The multinational, known for contributing to the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, joins the efforts to offset carbon emissions in Colombia.

This is the Hacienda el Manantial forestry project, located in the municipality of Puerto López, Meta, where the company is planting more than 3 million trees of 20 native and commercial species such as acacia, rubber, pine, eucalyptus, and other timber species. In a land of more than 3,600 hectares, of which 2,600 are in the process of reforestation.

The remaining hectares correspond to wetlands, native forests, and rivers the multinational protects to conserve a much more diverse ecosystem.

Novartis states that Hacienda el Manantial seeks to reduce the carbon footprint and promote spaces that encourage local production. In addition, it aims to offset the emission of one million tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) by 2035, supporting the fulfillment of Colombia's international commitments expressed in the Sustainable Development Goals of the Paris Agreement.

This sustainable vocation will generate 300 direct jobs in greenhouse operations, planting, pruning, thinning, and harvesting, among others.

The plantation has an apiary project with 1,000 hives with more than 60 million bees that currently produce honey and, in the future, wax, propolis, and apitoxin to conserve the populations of this species.

During 2021, Novartis in Colombia managed to impact more than 1 million patients through its contribution to health, to improve and prolong people's lives.