Volunteers without borders

Some 330 volunteers took part in the initiative in 2014, hosting workshops involving over 6,500 schoolchildren aged 7 to 11 in Spain, Portugal, Croatia, the United States, Mexico, Chile, Canada, Brazil, Australia, Poland and Gabon. ACCIONA employees traveled to around 100 schools and, during two hours, led the pupils through activities and games aimed to teach them, in practical and fun ways, how to save energy and water, obtain more from natural resources, and basic notions about renewable energies, etc.

Volunteers were provided with a teaching guide and materials to carry out exercises and help the pupils improve the ‘climate footprints’ resulting from their daily routines.

The initiative aims to get the children involved in sustainability through activities in their schools

The initiative, held for the third year running, aimed to involve the children in improving the environment through activities in their school environments. This included the pupils converting used bottles, tetra paks and yoghurt cartons into musical instruments, piggybanks and robots, and discovering which of their routine practices were polluting. They also each received a ‘sustainability detective ID card’, making them responsible for environmental protection in their respective schools.

ACCIONA aims, through the Volunteering Day, to raise awareness among schoolchildren of the active role they can play in achieving sustainable development and to encourage employees to assume the Company’s philosophy based on the commitment to low-carbon business models. This means carrying out activities which avoid CO2 emissions, reduce greenhouse gases and optimize energy and water use.