’s expansion and energy growth, such as the Ituango Hydroelectric Project in the department of Antioquia, with an installed capacity of 2,400 MW, which will meet 17% of Colombia’s power demand from 2022 onwards. Likewise, substations and lines of the Regional Transmission System are being built and repowered to meet the energy demand in Antioquia, Santander, and Norte de Santander.

In basic sanitation projects, progress is being made in collecting wastewater through sewage networks and stabilizing the EPM Aguas Claras Wastewater Treatment Plant Park, located in Bello. It has a treatment capacity of 5.0 m3/s and a biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5) of 123 t/day, which receives residential, industrial, and commercial wastewater from Medellín and Bello and is part of the Medellín River and its tributary streams sanitation plan. Progress is also being made on the feasibility studies of the transfer station project for the management of solid municipal waste in Medellín.

Finally, the Aldeas sustainable construction program contributes to making projects and territories viable through sustainable timber construction. This includes housing, tourist infrastructure, and social and community equipment in the department of Antioquia.

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Main achievements

Goals Achievements Accomplishment

Manage environmental and social impacts in Grupo EPM projects.

Accomplishment of the actions defined in the environmental licenses and different plans of environmental and social management of projects, works or activities.

Total

Manage procedures and environmental licensing required for the construction of Grupo EPM projects.

Management of different procedures for environmental licensing and obtaining permits such as forest harvesting and offset, closed season, subtraction of reserve area, occupation of riverbed, dumping, and archaeology, among others.

Total

Complete and deliver the museum hall of the Nueva Esperanza Project in the municipality of Soacha, department of Cundinamarca.

The museum hall was delivered to the community of Soacha in August, according to agreements signed between EPM, Codensa, and the Municipality of Soacha.

Total

Close permits and environmental obligations during the construction of the EPM’s project Aguas Claras Wastewater Treatment Plant Park (Bello WWTP).

All the obligations of the environmental license were met during the construction phase. At the end of 2018 the plant was undergoing tests and stabilization.

Partial

Conduct maintenance for 12,239 trees planted in EPM’s project Aguas Claras Wastewater Treatment Plant Park.

Monitoring and verification of the maintenance carried out on the 12,433 trees in ten micro-watersheds of the municipality of Bello and in areas intervened by the project.

Total

Install seven rural aboriginal schools, 17 local infrastructure modules in Emvarias, and four nurseries associated with the sustainable infrastructure construction project (Aldeas).

Schools: Three schools completed (Pueblorrico, El Bagre, Ciudad Bolívar); the rest are under construction.Emvarias’ Infrastructure: Five modules under construction; the rest in 2019.Nurseries: One is under construction in Riogrande; three by 2019.

Partial

Adapt the reservoir vessel of the Ituango Hydroelectric Project.

659 hectares were adapted in 2018, which are added to 230 hectares removed in 2016 and 2017.There was partial accomplishment due to disturbances of a socio-political nature in the construction fronts and the premature damming of the Cauca River due to the contingency.

Partial

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Begin the restoration within the framework of the conservation portfolio of 200 ha in tropical dry forest and 150 ha in tropical moist forest of the Ituango Hydroelectric Project.

The ecological restoration began in April on land acquired by EPM through a contract with the Universidad Nacional, Medellín campus.

Total

Manage the risks associated with the filling of the reservoir of the Ituango Hydroelectric Project.

In 2018, the land and river mobility plan was implemented for the community of Ituango. As a result of the contingency on April 28, the Mobility contingent plan was implemented through a caravan of vehicles, motorcycles, and people along established routes, as well as the putting into service of the ferry La Tranquilidad for the transport through the reservoir.

Total

Consolidate the integration of the Ituango Project into the territory.

Signing of six agreements with the following community action boards:1. IE Santa Gema, urban branch of the

Association of Community Action Boards (abbreviated ASOCOMUNAL in Spanish).

2. CER El Junco – CAB of El Junco small town. 3. CER Cristóbal – CAB of the San Cristobal rural

settlement.4. IE El Guáimaro – CAB of the Carauquia rural

settlement.5. IE Angelina – CAB of the La Angelina rural

settlement.6. IE San Luis Gonzaga – Asocomunal of the

municipality of Santa Fe de Antioquia.

Total

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Restore living conditions focusing on populations located in the reservoir vessel of the Ituango Hydroelectric Project.

