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23/09/2019Iberdrola, recognized as a LEAD company in the United Nations Global Compact Iberdrola has today been announced as a Global Compact LEAD participant for its ongoing commitment to the United Nations Global Compact and its Ten Principles for responsible business. Announced at the UN Global Compact Leaders Week in New York, Iberdrola was identified as one of the most highly-engaged participants of the world’s largest business sustainability initiative. Iberdrola has been identified, within the framework of the United Nations Global Compact Leaders' Week held in New York, as one of the most highly-engaged participants of the world’s largest business sustainability initiative. Lise Kingo, CEO and Executive Director of the UN Global Compact, said, “LEAD companies represent the highest level of engagement with the UN Global Compact. More than ever before, the world needs businesses of all sizes — like the ones announced as LEAD today — that continuously work to improve their sustainability performance and take action to build a better world.” Ignacio Galán, Iberdrola’s Chairman, has pointed out, “Iberdrola is fully committed with the achievement of United Nations Global Compact and its Ten Principles as a centerpiece of our leadership on sustainability and climate action. These Ten Principles are an important milestone in our engagement with people and the planet”. In order to receive LEAD’s recognition, the companies must: 1. Be a participant in at least two UN Global Compact Action Platforms to demonstrate the company’s engagement with the UN Global Compact and commitment to defining and fostering leadership practices in line with the Ten Principles and the Global Goals. 1. Submit, or commit to submitting an advanced communication on progress, as an annual sustainability report detailing progress on implementing the Ten Principles. Iberdrola has demonstrated its commitment to the UN Global Compact this year by participating in Action Platforms on Pathways to Low-Carbon & Resilient Development, Financial Innovation for the SDG, Reporting on the SDGs. Each UN Global Compact Action Platform convenes business, Global Compact Local Networks, leading experts, civil society, Governments and UN partners to solve complex and interconnected issues and innovate around the Sustainable Development Goals. Iberdrola’s communication on progress (CoP) and other related information is available in its participant profile on the UN Global Compact website: * www.unglobalcompact.org: 2017 Communication on Progress/Iberdrola * www.unglobalcompact.org: Our participants/Iberdrola Since joining the UN Global Compact in 2002, Iberdrola has been proud to be part of a global movement of sustainable companies and stakeholders. By adopting a principles-based approach to sustainability, Iberdrola is taking shared responsibility for building a better world. READ MORE
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23/09/2019Iberdrola and HEINEKEN sign a partnership that will allow the company brew its beers using only renewable energy Iberdrola and HEINEKEN España have added to their commitment to sustainability as a strategic thrust in their businesses with the first long-term Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) in Spain between an electricity supplier and a brewing group. The agreement reached by the two companies will promote the construction of a new photovoltaic plant in Andévalo, which will guarantee the supply of green electricity to the four breweries and offices of HEINEKEN España. The plant will become operational in 2020, in PPA (Power Purchase Agreement) mode, avoiding the mission into the atmosphere of over 100,000 tonnes of CO 2 a year. Andévalo forms part of Iberdrola’s strategy of investing in clean power generation projects in Spain - where it plans to install 3,000 MW by 2022- and its commitment to using bilateral agreements with big customers who are committed to sustainable consumption as a way to promote the supply of energy at affordable, stable prices. Through this partnership HEINEKEN España will be able to brew its beer using only renewable energies by 2023. To achieve this, HEINEKEN is implementing an ambitious road map which, among other initiatives, encompasses a 100% renewable electricity supply. Located in the municipality of Puebla de Guzmán (Huelva) and with a surface area of 150 ha., the project will have an installed capacity of 50 MW and will consist of 147,000, 340 Wp polycrystalline silicon modules that will generate 82 GWh/yr. The plant will be built inside the biggest wind farm in continental Europe, El Andévalo (292 MW), developed and managed by Iberdrola since 2010. “PPAs open up new opportunities for the development of energies that will set the standard for the world's energy future. Renewables have proven their competitive advantage and their ability to supply power at affordable, stable prices, and the PPAs in the long term, as well as bringing stability to the company’s