Entrepreneurial Initiative: Ostrich Company

BUSINESS IDEA AND OPPORTUNITIES

Ostrich Company Ltd.
Ostrich Farming Business specialized in obtaining ostrich meat which is tasty and juicy, low in fat, low in cholesterol and high-iron. Ostrich meat will be commercialized to grocery stores and delicatessen stores and meat as well as eggs will be sold to restaurants and catering services. Ostrich meat will be presented in fillet, burger, sirloin steak, cold meat and pate.

Starting point
The Company will purchase chicks more than three months old (the highest mortality rate is from one day to three months). Although more expensive than purchasing eggs or hatchlings, the purchase of chicks at this age will probably prove more cost effective because the mortality rate is greatly reduced after the age of three months.

Core business

Parallel business lines

Opportunities:

PESTEL

POLITICAL
-Potential consumers increase, as European Union increases.

-No barriers for selling abroad.
-No promotion, research and generic marketing by bigger role-players.
-Subsidies have been avoided
-UE protection against external competitors: If an European country want to import ostrich meat from a non-European country, they must sign an agreement between both parties. Once the meat is delivered to that country, it is forbidden to sell the meat to a third country.

ECONOMIC

-Breakup of a South African ostrich monopoly has caused the worldwide price of ostrich products to decrease, and these goods are now beginning to become affordable to the common man
-Reports suggest that global meat consumption will increase by as much as 25% by 2025
-Higher production than pork and beef industry, but the performance is lower due to more animals are required.
-Ostriches live in trios, two females, one male. Each trio needs 1500m2 of terrain.
-The minimum initial investment that requires a farm with a trio of ostriches (one male and two females) is about $ 60,000 and $ 65,000, the return on investment starts from six months of operation.
-The average annual expenditure of breeding of two and half years of age and older is about $ 20,000, both male and female ostriches.
-60 eggs laid per year.
-Life span is 80 years
-At birth, ostriches weight 1kg. After a year they weight 100kg and they are ready for the slaughter.
-30% of the weight is usable for meat (lower than pork or bovine)
-Higher final prices than other classes of meat.
-Ostrich leather is the second most valuable (just after cocodrile’s)
-There is no large scale production in Europe.
-Fixed cost are high due to the need of terrain
-High fuel prices
-Raw materials are wheat, barley and alfalfa which are cheap and easy to find and with low fluctuations of their price
-Economic crisis, difficult to gain the trust of the banks to get funds.
-Vulnerability against extreme climatic conditions can have an effect on availability of products in market
-Low consumption in domestic market: Farms which focused on domestic market failed.
-Belgium, Germany and Switzerland are the main consumers in the EU
-South-Africa shares the 83% of the ostrich production in the world.

SOCIO-CULTURAL

-Increase of health conscious consumers throughout the world, who are worried about the risk of heart attacks, high blood pressure, and heart disease
-Meat products represents 20.8% of total expenditure that Spanish consumers spend in their diet.
-Total meat consumption amounts to about 2.878 million kilos, around 18.642 million euros. (The highest percentage of demand is concentrated in households (79%) while restaurant´ consumption accounts for 16.9% )
-The homes of upper and upper middle class have the highest meat consumption while lower-class households have lower consumption.
-In restaurants fresh pork is the most consumed meat (78.5 million kilos) but the biggest expense is associated with beef (664 million euros).
-Studies published by the Ministry of Environment and Rural and Marine Affairs, claim that 86.2% of the Spanish population surveyed has never acquired ostrich food and who have consumed it, considers it as a “delicatessen”.
-The main reasons to try it are curiosity and the challenge of proving an exotic food generally surprising by its flavor and juiciness of the meat.
-More people  buy using internet nowadays, which decrease the investment for commercialize products.

TECHNOLOGICAL

-The impact of science and technology in process and product is low: Both process and product are fixed.
-Obsolescence of technology is low.
-High technological levels in abattoirs.
-An incubation building is needed and also a raising building for the first 4 months of life of the baby ostriches.
-Warm and especially low humidity climate is the optimum.
-Lack of skilled workers.

