BEFESA

Befesa adheres to the Basque Government’s "Stop CO2 Euskadi" initiative

The Basque Office for Climate Change has presented the "Stop CO2 Euskadi" initiative aimed at securing the commitment of public administrations, companies and citizens to reducing greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere and, thus, fight climate change.

The objectives of the initiative are to sensitize and train society’s different groups in relation to the problems of climate change; provoke active participation of the entire population of the Basque Region in the different initiatives and activities developed from within "Stop CO2 Euskadi"; recognize and encourage exemplary behavior in the fight against climate change, thereby promoting its development within society while also fostering the birth of other actions; and ensure the Basque Region becomes a reference in the fight against climate change.

To this end, the website www.stopCO2euskadi.net has been created as an action platform equipped with different tools and applications. The site will provide all the associated entities with information and training on matters relating to climate change and on the key actions to be taken to achieve reduction of emissions.

The project was presented by the minister for the Environment and Territorial Planning, Esther Larrañaga, and Xavier Caño, as coordinator of the Basque Office for Climate Change, at a ceremony held on January 15, in Bilbao, during which the adhesion document was signed by the promoting bodies, collaborating entities, and plus partners.

Among the entities that have adhered to the "Stop CO2 Euskadi" initiative are several Basque Government departments, the three county councils and the City Councils of Bilbao, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Balmaseda, Tolosa, Amurrio, and Areatza. As regards companies that have joined the initiative as plus partners, these include Befesa Zinc Aser (represented by Asier Zarraonandia at the signing ceremony), the Basque Water Board, Cespa, Eroski, Iberdrola (Energy production in the BRAC), Metro Bilbao, Fagor Electrodomésticos S. Coop and Euskotren, among others.

The commitments of the plus partner companies are:

• To elaborate an initial inventory of company emission sources and GHG emissions.
• Verify the emissions report.
• Design and implement an Action Plan to diffuse and foster CO2 reduction measures within the company and its environment.
• Donate resources to the "Stop CO2 Euskadi" Initiative in the form of prizes that recognize emissions reduction actions or the participation of citizens of the BRAC in this Initiative.
• Inform, annually, the Technical Secretary of "Stop CO2 Euskadi" of the development of actions, compliance with objectives, possible incidents and, in general, provide any information of interest in relation to meeting of the adopted commitments.
• Inform, in a timely manner, on the initiatives or actions being developed by the company, which, in its opinion, represent a novelty worthy of mention in the initiative’s website.
• Renew, on an annual basis, the verified inventory and the action plan.

For Befesa, adherence to this initiative reaffirms its public commitment to contributing to, in its area of influence, dissemination, awareness of, training and mitigation in the fight against climate change to allow commencement of consolidation of a less carbon-dependent socioeconomic model.