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CommunicationNetworkNews for the people ofThe FCC Principles highlight its3 rd Management ConventionlSSUE12MarchApril2012Interview with ErikLehner, an ALPINEengineerWRG gives outthe ABCD AwardsWork completed at theAthens UndergroundTwo FCC teams are thechampions of thelnter-CompanyBasketball League

CoverThe space forgood peoplewith good ideasCorporateThe FCC Principles are the keyhighlights of its 3rd ManagementConventionPág 4FCC awarded theCorporate Equality InsigniaPág 9BusinessFCC receives award forthe design and constructionof the M-50 in DublinPág 12Aqualia wins twonew 25-year watermanagement contractsPág 15SummaryWell-beingIdentifying helps to prevent that theyare repeatedPág 54Productive improvements in theprevention of occupational hazardsPág 56KnowledgeBiological control of a new plagueaffecting the city’s treesPág 64Guest-columnA global company projectedthrough a single brandPág 66The PlaceWork on Line 2 of Athensunderground completedPág 68PeopleEco-efficiency prizesfor good ideasPág 34Social ResponsibilityFCC Approves Its Third CorporateSocial Responsibility Master PlanPág 46FTSE4Good includes FCC in itsinvestment index for the fourth consecutiveyearPág 48CommunitiesThe Austrian city of Baden totallysatisfied with .A.S.A.’s collaborationPág 74

CorporateTheFCCPrinciplesare the keyhighlights of its3 rd ManagementConventionA groupthat stands out for“doing things well”and that believes andis committed tointegrity, efficiency,and proximity as itsmost important signsof identityUnder the slogan “We are FCC” the CitizensServices Group celebrated last 17April in Madrid its 3rd Management Conventionwith the participation of nearly 400executives. An informal dinner was held onthe evening prior to the convention with thepresence of the Group’s core shareholderand vice-president, Esther Koplowitz.José Manuel Velasco, managing director ofCommunication and Corporate Responsibilitymade a brief introductory speech toexplain the format, which consisted of fourround tables and with FCC’s Principles asthe leitmotiv of the event.Baldomero Falcones, chairman and CEOof FCC inaugurated the convention in theround table discussion on “The current situation,challenges, and strategies of FCC”with an opening speech on the economicscenario, the opportunities, and the strengthsof the Group. The chief executive of theGroup described the strategic priorities andthe short-term objectives: collect the moneyowed by Public Administrations, restructureCementos Portland Valderrivas, defendthe market share in the services segmentin Spain, profitable international expansion,and the way of finding new formulas and internationalfinancial partners to grow in thecore business.Internationalisation and Proximity“Internationalisation and Proximity” was thetheme of the round table in which AlejandroCisneros Müller, deputy managing directorof FCC’s Construcción America andTransport area acted as the moderator. Atthe same round table with Cisneros wasPaul Taylor, president (WRG) and Kenneth

Cherry, vice-president and general manager(FCC Environmental); Peter Vokrál, ˇ president(.A.S.A.); Johannes Dotter, president(ALPINE), and Alcibiades López Cerón, managerof FCC Construcción Europe divisionwho highlighted the challenges implied inthe internationalisation strategy of havingthe best professionals in the markets wherewe operate and compete as an internationalGroup against local companies.EfficiencyA video was shown afterwards on the Eco-Efficiency Awards as a preamble to the secondround table “Efficiency”. Javier LópezCosta, manager of the Systems and InformationTechnologies Division (FCC) actedas the moderator ad its participants wereJuan José Drago Masía, deputy generalmanager of Administration (FCC); Juan5

An informal dinner was held on the eveningprior to the convention with the presence of theGroup’s core shareholder and vice-president,Esther Koplowitz who also attended the conventionon the following day.Carlos Montejano Domínguez, director ofProcurement Management (FCC); and AntonioBurgueño Muñoz, manager of Qualityand Training (FCC Construcción).Earnings-focusedA video on the 100th anniversary of the firstservices contract in Barcelona, “A city underyour feet” was shown prior to the “Earnings-focused”round table discussion. Theparticipants included the deputy generalmanager of Corporate Affairs (FCC Construcción),José Ramón Ruiz Carrero; LesleyCallaghan, general manager of HumanResources (WRG & FOCSA UK); and BjörnMittendorfer, general manager of Finance(.A.S.A.). The coordinator and moderatorwas José María Merino Matesanz, directorof Corporate Human Resources (FCC). Inhis conclusions, Merino stressed the needto motivate with challenges, provide the necessarysupport to meet these challenges,and reward those who contribute the most.InnovationThe “Throw the worse of 2011 into thetrash bin” campaign last Christmas wasprojected prior to the commencement ofNearly 400 executivesparticipated in the3 rd ManagementConvention

Corporatethe fourth round table discussion dedicatedto “Innovation”. The participants in thisround table discussion included José IgnacioElorrieta Pérez de Diego, managingdirector of Environment and Sustainability(Cementos Portland Valderrivas); PedroRodríguez Medina, manager of CorporateDevelopment (Aqualia); Francisco EstebanLefler, manager of Innovation and Technologyand Special Services (FCC Construcción),and Alfonso García García, managerof Technical Services (FCC Medio Ambiente).The moderator of this discussion wasEnrique Unamunzaga Guisasola, managerof Innovation Management (FCC) whostressed the commitment and support ofFCC Group’s senior management to R+D+iwith the objective of increasing our competitivenessand as a differentiating elementversus our competitors.After lunch, Juan Pablo Merino Guerra, managerof Corporate Marketing and Brand(FCC) presented the results of a survey ondifferent aspects relating to the Group’s performance.At 4:14 p.m. Sebastián Álvaro,traveller, mountain climber, and director ofthe TV programme “Al Filo de lo Imposible”climbed the stage and talked on the bestvalues of sports and teamwork, the capacityfor excelling and efforts to surmount animpossible challenge.Intelligent servicesThe next round table discussion was “IntelligentServices” whose moderator wasAntonio Pousa Blasco, manager of Studies(FCC Medio Ambiente). The other participantswere Antonio Alfonso Avello, managingdirector of Industrial Companies (FCCConstrucción), and Juan Pablo MerinoGuerra, manager of Corporate Marketingand Brand (FCC). Merino highlighted howFCC is at the forefront with its wager ofIntelligent Services with the citizen and onimproving the quality of life in places wherewe operate as a central part of this activity.Integrity and reputationImmediately afterwards, the video “Hazque se oiga” (Let it be heard) was shown,a solidarity campaign of FCC, Aqualia andAcción against hunger in the World WaterDay. Sara Megía Recio, deputy managerof International Internal Audit (FCC) coordinatedand acted as the moderator atthe round table discussion “Integrity andReputation”. Those participating includedJavier López‐Galiacho Perona, manager ofCorporate Responsibility (FCC), and JulioPastor, manager of Information Relations(FCC). In the conclusions of this round tablediscussion, Megía stressed how reputation,integrity, social responsibility, and communicationare an essential and inherent partof the business.Lastly, Baldomero Falcones was in chargeof presenting the conclusions and closingthe Convention. FCC’s chairman and CEOwanted to share with the participants thepride in managing a group that is recognisedfor “doing things well” and whichbelieves and is committed to integrity, efficiency,and proximity as its most importanthallmarks. Falcones ended his speech byurging the executives to achieve results inthe current crisis and to continuo openingnew profitable markets for the Group.7

Principlesas toolsBeyond its leadership positioning inthe principal activities in the communitiesof the future, thanks to its technicaland professional capabilities, FCC hasadopted inalienable behaviour guidelineswhich are the hallmarks of its culture andessential to ensure the sustainable andresponsible success of the Group’s operations.It refers to FCC’s principles: doing thingswell, integrity, efficiency, and proximity.These principles imply:n doing things vell: the requirement for each one to do their best in relationto professional competency as well as in our personal attitudes.n Integrity: : integrity and fulfilment of our commitments, showing respect tothose with whom we interrelate, honesty, rectitude, and transparency.n Efficiency: austerity, minimizing the use of all types of resources and usingthese to the best advantage possible in carrying out our activities and achievingour objectives.n Proximity: acting as a citizen services company that is close to the communitieswhere we conduct our activities, respecting the expectations of themembers of these communities while trying to provide them with responses thatsatisfy the general interest.

9CorporateFCCawarded the CorporateEquality lnsigniaSpain’s Ministry of Health has distinguishedFCC for its Corporate Equality accomplishments.This seal of excellence aims to encourageand recognise companies whichhave implemented policies aimed at promotingequality throughout the entire company.The criteria for selecting the award-winningcompanies included implementation andresults of equality plans, establishment ofprocedures and criteria for periodic evaluationof those plans, positive discriminationto actively enhance equal opportunities,organisational models and corporate socialresponsibility policies.Bolstering equality and diversitypoliciesThis award validates FCC’s equality anddiversity policies, implemented as a strategicinitiative of the Group’s Human Resourcesdepartment, with a view to promotingemployees’ professional development andperformance while assuring equal opportunitiesand advancing effective equality.FCC is one of the ten Ibex 35 companieswhose equality policies have been recognisedby the Spanish government. Last year,subsidiary Aqualia was among the firstcompanies to receive an award in this area.Both distinctions serve as a stimulus to furtherefforts in the area of equality, which haslong had the solid support of the company’score shareholder, Esther Koplowitz.Transversal andspecific measuresThe equality policies are being set outand implemented, through horizontaland specific measures and specialprogrammes, by the Equality and DiversityManagement team, which iscomposed of the persons responsiblefor equality in each business area underthe corporate supervision of FCC.

FCC bolsters itscommitment to integrityIn its monthly meeting last February, theFCC Board of Directors amended its Codeof Ethics. This amendment incorporates,firstly, a redefinition of the principles underpinningthe FCC corporate culture. Theamendment also includes its alignment tothe Spanish Penal Code which foreseesnew penal liabilities for legal entities.In order to include the contents of this newamendment in an appropriate fashion, FCCalso approved the Offence Prevention andResponse Manual the aim of which is toThe magazine highlighted among the meritsof FCC for achieving the Corporate TrackRecord award, the importance of EstherKoplowitz, as the Group’s core shareholdefinea system for preventing crimes andoffences through the measures and controlsthat have been implemented in theFCC Group in order to mitigate the risk ofcommitting these crimes.FCC plans to train its workers to ensure thatthey are aware of and understand the Codeof Ethics and the aforementioned Manual.Both in-house regulations are already availableat the FCC website and its intranet.Intranet:http://fccnet/ES/rsc/gc/rc_gc/Paginas/rc_gc_n.aspxWebsite:http://www.fcc.es/fccweb/responsabilidad-corporativa/gobierno-corporativo/normativa/index.htmlThe magazine Ejecutivos rewards FCCcorporate track recordIn the 22nd edition of the award, the magazineEjecutivos gave FCC the CorporateTrack record prize. At an event held in Madrid,José Luis López de Silanes, chairmanof Corporación Logística de Hidrocarburos(CLH), was in charge of giving the prize statueto Felipe García, FCC Group’s secretarygeneral.In this 22 nd edition, the winners of the ExecutiveAwards included Isidro Fainé, chairmanof La Caixa, who was named “executiveof the year”; Endesa won the “Companyof the Year” prize; and Zeltia’s CEO, JoséMaría Fernández Sousa, won the “Internationalisation”Prize.der, and her double-condition as businesswoman and philanthropist, as well as her“great sensitivity regarding social issues”.Each year, Ejecutivos magazine, recogniseswith these prizes the work carried outby executives, companies, and institutionswhich play a key role in the financial-economicworld.

