STRINGENT ENVIRONMENTAL STANDARDS
CYDSA’s Integral Environmental Management System is based on the ISO-14001-2004 norm, an international certification that guarantees world-class environmental standards. All eligible facilities have been accredited this certification, as well as with the Clean Industry Certificate, granted by the Ministry for the Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT), including a Level 2 case. Moreover, Quimobásicos and IQUISA Tlaxcala have been conferred the Environmental Excellence Award by the Federal Environmental Protection Agency (PROFEPA), an award given to companies that carry out outstanding actions to protect the environment.
Aware that climate change mitigation represents a global challenge and that Mexico, by ratifying the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer along with 196 other countries, CYDSA made a commitment to end the production of Ozone Depleting Substances (ODS) in order to contribute with the protection of the atmosphere. In 2005, Quimobásicos abandoned the production of chlorofluorocarbons (CFC), one of its lines of refrigerant gases.
Environmental Commitment
In 2016, with the support of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), the Government of France and SEMARNAT, Quimobásicos completed the first phase of the Residual Ozone Depleting Substances Management and Destruction Project in Mexico. As part of this initiative, Quimobásicos offers the service of residual ODS disposal using an Argon Plasma Arc, being the only facility in Latin America equipped with this technology.
Furthermore, for the new IQUISA Noreste Plant, located in García, Nuevo León, an investment was made in new state-of-the-art technology to make its operations more environmentally friendly. Among the technologies aimed at reducing its environmental impact there is its steam boiler, which consumes hydrogen (a by-product of its own industrial processes), thus reducing its consumption of natural gas and the emission of pollutants into the atmosphere.
In addition, with the combined production of the Noreste and Santa Clara Plants, more than half of IQUISA’s chlorine and caustic soda production is manufactured using Membrane Technology, recognized as the most efficient in the world in terms of energy consumption and designed to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions of their processes.
Efforts have also been made during the construction of the IQUISA Noreste Plant and the development of the Underground Storage of Hydrocarbons Business Unit to protect, salvage and relocate the flora and fauna present in both ecosystems, in order to reduce their impact on the environment, including the protection of many species that are not considered endangered. Likewise, Sales del Istmo supports a Carey Turtle Conservation Program in southeast Mexico that has obtained excellent results.
Regarding the Cogeneration of Electricity and Vapor Plants in Coatzacoalcos, both plants conduct an efficient cogeneration from natural gas that reduces CO2 emissions, consequently increasing CYDSA’s use of electricity from clean energy sources.
Initiatives have also been developed at CYDSA to optimize the consumption of water resources and to increase the use of recycled water. To achieve this, treated wastewater is used in the production processes of Quimobásicos and IQUISA Noreste, with the purpose of releasing drinking water for the municipality of García, Nuevo León. In the particular case of IQUISA Noreste, 600 million liters of water are released annually, enough to supply 2,000 families, thus contributing to the conservation of crucial clean water in this semi-desert region.