ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY OF OUR PRODUCTION PLANTS

The processes used at Ebro Group’s production plants in both the rice and pasta divisions are relatively simple agri-food processes that do not generate any major environmental impacts and entail a minimal risk of accidental pollution. The most significant environmental risks relating to the Ebro Group can be classified as follows:

• Air emissions: Mainly emissions of particles during the handling of cereals (rice and wheat) and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions related to energy consumption, fossil fuels and electricity. The most widely used fuel is natural gas.

• Production processes: Essentially mechanical and hydrothermal, requiring the use of very few chemical products and in very small quantities. Most of these products are used to clean the equipment and cleanse the raw materials and are relatively harmless for the environment.

• Water consumption: The amount of water used in our processes is very small (the vast majority of our products are dry) so the volume of effluent generated is also small. Moreover, the little effluent produced has a low level of contamination since the water consumed is basically used to produce steam, for cooling or as an ingredient in the finished products.

• Waste generation and management: The Ebro Group generates minimal amounts of waste, both non-hazardous (mainly packaging of ingredients and ancillary materials) and hazardous (maintenance operations).

To minimise these impacts, Ebro Foods upholds protection of the environment as one of the basic principles of our activities and implements the necessary tools, measures and means in its companies to guarantee that protection.