The Latin Board convened for their annual meeting on March 30th in Mexico City, where 23 members of the board of directors were present. The meeting was primarily focused on discussing the various activities that were carried out in 2022 relating to the coalitions that are active in Latin America. The Plastics, Food Waste, Collaborations for Healthier Lives, Food Safety, Product Data, and Race to Zero initiatives were all discussed in detail, and decisions were made regarding each of these initiatives. The board members also set conclusions , expectations and challenges to be encountered in 2023.  During the meeting, the Latin Board welcomed Carlos Arenas, the new co-chair of the board and CEO of Oxxo (FEMSA). They also took the opportunity to congratulate Carlos Giraldo, CEO of Grupo Éxito, on his excellent work. Overall, the meeting was highly productive, and the Latin Board is looking forward to continuing to work towards their mission of promoting sustainability and economic growth in Latin America.

Healthier Lives

In February, we held our second webinar with Danone employees as part of our activities of “México Ponte Bien” wellbeing programs.
We had a guest speaker from Colombia, Ana Mareto, a sports woman who talked about how through physical activity and healthy habits she improved her mental health and how this helped her live a better life. She focused on speaking from her experience and how it motivated her to have a purpose in life. We had over 50 attendees. We will continue having different activities for employees during this year.


Plastic Waste

On February, the LatAm Plastics Working Group held its virtual kick-off meeting to discuss the key aims and workstream for 2023. During the meeting, we introduced the new reporting template for the Golden Design Rules, which was designed to provide better monitoring and analysis of the data related to GDR. We also explained how this format will enable us to make more informed and effective decisions. Lastly, the group members were given an opportunity to ask questions or raise concerns. The reporting process in Latam is aligned with the timing of the Plastic COA. Companies who want to participate in the group and commit to the rules can align with the CGF Latam team.


Vision 3030

The CGF LatAm office has recently signed an agreement with Visión 3030 a collective initiative with 336 members as of the end of 2022, this collective is powered by the ANDI (National Business Association of Colombia), one of the most prominent national associations in Colombia, with roughly over 1480 member companies. The primary goal of this partnership is to promote the adoption of GDRs among its members and provide assistance in implementing a pilot project with 20 companies. The ANDI will provide guidance and support to these companies. The project was officially launched yesterday, on March 1st, and it is expected to be developed throughout 2023.


Plastic Pact Colombia

The Colombia Plastics Pact was launched in Bogotá on February 23rd in partnership with CEMPRE and WRAP to tackle the environmental impact of packaging waste and promote a circular economy for plastics. The pact has the backing of UK Research and Innovation and CGF LatAm, which advised on its creation. Members of CGF, including Jeronimo Martins(Ara), Nestle and Coca-Cola Femsa System are already part of the Pact. The initiative aims to unite stakeholders across the packaging value chain, including packaging companies, producers, traders, processors, academia, trade associations, NGOs, and government, to work towards a common vision of achieving a more sustainable and circular approach to plastic.


Race to Zero

On March 21st, 2023, we hosted our first webinar of the year in collaboration with Accenture and the Climate Champions team as a part of the Race to Zero LatAm working group’s initiatives. The webinar focused on regenerative agriculture, with expert speakers such as Ceejay Girard and Jaime Guerrero from Accenture, and Camila Fernandez from The High-Level Climate Champions Team, sharing views. The aim of the webinar was to address the major challenges facing the regenerative agriculture sector and discuss topics that may pose challenges as decarbonisation goals are planned and implemented.