Following a sustainable development strategy based on respect, knowledge and sharing. This is the only way each new project can also become an opportunity for growth for local communities.

“Every individual has the power to make the world a better place,” wrote Sergio Bambaren, a Peruvian chemical engineer who became famous as a writer of novels dedicated to the importance of sustainable action. If every decision taken by an individual can influence the well-being of all members of a community and the achievement of a common goal, how much responsibility does a company that builds large plants in remote territorial contexts have? Maire Tecnimont is aware of the social importance of its activities along the value chain and knows that every project carried out anywhere in the world must not only be a driving force for local industrial development but must be in tune with the culture of the communities where it operates. Each project must fit into a more complex sustainable development framework that the company supports and promotes. 

What is Maire Tecnimont's sustainable development 

For this reason, the sustainability approach of our Group has incorporated some of the values that inspired the United Nations to formulate the developmentally sustainable 2030 Agenda. A commitment to promoting people’s health and safety; to foster the growth of human capital in terms of training and innovation; to protect the environment with activities that mitigate global warming and promote the circular economy; to bring about cultural development and socio-economic growth in the areas where the projects fall. 

A sustainable development strategy that starts with a careful analysis and an in-depth study of the characteristics of each territory in which Maire Tecnimont operates is then fueled by a continuous dialogue with local stakeholders. Relating to local communities helps to understand priorities and expectations regarding the Group’s activities and to identify potential problems, thus improving the final result of the projects, simultaneously bringing economic, social and environmental benefits to the interested parties. 

Maire Tecnimont's investments in sustainable development 

Maire Tecnimont’s support for sustainable development is not just a declaration of intent, it takes the form of projects and investments in the territories in which the Group operates. The numbers speak for themselves: as shown in the 2018 Sustainability Report, the “local contribution” of the 16 most representative projects, both in terms of technology and geography, corresponds to around 7 billion euro, equal to 59% of the total value of the projects. An amount that Maire Tecnimont has externally redistributed through the local purchase of goods and services and through the salaries, tax contributions and professional training for employees and local collaborators. 

It is precisely on this last point that a substantial part of the investments are focused. Developing high-level skills, investing in people, focusing on innovation and pursuing excellent results are the keys to creating long-term value for all our stakeholders, especially at the local level, identifying common goals and agreeing upon specific initiatives. 

Calculating the numbers, Maire Tecnimont contributes to the social and economic well-being of a territory by creating local employment, boosting companies and suppliers, developing skills and abilities, transferring know-how and technologies and prioritizing the employment and training of local workers. Along with supporting education - fundamental for the development of the human capital in the countries that host us - the Group, in fact, contributes to the creation of value both directly, through the hiring of local staff and the purchase of local goods and services, and indirectly, along the entire supply chain, by involving adequately qualified local suppliers as well as subcontracting and procurement companies for the suppliers themselves. 

Maire Tecnimont projects for sustainable development: what we do 

To better understand how Maire Tecnimont's sustainable development projects take shape, two examples of support to the economy and community in the areas in which we operate will be sufficient. Creating value in a country, above all means offering new opportunities. There are many ways to do this, for example, by setting up development programs in collaboration with local schools to improve the preparation of students and provide them not only with specific engineering skills, but also to convey leadership skills and communication techniques. It is happening in Azerbaijan, in the Baku Higher Oil School (BHOS), where the participants (75% women) in the 2017-2018 development program, set up by Maire Tecnimont, have already joined the team as Junior Project Engineers at the Azeri branches of KT- Kinetics and TCM-KT JV Azerbaijan LLC, both companies of the Group. The use of local talent is a fundamental principle for achieving the goal of sustainable development because it enriches the diversity of the workforce and offers young people the opportunity to grow professionally in their own country. In addition to this, hiring local staff offers competitive advantages for any company that works in different cultural territories from their own, where a different mentality and complex bureaucracy can slow down the process. It guarantees knowledge of the market and local legislation, improves communication with local authorities and facilitates relations with customers and local suppliers. If latitude and geography vary, the philosophy behind sustainable action does not change: welcome to Acuna, in the state of Coahuila, Mexico, near the border of the United States. Here, amidst the ranches of semi-wild cattle, the AMISTAD project was developed, a wind power plant located in the desert area between the Madeira del Carmen National Park and the Amistad Lake Canyon. In a difficult and hostile environment, populated by wild animals such as bears, pumas, deer, rattlesnakes and black widows, it was not easy to design and build a wind farm in terms of operational safety and environmental protection. To set up the village that houses workers, supervisors and customers, it was essential to involve the local community from the beginning. The same holds for accessing basic services like water, food, security, workforce and medical assistance. This story of sustainability and collaboration ended with an en plein as a complete success: the assignment of 100% of orders to Mexican suppliers and contractors.