Abengoa, true to its commitment to transparency, has published a Corporate Social Responsibility Report (CSRR) for the ninth¹ consecutive year. This report includes trustworthy and balanced information on the company’s performance, the main social, economic and environmental impacts of its activity and any other matters that may substantially influence stakeholder assessments and decisions.

The report covers all of Abengoa’s activities in every country in which the company operates, and therefore the information disclosed includes the three activities around which the company’s business is structured: engineering and construction, concession-type infrastructures, and industrial production.

The report preparation process followed the guidelines stipulated in Version 3.1 of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), whose aim is to define a common structure for corporate social responsibility reports by orienting companies on report content, scope and coverage so that readers may compare the performance of different companies, thus providing assurance of the quality of the information disclosed.

This report also takes into account the principles of the AA1000AS standard, the world’s first sustainability assurance norm, to lend quality and accuracy to the information contained in the CSRR, ensuring transparency in Abengoa’s communications and helping to build confidence among company shareholders. The principles established under the standard require that the organization be actively involved with its stakeholders, identifying and fully understanding the sustainability aspects that will have an impact on performance for subsequent use of this knowledge in developing responsible business strategies and performance objectives. These principles therefore enable the organization to focus on what is relevant, providing a framework for determining and responding to opportunities, while managing risk and complying with non-financial aspects.

CSRR11 also reports on the commitment Abengoa upholds to the United Nations Global Compact, the ten principles of which govern company performance, activity and strategy. Respect for human, labor-related and environmental rights and anti-corruption are the guiding principles of the sustainable business model driving Abengoa forward in the 70-plus countries in which the company operates.

Abengoa has defined a Corporate Social Responsibility Management System in line with the guidelines established under the international non-certifiable ISO 26000:2010“ Guidance on Social Responsibility” standard, which provides orientation for the company on the principles underlying social responsibility, recognition thereof, and engagement of interested parties, fundamental matters and issues comprising this social responsibility (corporate governance, human rights, labor practices, the environment, fair operating practices, active participation in consumer issues, and community development), as well as the ways to integrate socially responsible conduct into the organization.

At Abengoa, these orientations are covered under the internal corporate social responsibility standard (NOC-10/003), which includes and is referenced to the following Common Management Systems (NOC):

• NOC-04, on Human Resources, which covers all aspects related to policies, principles and commitments pertaining to labor practices, human rights, diversity, equality, personnel training and development, industrial relations, professional development and compensation, occupational risk prevention, the Labor Social Responsibility (LSR) management system, Code of Conduct, and whistleblower channel, among others.
• NOC-05, on Quality Management and the Environment, including aspects relating to quality management and customer relations, management of environmental aspects, preparation of the greenhouse gas emissions inventory, and the Social Responsibility Code for suppliers, among others.
• NOC-08, on Consolidation, Auditing, and Management of Tax Affairs, encompassing all aspects related to auditing and internal control, the audit committee, corporate governance, transparency, and anti-corruption policies, among others.
• NOC-03, on Management of Legal Affairs, Risk Analysis, and Insurance Management, covering aspects relating to regulatory compliance, risk analysis and management (including sustainability and corporate social responsibility-related risks), contractual relationships with suppliers and partners, and good governance, among others.
• NOC-10, on Corporate Identity and Communication and Corporate Social Responsibility, which includes all aspects pertaining to CSR management and strategy, CSR reporting and auditing, performance disclosure in the realm of sustainability and CSR, analysis of relevant issues, and social action management, among others.

In accordance with the policies, regulations and procedures designed, a series of measures relating to the introduction of the following key aspects of the CSR Management System were revised in 2011:

Code of Conduct

• Accessibility of the code of conduct by all employees of Abengoa through the Webpage (Corporate Intranet and Webpage).
• Imparting annual training that is compulsory for all employees and new incorporations through its Welcome and Integration Handbook, for the purpose of encouraging knowledge of the Code of Conduct. 8,493 employees underwent the Code of Conduct training in 2011.

Whistleblowing Channel:

• Confidentiality of and accessibility to the whistleblowing channel, available to all employees through the Corporate Intranet or Webpage.
• Imparting annual training that is compulsory for all employees and new incorporations through the company’s Welcome and Integration Handbook, for the purpose of encouraging knowledge of said channels, together with procedures to followed if there is need for whistleblowing. 8,493 employees underwent the Whistleblowing Channel training in 2011.

CSR Agreements with Suppliers:

• Developing and introducing a Supplier Certification and Endorsement procedure by which, as prerequisite to working with Abengoa, companies within its supply chain are bound to undersign a Social Responsibility Code based on the SA 8000 International Standard, by which they undertake to comply with all the aspects of social and environmental responsibility outlined in the United Nations World Pact and by which they accept possible inspections of their facilities.

Quality and Environmental Management System:

• Annual program of Control and Monitoring Visits (VCS), through which the corporate management for Organization, Quality and the Environment is responsible, under the scope of the environment, for reporting on the evolution and situation of the Management Systems in the various companies of the group, verifying the fulfilment of objectives and progress of synergies generated through control and monitoring visits.
• 93.03 % of our companies hold valid ISO 9001 Standard certificates for their Quality Management Systems and another 88.18 % hold valid ISO 14001 for their Environmental Management Systems.
•  Imparting supplementary training to the companies, depending on the age of the certificates, on the various aspects considered in said certifications.

 

Equality Framework Plan

• Developing an Equality Plan at corporate level, that applies to everyone in the company.
• Imparting specific training on the SA 8000 Standard.

Unless otherwise indicated in the text, The performance indicators cover the activities in 2011 of all Abengoa companies that have a significant social, environmental or economic impact and whose management lies under the effective control of the organization. Also included, depending on relevance and availability, is information from previous years to offer report readers a chance to formulate a more complete view of the company’s evolution.

Material changes on the report
Due to the acquisitions and divestments that took place over the course of 2011, the consolidation perimeter is not identical to that of 2010, with the main difference with respect to previous years being that all companies that were part of the Information Technologies (Telvent) business group, and which accounted for approximately 33 % of Abengoa’s total revenue for 2010, no longer belong to the group. The list of companies can be found in Appendix A, and further information on the sale of Telvent is provided in Volume III on “Legal, Economic and Financial Information” of Abengoa’s 2011 Annual Report.

 

 

_{1 The CSRR10 erroneously stated that it was the company’s sixth report published when in fact it was the eighth publication.}