MORE than 200 leaders and professionals from the public and private sectors recently joined Spanish infrastructure and renewable energy conglomerate ACCIONA for its first-ever Health and Safety Day in the Philippines, where it commemorated the World Day for Safety and Health at Work, held annually to promote the prevention of occupational accidents, diseases, and deaths.
The event covered occupational safety, risk management, emergency response, and applicable technologies, tackled innovative solutions for ensuring employee well-being and reducing work place hazards, while highlighting practical safety skills at work.
As keynote speaker, bestselling author of The Safety Anarchist Sidney Dekker emphasized the importance of work place safety resources and awareness. Other resource persons included representatives from the ACCIONA Group and PERI led by Tseung Kwan O, who is behind the first desalination plant in Hong Kong which supplies the region with 5 percent of its water consumption.
“As a global company that develops and manages sustainable infrastructure and renewable energy solutions spanning the entire value chain, ACCIONA puts the welfare of the planet, the markets we are present in, and our partners at the center of what we do,” Ruben Camba, ACCIONA’s director of Infrastructure in Southeast Asia, said. “In today’s evolving business landscape, we believe that a safe and healthy working environment remains a fundamental principle and right at work. Beyond ensuring our employees’ and subcontractors’ safety and health, we must proactively promote risk-free working environments and a culture of prevention and well-being, leveraging [on] our global learnings and experiences.”
ACCIONA, the first infrastructure and energy company to achieve net-zero carbon emissions globally, has emerged as one of the most extensive construction and water contractors in the country, incorporating modern and sustainable technologies, designs, and innovations in milestone projects, including the Cebu Cordova Link Expressway as part of the consortium of Cebu Link Joint Venture with Metro Pacific Investments Corp., railway lines connecting Malolos with Clark International Airport, the drinking water treatment plant or DWTP-Putatan II in Muntinlupa for Maynilad Water Services, and the DWTP-Laguna Lake with a target final treatment capacity of 150,000 cubic meters per day. Said projects have employed more than 5,000 local workers.
Beyond its infrastructure projects, the company is committed to social responsibility in the Philippines by establishing its corporate foundation, acciona.org, which aims to provide safe, affordable and sustainable access to energy, water, and sewerage systems to disadvantaged communities.