The decisive factor to consolidate a sustainable, efficient and effective production model

In Spain, the government has the Climate Change and Energy Transition Law, a legal framework to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 23% in 2030 (compared to 1990 levels, and reach carbon neutrality by mid-century). The Integrated National Energy and Climate Plan (Pniec) 2021-2030 includes sectoral decarbonization plans and fiscal and financial incentives to accompany large companies on a journey in which they are leaders and a reference for their influence on the entire economic fabric.

In this context, the Vocento headquarters hosted this week the meeting ‘The energy transition and private sector solutions’, with the participation of Maite Cordón, director of Santander Growth; Ana Belén Pociña, manager of ESG Offering and Innovation at Telefónica and Miguel Aguado, managing partner of B LEAF and sustainability consultant. «Acting with sustainability criteria (Aguado highlighted) means improving the competitiveness of companies because processes are reviewed, a commitment to sensible consumption of energy and resources is made, employees are motivated and a response is given to social and market demand. . It’s about being efficient and effective, and that means deadlines are met, conflicts and cost increases are reduced.

As Cordón commented: «Decarbonization represents a social and environmental challenge of the first order. At Santander we have the objective of achieving the net zero carbon emissions by 2050. We have already been carbon neutral in our own activity since 2020 and now we are accompanying our clients in this transition towards a more sustainable economy with financial and non-financial solutions. A global action in which the condition of being ‘green pioneers’ lies in the recycling of cards to create banks (to sit at).

In the case of Pociño, he highlighted the importance of “our Climate Action Plan, with the commitment to reduce operational emissions by 90% in 2030, with a view to achieving its Net Zero Emissions in 2040, 10 years ahead of the agreements.” international. Telefónica was the first telco in the world, in 2022, to obtain validation of the initiative Science Based Targets (SBTi)according to the new ‘Net-Zero Standard’, of its environmental objectives, both in the short, medium and long term. Telefónica also develops digital and connectivity solutions to help decarbonize the activity of its B2B and B2C clients (“in 2023 we will help avoid the emission of 86.1 million tons of CO2 into the atmosphere”).

Maximum integration

Miguel Sánchez Galindo, general director of DigitalES, provides his opinion on the contribution of technology to sustainability (in times when AI requires an enormous energy contribution): «Connectivity technologies (5G, 6G, IoT, sensors) together with automation, AI and data analytics enable greater integration of renewable energy, industrial process optimization and energy efficiency across industries. “The implementation of 5G networks, for example, allows a much larger volume of data to be handled in real time, which is essential for the intelligent management of energy and transportation infrastructure.” Enabling connectivity in decarbonization systems allows instant communication between power plants, smart meters and users “which facilitates the integration of renewable sources, optimizes consumption and allows automatic response to fluctuations in demand and supply of renewable energy ».

More technology: Javier Roncero, director of Sustainability solutions at IBM Spain, Portugal, Greece and Israel, comments how “at IBM we have been committed to the fight against climate change for decades through energy conservation and climate protection programs. One of our main objectives is to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030. In this sense, in 2023 we managed to reduce our operational GHG emissions by 68.5% compared to 2010, which represented a two years advance compared to our planned plan to achieve a 65% reduction in 2025. We have completed 2,130 energy conservation projects and 74% of the energy consumed in our data centers comes from renewable sources. The company has solutions such as IBM Envizi, to help its clients make progress on their decarbonization and sustainability goals.

In this joint journey of technology and sustainability, César Tello, general director of Adigital, refers to the importance of operating data centers under the strictest sustainability criteria: «They constitute the backbone of the digital transformation, since they facilitate the large-scale data storage and processing; something essential for the digitalization of the economy. In terms of sustainability, they have great potential to contribute to the double green and digital transition. Looking to the near future, these ‘megacenters’ are preparing to pass the ‘green subject’ with flying colors, “since they will be designed to be even more efficient, relying on renewable energy sources and advanced cooling technologies to minimize the impact environmental. It is estimated that the technology could reduce CO2₂ emissions by almost ten times its own footprint, helping to decarbonize other sectors.

