The BACV is a campaign organised by ”la Caixa” directed at those companies that, through their social responsibility programmes, want to collaborate with the GAVI Alliance, an international alliance combating child mortality in the 72 poorest countries on Earth.
Particulars > Corporate responsibility > Society
Community
Welfare Projects
”la Caixa” has been, since its foundation over 100 years ago, an entity committed to people and their needs. This is why it has its own Welfare Projects, the instrument that enables it to develop a large number of initiatives to give opportunities to people, regardless of their age, sex and condition.
In 2010, despite the deterioration of the economic situation, the Welfare Projects budget was 500 million euros, which makes the ”la Caixa” Foundation, for yet another year, the Spanish private foundation that devotes most resources to social action.
The ”la Caixa” Foundation runs various kinds of activities and projects:
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Social and Care Programmes:
Most of its budget (70%) is for programmes devoted to rooting out poverty and protecting socially disadvantaged groups and people at risk of marginalisation, such as children from poor families, the elderly or other people in a dependent situation, immigrants with a low level of integration, young people exposed to risk conducts, people with disabilities and the very ill and their families, among others.
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Environment and Science Programmes:
These include initiatives in favour of the conservation and improvement of natural spaces and programmes to make the general public more informed and aware of the importance of sustainable behaviour.
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Cultural Programmes:
These activities aim to draw art, music, theatre and the humanities closer to every kind of public, converting culture into a tool for personal growth and social integration.
Most of the programmes are put on in the various cultural centres of the ”la Caixa” Foundation.
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Educational and Research Programmes:
They promote academic excellence and equality of opportunities by means of study scholarships for various groups, such as university students or prisoners, along with other educational activities to spread culture and scientific understanding.
Entrepreneurship
Promotion of individual initiative
”la Caixa” is aware of the need to promote entrepreneurial spirit and individual initiative as ways to achieve economic growth and the development of the community.
Helping entrepreneurs to turn their business projects into reality is one of the ways of strengthening the country’s business fabric, encouraging innovation and productivity and stimulating job creation.
This is why one of its priorities is to support viable business initiatives.
To further this objective, various instruments assist entrepreneurs, depending on their project, to obtain financing and advice on defining, pushing forward and consolidating their businesses.
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MicroBank, the social bank of ”la Caixa” and its microloans to businesses.
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Caixa Capital Risc, the venture capital company of ”la Caixa.”
Further information
Education
Education is fundamental in improving everyone’s perspectives and future opportunities. In some cases it becomes vital. This is why ”la Caixa” has set up various programmes, of scholarships or for training, aimed at assisting several groups’ access to knowledge:
Engagement
One of the main objectives of the corporate responsibility policy of ”la Caixa” is to extend responsible principles and practices into the heart of society, so as to advance together towards progress in social and environmental questions. For this reason, ”la Caixa” disseminates and promotes the adoption of corporate responsibility programmes among the business community.
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Jointly with its Welfare Projects, it offers interested companies the opportunity of taking part in responsible initiatives:
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In 2005, ”la Caixa” set up, jointly with the IESE, the ”la Caixa” Chair in Business Social Responsibility and Corporate Governance, to contribute to the creation and dissemination of innovative ideas in this field and, in a more specific way, ideas on the training of senior managers and entrepreneurs.
Access to the Chair -
In addition, it belongs to numerous Spanish and international initiatives, whose aim is to advance in questions of corporate responsibility and to exchange ideas on good practice in this subject.
External partnerships and initiatives
Business Alliance for Child Vaccination - BACV (AEVI in Spanish & Catalan)
The GAVI Alliance works for vaccination and immunisation of children aged under five, to contribute to the achievement of the fourth United Nations Millennium Goal: the reduction by two-thirds of child mortality by 2015.
Further information:
As well as having made a contribution to the GAVI Alliance of 8 million euros in the 2008-2009 period, ”la Caixa” places its network of branches at the disposal of interested companies who want to join the Alliance.
The ”la Caixa” Foundation, through its International Cooperation programme, monitors the vaccination programmes regularly and guarantees that all the contributions of the companies taking part are used in full on child vaccination. Subsequently. it reports on this to the other members of the Business Alliance.
In 2008, the contributions of the companies, added to the contributions of ”la Caixa”, enabled over 400,000 children to be vaccinated in Cameroon, Mauritania, the Central African Republic and Northern Sudan (Darfur).
