The Spanish network of the United Nations Global Compact celebrates 20 years of sustainability in our country. At the event “Transform companies. Improve the world”, held this Tuesday at the Círculo de Bellas Artes in Madrid, the organization recalled its beginnings with the help of twenty companies that in two decades have become more than 1,700, among which is the Group PRISA, publishing company of EL PAÍS and Five days.
The executive president of PRISA Media, Carlos Núñez, spoke during the forum in a round table in which he spoke with the president of the Global Compact in Spain, Clara Arpa. Núñez has assured that “all the actions and elements we work on are embedded in the Sustainability Plan.” As he detailed, the group is committed to the three ESG axes (environmental, social and governance, for its acronym in English) “and in these three axes we are acting decisively,” he added.
The executive president has also provided some figures on the media coverage of PRISA in relation to ESG: more than 33,000 news items representing 400 million page views in the last twelve months; 12,000 of them in EL PAÍS, in addition to the specific programs on Cadena SER and Radio Caracol. And he has stated: “Our job also consists of being referees and verifying that the information that companies say is consistent with reality.”
The third vice president and Minister of Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge, Teresa Ribera, has highlighted Spain’s good positioning to lead the path of sustainability in all areas. “We have a well-prepared society, spectacular natural resources, the size of our industry and companies and even GDP and relationships with others make Spain well positioned to address change in a diligent and positive way for society,” he said. the minister insisted. Ribera and the company representatives have also stressed the need to work together and form alliances to face the challenges. “Difficulties are best overcome when you understand that you are not alone. That is what an initiative like this is for,” the minister pointed out.
The Global Compact is based on the vision of former United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan, who, at the 1999 World Economic Forum, called on business leaders to ally themselves with the Organization to create “global impact.” Spain is the third network of the Global Compact and Clara Arpa recalled during the 20th anniversary celebration that no more than eight years ago it was said that sustainability “was a fashion”.
During the day, business leaders explained that this mentality has evolved along with society. “We have to respond to social demand, which is increasing. Companies have to be aligned with the concerns of society,” said the director of Climate Change and Alliances at Iberdrola. To this idea, Inditex’s sustainability director, Javier Losada, added: “This way of facing responsibility has been changing as we have become more aware of our activity and our impacts. It has changed the perception of our shareholders, our clients and our own staff.”
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