1. guatemala (2020)

Worthy conditions of water and sanitation systems for indigenous children in Las Rosas Community in El Quiché, (Educo).

2. EL SALVADOR (2021)

Restoration and maintenance of the Mejicanos Children’s Development Centre and adaptation of the adjoining house (Cinde Foundation).

3. Haiti (2019)

Improvement, sanitation and access to water in the Community Health Centre of Moulin in Gros-Morne (Cesal).

4. chad (2021)

Promotion of healthy learning spaces for children in the Guéra region (Entreculturas).

5. South Soudan (2019)

Refurbishment of the maternity and paediatric ward at Bor Hospital (Doctors of the World).

6. d r of the congo (2021)

Solar energy for the General Reference Hospital of Kanzenze (Democratic Republic of the Congo), (Recover Foundation).

7. kenia (2020)

Design and implementation of an online coordination and monitoring system for work with female genital mutilation (FGM) clubs and schools (Kirira Foundation).

8. Ethiopia (2020)

Energy supply of the Meki maternal and child clinic (Pablo Horstmann Foundation).

9. india (2019)

Construction of a community centre in Rascola (ITWILLBE).

September 2021 marked the sixth anniversary of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) identified in the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda. Countries around the world signed up to this global commitment, which is based on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Paris Agreement and defines a series of ambitious yet inalienable goals designed to protect the planet’s health and ensure a safe and prosperous existence for its seven-billion-plus inhabitants, especially the most vulnerable.

In recognition of the fact that these goals can only be achieved through engagement and specific action not only on the part of governments, but also civil society and the private sector, Ineco has integrated them into Atenea, its corporate strategy. To this end, every year since 2019 the company has drawn up a dedicated action plan for the 2030 Agenda, based on five action areas: equality, conciliation, sustainability, solidarity and compliance.

Additionally, in May 2021 Ineco created and launched its 2030 Agenda Commissioner, which reports to the President´s Office Directorate. The role of this unit is to coordinate all of the areas of the company that are involved in the 2030 Agenda, draw up Ineco’s annual 2030 Agenda plan, and monitor the progress of its aims.

While it can be said that in recent years much progress has been made in transport accessibility measures for people with special physical needs (reduced mobility or sensory disabilities), the same cannot be said for those with cognitive disabilities. These include disorders such as ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) or SLI (Specific Language Impairment).

The Autism Spain Confederation, which comprises more than 140 associations, defines ASD as ‘a disorder of neurobiological origin that affects the configuration of the nervous system and brain functioning, leading to difficulties in two main areas: communication and social interaction, and flexibility of thought and behaviour’. This ‘invisible disability’ makes it difficult for sufferers to ‘adapt to change or to unforeseen situations’, and can cause ‘discomfort, distress or anxiety’. Autism spectrum disorders limit interaction skills, the self-regulation of emotions, verbal and non-verbal communication, and cause hypersensitivity to visual or sound stimuli.

Air travel touches on all these aspects: it involves interrupting daily routines and is a process with many steps, taking place in environments different from the usual ones –the airport, the plane– and generating a large amount of sensory stimuli and a volume of information that can be difficult to process. In addition to this, there are waiting times for check-in, boarding, etc. Therefore, flying can be a very demanding ordeal for a traveller with ASD, particularly for children as well as for those accompanying them. In response to this need, Ineco completed an innovation project in 2019 to develop the TEAcompaño mobile application, with the collaboration of the Alanda association and Aena. The project is aligned with UN SDG Targets 9.1 (innovation) and 10.2 (reduced inequalities).

This is a very simple and user-friendly technological solution based on three strategies: first, to prepare the user, through games and visual resources, for what the travel experience will be like, from the moment they pack their suitcase at home until they arrive at their destination; second, to facilitate communication by prioritising images, which people with ASD/SLI generally understand better than oral or written messages; and third, to adapt the environment: to limit both inactive waiting times and information and warnings that are not relevant at each stage of the journey.

The app displays the different stages of the journey in a simple and structured way to make them understandable for children with ASD. This enhances the travel experience for them and their companions, helping them to anticipate and remember the main milestones and stages of the journey. The aim is also to make this group of people and their specific needs more visible. Other users, such as people with hearing impairment, reading and writing difficulties, tourists or migrants in general, can benefit from the application.

By planting a forest with a total of 1,600 native tree species in Calahorra de Boedo (Province of Palencia), Ineco will offset 573 tonnes of CO₂ equivalent, which represents 6.12% of its carbon footprint for 2019. The initiative was carried out in January in collaboration with the company Reforestum and enabled Ineco to reaffirm its commitment to the fight against climate change and to Sustainable Development Goals 13 and 15 in the 2030 Agenda.

