Tortosa factory reduces its CO₂ emissions by 28%

In 2021, the Ercros factory in Tortosa reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 28.1% compared to 2020 and, for the third consecutive year, did not suffer any occupational accidents among its own staff.

Specifically, in terms of safety, the Ercros factory in Cerdanyola did not have any accidents between its own and the companies contracted staff throughout 2021, a fact that made it worthy of the 2021 Safety Award by the Business Federation of the Spanish Chemical Industry (Feique).

Over the past year, the factory has improved the quality of its products. Thus, between 2020 and 2021, it reduced its claims rate by 34.2%. This index measures the number of tons of products affected by customer complaints about the number of tons sold.

The Tortosa center has certified the occupational safety management according to ISO 45001, quality management according to ISO 9001, environmental management according to ISO 14001, and is finalizing the certification of energy management according to ISO 50001. Tortosa also has its CO₂ emissions verified in accordance with ISO 14064 and it is included in the European environmental audit and management register EMAS.

Ercros continues to advance in the decarbonization of the activity, as foreseen in the 3D Plan. At present, the Tortosa factory has already completed three of the projects to improve energy efficiency foreseen in the 3D Plan: the waste heat recovery unit generated in the polyol plant, the replacement of various equipment with more efficient ones and the replacement of luminaires by LED.

The performance of Ercros in all aspects of sustainability has earned it the Platinum classification in the international rating EcoVadis, obtaining a score of 84 out of 100 with which Ercros is among the 1% with the best compliance with good ESG practices (environmental, social and governance) of the 75,000 companies evaluated, and has obtained an A rating and 77 points out of 100 in the ESG Rating 2021 of the Spanish Institute of Financial Analysts. Likewise, the company has been certified as a CSR Company in the Excellence category, by the Responsible Care program of the global chemical sector.

The Tortosa center belongs to the intermediate chemistry division of Ercros. It directly employs about 120 people. In 2021 had a turnover of around 95 million euros and exported more than 70% of its sales. This factory is the third largest producer in the world and the only one in Spain of pentaerythritol and dipentaeritritol, products used in the manufacture of paints, printing ink and lubricants. It also produces sodium formate, used in the tanning industry and as an antifreeze at airports. Likewise, in this center is located the R+D department of the intermediate chemistry division, responsible for launching the innovative ErcrosGreen+ and ErcrosTech resins.