The president of the Confederation of Business Associations of Balears, CAEB, Carmen Planas, has inaugurated the IV Congress of Social Responsibility and Competitiveness, organized by CAEB by the hand of CEOE. Planas has defended “that companies understand Social Responsibility beyond altruism or patronage, but as a true factor of business competitiveness and, therefore, as a strategic engine for development and progress in a triple axis of coordinates at the economic, social and environmental levels ”.
Carmen Planas, who also chairs the CEOE Corporate Social Responsibility Commission, has emphasized that “at CAEB and CEOE we are convinced that social responsibility must be in the core of the company, in all its strategies and in all its actions ”. “This responsible attitude generates an evident social benefit and, in addition, due to the contribution to the value chain it represents, it has a very positive impact on the competitiveness of the company itself, Planas said, adding that“ social responsibility is an axis fundamental in the strategic plan that we developed in CAEB ”.
Planas has confirmed that “both CAEB and CEOE are committed to CSR and, therefore, we promote that companies align with the 2030 Agenda agreed by the United Nations and the SDGs, the Sustainable Development Goals, which undoubtedly lead us to a more prosperous, more balanced, more humane world and, therefore, a better world"
First CSR figures nationwide
The Congress has had the first national figures in the field of CSR. In the first place, Clara Arpa, a member of the Board of Directors of the Global Compact and a member of the Executive Committee of CEOE, spoke. Arpa stressed that "companies are the engine of change and its CEOs are the committed leaders necessary to execute them." Arpa has also insisted that "only those companies that are committed and involved in the change to sustainability will have a future."
Next, Carmen Alsina, Director of Communication, Sustainability and Institutional Relations of CEOE and secretary of the CSR Committee of CEOE, together with Cristina Rivero, Head of Industry, Energy and Environment area of CEOE and Secretary of the Development Commission Sustainable and Environment of CEOE, have explained the commitment of CEOE with the implementation of the 2030 Agenda both from the point of view of communication and corporate strategy, as well as the work carried out within the different Working Commissions of the Spanish Confederation of Business Organizations.
Íñigo Zavala, vice president of the CSR Commission of CEOE, has made a summary of the origins of the Law on Non-Financial Information and Diversity “that must already be fulfilled by companies with more than 500 workers, but which will soon affect all companies " In his speech, Zavala, explained the fundamental obligations of this law, giving illustrative examples of what is done in Spain and abroad, ending with comments about the criticisms received by the aforementioned Law on Non-Financial Information.
Finally, Cristina Sánchez, executive director of the Spanish Network of the Global Compact, has intervened in the fact that “business leadership in terms of the implementation of the SDGs, the Sustainable Development Goals, requires action to accelerate the compliance with the 2030 Agenda.
The Congress, held at the CaixaForum in Palma with the collaboration of CaixaBank, Endesa and the Consell de Mallorca, was attended by Vanessa Rosselló, general director of Promoció Econòmica, Emprenedoria i Economia Social y Circular, in delegation of the president of the Government of the Balearic Islands, and Jaume Alzamora, insular councilor of Promoció Econòmica y Desenvolupament Local, in delegation of the president of the Consell Insular de Mallorca, which has closed the session.