- The Industry LIVE Fair, in collaboration with Envera, has had a specific table to address industrial sustainability.
- Participants highlighted the strategic importance of sustainability as well as other related topics in the process of industry transformation
- Envera was also present at Industry LIVE with its own stand together with Madrid Foro Empresarial.
Madrid | May 12, 2023
"Sustainability is here to stay and, moreover, we know that it is profitable". This is how categorical Javier Arnaldo, Airbus national representative for sustainability and environment in Spain, was during his speech at the Roundtable 'ESG, key to business competitiveness in industry' held this Thursday at IFEMA as part of the Industry LIVE Fair and in which also participated Teresa Parejo, director of Sustainability of Iberia; Cipriano Suárez, president of CPOnet; and Virginia Ródenas, director of Communication, Institutional Relations and CSR of Envera.
The conference, organized by Industry Live and Envera, highlighted that in the current context society is changing, which has led to the "transformation of the economic system", as well as "leadership codes where companies "must adapt and accelerate as much as possible", as explained Parejo. All this under the mandate of the UN Agenda 2030 as pointed out by the representative of Envera and moderator of the table.
Suárez, founder of the largest network of corporate procurement professionals, revealed that "investors are beginning to ask companies to account for their sustainability" and explained that "to the cost of any product or service, we must now add another vector", related to the environmental cost and social impact, "as this is also demanded by customers".
Parejo stressed that "within Iberia's Sustainability Strategy, we have two fundamental pillars for having a positive social impact and being able to measure it". The airline contributes 0.6% to Spain's GDP and 0.9% to national employment.
The three speakers agreed on the importance of transferring sustainability to the entire value chain of their services. Especially in the aeronautical sector, Iberia and Airbus have made great efforts in their internal processes and also in terms of their suppliers, since in this transformation "they are key" since "our customers are already demanding a commitment to sustainability", Teresa Parejo stressed.
Environmental impact is a priority concern for companies, but social commitment cannot be left aside. As the Envera spokeswoman pointed out, "we must save the planet, but above all the people who live on it".
Both Iberia and Airbus highlighted the social inclusion and diversity projects they carry out, such as those developed together with Envera so that people with intellectual disabilities can occupy their place in the world with dignity, and which are part of their sustainability strategies.
"IT IS UNSUSTAINABLE NOT TO BE SUSTAINABLE"
Asked about the challenges and difficulties in implementing ESG criteria and social responsibility policies in companies, the participants agreed that the "lack of knowledge" of sustainability and talking about something that comes from outside the organization can be a hindrance.
As Arnaldo stated, "the most difficult thing at the beginning is to make the company see the productivity and competitiveness of social responsibility, but now we know that it is unsustainable not to be sustainable".