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FCC receivesaward for the designand construction of theM-50 in DublinThe Irish Concrete Society has recognisedFCC for the design and construction of theM50 in Dublin in the Civil Works category.These awards are given out annually forconstruction work performed in Ireland thatuses concrete as the main constructionmaterial. The panel of judges noted that thestructure was an innovative solution thatcombined in situ elements with prefabricatedelements, with an especially complexgeometry that involved one of the country’sbusiest junctions which remained open totraffic during the construction.In 2007, FCC, in a joint venture with othercompanies, was awarded a 265 millioneuro contract for the construction and operationof the M-50 expressway in Ireland.The contract called for the design, renovationand operation of Dublin’s M-50 bypass,including the widening of lanes along 24 kmof the road and the operation and maintenanceof another 19.3 km as soon as thecontract was signed. The term of the concessionis 35 years.The expressway is operated using a freeflow toll system. The concession holder ispaid by the government for availability inconsideration for the investment and servicesrendered. The payment is subject topenalties if lanes are closed, depending onhow long they are closed, the days and timesof the weeks when the closings occur,the number of lanes closed and the lengthof road that is closed.

ALPlNETo build aRailway Runnelfor the Stuttgart21 ProjectThe German railway company DeutscheBahn has just awarded the contract to buildthe Bad Cannstatt railway tunnel to FCC’sAustrian subsidiary and its partners, Hochtiefand Wayss & Freitag. The tunnel ispart of the Stuttgart 21 Project, which willinvolve the renovation of the main railroadhubs and Stuttgart’s central railway station.The budget for the tunnel’s construction is290 million euros, and completion is scheduledfor 2018. This new tunnel joins theother six that the ALPINE BeMo Tunnellingdivision is currently building for the Germanrailway company Deutsche Bahn.

15Aqualia wins two new 25-yearwater management contractsIn Yeles, Toledo and in Nájera, La Rioja.BusinessAqualia was awarded two new end-to-endwater management contracts. The townof Yeles (Toledo) and the city of Nájera (LaRioja) awarded the subsidiary of the CitizenServices Group its water supply andsewage management contracts. Aqualiahas been providing services to Yeles sinceOctober 2006. This new contract extendsthe concession for another 25 more years.The new contract will generate 30.63 millionEuros in revenues.The agreement contemplates upgrades tocomplete the sectorisation of more than 54km of the drinking water supply networkand the necessary resources for constantmonitoring of flow and pressure variables.Aqualia’s landing in Nájera (La Rioja) datesfurther back. Operating in this city since1988, the FCC water subsidiary has beenin charge up to now of managing the supplyof drinking water as well as networkmaintenance and meter reading. The newcontract, a 25-year extension, increasesthe responsibilities of Aqualia in managingthe supply and sanitation networks and thecomplete client management cycle (meterreading, additions and deletions, billings,forwarding invoices, and collection management).From left to right: Matías Loarces, manager of Aqualia’s Castile-La Mancha regional office and JoséFernando González, the mayor of Yeles.Aqualia has engaged in water management in Nájera since 1988.

Aqualia describes the cases of Santanderand of the Moravia-Silesia regionAt the urban development international seminar in Vitoria-GasteizAqualia participated in the local seminaron water management and urban developmententitled “European experiences insmall and medium-sized cities” held on 20,21 and 22 March at the Europa Congressand Exhibition Palace of Vitoria-Gasteiz.Organized by Aguas Municipales de VitoriaGasteiz, the seminar was mainly aimed atagents involved in supply management andplanning agents, companies and entitiesengaging in water supply in urban environments,municipal technicians, and suppliersof goods and services for this sector. Thegoal of this event was to share interesting,successful, and sustainable initiatives in thevarious water-management related aspectsin small and medium-sized European municipalities.The seminar on 20 March, focused on thepresentation of the event and the participatingcities, was organized by politicians incharge of this aspect from each of the citiesand towns. The representatives of AqualiaEmilio Fernández Rodríguez Liévana, manager of Aqualia’s branch office in Santander.were the departments from the city of Santanderand from the Moravia-Silesia region.The subject of the speech given by MaríaTejerina, councilwoman from the EnvironmentDepartment of Santander, was “Santander:a city looking at the future. Watermanagement model. Indicators”. VáclavHolecek, ˇ deputy-mayor of Petrvald was therepresentative from the Czech Republic.In the following days, the participating citiesfocused on technical aspects. Aqualia’srepresentatives were Emilio Fernández,Manager of Aqualia Santander, and MislovKyncl, managing director of SmVaK, whospoke on “Collaboration of the public andprivate sectors on water management andsanitation”.FCC wins lts First Contract inQatar, Worth 38.7 Million EurosPrivate Engineering Office (PEO), a governmentagency, has chosen a joint venturepartnering FCC Construcción with PetroservLtd to tackle phase II of the Barzán developmentwork in Al Wajba, 15 kilometresfrom Qatar’s capital. The contract is worthclose to 39 million euros and stipulates a20-month completion period.The job site lies close to the Doha-Dukhanhighway. It involves the demolition ofexisting buildings and paved surfaces,stripping-out of old services, earthworks,asphalt agglomerate laying, resumption ofinterrupted services, lighting systems, highandlow-voltage power distribution networksand water pipes.The contract also includes 16 electricalsubstations of five types differentiated byfloor area (from 160 to 400 m2). All the buildingsare one storey only, with a flat roofand concrete structure, surrounded bystuccoed cinderblock walls.

In the photograph, managers of Aqualia, ICA y Santander collecting the prize.Euromoney awards prize toEl Realito project finance dealManagers of Aqualia, lCAand Banco Santandercollect the ‘Latin AmericanWater Deal of the Year’award at a gala event heldin New YorkEuromoney’s Project Finance Magazineawarded “Latin American Water Deal of theYear 2011” prize to the El Realito (Mexico)finance deal. The magazine’s committeehighlighted the innovative financial agreement,“a complex structure involving thegovernment, companies, trust funds, andbanks with equally complex letters of credit”.This structure includes three trusts plusthe involvement at three levels; federal, state,and local, of the Mexican government.José Miguel Janices, deputy-manager ofAqualia Concessions, collected the awardaccompanied by Naoll Mary, the director ofAqualia Concessions in Mexico, jointly withrepresentatives of ICA, the local partner,and representatives from Banco Santanderthe bank responsible for the project finance.Projects from other countries such as Peru,Chile, and Brazil, were also award-winners.This projectfinance deal has alsobeen nominated for thisyear’s Global Waterlntelligence awards17

FCC lands 218 million eurorailway contract in RomaniaRomania’s National Railway Company(RFC) has awarded FCC Construction, in ajoint venture with ALPINE, Azvi and Straco(a local firm), a 218 million euro contract torefurbish and upgrade the Atel-Micasasasection of the Simeria-Brasov railway line inRomania.The project to revamp the railway infrastructureincludes the refurbishment of 29.6km of double-tracked electrified line, whichwill guarantee a speed of 160 km/h forpassenger trains and 120 km/h for goodstrains. The contract includes the executionof 10.5 km of bypasses, remodelling of twopassenger stations and three unstaffed stations,and construction of four metal trussviaducts, two with spans of 280 metres andthe other two measuring 142.2 metres and94.8 metres.Additionally, the contract includes a completeoverhaul of the electrification system,the power supply, signalling and telecommunicationsin accordance with Europeanstandards, as well as work on existing stationson the line.This section of railway is part of Pan-EuropeanTransport Corridor IV and the contractis co-financed by the European Union. Theproject will take 36 months, with a warrantyperiod of 24 months following completion.This is FCC Group’s second railway infrastructurerefurbishment contract on CorridorIV this year.Last month, the company signed a 246 millioneuro contract with the National RailwayCompany of Romania (RFC) to refurbish theSighisoara-Atel section of the same line.FCC to build Phase lll of the Museumof Royal Collections in MadridThe Spanish National Heritage Authorityhas awarded FCC the contract for phaseIII of the new Museum of Royal Collectionsin Madrid. The job is worth 25 million Eurosand will be completed in 20 months’ time.FCC has already handled phases I and II.Phase I covered the construction of retainingwalls and the excavation of the necessaryspace to house the museum with aslittle change to the environment as possible.Phase II called for the construction ofthe museum’s structure.The third phase of the project involvesthe construction of the building envelope,which means walls, roofs, windows anddoors, plus site development. At all timesthe utmost respect will be shown for themost demanding environmental and qualitystandards that can be set on what is destinedto become one of the most importantmuseums built in the 21st century.

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Cemusa, receivesSpanish Federation of Rare Diseases (FEDER)award for its social commitmentMr. Eric Marotel, CEMUSA’s Managing Director,was presented with the award byHer Royal Highness the Princess of Asturiasduring the official ceremony held byFEDER in the General Council of the Judiciaryheadquarters in order to celebrateWorld Rare Disease Day. Ana Mato, the Ministerfor Health, Social Affairs and Equality,and Carlos Divar, the Chair of the GeneralCouncil of the Judiciary, were among thepersonalities attending the event.Every year, the Spanish Federation of RareDiseases presents the FEDER awards tothe best initiatives, individuals or projectswhich help to improve the quality of life offamilies living with rare diseases. In 2012edition, CEMUSA has received the “Solidaritywith those affected” Award for supportingthe awareness-raising and sensitizingactions carried out by FEDER to celebrateRare Disease Day.CEMUSA began to collaborate with FEDERin 2009 and since then has helped byallowing the free use of their advertisingspace to promote campaigns launched byFEDER in order to raise awareness on theexistence and problems of these diseases.In 2011 in particular, CEMUSA used thestreet furniture of many Spanish cities toadvertise their awareness raising campaignusing the image of soccer player AndrésIniesta.CommitmentIn the field of corporate social responsibility,CEMUSA, in line with the commitmentof the FCC Group, collaboratesregularly with organizations suchas Unicef, Doctors without Borders,the Foundation against Drugs, and theWorld Nature Forum by enabling themto use their advertising space to disseminatetheir messages, showing thatstreet furniture has a social and publicservice role for the benefit of all citizens.

21Built by FCCBusinessZaragoza Tram wins Best Urbanlntegration prizeThe most important international award in its categoryLine 1 of the Zaragoza Tramway, which wasdesigned and is being built by a joint venturebetween FCC and ACCIONA, has wonfirst prize for Best Urban Integration thisyear from the International Association ofPublic Transport.The International Association of PublicTransport (UITP) is a platform for worldwidecooperation, business developmentand the sharing of knowledge. It has 3,400members from 92 countries. The UITP isthe global defender of public transport andsustainable mobility and promotes innovationin the public transport sector.The European panel of judges picked theZaragoza tramway because it is an effective,comfortable, cutting-edge project thatconnects the city’s main points of social,economic and cultural interest. The line is12.8 kilometres long and runs south/norththrough the city centre. The award stressesthe new culture of mobility that the tramwayentails, along with the urban renovationthe tramway has spurred in Zaragoza, withthe strategic development and launchingof connections with other means of publictransport, the implementation of a bicyclepath parallel to the tram tracks, transfer nodeswith the bus and local rail systems andintermodal parking facilities.This transport solution is designed to coverthe city in record time quickly, quietly andsafely. Also, it features the technologicalbreakthroughs of Urbos 3, manufacturedby CAF, making Zaragoza’s an example forother tramways throughout the world.The second phase of Line 1 (Gran Vía toParque de Goya), in which 340 millionEuros will be invested, will complete theambitious project to make the tram thecity’s backbone and will create Zaragoza’sbiggest pedestrians-only zone.The tram makes life easier for more than40,000 people who ride it every day. Forecastscall for 108,000 passengers when theentire line has been completed. Trams runas often as one every five minutes, from fiveo’clock in the morning until midnight, andtheir average commercial speed is 20 km/hour.FCC is currently involved in the secondphase of the Zaragoza tram as well as the62.5 million Euro contract, awarded in May2011, for the Olsztyn (Poland) tram line,stretching over 11.5 kilometres and including19 stops.

