Applus+ IDIADA: Environmental performance in 2021
Globally, 2021 was a year in which IDIADA's activity continued to be affected, although not as much as in 2020, by the ups and downs linked to the health crisis resulting from COVID-19, alternating periods of high activity with others in which the presence of clients was lower.
As a result, onsite hours worked were similar to 2020 (with a slight increase), far from the figures achieved in 2019. In addition, with the arrival of the "new-normal situation", some areas have continued to combine onsite and remote work.
In relation to teleworking, only part of the staff was able to opt for this mode, as testing work in the laboratories and workshops remained in the onsite mode.
Within the different activities of the company, those carried out onsite in laboratories and workshops have the greatest impact on the indicators, consuming an important part of the resources and generating a high percentage of the company's waste.
It is for all these reasons that some of the environmental indicators, being referenced to the total number of onsite hours worked, are still considerably higher than the trend followed in previous years.
On the other hand, if we compare them with the data for 2020, the year in which the pandemic began, there has been a slight decrease in most of them.
Each of these indicators is detailed below:
Water consumption
The activities of IDIADA 1, IDIADA 2 and Les Planes require the use of a significant volume of water. This water has two origins:
- Water from IDIADA’s own wells
- Water from external sources
The main uses of this water are as follows:
- Irrigation of vegetation and landscaped areas
- Braking, fatigue, ramps and wet handling tracks
- Toilets, changing rooms and kitchen
- Testing machines and cooling towers
Of these water uses, several of them continued to operate despite the decrease in hours worked onsite.
For example, the testing machines and cooling towers continued to operate to service the work being carried out at the facilities. Also, on the tracks there was a considerable consumption despite a lower presence of customers compared to 2019.
In the period from 2016 to 2019, as shown in the graph, there was a downward trend in water consumption per working hours, largely due to the implementation of measures to improve water efficiency.
However, although water consumption in absolute value was lower than in previous years, this trend changed in 2020 due to the decrease in the onsite hours worked as a result of COVID-19. In 2021, there were more onsite hours worked than in the previous year and a decrease in the ratio of water consumed per onsite hours worked.
The evolution of the absolute value of water consumption is shown below.
No new measures to reduce water consumption were implemented in 2021, but other measures already implemented, such as regular monitoring of the meter network for early detection of possible leaks, were continued.
Generation of waste
In 2021, in total figures, the daily activity of IDIADA 1, IDIADA 2 and Les Planes generated 0,45 kg per onsite hour worked, of which 0,18 kg corresponded to hazardous waste and 0,27 kg to non-hazardous waste, all of which was managed by authorized companies.
Looking at these data in detail, the waste associated with laboratory tests, which is the company's main source of waste generation, remained in similar quantities to previous years.
On the other hand, waste associated with the presence of people, such as paper and kitchen waste, decreased.
Finally, as a consequence of the health crisis and as a preventive measure, PPE such as masks, gloves and seat covers have been used. The use of these items has also led to an increase in waste of this type.
All waste generated at IDIADA is segregated at source according to its nature to facilitate its management. Of the total waste generated, 87% has been recovered.
In a year in which the health crisis has remained present, and with the intention of achieving a correct segregation of waste, several internal communications were sent to all employees with guidelines to follow for the proper management of virus protection equipment waste (masks, gloves, protective seat covers, etc.).
In addition, the information actions on waste management for customers, initiated in 2018, have been continued, also including information on COVID19 waste.
Atmospheric emissions
The nature of the activity carried out at IDIADA involves the use of various types of fuels, including: petrol, diesel, LPG and LNG, which results in the emission of CO2 into the atmosphere.
The chart below shows that fossil fuel consumption has returned to pre-pandemic levels, even though the number of onsite hours worked is lower. The main reason for this is the increased testing of electric vehicles using different energy sources.
Electricity consumption
Throughout 2021, IDIADA continued its policy of reducing electricity consumption in its facilities by implementing the following measures:
- The installation of network analysers in main panels and more efficient VRV-type air-conditioning equipment, screw compressors with inverter technology, with remote management for improved control, continues in new buildings.
- Replacement of fluorescent tubes no longer in use with similar, more efficient ones.
- Changes in lighting for new technologies, such as LEDs, for example.
As in 2020, the growth of electric vehicle testing has experienced significant growth. This is why IDIADA is continuously adapting its facilities to be able to offer customers the most advanced services and technologies. Throughout 2021, new charging points were installed in some of the customer boxes in order to meet the needs of their tests.
In addition, during 2021, the testing of electric motors on IDIADA's test benches continued at a normal pace. These benches are associated with numerous auxiliary equipment with high electricity consumption.
Comparing the ratio of electricity consumption per onsite hours worked in 2021 with 2020, a slight decrease can be observed, favoured by the increase in hours worked.
In terms of the absolute value of electricity consumption, the consumption figure for 2021 is practically the same as in 2020.
As in the case of the water indicator, many of the testing machines, cooling towers and air-conditioning units have an operation that is hardly affected by the increase or decrease in onsite working hours, as they work constantly.
Environmental management programme
Continuous improvement is a basic pillar on which IDIADA's environmental policy is based. That is why we continue to work on the implementation of measures to improve the company's environmental performance.
For this purpose, several objectives have been established for the year 2022, which are detailed below:
Objective 1: To reduce by 2% the tonnes of waste from electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) generated (LER 200136) by the number of onsite hours worked with respect to the value obtained in 2021.
In order to achieve this, tasks will be carried out to recover equipment in good condition in order to hand them over to entities that will be responsible for giving them a second useful life. In this way, the aim is to reduce the amount of electronic and electrical waste.
Objective 2: Collection of data on m3 discharged/month at the Braking Track and study of the technical and economic viability of options to reduce it.
During 2022, measuring equipment will be installed to measure the amount of water discharged into the braking track and possible technical solutions to reduce it will be studied. This objective, if the technical and economic feasibility analysis allows it, will be continued in 2023, with the implementation of modifications to reduce it.
Objective 3: To reduce Scope 2 emissions by 12% in the total BU of IDIADA compared to the same emissions of the previous year.
This will be achieved by promoting the purchase of energy from renewable sources.
Furthermore, the degree of achievement of the objectives set for 2021 is detailed below:
Objective 1: Reduce the tonnes of paper consumed per number of hours worked by 3% compared to the value obtained in 2020.
Thanks to measures such as the installation of an individualised printing system in each of the printers or the default implementation of double-sided printing, a significant reduction in the generation of paper as waste was achieved.
Objective 2: Achieve an average of 3.9 points out of a total of 4 in the quarterly audits of IDIADA's waste areas.
To meet this objective, specific training sessions were held for new employees with waste manager functions in their respective departments, in addition to reinforcement communications on the tasks to be performed by these managers.
Objective 3: Implementation of the environmental management system according to ISO 14001:2015 at BU Germany.
The implementation of the integrated environmental management system at BU Germany was finally achieved after identifying the environmental aspects, implementing the operational control indicators for the most relevant ones and the evaluation of all of them, as well as their respective compliance with the applicable legal requirements.