Policies


Políticas EPMEnvironmental policy with a business group scope

 
The EPM Business Group, as a provider of public services related to energy, drinking water, basic sanitation and telecommunications, is aware of its interdependence with the environment; therefore, it must carry out its comprehensive environmental management in a proactive manner, using criteria based on business competitiveness and environmental, economic and social sustainability.

Thus, the EPM Business Group, is committed to applying the following guidelines:

  • Ensure compliance with environmental legislation and the voluntary commitments it acquires within the scope of its actions.
  • Carry out its environmental management with a preventive approach and use its resources rationally.
  • Continually improve environmental performance within the context of technological and financial possibilities.
  • Promote and strengthen the environmental culture of the relevant stakeholders.
  • Engage in transparent communications with the stakeholders regarding environmental management and encourage their participation based on relationships of mutual respect and trust.
  • The implementation of various measures that contribute to mitigate climate change is a testament to the environmental responsibility of the EPM Business Group”.

The guidelines are the principles, commitments, elements and concepts that should be considered for the implementation of the policy, such as:

Legislation and voluntary commitments: It involves knowing and complying with the environmental legislation that applies to the projects, works and activities, in any territory where the company operates. It also means we must abide by the provisions found in the other voluntary agreements we sign, for example the Global Compact with the United Nations Organization and the Cleaner Production Convention with the Electricity Industry.

Prevention and rational use: Stressing that a preventive approach to environmental management must take precedence over any mitigating, corrective and compensating measures. We are committed to the rational use of resources. We don’t just mean natural resources, but also the supplies and raw materials (electric energy, paper, printer cartridges and disposable cups, among others).

Continuous Improvement: We focus on making our environmental management better each day as part of our daily activities. This improvement must be in accordance with technological and financial possibilities.

Culture: Implement awareness-raising, training and education activities, among others, for specific audiences, according to our needs and interests, for the purposes of learning from others, sharing the knowledge we have acquired with others and bringing about a change in attitude towards our relationship with the environment.

Communication and participation: Implies recognizing the need to foster the communication of environmental management results to various audiences, to position the Group’s environmental image and thus improve the recognition of our responsibility towards the environment. We also emphasize transparency as an organizational value, as well as promoting participation and the strengthening of relations, as tools that contribute to corporate viability.



The CSR policy for EPM is a framework that guides its implementation in the Business Group. It was approved by the Board of Directors of the parent company on September 1, 2009, and has been adopted by the various Boards of Directors of the group’s companies.

The policy has 4 areas: concept, focus, application and relationship.

Corporate social

For their part, the criteria for implementing the CSR policy are an instrument that is being developed by the Office of the Assistant Director for Sustainable Development, in order to identify their degree of implementation in the various programs or projects the company undertakes. It is a checklist with mandatory criteria, and others which are not mandatory, indicating the degree to which the mentioned program complies with the policy.

“Communication in Empresas Públicas de Medellín is based on respect, transparency, timeliness, relevance, accuracy and dialogue and is aimed at ensuring its reputation and maintaining an appropriate relationship with the stakeholders, to contribute to the sustainability and development of the EPM Group strategy.”

“The management of human resources in EPM is based on the development of skills, and from a human perspective it contributes to the achievement of the business strategy, to the improvement of the dignity of its employees and to the promotion of socially responsible behaviors in their actions.

Consistent with this, together, EPM and its employees foster personal and professional growth through a structured work environment based on a culture of high performance, organizational values, ethics, quality of life, welfare, employment regulations and national and international provisions within the context of human rights.”

EPM General policy for comprehensive risk management

“EPM manages the risks that have an effect on its activities and its environment by adopting the best practices and international standards on Comprehensive Risk Management (CRM), as a way to enable compliance with its business purpose, strategy, objectives and ends, both of a statutory and legal nature”.

“EPM implements a Quality Management System focused on meeting the needs and expectations of its customers and other stakeholders, complying with current regulations and being committed to continuous improvement, in order to achieve its business purpose, strategy and objectives using efficacy, effectiveness and efficiency criteria in providing its services”.