News
-
14/03/2017Iberdrola is one of the most ethical companies in the world, according to the Ethisphere Institute Iberdrola has been selected for the fourth consecutive year as one of the most ethical companies in the world, according to the 2017 World’s Most Ethical Companies ranking prepared by the Ethisphere Institute, a leader in the definition of standards of best business practices. The Ethisphere Institute has published this index since 2007 to recognise companies that act in society as promoters of positive change within the global business community. According to the institute, the selected companies also take into account the impact of their activities on their employees, customers and other stakeholders, while fostering a culture of integrity and values in their decision-making process. Iberdrola, the only Spanish company present in the ranking of 124 companies, was judged in five categories, according to the methodology used by the Ethisphere Institute: ethics and compliance programme (35%), corporate citizenship and responsibility (20%), culture of ethics (20%), governance (15%) and leadership, innovation and reputation (10%). The CEO of Ethisphere, Timothy Erblich, offered his congratulations to the selected companies and said: “In the past eleven years we have seen an upturn in social expectations, a constant redefinition of legislation and of the geopolitical climate. We have also seen how the companies in the World’s Most Ethical Companies ranking have responded to these challenges by investing in local communities, promoting diversity and inclusion strategies and focusing on a business model that is sustainable in the long term.” READ MORE
-
13/03/2017Iberdrola receives the first AENOR certificate for Corporate Environmental Footprint Iberdrola has become the first organisation to obtain AENOR 's Corporate Environmental Footprint certificate, in compliance with the international technical specification ISO/TS 14072 on Environmental management - Life cycle assessment - Requirements and guidelines for organisational life cycle assessment. Iberdrola's director of Innovation, Sustainability and Quality, Agustín Delgado, received the award from AENOR's director in the Basque Country, Luz Emparanza, in the presence of the Basque Government's Environmental, Regional Planning and Housing minister, Iñaki Arriola, at an event organised by IHOBE. This inspection certifies that Iberdrola has calculated and identified all the environmental impacts of all its activities in Spain, its affiliated companies and those in which it has holdings around the world, with the aim of improving and reducing them. Obtaining this certificate also comes under the group's commitment to the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly number 7 –affordable and clean energy – and number 13 –climate action. The aim of this verification by a renowned, independent third party is to objectively ensure the accuracy and integrity of the information. To award this certificate, AENOR has observed 18 environmental impacts during the course of the period analysed, such as behaviour with respect to climate change, depletion of fossil fuels and by-products of water consumption, amongst others. The calculation of the Corporate Environmental Footprint was done from a life cycle perspective, i.e., not just taking into account direct actions, but also indirect actions over which the company has influence, such as with suppliers. The certificate of conformity of its Corporate Environmental Footprint allows Iberdrola to know and compare objectively the effects of its activities on the different environmental impact categories, tracing their causes and identifying the environmental aspects and the facilities, technologies and regions responsible so that additional data can be added to the company management system. This certificate strengthens Iberdrola's commitment to the environment and systematic quality policies, in conjunction with other certificates for Environmental Management (UNE-EN ISO 14001), Energy Management (UNE-EN ISO 50001), Carbon Footprint (UNE-EN ISO 14064), Event Sustainability Management (UNE-ISO 20121), Occupational Health and Safety (OHSAS 18001), Information Security and R+D+i, among others. About IBERDROLA Iberdrola is a global private sector company that has been, since its creation over 150 years ago, working to serve energy advancement, security of supply, quality and innovation. Thanks to the strong growth and internationalisation process that primarily began in 2001 the company has become a world leader in clean energy and is now one of the world's top five electricity utilities by market capitalisation, with over 28,000 employees and 30 million customers. The Group's international expansion has focused mostly on the Atlantic area: Europe, the United States, Mexico and Brazil - markets in which the company intends to continue strengthening its activities in the coming years. Iberdrola has consolidated its position as the top Spanish energy company; it is one of the principal operators in the UK, following its integration with Scottish Power; its affiliate AVANGRID is quoted on the New York stock exchange and is the number two wind power operator in the US; it is the largest electricity distributor in terms of customer numbers in Brazil after the acquisition of Elektro; and it is the top private electricity generator in Mexico, with over 5,800 megawatts (MW) capacity. About AENOR AENOR, through this certification and the conformity assessment, is contributing to improving the quality and competitiveness of companies, products and services. AENOR is the leading certifying body in Spain, its certifications being the most highly valued, and it is among the 10 top world certifiers. Currently, almost 70,000 work centres have one or other of their certificates, which support organisations in fields such as Quality, Environmental Management, Innovation, Occupational Safety and Social Responsibility. AENOR is a global organisation, operating in 70 countries in activities of certification, training, inspections, analysis, validation and verification of emissions reduction projects, accompanying companies in their expansion. AENOR has 20 offices in Spain. For further information: IBERDROLA Adela Varela Corporate Communications Telephone: (+34) 696/586/109 AENOR Gustavo Granero Communications Tel.: (+34) 914 325 969 - (+34) 699 995 872 ggranero@une.org www.aenor.com READ MORE
