GLOSARY OF TERMS

ACI: Airports Council International is the only global trade representative of the world’s airports. Established in 1991, ACI represents airport’s interests with Governments and international organizations such as ICAO; develops standards, policies and recommends practices for airports, and provides information and training opportunities to raise standards around the world.

AGS: Aberdeen, Glasgow and Southampton. AGS Airports is the United Kingdom-based owner of Aberdeen, Glasgow and Southampton Airports. The company was formed in September 2014 by Ferrovial and Macquire Group. The company acquired Aberdeen, Glasgow and Southampton Airports in December 2014 from Heathrow Airport Holdings.

Alignment: an activity is considered aligned according to the EU Taxonomy if it demonstrates a substantial contribution to one of the six EU environmental objectives without having a detrimental impact on any of the other five, and also meets the minimum social safeguards and technical screening criteria. 

ASQ: Airport Service Quality Survey. The Airport Service Quality is the world-renowned and globally established global benchmarking program measuring passengers’ satisfaction whilst they are travelling through an airport. The program provides the research tools and management information to better understand passengers’ views and what they want from an airport’s products and services.

BAME: acronym in English of black, Asian and minority ethnic.

BIM: It is a collaborative work methodology for the creation and management of a construction project (both building and infrastructure). Its objective is to centralize all project information in a digital information model created by all its agents. The use of BIM goes beyond the design phases, encompassing the execution of the project and extending throughout the life cycle of the building, allowing its management and reducing operating costs.

BuildUp!: Ferrovial’s initiative to promote entrepreneurial talent and provide sustainable solutions to the company’s internal needs.

BWI: Business Water Index. Business Water Index is related to the consumption of water and its discharge carried out in activities developed by Ferrovial.

CAA: Civil Aviation Authority. The Civil Aviation Authority is the statutory corporation which oversees and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the United Kingdom. 

CAC: Audit and Control Committee. The Audit and Control Committee is composed of four independent and external directors. It is responsible for the supervision of accounts, internal audit, financial information and risk control. 

CDP: Carbon Disclosure Project. CDP is an organization based in the United Kingdom which supports companies and cities to disclose the environmental impact of major corporations. It aims to make environmental reporting and risk management a business norm, and drive disclosure, insight and action towards a sustainable economy.

CIIO: Chief Information and Innovation Officer. A chief innovation officer (CINO) or chief technology innovation officer (CTIO) is the main responsible for managing the innovation and change management process in an organization. In some cases is the person who originates new ideas but also recognizes innovative ideas generated by other people.

CNMV: Comisión Nacional del Mercado de Valores. The National Securities Market Commission is the body responsible for the supervision and inspection of Spanish securities markets and the activity of all those involved in them. The aim of the CNMV is to ensure the transparency of Spanish securities markets and the correct formation of prices, as well as the protection of investors.

CPS: Current Policies Scenario. Consider the impact of the policies and measures that are firmly established at present. This scenario would mean an increase in the global temperature of +3-4°C in 2100.

CRM: Customer Relationship Management. It is an information industry term that applies to methodologies, software and, in general, to the capabilities of the Internet that help a company manage relationships with its customers in an organized manner.

CSIC: Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas. The Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) is the largest public institution dedicated to research in Spain and the third largest in Europe. Belonging to the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness through the Secretary of State for Research, Development and Innovation, its main objective is to develop and promote research that will help bring about scientific and technological progress, and it is prepared to collaborate with Spanish and foreign entities to achieve this aim.

DBFOM: Design, Building, Finance, Operation and Maintenance.

DBF: Design, Build and Finance

DJSI: The Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI) launched in 1999, are a family of indices evaluating the sustainability performance of thousands of companies trading publicly and a strategic partner of the S&P Dow Jones Indices. They are the longest-running global sustainability benchmarks worldwide and have become the key reference point in sustainability investing for investors and companies alike. The DJSI is based on an analysis of corporate economic, environmental and social performance, assessing issues such as corporate governance, risk management, branding, climate change mitigation, supply chain standards and labor practices.

EBITDA: Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization. The Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization is an accounting measure calculated using a company’s net earnings, before interest expenses, taxes, depreciation, and amortization are subtracted, as a proxy for a company’s current operating profitability (i.e., how much profit it makes with its present assets and its operations on the products it produces and sells, as well as providing a proxy for cash flow).