Connectivity restoration of the communities of La Angelina and Mogotes de Buriticá, and those of Sabanalarga and Peque, through:• Improvement of the road leading from La

Angelina rural settlement to Mogotes.• Maintenance of the La Angelina suspension

bridge. Social procurement is currently in process with the CAB.

• Construction of new infrastructure (3 km of road and a bridge of 180 m long), as a definitive connectivity measure; it is currently in the procurement process.

• Discussion of river transport on impacted rural settlements.

In spite of the contingency situation, the connectivity by means of river transport was started beforehand. At first, the service was provided by means of the Naviera’s boats, and since December 2018 through the operation of two ferries to transport people and mule load.

Partial

Note: for more details on the main achievements of the Ituango Hydroelectric Project, see Ituango Hydroelectric Project

https://2018.sostenibilidadgrupoepm.com.co/pdf/35a.pdf

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Challenges

Challenge Year in which it is achieved

Scope and coverageAchievement indicator

Progress in management in

2018Territory Business Company

Improve water

quality of the

Medellín River.

2019Colombia–

AntioquiaSanitation

Empresas

Públicas de

Medellín -

EPM

Operation indicators of

the Aguas Claras Plant

(percentage of organic

load and suspended

solids removed from

the Medellín River)

and progress in works

of the Sanitation and

Wastewater Management

Plan (SWMP) for the

collection of wastewater

discharges.

Start of operation

and stabilization

of the plant at the

end of 2018, and

progress in works

on the SWMP

projects.

Strengthen

capacities in the

environmental

and social

component

of the project

management

initiative (Vision

2025 program).

2019Colombia –

Antioquia

All the

businesses

Empresas

Públicas de

Medellín -

EPM

Achievement of the plan

(project management

outline) which consists of

learning and developing

the knowledge and

skills required for project

development.

Diagnosis of

competencies

and lines of

action to close

gaps and

implementation

of a curricular

program.

Strengthen

and articulate

the vision of

territory in the

environmental

and social

management of

projects.

2019Colombia –

Antioquia

All the

businesses

Empresas

Públicas de

Medellín -

EPM

Integration of

environmental project

management with Área

Metropolitana del Valle

de Aburrá (abbreviated

AMVA in Spanish)

regional initiatives in

forest harvesting and

ecological connectivity.

Articulation of the

project implementation

schedules of different

businesses in the same

territory to generate the

least impact and achieve

the required synergies

in the management of

procedures.

Management

with AMVA for

the articulation

of EPM with the

Metropolitan

agreement.

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2018Territory Business Company

Achieve the

sustainable

infrastructure

construction plan

(Aldeas).

2019Colombia –

Antioquia

Electrical

energy

Empresas

Públicas de

Medellín -

EPM

Construction of:

18 homes

Three schools

12 modules of Emvarias

infrastructure: Three

nurseries

Management of

agreements and

inter-institutional

articulation for the

accomplishment

of the proposed

goals.

Regain control

of the Ituango

Hydroelectric

Project.

2019Colombia –

Antioquia

Electrical

energy

Empresas

Públicas de

Medellín -

EPM

• Close the water

flow through the

mechanical room.

• Complete the cutoff

wall in priority dam

fillings between

elevations 380 and

435.

• Definitively block the

right diversion tunnel

and the auxiliary

diversion tunnel

(abbreviated GAD in

Spanish).

• Excavation and

handling of the slope

of the upper part of

the floodgate area.

• Final treatments

and reinforcement

of the intermediate

discharge tunnel in

the floodgate area

and upstream and

downstream of it.

• Injections for

treatments in the

abutments of the

dam.

Progress in the

project recovery

plan.

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2018Territory Business CompanyImplement

the recovery

plan for the

municipalities of

Valdivía, Tarazá,

Cáceres, and

Nechí, related to

the contingency

of the Ituango

Hydroelectric

Project.

2019Colombia –

Antioquia

Electrical

energy

Empresas

Públicas de

Medellín -

EPM

Recovery and restitution

of the living conditions

of the communities

and intervention of the

infrastructure affected by

the project contingency.

Progress in

the plan and

inter-institutional

articulation.

Meet the

requirements

of the National

Environmental

Licensing

Authority

(abbreviated

ANLA in Spanish)

related to

the Ituango

Hydroelectric

Project.

2019Colombia –

Antioquia

Electrical

energy

Empresas

Públicas de

Medellín -

EPM

Fulfillment of ANLA

requirements and lifting

of the precautionary

measure imposed by

Resolution 820 of 2018.