investments in renewable projects, will rise as an instrumental tool in managing the power supply for large consumers who are committed to achieving green and sustainable consumption” explained Ángeles Santamaria, CEO of Iberdrola España. “This initiative reaffirms HEINEKEN España’s commitment to sustainability, is an example of our ambition to become the greenest brewer and will consolidate our leadership in sustanaibility in the brewing industry in Spain. The Andévalo plant forms part of a plan that will allow us to brew all our products using only renewable energy by 2023”, said the Managing Director of HEINEKEN España, Guillaume Duverdier. In addition to its environmental impact, the new solar photovoltaic installation will contribute to reactivating employment in the local community Iberdrola’s plan to relaunch clean energy in Spain The Andévalo photovoltaic project forms part of the company’s commitment to strengthening its investment in the production of clean energy in Spain, by installing 3,000 new MW by 2022. By 2030, company forecasts point to the installation of 10,000 new megawatts (MW). The plan will create jobs for 20,000 people. Iberdrola’s commitment is to lead the transition toward a completely carbon-free economy by promoting renewable energies and accelerating investment in Spain, where it intends to spend 8 billion euros between 2018 and 2022. Iberdrola is the most prolific producer of wind energy in Spain, with installed power of 5,770 MW, while its total installed renewable capacity, including both wind and hydroelectric, is 15,828 MW. The company operates 883 MW in Andalusia, mainly using wind power. Globally, Iberdrola's installed renewable capacity is over 30,300 MW, which makes its generation fleet one of the cleanest in the energy sector. Iberdrola is a global reference point in the area of PPAs and has long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs) in markets that include Spain, United States and Mexico, with wind and photovoltaic power projects totalling over 1,500 MW. In Spain, the company has been a pioneer in promoting this type of agreement with companies from various sectors (banking, telecommunications, distribution and sports brands). For further details: What is a PPA and what are the main benefits? Beer brewed 100% using renewable energy: the commitment from HEINEKEN España After covering all the demand for electricity from its breweries in Spain with the development of this new solar photovoltaic installation, HEINEKEN’s plan focuses on replacing its current gas boilers with others that use solar energy in order to bring about its commitment to making its beers using only renewable energy by 2023. These measures form part of its sustainability strategy Brewing a Better World, which focuses on six priority areas in which the company considers that its activities can make the most positive impact. Among them is the fight against climate change by reducing the amount of CO2 emitted into the atmosphere, a commitment on which HEINEKEN España has made great progress in recent years by reducing its carbon footprint by 64% since 2008. In 2018, the company succeeded in meeting the 2020 goals two years ahead of schedule, setting new challenges for 2030 in the areas of production, cooling and packaging in order to meet the commitments of the Paris climate conference (COP 21) and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), among which is the commitment to using only renewable energy for the entire production of its beers by 2023. READ MORE
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14/09/2019Iberdrola, the only European utility included in the 20 editions of the Dow Jones Sustainability Index Iberdrola has once again been included in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI), making it the only European utility to have been included in the selection throughout its 20 editions, according to data published by S&P Dow Jones Indices and RobecoSAM, who are responsible for producing them. Furthermore, Iberdrola has been included in both the global index, DJSI World and the European one, DJSI Europe. This highlights the group’s firm commitment to the highest environmental, social and corporate governance standards, since from an initial universe of some 10,000 companies only 10% of the top scoring companies in terms of sustainability are finally selected. The trends in these indices also illustrates how investor interest in the most sustainable companies has been increasing over the past few years: since 2001, the DJSI World has gained 95.71% and the DJSI Europe has increased in value by 134.14%. Iberdrola’s stock for its part has increased in value by 146.05%[1]. This evolution reflects the success of a model based on sustainable development, which has led to Iberdrola’s becoming a world leader in renewable generation, with more than 30,300 megawatts (MW) of installed capacity at the end of the first half of the year and a benchmark in sustainability and the fight against climate