-
12/03/2017Palma de Majorca successfully hosts the second edition of Iberdrola’s ‘Women, Health and Sport’ Tour This weekend, Palma de Majorca played host to the second edition of the ‘Women, Health and Sport’ Tour, which Iberdrola is promoting in several provincial capitals to enhance the role and presence of women in the sporting world. The event is intended to show women as an active and fundamental part of sport in Spain. This women’s sporting event was opened by Carmen Cabrera, Head of Sponsorships at Iberdrola, and Susanna Moll, Councillor for Education and Sport, with the participation of a number of Olympic medallists and top-tier athletes. Thousands of people of all ages celebrated sport in this edition of the event, including ex-water polo player and current ‘Women’s Universe’ ambassador Jennifer Pareja and other top athletes such as Beatriz Corrales (badminton), Anna Godoy (triathlon), Adriana Paniagua (canoeing), Jessica Alonso and Maru Sánchez (handball), the CIDE Volleyball Club and the Shamrock Rugby Club. An open-air 2000 m2 space was set aside for sports and leisure activities at Parc de les Estacions with fun sporting activities related to the ten federations backed by Iberdrola: football, badminton, handball, volleyball, rugby, triathlon, canoeing, gymnastics, swimming and hockey. The area is designed for all comers, with numerous group classes, talks on sport and healthy life habits, and games for the kids. The Tour’s next stop will be in Bilbao on 25 and 26 March, during the Iberdrola Shareholder Week, which will finish on 31 March with the group’s General Shareholders’ Meeting. Iberdrola, the main driving force behind the Women's Universe programme The ‘Women, Health and Sport’ Tour is part of the Higher Council for Sport's (CSD) Women's Universe programme, of which Iberdrola has been the mainstay since last July. It is the first company in Spain to make a global commitment to promoting the participation of women in every area of sport. Under the agreement with Spain's Higher Council for Sport (CSD), the company supports various sports federations, including gymnastics, swimming, football, triathlon, badminton, canoeing and hockey, plus other possible additions in the future. These sports were selected on account of the extraordinary level of success achieved, the high participation rate, the existence of schemes to promote the sport at grass-roots level and other social projects. IBERDROLA is also one of the leading sponsors of the Spanish Paralympic Team and the Paralympic Sailing Team. It has been involved in the ADOP Plan since it was launched in 2005, and backed the Spanish Paralympic Team at the Beijing 2008, London 2012 and Rio de Janeiro 2016 Games. The group’s contribution to Paralympic sport was acknowledged in 2013 with the Olimpia Award from the Higher Council for Sport (CSD). READ MORE
-
10/03/2017Iberdrola provides its shareholders with telephone support for the deaf Iberdrola will provide its shareholders with the ComunicA service, a telephone support service that enables deaf people to communicate with the company without barriers and in real time through video sign language interpreters, which the company offers in collaboration with the CNSE Foundation. This measure makes it the first energy group to value accessibility for its stakeholders in this way, demonstrating its firm commitment to integration and to helping raise awareness about the daily reality of deaf people. This application, now available on Iberdrola's website , also incorporates a tool for the exchange of written messages, so that the needs of all deaf people are covered, regardless of their degree of deafness or knowledge of sign language. The implementation of ComunicA arises from a collaboration agreement signed in 2012 between Iberdrola and the CNSE Foundation to ensure accessibility for the company's customers. It allows deaf people to contact the traditional customer support telephone service through an audio and video link in real-time, facilitated by a sign language video interpreter. The new initiative has been launched to celebrate Iberdrola Shareholder Day on 31 March in Bilbao. It is also falls within the Shareholder Involvement Policy approved by the company in 2015, making it the first Spanish company to approve such a policy . Iberdrola was also one of the world pioneers in formalising a corporate policy of this type, which arose from its commitment to dialogue and closeness with its shareholders. With the addition of its shareholders to the ComunicA service, Iberdrola is taking another step forward in its bid to ensure equal opportunities, non-discrimination and universal accessibility as part of its responsibility towards society, and especially towards the most vulnerable groups. In addition, this initiative reflects the group's commitment to customised services that meet the needs of all its customers, and it fulfils the right to accessible information and communication for deaf people enshrined in Law 27/2007, which recognised Spanish sign language and Catalan sign language and regulates resources for supporting communication. CNSE Foundation The CNSE Foundation for the Removal of Communication Barriers is a nationwide, non-profit entity that promotes research and investigation, works to improve accessibility for deaf people to all areas of society and promotes the development of projects that improve the quality of life of deaf people and their families. http://www.fundacioncnse.org/ IBERDROLA, committed to society Iberdrola is strongly committed to society in those territories in which it operates. It shows its commitment not only through the pursuit of its business activities, but also through schemes such as its corporate volunteer programme, its social assistance grants, support for projects aimed at the inclusion of disadvantaged groups, promotion of training, Iberdrola scholarships, investment in culture and contribution to the preservation of artistic, historical and environmental heritage. www.iberdrola.com/home READ MORE
