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The award, bestowed by the European Commission, was handled in Spain by the Biodiversity Foundation
Ignacio Galán receives the European Environmental Award from HM the King of Spain
NI (2018-06-05) Ignacio Galán recibe de manos de Su Majestad el Rey el Premio Europeo de Medio Ambiente_EN - Iberdrola was recognised in the large company category for its new environmental management system, which incorporates the calculation of its corporate environmental footprint
- The Chairman of Iberdrola, in the presence of Isabel Garcia Tejerina, acting Minister of Agriculture, highlighted the importance of having "responsible companies that see the protection of the environment as an opportunity to create wealth and jobs for all".
Today, Ignacio Galán, Chairman of Iberdrola, received the European Environmental Award (Spanish section) from His Majesty King Felipe VI, which was awarded to the company for environmental management in the large corporation category.
This decision acknowledges the group's determination to incorporate into its decision-making process the results of its environmental management system, based, among other things, on the calculation of its corporate environmental footprint, in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) for 2030.
During the event, chaired by King Felipe and attended by acting Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, Food and the Environment, Isabel Garcia Tejerina, Ignacio Galán said that "today's world needs responsible companies that see the environment not as a problem but as a path to create wealth and jobs."
Today's world needs responsible companies that see the environment not as a problem but as a path to create wealth and employment
In this regard, Chairman Galán explained how the group has fully integrated environmental management to its strategy, turning it into an international benchmark. “Our model, common across the whole group, is based on two key elements: the full incorporation of the United Nations' SDGs and a complex system for measuring our corporate environmental footprint, whose certification we have pioneered in the energy sector”, Ignacio Galán added.
Indeed, Iberdrola has incorporated the fulfilment of the SDGs to its strategy, focusing on SDG #7 -cleaner and more affordable energy- and #13 -action to combat climate change- while making a significant contribution to achieving all the other goals.
The company measures its environmental footprint with a triple aim: to analyse the lifecycle of all its operations,identifying impacts and prioritising actions to mitigate them; to minimise environmental risks while optimising opportunities by using the same methodology across the entire group; and, finally, to reinforce transparency and communication with its stakeholders.
In 2017 the company became the first organisation to obtain the AENOR corporate environmental footprint certificate, in accordance with international technical specification ISO/TS 14072 on environmental management.
The European Environmental Awards have been bestowed by the European Commission every two years since 1987 in order to recognise those companies that combine economic viability in their businesses with the protection of the environment. In Spain, they are handled by the Biodiversity Foundation of the Ministry of Agriculture,Fisheries, Food and the Environment and include the following categories: management, product and/or service, process and international business cooperation. There is also a fifth special category for company and biodiversity.