The importance of monitoring our carbon footprint at Ferrovial

Today is Mother Earth Day, a day to reflect upon what we can do to help protect our incredible planet and to take decisive action for the future. It was first celebrated in the United States in 1970 and is organized by the Earth Day Network whose mission is to build the world’s largest environmental movement.

This year’s celebration of Mother Earth Day coincides with all eyes on the global pandemic caused by COVID-19. However, as UN Secretary-General António Guterres says, “we are living through another profound global emergency that requires collective action: an environmental crisis that we must address decisively to protect our planet from the climate threat.” Environmental conservation is a valuable weapon in the fight against pandemics. Ecosystem services and biodiversity protection are key to building a more sustainable, resilient and secure future for humanity.

At Ferrovial, we are pioneers in private management of environmental and climate action. We work actively to minimize adverse impacts on the environment, offering products and services that promote the development of a sustainable economy. To this end, we have a climate strategy with ambitious emission reduction targets that underpin our actions in the circular economy, biodiversity conservation and minimization of the water footprint.

How do we monitor our Carbon Footprint

At Ferrovial we take very seriously the importance of the carbon footprint. Since 2009 we have measured 100% of greenhouse gas emissions from our global activities, aiming to reduce our carbon footprint through more efficient energy use. We know that we can´t be credible as a potential low-emission infrastructure and service provider if we don’t make ambitious commitments to reduce our own carbon footprint.

Since the company’s priority is to focus on the promotion, construction and management of sustainable infrastructures, our climate strategy is oriented towards responsible environmental management from a preventive perspective, including the development of actions to reduce our carbon footprint. Thus, we have set global targets for 2030, with a bottom-up approach through which we will reduce greenhouse gas emissions associated with our production processes and our supply chain.

• Scopes 1&2: -32% in absolute terms and -42.9% in terms of intensity (tCO2e/million €) compared to 2009.
• Scope 3: -20% in absolute terms compared to 2012.

We have taken various actions to reduce our emissions, some which are specific to individual business lines and others which have been implemented across the entire company.

What actions do we take to reduce our carbon footprint?

• Validation of 2030 emission reduction targets by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi).
• 100% renewable electricity consumption by 2025.
• Commitment to carbon neutrality by 2050.
• Management of risks and opportunities associated with climate change in the short, medium and long term, following the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosure (TCFD).
• Alignment of the climate strategy with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

This Mother Earth Day we encourage you to think carefully about your personal carbon footprint and what you can do to decrease your emissions both at home and in the workplace.

Read more about how we manage our carbon footprint here