FICEM-APCAC

2007 was a year of important advances for consolidating the global values upon which Argos is founded. This is how the Corporate Social Responsibility was established as strategic axe of the company.

For accomplishing a Corporate Social Responsibility model based on the sustainability and integrity of the economical, environment, and social dimension and with great challenges facing the internationalization process, the company invited the Brazilian consultancy firm Terra Mater, Emprendimientos Sustentaveis, to develop a strategy in RSE that enhances our relation with the different groups of interest.

Likewise, in October 2007, the company's Board of Directors made the decision of joining as Argos Group to the Global Pact, what frames the operations in international principles validated as the most important in ethic matter, transparency and commitment with the world. In addition, it was defined the use of the model based on the guide G3 from Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), with the goal of having a company sustainability memory.

During 2007 Argos reached with the proposed goals and in some cases exceed the company's expectations. Argos presents a short result summary and soon we invite you to visit the web page (www.argos.com.co) to know its sustainability indicators.

It is to note the results of Construya, program funded and created by Argos directed to the non banked public, salary levels 1, 2, and 3, designated to the purchase of cement, construction materials and tools in deposits and tool stores. What Argos aims is to generate the possibility of improvement and construction of a dignifying home for the low incoming families. In 2007 more that 2.700 families were benefited with credits amounting a total of 3,830,985 USD and more than 600 affiliated deposits in six cities.

During 2007 we assisted 410 communities localized in our operation influence zones in Colombia and we participated in programs with communities close to the company in Haiti, Dominican Republic, and Panama.

Our social investment last year was of USD 6,511,000 USD from which 60% was in education, through the Progress Builders program, with which were constructed and improved 56 public education institutes in the country that benefited 50.634 children, and the development of educational quality programs in 251 public schools reaching coverage of 101.733 students.

In Social Housing, program "Building a better living", it were built 482 new homes and 771 were improved in the zone of influence.

In Productive Projects, Building Well-being Program, Argos invested 2,014,000 USD that benefited 477 families.

The environmental policy shall transcend the organizational culture. That is why in 2007 was performed the Social Responsibility Reflection Week focused in the care of the environment, with the participation of 1.176 collaborators in specialized talks on the global warming and the company's personnel participation in the seeding of 1.145 trees in different zones of the country.

In the cement industry case, the emissions to the atmosphere have a primordial role, topic on which Argos is working in committed manner and today reaches important results, which can be consulted in the web page.

In order to mitigate the carbon dioxide emissions, wood forest plantations have taken place, among which we have rubber, pine, acacia, teak, and eucalyptus. Until last year the company seeded more that 9.700 hectares.