Visit reception

and report

management

required by ANLA.

Carry out the

1% investment

of the Ituango

Hydroelectric

Project.

2019Colombia –

Antioquia

Electrical

energy

Empresas

Públicas de

Medellín -

EPM

Implement the

1% projects in the

municipalities prioritized

for 2019 (Ituango, Briceño,

Sabanalarga, and

Yarumal).

Progress in the

investment plan.

Manage the

socio-political risk

for the Ituango

Hydroelectric

Project.

2019Colombia –

Antioquia

Electrical

energy

Empresas

Públicas de

Medellín -

EPM

Mitigate the incidence

of opponents through

the execution of the

engagement plan with

prioritized stakeholders.

Inter-institutional

management

and with

communities in

the territory.

Note: for more details on the challenges of the Ituango Hydroelectric Project see Ituango Hydroelectric Project


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Environmental investment, cost, and expenditure

Environmental and social investments – Grupo EPM 2018 (million COP)

Company Biotic environment

Environmental management2

Social management3

Physical environment

IHP Contingency4 Total

EPM 61,536 4,965 21,883 4,316 50,959 143,660

Emvarias 0 14,959 0 5 0 14,964

Delsur 0 2,259 0 0 0 2,259

CENS 299 335 760 345 0 1,740

Eegsa 0 966 0 0 0 966

ESSA 0 224 358 0 0 582

ENSA 0 266 0 0 0 266

Aguas Nacionales1 0 1 1 0 0 2

Total environmental investment

61,835 23,977 23,002 4,667 50,959 164,439

Source: Vice Presidency of Corporate Finance and Investment Management – Directorate of Accounting and Costs.

1 Corresponds to the Aguas Claras project.2 Includes: environmental management, environmental and social studies, management of environmental and social impacts, consulting and audit, technical management of environmental procedures, and forest offsets.3 Includes: social management, archaeology program, and management for engagement and communication.4 Includes: consulting and audit in the contingency of the Ituango Hydroelectric Project.

Environmental costs and expenditures in 2018 – Grupo EPM (million COP)

CompanyEnvironmental

impact management

Comprehensive environmental

management of equipment and

waste

Management for the

protection and improvement

of the environment

Environmental studies

Technical management

of environmental

procedures

Other environmental

activities2

Water and weather

managementTotal

EPM 1 27,870 6,682 3,711 2,469 3,040 0 33 43,805

CHEC 848 72 2,003 1,967 22 1,005 4 5,921

Ticsa 635 1,681 9 98 13 4 117 2,557

Emvarias 706 0 1,376 106 23 97 0 2,308

ESSA 453 123 117 595 137 201 0 1,627

CENS 457 152 0 0 164 169 0 942

Eegsa 0 289 386 0 0 0 0 675

Adasa 80 91 22 9 286 186 0 673

Delsur 441 52 0 0 0 0 0 493

Aguas

Regionales314 0 3 73 3 0 5 398

EPRio 0 0 17 79 0 0 279 375

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Environmental costs and expenditures in 2018 – Grupo EPM (million COP)

CompanyEnvironmental

impact management

Comprehensive environmental

management of equipment and

waste

Management for the

protection and improvement

of the environment

Environmental studies

Technical management

of environmental

procedures

Other environmental

activities2

Water and weather

managementTotal

Aguas de

Malambo92 0 92 0 92 0 92 366

EDEQ 192 0 67 0 0 0 0 259

ENSA 43 43 20 76 0 0 0 181

EPM Chile -

Cururos0 0 0 0 0 177 0 177

Total environmental costs and expenditures

32,131 9,186 7,822 5,472 3,779 1,839 530 60,759

Source: Vice Presidency of Corporate Finance and Investment Management – Directorate of Accounting and Costs.

1 Including equity investments.2 Other environmental activities include: environmental management monitoring, environmental process plan, and design.

Related stakeholders

Customers and usersCommunity OwnerGovernmentInvestors

Actions

Ituango Hydroelectric ProjectAguas Claras – EPM’s Wastewater Treatment Plant Park Aldeas ProgramIntermediate projects


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GRI standards disclosures and EPM indicators

103-1 Explanation of the material topic and its boundary.103-2 The management approach and its components. 103-3 Evaluation of the management approach.203-1 Infrastructure investments and services supported.203-2 Significant indirect economic impacts.413-1 Operations with local community engagement, impact assessments, and development programs.413-2 Operations with significant actual and potential negative impacts on local communities.