From the consulting firm EY, Alberto Castilla, partner responsible for Sustainability at EY, poses the challenge: “In a context of climate change, dependence on polluting energy sources poses a challenge: is it possible to grow economically by “decoupling” growth from GDP of the increase in emissions? The answer is affirmative, and Spain is one of the countries that has shown that this is viable. Since 2005, the country has managed to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 24%, while its economy has continued to grow.

On the ground

Another example of a company aligned with the sustainable business activity of the 21st century is Moeve, which, through its Positive Motion strategy, is carrying out a profound transformation of its activity to become one of the leaders of the European energy transition (an investment of up to 8,000 million euros, of which more than 60% will be allocated to sustainable businesses). «The company’s transformation is unstoppable (points out Pierre-Yves Sachet, Director of Brand and Mobility & New Commerce.) Thanks to the strategy Positive Motionwe have divested from fossil activities through the sales of 70% of our oil production assets and the butane, propane and autogas subsidiary (Gasib). The brand change is a catalyst to continue accelerating this process, which we will do gradually, accompanying our clients in their own decarbonization.

In the case of BSH Eljuegos España, SA (with brands Bosch, Siemens, Balay and Gaggenau – household appliances represent more than 50% of household electricity consumption), its Environment Manager, María Asunción San Cirilo highlights how “we have achieved be neutral in Scope 1 and 2 CO emissions from 2020 through energy efficiency, green energy and own generation. In Spain, 100% of our electricity comes from renewable sources since 2017, and in 2023 we will self-generate 7% of our consumption, with the goal of reaching 15% in 2024.” And he adds the relevance of a “significant reduction in waste and water consumption: in Spain, since 2020, we have reduced the waste generated by our activity by 71%; and regarding water consumption, we have committed to reducing it in countries with scarcity by 25% in 2025 (compared to 2017).»

Isabel Moliner, head of Quality and Environment at Aquaservice, indicates a journey of “more than 25 years committed to sustainability and creating a positive impact that generates value for people and the planet. We are the first company in the sector to obtain the AENOR certificate in Circular Economy Strategy and we are 100% carbon neutral by offsetting all our scope I and II emissions. Moliner highlights how a 20-liter Aquaservice bottle can dispense up to 1,000 liters of water throughout its useful life (“which represents a saving of 32 kg of single-use plastic”) and its customers have avoided the use of more than 16,000 tons of this material.

Pepi Jiménez, sustainability director of the energy operator Visalia (with its own network and logistics storage infrastructure), completes this tour of the present and future of the circular economy with initiatives such as, among others, the collaboration with the Responsible Energy Foundation and the company itself. of ‘Cities WITHOUT’, “with the aim of converting urban centers into sources of renewable energy and being an active part of the energy transition, in a distributed generation model with which to move towards cities without noise, without pollution, without smoke ».

An action to enhance the production and consumption of local energy, promoting all types of solar installations on roofs and roofs of buildings in urban centers: “They rely on the distributed generation format that consists of renting roofs and roofs of houses of individuals, neighborhood communities and SMEs for the installation of solar plants. Part of a collective effort for a greener planet, from SMEs to large companies, from private homes to governments and international organizations.

‘green’ union

All 4Zero, founded by ArcelorMittal, Holcim Spain, Iberia and Repsol, was born to address the challenge of decarbonization in the industry. As Gema García, president of All4Zero and director of Open Innovation and Corporate Venture at Repsol, comments: «All4Zero is presented as fundamental support for startups, entrepreneurs, SMEs and research centers in the field of decarbonization. “It not only offers technical support, but also makes available its unique industrial facilities to test and scale technologies.”

A contribution to business scaling to move towards net zero emissions in 2050: “Thanks to the support of more than 20 companies and entities that have joined in just one year, we can develop and strengthen the innovative ecosystem.”