Conducting activities focused on the overall sustainability of the planet, including society, people, and the environment, is one of the values we seek to uphold at Grup Barcelonesa. Between 2016 and 2018, this commitment was translated into “a 32% reduction in CO2 emissions associated with electricity and fossil fuel use and a 9% direct decrease in electricity use“, explains Jordi Prats, the company’s head of QSHE.
Key implemented measures
These savings have been achieved thanks to the implementation of a series of improvements, including stand out actions such as a commitment to using less polluting vehicles and forklift trucks. “Currently we have a fleet of 62 commercial vehicles, of which six are hybrids and one is electric, so 11% of the fleet is energy-efficient”.
“The goal is to continue increasing this number in coming years as our lease contracts come to an end”, Jordi describes, adding that “the fossil fuel powered forklift trucks have been changed over and replaced with electric models whenever possible”. Other measures we’ve applied include the installation of energy efficient light bulbs and LED lights, the implementation of more efficient climate control systems, and a change in our electricity supplier in order to use electricity with the “Green Energy” certificate, meaning it comes from renewable sources or is high efficiency. Also within the scope of our commitment to sustainability, we are committed to “using returnable packaging, whenever possible, when selling our products”, Prats points out. In this way we can limit waste production in terms of these containers by extending their useful life. On the other hand, our head of QSHE explains how the company is constantly working “on developing more sustainable products and solutions with a lower environmental impact”.
Responsible Care, SQAS & ISO 14.001 certified in Environmental Management
We also like to highlight our effort towards championing sustainability among the companies that make up the Spanish chemical sector. Since 1999, we’ve participated with the international initiative Responsible Care, a global, voluntary initiative developed by the Chemical Industry whose aim is to ensure that companies involved with the Programme are committed to continuously improving the performance of their activities, Safety, Health Protection, the Environment, and open and honest Communication, in accordance with the principles of Sustainable Development. What’s more, we comply with the voluntary SQAS (Safety and Quality Assessment Systems) scheme, which is based on meeting the quality, safety, and environmental requirements defined by the chemical industry. Lastly, we have been ISO 14.001 certified in Environmental Management since 2008.
Compliance with these three voluntary standards and the positive results achieved in terms of our reduction of electricity use and carbon footprint due to the use of electricity and fossil fuels are the very best proof of our commitment to sustainability.