Scope and coverage

Businesses Water supplySanitationElectrical energyGas

TerritoryColombia – AntioquiaColombia – CaldasColombia - Norte de SantanderColombia – RisaraldaColombia – Santander

CompaniesEmpresas Públicas de Medellín - EPMAguas Regionales EPMAguas Nacionales EPMCentral Hidroeléctrica de Caldas - CHECElectrificadora de Santander - ESSACentrales Eléctricas del Norte de Santander - CENS

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Aguas Claras – EPM’s Wastewater TreatmentPlant Park

EPM’s Aguas Claras Wastewater Treatment Plant Park is part of the works that constitute the SWMP.

This secondary treatment plant receives domestic, industrial, and commercial wastewater from Medellín and Bello. It is the largest and most modern in the country and one of the most advanced of its kind in Latin America. It began operations in October 2018 and reached its stabilization level on January 31, 2019.

Treatment capacity: • Flow: 5.0 m3/s • Removal:

º BOD5: 123 t/day º 80% total suspended solids (TSS)

Management in 2018

Start of tests, stabilization of the physicochemical and biological processes in the plant, and completion of the biosolids thermal drying plant, which allows a 70% reduction of sludge weight from secondary treatment for a better use and final disposal.

Achievements:

• Achievement of 100% of the obligations of the environmental license.• Monitoring and verification of the maintenance carried out on the 12,433 offset trees in ten micro-watersheds

of the municipality of Bello and in areas intervened by the project. This task was completed using a mobile application designed in EPM for online reporting on the conditions of arboreal individuals.

• For the 32 rulings that granted forest harvesting permits, 18 were completed, for which all the obligations imposed by the environmental authority, Área Metropolitana del Valle de Aburrá, had already been fulfilled. The remaining 12 rulings have current obligations related to maintenance.

• Conservation and protection of the wild fauna that enters the plant.• In regard to the social management component, the following achievements are reported:

º Ten environmental education workshops conducted with the community. º 93 environmental education workshops conducted with project workers. º Six River Festivals, environmental days, and puppet shows for adults and children in the area of direct

influence of the project.

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º Delivery of 800 school kits to seven educational institutions in the area of direct influence of the project. º 14 discussion sessions for stakeholders during the plant testing and stabilization stage. º 100% achievement of the activities of the information and participation program as a result of 98 guided

visits to the project. • Closure of the Preventive archaeology program with the development of a discussion group aimed at the

community in the area of direct influence.

Challenges:

• Generation of odors during the stabilization and start-up phase of the plant (October 2018) and for four months. This impact decreased as the process of biological stabilization of the microorganisms responsible for the digestion of organic matter evolved. Over this period, information was amplified through mass media, social media, meetings with communities, and immediate and personalized assistance. Similarly, to determine the degree of affectation of the odors generated during the stabilization process, the Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana (UPB) was contracted to monitor gases (ammonia-NH 3 and hydrogen sulfide H2S). It was found that all concentrations were below the limits established in Resolution 1541 of 2013 of the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development and posed no health risk. These measurements were taken at air quality points located at Puerta del Norte, Colegio Navarra, the electrical substation, and inside the plant.


203-1 Infrastructure investments and services supported.203-2 Significant indirect economic impacts.413-1 Operations with local community engagement, impact assessments, and development programs.413-2 Operations with significant actual and potential negative impacts on local communities.

Scope and coverage

Businesses Sanitation

TerritoryColombia – Antioquia

CompaniesEmpresas Públicas de Medellín - EPMAguas Nacionales EPM

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Aldeas program

Aldeas is an innovative initiative that takes advantage of trees reaching their maturity period in the more than 4,000 ha of forest plantations around the power generation reservoirs and drinking water supply. Its purpose is to provide an added value by offering a portfolio of constructive solutions for communities and territories with a high degree of socio-economic vulnerability in the regions where EPM operates.

The Aldeas program contributes to:

• Strengthening of public-private partnerships for the promotion of the social and environmental development of the communities.

• The construction of safe habitats in the rural environment where families can continue promoting the agricultural development of the country.

• The promotion of forest governance through the sustainable use of trees that complete their maturation cycle in the forests owned by EPM.

• The feasibility of projects and the validation of EPM’s presence in the territories.• The articulation of the forestry sector, the wood industry, and the construction industry, which has allowed

the generation of a great number of direct and indirect jobs, contributing to the revitalization of the local and regional economy.

