Nutresa Enters the List of Active Anti-Corruption Companies

• In its third edition, the program led by the Transparency Secretariat of the Presidency seeks to elevate the capacity of the private sector to identify and prevent acts of corruption.

Medellin, February 21st, 2018. In a ceremony held this afternoon in the Jockey Club in Bogotá, Grupo Nutresa was recognized along with 17 other major companies – national and international – for having high standards in the fight against corruption, according to the criteria of the Management Committee of the “Active Anti-Corruption Companies (EAA, for its acronym in Spanish) – Businesses with Principles” program. In its third edition, this initiative – led by the Transparency Secretariat of the Presidency of the Republic – seeks to continue to elevate the capacity of the private sector to identify and prevent acts of corruption.

Grupo Nutresa thus joined a group of 24 EAA companies selected throughout three editions of the program – launched in 2014 – after exceeding the minimum score required and obtaining 100 or more of the 150 possible points, following a demanding technical evaluation to which, in 2017, a total of 33 large companies that voluntarily applied to be evaluated under ten criteria were subjected.

These evaluation criteria included the application of the anti-corruption program on third parties; internal control and accounting records; the review and monitoring of the compliance program; and prevention policies and procedures in areas of risk, such as political contributions, sponsorships, gifts, representation expenses and conflicts of interest, among others.

Regarding the initiative, Gabriel Cifuentes, Secretary of Transparency, stated: “The private sector is jointly responsible in the fight against corruption. No company operating in Colombia should remain outside of what should be understood as a goal of the country: ending corruption, one of the worst forms of violence. With this initiative, we know firsthand where companies are orienting their anti-corruption mechanisms and, thus, we can identify with certainty the gaps or aspects to improve.”

For his part, Carlos Ignacio Gallego, Grupo Nutresa CEO, commented: “For our Organization, acting with integrity is synonymous with generating trust in our stakeholders. We frame our processes in behaviors based on integrity and in ensuring the compliance of rules and standards that govern our operation. We have established a framework of conduct of transparency and integrity aligned not only with high international standards of corporate governance, but also with universal principles of human rights. This framework of behavior leads our actions today and guides us toward the future.”

The Management Committee of the Active Anti-Corruption Companies program is composed of representatives from the Transparency Secretariat of the Presidency of the Republic, the National Association of Businessmen of Colombia (ANDI), the Network of Chambers of Commerce (Confecámaras), the National Federation of Merchants (Fenalco), the Swedish Business Network and the Colombian Institute of Internal Auditors.