• Company obtains the first place in MERCO 2024 ranking for its Environmental, Social and good Governance commitment.
• During 2024, the company’s Sustainability strategy focused on areas such as climate change resilience, circular economy, feeding vulnerable populations and promoting peace.

The 2024 edition of the Corporate Responsibility and Governance index in Costa Rica ratifies the strength of FIFCO’s sustainability strategy, which obtained the first place in the prestigious ranking.

This measurement, prepared by the Corporate Reputation Business Monitor (MERCO), evaluates the performance of companies in the Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) dimensions. The list consists of a total of 100 companies, whose position is established by weighing the criteria of executives, corporate responsibility specialists, financial analysts, journalists, government officials and non-governmental organizations, among others.

In addition to leading the general ranking, FIFCO, for the second consecutive year, stood out as the most environmentally responsible company.

The Costa Rican food and beverage company received the distinction at the end of a year of work in pursuit of the nine sustainability goals it aspires to meet by 2027. These goals address priority issues for the company, such as environmentally friendly packaging, circular economy, smart consumption of beverages with alcoholic content, lower sugar content, women in leadership positions, employee wellbeing and development of holistic leadership skills.

Maria Pía Robles, FIFCO’s Corporate Relations Director, stated that the company is steadily advancing in the implementation of its sustainability strategy FIFCO Trasciende (FIFCO Transcends).

“2024 has been a year of hard and collaborative work for generating innovative solutions to the great challenges of our time. The adoption and implementation of ESG criteria has been a process of much learning and we are fully motivated to continue moving towards meeting our goals in 2027,” said Robles.

These are some of the actions the company has focused on this year as part of its sustainability strategy FIFCO Transciende.

Environmental Dimension:

• Development of a sustainable agriculture initiative, to promote the implementation of regenerative practices in the cultivation of nine essential products within FIFCO’s supply chain.
• Creation of an eight-kilometer protective perimeter to defend Barra Honda National Park, in Guanacaste, from forest fires.
• Project to transform more than 10 hectares of land at the Beer Plant, in the canton of Flores, Heredia, for the creation of a climatic refuge for wildlife.
• Development of a free public tool to measure the level of circularity of companies and households.
• Cleanup, maintenance and environmental education work in six protected areas, through the Elegí Ayudar volunteer program.
• Participation in tree planting initiative in Hatillo, in alliance with the Green Wolf organization and the Ministry of Public Works and Transportation (MOPT).

Social Dimension:

• Support the work of the Food Bank of Costa Rica to bring plates of hot food to people at social risk throughout the country, through the Ayudar es Pan Comido (Helping is a Piece of Cake) and Tradiciones Compartidas (Shared Traditions) initiatives.
• The “La paz tiene muchas formas” (Peace has many forms) in alliance with the Ministry of Public Education (MEP), the PANIAMOR Foundation and the CEN-CINAI National Directorate, with the aim of strengthening violence prevention from early childhood.
• Education efforts on reading nutritional labels for choosing healthy food products.
• Development of an educational program in hotel infrastructure maintenance and a directory of Guanacaste enterprises, for the benefit of the province of Guanacaste, within the framework of the 200th anniversary of the Annexation of Nicoya.
• Training and professional updating program on sustainability for Central American communicators, provided by INCAE.