Cruz Verde Achieves Gold Category Zero Waste Certification

• Cruz Verde reaffirms its commitment to sustainability by consolidating an innovative circular economy model at its distribution center (CEDI).

• The environmental management program led by Cruz Verde achieved an 80% overall recycling rate and a 91% actual recycling rate, allowing over 850 metric tons of materials to be reintroduced into the production chain, preventing their disposal in landfills.

Bogotá, September 22, 2026. Aiming to transform the supply chain of the pharmaceutical industry in Colombia, Cruz Verde reaffirms its commitment to sustainability by consolidating an innovative circular economy model at its distribution center (CEDI). Through a comprehensive strategy based on reducing, reusing, and recycling, the company's CEDI became the first pharmacy chain facility to earn the highest tier of Zero Waste certification (Gold Category), awarded by ICONTEC and Global Zero Waste.

The results achieved during 2025 reflect the impact of this strategy. The environmental management program reached an 80% overall recycling rate and a 91% actual recycling rate, enabling over 850 metric tons of materials to be reintroduced into the production chain and avoiding their disposal in the Doña Juana landfill. This milestone aligns with the corporate goal of sending zero waste to landfills by 2030.

The model also yielded measurable environmental results. Over the year, the initiatives implemented saved 37,000 cubic meters of water, conserved more than 5,800 MWh of energy across the logistics chain, and prevented the emission of 2,329 metric tons of $\text{CO}_2$. Additionally, the program included a strong awareness and training component involving more than 800 employees, suppliers, and strategic partners, strengthening a shared and long-term sustainable environmental culture.

“At Cruz Verde, we understand sustainability as a commitment to the planet, our community, and our people. That is why we work to go beyond waste management—promoting waste recovery, extending material lifespans, and seeking new ways to reincorporate them into our processes. In doing so, we advance toward an increasingly efficient, circular, and responsible operation,” explained Katherine Roa, Sustainability Associate Director at Cruz Verde.

The impact of these efforts becomes even more relevant in light of the global waste challenge. According to the World Bank, 23% of global waste goes uncollected, and 33% is disposed of in open dumpsites. The situation is even more critical in low-income countries, where 60% of solid waste is uncollected and 93% is mismanaged[1]. In line with this, moving toward sustainable models is key to addressing this environmental challenge.

How Does Cruz Verde’s “Zero Waste” Model Work?

The strategy implemented by the company relies on three operational pillars:

1. Reduction of single-use packaging: Implementation of returnable totes for shipments to Bogotá, Sabana, and Valle del Cauca, with plans to expand geographic coverage during 2026. Additionally, the launch of the Isobox system replaced styrofoam coolers used for product transport, reducing the use of 36,000 disposable coolers—one of the hardest materials to dispose of in the industry—in its first year alone.

2. Reuse and inspection of supplies: Through a specialized technical recovery unit, in 2025, Cruz Verde reintroduced 491,000 cardboard boxes (a 15.7% recovery rate), 215,000 cold gel packs (a 25% recovery rate), and 7,400 styrofoam coolers (a 5.7% recovery rate) after subjecting them to strict quality control and cleaning procedures.

3. Recycling and internal innovation: In a 70 m² processing area dedicated to material sorting, and in partnership with Recuperadores Circulares, the company recycles an average of 70 metric tons of waste per month. As part of this process, recovered cardboard is die-cut into flexible protective mesh for packaging—an initiative that generated 67 metric tons of eco-friendly void fill during 2025.

Finally, with these advancements, Cruz Verde demonstrates that responsible resource management can be meaningfully integrated into operations to generate measurable environmental benefits. The focus now turns to scaling these solutions and consolidating practices that contribute to a more efficient supply chain equipped for future environmental challenges.

About Cruz Verde

We are a company with more than 40 years of experience in the pharmaceutical sector, specializing in the purchasing, storage, distribution, marketing, and delivery of health and wellness products and services. Through operational excellence, we contribute to the quality of life of our customers, employees, and communities. Since arriving in Colombia in 2012, we offer a broad portfolio of comprehensive services across our 5 business lines: Retail, through a network of over 1,080 drugstores in 28 departments; Prescription Dispensing, delivering medications to over 6 million Social Security beneficiaries; Wholesale Distribution, selling to more than 300 public and private clinics and hospitals; In-Hospital Pharmacy Management, providing end-to-end supply chain and dispensing operations inside more than 39 major hospitals nationwide; Medicarte IPS, offering medication administration and specialized care for rare diseases through 22 specialized outpatient centers, 4 pharmacies across 18 cities, and serving over 186,000 patients; and the Unified Pharmacy model, with 18 locations operating across 16 municipalities.

[1] World Bank. Clean Cities, Bright Futures: Accelerating Investment and Reforms in Solid Waste Management in Developing Countries (2025). https://www.worldbank.org/en/results/2025/04/30/clean-cities-bright-futures-accelerating-investment-and-reforms-in-solid-waste-management-in-developing-countries