ENVIRONMENTAL

-Ostrich farming is environment friendly, it has the natural capacity of optimising quality in all aspects of agriculture and the environment.
-Worthy candidate for biodiversity, many observers are of the opinion that ostrich farming is a best option for organic agriculture.
-Many places have perfect climate conditions within Spain.

LEGAL
-Documentation needed to set up the farm:

-Ostriches are ruled by the same laws as other birds: Real Decreto 1317/1992, Real Decreto 2087/1994, Real Decreto 54/1995.
-No specific legislation.
-28 days before the slaughter, it is forbidden to administer drugs to the ostriches.
-A veterinarian must be hired. He will report monthly the sicknesses and the treatments that have been taken.

SWOT

Strengths

Ostriches consume little amounts of food.
Ostriches are very resilient and they have strong health.
The return on investment starts very early, from six months of operation
Cheaper commercialization through internet.
Minimum environmental impact, good perception.
Opportunity to grow as a learning centre.
Diversity of potential clients and uses (food, textil industry, cosmetic industry…)

Weaknesses
A minimum plot of land,  infrastructure and investment is required. Starting from scratch.
Mortality of newborn calves is about 30%, which in some cases could reach 50%.
Lack of consumer awareness.
Prices of ostrich meat and the other associated ostrich goods are high.
High investments in marketing and advertisement in order to raise awareness.
The farming operation won´t be able to withstand price decreases or cycles.
Vulnerability against extreme climatic conditions can have an effect on availability of products in market.

Opportunities
Breakup of a South African ostrich monopoly, affordable prices to the common man.
African bird perceived as exotic food.
Healthier than traditional red meats.
Recent food crisis: avian flu and mad cow.
Alliances or Coops to provide the ostrich packers with a consistent supply of meat.
Exports to central Europe.
People willing to buy healthy food
Untapped domestic market.
The generic promotion of ostrich meat. Currently it is almost non–existent.
Growth in meat demand by far outstrips supply.

Threats
Lack of skilled workers.
Small and unstable market.
Lack of wide specific legislation.

Constant pressure from international pressure groups like Compassion for World Farming.

Grocery stores refuse animal products if they don´t adhere to the usual standards of production.

 

 

GROUP 6:

Elena Arboleya

Tatiana Casquero

David García


Comentarios desactivados en Entrepreneurial Initiative: Ostrich Company / 06 Feb 2012 por David Garcia
MERME /

Sustainability: BBVA CSR strategy

Business Study

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria is one of the biggest Spanish banks nowadays. It was born in 1999 from the merge of “Banco Bilbao Vizcaya” and “Argentaria”.This fusion created controversy among politics and stakeholders before happening, but it turned out very successful and profitable at the end.

BBVA covers all businesses with private individuals, small and mid-size enterprises, other companies and institutions, consumer finance, insurance, investment banking, production and asset management.

It is present all over the world, to enlist every country where it is already set up check the following link:

http://www.bbva.com/TLBB/tlbb/jsp/ing/conozca/paises/index.jsp

During the last three or four years, the euro area is suffering a very deep crisis that has very high impact in the banking sector, that has reduced its funding. Some entities had to ask for liquidity to The European Central Bank. Most of the assets are loosing value, there were falls in the equity, and public and private debt markets have very low activity. This brings loss in confidence in the markets.

Taking into account this context, the group BBVA has a privileged position in terms of liquidity  and generation of earnings with respect to most of its competitors.The weak lending activity in Spain and the positive performance of deposits elsewhere helped the bank to improve and recover from the previous situation. A wholesale banking business characterized by low leverage levels makes possible to recover competitiveness in such a complicated environment.

All business areas in the different countries have contributed positively to the Group’s results.

BBVA has grown in 2010, 9,4% with respect to 2009.  It reached this success expanding to different business and growing geographically, that helped it to maintain the income. It has enhance its brand in Latin America and Asia. And it also came to an agreement to buy the second largest bank of Turkey, a promising country in terms of development.

