As part of the actions to commemorate the International Day of People with Disabilities, Construcciones y Prestaciones Petroleras SA (CPP), a subsidiary of Techint Engineering & Construction, took part in a national recycling campaign—with stellar results!

To commemorate the International Day of People with Disabilities, a United Nations-sanctioned day celebrated internationally on December 3, CPP took part in the national Ecoaccessibility campaign, organized by the National Federation of Ecuadorians with Physical Disabilities (FENEDIF, in Spanish) and the Paraplegic Association of Pichincha (APP, in Spanish).

The campaign centered on a plastic bottle-top recycling initiative whose main aim is to improve the lives of people with disabilities and their families. The bottle-tops are recycled to make products designed to improve the access of disabled people to tourist areas, and contributes to reducing the environmental impact of plastic and driving the circular economy.

CPP's Social Work department launched the three month-long “Action for Inclusion, creating opportunities with recycling” campaign which involved a range of different actions to get all Auca and Shushufindi Field personnel on board with the cause. The result: 73 kilos of plastic bottle tops in Auca and another 74 in Shushufindi, coming to a total of 147 kilos to be recycled and transformed into plastic wood and fiber to create paths enabling access to beaches and outdoor areas.

The campaigns were part of a wider contest, and of the companies that participated, CPP came first in the provinces of Orellana and Sucumbíos for contributing over 50% of each province’s goal, which was 144 kilos. The company was commended by the FENEDIF for the commitment shown to this cause.

The Orellana Labor Integration Service (SIL, in Spanish) is part of FENEDIF, and helps to promote the integration of people with disabilities into the workplace, thanks to support from public and private entities. SIL visited 47 companies in the province of Orellana as part of the national Ecoaccessibility project to encourage them to participate by collecting plastic bottle-tops. Magaly Veloz, SIL Labor Promotion Analyst, explained that, “We decided to organize a competition between the companies to encourage them to collect as many bottle-tops as possible. The company that collected the most was CPP, so we duly presented them with a certificate and plaque in honor of the International Day of People with Disabilities, to thank them for their outstanding support for this group.” She added that, “CPP has been a key ally for the SIL, and has really made its mark on the project, not only because it met the goals set, but because it exceeded these! Their commitment highlights the vital role played by strategic alliances in work to bring about social development and foster an inclusive and proactive attitude in society.”

CPP's internal campaign “Action for inclusion”, led by Jorge Portilla, Social Worker Analyst, was crucial to the final result. “We carried out a range of different actions during three months,” said Portilla, adding that, “We designed and publicized different awareness messages about equality and respect, promoting good environmental care practices and highlighting the need to accompany people with disabilities. Thanks to all of this, we achieved sustained commitment throughout the campaign.”

This project not only commemorated the International Day of People with Disabilities, but also reinforced CPP’s commitment to issues such as social inclusion and environmental responsibility.