As a transport engineering and consultancy with more than 50 years of history, more than 3,000 highly qualified professionals and a multidisciplinary scope of action spanning five continents, Ineco carries out thousands of engineering, consultancy and building projects every year for all modes of transport.

A few of these stand out: the charitable projects developed by the participants of the IngenioSOS programme and financed entirely by the company. In 2020, in its second edition, it has three new proposals led by as many NGOs, all of them with the Fundación Lealtad seal of transparency. A total of 12 volunteers, professionals in engineering, architecture and computer science, together with one member of the management staff per project, work with a clear objective: to improve the living conditions of different groups of people in communities in Kenya, Ethiopia and Guatemala, with a special focus on children. These projects will directly improve quality of life for more than 23,000 people, and indirectly improve the lives of almost 200,000 people.

The Meki maternal and child health clinic, in Ethiopia.

A detailed look at the 2020 projects

The design and implementation of an online coordination and monitoring system for work with clubs and schools against female genital mutilation (FGM) in Kenya, led by the Kirira Foundation. Established in 2007, this Foundation is dedicated to cooperation for development, the defence of human rights, the promotion of volunteering and the care of people at risk of social exclusion, especially in countries where female genital mutilation is practised.

The project on which Ineco is collaborating is being carried out in the Kirira Foundation’s intervention areas in Kenya: Tharaka, Tangulbei and Abakuria. It consists of the design and development of a mobile management and monitoring application, suitable for tablets and computers, to be used by the anti-FGM clubs of the 86 participating schools and the local partner. Ineco also finances the purchase of mobile devices and advises the NGO on how to provide internet connection to schools.

The project for energy supply for the Meki maternal and child health clinic in Ethiopia, which is run by the Pablo Horstmann Foundation, created in 2007, has already concluded. In Ethiopia, the foundation runs a maternal and child health clinic, a children’s home, a kindergarten and a scholarship programme for orphans. The project in which Ineco is involved has been developed in Meki, a rural town south of Addis Ababa, where the maternal and child health clinic is located, providing care for 18,271 children and 1,166 women. The clinic was opened in 2012 and was upgraded in 2019 with a new maternity and neonatal care unit.

The aim of the project has been to guarantee the electricity supply, which is essential for incubators, monitors, laboratory equipment, cold storage of medicines and vaccines, through the use of a generator. Ineco has prepared a study to improve the energy efficiency of the centre and will provide advice and supervision of the entire process of implementing improvements. The company has also financed the purchase, installation and commissioning of the appropriate generator and the shed that houses it, and has made an additional donation for the acquisition and installation of photovoltaic panels.

The third project of the IngenioSOS 2020 is Clean water and sanitation conditions for indigenous children in the Las Rosas community. El Quiché, Guatemala, led by the Educo Foundation. Since 1994, this NGO has been involved in cooperation for development and humanitarian action for children, especially in the field of education. It is active in Spain and in 12 countries in Africa, America and Asia.

Guatemala is one of the most underdeveloped countries in Central America. The project consists of rehabilitating and improving the sanitary infrastructure of the school in the village of Las Rosas, with a population of just over 1,000. The school, with 160 students, does not have adequate hygiene facilities (washbasins, toilets, wells, etc.), which leads to the spreading of diseases, forcing children to miss classes on a regular basis.

Ineco’s collaboration consists of the design and financing of the project, as well as the drafting of the terms and conditions of the tender for the works and the technical specifications, the hydraulic design of the greywater treatment system and the review of the budget and proposals for materials and equipment. The Educo Foundation, meanwhile, will select the contracting company and provide basic hygiene materials and training sessions for the children aimed at reducing common communicable diseases.

Ineco’s 2019 professional volunteer project for the refurbishment of the Maternity and Paediatric Wards at Bor Hospital in South Sudan has come to a successful conclusion. The project, in collaboration with the NGO Doctors of the World, involved the design and construction of a drainage and water-supply system. The company also donated an ultrasound machine to the hospital, which treats more than 15,000 patients.

Achieving a sustainable environment is one of the most important global challenges. Ineco puts that challenge at the heart of its business, with its customers and staff, as well as with society in general. The company has extensive experience preparing strategic plans and other plans such as urban mobility plans, applying a global perspective and focusing on key aspects such as safety, resilience, equitable access, intermodality and efficiency. The Company’s contribution to the fight against climate change has strengthened in recent years. It has taken part in projects such as Adif’s Fight Against Climate Change Plan, Aena’s Climate Change Strategy and projects in railway energy supply and energy certification for buildings.