 

Stakeholder Study

We define stakeholders as all those people, institutions and segments having a significant bearing on the company’s operations and decisions, or that are affected by them (positively or negatively).

Main BBVA stakeholders and the Group’s commitments to each are:

 

In addition, they exist secondary stakeholders such as competitors, NGO´s andmedia .

Stakeholders affect the company at all levels and are essentials for its existence and survival. So their importance is critical in order to:

Þ            To give or to revoke authorizations and licenses.

Þ            To improve or to damage the company’s reputation.

Þ            To contribute or to hinder the services offered by the organization.

Þ            To allow or to restrict funding.

 

It is important to have fluent and transparent communication with the stakeholders. Creation of channels for listening and dialogue provides early detection of issues that could lead to mitigation of future risks or taking advantage of opportunities.

Furthermore, there are basic requirements or needs of the stakeholders towards the organization and in order to satisfy the stakeholders, the organization has to fulfill their needs.

Customers have expectations like good quality of services at reasonable rates, in such a competitive banking market the customer´s satisfaction is crucial.

Similarly, for fulfilling the needs of the suppliers, the company has to make good relationships and long term business contracts with the suppliers.

Shareholders will trust on good and low risky business contracts and when profits are guaranteed at the end of the year.

Employees desire a company that promotes continuous training, equal opportunities for men and women, involvement and motivation in the company, fluent communication and of course, stability.

Regulators expect a good performance of the company within the political and legal framework they draw up.

Society expects a social responsible company that returns to society what society gives to it.

The company has to fulfill all their needs to survive in the market and to attain its various goals.

 

 

CSR strategy developed by the company

Reputational risks for BBVA

In relation to the risk associated with changes in the perception of stakeholders (customers, stockholders, employees, etc.),we have all witnessed the effects of the current financial crisis. Public debate is centered on how those in charge should have predicted the depth of the crisis, and lost of trust in banking system comes to the fore.

Countries descend into financial chaos and even bankruptcy, with some even having their sovereignty rating downgraded like Spain. Now more than ever banks need to take action in order to re-build and regain lost oftrust, and to do this they need transparency.

 

Real scandals at the national and international level.

But transparency does not necessarily mean that business conduct is being ethical.

One of the latest and greatest scandalsinvolving BBVA was between the years 2001 and 2002, this one led to the resignation of the majority of the board of the bank, including its chairman, Emilio Ybarra.

This scandal took place in 2002 when the national central Bank of Spain began disciplinary proceedings against BBVA and 16 of its former directors and officers for the existence of funds amounting to approximately EUR 225 million, belonging to BBV and which were not included in the public statements.

 

After the Bank of Spain carried out the inspection it was uncovered the factthatBBVA had secret accounts in Jersey, Liechtenstein and Caiman Islands. This destinations were all considered tax havens where BBVA bought shares for the treasury and kept the money for the pensions of its executives.The main protagonist of the scandal of false accounting and personal enrichment was its chairmain Emilio Ybarra, he was the mastermind of the operation, who devised from where to get the funds, how to invest, who would be the beneficiaries and the amounts each would receive. The fact that BBVA had for years (from 1987) maintained an account which was not reflected in its public statements influenced drastically on the bank´s reputation and transparency principles.

Consumers and investors perception was damaged when credibility and trust were lost.The bank shares were also affected as they fell a 4% and 5% in the following days after the scandal was covered by the media and due to the increasing concerns about the implications in the investigation.

According to banking analysts the scandal was national without any direct linkage with latinamerican operations. Among International Banks BBVA has a solid presence and reputation in LatAm.

The campaign “BBVA sin armas” (“BBVA without arms”), composed by Centro Delás de Estudios por la Paz de Justicia y Paz, el Observatorio de la Deuda en la Globalización (ODG), and Federación SETEM,were heard at the shareholders’ meetings that the Bank,chaired by Francisco Gonzalez, has held since the year 2008.

These NGO’s participate in the meetingsto denounce before the Board of Directors of BBVA and its shareholders the continued relationship between the spanish bank and the production of controversial weapons such as nuclear weapons, cluster bombs and depleted uranium weapons, among others.

