Benefit Company (BIC) Agreement Colombia (Sociedad de Beneficio e Interés Colectivo)

A Benefit Company (BIC) Agreement Colombia (Sociedad de Beneficio e Interés Colectivo) in Colombia a Benefit Company BIC Agreement Colombia (Acuerdo de Sociedad de Beneficio e Interés Colectivo) is the founding or amending corporate instrument by which a Colombian commercial company formally adopts the BIC legal status created by Ley 1901 de 2018. The BIC figure — Colombia's statutory equivalent of the US Benefit Corporation and the European Società Benefit — allows companies of all legal forms (Sociedad por Acciones Simplificada under Ley 1258/2008, Sociedad de Responsabilidad Limitada, Sociedad Anónima, and others) to pursue a purpose beyond profit maximisation, legally committing to generate positive impacts on their workers, communities, customers, and the environment, while remaining fully commercial entities subject to the Código de Comercio.

Under Ley 1901 de 2018 (Artículo 2), a BIC must incorporate three structural elements into its estatutos sociales: (1) a general public benefit purpose (propósito de beneficio general) that goes beyond profit and identifies the specific areas of social, environmental, or community impact the company commits to pursue; (2) accountability mechanisms (mecanismos de rendición de cuentas) requiring the preparation and publication of an annual Informe de Gestión de Beneficio that measures the company's performance against a recognised third-party standard (estándar de tercero independiente); and (3) modified director duties (deberes ampliados de los administradores) requiring the Junta Directiva and the Representante Legal to consider the interests of all parties — not just shareholders — when making material business decisions, as codified in Artículo 23 del Código de Comercio as extended by Ley 1901.

The BIC Agreement generated by forms-legal.com serves multiple purposes: it can be used as the initial estatutos sociales of a newly incorporated BIC company, or as a reform document (reforma estatutaria) to convert an existing commercial company to BIC status through a resolution of the Asamblea General de Socios or Accionistas. In both cases, the reformed or original estatutos must be filed with the Cámara de Comercio of the company's domicile for the BIC designation to appear in the Registro Mercantil, giving public notice of the company's commitment to its expanded purpose.

Adopting BIC status in Colombia is voluntary but has significant strategic implications. Companies with BIC registration gain access to preferential procurement under Decreto 1082 de 2015 (Artículo 2.2.1.2.1.4.7, which gives weight to social and environmental criteria in public tenders), benefit from enhanced reputational positioning with international investors aligned with ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) standards, and can access specialised financing lines from Bancóldex and the Fondo Nacional de Garantías (FNG) designed for impact enterprises. Additionally, the BIC label differentiates companies in consumer markets increasingly sensitive to corporate social responsibility, as recognised by the Superintendencia de Industria y Comercio in its guidelines on commercial practices.

The Informe de Gestión de Beneficio — the annual accountability report that is the cornerstone of BIC governance — must be prepared using a recognised third-party standard. In Colombia, the most commonly used standards are B Lab's B Impact Assessment (which underpins the B Corp certification widely recognised in international markets), the GRI (Global Reporting Initiative) Standards, the SASB (Sustainability Accounting Standards Board) framework, or the ISO 26000 standard on social responsibility. The Ley 1901 de 2018 does not mandate a specific standard, giving BIC companies flexibility to choose the methodology best aligned with their industry and stakeholder expectations.

Forms-legal.com provides a thorough BIC Agreement template that covers all Ley 1901/2018 requirements, including the public benefit purpose clause, the expanded director duties, the annual reporting obligation, and the amendment procedure to convert existing companies to BIC status.

A BIC Agreement is needed in Colombia in the following situations:

**Incorporating a new company with an explicit social or environmental mission.** Founders who want their company's commitment to impact to be legally binding — not merely aspirational — should constitute the company as a BIC from inception. This prevents future shareholders from changing the mission without the supermajority consent required to amend the estatutos sociales, protecting the foundational purpose against dilution as the company grows and new investors enter.

**Converting an existing Colombian company to BIC status to attract ESG investors.** Many international private equity funds, family offices, and development finance institutions (DFIs) — including the International Finance Corporation (IFC), DEG, and FMO — require investee companies to demonstrate measurable ESG commitments as a condition of investment. Converting to BIC status and preparing an Informe de Gestión de Beneficio that meets GRI Standards or the B Impact Assessment provides the credible, legally anchored evidence these investors require.

**Accessing preferential public procurement under Decreto 1082 de 2015.** Colombian procurement regulations give weight to social and environmental criteria under the proceso de selección abreviada de menor cuantía and other competitive selection processes. BIC status, evidenced by the Registro Mercantil entry, supports a company's social and environmental claims in bid evaluation processes.

**Qualifying for Bancóldex or FNG impact financing lines.** Bancóldex — Colombia's business development bank — and the Fondo Nacional de Garantías (FNG) operate specialised credit lines for companies that demonstrate social or environmental impact. A BIC Agreement, together with the annual Informe de Gestión de Beneficio, is the primary documentary evidence required to access these instruments.

**Strengthening corporate governance before a Series A or B funding round.** International venture capital and impact investment funds conducting due diligence on Colombian startups increasingly look for documented ESG governance. Adopting BIC status signals that the company's founders have embedded impact accountability into the corporate structure, reducing investor governance risk and often enabling more favourable valuation multiples.

**Complying with supply chain ESG requirements of multinational clients.** Major multinational corporations operating in Colombia — including those in retail, consumer goods, and financial services — are requiring their Colombian suppliers to demonstrate ESG credentials. BIC status, backed by a third-party verified Informe de Gestión de Beneficio, satisfies these supply chain due diligence requirements.