Some of the more important projects carried out to improve quality of life of society include strategic noise mapping, investigation of atmospheric and hydrological pollution and acting as technical management on civil engineering projects. It has also made an important contribution to the design of inclusive infrastructure and implementation of many projects involving public participation.

Each year Ineco awards the Environment Prize to the most pro-environment project in the company: 2019’s winning team, Agustín Roldán, Mirela Vladovic and Mirian Pinilla, with Deputy Director Bertrán Visedo. / PHOTO_ELVIRA VILA

Those actions respond to the growing concern within public authorities and the wider community regarding sustainability, in line with the Spanish Sustainable Mobility Strategy (EEMS) of the Ministry of Transport, Mobility and the Urban Agenda, which provides a country-wide framework to foster a low-carbon, lower-energy economic model, following principles of social justice and fair distribution of wealth.

Campaign to reduce the use of plastic cups. / PHOTO_INECO

Staff involvement

In this context, Ineco encourages its staff to care for the environment and be socially responsible, in line with the values and principles that govern the United Nations Global Compact, which it joined in 2008. One example of this are the activities that have taken place over recent years, such as the annual celebration of Environment Week to commemorate World Environment Day, on June 5, including workshops, round-tables, volunteering, competitions and other activities, all based on the themes chosen each year by the UN.

SUSTAINABLE MOBILITY. Ineco currently offers employees discounts on sustainable vehicles and bicycle racks with the intention of encouraging their use when travelling to the workplace. Marcos Moreno, one of the winners of a weekend with an all-electric Renault ZOE in Ineco’s Sustainable Mobility Week competition, which will be held annually. / PHOTO_INECO

Ineco also offers the Environment Prize, an annual award for the most pro-environment project in the company. Winners in recent years include: the installation of brake-energy converter-regenerators at several substations on the conventional rail network (2017), raffling of unneeded IT equipment among the staff (2018), and the creation of the ‘digital twin’ (A-76 Highway) to modernise the environmental management of infrastructure (2019).

Ineco’s environmental impact

Ineco’s Carbon Footprint (tCO2 eq).

In 2019, the company’s carbon footprint dropped to a total of 9,355 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents. That represents a reduction in our carbon footprint from 3.27 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per employee in 2018 to 2.47 tonnes per employee in 2019, and a reduction against turnover from 34.77 tonnes to 30.71 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per euro of turnover.

Reforestation in Gredos

To reduce its environmental impact, fight climate change and contribute to the achievement of the SDGs, Ineco offset part of its carbon footprint in 2019 through the planting of native species of tree such as pine, birch and rowan in Sierra de Gredos Regional Park (Ávila). The 750 trees planted on Monte Orzaduero will absorb a total of 135 tonnes of CO₂ over 40 years*.

*Using figures contained in the Register of Carbon Footprint, Offsetting and CO₂ Absorption Projects kept by the Ministry for Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge.

The amendment of the Spanish Criminal Code means that legal entities, such as Ineco, can be held criminally liable for certain criminal offences, for those actions or omissions in the course of their business carried out by any of their employees, managers or members of their Board of Directors, on its behalf and for its direct or indirect benefit. In order to prevent criminal proceedings from being brought against the company or any of its employees, the company, in accordance with its Standards of Integrity, Transparency and Commitment, has implemented a Programme for the Prevention of Criminal Accusations, or Compliance Programme, the aim of which is to guarantee the duty of vigilance and control in the company, as the only way of protecting itself from possible criminal charges in the event of irregular conduct.

Compliance is the specific function that enables companies to detect and manage the risks of criminal non-compliance with the internal and external regulatory obligations of their business sphere, mitigating the risks of criminal charges and possible penalties or sanctions arising from non-compliance. This function is carried out by means of a series of appropriate procedures and the establishment of policies of actions in certain areas, making it necessary to implement a series of rules and internal controls in the company.

The Organisation and Management Model provides a structure for prevention of infractions through the creation of the Regulatory Compliance Committee (CCN), as well as an obligation to report or denounce, through the creation of the Compliance Channel for complaints or inquiries and a training programme on compliance.  The CCN is made up of six members appointed by the Board of Directors, and is the body responsible for resolving all doubts or queries raised by employees, as well as for investigating complaints about possible prohibited conduct. They operate in confidentially and independently. All members have undergone compliance training in order to enable them to perform their duties more effectively.

