ISA’s subsidiary is committed to creating social and environmental value:
ISA INTERCHILE’s sustainable approach to the development of communities and territories
The electric company has implemented a series of initiatives with a strong sustainable focus, inspired by the ISA 2030 strategy and the V.I.D.A pillars: Green, Innovation, Development, and Articulation, to face the challenges of the future and leave a legacy that inspires new generations.
Creating sustainable value that goes beyond the business is ISA INTERCHILE’s great commitment to creating a positive impact on social and environmental issues in each of its actions, whether in the framework of its organizational culture, operations and new projects, or in the relationship and daily contact with the communities that inhabit the territories where they operate.
ISA’s electric company subsidiary operates the Encuentro-Lagunas and Cardones-Polpaico transmission lines, the latter of which is approaching its second year of connection to the National Electric System, which allowed Chile to be interconnected at 500 kV, strengthen transmission capacity, and enable the entry of renewable energy. This represents an important step towards the goal of decarbonizing the energy grid by 2040.
Connections that inspire
In recent years, the company has implemented numerous initiatives inspired by the sustainable pillars V.I.D.A, included in ISA’s 2030 Strategy, which have been strengthened due to the health emergency caused by the COVID-19 pandemic affecting the country. These pillars are oriented towards the creation of Sustainable Value: Green, which seeks to minimize environmental impacts in operations and promote initiatives that generate positive environmental impact; Innovation, which proposes the integration of digitization into operations and assets, and the development of new value offerings; Development, which involves being a relevant actor in the entrepreneurship ecosystem and developing leadership that faces adaptive and technical challenges; and Articulation, which establishes strategic alliances to achieve objectives.
“Based on this sustainable approach, at ISA INTERCHILE, we seek to materialize this commitment to social and environmental actions, aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals of the Pacto GLobal, specifically regarding ensuring access to affordable, safe, sustainable, and modern energy for all, articulating alliances to achieve objectives, promoting the sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, achieving sustainable cities and communities, among other objectives,” explains Gabriel Melguizo, general manager of ISA INTERCHILE.
ISA INTERCHILE deployed all its capacities in the territories where it has a presence with its transmission infrastructure during 2020. Initiatives such as the award of a competitive fund to 22 social organizations in Coquimbo to finance sustainable projects that address needs derived from the pandemic, stands out. In addition, the company was part of an initiative in conjunction with Fundación Amulén, which allowed the implementation of a groundwater treatment plant, powered by solar panels financed by the electric company, in Majada Blanca, a rural town located at an altitude of more than two thousand meters in the Coquimbo Region.
ISA INTERCHILE has also made contributions regarding environmental care, with urban reforestation in some communes in the center-north of the country. Through a program for the recovery of public spaces together with Fundación Mi Parque and with direct participation from the residents themselves, the squares of Freirina and Mantencillo (Atacama Region) and Altovalsol (Coquimbo Region) were improved with new infrastructure and green areas for the benefit of the community, the elderly, young people, and children. In addition, the company signed a collaboration agreement with the Agricultural Research Institute, INIA, aimed at strengthening the protection and dissemination of native flora, which will allow safeguarding the genetic material of species in extinction and generating massive planting of individuals in the central-north area of the country in the future.
Sidebar:
In order to coordinate efforts around the development of the Atacama Region, ISA INTERCHILE joined the Integrated Territorial Program (PTI) Energy Atacama, which seeks to contribute to the strengthening of suppliers to increase their participation in projects in the local energy industry. Driven by Corfo and the Regional Energy Ministry of Atacama, the program was presented on April 20 in conjunction with more than 140 supplier companies, contractors, professionals, academics, and public services.
