The CLH Group participates in the session on Corporate Social Responsibility organised by the Chamber of Commerce of Gijón

• The Chairman of CLH, José Luis López de Silanes, advocated the importance of CSR to strengthen business safety, quality, efficiency and sustainability.

The Chairman of the CLH Group, José Luis López de Silanes, has participated in the session “Corporate Social Responsibility, an element for business competitiveness”, which was organised by the Chamber of Commerce of Gijón to disseminate the advantages of applying CSR policies in companies and show specific success stories.

López de Silanes defined Corporate Social Responsibility as “a new way of understanding business management and the role that companies have in society”, which involves various aspects such as safety, quality, efficiency and sustainability. In order for these CSR strategies to be consistent and to maximise their impact, he advocated the need to have “the commitment and involvement of senior management and directors”.

The Chairman of CLH highlighted CSR projects that have represented important operational improvements in his company, such as the investment plan, which includes actions worth over 1.2 billion euros over ten years, to reinforce its infrastructure and efficiency level.  Other examples are the staff rejuvenation plan and the safety programme “Zero is possible”, “which has achieved a significant reduction in the number and seriousness of occupational accidents”.

López de Silanes also explained some of the actions that have contributed to transforming CLH’s business model. Among others, the adaptation of its logistics system for transporting and storing biofuels.

Furthermore, he mentioned the company’s social action plan, which “helps us support around 70 actions every year consisting of volunteer projects, collaboration with Associations and Foundations, donations or campaign dissemination via the corporate portal”, in addition to the new entrepreneurship support policy, which has made it possible to award a dozen or so business ideas in the communities where the company operates.

In addition to the Chairman of CLH, representatives from other companies that have assumed CSR as a strategic element were also present, such as the executive chairman of the Management Board of Forética, Fernando Riaño, and the regional manager of CaixaBank, José Manuel Bilbao. The session was opened with a speech by the president of the Chamber of Commerce of Gijón, Félix Baragaño, and the closing speech was given by the Chief Executive of IDEPA (Economic Development Agency of the Region of Asturias), Eva Pando.