The report presentedvarious reveals, for example, since 2006 “the BBVA Group participated in loans, issuance of bonds and management of investment funds which owns stocks and bonds of 16 companies producing controversial weapons.”

A situation that conflicts with BBVA´s internal policies on human rights and environmental and with voluntary initiatives of Corporate Social Responsibility to which the mentioned financial institution is attached.

 

CSR strategy

Corporate responsibility (CR) at BBVA has been reinforced in the light of recent events. Within the crisis context,banking corporate responsibility should be a differentiating factor. The aim of BBVA’s policy, therefore, continues to be to define commitments and foster behavior that creates value for all its stakeholders (social value), as well as for BBVA itself (reputational value and direct economic value).

The strategic focus of corporate responsibility

At BBVA corporate responsibility is completely linked and aligned with the business.Through their Corporate Responsibility and Reputation Committee, BBVA is committed to involving all the areas of the Group in determining their strategic focus.

Principles of Strategic CR plan are financial literacy and inclusion, responsible banking and community involvement.

1.  Financial inclusion. The segments of society with the lowest incomes are not usually able to provide the guarantees required by traditional banks for granting loans and other financial services. Microfinance is the most useful instrument to enable the most underprivileged to access the financial system. BBVA has a number of projects related to financial inclusión, the most important of them is the BBVA Microfinance Foundation.

2.  Education and financial literacy. In the year 2010 the Global Financial Education Plan El dinero en nuestras vidas (the Money in Our Lives) was consolidated. The plan aimed to support people’s financial education and improve their current and future financial situation.

The Global Financial Education Plan is aimed at different geographcal areas.In Spain and Portugal, Valores de futuro (Future Values) is designed for primary school children and those in the first cycle of ESO.

 

The international economic crisis has made clear the need and the opportunity to strengthen people’s financial culture, education in this area forms part of the fight for financial inclusion.

 

3. Responsible Banking. Integratingresponsible finance (GSC) environment, social and corporate governance-variables), responsible investment, customer focus, human resources, responsable procurement, the environment.

4.Community Involvement(Education and Research)

In 2010, the Group increased its community investment to €76 m, 1.6% of the Group’s net attributable profit.

 

BBVA’s commitment to education was again evident in 2010 through its alliance with the Organization of Ibero-American States and their “Educational Goals 2021”. Among the highlights in research since 2008 have been the BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Awards. Through these awards, the Foundation recognizes scientific and artistic contributions that have extended the frontiers of knowledge and increased the possibility of a better future for society.

Furthermore, since 2010 BBVA owns a corporate website: Banca para todos (Banking for all) which reflects the efforts of the entity on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) with all the information needed.

 

 

What kind of policies should the company implement and which of them should be abandoned?

Alligned with one of the abovementoined scandals, BBVA with the highest presence in companies manufacturing controversial weapons, we are going to asses how the company can implement strategies to compensate a particular case:

 

BBVA has financed Maxamcorp Holding SL, owner of Explosivos Alaveses S.A.responsible for manufacturing and selling anti-personnel mines and cluster munitions until their banning by the government. These weapons have hurt and mutilated thousands of people all over the world. So besides stop financing this kind of companies, BBVA needs to make a washing in this area and compensate the damage.

BBVA should help the people who have been hurt by this weapons they have financed.For instance in Colombia, which is the second country in the world with victims by anti-personnel landmines and where BBVA is present. The bankmust help the victims financing projects in order to help them to reach a better quality of life.

Our proposal is giving financial support to the Colombian Campaign against Landmines (CCCM)which strives for a reduction of social, economic and cultural effects of antipersonnel Mines.

In second place BBVA may support education and prevention programs regarding mine risk and the accompaniment of victims in the Chaim of their rights, creating alliances and strategies for the physical, psychological and social recovery of victims of landmines.

Programs aimed at the reintegration of survivors into Colombian society is also a potential opportunity to pay for the social damage its business may have provoked.

From our viewpoint BBVA should focus on the consequences of the type of businesses they finance, ethical allignment is needed between the spanish bank and its clients.

