Reducing greenhouse gas emissions is one of the actions that companies can carry out to stop climate change, mitigate global warming and contribute to the decarbonization of the economy.
Companies such as Abertis, a world leader in infrastructure and mobility management, are carrying out this work, and they do so with the support of the Science Based Targets (SBT) initiative, an alliance of the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), the Global Compact of the United Nations, the World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) to set science-based targets to drive business commitment to a zero-emissions economy.
It should be noted that in 2021 the European Union made the commitment to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, and the Science Based Targets initiative is key to achieving this goal. To calculate the carbon footprint, three types of emissions are taken into account. Scope 1, which are direct emissions produced by the burning of fuels by the emitter; those of scope 2, indirect emissions generated by the electricity consumed and purchased by the issuer, and those of scope 3, which are those indirect emissions that are produced by the activity of the issuer, but that are owned and controlled by an agent. alien to the issuer.
Specifically, Abertis has committed to reducing, compared to 2019, the tons of CO 2 of scope 1 and 2 by 25% by 2024, and by 50% until 2030, while for scope 3 a limit has been set reduction of 10% in 2024 and 22% until 2030. As confirmed by Science Based Targets, the group's objectives are aligned with what climate science considers necessary so that global warming does not exceed 1.5ºC, with respect to temperatures preindustrial.
Decarbonization in the Abertis highway network is one of the main axes of the company's sustainability plan, designed for the period 2022-2030 and which is executed through three-year plans with short and medium-term objectives. To achieve its goals, in 2021 the company created a Sustainability Committee. In its first two years of work, this committee has already launched more than 120 initiatives aimed at responding to the new mobility challenges.
Among the actions carried out by Abertis, the installation of solar panels to promote self-consumption, the migration towards fleets of less polluting vehicles, the installation of charging points for electric cars, the acquisition of green energy, the increase in maintenance materials stand out. of recycled origin, the promotion of recycling and waste recovery, or the incorporation of construction materials with lower environmental impact in their life cycle.
“Science Based Targets' endorsement of our sustainability policies reaffirms the company's strong commitment to the effects of climate change,” highlights Georgina Flamme, Director of Sustainability at Abertis. This shows that our objectives are ambitious, have a scientifically verifiable impact and shows once again that the mobility sector is key in the search for projects that aim to mitigate the effects of global warming.”
