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375,556 citizens show their commitment to the planet by opting for Aqualia’s e-bill The “Water Classroom” or how learn about the water cycle by playing Aqualia publishes its 12th Corporate Social Responsibility Report Aqualia presents in Tokyo the results of the project Life Memory Water quality and customer service, the strong points of Aqualia’s service in Santander With this action, citizens are contributing to sustainable development by reducing paper consumption, CO2 emissions and the energy impact of transport. This initiative underscores Aqua- lia’s contribution to the ODS 12 commitment as part of the www.compromisoreal. com campaign. Discovering the end-to-end water cycle and the work that is carried out to bring us the water we consume are the goals of the Water Classroom that Aqualia, through APEMSA (Aguas del Puerto Empresa Municipal), has set up at the facilities of the Coto de la Isleta Centre for Envi- ronmental Education and Nature Activities (CEAAN) in El Puerto de Santa María (Cádiz). Through games and experiments, young people acquire the necessary knowledge about water and its manage- ment, become actively involved in environmental improve- ment and become aware of the need to take care of water and the planet, promoting a change in attitudes in daily consumption habits. The document has been drawn up in accordance with the option of exhaustive compliance with the Global Reporting Initiative’s (GRI) Sustainability Reporting Guide, in its GRI Standard 2016 version, and has been verified by an independent external entity (AENOR). The Report is published in Portuguese, as well as in Spanish and Engli- sh. It has a digital version navigable from iPad and other devices and can be accessed and downloaded directly from the website. During the event, attended by some 6,000 people from more than 100 countries, Aqualia deployed its most inno- vative solutions in the reuse and sustainable management of wastewater, in line with its commitment to the circular economy. José Ramón Vázquez Padín, head of the Qua- lity Area of Aqualia’s R&D Department, presented the Life Memory project that Aqualia is developing at the WWTP in Alcázar de San Juan (Ciudad Real) in his presenta- tion: “AnMBR Technology: Boosting Circular Economy In Sewage Treatment”. After two years of operation on an in- dustrial scale, the viability of transforming wastewater into energy and reused water has been demonstrated, with a positive energy balance. By combining an anaerobic membrane reactor (AnMBR) with ultrafiltration modules, resource recovery has been achieved by transforming the treatment station into a bioenergy and fertigation factory. The quality of the water supplied and customer services are two of the strong points of Aqualia’s management of the municipal service of Aguas de Santander, according to the conclusions published by the European Bench- marking Cooperation (EBC). The EBC compares management models, both supply and sanitation, of different companies in the sector at an international level based on predetermined variables and indicators, which in turn gauge the efficiency of one sys- tem in comparison with others. Santander’s service has reported numerous variables that have generated close to 350 management indicators, among which the quality of the water supplied, energy efficiency and the quality of the service provided to customers stand out. B R I E F - W A T E R 52 WATER B R I E F