Abengoa, true to its commitment to transparency, has published a Corporate Social Responsibility Report (CSRR) for the ninth1 consecutive year. This report includes trustworthy and balanced information on the company’s performance, the main social, economic and environmental impacts of its activity and any other matters that may substantially influence stakeholder assessments and decisions.
The report covers all of Abengoa’s activities in every country in which the company operates, and therefore the information disclosed includes the three activities around which the company’s business is structured: engineering and construction, concession-type infrastructures, and industrial production.
The report preparation process followed the guidelines stipulated in Version 3.1 of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), whose aim is to define a common structure for corporate social responsibility reports by orienting companies on report content, scope and coverage so that readers may compare the performance of different companies, thus providing assurance of the quality of the information disclosed.
This report also takes into account the principles of the AA1000AS standard, the world’s first sustainability assurance norm, to lend quality and accuracy to the information contained in the CSRR, ensuring transparency in Abengoa’s communications and helping to build confidence among company shareholders. The principles established under the standard require that the organization be actively involved with its stakeholders, identifying and fully understanding the sustainability aspects that will have an impact on performance for subsequent use of this knowledge in developing responsible business strategies and performance objectives. These principles therefore enable the organization to focus on what is relevant, providing a framework for determining and responding to opportunities, while managing risk and complying with non-financial aspects.
CSRR11 also reports on the commitment Abengoa upholds to the United Nations Global Compact, the ten principles of which govern company performance, activity and strategy. Respect for human, labor-related and environmental rights and anti-corruption are the guiding principles of the sustainable business model driving Abengoa forward in the 70-plus countries in which the company operates.
Abengoa has defined a Corporate Social Responsibility Management System in line with the guidelines established under the international non-certifiable ISO 26000:2010“ Guidance on Social Responsibility” standard, which provides orientation for the company on the principles underlying social responsibility, recognition thereof, and engagement of interested parties, fundamental matters and issues comprising this social responsibility (corporate governance, human rights, labor practices, the environment, fair operating practices, active participation in consumer issues, and community development), as well as the ways to integrate socially responsible conduct into the organization.
At Abengoa, these orientations are covered under the internal corporate social responsibility standard (NOC-10/003), which includes and is referenced to the following Common Management Systems (NOC):
In accordance with the policies, regulations and procedures designed, a series of measures relating to the introduction of the following key aspects of the CSR Management System were revised in 2011:
Code of Conduct
Whistleblowing Channel:
CSR Agreements with Suppliers:
Quality and Environmental Management System:
Equality Framework Plan
Unless otherwise indicated in the text, The performance indicators cover the activities in 2011 of all Abengoa companies that have a significant social, environmental or economic impact and whose management lies under the effective control of the organization. Also included, depending on relevance and availability, is information from previous years to offer report readers a chance to formulate a more complete view of the company’s evolution.
Material changes on the report
Due to the acquisitions and divestments that took place over the course of 2011, the consolidation perimeter is not identical to that of 2010, with the main difference with respect to previous years being that all companies that were part of the Information Technologies (Telvent) business group, and which accounted for approximately 33 % of Abengoa’s total revenue for 2010, no longer belong to the group. The list of companies can be found in Appendix A, and further information on the sale of Telvent is provided in Volume III on “Legal, Economic and Financial Information” of Abengoa’s 2011 Annual Report.
1 The CSRR10 erroneously stated that it was the company’s sixth report published when in fact it was the eighth publication.