The students on EAE Business School Barcelona’s Global Master in Sustainability and CSR visit the head offices of Sabadell Seguros as an example of a sustainable company

The Global Master in Sustainability and CSR run by EAE Business School Barcelona, which belongs to Planeta Formación y Universidades, is a program focused on the sustainable management of companies and organizations, designed to prepare senior and intermediate executives to understand and lead Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) strategies in any company, transposing and specifying the goals of the big international agreements such as the Global Compact, the SDGs, the Green Deal and the Paris Accords for an organization. “It is becoming increasingly fundamental for companies to have professionals that generate development and value, with an awareness of the environmental and social impacts related to its activity and society”, explained Isabel Gultresa, the Director of the Master at EAE Business School Barcelona.

The program includes a two-week residential program in Barcelona, on which the students take part in immersive sessions to gain a first-hand insight into projects in acclaimed companies such as Sabadell Seguros. The students had the chance to talk to the CEO of Sabadell Seguros Bernardino Gómez Aritmendi, and other members of the Board of Directors, including Clara Armengol, Jordi García, Rene Rimpler and José María Montané. During this on-site experience at the head offices of Sabadell Seguros in Torre BCN, they took part in sessions on sustainable investments, climate change risks, and the integration of ESG within the company culture.

“Insurance companies have an important role to play in the transition towards a low-carbon economy, as investment and risk managers, as well as the key social role that we perform”, explained Bernardino Gómez Aritmendi, the CEO of Sabadell Seguros. “As such, we are committed to the United Nations’ Principles for Responsible Investment (UN PRI) and incorporate ESG risk analysis in our investment decisions with respect to the companies that we invest in, with a firm commitment to reducing the carbon footprint of our portfolios by the end of 2025”, added Bernardino.

“The aim of these sessions is to put students into contact with the experience and knowledge of a company with a solid, consistent financial sustainability project such as Sabadell Seguros, thereby equipping the students with the tools required to implement the pillars of sustainability across the board in any setting”, emphasized Gultresa.

THE NEW OFFICES OF BANCO SABADELL IN TORRE BCN HAVE BREEAM CERTIFICATION

The new offices that the students visited yesterday in Torre BCN were inaugurated in 2021 and have been awarded BREEAM certification, which guarantees compliance with the highest standards in terms of environmental sustainability. All the electricity used in the offices is from 100% renewable sources. This year, the offices have also been awarded SAGE + certification of the Zurich Group.

In 2023, Sabadell Seguros received solidarity certification from Manos Unidas and carbon footprint certification from the Ministry of Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge. Created by Royal Decree 163/2014, the Registry records the calculation and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions generated by the activity of Spanish organizations, giving them the option to offset all or part of their carbon footprint through a series of forestry projects across the country.

“Sustainability forms part of our culture and is integrated within our team’s DNA. With this in mind, we want to share the causes that we support with our customers, through our project “Insurance with a Cause”, which strives to promote the transition to a more sustainable economy, linking each of our products to social and environmental causes. Thanks to this project, we have made contributions to the Asociación Española Contra el Cáncer, the Xarxa per a la Conservació de la Natura, Hospital Sant Joan de Déu, El Llindar, the Instituto Guttmann, bio-banks and the Fundación Contigo”, explained Clara Armengol Vivas, the Director of Sustainability at Sabadell Seguros.