Sostenibilidad Empresarial y Valor Financiero Estrategias de Reducción de Huella de Carbono e Incentivos Fiscales en el Contexto Energético Colombiano

Abstract

This article examines the relationship between the adoption of corporate carbon footprint reduction strategies and financial value creation in Colombia's energy sector, within the framework of tax incentives established by Law 1715 of 2014 and Law 2099 of 2021. Using a mixed-methods approach that integrates analysis of three international benchmarks Ørsted, Iberdrola, and AES Andes, with three national case studies ISA, Celsia, and TermoemCali, and a discounted cash flow model with a 7% real cost of capital built through CAPM from Colombia's country risk premium (Damodaran, 2026), the study quantifies the effect of incentives on investment profitability. The analysis reveals that, with a properly estimated cost of capital, renewable energy projects are viable even without incentives, and that the decisive contribution of incentives is to multiply created value and accelerate capital recovery: the net present value of a 50 MW wind farm rises from 38,794 to 105,963 million pesos, and the internal rate of return of a 10 MW solar plant increases from 10.6% to 15.6%. The present value of the tax shield equals close to 20% of invested capital once the limit imposed by the minimum tax rate of Law 2277 of 2022 is applied, and places the levelized cost of energy well below the thermal marginal cost. The study also proposes four financial-environmental indicators -Green ROI, carbon-adjusted EBITDA, carbon intensity over revenue, and greenium- to monitor this type of project. The ISA and Celsia cases empirically confirm that sustainability and financial performance are complementary objectives. The article concludes with differentiated strategic recommendations by company profile.