A complete BIC Agreement Colombia under Ley 1901 de 2018 must include the following key elements:

**1. Corporate identification and BIC adoption resolution.** The agreement must identify the company with its full razón social, NIT (assigned by the DIAN), legal form (SAS, Ltda., SA), registered address (domicilio social), and Cámara de Comercio registration number. For an existing company adopting BIC status, the document must reference the Asamblea General de Socios or Accionistas resolution (Acta de Asamblea) approving the reforma estatutaria, including the vote count and any supermajority requirement under the existing estatutos sociales or Código de Comercio Artículo 155.

**2. General public benefit purpose clause (cláusula de propósito de beneficio general).** This is the foundational element of Ley 1901 de 2018 (Artículo 2, numeral 1). The clause must state the company's specific public benefit purpose — not a generic mission statement, but a defined commitment to measurable positive impact in at least one of the following areas: (a) social impact on communities, workers, or beneficiaries; (b) environmental impact including conservation, climate mitigation under Ley 99 de 1993, or circular economy under Ley 1819 de 2016; (c) economic impact on vulnerable populations, rural communities, or post-conflict zones covered by PDET (Decreto 893 de 2017).

**3. Specific benefit areas (áreas de beneficio específicas).** Beyond the general purpose, the BIC must identify the specific benefit areas it pursues, drawn from the list established in Artículo 2 de la Ley 1901 de 2018, which includes: education, health, environment, economic development, local communities, workers, culture and arts, and governance. Each chosen area must be accompanied by at least one measurable indicator (indicador de beneficio) that will be tracked in the annual Informe de Gestión de Beneficio.

**4. Expanded director duties (deberes ampliados de los administradores).** Under Artículo 3 de la Ley 1901 de 2018, administrators of a BIC must consider — in addition to the financial interests of shareholders — the effects of their decisions on workers, the community, customers, suppliers, and the environment. The BIC Agreement must codify these expanded duties in the estatutos sociales, modifying or supplementing the standard director duties under Artículo 23 del Código de Comercio. This clause must clarify that compliance with expanded duties does not expose directors to liability to shareholders for decisions that prioritise social or environmental outcomes over short-term financial returns.

**5. Third-party standard and Informe de Gestión de Beneficio.** The agreement must identify the recognised third-party standard (estándar de tercero independiente) that the company will use to measure and report its benefit performance. Ley 1901 de 2018 (Artículo 2, numeral 2) requires this to be an independent standard; acceptable options include the B Lab B Impact Assessment, GRI Standards, SASB frameworks, the ISO 26000 standard, or the Sistema de Información de Gestión y Desempeño de Organizaciones de Cadenas (SIGP) of the Consejo Privado de Competitividad. The agreement must state that the Informe de Gestión de Beneficio will be prepared annually and disclosed to shareholders and the public within four months of the fiscal year end.

**6. Reporting and transparency obligations.** The Informe de Gestión de Beneficio must contain: (a) a description of the overall social and environmental performance of the company against each benefit area; (b) an assessment of the company's performance against the chosen third-party standard; (c) a description of material obstacles to achieving the public benefit purpose; and (d) a comparison with prior-year performance where applicable. Under Artículo 2 numeral 2 de la Ley 1901 de 2018, the report must be made available to all shareholders and, for companies with assets or revenues above the thresholds established by the Superintendencia de Sociedades, published on the company's website.

**7. Stakeholder engagement mechanisms.** The BIC Agreement must define how the company will engage with non-shareholder parties — workers, community members, customers, and environmental advocates — in the governance of its public benefit purpose. This may include an advisory council (consejo asesor de grupos de interés), participatory impact assessments, or community consultation protocols consistent with Decreto 1232 de 2020 on multi-stakeholder governance.

**8. BIC designation in corporate name and Registro Mercantil.** Under Artículo 4 de la Ley 1901 de 2018, once the reformed estatutos sociales are registered with the Cámara de Comercio, the company may include the designation 'BIC' in its corporate name (razón social) and on its commercial documents. The agreement must reference this right and confirm the obligation to register the amended estatutos within 30 days of the Asamblea resolution.

**9. Loss of BIC status and remediation.** The agreement must specify the conditions under which BIC status may be withdrawn — whether voluntarily, by resolution of the Asamblea de Socios or Accionistas with the same supermajority required for the original adoption, or involuntarily due to failure to submit the Informe de Gestión de Beneficio for two consecutive years. Upon loss of BIC status, the company must remove the BIC designation from its commercial documents and update its Registro Mercantil entry.

**10. Dispute resolution and governing law.** All disputes regarding the interpretation or enforcement of the BIC Agreement must be subject to Colombian law, with conciliation as a mandatory prior step under Ley 640 de 2001 before arbitration before the Centro de Arbitraje y Conciliación de la Cámara de Comercio de Bogotá. The competent court for matters not submitted to arbitration is the commercial court of the company's domicile.

**11. Transitional provisions for existing companies.** When an existing company adopts BIC status through a reforma estatutaria, the agreement must include transitional provisions specifying: (i) the date from which the expanded director duties apply; (ii) the first fiscal year for which the Informe de Gestión de Beneficio must be prepared; (iii) any grace period for selecting and implementing the third-party measurement standard; and (iv) the treatment of pre-existing contractual obligations that may conflict with the public benefit purpose.

Forms-legal.com provides a bilingual BIC Agreement template that meets all Ley 1901 de 2018 requirements and is compatible with the registration requirements of Colombia's Cámaras de Comercio.