“These projects were chosen because they were at an optimum point of development, in order to analyze how they fit into the Envision system. Their construction has not yet started, so improvements could be made aimed at responding to the needs of the local context. If we get certified, we would be an example to follow for all projects in the rest of the world”
The main characteristics measured by Envision are environmental, economic, and social sustainability. These are measured through 64 indicators called credits, divided into five categories: quality of life, leadership, climate, and resilience, use of resources and natural environment. These credits are assigned a score based on the performance achieved by the project, in order to define its degree of sustainability.
Alexis added that an internal self-assessment is being done to see what Renaico II’s status is in regard to this certification.
“Today, my role is to align the team with gathering of information which we already have, as well as helping them understand how to improve their daily practices during the construction process, in order to increase the harmony between the plant under construction and its environment, which is measured by this certification system”
We are sustainable
Although Enel Green Power carries out its projects in a sustainable manner, the parameters are currently exclusively measured based on an internal vision. “What we want is not only to be internally convinced that we are a company that carries out sustainable projects, but that someone with prestige tells us that ‘you are sustainable and this is your range of sustainability’,” commented Garay.
The works of Renaico II, once the project has been classified, can be rated in one of four levels, to the extent that their processes are more sustainable: Verified, Silver, Gold, or Platinum.
Another reason to go for Envision certification is to analyze how climate change can affect the environment of the projects carried out by Enel Green Power and their impact on surrounding communities.
“As executors of the project we have an important responsibility in reducing our carbon and water footprint. How do we reduce them? For example, looking for suppliers that offer cleaner industrial processes, reducing transport, optimizing internal transfers and project machinery, or incorporating more technology. There are several factors that Envision measures which become opportunities to improve by decreasing our emission levels”
Zero emissions
Enel Green Power has developed 16 non-conventional renewable energy plants, being a leader in the national energy industry. The Enel Group's plan is not to invest another peso in coal-fired power plants and to strictly focus on projects that are environmentally friendly.
The manager of Renaico II commented that the challenge now is to focus on the pre-operational stage -considering the almost zero degree of pollution that the plant will generate once in operation- to concentrate on making the construction process as sustainable as possible. “Currently our baseline involves our generation projects that have virtually no emissions during their operation. Now we must go one step further, with the aim of making our carbon footprint and water footprint as minimal as possible. The basis we have to evaluate the sustainability of our projects is more demanding. We know that our construction processes can be improved and that we can always find opportunities to understand how to respond in an increasingly appropriate way in order to obtain certification.
