At Canal de Isabel II we manage a scarce natural resource that is essential for life: water. So, it should come as no surprise if we say that the environment is in our DNA, it is the backbone of our activity. Environmental protection is part of our mission as a company, which is why we could not let this 5th June pass without giving a little nod to the day we are celebrating today: World Environment Day.

Since we were founded as a company, we have always made a special effort to ensure that our processes fly the sustainability flag. Therefore, we optimise the use of natural, energy resources and raw materials. And, of course, we adopt preventive measures to contribute to the conservation of the environment and, in particular, of bodies of water. But what exactly are these actions we are carrying out? Let's go over some of them briefly.

•    Healthy rivers objective: we purify enough water to fill more than 400 Bernabéus every year.

Imagine the Santiago Bernabéu stadium overflowing with water. Well, with all the wastewater we treat annually we could fill it up 444 times. This is one of our vital tasks: to safeguard rivers from pollution and return the water to them in the best conditions.

We are responsible for purifying the wastewater generated by more than 6 million Madrid residents and the region's industries. For this reason, last year we cleaned up and discharged 444.25 cubic hectometres of purified water into the rivers, meeting the required parameters. 

Even surpassing them many times. In some of our facilities we subject the purified water to further treatment that improves its quality and, consequently, that of the rivers in which it is discharged. In addition, this especially valuable purified water, which we call regenerated water, can be used for things other than human consumption, such as watering green areas or golf courses. In this way, we avoid consuming drinking water and preserve the natural resource.

•    Circular economy: we give new life to much of the waste generated in the water cycle processes.

Due to the special nature of our work and the processes we carry out, we have to deal with large amounts of waste and by-products in our facilities. Far from being a problem, for us it presents an opportunity. The goal is to reuse, recycle and revalue it.

For example, last year more than 425,000 tonnes of sludge were generated in our treatment plants and these, once dried and stabilised, became 96,000 tonnes of usable dry matter. 

Of these tons, 64,000 had a direct agricultural use as fertiliser, just over 3,000 were composted and some 29,000 were subjected to a thermal drying process. The latter not only allows this sludge to be dried to produce fertiliser or compost, but also, during the drying process, electrical energy is generated to cover the energy demand of the plant in which it is dried. This surplus is delivered to the network. Thanks to these sludge treatment facilities, 57 % of sludge was revalued in 2019. The goal is to reach 70 % in 2022.  

•    Towards decarbonisation: in 2019 we will prevent the emission of some 26,000 tonnes of CO2 thanks to the generation of clean energy in our facilities

We are the leading company in our sector, and in the Autonomous Community of Madrid overall, in the production of renewable and highly efficient energy, with an installed park that exceeds 100 megawatts. Last year we surpassed our historic record for electricity generated with 363.9 million kilowatt hours, equivalent to 77 % of our total consumption. 

The way Canal takes advantage of energy is one of our best weapons against climate change, since it allows us to mitigate carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere. Not surprisingly, last year our clean energy generation managed to prevent the emission of some 26,000 tonnes of CO2. But we want to go further.

Our future plans include an ambitious goal: to become the first European company in the integrated water cycle to be fully self-sufficient in terms of energy. 

From hydraulic to photovoltaic energy, including cogeneration with biogas or even geothermal energy, we have doubled our commitment to renewable energy to achieve a very important goal with the environment: to achieve 100 % self-consumption with clean or highly efficient energy sources. 

Ultimately, no environmental policy can ignore water care and, therefore, no step of our activity can ignore the environment. Reducing, reusing and recycling waste; implementing circular economy actions, generating renewable energy in our processes, or working to achieve more responsible water consumption are just some of the actions with which we combine our integrated water cycle management and environmental care. Because when we take care of water, we take care of everyone and everything.