Sustainability is a Central Pillar of Ficosa’s Vision

The decades leading up to the first Earth Day celebration saw the overuse of leaded gas, inefficient vehicles and unregulated industry.

The smog and pollution emitted by these sources were considered a by-product of prosperity and tolerated by communities. But, after a massive oil spill in Santa Barbara, California, Sen. Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin grew more concerned with nationwide pollution and set up a series of teach-ins on college campuses to discuss the effect of pollution.

After recruiting activist Denis Hayes to help, Hayes decided to organize events across the nation on April 22, 1970, that would bring attention to America’s growing pollution problem. That’s when the first Earth Day was born.

The event’s popularity spurred a series of environmental legislation, including the Endangered Species Act, Marine Mammal Protection Act, Superfund, Toxics Substances Control Act, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act and the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act, throughout the first decade of its existence.

Eventually, Earth Day became more international and was celebrated all over the globe. The day also began to inspire responsible companies to consider sustainability and conservation as an important part of their operations.

Ficosa and Climate Neutrality

Ficosa, originally known as Pujol & Tarragó, started in Barcelona, Spain, in 1949 before expanding to Portugal in 1970. But when Spain joined the European Union in 1985, the company began branching out to countries all over Europe, Asia and the Americas. It also began looking at how sustainability should be a part of its innovative technology.

By 2002 we had become one of the first companies within our industry to join the United Nations Global Compact, a voluntary initiative started in 2000. It was based on commitments by CEOs worldwide to implement universal sustainability principles.

It has been Ficosa’s goal to achieve climate neutrality by 2030 by helping to increase the use of renewable energy. We have developed various projects in this regard, such as the installation of photovoltaic panels on the roofs of our plants in Taicang, China, and Maia, Portugal, and we want to have these panels at nine of our 16 plants by 2025.

We also have a plan to ensure that 100% of our electricity will come from renewable sources throughout our network by 2030. We are installing LED lighting, modernizing our equipment and raising awareness about sustainability and conservation with our workforce.

Developing Eco-Friendly Products

Ficosa also believes the present and the future is electric.

As part of our zero-emissions portfolio, we have developed cutting-edge battery component solutions for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV), battery electric vehicles (BEV) and fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEV).

We also offer battery management systems, battery box systems and charging devices as part of our overall commitment to conservation and sustainability.

This Earth Day, we hope our workforce and community celebrate Earth Day with their own renewed energy, and we hope other companies join Ficosa in protecting our planet for years to come.

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