The Non-Financial Report (EINF 2022) published by Sorigué shows how sustainability, among other principles, constitutes a fundamental part of the business group’s strategy.

As a result of the objectives set out in the framework of the group’s Strategic Plan, this sustainability has been reinforced in its social area through the development of inclusion policies and the implementation of various Equality, Governance and Human Rights Plans.

Aside from detailing the milestones reached in various business areas, the EINF 2022 also confirms the crucial role of environmental sustainability within the group through actions such as the acquisition of the Portuguese energy company Sunenergy.  In a year with a turnover of more than 740 million euros, Sorigué was in a strong position to face the challenges of its sector thanks to a balanced distribution of customers from both the public and private sectors.

People at the heart of the action

Forming inclusive and diverse teams has been a major priority for the group, as reflected by its achievements over the past year. 
These efforts have been rewarded by the renewal of its Bequal Foundation seal, which recognises good practices in the hiring of people with disabilities. In 2022, Soriqué improved the levels it achieved in 2021 and obtained the Bequal Plus certification as a result of its policies that exceeded the quotas established by Spanish law and implemented a specific guidance service. With this balance, the group has expanded its options to obtain the highest classification in the next certification process.

In terms of gender policies, the approval of the 15 Equality Plans that were under negotiation constituted a significant leap forward in the provision of gender-based work opportunities in its various business areas.

As shown in the report, of the 4,762 people working for Sorigué in 2022, 18% were women. This is highly significant considering that the average employment rate for women in the construction sector is just over 9%. The group has also made advances in the development and application of a protocol against sexual and gender-based harassment, which was ratified in 2022.

In terms of governance, the EINF 2022 focused on consolidating corporate governance based on the corporate compliance structure, a risk-management system that, in this case, transcends the criminal sphere and opts for a comprehensive model.

This commitment to people naturally extends to the protection of human rights. The group has pre-empted the law that will mandate corporate due diligence to develop its own supplier assessment system. With this in mind, it has performed reviews on 110 active operations and provided more than 180 hours of training for group employees on procedure policies.

Prioritising environmental sustainability

As part of its commitment to innovation in processes and materials that contribute towards decarbonisation, the EINF 2022 details the acquisition of the Portuguese renewable energy company Sunenergy, which specialises in the installation of solar panels for self-consumption.

This new addition to the group will enable it to reinforce its Energy Division and its commitment to sustainable transport through the marketing of charging stations for electric vehicles.

The report also highlights the group’s circular economy projects, an area that encompasses various technical and research initiatives within the corporation. One of the most notable projects within this sphere is the renovation of roads and motorways using cold recycling, a technique that recycles 100% of the existing paving and asphalt at ambient temperature to reduce energy consumption.

The group’s efforts in this area were consolidated when it obtained environmental licences for its facilities designed to evaluate construction waste, such as those in Sant Andreu de la Barca, Barcelona and Balaguer (Lleida). Also within this sector, the report highlights the construction waste evaluation centre in Tarragona, which processes concrete from the old sleepers on the Mediterranean Corridor tracks to obtain aggregates that can be reused in the railway industry.

Sorigué was also a finalist in the Barcelona City Council’s contest to redesign the city’s paving tiles according to sustainability criteria. This project involved the participation of various divisions within the group and several external partners to come up with a tile that optimised the necessary resources for its production and incorporated recycled materials into its composition.

Innovation and projects with national impact

The report also detailed how the group has developed a number of significant projects in 2022, such as the construction of the new CaixaForum headquarters in Valencia or the La Escocesa Smart building in Barcelona. These works helped to consolidate the group as a benchmark for large-scale construction projects and services at a national level.

In the long list of contracts executed by Sorigué over the past year, of particular note is the dismantling of the old Compostilla thermal power plant in León, a complex project that required significant work from the specialist team, or the reinforcement of the structure of the Santa Eulalia Siphon Bridge that crosses Las Marismas del Río Odiel in Huelva, a Biosphere Reserve, for which we needed to create an innovative scaffolding system to carry out the works without the risk of environmental impact.

Sorigué maintained its commitment to promote initiatives that further its progress towards decarbonisation in its various production activities. It finalised five innovation projects in 2022 with this goal in mind and there are another 18 in progress that aim to better take advantage of resources, reduce waste and create new sustainable materials.

With the financial support of various regional and national programmes, along with the Next Generation funds from the European Union, the Sorigué group’s R&D projects were able to move forward thanks to an open innovation strategy based on partnerships with leading research centres, universities, technological centres and start-up companies.