Gas Natural SDG : Fenosa launches the third edition of its corporate environmental volunteering programme

• For the third year in a row the energy company is organising a programme aimed at raising its employees' awareness regarding protecting biodiversity and contributing in a practical way towards improving natural settings throughout Spain.

• The 2016-2017 season kicked off this weekend in the Parque Regional del Sureste, where 23 volunteers planted native species and did environmental clean-up work.

GAS NATURAL FENOSA has launched a new edition of its Corporate Environmental Volunteering Programme aimed at promoting a positive attitude in its employees towards preserving the natural environment, by carrying out practical work to improve areas near their work centres and learning about and participating in the company's commitment to protecting biodiversity.

This is the third consecutive year that the energy company has sponsored this programme, with the collaboration of the Fundación Global Nature, an organisation dedicated to protecting nature. In the two previous editions more than 400 volunteers took part in events organised at 10 natural spaces throughout Spain. The activities included planting tree and shrub species, removing exotic vegetation, repairing and maintaining public infrastructure, environmental clean-up, and building otter refuges, nesting boxes and insect hotels.

This new edition kicked off with a day spent doing environmental conservation work at the Parque Regional del Sureste (Madrid), organised this weekend with the collaboration of the Madrid Regional Government. The volunteers worked on maintaining prior reforestations and planting native species using the 'Nendo Dango' method in the area surrounding the Caserío del Henares Environmental Education Centre. The species that were planted included ash (Fraxinus angustifolia), hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna), prickly juniper (Juniperus oxycedrus), Spanish juniper (Juniperus thurifera), arbutus (Arbutus unedo) and everlastings (Helichrisum stoechas). Finally, participants in the volunteering day completed an interpretive route on one of the trails surrounding the Caserío del Henares during which they learned about the main environmental assets of this protected area.

Commitment to the environment and our natural surroundings

GAS NATURAL FENOSA maintains a firm commitment to society and, for many years, has adopted a corporate culture of respect for and awareness of the environment and environmental improvement, which it continually conveys to its employees, customers, suppliers and society in general. Along these lines, the company incorporates its commitment to preserving biodiversity in all its businesses and activities, and has defined an environmental sustainability strategy based on these three targets: the minimisation of impacts on ecosystems; the conservation of natural assets; and the mitigation of global warming.

Global Nature Foundation

For over 20 years, the Global Nature Foundation has been working on the conservation of spaces and species, as well as the restoration of degraded ecosystems, with a particular focus on wetland areas. Over the last two decades, the foundation has worked with public and private entities to develop activities aimed at conserving biodiversity, both in Spain and within the framework of development aid projects.

As a charitable education foundation, all its projects include environmental awareness elements, in the form of courses, workshops and corporate volunteer programmes on the site.

Madrid, 11 October 2016.

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