4. Sustainable development

Creating value

Retaining an entrepreneurial spirit, being committed, acting professionally and leading by example are the values that have guided the Roca Group in its business activities for over a hundred years. These values are embodied in a long-term business vision, developed via a continuous-growth business project that creates wealth where it takes root and offers employees the opportunity for development.

Roca's centenary celebration has resulted in a unique opportunity to remember that these values are still valid for today and to share them with all stakeholders. From the value creation standpoint, the Group builds sustainable development through three main lines of action:
a) maintaining a sound, profitable organization,
b) deploying a working model of the highest quality, efficiency and performance, and
c) providing society with products that help improve users' quality of life and comfort, without compromising environmental resources for future generations.

To achieve these objectives in all markets where it operates, the Group has developed a global model to manage its capabilities and policies worldwide. Consequently, it uses a comprehensive system for managing teams which fosters a common corporate culture and facilitates the integration of new companies and professionals, as has happened in Turkey and Mexico following the acquisitions made in 2016.

Driven by the same vision, the Group has a common system for implementing and monitoring its environmental policy, which covers the entire value chain (from product design to manufacturing and distribution) and the various participants involved. In spreading a new water culture and support for the most disadvantaged communities, Roca supports the work of the We Are Water Foundation, established as a pivotal organization for debating water management and sanitation.

The Group has developed a business plan for continued growth, which creates wealth in places where it brings business and offers employees the opportunity for development.

Talent development

Roca's centenary celebration has been an opportunity for developing the Group's corporate culture, by allowing us to remember the origins and history of the organization and its main hallmarks. An internal communication channel has been opened for all employees, which has served as a repository for centenary-related actions and materials. In addition, the Roca Corporate University (RCU) has organized training programs inspired by this milestone. Specifically, it has developed the so-called 'Roca Mosaic Challenge', a team project that has involved the development of a tile mosaic of the special centenary logo, drawing the involvement of employees from 12 factories in 8 countries.

Likewise the RCU has continued its coordination and management activities for training programs offered to all Group employees around the world. The many programs undertaken include the implementation of a lean management project at the faucet plants in Gavà and Suzhou and the sanitaryware plant in Burgos, language immersion courses for the consolidation of English as a corporate language, and the rollout of leadership and motivation programs to new countries. The RCU has also boosted its online platform with new content developed in collaboration with the Marketing Department, and it has implemented a rating system of its training programs to receive feedback from participants and identify areas for improvement.

2017 TRAINING PROGRAMS

1,209

programs

31,574

participants

222,000

hours

9.13/10

satisfaction

Over the year, the Human Resources Department also launched a program for implementing work organization systems in Mexico and implemented Roca Performance Management—the skill-based performance management program for managerial staff—in Turkey. Both initiatives are part of the corporate integration policy following acquisitions in 2016 and provide these centers with a work environment of utmost quality, in keeping with Roca Group standards in this area.

Technological tools in recent years have made it possible to enhance knowledge flows promoting professional efficiency and teamwork. During the year, and pursuant to this technological advancement, the Human Resources management platform has been augmented with new functionalities for use throughout the Group. This tool aids comprehensive management of the team and enables it to apply corporate policies on compensation and development to the organization's professionals.

The Roca Corporate University (RCU) coordinates and manages all the training programs offered to Group professionals.

Environmental management

The corporate Quality Management unit is also responsible for implementing and monitoring the Group's environmental policy at all levels: compliance with corporate protocols in all the organization's production units, environmental product declaration and projects for raising awareness.

A commitment to the Group's policy involves tracking environmental performance and energy efficiency indicators to meet the highest standards in any plant and ensure compliance with increasingly stringent guidelines from major international organizations. For instance, we could mention consulting efforts for construction of the new sanitaryware plant in Indonesia, investments in the Mexico plant to enhance alignment with corporate standards and technical support in the ISO 14001 environmental management systems certification process. The nature of the Group's business makes it particularly important to reuse production waste, both at Roca plants and at our partner companies.

90% of the waste generated in production processes is reused in our own plants or by partner companies.

In terms of environmental product declarations and implementation of the latest waterand energysaving technologies, the Group has long been a world leader in developing such innovations, which it gradually applies to the broadest possible range of products and collections. Some of the innovations include a new faucet cartridge for further efficiency in water management, waste reduction stemming from Fineceramic tile material and enhanced performance of new synthetic materials in insulation and durability.

Finally, we boost awareness through projects conducted in partnership with the We Are Water Foundation through joint presence in major international forums on the environment and the Roca Corporate University, which has introduced content on this topic in its training programs.

MAIN SUSTAINABILITY INDICATORS

CO2 EMISSIONS

-9.8%

of tCO2

NATURAL RESOURCE

-11.06%

water consumption

WASTE

-20.68%

tons of waste

(Performance compared to 2016)

We Are Water Foundation

The We Are Water Foundation was born in 2010 with a two-fold objective of spreading a new culture of water, and developing actions to mitigate the effects of lack of water resources and improve access to basic sanitation. These two principles have guided the Foundation's work during these seven years of activity, and it has grown and expanded steadily at different levels.

One of its main areas of action—further enhanced in recent years—is the development of specialized knowledge that has made it an international benchmark. An example is the success of the #NoWalkingForWater campaign on gender inequalities related to water collection, launched in 2016 and continued in 2017; the development of the 'Smartwater. Architecture, technology & design at the service of water and society' conference, which addressed the management of water resources in Latin American cities; the publication of a manual for building wells and latrines aimed at communities in countries with sanitation problems; and a new educational project on the proper use of water and respect for the environment for 6to 14-year-old schoolchildren.

Likewise, the Foundation has kept alive initiatives such as the short film competition We Art Water Film Festival, which was held for the fourth time in 2017; awareness actions on World Water Day and World Toilet Day; exhibitions; participation in the main international forums; collaboration with prestigious associations and entities such as the United Nations (UN), the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the International Association of Broadcast Meteorology (IABM).

Lastly, the Foundation has worked on projects to alleviate problems related to lack of drinking water and access to basic sanitation. In 2017 it undertook its first project in collaboration with the Women for Africa Foundation, a project in Ghana, and new projects in Thailand and India. In order to monitor advances on the ground and work more closely with local authorities and institutions, the Foundation opened an office in India in 2017, one of the countries most affected by these issues.

COOPERATION PROJECTS (2011-2017)

49

projects

21

countries

540,000

beneficiaries