Andean Region
The Sustainability Swing
The last electoral cycle brought left-wing leaders to power across much of the Andes – Gabriel Boric in Chile, Gustavo Petro in Colombia, Pedro Castillo (later succeeded by Dina Boluarte) in Peru, and Luis Arce in Bolivia – with Ecuador’s Daniel Noboa as the exception. A number of them rose as environmental champions, advocating sustainable growth as central to development. As Boric stated at the 2023 Asia-Pacific Cooperation Forum: “The necessary global shift towards a greener and more digital economy does not count to Chile as a burden but as an opportunity to make a quality change into our development model.”
That political push has delivered results. Rich in natural resources and renewable potential, the subregion leads in sustainability, with 65% of energy from clean sources versus the 41% global average. Colombia’s rolling ban on single-use plastics has further positioned it as a regional pioneer in recycling innovation. Daniel Mitchell, executive president of Acoplásticos, Colombia’s plastics association, commented: “We are currently among the few countries in Latin America actively engaged in chemical recycling. This demonstrates how this legislation has also driven innovation and investment in sustainable practices.”
Regional chemical and petrochemical companies are matching political momentum, investing in greener facilities, advanced technologies, and recycling. Colombia’s momentum extends beyond plastics, too, with its majority state-owned energy giant Ecopetrol also pushing forward on expanding its sustainable portfolio. Having experienced a strong 2024 in petrochemicals, the company in 2025 received regulatory approval to advance its biofuel strategy. “Beginning marine biofuel blending at 2%, with plans to increase it to 10%, this regulatory approval builds on Colombia’s longstanding experience with biodiesel in road transport. It aims to enhance fuel quality and reduce emissions in maritime operations,” commented Felipe Trujillo López, vice-president of refinery and industrial processes.
Ecopetrol has also struck sustainable aviation fuel partnerships with companies including LATAM Airlines, Chevron and World Fuel Services.
For coatings and resins company Andercol, green products are also paramount, with more than 40% of its sales in H1 2025 being from its sustainable portfolio. Carlos Vargas, Andercol’s commercial director, insisted that sustainability can go hand-in-hand with excellence: “Latin American markets tend to focus on volume and inexpensive products. Andercol’s priority is not on those, but on quality. Focusing on low-price goods is short-sighted, as it can work so long as no cheaper product appears on the market.”
This underscores an increasing industry-wide tendency toward sustainable specialties and high-margin, added-value products. Christophe Jacob, owner and CEO of Chilean distributor Austral Chemicals, argued: “We believe Chile is following Europe’s path, with growing demand for specialized, technology-driven chemical solutions.”
That strategy has proven to be avenue for expansion, with Austral posting 21% growth in 2024 despite sector-wide difficulties.
“Overall, the Southern Cone has not seen substantial demand growth. However, Chile has seen experienced notable growth in the mining and food sector.”
Claudio Gorichón, CEO, Reno
Together, these initiatives highlight how sustainability has become a growth strategy for the region’s chemical and energy industries. Yet, our attention now turns back to politics, where upcoming elections could shape this trajectory.
Chile, Colombia, Peru and Bolivia all face elections within the next year, with shifting political winds likely to reshape the region’s environmental agenda. In Bolivia, an August 2025 first round ended the left’s dominance, as the Movimiento Al Socialismo candidate won only 3% of votes. Polls suggest Chile’s right could retake power in November, while early surveys in Peru show right-leaning candidates leading ahead of the April 2026 vote. Colombia remains less clear, though Mr. Petro’s 64% disapproval in June 2025 signals widespread frustration with his administration.
This potential rightward swing, in concert with emerging global skepticism toward tightening ESG regulations, raises the potential of a rollback on some sustainability strategies. At the very least, there is a feeling among industry insiders that business needs to be made easier to drive growth. “We urgently need a more agile permitting system. Without it, many essential projects will be delayed or even abandoned. It is not about lowering standards, but about making processes faster and more efficient,” suggested Juan Pablo Gazurri, a director at ASIQUIM, Chile’s chemical industry association.
There is also a suggestion from some quarters that the Andean countries, and Latin America more widely, should not be tied down by the sky-high standards of the world’s largest economies. “I believe the oil and gas industry must be understood within its geographic and sociopolitical context. What applies to Europe, US or Asia does not necessarily apply to Latin America,” argued Arturo Rodríguez Paredes, corporate operations manager at Peruvian state company Petroperú.
Even if governments shift priorities, market pressures, investor expectations, and consumer demand make sustainability a business imperative, suggesting that momentum toward greener practices will continue, though with varying emphasis.