Page 127 - STRATEGY Magazine (G)

Bolstering regional growth
Because Guatemala currently generates an excess of electricity, DEG also participates in a bustling regional electricity market. This market is facilitated by various cross-border links between power grids as well as by SIEPAC, the Central American Electrical Interconnection System. SIEPAC networks the power grids of six of the seven Central American nations; plans are being developed to integrate the grids of Belize, Mexico, Colombia, and the Dominican Republic.
A net exporter, DEG currently sells electricity to El Salvador and Panama. It also has an import/export relationship with El Salvador that is enhanced by the synergy it enjoys with its sister Duke affiliate, Duke Energy El Salvador. DEG has positioned itself well to supply what promises to be long and steady growth in demand for power in the Latin American market.
Exemplifying excellence
Duke Energy International seeks to typify corporate responsibility, providing its customers with a safe, reliable, and sustainable supply of affordable electricity around the clock. In addition, it supports and rewards its employees’ professional development and attends to safety and health in the workplace, as well as ensuring that its operations do not jeopardize the safety or health of nearby communities.
DEG’s organizational culture and climate was ranked among the top 10 in Guatemala in both 2013 and 2014 by Top Companies in Central America and the Caribbean. The company employs more than 200 people in its Guatemalan operation, including scores of highly trained and award-winning technicians. DEG regards its employees as integral to the development of a culture of success and prioritizes the health and safety of its workforce in its facilities, which by their nature can be extremely hazardous. To this end, DEG maintains and observes an Integrated Management System that strictly controls technological and environmental factors and that has enabled DEG to achieve industry- leading safety statistics.
DEG’s Integrated Management System is the product of the company’s achievement of three international standards: ISO 9001, for quality management; ISO 14001, for environmental management; and OHSAS 18001, for occupational health and safety practices. Achievement of these standards demonstrates a commitment to excellence on the company’s part and applies both to its operations and maintenance and support activities such as human resources, purchasing, information technology, finance, and other back-office functions. The company achieved the standards in 2006 and has maintained them successfully ever since.
Sustainability and responsibility
DEG recognizes four principles of social responsibility:
Sustainability: the firm’s projects and ventures should be self-sustaining
Repeatability: to the extent made possible by resources and other such variables, third parties should be able to replicate DEG’s projects
Co-participation: those who benefit from DEG’s projects should be actively involved in their ownership and operation
Measurement: assessment of project performance by objective indicators is crucial to ensuring the best allocation of resources
DEG sees its culture of corporate responsibility as extending beyond issues of worker safety and health and into the relationship of the firm and its activities with the human and natural environments within which it operates. A significant element of this is the active participation of the firm and its employees in the development of communities in the areas surrounding its facilities. This participation takes many forms, including employment of local residents in suitable positions and contributions to community projects in such areas as education, healthcare, and environmental sustainability. DEG also sponsors Volunteer Days,
“We generate energy with environmental and social responsibility. We work to continue growing and maintaining our leadership in the sector.” —Hugo E. Ferrer, Duke Energy International Central America President
during which employees donate their time and expertise, as well as their muscle, to various community projects.
As Duke Energy International continues to power the region, those in the surrounding communities can expect to see an ongoing commitment to environmental sustainability, corporate responsibility, and employee safety.
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