change. Iberdrola, committed to the SDGs Iberdrola has fully incorporated the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) into its strategy. The goals are part of the 2030 Agenda and were approved by the UN in September 2015. In line with its activities, Iberdrola focuses its efforts on the provision of affordable and clean energy (Goal 7) and climate action (Goal 13). In addition, the group contributes directly to ensuring clean water and sanitation (Goal 6), it has increased its investment in R&D&I activities to 270 million euros in 2018, (Goal 9), promotes respect for the life of terrestrial ecosystems (Goal 15) and works to establish partnerships to achieve the goals (Goal 17). In line with this commitment, Iberdrola is continuing to strengthen its leadership in clean energies and the fight against climate change, with annual investments of 8,000 million euros until 2022, 90% of which is allocated to renewables and networks. As a leader in sustainable financing, in March 2019 Iberdrola successfully concluded the signing of a new multi-currency syndicated loan amounting to €1.5bn and linked to sustainability criteria, within the group's current financing strategy. Specifically, this is the first financing transaction linked to point 7 of the UN Agenda 2030 SDGs. This loan has very advantageous conditions linked to compliance with two sustainability indicators validated by the independent agency Vigeo Eiris. The first is of a social nature and is related to SDG 7.1, which seeks to guarantee universal access to affordable, reliable and modern energy services. Hence, the loan becomes the company's first to be linked to criteria of universal access to energy. This operation is therefore in line with the ‘Electricity for All' programme through which Iberdrola has set itself the goal of bringing electricity to 16 million people who currently lack it in emerging or developing countries by 2030. The second indicator is of an environmental nature and is linked to the installation of new renewable power, in line with point 7.2 of the United Nations Agenda 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): to increase substantially the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix. [1] Closing data on 10 September 2019. READ MORE
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12/09/2019The East Anglia One offshore wind farm has started producing clean electricity Iberdrola has hooked up the East Anglia One offshore wind farm to the British electricity grid. It is building the facilities in the North Sea, around 50 kilometres from the coast of the county of Suffolk, in the United Kingdom, and it is scheduled to go into operation next year. The first of 102 wind turbines, the so-called WTG E19, has already supplied clean power to the land substation in Burstall. Its subsidiary, ScottishPower Renewables, which installed 25 turbines on the site this summer, will gradually connect them to the grid. With an investment of approximately GBP 2.5 billion and covering an area of 300 km2, East Anglia One is one of the largest scale projects being developed by Iberdrola and the biggest renewable initiative ever developed by a Spanish company. Once commissioned in 2020, it will be the world’s biggest wind farm, with an installed capacity of 714 MW that will supply 630,000 British homes with clean energy. Charlie Jordan, East Anglia One's project manager, says that “connecting the first wind turbine to the grid is a big milestone, the culmination of everyone’s incredibly hard work, from local suppliers to employees of national and international businesses. Once fully operational, East Anglia One will produce the renewable energy that the United Kingdom needs, while providing stable jobs and opportunities for local people and businesses”. “The first connection to the grid is an important moment for any energy project, and I congratulate the team at ScottishPower Renewables that works for East Anglia One from Great Yarmouth. This is an important initiative for Suffolk and for the United Kingdom and we look forward to the day when all of the 102 latest-generation wind turbines are producing clean energy,” said Ed Northam, executive director in the United Kingdom and Europe for the Green Investment Group (GIG)*. The construction of East Anglia One is driving the offshore power industry in Europe, providing jobs for more than 1,300 people in several countries - Spain, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, the United Arab Emirates - and is crucial to several sectors, such as the naval industry. The project has been a great driving force in Spain, since Iberdrola has used local companies like Navantia, Windar and Siemens-Gamesa for the development of many of the essential components of the wind farm. TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS OF EAST ANGLIA ONE * 102 Siemens Gamesa wind turbines make up the wind farm, each with a capacity of 7 MW. Once installed, they will have a total height of 167 metres. * A marine substation (Andalusia