National Quarry and Gravel Pit Sustainable Development AwardsCementos PortlandValderrivas wins seven prizesThe National Quarry and Gravel Pit SustainableDevelopment Awards event was heldlast 22 March at the headquarters of theAggregates Federation. Among the 25 entriessubmitted by several companies, sevenof those submitted by Grupo CementosPortland Valderrivas stood out.The objective of these prizes is to promoteproper management of sustainable development,environmental, and social aspects(including the prevention of occupationalhazards) and the economy, without overlookingconservation of biodiversity in thedifferent stages involved in the productionof aggregates.A reference in thesectorGrupo Cementos Portland Valderrivasis currently a national and internationalreference in this industry and continuesto clearly demonstrate the highprofessional and human level at its miningoperations.Entries submittedThe entries for aggregates and concretewere presented by Jaime Martín-Muñio,Environment, Prevention and Quality manager;Luis Gil, head of Aggregates Production,and Pedro Andrés, in charge ofthe North Regional Office, all of which weresupported by Carlos Alonso, Corporate Directorof Prevention and Occupational Hazards.Ana Sala Jodar, accompanied by José LuisHigueras, from the Gerona gravel pit of ÁridosUniland, submitted another entry.The awardsOf the seven entries submitted, the seven award-winners were as follow:• First and second prize in the quarry restoration category for the Apario and PeñaLemona (Biscay) mining operations. In addition to the first prize, the panel of judgesin the environment category selected this entry which will be submitted for the2013 European UEPG Awards. The third prize for quarry restoration was given tothe Colomers (Gerona) mining operations run by Áridos Uniland.• First and second prize in the environmental good practices in major companiescategory went to Coto Minero Nafarrondo and Cantera Galdames de Vizcaya.• The first prize in the economy, good operational practices and initiatives was awardedto the Apario mining operation which was also chosen as a candidate forthe 2013 Sustainable Development prizes given by UEPG (Union Européenne desProducteurs de Granulats).• The second prize in the social and safety category was awarded to the Coto MineroNafarrondo operations.

BusinessNew Port of Laredo, built by FCC, receivesthe José de Azas AwardThe new marina and fishing port facilitiesat Laredo, built by FCC, have received thegreat distinction of winning the José deAzas Award, given by the Cantabrian Divisionof the Spanish Professional Associationof Civil Engineers. The judges, whosedecision was unanimous, declared that theproject is the most brilliant piece of engineeringdone since 2009.The association’s president, Enrique CondeTolosa, stressed that the project is “magnificentin its design, exemplary in its execution,”and moreover “the first of its type,in port engineering, to receive the José deAzas.”The award-winners in this edition who weremainly responsible for this project wereAntonio Bocanegra Diego, project manager,Jose María Berenguer Pérez, the de-Recognised asa brilliant engineeringwork since 2009signer of the project; the Marina de LaredoASCAN-FCC joint venture, which built themarina and runs the concession; and Puertosde Cantabria, the harbour agency of theDepartment of Public Works and Housingof the Government of Cantabria, as theproject’s developer.Port of LaredoThe new port of Laredo stands next to theold port and the old city centre, sheltered tothe north by a curved groyne a bit over 700metres long, which provides a defence fromthe waves for both the marina basin and thefishing port basin. The new port was openedin 2011.The port has been designed to satisfy sportboating’s demands and fishing needs. Ithas a fishing basin, a marina basin withjetties and the old port’s marina berths. Itcan moor 857 boats on 12 docks preparedto accommodate crafts 6, 8, 10, 12, 15,18 and 20 metres in length. It has latestgenerationservices, like a Travelift systemfor 50-ton craft, and a car park for 420 vehicles.

José Mayor,FCC Chairman,participates in theSeventh Meeting ofthe lnfrastructureSectorThe infrastructure workshopheld in Madrid on 26March last was just thelatest in a series of annualevents that managers frommajor builders do not wantto miss.José Mayor, chairman of FCC Construcción,participated in the round table on thesector’s outlook and the strategies of leadingcompanies. In his speech, he stressedthat public investments in infrastructureshave always been essential to keep economicactivity going, and he reminded hisaudience that falling investment in civil engineeringworks has crippled GDP growthbefore.He mentioned that in previous meetings ofrepresentatives of the Infrastructure Sector,he had shown the relationship betweenGDP curves and the growth rates of residentialconstruction and civil works. Theconclusion, he said, had been that eventhough negative growth rates in residentialbuilding had not dragged down GDP, a reductionin civil works had always had a negativeimpact on GDP growth. This is whyhe insisted and advocated public-privatesector partnerships and that Chapter 6 ofthe national budget should be left unchangedas far as possible.Minister of Development Ana Pastor deliveredthe keynote address of the SeventhInfrastructure Sector Meeting organized byDeloitte. She announced that the governmentis looking at up-to-fifty-percent cofinancingfor new projects under the public/private partnership model, and she explainedthat the new model for concessions willrely on revising concessions’ maximum durationand sharing the risks between concessionreceivers and concession givers.Second round tableThe second round table dealt with the concessionsector’s outlooks and the opportunitiesin public/private partnerships. LuisSánchez, general manager of GlobalviaInfraestructuras, asserted that concessionsmust not be allowed to turn into auctions.For this reason, he asked the governmentto speak clearly and act responsibly andnot to hang the risks involved in concessionprojects on the concession holders.He said concession contracts need to berevised regularly in order to adjust to newmarket conditions.The event was brought to a close by JuanLazcano, president of the National BuildingConfederation, who reminded his audiencethat the public works tenders announcedby the different levels of government closedin 2011 at 13.76 billion Euros, the lowestinvestment volume of the last fifteen years.

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FCCbids forinfrastructure projectsin the US worth9 billion dollarsFCC, the Citizen ServicesGroup, is buildingthe largest base oilrecycling plant on the eastcoast of the US,in Baltimore (Maryland)“Internationalisation is an irreversible processfor FCC.” This statement by BaldomeroFalcones, Chairman and CEO of FCC,is taking shape in the US, where the companyis currently expanding. FCC is preparingbids for a number of government projects,primarily infrastructure-related, thatare worth 9 billion dollars (around 6.8 billioneuro).The company has already bid for the GeraldDesmond Bridge project, in Los Angeles(California), which has a budget of 725million dollars (around 560 million euro).The group has been short-listed for theGrand Parkway project in Houston (Texas),for which the budget is 1.4 billion dollars(approximately 1.1 billion euro).FCC is also drafting bids for the Chinatownstation of the San Francisco CentralSubway and the Crenshaw station of theLos Angeles Metro, as well as the SH-183and Horseshoe road projects in Dallas(Texas). The proposal for the latter includesa bridge designed by Spanish architectSantiago Calatrava. FCC is working to establishconsortia to bids for these projects.Infrastructure and concessions are notFCC’s only activities in the US; it is alsoheavily involved in the services sector. Thecompany is involved in industrial waste managementthrough FCC Environmental, andhas participated in major projects such asrestoration of the Gulf of Mexico after theBP oil spill. The environmental subsidiary isthe second-largest company of its kind inthe US, with 37 facilities in 21 states andplans for further expansion to bolster its leadershippositioning.The largest planton the east coastFCC Environmental recently commencedconstruction of a base oil recycling plantin Baltimore (Maryland). The facility, whichwill cost almost 50 million dollars (37 millioneuro), will be the largest of its kind on theeast coast of the United States.

It will also be the first of several base oilrecycling plants that the Citizen ServicesGroup will build in the US. The plant, whichwill have a staff of around 30, will be ableto recover 150 million litres of base oil eachyear.The FCC subsidiary Cemusa, specialisedin the design, manufacture, installation andmaintenance of street furniture, is also operatingin the services industry. At the vanguardof this sector, in September 2010,the company installed the world’s first digitalnewsstands, in New York’s TimesSquare, as part of the contract awardedby the city government in 2006. This is thelargest contract of its kind in the world, andbidders included the leading companies inThe group also operatesthree cement plants in theUS and holds streetfurniture concessions inNew York, Boston, andAtlanta through Cemusathe field of outdoor advertising and communication,such as Viacom, Clear Channel,Van Wagner/Verizon, and JC Decaux/NBC-Universal. Cemusa expects revenuesamounting to 1.6 billion euro over the 20-year concession.Cemusa also has street furniture contractsin Boston and Atlanta, among other majorUS cities, and operates in 12 countries inEurope and Latin America. Its most recentinnovations include the addition of interactivityto the Times Square newsstands, withtouchscreen capabilities allowing for theexchange of information as well as photography.In the area of infrastructure, CementosPortland has three cement plants throughits US subsidiary, Giant, in Bath (Pennsylvania),Harleyville (South Carolina) and Thameston(Maine).27

Peter Vokřálstatement by the CEO of .A.S.A.“We liketo dothings well”“We are part of FCC since 2005”, Peter Vokřál ,CEO of .A.S.A. stated at the Annual Conventionof FCC Management held on 17 April in Madrid.When one of the speakers putt he accent oninternationalisation, he said that “We are expertsin the Central and South-eastern Europeanmarket and have identified growth potential forthe next five years. We can contributeapproximately 400 million Euro sales to theFCC Group without resorting to capital injectionsor help from FCC. We can grow thanks to ourstrong financials and our own resources.”Founded in Austria in 1988, .A.S.A. is aninternational and multicultural company currentlyoperating in 8 countries in the EECregion where its leadership positioning hasenabled it to report annual sales totalling377 million Euros (2011).Petr Vokřál stated that “fiscal year 2011was the best in the company’s history.Despite the global economic crisis, limitedinvestments, and the suspension of acquisitions,we can grow and develop our positioningin the countries where we operate”.“Nevertheless”, he warned, “this may notalways be the case”. “The good results in

Businessthe past few years (sustained growth since2001) was largely due in many countriesto the landfill site activities but, if we comparethis to 2009 (when activity peaked)and 2011, we can notice a quantitativereduction (approximately 400,000 tonnesper year and 4 million Euros in EBITDAover the past 3 years). Other services havesuccessfully offset this reduction thanks tothe diversification of our business in thesecountries and the intruduction of new andvaried services for many of our currentclients. We now have the opportunity forinvesting in future growth. The economicupturn in the region is advantageous andprovides unique market opportunities toensure .A.S.A.’s sustained development.”.A.S.A. currently generates a5% of the FCCGroup’s EBITDA and 3% of sales. In theWe havereviewed the strategy indetail, consideringeach country and eachopportunity

.A.S.A. as a member of the FCC Group. Strongpositioning in Central and Eastern Europe109 work sitesNº 1 (166 M€) Strong positioning in southern Poland (18 M€)Nº 3 (113 M€) Nº1 (33M€)Nº 3 (26 M€) Nº15 (6M€)1st foreign company in the market (3 M€)Nº2(12M€)FCC Services segment, this implies 10%of EBITDA and of sales, while its contributionto FCC Services internationally is 27%.Due to its Citizen Services structure andthe success of its environmental activitiesworldwide, .A.S.A. fits in perfectly with theFCC strategy announced at the conventionby Baldomero Falcones, FCC Group’schairman and CEO.Revised strategy“Over the past two years, we have reviewedour strategy in detail, considering eachcountry and each opportunity. Based onthe experience we acquired in local marketsover the last 10 to 20 years, we have beenable to adjust our activities. Several of ourcurrent projects will further bolster our positioning”,Vokřál said, “and we can financeourselves without being a burden for FCC.We contribute only profit and, thanks to thelimited risk and reasonable investment stra-

