CEPSA PRESENTS, FOR YET ANOTHER YEAR, ITS ENVIRONMENTAL STATEMENT: AN EXAMPLE OF TRANSPARENCY AND COMMITMENT TO THE PUBLIC

Cepsa has presented, for yet another year, the environmental declarations of its industrial centers in the province of Huelva, the La Rábida Refinery, and the Palos Chemical Plant. These documents contain all the information related to the environmental performance of the facilities in 2020, audited by AENOR, an independent external verifier.

It was in 1998 when the refinery’s Environmental Statement was made public for the first time, with the international registration of Eco-audited centers according to the European Regulation EMAS (Eco-Management and Audit Scheme). It was the first refinery in Spain to obtain it; only two years later the first environmental statement of the Palos Chemical Plant was published, with international registration since 2010. For 23 years now, Cepsa has been making the statement public, not only to the media but also to stakeholders, and has set up an e-mail account [email protected] for all citizens to ask questions they need answers to.

During the past year, both centers adopted the necessary measures not only to comply with the requirements of their respective Integrated Environmental Authorizations (AAI), but also to achieve emission values well below the authorized limits, including the new requirements established by the European Union of the applicable BREFs (Best Available Techniques), which came into force in 2020.

In terms of environmental investment and expenses, Cepsa allocated almost 43 million euros, mainly to projects to improve energy efficiency, reduce atmospheric emissions, and treat liquid effluents. Since 1997, Cepsa has spent a total of 905 millions of euros.

Regarding compliance with the objectives, the result achieved was very positive at 96.3% and 99.1% of the targets set at the Refinery and the Chemical Plant, respectively. The actions planned for continuous improvement in the management and reduction of emissions, discharge, and waste were carried out in an outstanding and efficient manner.

In addition, the environmental statements contain information on many other aspects available to the public, ranging from noise control to soil inspection and water use. Additionally, Cepsa’s environmental management is not limited to the control of parameters its activity may have an impact on, but extends to other issues such as training and environmental awareness of its own professionals and those of auxiliary companies, and communication to interested third parties.

During the presentation, Jorge Acitores, director of La Rábida Refinery, emphasized that “in our commitment to reduce the footprint of our activity on the environment, we consider process optimization and energy efficiency improvement to be a priority. The commitment to being an environmentally responsible company goes beyond compliance with regulations or obtaining certificates. It is a real competitive advantage and an engine for innovation at the refinery.” For her part, Esther Gonzalez, director of the Cepsa chemical plant in Palos, added that “making these audited statements public and disseminating our environmental management results are a show of transparency and commitment to citizens, who can see, year after year, the progress and continuous improvement to be among the leading companies in the energy sector.”