II), manufactured by Navantia in Puerto Real (Cádiz), will be responsible for receiving the electricity produced by the wind turbines and transforming the voltage so it can be sent to the coast through two undersea cables, each around 85 km long. * These cables are joined to a further six underground cables measuring around 37 km and running from Bawdsey to the new land-based transformer in Burstall, which connects the offshore wind farm to the national grid. * Of the 102 jacket-type foundations, Navantia has manufactured 42 in Fene (Spain) and Windar has built the pilot cables in Avilés (Asturias). The other 60 foundations were manufactured by Lamprell in the United Arab Emirates and by Harland & Wolff in Belfast. Iberdrola, steadfast commitment to offshore wind power Over the next few years, Iberdrola will redouble its investment in offshore wind production, developing a project portfolio with over 10,000 MW. This growth focuses on three main areas: the North Sea, the Baltic Sea and the United States. Clean power generated by offshore wind farms are the cornerstone of the company's strategy, which expects to allocate 39% of the €34 billion earmarked for the 2018-2022 period to this type of generation: €13.26 billion. The group is currently operating two offshore wind farms: West of Duddon Sands, which went into service in the North Sea in 2014, and Wikinger, in the German waters of the Baltic Sea, which has been operational since December 2017. In the United States, Iberdrola is in the process of building the biggest offshore wind farm in that country: Vineyard Wind. Just off the coast of Massachusetts, it will produce 800 MW of power to cover the energy needs of a million homes. In Germany, in April 2018, the company was awarded contracts to build two new plants in the Baltic Sea, with a total of 486 MW of power: Baltic Eagle and Wikinger South. In addition to these new plants, the Sant Brieuc Wind Farm, which is located in French waters, is scheduled to be commissioned in 2022. It will have 496 MW of installed power and will be located just off the coast of French Brittany, 20 kilometres offshore. Once these projects are operating in late 2022, the company will have installed 2,000 MW of offshore wind power, after which it will add a further 1,000. Iberdrola is seizing this excellent opportunity for growth, with ambitious objectives for new wind generation facilities in the United Kingdom and the United States for the next few years: 30,000 MW for 2030 in the former and 25,000 MW in the latter, each with different timelines. READ MORE
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09/09/2019Ignacio Galán, honoured at the Los Leones ‘El Español’ awards The online newspaper El Español has recognised Ignacio Galán, chairman and CEO of Iberdrola group, with its Los Leones award in the business category. At the awards ceremony, which will take place on 30 October at the Auditorium of the Spanish Olympic Committee, the work of Ignacio Galán as the leader of the company's globalisation process in recent years will be honoured. Since he arrived in 2001, the value of Iberdrola’s assets has grown from €20 billion to €120 billion. The group now supplies almost 100 million people in countries including Spain, the United Kingdom, the United States), Brazil, Mexico, Germany, Portugal, Italy and France. Iberdrola is also among the four largest electricity companies in the world and is ranked second on the IBEX 35. El Español also highlighted Galán’s role in the green revolution, which has made Iberdrola a world leader in the renewable energies sector, an area in which it expects to invest more than 30 billion euros in the next four years, and in sustainable mobility , with the roll-out of more than 25,000 charging points for electric vehicles by 2021. The group chairman looks upon social responsibility as crucial for 21st-century companies, hence his commitment to quality of life for everyone, to the environment, and to young people and equality, which has led Iberdrola to position itself as the main driver of women's sport in Spain . READ MORE
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04/09/2019Iberdrola continues to move forward with its renewables strategy in Spain: with photovoltaic plants totalling 250 MW submitted for approval in Castilla-La Mancha Iberdrola continues to move forward with its renewables strategy in Spain with four new photovoltaic projects, with an installed capacity of 250 megawatts (MW), already submitted for official approval in Castilla-La Mancha, as stated in the Official State Gazette (BOE) and the Official Journals of the Castilla-La Mancha regional government. Two of the projects, Romeral and Olmedilla, each with a capacity of 50 MW, are located in Cuenca province, in the towns of Uclés and Valverdejo, respectively. In Toledo province, Iberdrola is planning the Barcience photovoltaic plant (50 MW) in Bargas; and in Ciudad Real province, it will develop a unique project in the municipality of Puertollano, with a capacity