EIT KICs: Knowledge and Innovation Communities (Innovation Communities) EIT Innovation Communities are partnerships that bring together companies, research centers and universities that harness European innovation and entrepreneurship to find solutions to major societal challenges in areas with high innovation potential and create jobs and quality growth.

Eligibility: an activity is considered eligible under the EU Taxonomy if it demonstrates that it makes a substantial contribution to one of the six EU environmental objectives without having a detrimental impact on any of the other five.

EPD: Environmental Product Declaration. An EPD provides a reliable, relevant, transparent, comparable and verifiable environmental profile that highlights an environmentally friendly product, based on life cycle information (LCA) according to international standards and quantified environmental data.

EU Taxonomy: is a new classification system designed by the European Commission to describe whether an activity or business investment can be considered sustainable in terms of climate change adaptation or mitigation.

FRM: Ferrovial Risk Management. The Ferrovial Risk Management (FRM) is and identification and assessment process, supervised by the Board of Directors and the Management Committee, which is implemented in all business areas. This process makes it possible to forestall risks; once they have been analyzed and assessed based on their potential impact and likelihood, the most appropriate management and protection measures are taken, depending on the risk nature and location.

FTSE4Good: The FTSE4Good Index Series is designed to measure the performance of companies demonstrating strong Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) practices.

GECV: Grupo Español de Crecimiento Verde. The Spanish Group of Green Growth is a business association whose objective is to transfer to society and to public administration its vision of a model of economic growth which is compatible with the efficient use of natural resources.

GHG: Greenhouse Gas. A greenhouse gas is a gas in an atmosphere that absorbs and emits radiant energy within the thermal infrared range.

GRI: Global Reporting Initiative. GRI helps businesses and governments worldwide understand and communicate their impact on critical sustainability issues such as climate change, human rights, governance and social well-being. This enables real action to create social, environmental and economic benefits for everyone. The GRI Sustainability Reporting Standards are developed with true multi-stakeholder contributions and rooted in the public interest.

GWT: Global Water Tool. The Global Water Tool (GWT) is a free, publicly available resource for identifying corporate water risks and opportunities which provides easy access to and analysis of critical data. It includes a workbook (data input, inventory by site, key reporting indicators, metrics calculations), a mapping function to plot sites with datasets, and a Google Earth interface for spatial viewing.

GOP: Gross Operating Profit (RBE): See EBITDA. 

HAH: Heathrow Airport Holdings. Heathrow Airport Holdings Limited, formerly BAA is the United Kingdom-based operator of Heathrow Airport. It was formed by the privatization of the British Airports Authority as BAA plc as part of Margaret Thatcher’s moves to privatize government-owned assets. BAA plc was bought in 2006 by a consortium led by Ferrovial.

IAGC: Informe Anual de Gobierno Corporativo. Annual Corporate Governance Report

IFRS: NIIF. International Financial Reporting Standards, usually called the IFRS Standards, are standards issued by the IFRS Foundation and the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) to provide a common global language for business affairs so that company accounts are understandable and comparable across international boundaries.

IRR: Internal Rate of Return. Internal Rate of Return (IRR) is a metric used in capital budgeting to estimate the profitability of potential investments. Internal rate of return is a discount rate that makes the net present value (NPV) of all cash flows from a particular project equal to zero.

IoT: Internet of Things. The Internet of things (IoT) is the network of physical devices, vehicles, home appliances and other items embedded with electronics, software, sensors, actuators, and network connectivity which enables these objects to connect and exchange data.

ILO: International Labor Organization. The International Labor Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency dealing with labor problems, particularly international labor standards, social protection, and work opportunities for all.

ISO: International Organization for Standardization. ISO is an independent, non-governmental international organization with a membership of 162 national standards bodies. Through its members, it brings together experts to share knowledge and develop voluntary, consensus- based, market relevant International Standards that support innovation and provide solutions to global challenges.

Managed Lanes: assets developed by Ferrovial in the United States, consisting of a lane or toll lanes in addition to those already existing, in which a minimum speed is guaranteed to its users. The rates are adjusted to the traffic conditions, thereby regulating access levels.

MBA: The Master of Business Administration (MBA or M.B.A.) is a master’s degree in business administration (management).

