nel Green Power is launching the “Sustainable worksite” model, which will be implemented at all new construction sites, starting in Peru, Mexico and the United States. An interview with Fabrizio Fiorani, head of Construction in Engineering and Construction for EGP.
Since its foundation, Enel Green Power has operated with respect for fundamental principles, such as the safeguarding of the environment, the rational use of resources and attention to the needs of local communities.
Following the Creating Shared Value (CSV) model, we’ve learned how to grow by combining the needs of the business with those of the territories we bring energy to.
We are now ready to go a step further, starting from that first, essential moment when our presence is felt in the territory and its impact becomes perceivable to the community: the construction site.
Introducing the Sustainable worksite model.
No longer individual positive initiatives spread out at our worksites around the world, but a stable and common process at the global level in order to standardise our best practices and proceed toward our target of constant and sustainable improvement even more quickly.
This model is the natural development of EGP’s path and “the evolution of the best practices of people who, day after day, experience the worksite and try to ‘innovate’ by thinking of how to transform normal actions into ‘sustainable’ actions”, explains Fabrizio Fiorani, Head of Construction in Engineering and Construction for EGP.
Where did the sustainable worksite model come from?
This is a bottom-up model, taking advantage of best practices from our worksites around the world and closely involving EGP personnel. It began and has been developed in order to systemically integrate sustainability into our construction sites by responding, from the start, to both the “needs” of construction and the needs of the local context. It begins in the Business Development phase, when contextual analysis leads to a plan to mitigate the site’s impacts, in order to maximise positive effects in the territories according to the CSV logic.
Are there already some successful examples?
Without a doubt, Apiacàs in Brazil, where we’ve installed a large PV system to power the worksite and reduce diesel consumption and built various facilities for people on-site. We’ve also installed water recovery systems and maximised recycling with 50 tonnes of metal and other recycled materials, over 21 tonnes of oil recovered. At the same site, we’ve saved over 1,000 seeds from different species of flora, which will be used to reforest damaged areas. We’ve created projects to safeguard biodiversity and environmental awareness campaigns for the communities. Some of these have already been applied at other worksites, such as Cerro Pabellón and Sierra Gorda, in Chile.
What are the steps to follow at a worksite in order to be truly sustainable?
The successful implementation of the model relies on the people called to transform what are now different practices in different countries. To spread the model, we’ve planned a specific campaign for awareness, information and training for EGP staff, suppliers and external contractors. The complete guidelines have recently been published, with performance indicators that will be periodically monitored and analysed (amount of water used at the worksite, waste recycled, number of beneficiaries of CSV projects, safety indicators, percentage of renewable energy used at the worksite and amount of excavation materials reused at the worksite). Further support for the implementation of the model will come from the incentivisation of good behaviours and actions.
What are the main benefits expected?
There are many. Reduction of environmental and social impacts through mitigation; contribution to the Group’s goals such as reaching carbon neutrality by 2050; value creation for the communities; benefits for contractors that help us change the “old” way of working; development of the circular economy principle, which will lead to economic savings…
Is it really possible to have sustainable worksites around the world?
The model is being implemented in new EGP construction sites starting in Peru, Mexico and the United States. It’s a pathway that requires a cultural adjustment more than anything. Like every change, we will work together to change mindsets and create value for us, the communities and the environment. We will then expand the scope of our action to include the indirect impacts caused by our suppliers.
How will the model evolve over time?
The sustainable worksite is a living model. We expect updates, especially for the actions of mitigation throughout the value chain and for the calculation of the impact of our logistics. As for off-setting, we are already working with a new logic, directly preserving forests and biodiversity in an innovative and proactive way.
Source: enelgreenpower