The Compliance Channel

Ineco has a Complaints and Queries Channel (Compliance Channel) available on its intranet, where employees can report to the CCN any events or conduct of which they are aware that are suspected to fall outside of the company’s ethical standards and could constitute a criminal offence. Since the implementation of the Compliance Programme, 100% of the staff has been invited to take part in the training programme,  Plan for the Prevention of Criminal Accusations, which is compulsory for all members of the company, including workers, managers and members of the Board of Directors, as well as temporary staff. Specific training has also been introduced for the staff of subsidiaries and branch offices. This Organisation and Management Model applies to Ineco, as a legal entity, as well as to the following individuals: company directors and managers; executives, either individually or as members of a professional association; and workers, regardless of their position or the type of employment contract, including interns and staff provided to the company by temporary employment agencies. In addition to the above, the Organisation and Management Model for the Prevention of Criminal Offences has been extended to Ineco’s suppliers, through the publication on the corporate website of the company’s Catalogue of Prohibited Conduct, and a responsible statement that all suppliers must sign and submit as part of the administrative documentation of each procurement dossier.

Ineco is firmly committed to ethics, and creating a genuine culture of compliance is part of the company’s DNA. Ineco’s Compliance Programme has a dual value: it guarantees respect for legality and trust in its stakeholders, and it is a mechanism for exonerating or mitigating the company’s criminal liability if certain criminal offences are committed by members of the organisation. In its desire for ongoing review and improvement, and within the scope of the objectives set out in the Atenea Strategic Plan, the CCN has proposed two new actions: the implementation of anonymous reporting in the Compliance Channel and the preparation of a statement of responsibility.

Compliance is a culture that not only avoids risks and creates legal certainty, but also helps to improve the company. Ineco is compliance.

The company took stock of its commitment to the United Nations’ Agenda 2030 by holding a conference on 26 February at its headquarters on Paseo de la Habana in Madrid, which was closed by the Secretary General of the Urban Agenda and Housing of the Ministry of Transport, Mobility and the Urban Agenda (MITMA), David Lucas. During the meeting, Ineco’s president, Carmen Librero, presented the main results of the company’s Agenda 2030 Plan over the past year, and highlighted “the enormous commitment” of all participants.

The President explained that the Agenda 2030 Plan is integrated into Atenea, the company’s strategic plan, and reviewed the five action programmes around which it is structured: equality, conciliation, sustainability, solidarity and compliance.  In total, and as certified by an external body, 34 ‘concrete’ actions were carried out in 2019, with a total of 3,435 volunteer hours that have impacted the lives of more than 200,000 people.

Carmen Librero stated that, as a whole, the initiatives included in the five programmes represent “progress towards a fairer and more egalitarian social model”. In addition to reviewing the balance sheet for 2019, the 40 actions planned for 2020 were presented, including the first Equality Week and the second edition of the Mujeres IN programme, Ineco’s carbon footprint offset project, as well as ongoing actions such as collaboration with different NGOs, compliance training for the company’s business partners, the implementation of Plan Concilia, etc.

The Secretary General of the Urban Agenda and Housing of MITMA, David Lucas, highlighted that Ineco’s commitment as a public enterprise to sustainable development in the area of mobility and smart cities is part of “the policies of the Urban Agenda” of the Ministry which should serve, above all, to “improve people’s lives”.

On 4 December, José Luis Ábalos, Minister for Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda, highlighted the realistic and ambitious nature of the Plan and announced the establishment of a monitoring committee to measure its degree of implementation and impact. The Equality Plan introduced by Ineco contains eight sections and includes important initiatives designed to achieve real and effective gender equality.

On several occasions, Ineco’s president has outlined the critical role played by women in the mobility sector, along with her belief that equal opportunities for all genders should form part of the company’s duty and commitment to society. “To believe is to create, and to believe in equality is to create plans and formulas that allow us to advance towards achieving it”, she declared on presenting the initiatives. The Equality Plan will be given continuity within the framework of the company’s commitment to the 2030 Agenda and, in particular, Sustainable Development Goal ‘SDG 5 Gender Equality’.

The Equality Committee, which works to safeguard the principle of equality between men and women, among other objectives. / PHOTO ELVIRA VILA (INECO)

The signing of the updated Equality Plan represents a milestone for the company. It is the result of work carried out within the Equality Committee, which is made up of both company representatives and legal representatives of the company’s employees.

The Committee’s priority was to continue safeguarding the principle of equal treatment and opportunities for men and women at Ineco, in line with the redrafting of Organic Law 3/2007, of 22 March, to include innovative and efficient updated measures for a continued commitment to effective equality between men and women.