Ángeles Santamaría: "More than 80 percent of Iberdrola's purchases are made from local suppliers"

The CEO of Iberdrola Spain, Ángeles Santamaría, participated this morning in the round table discussion Leading the ecological transition in an economy of territorial opportunities, at the Generation of Opportunities Meeting on the challenges of sustainable development organised by Europa Press in collaboration with the consultancy firm McKinsey & Company.

In her speech, Santamaría highlighted the commitment that the electricity company, a pioneer in renewable energies and sustainability, has taken on by leading energy decarbonisation, and its translation as a strategy for economic growth and job creation.

According to government estimates, the energy transformation will create between 250,000 and 350,000 jobs. Implementing the necessary actions for an energy transition is already proving to be an opportunity to bring wealth to the territories, for which the CEO sees the complicity of the Public Administrations as essential, speeding up administrative processes and promoting investments in smart grids.

In the case of Iberdrola, she stressed the tractor effect it has on the communities in which it operates. As an example, the company's global purchases generate a number of jobs that is more than ten times the company's own workforce. Thus, the vast majority of purchases of materials, equipment, works and services are contracted from local suppliers, many of them SMEs.

In the case of clean energy deployment, more than 70% of the total installed renewable capacity is in municipalities with less than 10,000 inhabitants. In this respect, a study carried out by the consulting firm METYS revealed that renewable energy installations in these localities act as a population fixation factor, improve unemployment rates and increase the average gross income of the municipality.

On the other hand, he pointed out that, as well as being a source of activity and wealth, renewable energies are compatible with the other activities that take place there.

Iberdrola's contribution in the territories in which it operates is measured in terms of employment generated, investment, purchases from local suppliers, fiscal and social contribution, etc. Thus, during the most uncertain stage of the pandemic, the company brought forward orders worth almost 940 million euros in Spain and extended payment terms for electricity, gas and other energy services bills by up to 12 months.

In addition, Santamaría stressed the capacity of large companies to exert a tractor effect on the rest of the organisations, multiplying the positive impacts on the market, driving the creation of value, the generation of employment, excellence and competitiveness among their suppliers.

The forum, chaired by the minister Teresa Ribera, was also attended by the president of RENFE, Isaías Taboas; the CEO of AEDAS, David Martínez; the president of CORREOS, Juan Manuel Serrano; and the CEO of Ikea, Nurettin Acar.