-
06/03/2017Ignacio Galán urges IBERDROLA professionals to overcome new challenges facing the company through to 2020 Today, Iberdrola held its now traditional Meeting with the Chairman, at which the group's top executive, Ignacio Galán, explained to 325 company professionals the challenges that must be overcome in the next few years. In response to questions from executives, Galán set out Iberdrola's strategic directions through to 2020 and underlined the message that “it is not the case that anything goes. It is no good improving results at the cost of sacrificing ethics”. The Chairman of the group highlighted the company's customer focus: “They are at the heart of everything we do, it is essential for them to be happy with all our products and services”. In this regard, he added that “the digital world is our present and our future”. Ignacio Galán also wished to highlight the role played by women at Iberdrola: "Equal opportunities is a reality at the company. We need to talk about skills not gender". Throughout the meeting held at the new corporate campus in San Agustín del Guadalix (Madrid) under the slogan Making ideas happen, two core topics took on special importance: young people & innovation and the future of the electricity sector. Thus, at this annual meeting, a number of employees working on the Accelerator project took part, which brings together a cross-disciplinary team of young people whose purpose is to reflect on how Iberdrola can accomplish a particularly ambitious goal: to become the biggest utility company in the world within 15 years. READ MORE
-
02/03/2017Iberdrola takes the second edition of the ‘Women, Health and Sport’ Tour to Palma de Mallorca On 11 and 12 March, Palma will become the centre of the second edition of the ‘Woman, Health and Sport’ Tour, which Iberdrola is promoting in several provincial capitals to enhance the role and presence of women in the sports world. The event is intended to show women as an active and fundamental part of sport in Spain. The head of sponsorship of Iberdrola, Carmen Cabrera, the mayor of Palma, José Hila, and the councillor for Education and Sport, Susanna Moll, presented the activities programmed for this edition, with support from Jennifer Pareja, former water polo player and ambassador for Women's Universe (Universo Mujer), as well as numerous Olympic medallists and elite sports people. Specifically, in the Parc de les Estacions, an open space will be installed that will have more than 2,000 m2 set aside for sports and leisure activities related to the ten federations backed by Iberdrola: football, badminton, handball, volleyball, rugby, triathlon, canoeing, gymnastics, swimming and hockey. The area is designed for all comers, with group classes, talks on sport and healthy life habits, as well as games for the kids. On Saturday 11, the event is open from 12pm to 8pm, and on the Sunday from 11am to 3pm. The Tour’s next stop will be in Bilbao on 25 and 26 March, during the Iberdrola Shareholder Week, which will finish on 31 March with the group’s General Shareholders’ Meeting. Iberdrola, the main driving force behind the Women's Universe programme The ‘Women, Health and Sport’ Tour is part of the Higher Council for Sport's (CSD) Women's Universe programme, of which Iberdrola has been the mainstay since last July. It is the first company in Spain to make a global commitment to promoting the participation of women in every area of sport. Under the agreement with Spain's Higher Council for Sport (CSD), the company supports various sports federations, including gymnastics, swimming, football, triathlon, badminton, canoeing and hockey, plus other possible additions in the future. These sports were selected on account of the extraordinary level of success achieved, the high participation rate, the existence of schemes to promote the sport at grass-roots level and other social projects. IBERDROLA is also one of the leading sponsors of the Spanish Paralympic Team and the Paralympic Sailing Team. It has been involved in the ADOP Plan since it was launched in 2005, and backed the Spanish Paralympic Team at the Beijing 2008, London 2012 and Rio de Janeiro 2016 Games. The group’s contribution to Paralympic sport was acknowledged in 2013 with the Olimpia Award from the Higher Council for Sport (CSD). READ MORE
-
