Act4nature commitments
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REN has a crucial participation in the energy management system at national level. In continental Portugal we ensure the management of the control systems and the power transmission in very high voltage, and in the area of Natural Gas (NG) we carry out the operation of the systems and the integrated management of the high-pressure transmission, the operation of the Sines terminal, and the underground reserves of NG in the centre of the country. We are also the NG distribution concessionaire in the north coast.
Our commitment, however, goes beyond our mission: all our activities are guided by principles of sustainability, following strict and measurable criteria, respecting standards of excellence, without ever losing sight of the positive impact on the communities and ecosystems with which we work.
REN is thus committed to being an active agent in environmental protection, by implementing reforestation policies, fostering environmental education, preserving biodiversity and defending the rational use of natural resources. REN plays also an active role in the prevention of climate change.
We have taken an active role in the areas of Innovation and Research and, with this goal, we created, over two decades ago, the REN Prize, which seeks to honour the best Master's and PhD theses in the field of energy that are carried out in higher education institutions in Portugal, and the REN's Chair on Biodiversity, in partnership with the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) and with the University of Porto (UP).
REN's membership in act4nature Portugal reflects the importance given to the preservation of biodiversity, with it being one of the most relevant environmental descriptors in the evaluation of the possible impacts of our activities. For this reason, the company's performance in this matter is structured according to several lines of action: identifying the impacts of its activity on biodiversity, involving employees, suppliers and service providers, assessing risks and adopting measures to minimise impacts and supporting nature conservation initiatives.
The commitments defined under act4nature Portugal enable the consolidation and enhancement of the biodiversity management strategy across all of the company's activities, thus contributing to the promotion of biodiversity and ecosystem services.
| SMART Individual Commitments * | Monitoring Indicators | Start | End Date |
| Developing a strategic plan for integrating biodiversity into the company's activities | Strategic plan for integrating biodiversity into the company's activities published on the company's website | 2020-2022 |
| Integrating task forces (TF), work groups (WG) or other equivalent within the scope of biodiversity and ecosystem services | Participation in TF/WG/other equivalent | 2020-2021 |
| Establishing local, regional or global partnerships in projects that have a significant impact on biodiversity (e.g., LIFE) to solve specific problems in line with the company's strategic plan. | Partnerships and corresponding results | 2020-2022 |
| Carrying out/collaborating in sectorial actions to raise awareness regarding Biodiversity, sharing knowledge and good practices adopted. | Carried out and promoted sectorial actions in the area of biodiversity | 2020-2022 |
| Considering the development of an easement-corridor management document to maximise biodiversity and ecosystem services | Published guidelines for ecological management and good practices. Good practices implemented | 2020-2022 |
| Identifying the bird species most affected by collisions with REN's lines | Report and scientific communications | 2020-2022 |
| Carrying out an inventory of the biodiversity present in the supports and in the easement corridors | Results of the inventory published | 2020-2022 |
| Establishing a partnership with CIBO-University of Porto to continue the collaboration initiated in 2015, within the scope of the REN Chair on Biodiversity, seeking to implement a programme of biodiversity research and mitigation of impacts generated by the company | Investment in ES&B research programmes (to be integrated in the calculation of the indicator: investment in ES&B/GVA) | 2020-2022 |
| Ensuring the monitoring or participation of entity/entities and/or specialist(s) in ecology, biology or related sciences, in projects in which their involvement is deemed necessary and an added value to defining and implementing actions that contribute to reducing or mitigating impacts | Projects carried out with teams specialised in ecology, biology or related sciences and their results | Ongoing |
| Investing in the creation of ecological corridors where they are ecologically relevant and within the scope of the infrastructure managed by the company | Investment in ecological corridors / total investment in nature conservation | 2020-2022 |
| Participating in public consultations related to and impacting biodiversity and ecosystem services (e.g., National Strategy for Nature Conservation and Biodiversity) | Public consultations in which the company participat | Ongoing |
| Implementing compensatory measures in situations where the impacts cannot be minimised | Area (ha) and/or Investment (euros) of the implemented compensation measures | Ongoing |
| Raising employee awareness, namely by raising awareness about the importance of biodiversity and ecosystem services | Number of employees who participated in awareness-raising activities | 2020-2022 |
| Promoting employee knowledge, through their participation in environmental volunteering activities or in carrying out local biodiversity inventories | Number of employees who participated in environmental volunteering activities | Ongoing |
| Training employees in good environmental practices to be applied in the company's operations, specifying the contribution to biodiversity | Percentage of employees trained in good environmental practices | Ongoing |
| Fostering the development and implementation of initiatives by employees in favour of biodiversity | Number of employees who participated in biodiversity initiatives | 2020-2022 |
| Investing in projects of scientific entities or other stakeholders that seek nature conservation | Investment in projects of scientific entities for nature conservation (to be integrated in the calculation of the indicator: investment in ES&B/GVA) | 2020-2022 |
| Reporting, annually, in the clearest and most transparent manner possible, the progress in meeting individual commitments | Section for reporting on the evolution of act4nature commitments in the annual sustainability report | Ongoing |