Apa Nova București publishes its Sustainability Report for 2022

Apa Nova București, Bucharest’s drinking water and sewage services provider, has published its Sustainability Report for 2022. The report highlights the company’s progress in key sustainability areas, covering environmental, social, and governance performance, underscoring the operator’s ongoing commitment to sustainable development.

“The transparency regarding the most important performance indicators in the fields of environment, social responsibility, and governance is essential for our company, with sustainability management being an integral part of every aspect of our organization, from innovation and business strategy to operations and customer satisfaction. In 2022, we continued to enhance our performance and transparency in addressing the impacts of climate change, making significant progress in integrating sustainability across all aspects of our business throughout the entire partner network. Relying on a set of multidimensional indicators to measure performance, we considered five equally important stakeholders: shareholders, employees, customers, the planet, and society, to which we apply the same standards of excellence,” said Mădălin Mihailovici, CEO of Apa Nova.

In 2022, Apa Nova directed its efforts toward improving the efficiency of equipment and processes to reduce energy consumption and associated costs. Additionally, the company initiated the implementation of photovoltaic systems at seven facilities, considering the significant rise in electricity and natural gas prices. These investments will reduce direct electricity expenses and maintenance costs while increasing energy independence through green energy. Furthermore, in 2022, the energy autonomy of the Glina Wastewater Treatment Plant reached a level of 74.96%, thanks to in-house electricity production from micro-hydro power plants and the combustion of biogas generated from sludge fermentation. Simultaneously, Apa Nova upgraded outdoor lighting at water plant locations, acquired electric vehicles and installed charging stations for them.

These implemented measures have contributed to a significant decrease in electricity consumption, reaching approximately 80.5% of the value recorded in 2001 by 2022.

Throughout the past year, the company conducted a biodiversity footprint assessment for two significant sites: the Roșu Treatment Plant and the Glina Wastewater Treatment Plant. Action plans have been developed for each site, comprising 24 measures for the Glina Wastewater Treatment Plant and 23 for the Roșu Treatment Plant. The primary initiatives implemented in 2022 to reduce the biodiversity footprint included improving the quality of life for species affected by artificial light and preventing the spread of invasive species in these areas. The company addressed these issues by selecting low-impact lighting, reducing light intensity, directing light sources toward the ground, and creating and displaying fact sheets for existing invasive species. Simultaneously, to minimize the impact of drinking water treatment station operations on biodiversity, the company used reactants/substances following applicable laws, which have a reduced impact on the surrounding environment. Using phytosanitary products for managing green spaces on all Apa Nova București sites was prohibited.

Regarding corporate social responsibility, in 2022 alone, Apa Nova allocated a budget of approximately 4.8 million lei, with the main areas for budget allocation being education, healthcare, the environment, culture, sports, and other humanitarian actions.

As for human resources performance, by the end of 2022, Apa Nova had 1,964 employees, including 536 women. Of the employees, 265 held managerial positions, while the remaining 1,699 were operational staff. The number of new hires in the company was 193.

These achievements represent only a portion of the sustainability results achieved by Apa Nova, and more details can be found in the Sustainability Report for the year 2022: https://www.apanovabucuresti.ro/assets/pdf/Raport-de-Sustenabilitate-2022-ANB.pdf.