We are FCC Nº22

The eighth edition of the iAgua Awards have distinguished for the first time the “Equality, Diversity and Inclusion” in companies in the water sector, an award that has gone to Aqualia. Juan Pablo Merino, the company’s Global Director of Communication and CSR, received the award from Alejandro Maceira, founder of iA- gua. “Having social legitimacy is essen- tial for any company to be sustai- nable over time. And the only way to obtain this legitimacy is by doing things well and, at the same time, communicating them well, both to stakeholders and to society in ge- neral”, highlighted Merino during his thank-you speech. Pioneer in the implementation of equality plans Aqualia has been a pioneer in the application of equality plans in the water management sector. The company recently presented its 3rd Equality Plan, which sets out the objectives and lines of action Aqualia receives the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion prize at the iAgua 2022 Awards Alejandro Maceira, founder of iAgua, presented the award to Juan Pablo Merino, Aqualia’s Global Director of Communication and CSR. that will guide its activity in this area by 2025. On the other hand, its track record has enabled it to be recognised with the Equality in Business Dis- tinction (DIE) from the Ministry of Equality, which it renewed in 2021 for a period of two years. In addi- tion, since 2017 it has also held the Family Responsible Company (EFR) seal, after implementing actions that promote work-life ba- lance between male and female employees, and that this does not entail a loss of opportunities, either in promotion or in access to trai- ning, among other aspects. Aqualia has also renewed its partici- pation in the #CEOPorlaDiversidad Alliance; maintains its adherence to the Diversity Charter, which it joined in 2018; and recently announced that it is joining the EmpoweringWomen’s Talent initiative that aims to create a space for synergies so that compa- nies can share experiences and work together to advance towards diver- sity, equality and professional inclu- sion. These awards, held every year wi- thout interruption since 2014, re- cognise the work of companies in the water sector in Spain and Latin America, as well as the most outs- tanding entities and professionals in this field. Aqualia has also been awarded “Best Company of 2021” by the readers and followers of iAgua magazine. The award, which recog- nises the company’s “good governance” in water management for the third consecutive year, has allowed the company to position it- self once again as the most representative entity in the sector. Since 2019, Aqualia has topped this ranking, although it had previously achieved it for the first time in 2015, and again in 2017. Best Company of the Year iAgua Awards D I V E R S I T Y D I V E R S I T Y 41