of 100 MW. Puertollano II combines several innovative elements, both in the technology used and the storage capacity of this renewable project: * The installation will have bifacial panels, which will allow for greater production, as they have two light-sensitive surfaces, providing a longer service life; * The plant has been designed with daisy-chained inverters to improve performance and permit greater use of the surface area; * The project will have a storage system that will make the plant more manageable and optimise the control strategies. The battery system (with a power of 5 MW) will have a storage capacity of 20 MWh. The start of the development of these projects increases the megawatts (MW) that Iberdrola has under construction and awaiting approval in Spain to more than 2,200: 75% of the capacity the company plans to install by 2022. Plan to relaunch clean energy in Spain These actions are part of the company's commitment to strengthening its investment in clean energy generation in Spain, with the installation of 3,000 new MW up to 2022, 52% more than its current wind and solar capacity. Up to 2030, the forecasts point to the installation of 10,000 new megawatts (MW). The plan will create jobs for 20,000 people. Iberdrola is committed to leading the transition towards a completely carbon-free economy by promoting renewable energies and speeding up its investment in Spain, where it intends to spend 8 billion euros between 2018 and 2022. Iberdrola is the most prolific producer of wind power in Spain, with an installed capacity of 5,770 MW, while its total installed renewable capacity, including both wind and hydroelectric power, is 15,828 MW. The company operates renewables with a capacity of 2,229 MW in Castilla-La Mancha, mainly wind power, making it the autonomous region with the second highest total of 'green' megawatts installed by Iberdrola. Worldwide, Iberdrola's installed renewable capacity is over 30,300 MW, making its generation capability one of the cleanest in the energy sector. READ MORE
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03/09/2019Iberdrola's outstanding stock market performance has earned it a place in the STOXX Europe 50 index Iberdrola has been included in the STOXX Europe 50 index, a leading European stock index comprising the main companies in Europe, including those from the UK and Switzerland, which are absent from the EURO STOXX 50 where Iberdrola is also featured. The inclusion of Iberdrola in the STOXX Europe 50 index, which takes into account both market capitalisation and free float, will become effective on 23 September and will give the company more visibility among international investors, many of whom build their portfolios based on the stocks listed by this index. Iberdrola, which is one of the two Spanish companies in the index (the other one being Santander), has experienced a value appreciation of almost 35% year-to-date. The company’s market capitalisation is now €61.3 billion vis-à-vis €12 billion back in January 2001. Thanks to this outstanding stock market performance, the company has become the second biggest company by market capitalisation on Spain’s Ibex 35, and the one weighing the most in the blue chip index. This market recognition reinforces the strategy implemented by the company since the arrival of Chairman Ignacio Galán in 2001: * Focusing on the energy sector: with 34,000 employees, it supplies electricity to almost 100 million people * Encouraging geographical diversification: Iberdrola is now a giant in Spain, the UK, Mexico, the US and Brazil, with listed companies in the latter two countries (Avangrid and Neoenergia) and assets valued at more than €116 billion * Promoting renewable energies: with 30,400 megawatts installed capacity, mainly onshore and offshore wind, hydroelectric and solar In a global context of increasing environmental awareness, analysts have continued to underline their preference for Iberdrola, a company that is leading the transition towards a sustainable energy model through investments in renewable energy, smart grids, large-scale energy storage and digital transformation, offering the most advanced products and services to its customers. The company, headed by Ignacio Galán, has 97% buy/hold recommendations and Goldman Sachs, HSBS and BofAML increased their target prices in August to above nine euros per share (9.9, 9.5 and 9.3, respectively). The STOXX Europe 50 index includes leading companies from the main European business sectors, covering 50 stocks from 17 countries: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. READ MORE
