Cepsa joins the #SupportSDG campaign promoted by the Global Compact Spanish Network

• The aim of the #SupportSDG campaign is to act as a voice to achieve a multiplier effect and to raise awareness of and cooperation with the UN’s 2030 Agenda
• SDG-based corporate management creates new business opportunities, improves stakeholder relations, and promotes innovation
• Cepsa has identified the following SDGs: affordable and clean energy (SDG 7); decent work and economic growth (SDG 8); industry, innovation and infrastructure (SDG 9); responsible production and consumption (SDG 12); and climate action (SDG 13)
• In this regard, Cepsa has created an ESG department (Environmental, Social, and Governance) to promote these areas in the company

For the 5th anniversary of the approval of Agenda 2030 with its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), Cepsa joins the #SupportSDG campaign to work to disseminate these goals of the UN, in collaboration with the Spanish Global Compact Network, the initiative it is part of. The aim is to act, based on its own commitment to SDGs, as a voice and achieve a multiplier effect so that they know each other and work.

In 2005, Cepsa joined the UN Global Compact, the world’s largest sustainability initiative. Since the approval of the 2030 Agenda in 2015, in addition to its commitment to promoting the Ten Principles, it has worked to align its corporate management with the SDG, where it finds new business opportunities, improves the relationship with its stakeholders, and promotes innovation.

Cepsa has identified the SDGs that are most linked to its activity and stakeholders, and that also have the support and drive of the company’s management. In this regard, their commitment and efforts are aimed at contributing to the following SDGs: affordable and clean energy (SDG 7); decent work and economic growth (SDG 8); industry, innovation and infrastructure (SDG 9); responsible production and consumption (SDG 12); climate action (SDG 13); and peace, justice and strong institutions (SDG 16).   

Cepsa’s contribution to the SDGs

In order to provide different mobility solutions, Cepsa has a collaboration agreement with IONITY, the European high performance charging network promoted by several car manufacturers to install electric recharge points in their Service Stations in Spain and Portugal. So far, both companies have set up 8 recharge points and Cepsa is also in charge of supplying 100% renewable energy to these facilities. Also, in June 2019, Redexis and Cepsa agreed to create the largest network of LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) and CNG (Compressed Natural Gas) refueling stations in Spain, with the goal of expanding the supply of energy solutions and promoting sustainable mobility. Through these partnerships, the company contributes to SDG 7, which advocates for affordable, clean energy. 

Likewise, in order to promote decent work (SDG 8), Cepsa has launched internally a Diversity and Inclusion Program to promote inclusive environments where people can develop their potential, regardless of their origin, culture, physical condition, and gender. Among the actions implemented, highlight gender, development and generational mentoring programs, as well as training for managers in diversity and inclusion. In addition, with the help of the Adecco Foundation, the company has identified jobs that can be filled by people with different abilities.

In order to accelerate the digital transformation in the energy sector, Cepsa, which has Amazon Web Services (AWS) as its preferred provider of cloud computing, will also use its services to create a software-as-a-service to market it to other energy companies internationally. In this way, the energy company is supporting SDG 9, helping the industry innovate faster, in addition to increasing optimization efforts and making data-based decisions that improve the customer experience and help solve the challenges facing the industry.

The company is currently completing the upgrade of the Puente Mayorga Chemical Plant (Cadiz, Spain) to make it the first linear alkylbenzene (LAB) factory in the world to replace a system based on hydrofluoric acid (HF) with Detal technology, a more efficient and sustainable process designed by Cepsa and UOP which, in addition to improving product quality, will increase the plant’s efficiency and reduce its emissions. In this sense, LAB is a raw material that can be used to produce biodegradable detergents. With this circular economy project, the energy company contributes to SDG 12, focused on reducing waste produced and the environmental footprint.

Cepsa strives to continuously improve its production processes. Therefore, in order to reduce the carbon footprint of its industrial activity, Cepsa’s chemical plants in Spain have opted to use a 100% renewable electricity source supplied by its Gas and Electricity area. Additionally, the company supplies energy from renewable sources to Cepsa’s directly managed Service Stations in Spain and Portugal, to its research center, as well as to the Cepsa Tower in Madrid. With these actions, the company contributes directly to SDG 13 – climate action

For his part, Philippe Boisseau, Cepsa’s CEO, stressed that: “At Cepsa we are fully committed to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals for 2030, not only in terms of energy transition, but also in industry development, decent work, social justice, and global economic growth. In order to contribute to reaching this global goal, we work every day to reduce the impact of our activities and to continue committing to renewable energy sources, always prioritizing environmental and economic sustainability, innovation, and care of our professionals and our surroundings. Therefore, to strengthen this line of action, we have recently created an internal ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) area in order to promote these areas strategically in all the company’s businesses and activities”.

With this type of actions, the Spanish Global Compact Network and its member organizations seek to contribute to the 2030 Agenda and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals, a task which, in these times of crisis and uncertainty, is the way to create the sustainable future the world needs.

Boosting the contribution of business to sustainable development

It has been five years since the United Nations General Assembly approved the 2030 Agenda with its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), unanimously by the 193 participating States, including Spain. “Leave no one behind” is the linchpin of the agreement. The SDGs aim to end poverty and hunger, reduce inequalities, and address urgent challenges such as climate change.

In order to achieve such an ambitious agenda, it was agreed that participation was needed from every party: governments, businesses, civil society, and citizens from all over the world. Its strength comes from the agreement’s universal character and the ambition of its 169 goals. Achieving them requires an unprecedented effort from all sectors of society, and business has a very important role to play in this regard. Achieving the SDGs requires a combination of the strength of the public sector, businesses, investors, and civil society.

With ten years left to fulfill the 2030 Agenda and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the United Nations Secretary General, António Guterres, has called on all sectors of society to mobilize in this “Decade of Action.”

The “Decade of Action” calls for accelerating sustainable solutions to the world’s major challenges, from poverty and gender equality to climate change, inequality, and closing the financial gap. Companies have a very important role to play in this regard.