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ACCIONA AVOIDED MORE THAN 28 TIMES THE CO2 EMISSSIONS IT PRODUCED IN 2015

Corporative
7 of June, 2016
  • The 17.2 million metric tons of CO₂ avoided represent an improvement of 6% on the figure for 2014
  • 49% of ACCIONA’s revenues and 79% of its EBITDA come from the “green economy”
  • ACCIONA invested more than 180 million euros in innovation, 3% more than in the previous year

ACCIONA has avoided the emission of 17.2 million metric tons of CO₂ to the atmosphere in 2015, an improvement of 6% on the previous year. Thanks to its renewable energy operations, the company avoided 28 times the CO₂ it generated in its productive activities in that year. It ended 2015 with an improvement in sustainability performance that reflects the advances and successes of its Sustainability Master Plan 2010-2015, at a time when the company is renewing its commitment to the fight against climate change.

In commercial terms, ACCIONA’s commitment to sustainability can be seen in its choice of a business model based on non-polluting technologies. In 2015, 79% of ACCIONA’s EBITDA and 49% of its overall revenues (9% up on the previous year) came from activities carried out within the so-called “Green Economy” according to the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) (renewable energies, water and other environmental activities).

Another key theme in ACCIONA’s environmental policy is its concern for the conservation of water resources. Through its water treatment plants, ACCIONA generates a positive water footprint (495 hm3 this year), equivalent to the annual consumption of a population of over 10 million. In addition, ACCIONA reduced its water consumption by 6.2% in 2015 against 2014 and has continued to promote the use of recycled and re-used water from tertiary and rainwater networks, representing 22% of the company’s total consumption (almost 30% more than the previous year).

 

Commitment to Sustainability throughout the value chain

This year ACCIONA has worked hard to strengthen its commitment to sustainability throughout the value chain by calculating the water consumption of all of its vendors. This means that the company is one of the first in the world to analyze the water consumption of 100% of its supply chain. This study tells ACCIONA, among other variables, the proportion of water consumption in the supply chain that is due to direct vendors, identifying those that consume water more intensively and indicating the supply activities that are water-intensive in countries with water supply problems, or identifying which ACCIONA activities are having the greatest impact in the overall calculation of water consumption in the supply chain.

Likewise, as it did the previous year, ACCIONA calculated the C02 emissions of its entire supply chain. The joint analysis of these data and those obtained in 2014 show the extent to which current business trends and the opening up of new geographic markets have an effect on variations in CO₂ emissions of vendors, identifying those that have the greatest impact and which ones persist over time. This helps to highlight purchasing activities that are more carbon-intensive and the countries that pose the greatest climate change risks within the supply chain.

Effort in innovation

ACCIONA is committed to a model of competitiveness based on R&D+i. To illustrate this, the company spent more than 180 million euros on innovation in 2015, 3% more than in the previous year, making it the 5th Spanish company and the 144th in Europe in terms of investment in R&D+i, according to The 2015 EU Industrial R&D Investment Scoreboard issued by Economics of Industrial Research and Innovation (IRI) of the European Commission.

 

Innovation in ACCIONA is aimed at improving efficiency, reducing costs and generating added value in projects so that they lead to a technological differentiation in comparison with its competitors. This year this approach has led to savings of 26.2 million euros through operational improvements to processes.