Business.A.S.A. fitsin perfectly with theFCC strategyannounced byBaldomero Falconesat the Conventiontegy (funded with .A.S.A.’s own resources,we will be able to increase EBITDA twofoldin the region where we operate in the nextfive years. For now, this scenario does notcontemplate any regional expansion”.In order to promote .A.S.A.’s greater growthwithin the FCC Group and to bolster theinternational success of FCC, Petr Vokřálbelieves that it is essential to take greateradvantage of the synergies in the Group.It is particularly important to take into accountand to respect cultural, economicand other differences among the variousregions. Delegating relevant responsibilitiesin the regions by simplifying processes while,at the same time, ensuring strict controland the creation of “regional experts” (EEC,U.S., ...) is the way that we can take advantageof our knowledge, being flexible inlocal markets, and save money in in-houseprocedures. The full implementation of“management by objectives/results” in theGroup, which implies a strict focus on results,should be the priority. In keeping withFCC’s corporate social responsibility policy,results should be the only management indicator.31

SmVaK,among the bestEuropean watermanagement companiesEuropean Benchmarking Cooperation highlightsthe performance of Aqualia’s subsidiaryLeading companyin Moraviaand SilesiaSmVak is the most important watermanagement company in the regionsof Moravia and Silesia, providing servicesto 1.2 million people. The managementactivity carried out by Aqualia’ssubsidiary differs in two aspects: firstly,it does not operate under a concessionscheme since it owns the infrastructures(therefore, the duration of itsactivity is indefinite); and, secondly, it isone of the few cases where a companysupplies water across its borders, alsoproviding services through its infrastructuresto 100,000 people in Poland.SmVak, Aqualia’s subsidiary in the CzechRepublic, participated successfully in the2011 edition of the European BenchmarkingCooperation (EBC) project. This year,which included water management companiesfrom cities such as Madrid, Paris,Hamburg, Rotterdam, and Geneva, wasan interesting exercise of comparing themanagement ratios which made it possiblefor participating entities to, firstly, draw theirown conclusions on their levels of activityand to implement new initiatives adapted totheir special circumstances.The Czech company has been part ofAqualia since 2006 when it was acquiredas part of FCC’s international expansionstrategy. During this brief period, SmVakhas implemented Aqualia’s know-how andits management systems, thereby significantlyimproving its ratios and financial resultsand to be on equal footing with thebest companies in Europe. This last aspectwas highlighted by the engineer KolářováLenka, head of the OOV Operating Department(wholesale water management):“SmVaK’s participation in this EuropeanProject provides the opportunity of comparingour company against our peers andAcquired byAqualia in 2006,the Company measured itsperformance againstmanagement companiesfrom Madrid, Paris,Hamburg, Rotterdam,and Genevawith the results obtained; to see new waysof improving the aspects where our ratingis below optimal levels. It certainly is avery interesting comparison for all”. KalasZdeněk, who works as a financial analystat the Czech’s company administration departmentsaid that for the company, participatingin this project had contributed toongoing improvement “in environmentaland client management aspects”.SmVak’s participation in this edition of EBCwas the second consecutive opportunity forAqualia, which participated, through its Almeríadepartment, in the 2010 edition. Theparticipation of SmVaK’s supply and sanitationdepartments in the 2011 edition representedthe highest level of participation.In total, the Czech company reported more

Businesssanitation and water treatment department,who participated in gathering data for EBC,highlighted the upgrading of networks asone of the areas subject to improvement:“if we reach a 1% rate of upgrading the networkeach year, we could reduce the numberof breakdowns and, accordingly, offer abetter service to our clients”.than 300 variables during the year, whichgenerated, in turn, 200 management indicators.The balance of the analysis of thevariables of Aqualia’s subsidiary is very positive.The company stands out in aspectssuch as water quality, management of energyconsumption, and tariff sustainability policiesin line with the European FrameworkDirective on Water and the ratio of claimsin sanitation services. Its participation inthe benchmarking exercise also brought tolight some areas subject to improvement.Dostálová Ludmila, a technician at SmVak’sFurthermore, the final report given to SmVakspecifically mentions the high quality of datasubmitted by Aqualia’s subsidiary which receiveda rating of 4.6 points out of 5.The 2011 edition of European BenchmarkingCooperation began in April of last yearand its subsequent work phases, includinga meeting with all participants last Octoberin Oslo, lasted until early 2012. At present,and with the final reports of those in chargeof the evaluation, SmVak and the other 45participating companies, now have a reliabletool that enables them to implementan Improvement Plan with measurable andspecific objectives.

PeopleEco-efficiency prizes forgood ideasThe winners of the2 nd Edition ofthe Eco-efficiency awardsare colleagues who,if anything distinguishesthem, is their great ideas,worthy of the FCC Group’srecognition.A small idea could be the start of a majorproject. Bill Gates and Paul Allen, a schoolmate,founded Microsoft in 1975. Fruit ofa visionary idea, he decided to carry it outin the garage at his house. A few years later,Steve Jobs founded Apple jointly withhis childhood friend Steve Wozniak, alsoat his garage, an event that has revolutionisedthe world of computers forever. Bothare great example of how and where greatsuccessful ideas are born.Manuel, Miguel Ángel, Ignacio, Antonioand Álvaro, all winners at the II Edition ofthe Eco-Efficiency Awards, are the protagonistsof our story. The first four submittedthe project “Automatic traffic restrictionsystem for improving air quality in Madrid”and Álvaro wagered on the candidacy of his“Project for the design of an eco-efficientworksite shack”.The idea of the winners who submitted theproject “Automatic traffic restriction systemfor improving air quality in Madrid” came upin a very typical Spanish way. It was not intheir garage but rather at an outdoor terra-ce one evening in early summer. “The fourof us were sitting down at a terrace of a barhaving a drink and eating tapas... and eachof us have our own way of getting an ideaand putting it into practice and our way isa very Spanish one”, they said. “Our ideacame when we looked at the sky of Ma-The groupincluding ManuelFernández, Miguel ÁngelRamírez, Ignacio Báñezand Antonio Benítez workat the Conservation andSystems department

Avelino Acero, managing director of FCC Construcción; José Mayor,chairman of FCC Construcción; the winner Álvaro Marzo Ruizand other colleagues from this departmentThe award-winners Manuel, Miguel Ángel, Ignacio and Antonio,with the director of Human Resources, Francisco Martin Monteagudo;the president of FCC Servicios, José Luis de la Torre andthe managing director of FCC Versia, Carlos Barón.drid and noticed a dark beret over the skywhich, unfortunately, we are getting usedto when we leave or are on our way backto the city”. The topic of conversation wasalready served at this get together. Theystarted an interesting debate on things andinitiatives that they could contribute to providea solution to this increasingly harmfuland dangerous layer of pollution.Winners of the 2nd editionImproving the quality of life of citizens: Manuel Fernández, Miguel Ángel Ramírez,Ignacio Báñez and Antonio Benítez from Conservación and Sistemas, S.A. winnersin the category of eco-efficient idea/project that improves the lives of citizens fortheir initiative “Automatic traffic restriction system for improving air quality in Madrid”.Improving the company’s results: Álvaro Marzo Ruiz, of the Madrid Building IIbranch office of FCC Construcción, winner in the efficient idea/project category thatimproves the results of the company for his initiative “Project for the design of an ecoefficientworksite shack”.At that time, certain media were coveringthe news that the Community of Madridhad decided to make a firm commitmentto improving air quality and that they wereplanning a strategy for the coming years toreduce greenhouse gas emissions in theregion. It is the so-called Blue Plan, whichproposes the challenge of keeping Madrid’ssky blue with the collaboration of all the citizensof Madrid and to have the Communityof Madrid become a reference in air qualityimprovement.“It was a great coincidence, Miguel Ángel,35one of the members of the group, told us,that at that time, the second edition of theEco-efficiency Awards had just been announced”.

It did not take long for the four of them tostart working on drafting a document to reflect,in an orderly way, the ideas that hadcome up during that brainstorming sessionthat summer afternoon, and to submit theproposal as a candidate for the awards.“The great surprise came when we weretold that our project, ‘Automatic traffic restrictionsystem for improving air quality inMadrid’ had been selected as one of thefinalists. It was then that we started to realisethat the rigorous analysis and successof our idea was shared by others, not justthe four of us”.Álvaro Marzo Ruiz,works at the MadridBuilding II branch officeof FCC ConstrucciónThe other protagonist of this story of successis Álvaro Marzo, who was a winnerfor his “Project for the design of an ecoefficientworksite shack” which involved aninnovative project for the design of a worksiteshack.With the intention of developing a prototypethat could meet all the needs for daily use,that was sustainable, and with a contemporarydesign, Álvaro tackled the challengeof designing a worksite shack model incorporatingthe most advanced techniques forthe use of renewable energy and sustainableconstruction. Many of these ideas werealready in Álvaro’s mind when the EcoefficiencyAwards were announced, all ofwhich represented a great opportunity forhim.“The idea came up since in my work team.we use these types of installations on adaily basis”, Álvaro told us. “The exhibitedprototype required serious work in order toincorporate the elements currently availablein the market that we normally use for theconstruction of buildings, and design workto update the existing model according tothe requirements of a leading company inits sector”.Beyond the luck of having been a winner,Álvaro is left with the satisfaction of havingparticipated in a contest where the qualityof the proposals was very high and wherehe was allowed to carry out an innovativework that was validated by a committee ofexperts.Honour diplomasIn addition, honour diplomas for projectssubmitted were awarded to Justin Curlee,Zac Sanders, Andrea Rodríguez and ÁlvaroRuiz from FCC Enviromental, in Houston(Texas) for their work “Recycling of backflowwater from oil and gas wells”; and toJiri Karpeta, of SmVaK, in Ostrava (CzechRepublic): for the project “Taking advantageof the energy potential of waste water inthe iron and steel industry in the treatmentplants”.

