35 years ago, the first bottle of Kola Real was produced in Peru. Since then, the Añaños Alcazar family has been able to make of ISM an innovative, leading company that has grown steadily over time. This long and important trajectory in the market is mainly due to two factors.
The first factor is their passion for doing things thinking big. In order to innovate and be in constant change, they have created healthier products that feed Peruvian families and other countries. "That passion to serve and reach every corner of the country with our distribution force is part of our strategy to democratize the market," says Katerina Añaños Alcázar, ISM's corporate director and general manager.
The second factor that has led to ISM's success is its strategy of sustainable development. In this company, the chain of maximum productivity begins with the commitment and leadership of its employees. "We take care of our resources and bring development to every place we go, because we are committed to generating wellbeing in the communities," adds Katerina.
SUSTAINABILITY AT THE CORE
Since ISM was founded, its commitment to sustainability has been part of its DNA. Therefore, in these 35 years they have developed several initiatives that have been key aspects in the development of the company. In recent years, thanks to continuous improvement in their operations, they have strengthened their sustainability strategy. They have five pillars from which all their actions are born: water, energy, waste management, communities and employees and their families.
"At ISM we always have the motto of 'Think big', of breaking paradigms, because the bigger the challenge, the stronger the passion, and this is what we want to transmit to our main stakeholders," explains Añaños Alcázar. Its objective has always been to promote an economic model that triangulates business profitability, social aspects and care for the environment, in addition to contributing to the country and its citizens through real initiatives capable of generating change.
Also, as part of their strategy, they publish their sustainability reports. This allows them to report on the progress of their objectives. In ISM, they are aware that to be a sustainable company they must generate trust to their customers, collaborators, suppliers, communities and the best way to do this is through truthful information. This communication is done through its website and social networks, where you can find details of each of the actions.
Under the GRI Competitive Business Program, they involve their sustainability efforts to their value chain (suppliers). Currently, they have managed to get 15 ISM supplier companies to prepare their own sustainability reports and this year we are going to exceed 30 companies.
Another fundamental point within their sustainability strategies has been to be aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This allows them to identify their social, economic and environmental impact and see where they can add value to society, and consequently allows us to strengthen our reputation and relationships with our various stakeholders. ISM manages 4 of them: SDG 6 - Water and sanitation, SDG 8 - Decent work and economic growth, SDG 12 - Responsible production and consumption, SDG 17 - Partnerships to achieve the goals.
For ISM adaptability to the markets has been key to be in contact with consumers, see their needs and demands. Therefore, they work under the Kaysen, 5S methodologies, which seek to optimize processes with cutting-edge technology, promote automation, intelligent warehouses and incorporate machine learning to be more efficient in the use of energy and water, generate less waste, use fewer materials and thus be more competitive.
"We are also continuing with our program to reduce the weight of our Agua Loa, Cielo and Kris soft drinks containers and to incorporate recycled resin in all our containers. Innovation is an ally of sustainability, and through circular economy projects we keep alive our purpose of generating a prosperous future", assures Katerina Añaños.
RECYCLING IN ISM
One of the company's five pillars of sustainability is waste management. Through this, they implement their recycling campaigns and contests, as well as other actions for the reduction of plastic, which we always try to carry out strategically and with the support of other partners. They also execute waste reduction projects such as: strech film, heat-shrinkable films, cardboard, among others, during our production processes.
In relation to recycling, this organization has carried out a recycling contest in schools called "Reciclatón ISM", which was organized in 29 public educational institutions in Lima, Callao and Huaura, where we collected more than 3,200 kilos of plastic that were processed and reused. Another initiative to promote recycling and the circular economy is Sustainable Neighborhood Art, Generation R with Latina TV, Give energy to your ISM bottle, environmental barters with the municipalities where we operate, awareness campaigns, among others.
Each of these initiatives strengthens the acquisition of its recycling plant located in northern Lima, where they ensure that they will collect and transform pet into pellets that will be used to produce their own bottles. This encourages a virtuous circle and generates pet supply networks to formalize this part of the chain.
Finally, ISM is a company that for 35 years has taken on various challenges and has seen an opportunity in each one of them. The quality and certification of its products demonstrate this (ISO 19001, ISO 14001, ISO 45001 and HACCP). "We aspire to be a carbon neutral company by 2040. It is a very big challenge, but all areas are collaborating in this challenge, seeking to live that prosperous future that is part of our corporate purpose," adds Katerina Añaños.
Published in the El Comercio Newspaper
