Page 4 - 2016 CSR Report

Letter

from the General Director

#TRUECOMMITMENT

It gives all of us who form part of Aqualia to present With the launch of the Smart aqua app, we
to you this eleventh edition Corporate Social Res- have taken another step forward in the digital
ponsibility Report for 2016. And for me personally transformation of our services, to offer the public
it is an excellent way — a special channel — to reach a new window for real-time communication that’s
out to all our stakeholders directly. more convenient and simpler, enabling us to
respond more effectively and promptly to their
If one thing makes us stand out at Aqualia it’s
the role that sustainable development plays as a needs and expectations.
substantial part of our business model: combining It’s important to stress that are of us — the
generating social benefits with fair profits for the company and the public — have a responsibility
company puts us in a privileged position in the when it comes to the efficiency and sustainabi-
water-management sector.
lity of our water resources and infrastructure.
And in this report we include a selection of Aqua- Aqualia has continued to pursue a great many
lia’s socioeconomic impact over the last year and awareness-building actions targeted at all
the company’s contribution towards the United kinds of audiences. For example, in 2016 once
Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), again we have organised the International
approved by the UN General Assembly in New Children’s Drawing Competition, now in its
York on 25 September 2015 and officially in force 14th edition, setting a new record for entries
since 1 January 2016. For the first time, these with more than 10,000 children from Spain,
goals now include the role of the private sector Portugal and the Czech Republic taking part.
(http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/ The #DontThrowItAway campaign aims to build
globalpartnerships/). awareness among the general public of the
proper use of sanitation systems.
This report is intended to serve as a tool to leverage
public/private partnerships in the water sector and The links between water and the environment,
the direct benefits that they can bring for society. and the consequences that climate change
could have in the future, leave us no option but
And we must never forget that our responsibility
and commitment towards the local districts where to act diligently in everything we do. This year
we work is not limited solely to providing the we have continued to make progress with the
service but goes further than it. We always seek to implementation and adaptation of the Energy
contribute towards improving people’s well-being, Management System under the standard ISO
particularly for the most vulnerable groups. Thus, 50001, in order to comply with R.D. 56/2016
in 2016, our initiatives have included renewing our and reduce our carbon footprint yet further.
partnership with Cáritas to cover payment for This commitment towards the environment is
water services for people at risk of exclusion. We extended to our users through such initiatives
have also reached a similar new partnership with as “Switch to e-billing”, which aims to step up
Vigo Council, helping us to identify and propose the growing number of clients opting for elec-
alternative solutions for families going through tronic rather than printed bills, absolutely free of
financial difficulties. charge, and since its launch has proved to be a
great success (more than 70% users compared
Also this year we’ve continued working with the firm with last year), making us one of the Spanish
intention of improving not only the quality of the
services we provide for more than 20 million people companies with the most customers who taking
all over the world, but also their experience as users. advantage of this service.

4 REPORT 2016