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The environment
FCC Construcción is aware of the effect the sector has on the natural surroundings. For this reason, since the year 2000, the company has established the company strategy of implementing practices which respect the environment and which go beyond strict compliance with the regulations, since the construction activities interact, although temporary and not especially dangerously with different elements of the environment: air, water, soil, atmosphere, surroundings and bio-diversity.
To this end, the company has an environmental management system which has the UNE-EN ISO 14.001:2004 certificate and is integrated in the General Management System of the company and is applied in all the works and work centres.
See environmental communication
Good pratices
Good environmental practices fall into the following fields:
1.Relationship with Society
( Training, Personal Behaviour, Communication and Acknowledgement)
For a construction company, the key to smooth business operation is our relationship with people. Training, service for the people surrounding us, the experiences we share and learn from are all things that shape how we interact with our environment and key factors in the end result of what we do.
Practical Cases
2. Atmospheric Emissions
Moving large quantities of earth, driving machinery and demolishing buildings and other structures are the main causes of emissions of dust and particles.
Some of the good practices we most often implement at our sites consist in sprinkling roads and waste heaps to keep down the dust raised by passing machinery and the work going on at the site. Good machinery maintenance is fundamental.
Practical Cases
3. Noise and Vibrations
Noise is a temporary problem whose intensity level varies. Our efforts against noise and vibrations are basically measures that either lead directly to lower noise levels or lead indirectly to less nuisance for the local people or animals by taking account of their schedules, customs and regular habits.
Practical Cases
Dual Carriageway A-4, the “Autovía del Sur”. New Roadway Through Despeñaperros
4. Water Dumping
Water is a highly valuable resource, and the impact caused by FCC Construcción’s activities runs the gamut from water consumption to the occupation of river banks, stream diversion and wastewater dumping.
Our measures are aimed at enhancing our efficiency of water use and reducing associated dumping.
Practical Cases
5.Land Occupation and Soil Pollution or Loss
Land is a non-renewable resource in the short- and medium-term view and is characterised by its great vulnerability. For this reason it is highly important to use measures to reduce the impact we have on land and soil.
Some of the foremost measures we take are to restore areas where temporary construction facilities have been located and to limit site access and occupation.
Practical Cases
Badalona Marina and Fishing Port
6. Use of Natural Resources
Our business has to face the need to optimise our resource use. Not all the resources we consume can be chalked up to the actual building phase, where we process the materials required by the project’s design; we can also optimise our application of resources by managing waste wisely and averting needless losses due to improper storage.
Practical Cases
7.Waste Creation
The waste created during construction is one of the main environmental problems of building, because construction waste contributes largely to environmental degradation. In addition to this fact, dumping space is running short and resource consumption needs to be optimised. For these reasons it is vital to carry out good waste management, identify what waste our work is going to create and forecast the quantity of waste that will have to be dealt with.
Practical Cases
Siete Aguas-Bunyol High-Speed Train
8. Land Use Planning: (biological diversity, urban environment)
In addition to abiotic factors (water, atmosphere, soil), the construction sector also has a clear impact on biotic factors, such as the plant and animal species living in the environment where the construction site is located. Biodiversity conservation is another one of the big environmental challenges that hold FCC Construcción’s concern. The measures we apply aim especially at the physical protection of local species, moving species and adjusting our work schedules to better accommodate different species’ life cycles. In addition FCC frequently institutes practices enabling us to interfere as little as possible in the community’s daily life, such as avoiding spreading dirt when entering and leaving the site and facilitating access when we have no choice but to occupy sidewalks or streets.
List of Protected Species at Our Sites
Practical Cases
