• The project consisted of planting 17,000 trees – which will absorb more than 2,500 tons of CO2 over their lifetime – in an area of 20 hectares.
  • The work has allowed the hiring of 12 people from the Chinchilla area and has required an investment of 60,000 euros.
  • The initiative aims to contribute to the fight against climate change and forms part of the emission reduction commitments of Iberdrola, whose production in Spain is 90% emission-free.

Iberdrola has taken another step forward in its commitment to a sustainable energy and development model that contributes to the fight against global warming and its consequences. Within the framework of its Tree Program, which aims to promote the planting of 20 million trees and absorb 6 million tons of CO2 emissions by 2030, the company, through its Foundation in Spain, has inaugurated the reforestation of the Chinchilla Training Center (CENAD) in Albacete.

The project, which consisted of planting 17,000 trees over an area of 20 hectares, is the third reforestation project undertaken as part of the Bosque Defensa-Iberdrola plan. The seedlings – 80% pines and 20% oaks – come from the nursery “El Sembrador“, which develops agreements with NGOs to support the labor insertion of women at risk of social exclusion. These trees will absorb more than 2,500 tons of CO2 during their lifetime.

Fundación Iberdrola España has hired 12 people, all of them professionals from companies in the Chinchilla area and has invested over 60,000 euros to carry out this work. In addition, over the next two years, these local companies will carry out maintenance and irrigation work on the land.

The inauguration ceremony of the reforestation project was attended by the Director General of Infrastructures of the Ministry of Defense, Luis Cebrián Carbonell; the delegate of the Government of Castilla-La Mancha, Francisco Tierraseca Galdón; the Deputy Minister of Environment in Castilla-La Mancha, Fernando Marchan Morales; the Mayor of Chinchilla, Francisco Morote Alcaraz; the Major General and Chief of the Command of Quartering Management of the Army’s General Inspection  (GEDIACU), Enrique Millán Martínez; and the President of Fundación Iberdrola España, Fernando García Sánchez.

During the ceremony, Fernando García Sánchez, president of Fundación Iberdrola España, said, “the development of the Bosque Defensa – Iberdrola program in collaboration with the different administrations, is an example of the company’s commitment to the promotion and consolidation of a sustainable development model that respects the environment. Reforestation initiatives, such as the one we are inaugurating today in Chinchilla, are part of global projects such as our Tree Program which, along with our decades-long commitment to clean energy, have made Iberdrola a world leader in the fight against climate change“.

On his part, the Deputy Minister of the Environment, Fernando Marchán, highlighted “the importance of the forest heritage of Castilla-La Mancha and its role as an engine for the economic development of rural areas. Initiatives such as this one, in which companies and administrations go hand in hand, show the commitment to the improvement of the natural legacy that we have received and that we will leave to the next generations. The efforts of the regional government of Castilla-La Mancha aim to promote sustainability and the circular economy through measures such as environmental education. In this sense, the Regional Strategy 2030 pursues the involvement of citizens to make our society a leading agent of change”.

Iberdrola Forest Defence

Iberdrola signed in 2018 a collaboration agreement with the Ministry of Defense and the General Directory of Infrastructures for the development of joint initiatives for the improvement, protection, and preservation of the environment in different areas. One of the areas of action highlighted was to preserve the natural environment. To this end, these entities agreed to develop a program for the reforestation of the military maneuvering fields owned by this ministry. Iberdrola, through its Foundation, oversees the carrying out of these works in the lands selected by the administration, with the commitment to undertake one every year.

Fundación Iberdrola España is developing this initiative with several reforestation projects in army maneuvering and firing ranges. Since the signing of the agreement with the Ministry of Defense, the Renedo-Cabezón (Valladolid) and Sierra del Retín (Cádiz) fields have been inaugurated, and currently the Chinchilla field in Albacete. In addition, it has led to the reforestation of the Abies Pinsapo species in the Biosphere Reserve and the Grazalema National Park.

Commitment to decarbonization

Iberdrola started a profound transformation of its business model over 20 years ago, when it opted for a sustainable, safe, and competitive energy model, which would allow it to undertake the fight against global climate change.

Nowadays, Iberdrola group is a benchmark in the fight against climate change – 13th objective of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) – and, alongside the group’s strategy and commitment to reducing its emissions, the company has continued to add renewable capacity during the first half of 2021

In Spain’s specific case, 90% of last semester’s production has been emission-free and 80% at the global level, without a single megawatt/hour produced with carbon between April and June. In countries such as the United Kingdom, Germany, or Portugal, Iberdrola already generates 100% zero-emissions energy.