The OHL Group, committed to the fight against climate change
March 1, 2016
The OHL Group has participated as a member of the Forética Climate Change Cluster in a meeting with the Secretary of State for Environment, María García Rodríguez. The meeting took place on the 21st February at the headquarters of the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Food and Environment (MAPAMA), in Madrid. The OHL Group was represented at the meeting by Luis García-Linares, Corporate General Manager, and Manuel Villén, Innovation and Sustainability Manager.
The representatives of Forética introduced the Secretary of State to the Climate Change Cluster, a business meeting point in leadership, knowledge, exchange and dialog on this issue, made up by 48 major Spanish companies from very diverse sectors. OHL leads this cluster together with Calidad Pascual, Gas Natural Fenosa, Grupo Cooperativo Cajamar, IKEA and Sanitas.
During his talk, Luis García-Linares highlighted OHL’s commitment to the fight against Climate Change and to its participation in the transition to an energy-efficient and low-carbon economy. This commitment began 10 years ago, in 2007, and since that time the Group has supported a range of national and international initiatives such as Caring for Climate, the Nazca platform and the Neutral Climate Now initiative, all in the framework of the UN, has launched a number of plans aimed at the reduction of carbon emissions and holds the triple seal (Calculate+Reduce+Offset) of the Spanish Climate Change Office.
In the context of research, development and innovation, the Corporate General Manager emphasized several projects undertaken by the OHL Group of a decidedly environmental nature, which are aligned with the effort against climate change, including the ARFRISOL project, which develops building systems under criteria of bioclimatic architecture and minimization of energy consumption, or the application of innovative photocatalytic coatings on pavements and surfaces of outside walls that fix the nitrogen oxides originating from vehicle traffic emissions that pollute the air of our cities.
Accordingly, OHL has positioned itself on the top international level in terms of climate change, as the Group is present on the CDP (formerly, Carbon Disclosure Project) A lists for the Climate Change and Supplier Climate programs.
The Secretary of State for Environment then encouraged the companies to participate in the process of the dialog that will be initiated for the drafting of the Climate Change and Energy Transition Act. She also referred to the commitment of Spain to the fight against climate change with the target of achieving a reduction of 26% in greenhouse gases by 2030, as well as the promotion of renewable energies and energy efficiency.
The speakers who participated in the meeting included Fernando Riaño, Chairman of the Executive Board of Forética; Germán Granda, General Manager of Forética, and representatives of companies and organizations such as Gas Natural Fenosa, Banco de Crédito Cooperativo-Grupo Cooperativo Cajamar, Calidad Pascual, Ikea and Sanitas.
From left to right, Luis García Linares, Corporate General Manager of the OHL Group; Rosa María Sanz García, People and Resources General Manager of Gas Natural Fenosa; Valvanera Ulargui, Director of the Spanish Climate Change Office; María García Rodríguez, Secretary of State for Environment; Fernando Riaño, Chairman of the Executive Board of Forética, and Bernabé Sánchez-Minguet Martínez, Executive Director of Banco de Crédito Cooperativo-Grupo Cooperativo Cajamar.