In our view of a sustainable operation, we believe that a company can only prosper and project itself in the long term if -along with providing value to stockholders - it creates value for today’s society and the future generations. We look to achieve the highest standards in the industry in operational efficiency, protection for the safety and health of our workers, the environmental performance of excellence, and our permanent integrating with the community, to contribute to their development and quality of life.
Puerto Ventanas is committed to conducting its operations in accordance with high environmental standards. Consequently, environmental management serves as a strategic objective, integrated into the organization’s processes, business strategies, and decision-making at all levels. To achieve this, the port employs an environmental management system structured according to the requirements of the ISO 14001:2015 standard—recertified in 2019 for a three-year period—which establishes a verifiable, systematic, and proactive approach to environmental protection across the entire organization.
This system includes the monitoring of legal and environmental commitments, identifying all obligations by area and scope of responsibility to ensure full compliance. Furthermore, it tracks aspects related to safety, the environment, quality, energy efficiency, occupational health, administration and finance, and legal matters—all of which are inherent to the port’s processes and services.
In 2016, Puerto Ventanas obtained Ecoports certification—the only international environmental management standard designed exclusively for ports—becoming the first port in Chile to achieve this significant European certification. In 2020, PVSA secured its third recertification, which remains valid until 2022.
Puerto Ventanas has reviewed the legal and regulatory requirements as part of its management system, including its environmental requirements. We currently have 5 Environmental Qualification Resolutions (RCA): RCA N° 263/2000 for the Puerto Ventanas copper concentrate warehouse; RCA N° 229/2004 for the Site N° 6 project; RCA N° 09/2010, to expand the storage capacity of copper concentrate in Puerto Ventanas; RCA N° 249/2014, to expand improve and modernize the system to shop copper concentrate at Puerto Ventanas; RCA N° 66/2015 to improve the conditions of storage or copper concentrate at 46,000 ton.
From 2014, the port maintains an energy management system created under the ISO 50.001 standard.
In 2015, we began measuring our carbon footprint, with calculations certified by the Spanish Association for Standardization and Certification (AENOR).
In 2016 and 2017 the Chilean Ministry of Energy gave Puerto Ventanas the Gold Seal for Energy Efficiency, for its outstanding implementation of energy efficiency policies .
Between 2013 and 2017 we have an accumulated reduction of 511 tons of equivalent C02, reducing our ports carbon footprint.
We implemented an integrated residue management system with an emphasis to sustainably manage them and reduce them from its origin, as well as providing workers with environmental education to workers. In 2017, during World Environment Day, we launched the program “Puerto Recicla” (“The port recycles”) to correctly separate, recycle, reuse and dispose correctly all residues.
As a result of the environmental actions and initiatives undertaken by Puerto Ventanas, the company received in 2017 the EcoPorts certification, becoming the first green port in Chile. EcoPorts is a port-exclusive environmental performance verification exclusive for ports, developed by a group of members of the European Sea Ports Organisation (ESPO), created in the Netherlands in 1994 to promote the exchange of different views and practices to improve the environmental performance of the port industry, under the principles of voluntary self-regulation.