Management in 2018

Today, Aldeas is much more than just homes; it is a program that contributes to making the projects and the territories viable through sustainable construction using wood, which includes tourist infrastructure, social and community equipment infrastructure (environmental classrooms, communal stalls, schools, playgrounds), and rods for fences.

Achievements:

• The community of El Cedral, in the municipality of Ituango, benefited from the construction of a community room under an agreement with the municipality.

• Rural aboriginal schools of Pueblorrico, Ciudad Bolívar, and El Bagre were built under an agreement with Antioquia Governor’s Office and the municipalities.

• Construction of locative infrastructure (restaurant of the La Pradera landfill) for the affiliate Emvarias in the municipality of Don Matías.

• Construction of offices for the Operation and Maintenance Center (abbreviated COM in Spanish) in Valle de San Nicolás, for the water supply management of EPM.

• Investment of COP 2,897 million for 2018, which includes forest harvesting and construction.• Presentation of the expost evaluation results of the program, which evidenced the improvement in the quality

of life of beneficiary families.

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Challenges:

• Hard-to-reach indigenous communities for the installation of rural schools in the municipalities of Murindó and Urrao.

• Commissioning of electricity to homes in the most remote areas, due to various regulatory aspects of the Energy and Gas Regulatory Commission (abbreviated CREG in Spanish) for rural electrification programs.



Scope and coverage

Businesses Electrical energy

TerritoryColombia – Antioquia

CompaniesEmpresas Públicas de Medellín - EPM

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Intermediate projects

These are the expansion, modernization and growth projects in the energy, gas, water, and solid waste sectors that are currently being developed by Grupo EPM and that leverage the sustainable growth of the organization and the territories in which it operates.

In power generation: among the most relevant are the recovery of the Playas power station, the rehabilitation of the Dolores power station, and the Miraflores reservoir dam, as well as the replacement of the Guatapé transformers.

In transmission and distribution: works were carried out to expand and replace the system, improve service quality, electrify homes with the Antioquia iluminada program (Antioquia illuminated), connect customers and repower, reconfigure and modernize substations and regional project lines in EPM and its affiliates CENS, ESSA, and CHEC.

For water and basic sanitation: drinking water supply projects in the Valle de Aburrá described in the Water provision intervention program (abbreviated PIPA in Spanish), as well as the projects in the Valle de San Nicolás and Habilitación viviendas (Habitable homes program). As part of the SWMP, there are projects such as the maintenance of sewage networks and infrastructure, modernization of the San Fernando WWTP, Centro Parrilla, Otras Cuencas, and Rodas-Piedras Blancas-El Salado. With regard to solid waste management, prefeasibility studies are being carried out for the transfer station project. Projects related to basic community sanitation are being carried out with the affiliates Aguas de Malambo and Aguas Regionales.

Management in 2018

Improvement of the quality of life of the communities where Grupo EPM operates. Works were built to guarantee the supply of electricity, gas, drinking water, wastewater and solid waste management that improve coverage, continuity, and quality of service for customers. In addition, networks and infrastructure associated with public utilities were modernized and replaced.

Achievements:

• Fulfillment of environmental and social management plans for public utilities infrastructure projects.• Management of environmental procedures and permits required for the construction of works: modification

of environmental licenses and permits for forest harvesting and offset, archaeology, dumping, and riverbed occupation.

• Implementation of information and community involvement programs with the different stakeholders at regional and local levels.

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• Implementation of communication strategies and engagement with different local, regional and national stakeholders that allowed establishing and strengthening a two-way communication and trust relationships for the viability and sustainability of the projects.

• Social assistance in the establishment of easements and property management.• As for solid waste management, prefeasibility studies and design of the municipal solid waste (MSW) transfer

station for Medellín were carried out, with an initial capacity of 2,000 tons/day.



Scope and coverage

Businesses Water supply SanitationElectrical energy Gas

TerritoryColombia - AntioquiaColombia - RisaraldaColombia - CaldasColombia - QuindíoColombia - SantanderColombia - Norte de SantanderColombia - Malambo, Atlántico

CompaniesEmpresa de Aguas del Oriente AntioqueñoAguas de MalamboEmpresas Varias de Medellín - EmvariasCentral Hidroeléctrica de Caldas - CHECElectrificadora de Santander - ESSAEmpresa de Energía del Quindío - EDEQCentrales Eléctricas del Norte de Santander - CENS

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SustainabilityReport2018

social and environmental · social and environmental management - 2018 sustainaility eport 2 social...

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