PeopleAward ceremony atTorre PicassoBaldomero Falcones, chairman of the CitizenServices Group, and board membersEsther and Alicia Alcocer, handed out theprizes on 6 March to the award-winnersin the 2nd Edition of the Eco -efficiencyAwards, at event held in Torre Picasso.Also present at the event were the chairmenof the different areas and corporatemanaging directors.There was a high level of participation in thissecond edition, higher than in the first one.Seventy projects from different countries inwhich more than 120 people participatedwere submitted. The projects focus on sustainabledevelopment; the implementation fappropriate measures to take advantage ofnatural resources and of new technologiesthat make a positive contribution to the environment.All the entries submitted in this secondedition of the Eco-efficiency Awards wereassessed by a technical committee createdfor this purposes comprising members ofFCC’s Innovation Committee. After a preliminaryevaluation, the committee membersselected 11 runner-up projects. The seniorexecutives of the different business areasparticipated in the second phase as membersof the panel of judges which selectedthe winning entries.One of FCC’s key objectives is to ensurethat eco-efficiency becomes a company’strademark. These prizes represent an internationalinitiative which aims to rewardsideas or updates carried out by the employeesof the Citizen Services group in anypart of the world.37

WRG presents ABCD awardsThe names of the nine “Beyond the Call ofDuty (ABCD) Awards 2011, organized byWRG, were announced on 16 February.The prizes were handed out at an eventheld in Eastwood Hall in Nottingham (UnitedKingdom).Paul Taylor CEO of WRG inaugurated theceremony with a short presentation speechand the projection of a film in which he wishedthe best of luck to the participants. Paulthen took the stage to describe each of theprize categories and then made way to thefilms supporting each of the nominations.“And the winner is .....”The ABCD award winners were:Customer ServiceWinner: Christine Jones, Judith Ogston,Matthew Ross, Tony Ogunjobi, RobFluckigerHonourable Mention: Puntos Limpiosdel Consorcio RE3 (Smallmead yLongshot Lane) y el Contrato de SuffolkGood EnvironmentalPracticesWinner: Charles Bliss, Cassie Beadle yPhilip Perigo (alias: The funky chicken,little miss piggy & baa baa black sheep)Honourable Mention: Mark Short &Jeremy BlackHealth and SafetyWinner: Garry Smith, Jim Cooper y RitchieThomasHonourable Mention: Phil Eyre y elEquipo de Mantenimiento de Eastcroft

PeopleCost Savings InitiativeWinner: Karl Starkey y Dave MollandHonourable Mention: Oliver CaunceInnovationWinner: Faye WildsmithHonourable Mention: El equipo delcontrato BDRRecycling PerformanceWinner: Punto Limpio de HadleighHonourable Mention: Equipo deOperaciones de Hull y East RidingMost improved siteWinner: Equipo del Centro de Reciclajede Materiales de BarrowHonourable Mention: West Street,Contrato BDRBest driverWinner: Malcolm TalbotHonourable Mention: John ExtonBest effortsWinner: Fabrice SchurmansHonourable Mention: Russell Bromage,Carl Bakewell y Kevin Loake

On the left, the FCC Citizen Services II Team, the champion of the Madrid Silver League home court in Madrid. On the right, the team representing FCCCitizen Services Coruña which was the champion at the Silver League at its home court in A Coruña.Two FCC teams are thechampions of thelnter-Company LeagueOne of the three FCC teams that participatedin the Inter-Company League, the FCCCitizens Services II, was the champion ofthe Silver League at its Madrid home stadium.The members of this team, who work at theFederico Salmón 13 office, are: RobertoRosario Ribada, Enrique Albaladejo Salinasand Pablo Contreras Ruiz de Alda (Systemsand Information Technologies Department);Jesús Roldán Achutegui (Procurement Department);Luis Bosquet Plaza and MiguelAngel Pulido Eslava (Aqualia Central ZoneDepartment); Alfredo Salvador Ibañez (GeneralServices - Reprography); and ÁngelGil Fernández (Corporate Health and OccupationalSafety Corporate Department).The Inter-Company League, organized bythe Spanish Basketball Federation, wascreated more than two years ago and is thefirst official 3 vs. 3 basketball competitionformed by teams of no more than 8 players,representing a company or a group.As from now and thanks to this classification,the team will be able to participate inanother league that will start playing in thecoming weeks and, therefore, will be ableto compete for the National Final Phase.

People41

lnterview with Erik Lehner, an ALPINE engineer“The Zistersdorfwaste-to-energy plantis a good example ofcooperation within theFCC Group”Erik, how long have you been workingat Alpine?I’ve been working at Alpine since 2004.Before that, I worked at a traffic planningoffice.What is your current job and what doesit involve?I joined Alpine as a simple technician andmy job was to help the project managerand the foreman. I am now a project manager.My general responsibilities in a projectare; purchase the land, execute the planningprocess, secure permits, hire workers,control the development of the project, ensurethe correct completion of the project,manage claims or problems that could ariseduring the process and analyze proposedprojects to determine the work required beforecommencing.What are you in charge of right now?I’m working on the acquisition of an urbanheating plant in Vienna.¿Which are the most interesting projectsin which you have worked since you joinedAlpine?The Vienna central railway station due to thesize of the project. The Zistersdorf wasteto-energyplant and the Malzenice (Slovakia)combined cycle generation plant sinceboth were turnkey design and constructionManaging the teamat the Vienna railwaystation project was agreat experience andan honour,specially working withsuch a large andqualified teamprojects. In the case of the central railwaystation in Vienna, the greatest challengewas to supervise and control logistics. Asyou can imagine, it was a great challengeto coordinate more than 600 workers, numerouswork teams, and 400 trucks on adaily basis.The Zistersdorf and Malzenice projectswere interesting because I participatedin all their phases (bidding, planning, andconstruction). In both cases, we were alsoresponsible for the design, pursuant to thecontracts, and, therefore, I had to ensurecoordination between the owner, the client,the designer, public administrations and ourteam.You participated in the construction of.A.S.A.’s waste-to-energy plant in Zistersdorf...Yes, I was in charge of managing the project.The design and construction phaseslasted two years. Our team at the Zistersdorfproject was really small, althoughhighly efficient. The foreman, his aide, eightsupervisors, and 80 workers were involvedin this project. An executive and I workedat the office.What’s the difference between building

PeopleWere you previously involved in buildinga waste-to-energy plant and, if so, where?Can you make a comparison with theZistersdorf plant?No, it was the first one, but I had acquiredexperience in building industrial plantssuch as the facilities for treating crude oilto produce polyethylene as well as bitumenoxidation plant.Have you ever worked in a projectabroad, and if, so, where?a waste-to-energy plant and buildingany other type of industrial installation?Is it necessary to comply with any speciallegal requisite?The difference, from the standpoint of a civilengineer, is that in a waste-to-energy plant,the amount of concrete required is usuallymuch more than for other types of plantssince the waste bunker is a huge concretebuilding. In other plants, the main constructions,such as the boiler and machineryrooms generally have a steel structure. Foreach type of plant, three are also many differentand specific legal requisites.Did you encounter any problems duringthe construction process?Yes, we had serious problems with regardsto the coating for the steel structure and,in addition, the company that we subcontractedto perform this job went into receivershipduring the main construction phase.Nevertheless, we found an acceptablesolution in collaboration with the owner of.A.S.A.Yes, in Malzenice (Slovakia), Mutenice(Czech Republic) and Burghausen (Germany).Do you have colleagues of other nationalities,from where? Do you notice culturaldifferences in terms of communicationand work? Have you ever hand anytype of cultural misunderstanding withother colleagues?Yes, I had colleagues from Slovakia. In myopinion, the principal misunderstandingsare because of language differences ratherthan culture. I think this is a challenge thatwe must overcome in the future if we wantto be successful in countries other than ourown.43

Excavation: 120,000 m³Reinforced concrete: 16,000 m³Steel framework: 1,600 tFormwork: 47,000 m³Volume built: 24,000 m³Key figures of the Zistersdorfwaste-to-energy plantConstruction period: March 2007- April.2009Technical specificationsStructural steel: 200 tSoil stabilisation: 21,000 m³Aluminium roofing: 3.870 m²Metal plate exterior wall: 5.500 m²External equipment: 12,000 m²The most unique aspect of the construction was lifting the prefabricated elements atthe intermediate level of the bunker (21m high) and the roofing. The largest elementsweighted up to 70 t and had to be lifted using a “Tandemhub” crane (400 t and 200 t).Which are the qualities required for managingsuch large human teams in similarsize projects?It was very important for me to manage theVienna central railway station team and anhonour to work with such a large and qualifiedteam. In my opinion, the most importanttraits for successfully managing a teamsuch as this one are: social skills, the abilityto speak openly and cordially and beingable to give precise instructions, managingteam problems with tact. You also have toencourage teamwork and it is then that yourealise that with firmness and comradeshipyou and your team can accomplish incrediblethings.Interviewed by:Lucie Zumrová, .A.S.A. Abfall Service AGFCC’s Information Security andTechnological Risk Managementdepartment wins SIC Magazine prizeMagda Sarto Jorbacollects the SIC Award.The Spanish magazine, Seguridad en Informáticay Comunicaciones (SIC) selectedMagda Sarto Jorba as the winner of the SICAward in recognition for “her professionalcareer focused on information security”.Magda Sarto, who holds a degree in computerengineering and an MBA, joined theFCC Group in 1009. She is a member ofthe Information Security and TechnologicalRis, Management “ department since its inceptionin 2005 where she is responsible forPlanning and Control.The prize was given on 25 April during thegala dinner held each year as part of theSECURMÁTICA convention which held its23rd Information Security event. The prizeis an acknowledgement of the FCC Group’sfirm commitment to managing technologicalrisks as an essential element for ensuringthe protection, confidentiality, integrityand availability of information throughoutthe entire organization.The SIC Magazine awards were created in2004 to honour professionals and companiesthat play an important role in the developmentand consolidation of informationsecurity.

People

Social ResponsibilityFCC Approves ltsThird CorporateSocialResponsibilityMaster PlanFCC has reached a new milestone in itscommitment to Corporate Social Responsibility(CSR). The Board of Directors of FCC,the Citizen Services Group, has approvedthe 3rd Corporate Responsibility MasterPlan 2012-14. This approval is a distinguishingfeature of the Plan and reflectsthe strategic importance that the companyattaches to this issue.The connection with the Board of Directorsis based on the fact that the chairman ofthe Corporate Responsibility Committee,Felipe García, is the one who defends thesepolicies before the Board of Directors ofwhich he is also a member.CSR policiesbolster businessstrategies to achievetheir objectivesThe 3rd CR Master Plan for the 2012-14period represents significant progress comparedwith the two previous plans, sincenow the Corporate Social Responsibilitypolicies are at the service of the business’strategy. In short, it is one of the tools forachieving objectives.Bolstering FCC’scapabilitiesand competenciesThe new Master Plan has been designedto reinforce the capabilities theCompany and the competencies ofits employees: a design which aims todeepen FCC’s objective of strengtheningits position as a source of comprehensivesolutions to the problemsassociated with the sustainable developmentof cities in the future.The Master Plan is based on the conceptof Citizen Services, and it was designed inconsideration of two projections: notablegrowth in the world’s population in the nextdecade (primarily in cities) and the new environmentaland social demands that willarise as a result.Sustainability will be essential to enableFCC to compete in the cities of the future.Infrastructure, water, waste, and energy(FCC’s core businesses) will play a majorrole in the development of cities in the nextten years.Link to the 3rd CSR Master Plan:http://www.fcc.es/fccweb/responsabilidad-corporativa/estrategia/plan-director/index.html

From left to right: José M. Velasco, Managing Director of CSR Communication; Felipe B. García,Secretary General of FCC; and Javier López-Galiacho, Director of CSR.The 3 rd Master Plan is defined by three pillars1. The first pillar is Citizen Connection, which encourages dialogue with cities’ opinion-makers,promotes active sustainability with the participation of FCC employees,evaluates and measures the positive impact for users of FCC’s services, andsupports our corporate volunteer programmes.2. Intelligent Services, calls for the creation of an interdisciplinary work and researchgroup to anticipate the design and needs of future cities, and to reduce the carbonfootprint of the group’s business activities.3. Exemplary Behaviour, focuses on a Group-wide commitment to integrity andethics, promotion of CSR among suppliers, improvements in career developmentand workplace safety for our employees, and the integration of groups which areunderprivileged or at risk of social exclusion.The FCC GroupBoard of Directors’approval is one of thedifferentiatingelements of its CSRpolicy47

