UCundinamarca received awards in Social Responsibility

It is an award presented every year that is currently held by 130 organizations committed to climate change management. The program makes it possible to support organizations in measuring, implementing strategies to reduce their Carbon Footprint, offsetting emissions, and regarding how to communicate about it. In this way, organizations implement processes to become more sustainable. The University of Cundinamarca emitted 475.60 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) and implemented significant environmental mitigation measures during 2019. “We analyzed the main sources of each of the emissions; in the direct ones, we saw that at the university, the consumption of regular gasoline is what represents the most, and it is in Fusagasugá; for you, the consumption of fossil fuels from regular gasoline generates more impact. In the indirect emissions, which is simply electricity consumption, we identified the Girardot extension, where we have a high representative score and energy generators must be considered,” said Estefanía Ramírez from the Fenalco Solidario Colombia Corporation.

It is a certificate that was issued 30 years ago. “I congratulate you because there are areas that meet and exceed what we establish in our tool, for example, in the environmental area there is a nice program which is the agri-environmental unit, a special program,” assured Julieth Cuéllar, Social Responsibility Coordinator for the Fenalco Solidario Corporation.

It is a voluntary process undertaken by organizations. The University of Cundinamarca met the three pillars of the certification: trust, commitment, and culture. The Corporation identified that UDEC developed its own integrated management system software that allows for monitoring, reporting, and control within the framework of the Occupational Health and Safety Management System (OHSMS). “The software developed by the university allows for a direct communication channel with workers to manage health-related incidents.

”Also, as a symptom alert system and for monitoring the health of workers,” concluded Esteban Aristizabal, Director of Environmental Services for the Corporation. The strengthening of University Social Responsibility processes at the University of Cundinamarca took place during the second half of 2020 through the Directorate of Social Interaction, by creating an area dedicated to this cross-cutting process. Thirteen institutional departments contributed to the success of these self-assessment exercises: Environmental Management, Occupational Health and Safety, Human Resources, Welfare, Purchasing, Communications, Internal Control, Legal Affairs, Institutional Inclusion, Social Interaction, Postgraduate Studies, Physical Resources, and Self-Evaluation. The verification of outstanding compliance with requirements, actions, and institutional commitments in Social Responsibility and Carbon Footprint Measurement for 2019, and in Biosafety during 2020, led to the awarding of these accolades.