Sustainability approach

Sustainability is central to ACWA Power given our culture and the nature of our operations, and we align sustainable operation with internationally recognised environmental, social and governance standards.

Our vision is to advance the ingenuity and entrepreneurship of the private sector and make available electricity and desalinated water in a reliable and responsible manner to support social development and the economic growth of nations.

Our values align well with accepted ESG principles and ACWA Power is well positioned to develop a comprehensive sustainability strategy and a high‑standard of sustainability reporting.

While sustainability is intrinsic to our Company, we do acknowledge that our dynamic business operation has grown rapidly and successfully and requires further enhancement of our ESG management and reporting.

In 2023 we conducted a thorough assessment, by using ESG rating agencies and sustainability reporting standards, to further improve our sustainability reporting. Topics such as air quality, waste management and water stress are reported for the first time as a Group in this year’s report. This is also the first time we have obtained third‑party limited assurance on selective sustainability quantitative indicators. For further information, please refer to Independent limited assurance report.

We have strengthened our management team and we aim to make our sustainability management and reporting comprehensive so that it covers material and sector‑specific topics recommended by SASB.

We also plan further stakeholder engagement and to refresh our ESG materiality assessments in the near future.

Health and Safety is clearly a primary objective, and it shows in our 2023 safety record, with only 20 reportable injuries during 72 million man hours worked and a Lost Time Injury (LTI) rate of 0.01. Our aim remains zero‑harm across all our operations.

As we expand our sustainability team and capabilities, we will be improving our data capture and reporting. Our intention is to comply fully with the GRI framework in due course.

We also align with the recommendations and frameworks provided by other globally respected organisations, including Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB), the Taskforce on Climate‑related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), the World Economic Forum (WEF) and the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC). As ACWA Power reports based on TCFD, the Company acknowledges the emerging global standard of IFRS Sustainability Reporting standards (S1 and S2) and is committed to transitioning towards disclosure according to IFRS. We intend to commission an independent consultancy to conduct external assessment of our sustainability reporting in the near future.

2023 highlights:

United Nations Global Compact

The UNGC is a voluntary initiative for organisations to implement a set of 10 universal sustainability principles covering human rights, labour, the environment, and anti‑corruption. ACWA Power has aligned fully with these principles, has signed up to the Global Compact Network Saudi Arabia and has a representative on its board.

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

The United Nations’ SDGs are ‘a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and improve the lives and prospects of everyone, everywhere’. The full suite of 17 SDGs was adopted by all UN Member States in 2015, as part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development which set out a 15‑year plan to achieve the Goals.

ACWA Power has selected the SDGs which are most aligned with our activities and impacts, and these are shown in colour within the infographic below.

Management of environmental impact and risk

ACWA Power is committed to operating with minimal environmental risk and impact, not only to safeguard the health and safety of our workforce and communities, but also to reduce our impact on the environment. We actively prioritise efficiency across our operations to ensure that any environmental impact and risk are managed responsibly.

Environmental and Social Impact Assessments (ESIA)

For all new assets, we commission independent consultants to conduct Environmental and Social Impact Assessments (ESIAs) during the feasibility assessment, development and acquisition phases, to ensure minimal environmental and social impact. ESIAs identify and assess potential environmental impacts resulting from the project’s construction and ongoing operational activities.

Mitigation and management measures are implemented based on ESIAs to avoid or minimise environmental impact. Our ESIA scope includes air quality, marine water, sediment and ecology, waste management, soil and groundwater, terrestrial ecology, noise, traffic, cultural heritage, community health, safety and security, workers’ conditions, and occupational health and safety.

Since 2010, ACWA Power has had an Environmental Management System (EMS) that meets the requirements of the ISO 14001:2015 standard, which has been certified to the ISO 45001 standard, an occupational health and safety standard designed to enable organisations to control risks and improve operational health and safety performance.

Compliance with these standards is regularly monitored and supervised by independent environmental consultants.