Bancolombia’s commitment to cleaner energy in Colombia

February 4, 2025

Juan Carlos Mora, president of Bancolombia Group, talks to The Energy Year about what has allowed the Group to consolidate its position as the leader in the Colombian financial market and how important technological innovation and improved customer service have been for the bank. Bancolombia Group is a full-service banking group.

What keys to success have enabled Bancolombia to continue consolidating its position as the leader in the Colombian financial market?
Our success in the Colombian market is due to our aim of promoting sustainable development to achieve wellbeing for all.
In addition to guiding who we are and what we do, this premise has allowed us to adapt to changes in the environment, to be optimistic despite the economic situation, to have a sense of possibility and, above all, to consolidate a comprehensive financial ecosystem that responds to the expectations of people and companies, offers tailor-made solutions and facilitates the transformation and creation of positive realities for a better future for our society.
All this – accompanied by a sense of permanent innovation, a broad presence in the national territory, solid financial management, a strict focus on the customer and exceptional human talent – makes the extraordinary possible.

How important has technological innovation and improved customer experience been in contributing to the bank’s outstanding performance?
Digital transformation and disruptive technologies have played a crucial role in Bancolombia’s growth and success, as they have allowed us to optimise our operations and be one of the most relevant Latin American financial institutions in technological integration. They have also led to us increasingly personalising our customer experience and making it more efficient.
We have implemented technologies such as the cloud, advanced analytics, big data, machine learning, artificial intelligence and generative artificial intelligence, among many other solutions with which we have taken our portfolio to the next level.

How has Bancolombia sought to become the first fintech-allied bank in Colombia, and what integration perspective has Bancolombia adopted with fintech?
At Bancolombia we have been proactive in integrating the country’s fintech ecosystem because we recognise its innovative potential and strategic importance for the development of the financial sector.
Under this vision, in 2020 we became the first bank to ally with this industry by joining Colombia Fintech. Since then, we have not stopped promoting its development, collaborating jointly, promoting opportunities for its growth and reinventing ourselves as an organisation to generate more and more innovative processes, products and services that facilitate the relationship between banking, technology and people.
On this path we have established strategic partnerships with various fintechs; implemented open innovation labs; invested in advanced technology; fostered the creation of a digital environment compatible with fintech solutions; incorporated emerging technologies such as blockchain, big data, open data and artificial intelligence to improve operational efficiency; enabled the opening of application programming interfaces to allow financial startups and other third parties to develop services and applications that integrate with our banking systems; and worked closely with regulators to ensure that new solutions comply with current regulations.
In addition, we have an investment fund of close to USD 50 million, with which we are investing in 33 startups, while collaborating with more than 100 companies in the industry to strengthen their development and scaling.

 

What initiatives and actions are spearheading Bancolombia’s sustainability strategy?
For us, sustainability translates into our ability to promote wellbeing and progress for all through the articulation of all our actions on three main fronts aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals. These allow us to generate wellbeing, protect the planet and contribute to people’s quality of life.
In this regard, we promote financial inclusion through the development of financial services for underprivileged segments, the generation of knowledge for better financial decision-making, access to quality education and a more equitable and diverse Colombia.
We also strengthen the productive fabric of the countries in which we operate by financing SMEs and entrepreneurs so that their productivity and the number of jobs they create increase and positively impact the economy. We also support the development of agriculture, the technological reconversion of industries, the development of sustainable businesses and large infrastructure projects.
We also build sustainable cities and communities by promoting access to housing through innovative solutions that go beyond financing, promoting sustainable mobility and contributing to climate change mitigation.
For us, sustainability is not just a manifesto commitment but the way we see the world and how we approach our activities. That is why we have set ourselves the ambition of mobilising more than COP 500 billion [USD 129.7 million] during this decade to develop these fronts.

One of these sustainable initiatives is Bancolombia’s Línea Verde, or Green Line. How is this initiative being implemented in practice?
We created the Green Line with the purpose of promoting sustainability and comprehensively supporting companies in their efforts to improve energy efficiency, efficiently use resources and adopt cleaner practices.
Not only do we fund projects that are aligned with sustainability goals, but we also provide advice on how to develop and implement sustainable initiatives. These can include environmental impact assessments, feasibility analyses and best-practice recommendations.
We also work with companies to ensure that projects are viable and compliant, which often involves environmental certifications, and we monitor their progress by assessing their impact in terms of energy savings, emissions reductions and other environmental benefits.
The Green Line shows us that funding is just the gateway to much more comprehensive work that helps organisations become more responsible and sustainable.

In what ways is Bancolombia channelling its efforts towards greener initiatives in Colombia?
At Bancolombia we have made a commitment to finance COP 40 trillion [USD 10.38 billion] between 2020 and 2030 for the decarbonisation of the economy through renewable energy activities, technological reconversion and low-emission sustainable mobility, for which we disbursed COP 1.2 trillion [USD 311.4 million] in 2024.
In addition, we have a policy for climate-change-sensitive industries that states our ambition to eliminate our portfolio exposure in the thermal-coal and coal-fired power sectors. In the oil and gas sector, we are accompanying our clients in defining transition plans and supporting them with financing.
For the energy and cement sectors, we are consolidating transition plans and setting science-based targets for five financing portfolios associated with these sectors. For the energy sector, we aim to prioritise renewable energy financing and phase out coal-fired energy financing, as well as study in detail any other fossil-fuel financing to ensure it is aligned with national and global targets under the Paris Agreement.

What details can you give us about the most important renewables projects you have financed in Colombia in the last years?
During this decade, hundreds of organisations have used Bancolombia’s sustainable lending to promote the development of projects that have a positive impact on society and the environment.
In energy, for example, Enel has made progress in its strategy to modernise and expand its infrastructure with the aim of bringing clean energy to more people in the centre of the country.
We have also been a partner in the construction of solar parks in different regions of Colombia, supporting companies such as Solarpack, one of the country’s largest non-conventional renewable energy projects in the departments of Córdoba and Cesar, which will provide energy to 230,000 homes.
For its part, ERCO obtained financing for the construction of a solar park, with which it plans to generate 44 GWh annually, equivalent to the monthly consumption of 30,500 homes. This will avoid the emission of 4,500 tonnes of CO2 per year, corresponding to the planting of 180,000 trees. We also support AES Colombia in its plans to expand energy generation from renewable sources and contribute to the energy transition.
At Bancolombia we recognise companies that are challenging their main sustainability indicators by granting them better credit conditions as they meet their goals.
Organisations such as Grupo Argos, Telefónica, Nutresa, Celsia and Tigo have accessed lines tied to sustainability indicators, with measurable objectives in emissions reduction, ecosystem restoration, energy efficiency, the participation of women in management positions, packaging circularity and expanding connectivity, among other objectives.

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