GRI Renewable Industries publishes its 2022 Sustainability Report with a generative artificial intelligence assistant for employees

• GRI joins the group of pioneering companies by incorporating a generative artificial intelligence tool for its employees to access the content of the Sustainability Report.
• Through the Sustainability Report, GRI communicates relevant information to its stakeholders, meets regulatory reporting requirements and identifies areas for improvement in sustainability.
• New Flanges factory developed under the “Green Cycle Industry” model, which means a substantial reduction in energy consumption and a 100% recycled steel supply.

Madrid, 27 April 2022.

GRI Renewable Industries joins the group of pioneering companies by implementing a generative artificial intelligence tool for its employees in the 2022 sustainability report. This tool has been developed in the framework of the strategic alliance with Microsoft, within the Digital Workplace project. The virtual assistant, which is based on Microsoft Azure OpenAI services, stands out for its focus on privacy and the protection of the company’s data and information, as it has been designed to work in a private and secure environment, thus guaranteeing the confidentiality of the information processed, which is for internal use only.

The GRI Renewable Industries Sustainability Report 2022 has been presented today. GRI publishes its Sustainability Report with the aim of presenting its Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) performance to its stakeholders in a balanced and transparent manner.

The Report incorporates the guidelines set out in the Global Reporting Initiative GRI Standard (GRI-Standards), the Sustainable Development Goals and the result of the new Materiality Study conducted by the company.

The following is a summary of the most relevant information.

Environment (ASG):

In the Environmental Dimension, GRI’s commitment to climate change is reflected in the “Carbon Neutral 2030/50 Plan”, a roadmap to achieve zero net emissions by 2050, following the criteria established by the SBTi. This is an example of GRI’s concrete commitment to the environment, in particular to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.

With this plan, it is committed to consuming 100% of electricity from renewable sources and reducing 50% of fossil fuel emissions by 2030.

In 2022, direct emissions and electricity consumption increased by 1.7% compared to the previous year, mainly due to the start-up of a new Flanges factory. Of note is the purchase of electricity from renewable sources in the group’s Spanish factories, whose electricity consumption has become 100% renewable, which has led to a 5% reduction in electricity emissions (Scope 2).

In 2022, the company manufactured more than 1,750 towers, which, once in operation, contributed to the reduction of more than 733,000 tonnes of CO₂. In the area of biodiversity protection and reforestation, three reforestations were carried out in 2022, with a total of 2,000 trees planted, which, depending on the different species and their capacity to absorb and store CO₂, are estimated to absorb a total of 21.2 tonnes CO₂ /year. Considering the project since its inception, a total of 14,105 trees have been planted, with a cumulative absorption capacity of 147 tonnes of CO2/year.

In terms of Circular Economy, the commissioning of a new flange factory in China, under the “Green Cycle Industry” model, represents a significant advance in the efficiency of resource consumption in this factory. Under this model, energy consumption is substantially reduced, while the raw material used by the factory comes from 100% recycled material. In relation to the Group’s raw material supply, mainly steel, 48% will come from recycled material in 2022.

Social Security (ASG):

It collects the most relevant information related to people, health and safety and social action.

GRI’s workforce is made up of 4,728 in-house professionals (4,121 in 2021), an increase of 13%.

than in the previous year. In 2022, the “People Growing Together” project was launched, a new people model aligned with the company’s Strategic Plan. Taking the employee life cycle as a reference, People Growing Together encompasses nine areas where talent management takes centre stage.

One of the hallmarks of GRI Renewable Industries is the geographical distribution of its factories, specifically aimed at meeting the needs of domestic markets, playing a very important role in boosting the local economy, with 98% of the workforce being of local origin. In 2022, the company invested more than 196 million euros.

In addition, the company developed 16 social action initiatives focused on: education, economic development and social welfare.

Government (ASG):

Activity in 2022 has focused on two areas: monitoring the Compliance Model and improving risk identification and management through new data analysis tools.

In the area of recognition, the CDP, an organisation focused on climate change ratings, awarded GRI a CDP B rating for transparency of information and performance on emissions.