In response to the letter made public by Cero Tolerance Initiative and having sought advice from a range of close stakeholders, La Fabril group would like to announce that it is willing to find a solution to the conflict it has with the San Javier community through a participatory process that includes open communication.

La Fabril group since its origin has been and is committed to continue managing its operations in an environmentally and socially responsible way. Since 2000, when La Fabril started investing in San Lorenzo, the company has applied a sustainable approach to managing its business, and one important milestone occurred in March 2018, when it launched its sustainability policy, aligned with NDPE policy, where it emphasized its commitment to respecting the rights of communities, and maintaining open and transparent dialogue with them. The policy also states that when conflicts with communities arise, the company will look at resolving conflicts and complaints in an open, transparent and participatory manner.

As is public knowledge, at the end of 2019, an incident occurred between Energy Palma, a company under the La Fabril group, and the San Javier community over a land tenure issue. As part of the conflict, community members from San Javier blocked the only road that connects the mill with the company’s palm plantations for a period of approximately four months, risking the jobs of our employees. In response to this, in September 2020, Energy Palma filed a lawsuit for damages against the organizers of such blockage. The legal route was adopted because the company felt that there was a legal violation of its own rights to freedom of movement, causing significant economic loss. However, La Fabril and Energy Palma would like to publicly state that they are open to an extrajudicial direct dialogue with the communities with the aim of finding a solution to the conflict.

This includes putting in place necessary mechanisms that allow all parties to find joint solutions. To this end, the company is willing to work with a new impartial mediator to facilitate the process and commits to continue communicating with its stakeholders about progress.

A new action plan will be consequently developed and shared publically. La Fabril will seek the support of a third party to implement it.

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