CMPC Is Recognized As the Best Company in the Region of Biobio

The recognition was awarded by CPC Biobio in its Business Achievement Awards and was received by the company’s Corporate Affairs and Sustainability Manager Guillermo Turner. In that regard, Álvaro Ananías, leader of the organization, said that “We greatly appreciate what CMPC is doing for our region.”

The award is founded on the company’s efforts to improve the quality of its processes and renewable products, its social management in communities and its leadership in the global sustainability ranking of the forest and paper industry awarded by the prestigious annual and global Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI).

As every year, the Biobio Chamber of Production and Commerce (CPC Biobio) in Chile held its annual assembly this Thursday, where it presented the traditional Business Achievement Awards that highlight the actions of companies with a presence in the region in various areas. The ceremony was led by the entity’s president, Álvaro Ananías, and its board of directors, in addition to Deputies Flor Weisse, Sergio Bobadilla, Joanna Pérez and Karen Medina, and regional counsellor Ana Araneda. 

The announced recognitions included an award to CMPC for “Best Company of the Year”, which was received by CMPC’s Corporate Affairs and Sustainability Manager Guillermo Turner. According to CPC Biobio, the recognition is founded on the board of director’s appreciation for the “work and commitment to sustainability in CMPC’s operations, with a special emphasis on environmental care, as well as being an essential part of the Biobio Region’s economic development, generating a virtuous ecosystem for decades that has permanently influenced the wellbeing of our region’s inhabitants and the timber industry”.

The association also added that “CMPC is one of the organizations most committed to innovation and the community in order to bring wellbeing not only to other companies but also to the communities… It was also considered that CMPC leads the world sustainability ranking of the forest and paper industry awarded by the prestigious annual and global Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI).” 

Alvaro Ananías, president of CPC Biobio, explained the motivations that led the association to give this recognition to CMPC: “To us, it is about recognizing the relevant actors in the Biobio Region. The forest industry is the most relevant industry in the region. In this sense, we greatly appreciate what CMPC is doing for our region in terms of employment, economic development and sustainable economy. It is an important time to recognize the impact it also has on the communities.”

Meanwhile, District 21 Deputy Karen Medina also valued CMPC’s social role. She highlighted that “In the municipality of Nacimiento, CMPC has contributed in bringing the first technical training institute to a small community that saw getting this type of education from the public system as something very distant. We achieved it with the support of CMPC, benefiting many students not only in Nacimiento but even in the Araucania Region. This is greatly appreciated.” 

A Sustainable Forest Strategy with Regional and Local Impact

“This award makes us very happy, very proud, because like we always say, we are a global company but are fundamentally a local company very committed to the region. This award highlights the importance of the forestry sector and the need to promote it for the entire region of Biobio and all of the country’s macro-southern area,” said Turner.

The presence of CMPC in Biobio dates back to 1940 with the purchase of the Pinares estate, which would initiate the first pine forest plantations. Later, the first pulp mill, the oldest one in the country and the second in South America, was installed in Laja in 1959. The second plant of this material in the region was inaugurated in the municipality of Nacimiento in 1991. By 1993, and for the purpose of forging a relationship between the community and the activities of Empresas CMPC, the Jorge Alessandri Educational Park was set in motion in the municipality of Coronel. 

Additionally, the company’s impact in the Biobio Region is marked by various collaborative lines of work with social organizations, neighbors and authorities. Examples of this are the Local Supplier Development Program, the 2023 Social Fund, the Comunas Sin Basura (Municipalities without Garbage) Program, the Water Challenge Program, the Reconstruye Restaura (Rebuild Restore) CMPC initiative, the implementation of the DUOC-UC CMPC Nacimiento Campus, the higher education scholarship program Construye Futuro (Build a Future), and support to sports and social clubs in the region. This is coupled with widespread deployment in the prevention and fighting of rural fires, not just in their own fields, which allowed for positive results in the last season. 

It is important to mention that CMPC’s south corporate building is located precisely in the region of Biobio, in the city of Los Angeles. 

Recognized Regional Leadership

Entrepreneurs, workers and key collaborators for the region’s productive and economic development were at the center of the awards ceremony held at the Mitrinco Events Center in San Pedro de La Paz, which featured the prominent economist Michelle Labbé as rapporteur and special guest. In addition to the Best Company of the Year Award, Best Employee was bestowed upon the manager of personnel services of the partner company Beneo Orafti Chile, Marilin Oñate. 

This year, the Best Entrepreneur Award was presented to the general manager of Transportes Bretti, Italo Bretti. Lastly, the Best Executive Award was received by the Rector of Universidad Santo Tomás, Concepcion and Los Angeles campuses, Roger Sepúlveda. 

Other Recognitions to CMPC’s Strategy

The award from CPC Biobio joins others received by CMPC and its top executives in recent months. Recently, The Chilean Engineers Association gave the 2024 Engineer of the Year Award to the president of Empresas CMPC, Luis Felipe Gazitúa. In March, the company was honored by the Fastmarkets Forest Products PPI Awards 2024 in Istanbul, Turkey. The award was received by General Manager Francisco Ruiz-Tagle for the company’s accomplishments in sustainability, innovation and financial results.

Also in the third month of the year, CMPC was recognized as the environmental brand most recalled and preferred by the neighbors of Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil at the 26th Edition of Marcas de Quem Decide. It is the fifth time that CMPC has won in the Environmental Brand category, and the third consecutive time. Additionally, in February, CMPC was recognized by Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), a major dissemination platform in relation to climate change, for its leadership in terms of transparency and business action in the forestry field.

Last year, Francisco Ruiz-Tagle also received the 2023 Bravo Sustainability CEO of the Year Award awarded by the Council of the Americas, making him the first Chilean to obtain this recognition. He was also appointed vice-president of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, where he previously served as director.