Further information on the results of the programme (in Spanish)
Incorpora Employment Programme
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The aim of the Incorpora Employment Programme of ”la Caixa” Welfare Projects is to integrate people at risk of social marginalisation into society and work. It does this by offering them employment opportunities through a network of job development experts, created in collaboration with social entities and associations belonging to Incorpora.
This programme, open to all businesses, represents for companies and self-employed business people a socially responsible option for integration into work.
Beneficiaries:
Training programmes and job placement itineraries are conducted for people at risk of social marginalisation, such as:
- Young people with difficulties in finding their first job
- People aged over 45 without job experience
- People with a physical, intellectual or sensory disability
- People with mental illnesses
- The long-term unemployed
- Women who are victims of domestic violence
How it works:
Job placement experts offer the programme to companies and business associations, with the support of ”la Caixa” and its branch network. Interested companies are offered assistance prior to hiring, such as the choice of professional profiles, and subsequent follow-up if the job contract is then signed.
Results:
Since the start of the programme in 2006, until the end of 2009:
- Over 9,000 companies have joined the programme.
- More than 95 accords signed with business groups.
- 74,743 people attended by social entities of the Incorpora groups.
- Over 22,000 completed the integration process with a job contract (more than 25% of the people attended).
- 75% of the people integrated were people at risk of marginalisation.
Accessible Housing
The difficulty of finding housing has become one of our society’s main problems. This is why, in 2004, the Accessible Housing Programme of ”la Caixa” Welfare Projects was set up. It contributes to helping young people, the elderly and families with few resources to find a flat at a lower rental
Through this programme, ”la Caixa” Welfare Projects promotes and manages:
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Housing adapted to users needs:
- Young and Elderly People Programme:
- The flats have 1 or 2 bedrooms and a living area of between 40 and 55 square metres.
- The rental contract last five years and can be extended.
- Programme for Families:
- The housing units measure over 55 square metres and have 2 or 3 bedrooms.
- The rental contract is also for five years and can be extended. In addition, where possible, there may be a purchase option.
- Young and Elderly People Programme:
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Environment-friendly buildings:
- All the buildings are constructed in line with sustainability criteria:
- Eco-efficient and sustainable designs (above the legal minima) are used.
- Constant improvements in materials and fittings are being introduced.
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- All promotions are fitted into their natural surroundings: orientation and ventilation.
- A community garden space with autochthonous plants needing little care and watering.
- Use of less polluting materials (paint, insulation) and reuse of material when possible (paving stones)
- To improve energy efficiency:
- Buildings contain improved insulation.
- Flats are fitted with low-consumption domestic appliances and cisterns.
- Hot water is produced by solar panels and highly efficient gas boilers.
- Rain-water and grey water are used.
- All the buildings are constructed in line with sustainability criteria:
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- A Programme in constant growth with building programmes in Catalonia, Madrid, Andalusia, the Basque Country and the Community of Valencia
Caixa Capital Risc
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First, it has two venture capital vehicles, Caixa Capital Semilla and Caixa Capital Pyme Innovación, which provide short-term finance to business projects that are either taking their first steps or have just passed through this first stage, businesses that stand out because of their innovative proposals and their growth potential.
Caixa Capital Risc acts as a strategic financial partner and accompanies companies at various stages of their development, whilst giving priority to those hi-tech companies belonging to the areas of life sciences or information technology (ICT) that are just starting up.
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Second, other initiatives are designed to support the creation of companies, as well as helping them to grow and consolidate their position:
- The BioEmprenedorXXI initiative, aimed at solvent business projects in the life sciences sector.
- The EmprendedorXXI Prize, which gives economic support and social recognition to the companies with the greatest growth potential in each Autonomous Community and offers them a programme of ongoing assistance.
- The SeedRocket project, an initiative aimed at entrepreneurs in the new technology sector, on which Barcelona Activa and the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce also collaborate. This programme provides training, backing and finance for projects, in order to accelerate their development.
Further information:
Aliança Empresarial per a la Vacunació Infantil- AEVI
L’AEVI és una iniciativa impulsada per ”la Caixa” dirigida a aquelles empreses que, des dels seus programes de responsabilitat social, vulguin col·laborar amb GAVI Alliance, una aliança internacional que lluita contra la mortalitat infantil en els 72 països més desafavorits del planeta.