If mistakes have been made in the past, the optimum way to compensate them is the immediate blocking of financial support for such controversial activities, effective gathering of information about the bussinesses they support and adressing their efforts directly to the damaged area and community.

Other policies which are been developed by BBVA:

 

GROUP 6:

Tatiana Casquero

Elena Arboleya

David García


Comentarios desactivados en Sustainability: BBVA CSR strategy / 04 Feb 2012 por David Garcia
MERME /

Una mañana en el Instituto de Energía Solar

La publicación de este blog está relacionada con la visita que realizamos el grupo de alumnos del MERME al Instituto de Energía Solar el pasado 18 de Enero. Dicho instituto está situado dentro del campus de la Ciudad Universitaria y que pertenece a la Universidad Politécnica de Madrid. Durante la realización de la visita tuvimos a un guía de excepción como es el coordinador de la asignatura de Energía Fotovoltaica Oscar Perpiñan. Durante la “excursión” pudimos ver, el llamado cementerio de elefantes por el instituto, una integración arquitectónica, una serie de pruebas en tejado y por último visitamos una casa autónoma, la “Magic Box“, que hace unos años representó a España en el concurso “Solar Decathlon”.

1.-El “cementerio de elefantes”

A nuestra llegada al instituto lo primero que visitamos fue el curioso cementerio de placas solares algunas de ellas inservibles o fuera de funcionamiento que se encuentra junto al parking. Eran desperdicios de antiguas investigaciones que con el paso de los años y que con la inmensa evolución que ha sufrido el sector han pasado a quedarse obsoletas, y en la actualidad forman el espectacular museo de entrada gratuita del Instituto de la Energía Solar.

Con todo esto se demuestra el largo camino que ha tenido que andar la investigación fotovoltaica hasta obtener la increíble tecnología que tener en la actualidad al alcance de todo a un precio más o menos accesible.

Una de las cosas más atractivas de este cementerio fue la increíble estructura de concentración solar de unos 12 metros de altura. La idea de este tipo de tecnología consiste en reducir la cantidad de material activo, que es una de las partes con mayor coste, e introducirla en un habitáculo compuesto con distintos espejos y lentes curvas con el propósito de aumentar la radiación incidente. Sin embargo esta tecnología puede verse en peligro de extinción y quedarse en el cementerio para siempre debido a la increíble bajada del precio del silicio cristalino debido a la entrada de países como china en este sector.

2.- Integración arquitectónica tipo.

Una vez que terminó la visita por el museo d las viejas glorias de la fotovoltaica, nos dirigimos hacia el edificio López Araújo donde pudimos ver una clara integración de módulos fotovoltaicos en la fallada de este mismo edificio. La fachada tiene una orientación sur que le favorece completamente a la captura de irradiancia solar por parte de los paneles, y esto hace que en los meses de mayor demanda eléctrica como son los de verano donde los aires acondicionados juegan un papel importantísimo en la climatización del edificio, las placas fotovoltaicas tengan su óptimo de producción de energía. Estos módulos se instalaron en forma de toldos a juego con toda la fallada de tal manera que no provocan a la vista ningún defecto estético. Además este doble papel en la instalación, impide que en los meses de verano, la radiación directa del Sol entre en el edificio y lo eleve de temperatura, provocando un mayor gasto de electricidad.

3.- Pruebas en la cubierta.

Después de contemplar los transformadores del edificio, accedimos a la cubierta del IES, en dónde se realizan diversas pruebas con distintos tipos de módulos y cuyos datos son monitorizados con el fin de mejorar aún más si se puede esta tecnología que tiene ya rasgos importantes de madurez. Además de medio centenar de módulos en la cubierta, también se han instalado piranómetros con el fin de medir irrandiancia global tanto horizontal como en el plano óptimo de un generador. Por último vimos al hermano pequeño de la estructura de concentración solar que había en el parking. Este tenía las fotocélulas más visibles y se podía apreciar con mayor claridad el anteriormente mencionado funcionamiento de dicha tecnología.