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02/09/2019The Primera Iberdrola league, the highest level of competition for women's football in Spain, kicks off Iberdrola and the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF ) met at Iberdrola's Madrid headquarters today to present the start of the Primera Iberdrola, the highest level of competition for women's football in Spain, bringing together the best 16 teams in the country. The event, held this morning, was attended by players representing all of the clubs competing in the tournament, as well as Iberdrola chairman Ignacio Galán and RFEF president Luis Rubiales, among other authority figures. During the event, Ignacio Galán, who did the ceremonial kick-off, ratified the company's commitment to women's sport, framing it as part of “our conviction that we need full equality between men and women in all areas of society". For his part, Luis Rubiales stressed that “women's football is a priority for the RFEF”, saying that “we are now beginning an exciting journey, a real challenge that will give this sport the recognition it deserves. We will work together to make football the preferred sport of Spanish girls and young women within 6 years, make progress in the professionalisation of women's football and fostering youth football, and reach excellence and the utmost quality with our national teams by supporting clubs and players". The 2019-20 Primera Iberdrola league will start on Saturday 7 September and will end after 30 days of play on 17 May next year (see all fixtures ). The competition, now in its 32nd season, is the most ambitious in history: there have been high-profile signings and we can expect to see some important developments, such as the inclusion of a fourth official, the obligation for participating clubs to have at least three youth teams, and players’ names on shirts. What's more, matches will be broadcast to reach the maximum possible number of viewers, boosting visibility of this sport. On 1 August, Iberdrola signed an agreement with the RFEF to strengthen its commitment to women's football by sponsoring all competitions in this sport for the next six seasons, until 2024-25. Iberdrola will therefore lend its name to Spain's highest level of competition, the Primera Iberdrola league, as well as the second division, Reto Iberdrola. The company also sponsors the Copa de la Reina and the Supercopa de España. Increase in the popularity of women's football The former Liga Iberdrola, now called Primera Iberdrola, has brought about a notable increase in the popularity of women's football. To give one example, last season, 60,739 spectators were at the Wanda Metropolitano stadium to watch Atlético de Madrid face off against Barcelona. In recent years, over ten men's first division stadiums have opened their doors to hold matches in this competition. This strengthened collaboration between Iberdrola and the RFEF will also allow them go further with their commitment to transforming the Spanish Women’s Football Team into the first Sustainable Team , to raise awareness of the importance of promoting sustainable development based on renewable energies as a way of fighting climate change. This agreement with the RFEF comes two weeks after Iberdrola reaffirmed its commitment to the Higher Sports Council (CSD) Women's Universe programme. Iberdrola and women’s sport, in figures In 2016, Iberdrola became the first company to make a firm global commitment to encouraging women’s participation in sport as a way of driving equal opportunities. The company currently supports 16 federations: gymnastics, triathlon, rugby, canoeing, badminton, football, handball, volleyball, hockey, table tennis, athletics, karate, boxing, surfing, ice sports and fencing. Iberdrola also lends its name to 22 national top-tier sports leagues, and over 35 competitions. The increased contribution of resources like facilities, medical services and officials has not only helped increase the number of federated sportswomen in these 16 disciplines by 32%—up to 316,500—it is also allowing elite Spanish female athletes competing in other countries to come back to Spain, contributing to improving national competitions. Sport, crucial for promoting equality Real equality between men and women is one of Iberdrola’s core values. With its commitment to women's sport, the company helps to create new role models for society, to encourage healthy habits at an early age. Iberdrola drives and disseminates the role of women in sport through other initiatives, like the ‘Women’s Universe Tour’ , in collaboration with the Higher Sports Council and the Fundación Deporte Joven, whose purpose is to transmit values like hard work and overcoming, by practising and showing several disciplines and spreading the word about the success of Spanish athletes. Iberdrola, committed to the SDGs Iberdrola has fully incorporated the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) into its strategy. The goals are part of the 2030 Agenda and were approved by the UN in September 2015. In line with its activities, Iberdrola focuses its efforts on the provision of affordable and clean energy (Goal 7) and climate action (Goal 13), as well as fulfilling other objectives. By supporting women in sport, Iberdrola is focusing its efforts on gender equality and female empowerment (Goal 5), health and well-being (Goal 3) and promoting public-private initiatives (Goal 17). READ MORE
