Industrias Químicas del Ebro S.A presents its Sustainability Report corresponding to the 2018 exercise prepared “in accordance” with the GRI Guide “essential” option. This report describes the organization’s strategy regarding social responsibility, the progress made and the challenges it poses for the future. The company’s commitment to transparency is reaffirmed with its edition for the third consecutive year, expanding the information provided regarding the annual progress reports prepared since its accession in 2005 to the United Nations Global Compact.
Coinciding with the company’s 60th anniversary, a new project to expand the productive capacity of precipitated silica at the Zaragoza plant (IQE) was inaugurated in 2018. Facilities that have the best available technologies that ensure efficient operation and optimal environmental performance and, on the other hand, have allowed us to consolidate and continue creating quality employment. In addition, the company has continued to invest in the updating and renovation of its production facilities, intensive in energy consumption, in order to make them more efficient, thus contributing to minimize their CO2 emissions and their effects on the enviroment.
Among its sustainability activities, employees participated in the “IQE creates life” project that consisted in plant 500 trees reforesting an area of 30,000 m2, creating what will be the IQE Group’s forest. Another improvement project has also been a better wastewater management.
2018 again left occupational accident figures below the sector average. These figures remain low thanks to the strategy that the company had already implemented and that combines the continuous improvement of the security of the facilities through the annual review of the risk assessment of the same, with the training/awareness of personnel in this area. During 2018, the “Smart Safety” training/participatory project was completed with the purpose of promoting and facilitating the integration of the prevention culture into the company’s day-to-day life.
During this year, actions have been carried out to benefit culture and art in Zaragoza, collaborating with educational centers, universities and research centers promoting R+D, participating in projects to contribute to the prevention of early school leaving, making contributions to organizations that help the needy, etc. Of all of them, the sponsorship of the “Centenary of the Ordesa y Monte Perdido National Park” , which was celebrated in 2018, deserves special mention, with the purpose of contributing to the dissemination of environmental and territorial opportunities for sustainable socio-economic development of the National Park, which is managed by the Government of Aragón, an identity feature for all Aragonese people.
