We are a global operator of essential infrastructure
Within corporate governance, this year an audit of the processes regarding the next Annual General Meeting will be carried out. In 2012, conducted for the first time, was an external review of the management processes and the results of the votes taken at the Meeting that year. This initiative helped to identify weaknesses and opportunities for improvement in the organisation, development and implementation of the General Meeting, in accordance with international standards of corporate governance and best practices demanded by leading foreign institutional investors.
In addition, this year Red Eléctrica will approve a new Code of Ethics which will update the corporate values that have been in force since 2007 and it will be strengthened with ten new commitments related to the conservation of biodiversity, control of activities in offshore tax havens, the right to privacy and control of donations and sponsorships, amongst others. In this manner, the Company seeks to promote ethical management as one of the key elements of corporate responsibility. Today, Red Eléctrica de España fulfils the 58 recommendations of the Unified Code of Good Corporate Governance and the major international corporate governance practices.
In the economic sphere the Company will strengthen the information provided to the sustainability rating agencies and to socially responsible investors regarding environmental, social and good governance criteria.
In the environmental sphere, Red Eléctrica will continue to work on the protection and conservation of birdlife in collaboration with public administrations and prestigious organisations focused on environmental issues, developing actions to avoid or minimise the impact of electricity infrastructures on birdlife. In this sense, noteworthy is the development, together with the various autonomous communities, of a bird-flight map showing migration routes of birdlife. The Company will also continue this year to sign agreements with local and regional public administrations for the protection of biodiversity and of natural areas. In the period 2009-2012 the Company planted more than 200,000 trees and restored 410 hectares of degraded land, which represented an investment of 625,000 euros.
In the internal social sphere, noteworthy are the actions aimed at the continuous and progressive improvement of occupational health and safety for employees. Finally, in the external social sphere, a strategic communication plan regarding sustainability is being designed in order to share the Company's goals, activities and achievements in this area with its stakeholders.