• This is clear from the General Guidelines Document of the Spanish Sustainable Development Strategy, approved today by the Council of Ministers.
• The guidelines mark the priorities to be followed in the Spanish Sustainable Development Strategy, which will be presented at the beginning of July at the headquarters of the United Nations in New York.
• The approved document places the Social Economy as a key business model of the 2030 agenda that combines business efficiency and competitiveness with progress and social responsibility.
• CEPES has actively participated in this document, not only through the Sustainable Development Council, but also in meetings with the Government and specifically with the Secretary of State for the 2030 Agenda, Ione Belarra.
• The document considers it relevant to generate innovative mechanisms for the participation of the Social Economy in strategic sectors linked to sustainable development and the new care economy, among others.
Madrid, March 2, 2021.- The Spanish Business Confederation of the Social Economy (CEPES) applauds the document of General Guidelines for the future Sustainable Development Strategy , which has been approved this Tuesday in the Council of Ministers.
This document, which collects the pillars on which the Spanish Sustainable Development Strategy will be built, places the Social Economy as a fundamental business agent for the implementation of the 2030 Agenda.
Thus, the document recognizes that "the Social Economy provides a business model based on the primacy of the person, on the equitable distribution of benefits or their reinvestment in the social purpose of the company, combining efficiency and business competitiveness with progress and social responsibility ”. In addition, it refers to its contribution to advance in the fundamental lines of reconstruction after the Covid-19 crisis and in compliance with the 2030 Agenda , “where the consolidation of a more sustainable and respectful economic system with people and our environment will be the key principles of these advances ”.
Likewise, the guidelines for the Strategy point to the entities of the Social Economy as one of the fundamental agents of the change in the economic model, currently "dependent and excessively concentrated" and points to the link of this business model with sustainable development, recognized in Law 5/2011 on Social Economy, which gives a mandate to public administrations for its promotion and development as a task of general interest.
The President of CEPES, Juan Antonio Pedreño, has declared that “the Social Economy is a central actor in the 2030 Agenda that provides a business model that contributes to all the Sustainable Development Goals. Today the government has taken a decisive step by placing Social Economy companies at the center of the future Sustainable Development Strategy, which will address the main social, economic and environmental transformations in our country. A Strategy that is closely linked with other fundamental initiatives for the development of the Social Economy such as the future Spanish Social Economy Strategy 2021-2027, the Recovery and Resilience Plan of our country and the European Action Plan for the Social Economy that the Commission will present later this year. All these initiatives place Social Economy companies as a key engine for a sustainable and urgent recovery based on an economy that works for people and the planet ”.
The document approved yesterday in the Council of Ministers alsorefers to the data of the Social Economy in Spain and also highlights its contribution to generating “ quality, stable and inclusive employment , promoting participatory business management models and seeking alternatives to save jobs and business fabric at risk of disappearance. Its potential for cohesion and equality and capacity for productive transformation make it a driving force behind the green, digital, social and care transition ”.
It also points out that " this type of business organization has more capacity to create and protect employment in times of economic recession, with lower rates of temporary employment and greater stability in employment." In addition, it affirms that it presents a greater incorporation of women in managerial positions , a generation of job opportunities for groups with specific difficulties, for employment over 55 years of age , as well as for people with disabilities and people at risk of social exclusion , among others. groups, and a more equitable salary.
On the other hand, the document points to the relevance of “ generating innovative mechanisms for the participation of the Social Economy in strategic sectors linked to sustainable development and the new care economy, among others , as well as intensifying the public support of this model , to enable the creation and viability of new socio-economic projects articulated from collective social innovation. An accompaniment that may be articulated within the framework of the Strategy for the Promotion of the Social Economy 2021-2027, currently in the process of definition ”.
The Spanish Sustainable Development Strategy will mark the policies and mechanisms for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals detailed in the 2030 Agenda and will be presented at the beginning of July at the headquarters of the United Nations in New York.
CEPES is participating very actively in the development of the Strategy as a member of the Sustainable Development Council and its working groups , as well as through the dialogue maintained with the Government through the Ministry of Labor and Social Economy and the meeting held by a delegation from CEPES, led by its president, Juan Antonio Pedreño, with the Secretary of State for the 2030 Agenda, Ione Belarra .
Eight challenges and Agenda 2030
The document of General Guidelines of the Sustainable Development Strategy identifies eight major challenges on which the strategy will be structured: ending poverty and inequality, facing the climate emergency; closing the gender inequality gap and ending discrimination; overcome the inefficiencies of a dependent and excessively concentrated and dependent economic system; put an end to job insecurity; reverse the crisis of public services; put an end to global injustice and threats to human rights, democratic principles and the sustainability of the planet and revitalize our rural environment and face the demographic challenge.
The document can be consulted at the following link: https://www.agenda2030.gob.es/recursos/docs/Diretricas_EDS.pdf
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development was signed in 2015 by the Heads of State and Government of the United Nations member countries. It represents the international commitment to face the social, economic and environmental challenges of globalization, putting people, the planet, prosperity and peace at the center, under the motto of "leaving no one behind".
