June 17, 2025 — The Bogotá Free Trade Zone was the venue for a national training session and technical tour focused on the Colombian Technical Standard NTC 6720, aimed at advancing the transformation of industrial parks into Eco-Industrial Parks (EIPs). The event took place as part of the GEIPP Colombia country-level intervention, implemented by UNIDO with support from the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO).
The event brought together representatives from prioritized industrial parks, independently transitioning parks, consultants, and service providers supporting EIP certification under NTC 6720.
Technical Exchange and Site Visit
The day began with a guided tour of the Bogotá Free Trade Zone’s facilities, showcasing best practices, challenges, and achievements in sustainability, operational efficiency, and innovation. The visit provided a practical look at how the principles of the NTC 6720 standard are integrated into real-world industrial processes.
The tour also served as a space for dialogue, where participants highlighted the Free Trade Zone’s openness in sharing experiences to support the national implementation of the EIP model.
NTC 6720:2023 Training – Module 1: Implementation and Benefits
Following the tour, participants took part in a theoretical and practical training session on the NTC 6720:2023 standard. This standard sets out administrative, environmental, social, and economic criteria that industrial parks and free trade zones must meet to be recognized as Eco-Industrial Parks.
Module 1 Objectives:
- Explain the structure and foundational principles of the standard.
- Highlight its benefits in sustainability, internationalization, and market access.
- Introduce the Conformity Assessment Manual.
- Conduct practical exercises simulating real-world application of the standard.
The session was led by Katherine González, environmental expert with the GEIPP Colombia team, alongside consultants and representatives from prioritized industrial parks.
Hands-On Learning: Simulations to Apply the Standard
A key part of the workshop was a group exercise in which participants acted as consultants to assess compliance levels of various simulated industrial parks against the NTC 6720 requirements. This dynamic activity encouraged technical understanding and fostered collaboration among attendees.
Results and Next Steps
The session also featured findings from pre-diagnostic assessments conducted at prioritized parks. These results shed light on current levels of compliance, success factors, and common challenges on the path to certification.
Highlights included:
- The importance of integrating social equity and well-being indicators.
- The need to strengthen administrative governance.
- The value of sustainability as a competitive advantage in international markets.
Acknowledgements and Outlook
EIP Colombia extends its thanks to Bogotá Free Trade Zone for hosting and to all participants for their engagement and commitment. This training marks the beginning of a broader institutional strengthening process, which will continue with Module 2, scheduled for July at the Cauca Free Trade Zone, focusing on evaluation and auditing of the standard.
Through these efforts, UNIDO and its strategic partners continue to promote a more sustainable, resilient, and inclusive industrial sector—aligned with international standards and global climate goals.
For more information, please contact:
Leidy Katherine González Garzón
Environmental Engineer, GEIPP, UNIDO
Translated from the original Spanish version.
https://peicolombia.org/zona-franca-bogota-entrenamiento-ntc6720
