Ferrovial enhances living standards for 550,000 people in Latin America, Asia, Africa and Europe

Since 2005, over 550,000 people have experienced a significant improvement in living standards as a result of Ferrovial’s corporate social responsibility programs “Stronger Together”, “Social Infrastructure” and “Social Action in Spain”, in which the company works with NGOs in Latin America, Asia, Africa and Europe. The initiatives, to which close to €10 million have been allocated to date, highlight the company’s aspiration to have a positive impact on the communities in which it operates and on the environment, as well as its contribution to achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.

In 2022, Ferrovial will undertake projects in partnership with NGOs Action Against Hunger, Red Cross, World Vision, Caritas, Fundación Altius and Asociación Harambee to improve access to and quality of water for human consumption, contributing to the fight against food insecurity and poverty and to promoting gender equality.

Social Infrastructure

Ferrovial’s participation in the Social Infrastructure program, which was created in 2008, goes beyond the financial endowment, as it also contributes knowledge and experience to these projects by involving its own employees, who travel to the communities where each project is being implemented. The 125 volunteers who have participated in the Social Infrastructure program to date contributed their expertise to review the designs of the distribution networks in the various projects, as well as dimensioning the water tanks, identifying the best approaches for water treatment and assessing the environmental impacts, among other tasks. The company has allocated over €7 million so far to 34 projects under this corporate responsibility program, which has benefited close to 290,000 people by improving access to water.

In this eleventh round of the program, Ferrovial will work with Action Against Hunger to improve water quality and access in the Santa Rosa, Puyana and Sardinas communities in the municipality of Lebrija, Colombia. As part of this initiative, the company will install three water treatment plants, build three sand filters and refurbish three storage tanks, among other actions, to benefit close to 800 people. This brings to six the number of projects implemented by Ferrovial along the Ruta del Cacao, contributing to the development of eastern Colombia and highlighting the company’s commitment to this community. Overall, Ferrovial has improved living standards for more than 5,700 people in the area.

In partnership with the Red Cross, the company will undertake its first project in South Sudan, to improve access to water for the Um Sangour refugee camp and local communities, benefiting close to 41,000 people. The company will install a photovoltaic system to pump water from the river that supplies the refugee camp and the local community, upgrade the distribution network and water distribution points, and build 30 family latrines. The initiative follows on from those that the company has undertaken in other African countries, such as the Maji ni Uhai (Water is Life) project in Tanzania, which was granted the European Commission’s International Cooperation Award for Sustainable Development.

And in collaboration with World Vision, Ferrovial will improve access to water in the Pratapgarh district in Rajasthan, India, by installing water kiosks, which will enable this resource to be stored and treated. The company will also plant trees and protect surface water sources by installing dams and ponds, which will improve living standards for more than 5,300 people.

Social Action

Social Action in Spain is the corporate responsibility program that the company implemented as a result of the economic crisis, and which has improved access to food for over 7,500 people. With the aim of helping people at social risk, Ferrovial will work with Caritas to adapt new premises and improve meal centers in Bilbao (Basque Country), Tortosa (Tarragona) and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, benefiting almost 600 extremely vulnerable people referred by the social services.

Stronger Together

Created in 2005, Ferrovial Stronger Together is based on the commitment, shared by the company and its employees, to improving living conditions for people at risk of social vulnerability. Ferrovial doubles employees’ contributions. To date, the program has raised nearly €2 million, funding 44 projects.

This year, with Asociación Harambee, which promotes initiatives in Africa, Ferrovial will carry out a project in the Democratic Republic of Congo to fight food insecurity and poverty, and promote gender equality, the rights of women farmers and their autonomy as agents of development in the rural community of Kakulebashike. To this end, it will promote sustainable agriculture through irrigation, training and empowerment of women, by developing four hectares through the installation and maintenance of an irrigation system for 45 women farmers and 15 men farmers, who will receive support for training, farming and marketing.

Another beneficiary this year is Fundación Altius, an NGO that promotes social and employment insertion for the most vulnerable groups in society. With its “Habita Tierra” project, it aims to respond to the rural depopulation in Spain through the repopulation and recovery of the municipality of El Losar del Barco, located in Ávila. The initiative is expected to increase the population by 25%, while promoting economic activity and fostering care for nature.

Ferrovial is a company committed to local communities. Examples of this are the recently launched “Juntos Sumamos por Ucrania” fund for Ukraine, which will be used to send humanitarian and health aid to the population displaced by the armed conflict, and the “Ferrovial Juntos COVID-19” fund, created as a result of the health crisis and endowed with €8.7 million.