FTSE4 Goodincludes FCC in its investmentindex for the fourthconsecutive yearFCC’s social and environmental responsibilitystrategy has once again attained internationalrecognition. FTSE4Good, the sociallyresponsible investing index, has includedFCC, the Citizen Services Group, for thefourth consecutive year. The index, which isrenewed twice a year, rates environmentalaspects, worker rights, and environmentaland climate change management, amongother factors.Recognition by FTSE4Good, one of theleading global indices for sustainability andcorporate responsibility, further strengthensFCC’s conviction that it is properly implementingsocial responsibility features withinits business strategy. Those features includeenvironmental management, adaptationto and mitigation of climate change, combatingcorruption, defence of human andThe expertsresponsible for thisindex assess managementof environmentalaspects and labourrights of the FCC Grouplabour rights, and the application of labourstandards in the supply chain.The areas of FCC’s performance that weremost highly rated by FTSE4Good expertswere worker rights (scoring 5 points outof 5), environmental and climate changemanagement, corporate governance andcountering bribery. The Citizen ServicesGroup obtained 88 points out of a possibletotal of 100.The most sustainable companyThe consolidation of FCC’s position amongthe world’s most sustainable companiesreflects a series of specific actions andachievements in the area of social responsibilityby the Group, whose main shareholderis Esther Koplowitz. These include thepromotion of integrity through awarenessraisingand training tools, which facilitatecompliance with the Code of Ethics, theequality and harassment prevention policies,and the creation of the ProcurementDepartment, which applies social responsibilitycriteria when selecting and evaluatingsuppliers.The Board of Directors’ involvement inthese policies reflects its commitment tothis issue. FCC’s Board has approved the3rd Corporate Responsibility Master Plan2012-14. This 3rd plan represents significantprogress with respect to the previoustwo, and entails placing CSR policies at theservice of the business strategy. In short,these policies should serve to achieve businessobjectives. The 3rd Plan is defined bythree vectors: connecting with citizens, intelligentservices, and exemplary behaviour.Also the Dow JonesAdditionally, for the third consecutive year,FCC maintained its position in the Dow JonesSustainability Indices for the World andEurope in the heavy construction sector.The company improved its score with respectto the leading company in the sector,Korea’s Hyundai Engineering. This distinctionis further recognition of the Citizen Servicescompany’s commitment to social andenvironmental responsibility.

Social ResponsibilityFCC, awarded Fundación Entorno’sEuropean Environmental PrizeFCC received a European Business Awardfor the Environment at the Spanish editionof the event, organised by Fundación Entorno.Baldomero Falcones, Chairman andCEO of FCC, was presented with the awardby the Prince and Princess of Asturias, whochaired the ceremony held at headquartersof Spain’s National Research Council(CSIC).The FCC Construction project “Designand implementation of a protocol for greenhousegas emissions quantification inconstruction” was awarded an honourablemention in the Management for SustainableDevelopment category. This pioneeringproject implements a protocol for measuringgreenhouse gas emissions to improveour understanding of emissions from constructionand to ensure that they are rigorouslyquantified.The protocol allows for emissions sourcesto be monitored and evaluated, with a viewto improving and reducing emissions and tomanaging climate change risks effectively.The protocol was approved in 2010 andcomplies with the ISO 14064 standard. Accreditedcertification agency AENOR vettedthe Greenhouse Gas Emissions Report inMay 2011.Benefitsthe environmentFCC Construction’s project clearlybenefits the environment and, consequently,the community in general. Moreover,it will contribute indirectly to theSpanish government’s commitment inEurope in the area of greenhouse gasemissions by providing extensive informationabout construction emissions.It will also contribute to strengtheningFCC’s culture and values and build onthe Best Practices already implementedin the construction division. Raisingawareness about this project amongour stakeholders will contribute to thetransfer of knowledge and encourageother companies to follow suit.

FCC Construcciónpublishes 2011Environmental ReportThis is the seventh reportpublished since 2000, a trailblazinginitiative in the sectorOne of the most relevant achievements thisyear is the system that is used to gather andanalyse environmental data. Information onthe company’s projects is now availablein real time and reports can be generatedby type of project, geographical location,hierarchical structure or type of client. Theprint version of the document, in SpanishFCC Construcción’s commitmentto the environmentFCC Construcción has made a permanent commitment to the environment by implementinga business model that is focused on sustainable construction. The environmentalis a priority for the entire Group, starting with management, which has beenconcerned with this issue for many years.FCC Construcción is an active player rather than a mere side-line spectator in theconfiguration of development that is sustainable over time.This is the reason why the Company participates in different working groups in thesustainable construction area at the international, European and national levels. Forexample, FCC Construcción coordinates the “WG5 - Sustainability in Civil Works”group of the ISO/TC-59/SC17 international technical committee for sustainable development.At the European level, the company is a member of the CEN/TC-350 committee for“Sustainability in Construction Work”. The Company is also an active participant in theworking groups of the Spanish Committee, AEN/CTN 198, on “Sustainable Development”of which it is the Vice President, and AEN/CTN 198/SC2, “Sustainability in CivilWorks” which it chairs.and English, contains environmental informationon all FCC Construcción projects inSpain in 2010. With the web version in Spanishonly, users can consult the informationby Autonomous Community.Another objective that has been met refersto the commitment made by FCC Construcciónto combat climate change. In thisarea, the Company has designed and implementeda protocol for measuring greenhousegases, making it the first company inthe construction sector to verify the GHGsaccording to the ISO 14064 standard.FCC Construcción publishes this reportevery two years to summarise thecompany’s environmental actions and shareits environmental management experienceswith others. The implementation ofgood environmental practices goes beyondthe legal requirements and results in moreeco-efficient management.This initiative of FCC Construcción wasrecognised in 2007 by Garrigues-Expansión-CIISwith an award in the category ofsustainability and social responsibility for itscommitment to sustainable development.Construction that is sustainable and more respectful of the environment can only beachieved with clear guidelines and the active participation of construction companies,making suggestions, getting involved in the process, providing solutions from the insideand making them available to society in order to make this a better place foreveryone to live.

Aqualialaunches its 3 rdPeque-ArtistasDrawing ContestThe children and grandchildrenof employees can participateSocial ResponsibilityUnder the theme, “An A+ for you, and A+for the planet”, Aqualia launched the 3rdedition of its Peque-Artistas (Kid Artists)drawing contest for the children and grandchildrenof employees. The aim of this initiativeis to allow Aqualia kids to express howwater is present in their lives. There are twocategories; for kids 5 to 7 years old andanother one for those up to 11 years old.The success of the three editions of thisinitiative underscores the responsibility ofAqualia employees for transmitting, even totheir children, the work entailed in bringingwater to households and retuning it back toits natural medium after being used in optimalconditions.On this occasion, children will not only beable to opt for some of the prizes (two digitalunder-water cameras, one for the winnerPoster for the 10th editionof the InternationalDrawing Contest distributedat schools andcompany departments.in each category; and ten magnetic puzzlesfor the runner-ups in each group), but willalso be able to collaborate, by participating,in a solidarity cause. The equivalentin Euros of 10% of the drawings receivedwill be donated to Fundación Theodora, acharity that works to ensure that childrenwho are hospitalised do not forget to smilethanks to the visit of the “Smile Doctors”.Collaborating with a solidaritycauseThe drawing sheets are distributed amongemployees who request this from theirbranch offices or those in charge of Marketingand Communication in the area. Inaddition, the posters designed for in-housecommunication will inform all employeesabout the contest by placing these atAqualia’s facilities, at bulletin boards, and inother specific places.Almost 300 drawing were submitted lastyear, making this initiative a great communicationand in-house cohesion. All informationon the contest can be checked atAqualia’s intranet.WRG collaborates with a volunteer programWaste reuse at Harpenden, Hertfordshire (United Kingdom)Hertfordshire County Council, in collaborationwith Sue Ryder, a national health andsocial care NGO, and the Waste RecyclingGroup (WRG), have launched a pilot schemeat the household waste recycling centrein Harpenden, to offer the community newways to reduce waste.Personnel and volunteers of the NGO willshow visitors at the Dark Lane facilities howto identify items that can be reused and willask them to take these to the ReUse Cen-tre. Users will also be able to browse in theReUse Centre and pick up a bargain from arange of goods, including bric-a-brac, books,and small pieces of furniture. Proceedswill help Sue Ryder continue offering expertand compassionate care to people livingwith end-of-life and long-term conditionssuch as cancer, stroke, brain injury, multiplesclerosis, dementia, Huntington’s disease,Parkinson’s disease, and motor neuronedisease.As a leader in developing and managinghousehold waste recycling facilities for localentities, WRG will be delighted to work withSue Ryder in order to promote the maximumreuse of items that can still have along useful life. The fact that this can alsogenerate additional revenue for this very importantcharity is an additional benefit.51

Children visited the Oviedo laboratories accompanied by the councilwomanfrom City Hall and by the heads of the department and the branch office.Great participationin the activities organized forWorldWater DayOpen door seminar, talks,exhibits, and educationalworkshops are some ofthe activities carried outto build up awarenessamong the population onthe value of water and theimportance of responsibleconsumption.

Social ResponsibilityGroup photograph taken at the end of the visit to the Ibiza desalination plant.Aqualia departments throughout Spainhave organized various events to celebrateWorld Water Day on 22 March in a specialway. These activities were developed basedon the social vision of water management,as befits Aqualia as a company thatcollaborates with local administrations toprovide a public service.As an example of the actions carried outin all areas, a group of students visited theOviedo office where they attended a presentationon the end-to-end water cycle intheir city.Neighbourhood associations were the protagonistsin Santander. They were offeredthe chance of visiting the springs that supplywater to the city. The promise made byone of the fifty students from Ibiza of “stopdrinking Coca-Cola” after visiting the desalinationplant summarises the success of thisevent at the capital of the island of Ibiza.The branch office at Santa Eulalia del Río (Ibiza)inaugurated a drawing exhibition whichwas visited by the councillors, directors andstudy supervisors at the town’s schools InTomelloso (Ciudad Real), the events wereheld as part of the City Council’s Agenda21, with several talks, workshops, experiments,all followed by hot chocolate.53

Well-beingldentifyinghelpsto prevent that they are repeatedDirect communicationwith each of ourDepartments is a key toolas was underscored bythe occupational hazardcommunication campaignthat Aqualia launchedin 2009.This idea of direct communication was implementedby drafting the monthly noteson the accidents that occurred during themonth, important because of their relevance,and from which all workers can learn.The note, accompanied by photos or graphs,enables each worker to have a clearidea of how the accident took place, whatcaused it, and how to avoid that it happensagain.Simple and concise messagesProviding a clear explanation of how tohandle our job, the optimal conditions, andmaintenance of an installation, enables theoperator to be aware of defects and howthese have an impact on the quality of workand, consequently, on the need to correcteverything that is an impediment to doingperforming our work properly.A simple and concise message makes iteasy to learn about safe attitudes and helpsto retain content to have always in mind asan example in similar situations.In 2012, in order to increase awareness onthe need to work safely, communicationwas extended to communication on accidentswhich, even if there were no consequences,there could have been except forluck.In companies, employees are not just requiredto work; they must work in a safemanner.The Spanish saying “you don’t lose a minutein safety, you gain a life” should alwaysbe on everybody’s mind.In companies,employees are not justrequired to work; theymust work in asafe manner

