OHL, present in reference sustainability indexes

October 30, 2014

The OHL Group offers a nearly ten-year commitment to a low carbon economy. Our efforts in this field have been recognized with a CDP rating of 99 A- (over 100 A), allowing it to again belong to the selective Climate Disclosure Leadership Index (CDLI). This valuation recognizes our performance and transparency in communicating measures launched to fight against climatic change. OHL has also improved its performance valuation in emissions, going from a B position in 2013 to A- in 2014, for “Best Practice”.

Specifically, the Group shares second place in the construction sector according to the Climate Disclosure Leadership Index, consisting of a total of ten companies, as reflected in the 2014 Climatic Change Report Iberia 215 drawn up by Ecodes-  a non-profit and independent organization acting as CDP’s partner since 2008 in its mission to improve the management of climatic change amongst Spanish companies- based on PWC valuations.

In general terms and according to the CDP- a non-profit organization providing companies with the best global information system to measure, divulge and manage their environmental impact and strategy- OHL has obtained the best score since it began participating in the report in 2009.

OHL is articulating its performance in sustainability and progress towards a low carbon economy through the 2011-2015 Guiding Plan for Environmental Matters and Energy, which includes projects to fight against climatic change. Of interest in this regard is the fact that the 2015 Emission Reduction Plan is targeted at globally reducing the emission of greenhouse gas (GEI) by 5% with respect to 2010.

The 2014 Climatic Change Report Iberia 125 analyzes strategies in climatic change matters, the performance of GEI emissions and associated risks and opportunities, in the largest companies in Spain and Portugal (85 and 40, respectively) by capital stock. In turn, CDP mobilizes 767 institutional investors, representing 92 trillion USD in assets under management, in order to encourage companies to divulge their environmental impact and to find alternatives to reduce the same.

Sustainable construction

Furthermore the OHL Group, through OHL USA, has significantly improved its positioning in the Top 100 Green Building Contractors 2014, a ranking drawn up by the renowned publication Engineering News Record (ENR), where it has scaled nearly fifty points with respect to the previous edition until reaching 44th place. This classification brings together leading international companies in the construction and building sector, for which sustainability is a cornerstone of their business model.

The OHL Group shows a permanent commitment to sustainability and energy efficiency by applying the highest standard in the matter in all its construction works. As a result of this commitment, 12 building projects developed in the USA have been awarded LEED certifications by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC): four Gold, five Silver and three LEED. Another 16 projects are also in the process of obtaining a LEED certification: one Platinum, nine Gold and six Silver.

The LEED certification system, granted by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), a body to which OHL USA belongs, recognizes strategies and practice applied to the design, construction and high-performance operation of Green buildings and provides the necessary tools to identify and control environmental impact on constructions.