MIT: Massachusetts Institute of Technology is an educational institution focused on excellence and research and founded in Boston, Massachusetts (USA), in 1861. The mission of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology is to advance knowledge and educate students in science, technology, and other areas of scholarship. The Institute is an independent, coeducational, privately endowed university, organized into five Schools (architecture and planning; engineering; humanities, arts, and social sciences; management; and science). It has some 1,000 faculty members, more than 11,000 undergraduate and graduate students, and more than 130,000 living alumni.

NPS: New Policies Scenario. This not only incorporates the announcement of policies and measures but also the effects of their implementation. This scenario would mean an increase in the global temperature of +2-3°C in 2100.

OMEGA: Optimization of Equipment Maintenance and Asset Management.

P3: Public-Private Partnership. A public–private partnership (P3, 3P or P3) is a cooperative arrangement between two or more public and private sectors, typically of a long-term nature. Governments have used such a mix of public and private endeavors throughout history, for instance, in order to develop infrastructure projects.

PAB: Private Activity Bonds. Tax-exempt bonds issued by or on behalf of local or state government for the purpose of providing special financing benefits for qualified projects. The financing is most often for projects of a private user, and the government generally does not pledge its credit. These bonds are used to attract private investment for projects that have some public benefit. There are strict rules as to which projects qualify. This type of a bond results in reduced financing costs because of the exception of federal tax.

RCE: Risk Control Effectiveness.

SASB: Sustainability Accounting Standards Board. Is a nonprofit organization that sets financial reporting standards. SASB was founded in 2011 to develop and disseminate sustainability accounting standards.

SBTi: Science Based Targets. Science-based targets provide companies with a clearly defined pathway to future-proof growth by specifying how much and how quickly they need to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.

SDG: Sustainable Development Goals. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a collection of 17 global goals set by the United Nations. The SDGs cover a broad range of social and economic development issues. These include poverty, hunger, health, education, climate change, gender equality, water, sanitation, energy, environment and social justice.

SDS: Sustainable Development Scenario. This scenario is consistent with the decarbonization of the economy needed to achieve the Paris Agreement. It includes a peak in emissions that will be reached as soon as possible followed by a decrease. An increase in temperatures with respect to pre-industrial levels of 2°C or less is expected.

STEM: Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. This term is typically used when addressing education policy and curriculum choices in schools to improve competitiveness in science and technology development.

TCFD: Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures. The FSB Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) develops voluntary, consistent climate-related financial risk disclosures for use by companies in providing information to investors, lenders, insurers, and other stakeholders. The Task Force considers the physical, liability and transition risks associated with climate change and what constitutes effective financial disclosures across industries.

TSR (RTA): Total Shareholder Return. Total shareholder return (TSR) (or simply total return) is a measure of the performance of different companies’ stocks and shares over time. It combines share price appreciation and dividends paid to show the total return to the shareholder expressed as an annualized percentage.

USPP: US Private Placement. The US Private Placement (“USPP”) market is a US private bond market which is available to both US and non-US companies. The main attraction of this market is that it provides an alternative source of liquidity from the traditional bank market without the need for a formal credit rating and reporting requirements which are a prerequisite of the public bond markets.

UTE: Unión Temporal de Empresas. Temporary Joint Venture

WAI: The Water Access Index (WAI), related to water supply projects within the Social Action Program.

WBCSD: World Business Council for Sustainable Development. WBCSD is a global, CEO-led organization of over 200 leading businesses working together to accelerate the transition to a sustainable world.

WFM: Water Footprint Assessment Manual. The manual covers a comprehensive set of definitions and methods for water footprint accounting. It shows how water footprints are calculated for individual processes and products, as well as for consumers, nations and businesses. It includes methods for water footprint sustainability assessment and a library of water footprint response options.

WRI: World Resources Institute. The World Resources Institute (WRI) is a global research non-profit organization that was established in 1982. The organization’s mission is to promote environmental sustainability, economic opportunity, and human health and well-being. WRI partners with local and national governments, private companies, publicly held corporations, and other non-profits, and offers services including global climate change issues, sustainable markets, ecosystem protection, and environmental responsible governance services.

WTI: Water Treatment Index. The Water Treatment Index is related to the impact of the water treatment activity on resources (WWTP, Wastewater Treatment Plant, IWWT, Industrial Wastewater Treatment Plant, PWTP, Potable Water Treatment Plant, and SWDF, Seawater Desalination Facilities).