4.- Ejemplo de autoconsumo. Magic Box.

Por último, para terminar la visita y antes de volver a la escuela, vimos la “Magic Box” situada en el parking de la UPM. Este proyecto simula una casa completamente autosuficiente desde el punto de vista energético y es un clarísimo ejemplo de la posibilidad de integrar por completo las energías renovables de carácter solar para ser completamente independiente.

Esta casa está dotada de módulos fotovoltaicos tanto en el tejado como en las paredes a forma de ventana en integración arquitectónica. Además, en la parte trasera contaba con una serie de baterías acumuladoras para lograr una cierta cantidad de horas de almacenamiento. También tener en cuenta el empleo de concentradores para calentamiento de agua sanitaria y el empleo de geles portadores de calor para conseguir un suelo radiante perfecto, que mantenga la casa completamente climatizada. Este es el ejemplo de la posible casa del “futuro”, pero que hoy en día es bastante inviable desde el punto de vista económico.

 

 


Comentarios desactivados en Una mañana en el Instituto de Energía Solar / 04 Feb 2012 por Roberto Gonzalez Fernandez
MERME /

Analyzing Repsol

Business study

Repsol YPF, S.A.  was founded in 1987 as a Spanish oil and gas company and nowadays it operates in 29 countries. Its assets are located in Spain and Argentina, as a result of the 1999 takeover of Argentine energy firm YPF by Repsol S.A. It is now the 15th largest petroleum refining company according to the Fortune Global 500 list employing over 40,000 people worldwide.

The company carries out the following business lines:

-The exploration and production area, involves the exploration and production of oil and natural gas. Repsol has the world´s highest hydrocarbon potential due to the exploration success: 34 discoveries in the last 3 years. Also in 2010 Repsol has increase in production and reserves with a replacement rate of 131%. It is a very profitable business area.

-Repsol has an ambitious investment plan to increase refining capacity and conversion levels. Even though the results were heavily influenced by the economic crisis since 2008 in Europe and the demands have decreased since then, in 2010 Repsol has increased the demand thanks to the emerging economies, with China and India at the forefront.

-The company also has a multi-brand strategy regarding to Marketing –with Repsol, Campsa and Petronor in Spain, and Repsol in all other countries where there is a Downstream presence. The main objective of this department is to maximize the value of its network by innovating in all its activities. Marketing activities include the huge network of service stations and the marketing of a wide range of products like lubricants, asphalt, coke, and derivatives. Even though the total oil product sales have decreased, Repsol is implementing a credit-risk control policy with a positive outcome reflected in the profit and loss account.

-The chemical business, part of the Downstream division, involves the production and marketing of a wide range of products from base to derivative petrochemicals. The operating profit in the chemical business experienced a market improvement in 2010 compared to the previous year, with a return to positive values due to the implementation of strong measures to cut costs and optimize and adjust production in plants.

– Repsol carries out several new energy projects related with the New Energy such as the development of new energy units, wind energy, an electronic car recharging network and bioenergy and renewable energy applied to the transport industry.

According to the Consolidates Annual Report 2010, Repsol tripled its net income and improved its operating income by 135% and the reserve-replacement ratio in the Upstream division rose to 131%. In the following link we can access to the highlights of the financial information of Repsol:

http://www.repsol.com/es_en/corporacion/accionistas-e-inversores/informacion-economico-financiera/principales_magnitudes/default.aspx

And a general overview some of the most indicative financial figures for Repsol YPF,S.A. can be found in this link:

http://repsol.webfg.com/memoria2010/en/informeAnual/magnitudesBasicas

Repsol YPF had in 2010 a net income of €4.693 billion, more than three times the result obtained in the previous year (€1.559 billion). Operating income was €7.621 billion, up 134.9% from the €3.244 billion posted a year earlier. EBITDA was €9.196 billion, up 36.3% on 2009. These results reveal a clear improvement in all business areas and enable the achievement of a historical result for the Group, due to the agreement with the company China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation.

