Aqualia and two NGOs from Spain and Colombia launch local initiatives thanks to IFM Investors funding

Communities in Spain and Columbia will benefit from new local partnerships with Aqualia to support workers with Asperger’s syndrome and improve water purification, thanks to new funding from IFM Investors, the Australian ethical fund shareholder of the water company. 

The IFM Investors Community Grants Program has supported, in this latest edition, seven associations that promote employment pathways or create positive environmental impacts. As part of these, it will give a grant to two projects in which Aqualia has forged an alliance with a local NGO.

• Two people with Asperger syndrome will receive a training scolarship to carry out an energy review and optimisation exercise of Aqualia’s water management facilities in Galicia, with support of therapists and Aqualia staff. Asperga (Galician Asperger Association) will be responsible for implementing this initiative, which has received a grant of A$49,695 (29,400 euros).
• In order to improve water supply, ultrafiltration purification filters will be installed in rural communities in Colombia with the support of Aqualia. These filters will help improve the water quality for more than 1,800 people. The Columbian NGO Rotary E-Club Origen will carry out this initiative, which has a financial aid of A$50,000 (29,580 euros).

IFM's Head of Sustainable Investment, Rena Pulido, highlighted that these two projects "will both make a profound different to people in the local communities Aqualia operates in".

Other important projects developed in partnership with local NGOs were also financed in the past by the IFM Investors Community Grants Programme, like the restoration of the Medina del Campo wetland in Valladolid (Spain) or an inclusive employment program in the Czech Republic.

IFM is committed to local alliances with its investee companies

The IFM Investors Community Grants Programme aims to support social or environmental initiatives carried out by NGOs linked to IFM investees, such as Aqualia. Since it began in 2019, it has delivered just under A$1 million (€592,000) in funding to local communities.
The grant criteria require that the projects have a clear positive outcome (social or environmental), deliver defined objectives and involve close collaboration between the asset and the community organization, fostering creative ideas and strong partnerships. “As long-term investors in critical infrastructure assets, we believe it is important that we support our portfolio companies to build strong partnerships with their communities,” said Kyle Mangini, Global Head of Infrastructure at IFM.
The rest of the projects that will receive the IFM Investors grant this year are:
•    A$50,000 for a partnership between Sydney Airport and Aboriginal social enterprise Wildflower Gardens for Good to regenerate the Airport Wetlands
•    A$43,500 to support the revegetation of 7000 square metres of land adjacent to Adelaide Airport, improving the natural environment and building community connections
•    A$13,800 for Birdlife Australia to create a database and checklist of the key features of nest trees used by Powerful Owls throughout Greater Sydney, working with Ausgrid
•    A$49,900 for around 30 pollinator gardens to be designed and installed in public schools, in partnership with Aleatica
•    A$50,000 for Anglian Water to partner with the Nene Rivers Trust to re-establish the connectivity of the Slade Brook to its floodplain and create a more diverse habitat, as well as aiming to improve water quality and reduce the risk of flooding in Kettering

“Each grant is going to a project that will deliver a grassroots benefit and reinforces our commitment to local communities where we invest” Mangini points out. Successful recipients were selected from a competitive field, highlighting a strong culture of community involvement across IFM’s portfolio companies.