To gauge the impact of company activity on the environmental, social and economic affairs of the areas in which it operates, Abengoa relies on its Integrated Sustainability Management System (ISMS), which boasts an array of instruments designed to capture and compute information to provide reliable and consistent data in real time. This system enables the company to manage sustainability-related information on a daily basis by streamlining the process of securing and documenting reliable information, thereby facilitating the task of reviewing and consolidating data.

In order for information to be reliable, consolidated data must be systematically consistent, traceable or reconstructible, accurate and complete in identifying and assessing the sources. Abengoa therefore has effective internal controls in place to help prevent, detect and correct any significant errors in the information it reports. All the reporting systems from which the indicators included in this report are obtained have undergone exhaustive control, oversight and audit processes, both internal and external.

In 2009, Abengoa created a specific sustainability audit area tasked with conducting regular periodic internal controls to guarantee the effectiveness and efficiency of Abengoa’s sustainability information. The ISMS therefore undergoes periodic internal audits at all levels to ensure the reliability of the information contained in the system. The following internal audit, review and control processes were undertaken in 2012:

• Exhaustive corporate audits (of CSR, the Greenhouse Gas Inventory and system implementation).
• Control and follow-up visits (quality, environment, prevention, inventory, labor social responsibility (LSR) and CSR).
• Audits from the business units. Review and control from the companies.
• Review and control from the companies.

The Corporate Social Responsibility Report was prepared in accordance with Version 3.1 of the Global Reporting Initiative Guide (GRI G3), with a self-declared A+ level of application confirmed by the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). In addition, as an independent external verifier, the firm of KPMG reviewed the application of the AA1000APS (2008) Standard with a reasonable level of assurance, as well as all of the main and supplementary indicators reported in the CSRR, thereby obtaining sufficient evidence to reduce the risk of material error to an acceptably low level. The report issued by KPMG outlines the scope of review, relevant standards, tasks conducted and conclusions drawn, and can be found in Section 10 of the CSRR.

The method followed for the assurance process has been defined in accordance with the ISAE 3000 standard.

Similarly, KPMG has reviewed the manner in which the Corporate Social Responsibility Management System devised by Abengoa has been adapted to reflect the guidelines and recommendations contained en the ISO 26000:2010 international standard.

The Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Inventory was also verified in 2012, following the specific requirements set forth in section 7.3 of ISO 14064-1:2006. The report has been verified through a systematic, independent process documented by AENOR, with a reasonable level of assurance.

Note 2: Associations and social organizations and sectors (energy and environment) which are independent and work in areas of interest to Abengoa and its activities.
Note 3: More information in the chapter titled Independent Panel of Experts on Sustainability Development.