The Group’s net financial debt was €1.697 billion on December 31st 2010, it might seem a high amount but in comparison with the €4.905 billion in the previous period, it represents a 65% reduction. This progress made across the business is because of the sales of over 4% of YPF’s capital to the market and increase of capital in Repsol Brazil, have been the causes behind this reduction.

Stakeholder Study.

The main stakeholders are shareholders, customers, communities, employees, suppliers and contractors, and partners.

Shareholders:

The main shareholders are la Caixa (13%), Sacyr (10%) and Pemex (9,5%). Repsol YPF needs investments from their shareholders. Shareholders are very important for Repsol´s operations, that´s why Repsol needs to increase and consolidate the trust that they have in the company. Repsol YPF wants to be transparent and provide information about its performance and operations. The main interest shareholders have in Repsol is to maximize benefits.

Customers:

Repsol has diverse customers: from institutions and big companies to SMEs and individuals. Some examples of customers are homes, carriers, drivers, airline companies, farmers… Repsol needs the customers to be satisfied, so they continue to consume their products. They have the compromise for no discrimination among their customers. Customers are vital for Repsol, as they provide revenues to the company. Customers are searching for safety and quality products that satisfy their needs (fuels for transportation).

Communities:

Repsol needs to be accepted in communities where it operates and to expand their activity to new communities. Communities are important because without them, Repsol can neither continue their activities nor start new ones, they contribute to the success of the company. The first step to introduce the company in a community consists on knowing the identity and customs of that community. What communities need from Repsol is energy supply and employment and wealth generation, with the least possible impact.

Employees:

Repsol has diversity within its employees in terms of age, gender, nationality and professional profile. The company needs motivated and skilled people. Employees are a mainstay for the company, they are needed to make the company work. Employees are interested in flexible working hours, social benefits, develop their careers, stability and good salaries.

Suppliers and contractors:

Repsol needs goods and services from suppliers, meeting social, ethical, environmental and quality standards. Suppliers are important in order to provide the necessary goods and services. Suppliers are interested in making profits and maintaining relationships with Repsol.

Partners:

Repsol has joint ventures with different partners, to share the risks/costs of exploration/operation of a gas or oil field. This way, Repsol can diversify its risks and increase their number of projects. Repsol needs their partners to implement the same ethical, environmental and social standards as it does. Repsol´s partners are searching for the same benefits from the venture: sharing risks and costs while expanding their activity, that´s why partnerships are so important.

CSR strategy developed by the company

1. Reputational risks for the company:

  1. Environmental disasters due to the extraction and exploration activities in which the company incurs.
  2. Human Rights breach due mainly to activities of subsidiaries in developing countries or by association due to relationships with governments that have questionable reputation on the international arena.
  3. Occupational Safety (accidents) due to the nature of the activities of the company the risk of accident during labor hours of its workers is always there especially in refineries and extraction platforms.
  4. Transparency Failure to keep proper inventories of current oil and gas reserves in the company’s extraction sites. This can lead to discourage shareholders trust in the company.

2. Scandals

a. There have been involved several oil spills caused by Repsol but never of big proportions such as the Bp Deep Water Horizon case in the Gulf of Mexico. For example in 2008 Repsol was responsible for a 100 barrel spill of crude oil in Ecuadorian Amazon Yasuni National Park.

b. Survival International has raised awareness of Repsol exploration activities in the north of Peru attempt to disrupt isolated aborigine tribes. According to Survival International there are at least 75 proofs that isolated aborigine settlements are in the region for which contact with foreigners could be possibly fatal due to contagious diseases, and disruption of their way of life. The area is also regarded as of great importance for biodiversity. More than 50 NGOs are against Repsol activities in this region as well was recommendations from OIT (organizacion internacional del trabajo) and the Un recommendations to the peruvian governement to avoid activities in the region. In the past numerous oil companies have been forced to abandon operations on the region due to such claims. Repsol stand in the situation is that there is not enough proof to validate such statements and that it will continue its operations on the region. In case it is proven the existence of such tribes Repsol activities could be regarded as a violation of Human Rights.

