Impact of the Sustainable Economy Law on social responsibility in Spain
The law addresses many changes aimed at encouraging and accelerating economic development, making it more competitive, productive, and innovative. The text focuses particularly on the three areas of sustainability: economic, environmental, and social. In the previous article, we covered the requirements for environmental sustainability (energy model, emissions reduction, sustainable mobility, housing rehabilitation, etc.). In these lines, we will address another area with significant potential and future relevance: social responsibility.
Title I, Improving the economic environment, includes in different sections the concept of SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY for both companies and Public Administration, as well as related concepts such as corporate governance, sustainability reports, and more. The aim is to promote sustainability in the management of public companies, for example by adapting their strategic plans (before March 2012) to present annual corporate governance reports, sustainability reports, apply environmental management criteria, energy efficiency, promote the integration of women and effective equality, and the full inclusion of people with disabilities, among others.
Regarding business management, Article 39 seeks to promote Social Responsibility through Public Administrations, which will maintain a promotion policy by disseminating knowledge and existing best practices and encouraging study and analysis of the effects of social responsibility policies on business competitiveness.
The Government will make available a set of features and indicators for self-assessment on social responsibility, as well as reporting models or references, all in accordance with international standards on the matter, to facilitate—especially for small and medium-sized enterprises—the application of responsibility criteria. The main objective is to improve transparency in management, sound corporate governance, commitment to local communities and the environment, respect for human rights, improved labor relations, promotion of women’s inclusion, effective equality between women and men, equal opportunities and universal accessibility for people with disabilities, and sustainable consumption.
Public limited companies may publish annually their policies and results in terms of Corporate Social Responsibility through a specific report based on objectives, features, indicators, and international standards. In the case of public limited companies with more than 1,000 employees, this annual CSR report must be communicated to the State Council for Corporate Social Responsibility, enabling proper monitoring of the degree of implementation of CSR policies in large Spanish companies. Likewise, any company may voluntarily apply to be recognized as a socially responsible company, under the conditions determined by the State Council for Corporate Social Responsibility.
The Sustainable Economy Law aims to create an overall framework for economic improvement and competitiveness, incorporating responsibility criteria and giving equal importance to the three areas of sustainability—economic, social, and environmental—in the management of public administrations and companies, since a modern society must take into account all impacts arising from activities, whether internal or external, not only economic but also on people and the environment.
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