CSR News
Title
Energy Observatory, a sign of the Repsol Foundation’s commitment to energy efficiency and sustainability
Detailed Content
Madrid, 22 December 2009- Today, the Repsol Foundation presented the Energy Observatory, which consists of a panel of professionals who share experience and knowledge to promote rational energy use. The Observatory’s first step was to create two new energy indexes -the Repsol Energy Efficiency Index and the Repsol Energy Efficiency Social Indicator- which have originated with a clear vocation for permanence and with the aim of establishing the bases of a future energy model which improves competitiveness and sustainability and ensures the highest possible degree of social wellbeing. The Energy Observatory presentation ceremony was attended by the Chairman of the Repsol Foundation, Antonio Brufau, its Executive Vice Chairman, Enrique Locutura and Arturo Gonzalo, a member of the Foundation Trust, and was closed by the Energy Secretary of State, Pedro Luis Marín. One of the study’s main conclusions was that Spanish society believes that it is not sufficiently informed about efficient energy usage, leading to an ever-growing demand for information. As a response to this demand, the Repsol Foundation has created energy indexes in order that they might become a reference point in the sector and to help improve knowledge and policies aimed at promoting energy saving and efficiency among citizens and institutions. Spanish society on energy efficiency The Social Indicator reveals that 96 per cent of Spanish people consider “energy saving” to be a priority, although the main reasons they give vary between those who choose to do so because of the repercussions on climate change (31 per cent) and those who do not want to waste energy (44 per cent). Spanish citizens clearly understand the concept of “energy consumption” which they believe to be necessary and closely linked to wellbeing. However, saving and energy efficiency are considered “important aims related to cost reduction and the fight against climate change”. Three out of four Spanish people consider themselves to be “completely” or “quite committed” to saving, while 33 per cent do not know how to save without losing quality of life and 40 per cent claim that “it requires too must effort and attention for the results obtained”. In terms of performance, the large majority of society (83 per cent) believes that it is making efforts towards saving energy, although most are sceptical of the effects of their contribution. As such, young people aged between 18 and 29 years old are the most sceptical when assessing the effort made to save energy and only 27 per cent believe it to be positive. Improving energy efficiency in Spain The Energy Efficiency Index indicates that energy efficiency in Spain improved by 8.9 percentage points in the 2000-2007 period, particularly in the last four years. Each percentage point in improvement has led to a reduction in energy consumption by approximately 1.4 million tonnes of oil equivalent (tep), equating to a saving of close to 700 million dollars (500 million Euros). The Index also shows that this has been practically the same in every field of the Spanish economy, mainly in the residential and transport sectors, which have experienced an improvement of 21 and 9 percentage points respectively. These data demonstrate that the pace of progress for energy efficiency in Spain has enabled it to advance in the EU-15 agreement path, at a quicker rate of improvement than countries such as Belgium, France, the Netherlands and Italy. Future action lines Following an analysis of the information used to draw up the Energy Efficiency Index, future steps have been identified in the various sectors to help improve energy efficiency in these areas. For the transport sector, in the information relating to passenger transport in private vehicles, the need for information about the number of kilometres travelled by a particular vehicle and individual per year has been identified, as well as the numbers of individuals tr
Date of News
12/22/2009 12:00:00 AM
Company Name
Repsol YPF
Issue Type
Management
Issue
Energy
Country
Spain