Huertas: “If we produce low cost economies, we generate low cost workers and societies. A good salary and a stable employment may be companies’ most sustainable contribution”

• The Chairman of Iberdrola receives the ‘MAPFRE Responsible Inclusion’ award during the 1st MAPFRE Observatory on Sustainable Finance Forum

The Chairmen of Iberdrola and MAPFRE, Ignacio Galán and Antonio Huertas, discussed sustainability and socially responsible investment this week at the Fundación MAPFRE headquarters during the 1st Forum of the MAPFRE Observatory on Sustainable Finance.

Huertas stated that “there is no economic and social wealth if companies do not have the capacity for growth and profitability”, and explained that companies also contribute to the improvement of social and environmental environments. “If we produce low cost economies we will be creating low cost workers and low cost companies. Giving a good salary and a good job, offering quality services and benefits, make the consumer  aware of the value that the services they receive, can also be the most sustainable contribution of companies, but for this the economic and social conditions must be met”.

In this first panel, moderated by the journalist María Vega from El Español, Ignacio Galán presented his opinion on how the Spanish economy can face the post-covid recovery, and the role that companies can play in that process. From crises, the president of Iberdrola explained, “you always get out in the same way, investing more and better and being more productive. We cannot prosper in a subsidized economy”. “We must act now, in a decisive and coordinated manner and promote recovery through investment in sectors of the future. With this, we will also transform our economy to make it more modern, solid and competitive ”. “We are going to leave a gigantic debt to future generations, and we have a moral obligation to leave them a better society, a better country. One of the key factors is to put our balance at the service of the economic recovery”.

Iberdrola is the winner of the first edition of the “MAPFRE Responsible Inclusion” award for its leadership in the commitment to people with disabilities, specifically, for the development of projects, policies and work adaptability.

The award, which celebrates its first edition, arises as a result of the launch of MAPFRE Inclusión Responsable just a year ago, an investment fund that includes in its portfolio the companies most committed to the labor inclusion of people with disabilities, among which Iberdrola features.

In addition, it is part of the purpose pursued by the MAPFRE Sustainable Finance Observatory, which was launched before the summer with the aim of becoming a meeting point for MAPFRE with the main academic institutions to promote the development of financial instruments, insurance and pensions that meet socially responsible investment criteria.

As an institutional investor, MAPFRE has been applying ESG (environment, social and governance) criteria for years. And the great lesson that Huertas has highlighted about this investment philosophy is that it is more profitable. “Socially responsible investment is enriching our balance sheet. And not only morally, because we invest in companies that do the right thing. Furthermore, experience is showing us that in the long term it is very profitable to invest in companies that commit to these criteria ”.

“The goal is not only to make money”, Galán has completed, “the financial leg is important, but there are two more legs, the employees and the society that the companies serve. Without ESG, the F (financial) doesn’t work”.