Sustainability

Corporate Social Responsibility

In recent years, Adif Alta Velocidad has evolved from a business model in which corporate social responsibility played a relevant but complementary role, and sometimes separated from the entity's strategy, to a model in which the corporate responsibility and sustainability strategy is equivalent to the business strategy. Consequently, the firm's whole strategy and operations must be based on our responsibility as a company to society, contributing to a truly sustainable development model.

In this way, Adif Alta Velocidad not only tries to provide an effective response to the demands and expectations of our most direct stakeholders; it also seeks to contribute to specific sustainable development goals in accordance with the 2030 Agenda designed by the United Nations and present in public policies promoted by the Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility and the Spanish Government.
Sustainability policy 
The Boards of Directors of Adif and Adif AV have approved the sustainability policy of both entities, thus demonstrating the commitment of senior management to sustainability.

This policy is based on the Strategic Plan, which is part of the Sustainability pillar, with the aim of facilitating and directing the response of companies to the different environmental, social, operational and business challenges that we face, with the ultimate goal of contributing to the achievement of the objectives that must be achieved in terms of sustainable development.

Forums on Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability.

  • This groups together all Spanish entities affiliated with the United Nations Global Compact. It is the world's largest corporate sustainability initiative.
  • A leading organization in sustainability and corporate social responsibility. Representative of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) in Spain.
  • High-level group where top executives of 25 companies convey a message of business leadership in sustainability.
  • Through its various working committees (SDGs, Sustainability and Digitalization, Equality, Circular Economy), this organization aims to be a benchmark in the knowledge, analysis, innovation, design and development of CSR, promoting its integration into the strategy of organizations.

Environment and sustainability

Adif Alta Velocidad tries to contribute to the constant improvement of the environment and socioeconomic well-being by incorporating the values that should guide its strategic decisions regarding its course of action and including these in its management model.
The vision, mission and values defined in Adif's 2030 Strategic Plan clearly state that all activities must be carried out with respect for the environment.

Environmental policy

The Environmental Policy develops the vision, mission and values of the company and constitutes the highest-level document regarding the environmental commitment of Adif and Adif Alta Velocidad.

Environmental reports

All information on the environmental aspects and performance of the activities and services provided by Adif is published annually in the Environmental report. This ensures that the requirement to report on environmental matters is fulfilled. The Environmental report follows the guidelines of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI).

Management Report (includes Corporate Sustainability Information)

Comprehensive environmental management Main areas of action

According to the Management Assignment Agreement signed by Adif and Adif-AV, on July 9, 2019, and published in the BOE on August 8, 2019, the Assignment is granted to Adif-AV for the execution of activities of a material or technical nature necessary for the integral environmental management (Annex No. 1), as a Corporate Environmental Body.

Social sustainability

For Adif Alta Velocidad, the social perspective of sustainability lies in contributing to the cohesion of society. The company carries out actions to improve the well-being of the people who make up the company and of all citizens.  Through a strategy inspired by corporate responsibility, and as part of the company's contribution to sustainability, Adif Alta Velocidad intends to generate a positive impact on society through projects and initiatives that add social value to our environment, taking into account the need to move towards a more inclusive, supportive and culturally rich social model.

Governance

Title
Adif AV is committed to comprehensive and transparent management that is responsible and efficient in terms of natural and economic resources. The good governance of the organization guarantees its responsible management, the pillars of which are to guarantee regulatory compliance, promote business ethics in the culture of the organization (with special emphasis on zero tolerance for corruption) and develop transparency in management.

Relevant aspects of good governance and transparency:

  • Corporate Model of Regulatory Compliance. Since 2018, Adif AV has had a Code of Ethics and Conduct approved by the Board of Directors, updated together with the rest of the policies and procedures implementing it in and 2019, taking into account legislative changes and the continuous improvement process of the Model. Access to the Ethics Channel
  • Corporate Anti-Fraud Policy. This applies to all members of the Board of Directors, Senior Management and in general, without exception and whatever their position, responsibility, occupation or geographic location, to all Adif AV employees. Institutional Declaration of the Fight Against Fraud.
  • Comprehensive Risk Management Model. This enables the establishment of appropriate information channels that guarantee adequate communication to promote a culture of proactive risk management in all areas of the company, maintaining consistent risk levels. In the evolution of the corporate model, an analysis of the ESG components is being carried out as part of the review of the Entity's risk map. Comprehensive Risk Management Policy Adif AV .

Management Report (includes the Sustainability Statement)

In 2024, in line with the publication of Directive 2022/2464 of the European Parliament and of the Council of December 14, 2022, on Corporate Sustainability Reporting (CSRD), Adif AV initiated a transition in the way it reports sustainability information. The purpose of this Directive is to create a common reporting framework within the European Union that allows a company's own operations to be linked to its value chain. To this end, the Sustainability Reporting Standards (SRS) are used to standardize the information reported and enable comparison between companies reporting under this Directive.


Given that the CSRD Directive has not yet been transposed into Spanish law, as it is currently under review (Omnibus package), the 2024 Management Report includes the Sustainability Statement in accordance with a hybrid model that meets both the requirements of Law 11/2018 on Non-Financial Information and Diversity, currently in force with regard to sustainability reporting in Spain, and those of the CSRD.  

In addition to the CSRD Directive and Law 11/2018 on INF and Diversity already mentioned, this report takes into account:

Since 2020, in accordance with Law 11/2018 on Non-Financial Information and Diversity, to ensure the reliability of the sustainability information reported in the Management Reports, it has been externally verified by an independent third party. (Verification program in line with ISO/IEC 17029:2019).

The ultimate goal of the Sustainability Statement is to create value for our stakeholders, based on transparency on ESG issues that go beyond financial matters.
Includes:
  • Management Report (including the Sustainability Statement), associated Independent Verification Statement, and Audit Report on the Internal Control System over Financial Reporting (ICFR).
  • Executive Summary of the Sustainability Statement
  • Previous financial years (2013-2023)
Available in our Transparency section:

Economic sustainability

Integrated Management Report

As of 2017, Adif's corporate sustainable information has been included in the Management Report, which is part of the Annual Accounts approved and audited in each financial year; prior to 2017, there was a Sustainability Report that was independent from the Management Report. 

With the entry into force of Law 11/2018, the type of information to be included in the Non-Financial Information Statement (NFIS) is normalized. As a result, the knowledge of the evolution and economic results of the Entity is expanded based on the impact on its activity regarding ESG issues.