Community Relations
- Our Commitment
At Hidronor we are committed to working and guaranteeing a safe environment for the communities near our facilities, developing a series of initiatives that allow us to be a responsible neighbor, having the principle of shared value with our stakeholders as a main point, making sure with our actions to contribute to the sustainable development of the environment and the continuous improvement of our operational processes.
We, as well, care about the safety of our workers, communities, suppliers and customers; for this, we rely on security deposits and sanitary landfills with anti-seismic technology that is governed by national regulations and international standards with the purpose of indefinitely confining the waste that has been deposited without posing risks to the environment or the surrounding communities. We took additional measures, as well, for the controlled management of leachates, permanent monitoring of layers, waste validation processes, and a series of operational controls that allow safe management for the environment and surroundings.
- Community Relations Policy
Safety, sustainable development and continuous improvement are an integral part of our value chain and decision making. This is why caring for people, having respect for the communities and the environment, as well as compliance with environmental regulations and quality standards, are key elements in the execution of our processes and operations.
Our community relations policy is based on respect and active transparency through an open door policy and a dialogue with neighborhood organizations, through work tables with social organizations in our area of influence, which allows us to make decisions together with the communities.
- Benefits for society
In our desire to be a responsible neighbor with the communities near our facilities, we develop a series of initiatives that promote:
- Projects oriented to Local Development.
- Work programs with social organizations for emergency social support.
- Permanent delivery of relevant information for the environment.
- Our relationship with the community
At Hidronor, our purpose is to establish a fluid dialogue with the relevant actors of the communities and local representatives of Antofagasta, in the region of the same name; Pudahuel, in the Metropolitan Region; and Florida and Concepción, in the Biobío Region, with the aim of maintaining relationships of mutual trust that allow us a harmonious and sustainable development in the areas where we locate our plants.
Principles that guide our action
- Dialogue and transparency: We believe in an open-door policy that is expressed in communication channels and fluid dialogue with the community, with the aim of maintaining “reciprocal education” relationships based on trust and transparency.
- Permanent link: We believe in the importance of maintaining a permanent and participatory relationship with the communities surrounding our operations, local authorities, social organizations and educational establishments within a framework of mutual respect and recognition.
- Mutual collaboration: We believe in the construction of collaborative work spaces between the community and the company in order to build a good neighborly relationship.
- Environmental compliance: Aware of the importance of developing a sustainable and respectful business with the environment and the community, we have been rigorous in observing the legal and technical regulations that regulate the industry, understanding that the obligations in this matter must constitute the standard on which we must go. continuously improving and raising our demands.
- Strengthening of social organizations and quality of life: We carry out activities in conjunction with community organizations and educational establishments whose purpose is focused on environmental and / or social aspects that contribute to local development and the quality of life of its members.
- Education in waste management: We hold talks to communities and educational establishments about what waste is and how it is treated in our plants in order to neutralize it or lower the degree of danger, and, finally, provide a safe disposal. We promote campaigns in conjunction with Municipalities that promote the collection of waste that is generated in the same communities.
- Job opportunities: We promote the hiring of local labor by providing job opportunities in the communities near our plants.
- Visits to our facilities: All those authorities, social organizations, educational establishments and the community in general that wish to visit our facilities and plant operations are welcome. Thus, we show transparently the environmental and safety standards with which we work and we facilitate that neighbors and authorities become familiar with the work of Hidronor.
If you are interested in visiting one of our plants or participating in the educational talks, write to us at comunidad@hidronor.cl
- What benefit do we bring to society?
In the past, hazardous waste management meant the disposal of waste and pollutants directly in landfills or unauthorized sites. As the environmental impacts and health effects associated with this activity were identified, the authorities began to establish norms to regulate the generation and disposal of waste, in order to ensure a good quality of life for the population and sustainable development. from the country.
In Chile, the regulation of hazardous waste started in the late 1990s, through the development of the D.S.148 published in 2004, and the Solid Waste Comprehensive Management Policy approved in 2005.
Currently, comprehensive waste management has become a strategic focus in Chile to improve competitiveness in the national industry, assuming international environmental commitments to face the demands of the community and thus reduce environmental risks.
In this context, we, at Hidronor, were born with the purpose of providing comprehensive solutions to the management of hazardous industrial waste throughout the country. Since our creation in 1991, we have had a leading role as a co-helping activity in the work of the State in the field of environmental management, generating social benefits and contributing, from this perspective, to compliance with public policy on waste management. solid, allowing the efficient handling of hazardous waste with minimal risk to health and the environment. Additionally, our operation has made it possible to contribute to the international obligations that Chile has signed in relation to these matters, with the recommendations of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) made in its evaluation of environmental performance.