Productive improvementsAnd certainly, on some occasions, the implementationof technical measures which,although following the corrective preventiinthe prevention of occupational hazardsAlthough not very frequent, there are situationsthat actually occur, such as when afterdetecting a risk situation and performing astudy on possible preventive measures, theresult leads to a reorganization of the productionprocess. At the end, the organizationis usually accompanied by productionimprovement and cost savings.ve measures; finally contribute to boostingproductivity and, as result, earnings.Some examples:• The installation of detectors to verifythe level of deposits so that operatorsdo not have to access the high areas.In the case shown in the photograph,ultrasound technology is used, whichreduces meter reading errors, and ismore reliable, also contributing to reducingmaintenance thanks to its robustness.• Remote control meter reading to avoidhaving to go down through the pothole.From the risk prevention perspective,this measure is being implementedin difficult to access potholes or whenthere are risks not attributable to Aqualia.In addition, it is used in areas wherenoise is very loud, such as in machineryrooms, isolated facilities therebyavoiding driving on roads that are notalways in good conditions, etc.65 and an extensible arm with an idlerbolt so that it can be installed in thewheel where it collects the lid with thenozzle.• Design and construction of a downloadingand cleaning platform for sanitationtrucks that does not requiregoing inside the trucks, consideringthese confined spaces, and having tomove in the high part or in the interior ofthe vessels, usually hard and extensivework.• Installing features in sanitation trucksthat make it possible to open the heavylids mechanically, making it unnecessaryto handle the loads manually aswell as avoiding stressful bodily postures.• This new system comprises a 12-voltelectric magnet able to lift 100 kg ofweigh vertically. This system has beeninstalled in one of Aqualia’s sanitationtrucks. There is a control panel with IP

Well-beingThe sanitation trucks have an implementationinstalled that makes it possible toopen heavy potholes.57

FCC collaborates onWorld Occupational Safetyand Health DayTo commemorate the World OccupationalSafety and Health Day celebrated on 28April, the Regional Institute of OccupationalSafety and Health organized the 2nd OccupationalHealth and Safety Week whichspanned from 23 to 27 April.Several technical seminars and otherevents were organized, in collaboration withvarious entities, professional associations,and companies during these days on theprevention of occupational hazards and onachieving safer work conditions.to improve the prevention of occupationalhazards and to fight against accidents atthe work place.A world referenceThe World Occupational Safety and HealthDay has a short tradition, although it hasbecome an important global reference. Thefirst time it was held, the 28th of April waschosen as the day to commemorate workerswho had suffered accidents at theirjobs and other work-related diseases.On the 25th, a technical visit was organizedon the work procedures at one of theparks in Madrid where FCC Medio Ambientecarries out its activities. The generalmanager of Work and manager of IRSSR,María del Mar Alarcón Castellanos, accompaniedby managers and technicians fromthe FCC Group visited the San Isidro Parkto examine on site the practical results ofthe measures that had been implementedFCC approves the Corporate OccupationalSafety and Health ManualThe Corporate Human Resources Departmentapproved and disseminatedthroughout the various corporate departmentsof the organization the CorporateOccupational Safety and HealthManual. This document defines the corporatecriteria and requisites that shouldunderpin management of occupationalrisk prevention at FCC companies andbusiness areas. It is an internal regulationsand preventive activities referenceof the organization which seeks to standardiseand internationalise managementcriteria for proper compliance with thecorporate policy in this respect.The Corporate Management and theheads of occupational safety and healthfrom the different business areas participatedin defining this document.http://fccnet/corp/ES/rrhh/docgen/Paginas/rrhh_mssl.aspx

Well-being59

The importance of good

61Well-beingvision for safe driving

Driving any type of vehicle is a complicatedtask and a test for many of the driver’sphysical and mental capabilities. Althoughdriving could be an automatic activity atcertain times, safe driving always requiresfull attention and response.Contrary to what many believe, driving requiresquality vision. That is, there shouldbe a balance among the different visualfields (sharp vision, vision field, depth...).Of the information that we require for driving,90% is perceived through our eyesand, accordingly, it is essential to havegood vision since most of the decisions andreactions depend on it. Nevertheless, oneout of three drivers could have better eyesight,although they be unaware of it, and5% of drivers (one out of 20) has very pooreyesight but does not know it.Despite the importance of having goodvision for driving, 25.7% of Spaniards between18 and 30 years of age have nevergone to have their eyes checked. That iswhy it it’s important to go for an eye checkupevery year to detect any type of problem.Any eye alteration or disease can lead toworse vision and increases the chancesof being involved in a road accident. It isessential to have the sharpest eye visionpossible since the reaction time must be asshort as possible.Safe driving requires optimal eyesight conditions,such as:90% of theinformation that weneed when driving isperceived throughour eyes• Sharp vision.• Field of vision.• Binocular vision• Colour vision.• The ability to see in special situations,such as when there is limited light, glare,etc.• Perception and attention as componentsbased on other visual capabilities.In all cases, the risk increases in the elderlyand when associated with ophthalmologicalpathologies. The most frequent causesof alterations of the visual field (glaucoma,alterations of the retina, and cataracts)combined with the natural aging process,are the risk factors with that are the mostto blame for traffic accidents mainly whendriving is during adverse traffic conditions,dim lights, or when suffering from fatigue.The importance of goodnight visionDriving at night requires greater visualeffort which implies driving when the conditionsare not optimal for good vision. Infact, the proportion of mortal accidents increasessignificantly at night when, amongother factors, visual sharpness decreasesby 70% and the sense of depth is seventimes less. That is, our capacity to detectobjects and their distance diminishes. Thisis the reason why 86% of Spaniards preferdriving during the day in comparison with13% who would rather drive at night.SpeedExternal factors are not the only ones thatcan affect our eyesight. In fact, speed isone of the most frequent causes of deathson the road since, the greater the speed,the greater the need to have good vision.Driving at the required speed limits is notmerely a whimsical decision since it affectsmany driving elements, jeopardizing safetybehind the wheel when we drive at anexcessive speed. It is very important to beable to see as rapidly as possible any elementor situation occurring on the road sincethis will give us more time to react in theevent of any unforeseen event.According to the report by the Official Associationof Opticians and Optometrists,the visual field diminishes by 75 degreesas speed increases during driving. This isknown as the kinetic vision field. For example,at a speed of 35 km/hr, the field of visionis 100 degrees, however, if we increasespeed to up to 100 km/h, it is reducedby 30 degrees.TirednessAnother factor that has an impact on goodvision is tiredness. Although many officialcampaigns tell us that it is necessary to restevery two hours, few drivers follow this recommendation.We should not forget thatit could take from one to three secondsfrom the moment that we see an obstacle,perceive it, and react. Driving carefully, eventhough it may seem mechanical to us, requiresan extra bodily effort and, if do notpause to rest, our reactions slowdown. Ta-

Well-beingking a walk or resting every two hours isgood advice so that we can be 100% alertin the event of any unforeseen situationsthat could arise while we are driving.The influence of alcohol and drugsAmong the factors that probably have thegreatest effect on vision are alcohol anddrugs. Unfortunately, the consumption ofthese substances is frequently detectedin a large number of traffic accidents sincethese substances generate certain effectsthat affect driving to a greater or lesser extent:uncoordinated movements, perceptionfailures, etc.The consumption of alcohol and/or drugsproduces certain specific effects:• Diminishes visual sharpness.• Could cause double vision.• Causes errors when calculatingdistances.• Diminishes the visual field.Professional studies have shown that a distractionof just three seconds when drivingat a speed of 90 km/hour means that theperson is driving blind for a distance of 75metres. If, on top of this, we add alcohol,we would be driving blindly.By: Ana de Juan AresCommunication andCSR Department63

KnowledgeBy: Pedro José Cifuentes RossoTechnical Agronomy Engineer, head of the Parks andGardens DepartmentFCC Medio Ambiente, Murcia–Almería branch officeBiologicalcontrolOur responsibility as conservation managersand the implementation of a SustainableManagement System, presented inthe 6th Iberoamerican Parks and GardensCongress in 2009, has made it necessaryfor us in the last few years to find more enofa new plague affectingthe city’s treesCurrent globalisation and the absence ofmeasures to ensure safe mobility of botanicmaterial have been the reason for thenew plagues that have been introduced inEurope through “aggressive invasive exoticplants”. FCC’s Parks and Gardens departmentin Cartagena has identified oneof these new plagues which have affectedFicus trees.The results of this research project, launchedin 2009, were recently reported inan article published in the magazine of theSpanish Association of Public Parks andGardens. It was also possible in this projectto achieve the biological control of this plaguewith the help of insect and ecologicalproducts without the need to use chemicaltreatments that are generally very aggressivefor the environment.Ficus trees were discovered in the IberianPeninsula thanks to the scientific expeditionsof the late 1700’s, specifically, the Royalexpedition of Alejandro Malaspina andJosé Bustamante. This botanic materialwas introduced gradually in botanic gardensin the Mediterranean and later in ourcities as isolated specimens or in clusters inthe beginning of the 20th century.Until now, hardly any problems affectedthese trees except for mechanical andstructural problems in relation to more than100-year old specimens because of changesin the microclimate at their place of origin,as we described in the 7th Congressof the Spanish Arboriculture Association in2002.Certain anomalies in microcarpa Ficus weredetected in 2009. The symptoms are expressedas easily visible waxy or whitishcotton-like filaments that diminish the ornamentalvalue of these trees and whichvirulently attack and kill these specimens.After a more thorough inspection, we discoveredan insect in the new and tenderleaves which was identified as a psylla thatwas responsible for the cotton-like symptoms.At that time, we did not find any bibliographythat associated this plague withthe Ficus as an ornamental tree.The harmful insect was identified as themacrohomotoma gladiata, psylla (bugs) originatingin east Asia and in Indonesia. Similarto a cicada, the adult insect, however,measures 2 to 3 millimetres long. Its wingsare membranous and transparent with darkunderside ribs.

In addition to the Anthocoris, we decidedto apply an ecological product. The productconsists of an innovative formula using naturalpolysaccharide (mainly alginate, a purifiedchemical substance obtained frombrown seaweed. This formula traps smallinsects on the surface of the leaves, causingtheir subsequent death by asphyxia.Logically, this product, being selective, iscompatible with biological control since itonly traps psylla due to its physiognomy butis not harmful for the Anthocoris.vironmentally friendly alternatives for plantprotection treatments. These initiatives arein line with the section on prevention andpollution control contemplated in the UNE165.010 “Spanish experimental standard”known as the “Corporate Social ResponsibilityManagement System”We can attest that with these measures,which never included any questionableplant protection treatments in urban surroundings,enabled us by the end of 2011to control the plague, which has now reachedequilibrium with its depredators, andthe trees were able to survive without diminishingtheir aesthetic value. Therefore,we believe that the experience that wedescribed is a step forward in achieving theobjective of protecting the environment bymeans of eco-efficient, sustainable, and sociallyresponsible initiatives.Biological control is a strategy based on theuse of beneficial live organisms to reducethe population density or impact of a harmfulorganism that is classified as a plague.Our beneficial insect, the Anthocoris nemoralis,a bug (heteropterus), which acts asa natural enemy reaches, as an adult, thesize of 3-4 mm. It is brownish, with a blackhead and, although it has wings, it is notable to travel long distances.We began by releasing the Antocoris nemoralisoutdoors in April 2010. The processconsisted of placing boxes, each containing20 to 30 of these bugs, in the internalpart of the treetop.

