The Spanish Centre for Responsible and Sustainable Finance (Finresp) was publicly launched today in Madrid at an event attended by a strong representation from the financial sector, the business community and institutions.
Promoted by the Spanish Banking Association (AEB), CECA, INVERCO (Association of Collective Investment Institutions and Pension Funds), UNACC (National Union of Credit Cooperatives) and UNESPA (Spanish Union of Insurance and Reinsurance Entities), Finresp was created with the aim of becoming a leading financial centre for sustainability and is already part of the International Network of Financial Centres for Sustainability (FC4S), alongside centres from 22 other jurisdictions worldwide.
At today’s event at the Rafael del Pino Auditorium, attended by more than 300 people and following Finresp’s participation in the recent Climate Summit (COP25), the centre and its founding associations reaffirmed their commitment to support Spanish companies—and, in particular, SMEs—in their transition towards a more sustainable and environmentally friendly economy.
In his welcoming remarks, José María Roldán, Chairman of AEB and Chairman of Finresp, stated that “we need to accelerate the pace of change through decisive action, without rushing or improvisation that could jeopardise financial stability or lead to the exclusion of social or economic segments or entire geographic areas. To do so, we need homogeneous guidelines and parameters, with well-established metrics accepted by all, that provide transparency and credibility to the actions of companies and governments, and allow us to move forward with the greatest possible certainty without creating unfair disadvantages or breaching competition rules”.
Sergio Álvarez, Director General for Insurance and Pension Funds, stressed during the institutional opening of the event the strength of government institutions’ support for this challenge, which he described as “the greatest of our time” and which financial institutions have correctly identified. He also emphasised the “need to ensure the transformation of our financial sector, in both the public and private spheres, through joint work as we move towards green investments—those that have a real impact on climate change and decarbonisation”.
For his part, Gerardo Cuerva, President of CEPYME, noted that “making what is profitable sustainable and making what is sustainable profitable is the real challenge we must face. Today, 99.8% of Spanish companies are SMEs, so it is our duty to talk about the contribution these companies make to society and to bring into the public debate the needs that arise from applying sustainability criteria, which must be linked to companies’ interests”.
Following the opening, a roundtable took place with representatives from four organisations that reflect the diversity of Spain’s business landscape, who discussed how each is addressing its commitment to sustainable development: Marta Martínez, Head of Studies and Analysis, Energy Policy and Climate Change Directorate at Iberdrola; César Tello, Managing Director of Fundación CRE100DO; Carol Blázquez, Director of Innovation and Sustainability at ECOALF; and Mar Asunción, Head of the Climate and Energy programme at WWF Spain, representing the third sector.
The debate was moderated by Pilar González de Frutos, President of Unespa, who stated that “Finresp wants to become a meeting point for awareness-raising and experimentation to support SMEs in the transition process towards a more sustainable economy”. González de Frutos added that “we consider collaboration with CEPYME very positive in order to carry out a diagnosis of the sustainability challenges for these companies and, from there, build a roadmap with actions that can serve as a guide in this process towards sustainability for small and medium-sized enterprises”.
The event continued with a presentation by Fernando Valladares, a CSIC researcher and Director of the organisation’s Ecology and Global Change group, who stated during his talk that “we must maintain a global perspective in order to apply what works in the fight against climate change.” The researcher was forthright in illustrating, with current cases such as the fires in Australia or the evolution of the Ebro Delta, the consequences of global warming.
Manuel Ruiz Escudero, President of Unacc, who introduced Fernando Valladares, stated that “Finresp is established with the aim of contributing to more sustainable and responsible economic and financial activity and is created with the mission of serving as a meeting point for the stakeholders of the financial services industry. To this end, it has set itself the objective of helping to raise awareness among economic agents and Spanish society of the challenges and opportunities brought by the 2030 Agenda”.
The event also served to present the diagnosis on the relationship between finance and sustainability in Spain developed by AFI for Finresp, through which the centre has begun identifying the challenges faced by financial stakeholders in contributing to a more sustainable world. The presentation of the diagnosis also concluded with a dialogue between Juan Carlos Delrieu, Director of Strategy and Sustainability at the Spanish Banking Association, representing Finresp, and Luís Javier Herrero, President of Barcelona Centre Financer Europeu (BCFE).
In his introduction to this section, Ángel Martínez-Aldama, President of INVERCO, pointed out that “Finresp is being launched today with a vocation of service and value creation, as a catalyst to identify and implement the solutions best suited to the needs of transforming our economy towards a fully sustainable model”.
Finally, at the close of the session, José María Méndez, Director General of CECA, highlighted the need for “us to become fully aware of the scale of the challenge we face as a sector. Over the past two years we have taken a major step forward as an industry: we have understood and assumed the role we must play in this global effort. But now it is time to get to work. And we will face significant difficulties that I have no doubt we will overcome together, as we always have”.
In the institutional closing of the event, Valvanera Ulargui, Director General of the Spanish Office for Climate Change, commented that “We are at a turning point, but this is nothing new; sustainability is now the mantra of every debate. We must responsibly protect the biosphere, since it provides the raw materials for our economic activity, and rethink the economic model so that it is as harmless as possible for society”.
