The Spanish Business Council for Sustainable Development, formed by the presidents and CEOs from large companies – being EDP one of them – and lead by Forética, has launched in its yearly executive meeting, held today, a call to accelerate the action from enterprises, public administrations and social entities, towards the important current challenges in terms of ESG (environment, social and corporate government).

The Council, under the honorary presence of HM, King Felipe VI, is formed by the highest representatives of 48 large companies: Accenture, Adif, Airbus, Amazon, AstraZeneca, Banco Santander, Bankinter, BMW, CaixaBank, Grupo Cooperativo Cajamar, CEMEX, Cepsa, Chiesi, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners, EDP, Enagás, Endesa, ENGIE, Ferrovial, Gestamp, Grupo DIA, GSK, HEINEKEN, Holcim, Iberdrola, IBM, IKEA, ILUNION, KPMG, ISS Facility Services, L’Oréal, Mahou San Miguel, ManpowerGroup, MAPFRE, McKinsey & Company, Microsoft, MSD, Mutualidad de la Abogacía, Naturgy, NTT Data, Grupo OHLA, P&G, Quirónsalud, Sanitas, SAP, Smurfit Kappa, Solvay y Suntory Beverage & Food Spain.

EDP joined Forética in 2021, and as its promoter partner, it is part of The Spanish Business Council for Sustainable Development. This collaboration is aligned with the Strategic Plan 2021-2025 from the Group EDP, that aims to promote the positioning within ESG, assuming a number of ambitious commitments with the goal of leading energy transition, creating value for all stakeholders of the company.

According to Ana Paula Marques, CEO of EDP Spain, “in EDP, the ESG strategy enables us to lead energy transition, keeping a strong commitment with society and the environment, global challenge that multiplies thanks to multi-sector alliances, like the one that Forética represents.”

In 2021, the Council assumed five commitments, focused in achieving zero net emissions of greenhouse gases, recovering biodiversity, respecting human rights, promoting diversity, equality and inclusion, and operating with the highest standards of corporate governance and transparency. In the statement presented today, aligned with its 2050 Vision, the Council calls to action, in order to make them applicable to all companies, public administrations and social entities, as an essential answer to the three main sustainability challenges that our society faces: climate urgency, nature loss and inequality.

Alberto Granados, president of Forética and the Spanish Business Council for Sustainable Development, and president of Microsoft Spain, states: “The current context requires convincing business responses, committed and coordinated with the climate urgency and the loss of biodiversity. These answers should contribute to a fair transition. It is time for business to transform towards sustainability. Leading companies are in a unique position to contribute to sustainable development.”

For his part, Germán Granda, secretary of the Spanish Business Council for Sustainable Development and general manager of Forética, adds: “As underlined in Forética’s trend report ESG 2023, sustainability is a great opportunity today to innovate in products, services and business models, generating solutions aligned with the current environmental and social demands.”

More information:

https://foretica.org/consejo_empresarial_espanol_para_el_desarrollo_sostenible/

About Forética:

Forética is the model organization in Spain in terms of sustainability and corporate social responsibility. Its mission is to integrate the social, environmental and corporate governance aspects in companies’ and organizations’ strategy and management. It is formed by more than 200 partners.

More information: www.foretica.org