“Companies are always committed to investing in the best technology possible. That is more than good for environmental engineers, because you maintain productivity, growth, and the industrial level, which translates to environmentally friendly labor and quality of life.”
"Many people thought it was because of the noise, or so the coal wouldn’t get wet, but it is to prevent dust emissions. You transmit the message by teaching people internally. It's not formal technical training, but something permanent in the message," she affirms.
This motivation to teach about the environmental purpose of the improvements made by the plant remained constant over time.
“When contractor companies come to connect or install something, I explain to them what it is for, for example. ‘This equipment is really important, because it will help us reduce noise emissions'.”
She reports that there is an increasing number of people who know how the thermoelectric plant works and its environmental standards, in addition to a new community relations methodology governed by international standards, which is considered a success story for the creation of shared economic, social and environmental value for residents and for the company. “These people's children, when they are in college or have a small business, will say, ‘when I was little, my mom worked with the people from Bocamina making furniture, or in a bakery.’ That is something we want to highlight, because we are going to be the future example for those families,” says Valeria.
Role of Women
During her stay at Bocamina, Valeria has witnessed a cultural change in a sector that has historically been male-oriented. Today, women play a special role in the plant's operations and receive equal treatment in terms of working conditions and opportunities.
“The courses, trainings, talks and workshops apply for everyone. There are still not many women here, but we have colleagues who are very supportive and respectful.”
"We can be hard to get along with, but they respect us, not just because of our gender, but because of the work we do. It has been very positive," she indicates.
She recalls that in the construction of the domes, of all the people working on the project - around 600 workers -, only three of them were women, and she was the only one working on site in the environmental area.
“The area has always been the same, highlighting the good and giving recommendations for what can be improved along the way.”
For Valeria, she is proud to work at the plant thanks to the company that is behind it, but mainly because of Bocamina’s history in Coronel. "I work for a gold-standard company, part of an international holding, and whose name everyone is talking about. Here at Bocamina, it's working in an industry that was a pioneer in energy generation in the area. It has helped me to understand how it contributes to the central interconnected system, to learn about the energy generation process, and to see how technology is advancing to obtain the same energy, but in a clean and efficient way," she highlights, and adds: "I feel very proud. Bocamina is an experience of a lifetime."