28/02/2017Iberdrola and Royal Spanish Hockey Federation sign agreement to support women’s sport Iberdrola and the Royal Spanish Hockey Federation presented an agreement to promote women’s sport at the headquarters of the Higher Council for Sport (CSD) in Madrid today. This means the company is now the main support of women’s field hockey in our country. During the event, the head of sponsorship at Iberdrola, Carmen Cabrera, the President of the Higher Council for Sport, José Ramón Lete, and the President of the Royal Spanish Hockey Federation (RFEH), Santiago Deó, signed an agreement according to which Iberdrola will support women’s field hockey. The focus will be on building up and promoting the national team in the games in the run-up to the 2018 World Cup, as well as backing sport at grassroots level. Iberdrola has demonstrated its commitment to equal opportunities, promoting a healthy work-life balance and fostering women’s careers by supporting women’s sport. The presentation of this agreement was also attended by nine players from the Spanish national team that won the World League Round 2 tournament held in Valencia on 12 February last. Four of them also represented Spain in the recent Rio Olympics, where they were awarded Olympic Diplomas. Iberdrola, main supporter of the ‘Universo Mujer’ scheme This agreement signed for women’s field hockey in Spain follows the agreement that made the company the main backer behind the ´Universo Mujer’ programme run by the Higher Council for Sport (CSD) since July of last year. It is the first company to make a global commitment to fostering women’s participation in all areas of sport. Under the terms of the agreement with the CSD, the company is supporting various sports federations, including gymnastics, swimming, football, triathlon, badminton, canoeing, rugby, handball, volleyball and, from today onwards, hockey. Additional federations may be added in future. These sports were selected on account of the extraordinary level of success achieved, the high participation rate, the existence of schemes to promote the sport at grassroots level and other social projects. From March onwards, the CSD and IBERDROLA will also be organising the ‘Women, Health and Sport’ tour around various provincial capitals to promote women’s sport. To this end, an open space will be set up in each city over the course of a weekend, where women will be able to take part in sporting and leisure activities. To be more specific, the next stops on the ‘Women, Health and Sport’ tour will be in Palma de Mallorca (11 and 12 March) and in Bilbao (weekend of 25 March), coinciding with Shareholders’ Week, which will culminate on 31 March with Iberdrola’s General Shareholders’ Meeting. READ MORE
-
28/02/2017Iberdrola has completed its fifth green bond issue worth 1,000 million euros Iberdrola has successfully completed a green bond issue on the Euromarket, with proceeds earmarked to refinance investment in the Wikinger offshore wind farm - which the company is developing in German waters of the Baltic Sea - as well as other, onshore wind farms in Spain. The issue amounted to 1,000 million euros, maturing in March 2025. The coupon has been set at 1%, which was made possible by achieving a 65 basis point spread over the mid-swap. The cost of the operation is very competitive given the volume reached, as well as the current market climate, characterised by uncertainty over interest rate trends and by current political risks - with particular sensitivity to the upcoming elections in France. The operation was executed in a most satisfactory manner, underpinned by strong interest from fixed income investors and its green nature. The operation has improved the conditions of the latest issue by Iberdrola in December and has been driven by the results for 2016 and the updated Strategic Perspectives 2016-2020 announced last week in London. Iberdrola thus continues making headway in its strategy to make a large proportion of its liability 'green', in accordance with the company's commitment to a low-carbon energy mix. The group was the world's largest green issuer, at company level, in 2016. The demand for today's operation exceeded 2,300 million euros in the initial phase, thereby allowing placement to be increased to 1,000 million euros, which was initially scheduled for 750 million euros. Over 100 investors will be taking part in the issue. Accordingly, green bonds tend to generate greater demand since they attract the interest of Socially Responsible Investors (SRI) Indeed, a large part of the operation has been subscribed by this type of investors, enabling Iberdrola to continue to both diversify its investment base and increase demand, thereby enhancing the execution of such operations during volatile periods of trading. A key feature of green bonds is that the funds obtained are used for sustainable, socially responsible projects - a use that is certified by an independent validating agency, Vigeo Eiris. Today's issue is Iberdrola's fifth public issue of this type and builds on the success attained both in April 2014, when the company became the first Spanish company to complete a placement of green bonds and, subsequently, the issues made in April, September and December 2016. Iberdrola thus became the worldwide company that issued most green bonds in 2016.[1] What is more, a few weeks ago the group became the world's first energy company to arrange a green loan, from BBVA, amounting to 500 million euros. As with the bond issued today, Vigeo acknowledged then that the projects for which the obtained resources will be used are in line with the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which Iberdrola has incorporated into its strategy: number 7 - Clean, Affordable Energy - and number 12 - Responsible Production and Consumption. About Vigeo Eiris Vigeo Eiris was founded in 2002 and have established themselves as Europe's leading experts in assessing practices and behaviours of companies and public corporations in the areas of environment, social responsibility and good governance. The agency evaluates the commitment of companies and public corporations in meeting environmental, social and corporate governance objectives which are considered to be both risk factors and business opportunities when defining and developing corporate strategy. In a release on Iberdrola, Vigeo Eiris highlighted that the Group meets all international requirements in terms of sustainable development and that it is positioned amongst the top-rated corporations assessed by Vigeo within the utilities industry. [1] Source: The Climate Bonds Initiative READ MORE
