- The entity participated in 40 social, scientific-educational, environmental, cultural and sports activities.
- Special emphasis was placed on addressing the needs arising as a result of the pandemic.
To this end, the Foundation promoted 40 social, scientific-educational, environmental, cultural and sports activities, to which it allocated an investment of 309,421 euros and which indirectly reached more than 48,700 Canary Islanders.
These data were released this morning in a virtual meeting attended by Cepsa’s head of Corporate Relations in Andalusia and the Canary Islands, Jesús Velasco, and the head of Fundación Cepsa in the Islands, Belén Machado. Both pointed out that the situation marked by the pandemic has highlighted the relevance of the actions developed by the Foundation, many of which have been focused on helping to deal with the effects of the health emergency.
Belén Machado emphasized that "in different ways, but with the same enthusiasm and drive as always, we have put all our efforts into adapting to the new circumstances imposed by the pandemic at each moment, and in trying to be helpful through our activities, many of which we had to redirect." In this sense, he pointed out, "in the past year we channeled a large part of our social action through the food banks of the islands, while collaborating with many other social entities and administrations to help alleviate the effects of the health crisis; we even redirected our Social Value Awards to this end."
Most of the projects developed in 2020 focused on the social area, where 24 actions were carried out, while another seven corresponded to environmental initiatives. The remainder were distributed among cultural, sports and scientific-educational activities.
Social support
The Social Value Awards continue to be a key action of Fundación Cepsa, since, in addition to promoting the development of social projects aimed at vulnerable groups, they promote values of solidarity among the company's personnel.
In last year's edition, the amount allocated to social entities was increased and special emphasis was placed on attending to the needs marked by the pandemic. Of the 79 entities participating in the awards, the winners were the Association for the Promotion of Training, Employment, Information and Development of the North (Afedes), the Mental Health Association (Atelsam), the Canary Islands Asperger Association (Aspercan), the Tenerife Breast Cancer Association (Amate) and the Canary Foundation for People with Deafness and their Families (Funcasor), which distributed a total of 60,000 euros for the implementation of their five projects.
The circumstances generated as a result of COVID-19 led to special attention being paid to donations to the Food Banks of Tenerife and Las Palmas, to which 117,000 euros were allocated, enabling some 65,000 kilos of food to be distributed.
The presence in the Tenerife solidarity telethon, with which Fundación Cepsa has been collaborating for years and which managed to collect 25,000 kilos of food, as well as the delivery of the 6,320 euros collected in the last edition of the Christmas House in Las Palmas, held in December 2019, to Messengers of Peace Canary Islands and the Spanish Red Cross, are added to the actions in social matters.
On the other hand, once again this year the company participated in the road safety awareness program Canarias Conduce Segura (the Canary Islands Drive Safely), focused on the development of workshops in schools and institutes of the islands to raise awareness among young people so that they adopt a safe attitude as pedestrians, passengers and, in the future, as drivers, as well as actions aimed at companies and families.
Commitment to science and innovation, as well as culture
Fundación Cepsa Chair of Innovation and Energy Efficiency at the University of La Laguna launched its first industrial doctorate, the second of this academic institution, on new catalytic materials for obtaining biofuels from used cooking oils and other non-food fats. In addition, the first End-of-Degree and End-of-Master's Degree Awards of the Chair have been created.
On the other hand, a commitment was made to bring research and innovation closer to society through the Fundación Cepsa-ULL Chair Conference, which was held online. Also, a master session was given on the neural network model applied to the industrial sector, with the participation of professionals from the Cepsa Research Center and the ULL.
Other initiatives focused on the start of collaboration with the student project Teidesat, aimed at the future launch of a nanosatellite into space, as well as the launch of the LORAwan project, which seeks to bring the Internet of Things to students.
In the cultural field, Fundación Cepsa continued working on its initiative Sumérgete en Santa Cruz (Immerse Yourself in Santa Cruz), completing in January the mural on San Francisco Javier Street, while at the same time the procedures were initiated to develop the next artistic creation on San Sebastián Avenue. Since its launch in 2012, this initiative has resulted in a total of 21 murals in which 18 artists have already participated.
Collaboration with the 36th Canary Islands Music Festival, which was attended by 28,725 spectators, adds to the actions in this area. In addition to the involvement in this prestigious classical music event reaching the eight islands, Fundación Cepsa promoted a program of introductory didactic talks prior to the main concerts, given by the musician and disseminator Ricardo Ducatenzeiler, in order to familiarize the audience with the pieces and their performers and facilitate subsequent listening.
Environmental protection
The commitment to environmental conservation was channeled through the support of different actions developed by the Sustainable Santa Cruz Foundation. Among them, Objetivo 58 km Litoral, an environmental awareness and volunteer initiative aimed at the underwater and land cleaning of the coastline of Santa Cruz; as well as the small school gardens, in which 885 students from 18 schools in the municipality learned how to make a mini organic garden and discovered the benefits of a healthy diet.
On the other hand, Fundación Cepsa promoted family visits to the Palmetum of Tenerife, held during the last two months of the year and attended by 770 people, as well as the creation of a sustainable garden in a traffic circle in the capital of Tenerife dedicated to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which will be inaugurated shortly.
On the other hand, it joined the non-competitive Anaga Solidarity Trail mountain race, with 289 runners, and the Anaga guided hiking routes on foot, in which 112 interested nature lovers participated during the weekends of the last months of the year.
In addition, Fundación Cepsa began its collaboration with the pioneering national research project "The impact of microplastics on the ecosystem of the seabed in the Canary Islands," organized by the Diario de Avisos Foundation in collaboration with the University of La Laguna.
In the sports area, actions were channeled through the ten Fundación Cepsa children's basketball schools of the Santa Cruz Basketball Club, in which 250 children participated, as well as the development of multi-sport campuses in the summer and during the Christmas school vacations.
Corporate volunteering
The solidarity of Cepsa employees was evidenced by the 248 kilos of clothing and footwear donated to the Ataretaco Foundation, as well as the 2,500 kilos of bottle caps delivered to the Todo Suma Canarias association. In addition, they collected 285 kilos of food and toiletries for the Obra Social La Milagrosa soup kitchen, which was complemented by a donation of 800 euros from the Foundation.
In addition, through Cepsa's corporate volunteer program Voluntas, employees accompanied the elderly during the confinement, by telephone and letters, through the Spanish Red Cross and Iniciativas Humanas. On Christmas Eve, a volunteer activity was carried out with the Adopt a Grandparent Association to provide telephone support to the elderly, in addition to a storytelling workshop developed by the Theodora Foundation for hospitalized children.
Cepsa professionals in the Canary Islands were also able to participate in two solidarity and sports events with which Fundación Cepsa has been collaborating at the corporate level for years, thanks to the fact that this year they had to be transformed into virtual ones: the Capabilities Race of the Adecco Foundation and the Solidarity Race of the Madrid Down Syndrome Association, which vindicate the real integration of people with different abilities.
Looking ahead, Fundación Cepsa’s objectives are to reinforce its successful projects and its commitment to the priority Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and to broaden its scope of action, especially in order to address the needs generated by the new economic and social situation following the pandemic. It will also strengthen activities that benefit the Canary Islands society and will increase the quality, transparency and rigor of its actions.