The Diplomat
The UN Global Compact, ICEX Spain Export and Investment and the ICO Foundation have carried out the first Training Program: Sustainable Suppliers, through which more than 1,200 SMEs belonging to the supply chain have been trained in business sustainability. 17 large Spanish companies.
The objective of this program is to offer these companies knowledge and resources on business sustainability, as well as help them comply with national, European and international regulatory frameworks on this matter. This pioneering initiative has been aimed at SMEs suppliers of 17 large Spanish companies belonging to the UN Global Compact Spain and, thanks to the driving action of these companies, 1,276 SMEs from 35 countries have participated in its first edition.
In January 2024, the recruitment period for SMEs will begin for the second edition of the program, which will be taught from March to September 2024 and for which there will be a new set of large Spanish companies promoting the program, which will extend the training to SME suppliers that are part of their global supply chains.
The large companies promoting the first edition of the program were Abertis Infraestructuras, Accenture Spain, Antolín, BASF Española, BBVA, CaixaBank, Endesa, Grupo Eroski, Grupo Santander, Grupo Tragsa, Iberdrola, Naturgy Energy Group, Navantia, PRISA, Repsol, Sacyr and Sanitas.
The UN Global Compact is the United Nations initiative to promote business sustainability in the world. It has more than 20 years of experience and more than 70 local networks globally, among which is the Spanish one, which is, since its creation, one of the first national platforms of the Global Compact and one of the local networks with the greatest number of associated entities, with 1,365. Its objective is to promote the implementation of the Ten Principles of the Global Compact while promoting the integration of the Sustainable Development Goals in the business sector. It is the only organization that has a United Nations mandate for this purpose.
According to Cristina Sánchez, executive director of the UN Global Compact Spain, “with this pioneering United Nations program, we want to cover the needs of large companies and SMEs suppliers and position Spain as a benchmark in promoting business sustainability and contribution to the 2030 Agenda”.
Likewise, Lucinio Muñoz, director of the ICO Foundation, declared that the institution he directs has “a double challenge in terms of sustainability: on the one hand, being at the forefront with new initiatives that promote sustainable finance and on the other, accompanying SMEs. in its transformation process, so as not to leave anyone behind.”
For her part, Marta Valero, director of Institutional and Business Cooperation at ICEX Exportation and Investment, stated that “through training we eliminate barriers in knowledge to be able to adapt to the new sustainability needs of production chains.”
