Safety and the environment in the manufacturing of chemicals
Repsol’s cultural values serve as a guide to make all our decisions and actions contribute to build a better future. It is one of the commitments we have made to our customers, shareholders, employees, suppliers and, of course, society.
Safety above all
Safety in all activities is the commitment of everyone who works at Repsol. Therefore all the petrochemical complexes and production plants or packaging and logistics centres run by Repsol’s Chemicals Division use rigorous safety management systems which are certified OHSAS 18001.2009 (Occupational Health and Safety Assessment Series).
Our safety standards at Repsol’s Chemicals are based on:
- Promoting a safety culture that encourages a proper risk awareness, transparency and confidence in reporting, continuous learning and innovation.
- High qualification of our staff: continuous training schemes for our own teams and training requirements for our outsourced staff
- Systematic risk analysis beginning with design and involving the implementation of best practices and international standards; and continuing in all our production and maintenance operations.
- Coordination with contractors through working committees and periodic safety meetings.
- Establishing a continuous improvement process through field supervision and safety audits.
- Implementation and training schemes for contingencies and emergencies.
Our goal is to operate without accidents and to preserve the safety and health of our staff as well as the environment in which we work.
Making progress toward our net zero emissions by 2050 commitment
The aim of our Safety, Health and Environment Policy is to minimize the impact on the environment and the effects on climate change, respecting biodiversity and local communities.
All our Repsol’s Chemicals Division operating centres have environmental management systems certified according to UNE EN ISO 14001: 2004, involving more stringent commitments than those established by law in each place. Their purpose is to reduce and manage environmental risks and promote the most efficient use of natural resources. We review these programmes each year and adapt them to achieve the objectives set.
Our goal is to:
- Minimize odors and noise emissions.
- Reduce the pollutant content of waste.
- Minimize waste, and its proper segregation and management.
- Proper management of biodiversity.
- Optimize consumption of natural resources.
- Reduce greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions and improve energy efficiency.
Proof of all this is Repsol’s signature of the historic Treaty of Paris on December 12th, 2015, "Paris pledge for action", by which we support and work for our company to be a part of the solution to the climate change problem. With the same objective we have joined OGCI (Oil and Gas Climate Initiative), in which, along with ten other companies in the sector, we coordinate our actions and intensify our investments to combat climate change.
We recognize that the objective of limiting the increase in global temperature of the planet to 2ºC is a challenge for society and we accept our part in this challenge.
The Chemical area of our complexes in Tarragona (2015), Puertollano (2013), and Sines (2016), has implemented an Energy Management System according to the requirements indicated in the International Standard ISO 50001. This system is dedicated to developing and implementing our organization’s energy policy, as well as manage the energy aspects of our activities, products or services. The objective is to increase and improve our energy efficiency based on systems’ implementation aimed at continuous energy performances improvement and thus contribute to a more efficient and sustainable use of energy.
We also consider it a priority to participate and collaborate with specialized sectorial associations and organizations such as FEIQUE or CEFIC, among others, in order to ensure that our activity is in line with the industry’s best practices.
Our commitment is to earn the trust of the societies in which we are present by understanding their needs and displaying a behavior which is attuned to their well-being.
Toward a circular economy
Circular economy is at the core of our Chemicals Business strategy and serves as the basis for our operations. We pursue a production model that makes full use of resources and generates the least amount of waste. Thanks to that, we produce materials that, in addition to being 100% recyclable, can be used to provide the products needed by society such as healthcare materials, packaging, automotive components, furniture, among others.
These materials, which incorporate a certain percentage of recycled materials in their composition, can be used repeatedly giving them a second life and making them more efficient and sustainable.