MADRID, November 10 (European press) –
Forética organized a new edition of the “Spanish Forum of Public Companies for Sustainability”, where the report “Climate and Well-being: At the Center of the ESG Agenda for Spanish Public Companies” was presented, which concludes that climate neutrality and health and well-being at work are key objectives in the sustainability strategies of public companies. .
The study analyzes the main actions to contribute to the goal of climate neutrality by 2050 and identifies various proposals to improve health care and employee well-being in public companies in Spain, thus contributing to a positive social impact in society and the environment.
This forum was organized, in conjunction with the launch of the United Nations Climate Change Summit (COP27) held in Egypt, within the framework of the Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility in Public Companies Working Group, led by Forética and made up of 31 member entities, led by the Official Credit Institute (ICO) and Informa D&B.
The impacts of climate change and taking care of people’s health and well-being are major issues currently on the agendas of governments, companies and other actors in civil society. Approval of the Climate Change and Energy Transition Act, the issuance of the Integrated National Energy and Climate Plan 2021-2030 and the National Plan for Climate Change Adaptation (PNACC) 2021-2030, as well as approval of the decarbonization strategy. In the longer term (ELP 2050), they chart the path to achieving climate neutrality by 2050 in Spain, the study highlights.
In addition, there has been a commitment in recent years to promoting the health and well-being of employees within the company’s sustainability agenda, becoming a strategic issue within it. At this point, the authors of the document recall that at the national level, the Ministry of Health approved in December 2021 the National Health System Mental Health Strategy 2022-2026 and Mental Health Action Plan 2022-2024, as well as as a Health and Environment Strategic Plan 2022-2026.
“For all these reasons, public companies – as the backbone of the economic fabric and contributing to the achievement of the sustainable development goals – have a strategic role in the transition towards a more sustainable economy, and therefore they are driving interest in adaptation and decarbonization measures from the economy to race towards “net zero” for the year 2050 and towards Taking care of the health and well-being of its workers”, confirms Forética’s General Manager, German Granda.
The report ‘Climate and Wellbeing: At the Center of the ESG’s Agenda for Spanish Public Companies’ published by Forética under the Working Group on Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility in Public Companies, highlights that nearly 80% of companies that are public companies are members of the working group with a climate strategy With decarbonization measures (energy efficiency measures, electricity, production and consumption of renewable energies, among others) and for nearly 70% of public companies, decarbonization of the supply chain is key to achieving net zero emissions in their organizations.
In terms of health and well-being, the document highlights that 81% of Action Group public companies have a defined strategy or program for taking care of the health and well-being of their teams, an issue that is becoming more and more important on the public corporate agenda.
Among the initiatives aimed at ensuring and promoting health and well-being among Action Group’s public corporate teams, 89% have implemented measures to ensure and enhance work flexibility and compromise, 85% have implemented measures to promote healthy lifestyle and habits, 44% encourage actions to ensure digital disconnection and 26 % Provide psycho-emotional support measures to workers.
“According to the first climate stress test conducted by the European Central Bank, Spain is a country particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change, presenting a physical risk of 12 times greater than the average for Eurozone countries. This challenge, with the approval of the Climate Change and Energy Transition Act, The public sector, for the first time, is establishing itself and positioning itself as an active agent of change in investment policies, and the business sector is establishing itself as a first-class change agent to keep pace with all this transformation in line with the goals of the Paris Agreement”, emphasizes Anna Gomez, Director of the Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility Group at public companies.
In the words of the Head of the Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility Group in Public Companies, Maria Ordovas, “Over the past two years, there has been a deterioration in mental health in Spain and the world’s population, with an increase in cases of anxiety, depression, loneliness or stress globally.”
“Given the great power of action and the strong influence of organizations on people, you must work to craft comprehensive, respectful and ambitious measures that favor health and well-being, which are one of the nine business transformation paths included in the worksheet ‘Vision 2050’ recently presented under the Spanish Business Council for Sustainable Development,” he adds. .
