101
Managing the impacts of our operations on ecosystems is another pillar of the company s environmental strategy; spe- cifically, conservation and the ration- al use of resources. This philosophy in- volves conducting prior environmental assessments for every project to ana- lyse factors such as consumption of re- sources, pollutant emissions, land man- agement, GHG emissions and protection of biodiversity. When this analysis which is intrinsic to any decision-making pro- cess points to a potential environmen- tal impact, the mitigation hierarchy is employed to determine how to avoid im- pacts, minimise those that cannot be avoided, restore any damage, and lastly offset the residual impact.
Given the importance of protecting biodi- versity and the fact that some of our ac- tivities can be in areas of great ecological value, part of this environmental assess- ment involves using a proprietary tool to identify protected natural spaces or sites of special interest near our operations.
Data from the World Database on Pro- tected Areas (WDPA) the most compre-
hensive database of terrestrial and ma- rine protected areas in the world is fed into this tool. We have used this tool to so far identify 99 protected areas adja- cent to our facilities, allowing us to gath- er sufficient information on the biodiver- sity in these areas through specific work and define targeted corrective measures for each of them.
We have also drawn up Biodiversity Reg- ulations which steer the company s strat- egy in this regard and sets out the princi- ples for preparing our Biodiversity Action Plans (BAPs).
We work with scientific centers and non-governmental institutions, regulato- ry authorities and local communities to carry out projects to restore and conserve habitats and ecosystems on land and out at sea. The Laguna Primera de Palos la- goon and Madrevieja environmental re- search center are two examples of Cep- sa s pledge to protect and enhance the environment and raise awareness and educate staff and the general public about environmental issues.
PROTECTION OF ECOSYSTEMS
2018 ANNUAL AND CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY REPORT
AF_CEPSA_IARC19_ENG_V9.indd 101 17/5/19 11:46