Guest-columnBy: Juan Pablo MerinoDirector of Corporate Marketingand FCC BrandA global companyFor a company, the importance of a brandis the same as the importance of anindividual’s name. Others identify us by thatname and associate us with a way of beingand a way of doing things, with certainvalues and with our experience or track record.After a few years, we achieve a specificpositioning in our surroundings.Crisis scenarios represent an excellent opportunityfor making an in depth analysis ofthis positioning and for pursuing alternativesso that the brand can emerge strongerand surmount the bad years.A good strategy is to focus on an overall reviewthe field of operations in search of newpositioning areas that could be occupiedand that could contribute a new place wherethe brand could develop and from whichto address its audiences. At the same time,our target public would discover a new facetof the company which, if managed correctlyand properly communicated, wouldserve to ensure the survival of the businessduring another stage.In short, the idea is to reposition the brandin a scenario such as the present one andlaunch messages to renew the clients’trust. Seek a sound, clear, and defined positioningthat make us different, as a synonymand guarantee for the future.The brand should be reorganised to meetthe new circumstances. This means thatthe message should be updated to reachthe market clearly and comprehensively.Behind this repositioning, however, certainvalues should prevail, such as the way wedo things that makes us different, unique,and genuine. Nobody then could copy usand we could continue to generate business,wealth, and jobs. Our reinvented andinnovated story would feed the new phase.Brands should serve as guidelines so thatcompanies are able to better adapt to thepossible requirements that the market andclients demand. Accordingly, they shouldprovide employees the resources necessaryto interact in a relevant manner withthe surroundings. This is not an easy task,however, since it is necessary to apply thebrand culture at the emotional and rationallevel in the minds of the employees so thatthis is then manifested in their performance.Employees, simply must think, feel and actbearing the brand in their minds.FCC, our brand, is in the process of becominga single brand where the corporatedescription, Citizen Services, contributesa clear message to the market on FCC’scommitment to the process of innovationand adaptation to the new times.The definitive idea is to reposition thebrand in a situation such as the currentone and launch new messages to renewtrust among our clientsThe responsibility over the brand is somethingthat must be nurtured and managed,and spread to other departments beyondthe Communication and Marketing department.A solidly supported and focu-

projected through a single brandsed brand strategy is based not merely ongood communication measures, but mustalso facilitate the execution of the businessstrategy. The brand could provide guidancesince, by being the visible part of the company,it provides information on what thecompany does and how it does it. It is theroad that the company must take to generatecommitment and cohesion among itsemployees and encourage clients’ loyaltyand their appreciation.The commercial objective is to ensure thatour proposal is perceived by prescribersand clients as the more attractive alternativein its category or, going beyond, createa new category in a constant innovationprocess.The Brand Application Guide, that wouldhave continuity in the definition of the brandarchitecture linked to each business areaand division, sets out the criteria and basicstandards for the correct application of theFCC brand and its corporate descriptor, CitizenServices.We must all makethe greatest efforts to maintainthe coherence of the Group’sgraphic identityWe should all make the greatest efforts tomaintain the coherency of the group’s graphicidentity. We are a very large group ofpeople working in the same organizationbut an organization with a highly diversifiedactivity. Together, we must endeavour tobuild and fed a unique image of our brandto make it easier to differentiate FCC and itsclear market positioning. A clear messagein the same visual language can contributeto making FCC a more solid and competitivebrand.

ThePlaceThePlaceA famousproject worthy ofthe client’s praiseWork on Line 2 ofAthens undergroundcompleted

(Peristeri and Anthoupeli) and a 1,380 metre-longtunnel completing the line connectingAthens’s midtown district with the townof Peristeri. With a population of 140,000,the town is west of the City and one of themost important townships in the provinceof Athens.FCC Construcción, in keeping with internationalisationstrategy, has been active inGreece since 2000. After having built theIgoumenitza harbour (in north-east Greececlose to the Albanian border) which wasinaugurated in September 2003, the Companywas awarded the project calling for theextension of Line of Athens’s undergroundin Peristeri, actually nearly completion in ajoint venture with J&P Avax, one of the leadingconstruction companies in Greece.FCC’s participation in the Line 2 projectbegan by rescuing a tunnel boring machinethat had been used in drilling a tunnel ina previous project, not executed by FCC,linking up the new section awarded to theCompany. The open-shield tunnel boringmachine had been trapped within the tunneland part of the scope of the project includedthe rescue of this machine (by drilling acircular well) and completing the executionof the tunnel using conventional methods.The 112 metre long and 24 metre deepPeristeri station has three levels correspondingto the ticket offices, vestibule (includingaccess control) and platforms. Sincepart of the station runs beneath the town’smain avenue and two buildings, its executionhad to be done “in mine”. This wasThe projectThe extension project for Line 2, awardedby Atikko Metro to FCC in June 2006, consistedof the construction of two stations

ThePlaceFrom left to right: AmadeoC. García, head of theDepartment (FCC Co GreekBranch); Javier Mota, projectmanager (FCC Construcción);José Mayor, CEO ofFCC Construcción; AvelinoAcero, managing director ofFCC Construcción; RamónGómez Andrio, head of theLiaison Office (FCC-Alpine);Stelios Kollonys, externalconsultant.The boss and his projectJAVIER MOTAProject manager of L2 of Athensunderground.Age: 38 years.Experience:13 years.Positive Aspects: Very positive professionalexperience: “you lean a lot (notjust languages) when you live in a foreigncountry and share in another way of working”.Negative aspects: “Longing, for familybecause of being far away, althoughwith each passing day you become a bitmore detached (friends, former FCC colleagues,...).When I go to my native Barcelonanow, I feel a stranger”.Stay in Athens: Since the summer of2006.Living in Athens: “It is a European capitalwith pleasant weather and all types ofservices. It is somewhat ugly and chaotic,but the country is wonderful. There isa whole country outside Athens (not justthe islands) that is worth discovering”.Challenges: “Being a father and, ofcourse, growing as a person and as aprofessional”.Execution of the project: 100%.Contribution of the FCC team:FCC project as the leader in the joint venture.It led the consortium in all the key aspectsof the project and in the major decisions.Although it was not easy at first,there was finally good teamwork and thelocal partner knew how to take advantageof our experience in executing major infrastructureprojects.Project teamManager: Athanasios Notas.Project manager: Javier Mota.Head of administration: Amadeo C. García.Procurement manager: Javier Marina.Head of production: Héctor Tarancón/Ioanna Simeonidou.Foreman: Georgios Drivas.Administrative staff: Luis F. Álvarez.Head of the technical office: Elena Flaski.The Athens undergroundin figuresBudget: 95.8 million Euros.Start: June 2006.Completion: March 2012.Number of workers: Up to 150 at peak periods.Number of estimated users: More than75,000 passengers daily.Athens in figuresPopulation: 3,158,400 inhabitants.Area: 3.808 km 2 .Subway lines:Line 1 (ISAP): Piraeus-Kifisia.Line 2 (Attiko Metro): Agios Antonios-Agios Dimitrios.Line 3 (Attiko Metro): Egaleo- EleftheriosVenizelos Airport.Language: Greek.Religion: Greek Orthodox.71

one of the tasks that presented the mosttechnical difficulties since it involved a largetunnel in an urban area with an open sectionof more than 200 m 2 . This section wasnamed the “Grand Cavern”. The executionwas a great success in terms of the periodrequired for its construction as well as for itsquality. The excavation did not cause anypotholes whatsoever.The Anthoupoli, 147 m long and 20 mdeep, has a level for ticket offices andaccess control and another one for theplatforms. The critical section in the constructionof this station was the executionof one of the entries of the vestibule whichinvolved digging a 15 m 2 open section tunnelwith less than 2 m of covering and withcentimetre-tolerance at the sections underneathexisting services (galleries, sewagewells, drinking water wells, and electricaland communication wiring. The executionwas successful and the client congratulatedthe project team for their work.ALPlNE in GreeceSince 1980, FCC’s Austrian subsidiary has been active in Greece. It has taken on andbuilt major infrastructure projects such as the Thisavros dam in Drama; the Artemisiotunnel in Corinth; the 8.5 km-long By-Pass of ancient Olympia at the National Vitinahighway; and the enlargement of Line 2 of the Athens subway system which includedthe construction of a 3 km-long tunnel.The Company is currently building the Egnatia highway, the national Tripoli-Kalamataroad; and the Drama-Kpidpimoa road, the Sindos station, and the Byzantine Museumin Athens.It is also the major partner in the joint ventureinvolved in the construction of the extensionof Line 3 of the Athens underground whichincludes several stations; Egaleo, Haidari,and the Eleonas terminal.The project contemplates the construction ofa 1.5 km-long tunnel using the Austrian method.The contract also contemplated the superstructure,double-rails 1,380 m, and theupgrading of existing rail lines at the AgiosAntonios station. It also included electromechanicalinstallations in the two stationsand the tunnel and the revamping and coordinationof these installations with thetele-control and tele-detection system atthe General Control Centre at the CentralSyntagma Station.In addition to assembling the rail along thelength of the tunnel, pipes, prisms, andconduits were placed for the electromechanicalinstallations.Javier Mota, project manager, explainedthat in order to be able to finish the projecton schedule, more than 150 people workedduring peak hours.The project has been completed 100%and the current work involves finishings.The final project documentation is beingprepared (as-built blueprints, quality documentation,and the manuals for the electromechanicalequipment).Future projectsAlthough Greece is currently immersed in avery serious economic crisis and State-fundedpublic works have come to a standstill,other public works projects funded by theEuropean Union via its Aid Funds, are currentlyongoing.As part of the current Infrastructure Plan, theGreek Ministry of Public Works, YPeMeDi,has announced important railway projects.Other projects in the pipeline include the425 million Euro project for the extensionof the Salonika subway, plus other concessionprojects such as the construction ofthe Iraklio Airport (Crete) and the extensionof the Attikí Odos highway east of Athens.Official visitsDue to the importance of the Athens underground,the Peristeri extension projectreceived wide media coverage, with a largenumber of journalists visiting the worksiteas well as politicians. Among these officialvisits, one of the most important was theone made by Magdalena Álvarez, Spanishminister of Public Works in 2007, the Greekminister of Public Works, Mr. Soufliás in2008 and 2010, and the visit of the Greekprime minister, Mr. Karamanlís in 2010.

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CommunitiesThe Austrian city ofBaden,Baden totally satisfied with.A.S.A.collaboration.A.S.A, the Austrian subsidiary of FCC, leaderin end-to-end waste management andtreatment, including collection, transport,elimination, landfill sites, sorting and recycling,is in charge of waste management inthe Austrian city of Baden. Kurt Staska, thecity’s mayor, is very satisfied with the servicesrendered by .A.S.A.Situated in Vienna’s forests and just 26 kmfrom the city, Baden offers its 25,000 inha-bitants and visitors a wide range of culturalattractions, artistic gardens, architecture,and several health facilities.Spa townNestled in a picturesque landscape, Badenis one of Austria’s spa towns. The Romansalready knew about and enjoyed its thermalwaters and praised the wines of this region,known for its large production of mostlywhite wines.Baden was the city of choice of majorcomposers. Bach completed his NinthSymphony there; Johann Strauss lived thereand was inspired to compose BadnerMädln; Franz Schubert left his footprint inBaden, and Mozart composed his sacredmusic Ave Verum.

75Threequestions forKurt Staska,mayor ofBaden“.A.S.A. is capableof guaranteeing theproper functioningof all services”Why did Baden select .A.S.A. asits urban waste sector partner?When we started to work together,.A.S.A. absorbed the company“Steinpruckner“ which for many yearshad been the waste management contractorin Baden. .A.S.A. generouslysubrogated the existing contracts withBaden.How does Baden benefit from.A.S.A.’s collaboration?Cultureis a year-round eventin BadenThanks to its scale, .A.S.A. is capableof guaranteeing the proper functioningof all waste management services notcovered by the waste management associationof the Baden district. .A.S.A.also collects all the cardboard boxesof companies situated in the city’s midtowndistrict.Is the city of Baden satisfiedwith A.S.A.’s services?Baden is absolutely satisfied with.A.S.A.’s collaboration.