GAVI Alliance treballa en pro de la vacunació i la immunització de nens menors de cinc anys per tal de, d’aquesta manera, contribuir a l’assoliment del quart Objectiu del Mil·lenni de les Nacions Unides: la reducció en dues terceres parts de la mortalitat infantil abans del 2015.
Més informació:
A més d’haver fet una aportació a GAVI Alliance de 8 milions d’euros en el període 2008-2009, ”la Caixa” posa la seva xarxa d’oficines a disposició de les empreses interessades, per que es puguin adherir a l’Aliança.
La Fundació ”la Caixa”, mitjançant els seu programa de Cooperació Internacional, fa un seguiment periòdic dels programes de vacunació i garanteix que totes les aportacions de les empreses participants es destinin íntegrament a la vacunació de nens. Posteriorment, n’informa als altres membres de l’Aliança Empresarial.
Durant l’any 2008, les aportacions de les empreses, sumades a la contribució de ”la Caixa”, van permetre la vacunació de més de 400.000 nens al Camerun, Mauritània, República Centreafricana i Sudan nord (Darfur)
Programa Incorpora
El Programa Incorpora de l’Obra Social de ”la Caixa” té com a objectiu la integració sociolaboral de persones en risc d’exclusió, i ho fa oferint-los oportunitats d’ocupació per mitjà d’una xarxa d’especialistes en inserció laboral, creada en col·laboració amb entitats socials i associacions adherides a Incorpora.
Aquest programa, obert a tot el teixit empresarial, suposa per a les empreses i els empresaris autònoms una alternativa de responsabilitat social en integració laboral.
Beneficiaris:
Es duen a terme programes de formació i itineraris d’inserció laboral per a persones en risc d’exclusió com ara:
- Joves amb dificultats per accedir a la primera feina
- Majors de 45 anys sense experiència laboral
- Persones amb discapacitat física, intel·lectual o sensorial
- Persones amb malalties mentals
- Aturats de llarga durada
- Dones víctimes de violència domèstica
Funcionament:
Els especialistes en inserció laboral ofereixen el programa a empreses i associacions empresarials, amb el recolzament de ”la Caixa” i de la seva xarxa d’oficines. A les empreses interessades, se’ls ofereix un suport previ a la contractació, com ara la selecció de perfils professionals, i el seguiment posterior si es formalitza la contractació.
Resultats:
Més de 7000 empreses s’han sumat al projecte
El 25% de les persones ateses finalitzen el procés d’integració amb contracte laboral
Des del inici del programa, l’any 2006, fins a finals de novembre de 2009:
- Més de 9.000 empreses s’han sumat al programa
- Mes de 95 convenis signats amb agrupacions empresarials
- 74.743 persones ateses per les entitats socials dels grups Incorpora
- Més de 22.000 han finalitzar el procés d’integració amb contracte laboral (més del 25% de les persones ateses)
- El 75% de les persones integrades són persones en risc d’exclusió
"la Caixa" Chair in Business Social Responsibility and Corporate Governance
Encouraging the social responsibility and corporate governance of companies
The "la Caixa" Chair in Business Social Responsibility and Corporate Governance was set up in 2005 by ”la Caixa” and the IESE through the collaboration agreement signed by the two organisations.
”la Caixa” and the IESE founded this Chair because they wanted to contribute to informing the business community of the innovative ideas arising on the question of corporate responsibility, especially in relation to the training of senior managers and entrepreneurs, and to encourage ongoing training in both practical and theoretical aspects of the subject.
The Chair is responsible for a series of publicity activities, comprising various publications, the organisation of talks and round tables, participation in congresses and the development of several research projects, among others.
The first holder of the Chair is Antonio Argandoña, Professor of the Foundations of Economic Analysis on leave and Full Member of the Royal Academy of Economic and Financial Sciences, Barcelona. He is a member of the Anti-Corruption Committee of the International Chamber of Commerce (Paris) and President of the Committee of Professional Regulations and Ethics of the College of Economists of Catalonia.
Further information on its research lines
Ways de publicising its activities:
To publicise the results of its research, the Chair publishes regularly a number of documents:
- One-theme Notebooks, on various questions of corporate responsibility.
- Newsletters, published four times a year, report on the progress of the Chair’s research.
- Contemporary comments, short articles, published monthly, which focus on today’s questions.
- Various other publications, including specialist newspaper and magazine articles.