8 Projects Of Environmentally Friendly Companies

8 Environmentally Friendly Business Projects

Climate change, water scarcity, and greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere from transport and industry will increase the global number of deaths and people exposed to vulnerable conditions, according to the United Nations Organization (UN).

In response to these threats, some companies implement measures to reduce their environmental impact, which has gone from being just a reputational factor to a market factor.

Data from the Global Alliance for Sustainable Investments reveal that more and more investors allocate more resources to funds that incorporate companies with sustainability criteria. In the United States, private equity funds that consider factors of social responsibility (including environmental responsibility) went from 301 funds with assets of 132,000 million dollars (million dollars) to 336 funds with assets of 224,000 million dollars from 2012 to 2014.

An example in Mexico was the creation in 2011 of the Sustainability Index on the Mexican Stock Exchange, which today is made up of 34 companies that have been rated mainly for their management and use of natural resources, social responsibility, and corporate governance.

On the occasion of World Environment Day, promoted by the United Nations to encourage action and awareness for the environment, CNN Expansion presents eight investments made by some of the most sustainable companies in Mexico, according to the aforementioned index.

1. Bimbo

Grupo Bimbo, one of the largest bakeries in the world, invested 20 million pesos (mp) in the construction of an Ecological Sales Center in Mexico City.

Inaugurated in 2013, this center receives vehicles whose useful life cycle is about to end and are converted into electric cars by Grupo Bimbo engineers.

2. Femsa

In 2014, the bottling company invested 355 million pesos in programs that benefit communities in the areas of a healthy lifestyle, community development, and sustainable supply.

Among the initiatives is the use of biofuel in one of its plants (Planta Apizaco) that generates steam, which saves fuel. In 2014 the company replaced the use of more than 175,000 liters of diesel.

3. Coke

The Coca-Cola system in Mexico, made up of Coca-Cola de México, Arca Continental, Bebidas Refrescantes de Nogales, Bepensa, and Coca-Cola Femsa, among other bottlers, has invested more than 125 million dollars in the development and installation of recycling infrastructure.

Its IMER recycling plants, the first in Latin America, and PetStar, the largest in the world, have the combined capacity to process 90,000 tons a year.

What they seek is to develop packaging that uses a greater amount of recycled materials, integrates strong renewable resources in its manufacturing, and makes the manufacturing and recycling process more efficient. Petar can recycle 65,000 tons of PET equivalent to 3,100 million bottles and 2.4 times the Azteca Stadium.

4. Soriana

Soriana Organization, with the Mexican company GEMEX, announced this Thursday the construction of two wind farms in Gemez, Tamaulipas with a total investment of more than 130 million dollars for each project.

The electrical energy from its projects will be used by Soriana in the following 20 years as part of an agreement to supply sustainable energy to 311 stores of the chain’s different formats.

The energy generated from these two wind farms is equivalent to 14% of the energy produced by the state of Tamaulipas today, similar to taking 58,000 cars off the road in a year.

5. Cemex

Cemex, together with Fisterra Energy and private investors, financed the construction of the Ventika Wind Farm with an investment of 650 million dollars.

Currently, 14.6% of Cemex’s electricity consumption comes from renewable energy. In 2014, 94% of its cement plants consumed alternative fuels, nine of these have exceeded the 50% rate of alternative fuels and five are above 65%.

This achievement represents annual savings of 135 million dollars and avoids emissions of almost 8 million tons of CO2. This is comparable to avoiding the average annual emissions of 1.5 million vehicles.

6. Alpha

Alfa, a conglomerate of petrochemical companies, aluminum auto parts, refrigerated foods, information technologies, and hydrocarbons, invested 41 million dollars in environmental programs and actions last year.

In terms of emissions, from 2006 to 2014, Alfa’s total production grew 81% in millions of tons of product, while its ratio of total CO2 emissions per ton produced decreased by 44%. In addition, it reduced its water consumption by 9% in 2014 through liquid recovery and reuse systems. This saving is equivalent to the consumption of 3,100 Mexican households for one year.

7. Kimberly Clark

The sum of the investments and expenses generated in caring for the environment amounted to 17.9 million dollars last year. As part of its achievements, for the fourth consecutive year, it has sent 100% of its sludge to co-processing through synergies with the cement industry, avoiding its final disposal in landfills.

Co-processing is the environmentally safe integration of waste from industry or known source into another production process.

8. Walmart

Last year, Walmart made environmental investments of 257 million pesos to generate energy efficiency. In 2014, it reduced carbon dioxide emissions per square meter of construction by 6.4% in Mexico. Issues grew by a third of the increase in the sales floor.

In addition, in January of this year, in alliance with BMW Group Mexico, the Federal Electricity Commission and Schneider Electric, and Walmar, the first public charging stations were installed in four Walmart stores in the Valley of Mexico, to provide access and comfort to users of vehicles with low ecological impact while visiting its shopping centers in Interlomas, Perisur, Taxquea, and Toreo.