Glossary of Terms

ACI: Airports Council International (ACI) 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. This section provides you with information on the structure and background of ACI.

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.

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

BIM: Building Information Modeling. Building information modeling is a process involving the generation and management of digital representations of physical and functional characteristics of places. BIMs are files which can be extracted, exchanged or networked to support decision-making regarding a building or other built asset. Current BIM software is used by individuals, businesses and government agencies who plan, design, construct, operate and maintain diverse physical infrastructures, such as water, refuse, electricity, roads, bridges, ports, tunnels, etc.

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 aviations in the United Kingdom. The CAA is a public corporation of the Department for Transport establishd by the British Parliament in 1972 and an independent aviation regulator.

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

CDP: Carbon Disclosure Project. CDP is an organisation 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 a person in a company who is primarily responsible for managing the process of innovation and change management in an organization, as well as being in some cases 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 (CNMV) 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.

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 in order to achieve this aim.

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.

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

DBF: Design-Build-Finance.

EBITDA: Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization. The Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization (EBITDA) 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).

FRM: Ferrovial Risk Management. The Ferrovial Risk Management (FRM) is and identification and assesment 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.

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 privatisation of the British Airports Authority as BAA plc as part of Margaret Thatcher’s moves to privatise government-owned assets. BAA plc was bought in 2006 by a consortium led by Ferrovial.

IAGC: Informe Anual de Gobierno Corporativo.

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 Labour Organization. The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency dealing with labour problems, particularly international labour 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.

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.

OMEGA: Optimization of Equipment Maintenance and Asset Management.

P3: Public-Private Partnership. A public–private partnership (PPP, 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.

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.

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.

STEM: Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths. 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 principle 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 pre-requisite of the public bond markets.

UTE: Unión Temporal de Empresas.

WAI: Water Access Index. 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).