c. In August 2003 there was an explosion of a Repsol Refinery in Puerto Llano in which 3 workers lost their lives and more than 20 were injured. This was the biggest accident of the refinery in the last 51 years; reports say it was due to inadequate management of the refrigeration systems in the high summer temperatures.

d. During 2006 Repsol reported a cut back of 25% on current oil and gas reserves which led fraud demand in the European Union and the United States by angry shareholders. In the mean while the company was also sued by the Bolivian government on the charges that a Repsol subsidiary Andina imported oil illegally into the country with falsified documents and without paying taxes. Also in the past the company has been accused of intervention on Spain’s exterior policy and associated with questionable governments from countries such as Equatorial Guinea, Guatemala, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan. This type of events can cause a decline on the company’s image and transparency.

3. Repercussions on Reputation,  Sales, and Access to Capital

a. Reputation: given that Repsol is regarded as one of the top 10 companies in the ranking on reputation indicators on national and international statistics (in  the oil refining industry) it can be deduced that the allege scandals attributed to Repsol have not had a major impact on the public opinion of the company.

b. Sales: The main threat that can derive from reputation risk would be that of a boycott consequence of the company being involved in a major scandal. There hasn’t been found evidence that any of the events mentioned before or other scandals in which Repsol has been involved have resulted in dramatic decrease on its sales. Although there has been a decrease in shares value and profit during the 2011 this can be easily attributed to external factors such as the current economic crisis and the reduction of profit margins from the refineries.

c. Access to Capital: The main effect that reputation can have to the company’s capital is that if there is for example lack of transparency shareholders are discouraged and stock actions might drop or remain low. In this case, if the company was thinking of issuing new stocks to capitalize, the company might be caught in trouble. As well as the fact that a company that has a bad reputation will discourage investors as well and therefore have to recur to debt to finance its self.

4. CSR Strategy of Repsol:

Currently Repsol is putting on the go its 2012 CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) strategy which encompasses 9 programs to address the different challenges the company confronts in terms of reputation and CSR. These 9 Programs are:

  1. Ethical Behavior and Fight Against Corruption: The company states that this program aims to reinforcement of their commitment to Ethics and Conduct Regulation.
  2. Respect to Human Rights:  tightening of current requirements of the companies code of conduct in order to respect human rights, preparing and adopting a worldwide policy to defend these rights, as well as giving human rights training to their employees
  3. Compromise with People: they aim to achieve this by compromising to promote a culture of health and prevention of substance abuse as well as protecting the conciliation of their workers personal and professional life. Promoting equality among their employees and the integration of people with disabilities into the workforce; as well as encouraging innovative ideas.
  4. Occupational Safety: Commitment to a high level of safety in all of the company´s operations, implementing them according to strict health and safety standards, and investigating any incident concerning safety that occurs in the company.
  5. Community Involvement: They aim to do this by getting to know the companies social performance in order to constantly improving it.  Improving relations with the local communities and fostering their development.
  6. Sustainable Energy and Climate Change: This program includes studying the opportunities in the renewable electric generation sector.
  7. Control and minimization of environmental impact: The main action related to this program will be emission reduction and efficient water usage.
  8. Influence Supply/Contractors/Distributors/Partners/Costumers: promote and strengthen the social and environmental commitments of these parties.
  9. Accountability for our Social and Environmental Performance:  A Corporate Responsibility Report for each significant country as well as working on the development of the best indicators possible asses the company´s performance.

The following picture shows Repsol´s shares from 2007 to 2012.


 

Conclusions:

Repsol is a successful company that has been involved, like all big companies, in several scandals. The fact that these scandals have not affect Repsol´s performance yet, doesn´t mean that in the future this is not going to happen. In our opinion, Repsol´s awareness of the importance of having a good image is increasing, their CSR is quite extensive. Each day, clients are more conscious about environmental and social impacts, and they are demanding changes in companies´ behaviors in order to minimize these impacts. Repsol knows that its 9 programs are going to benefit both the company and society.

Some interesting links about Repsol:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKItJK2Y2tM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBAd99v9mn4

English 2, group 2: Sara Elizalde, Javier Solano and María Díez.

References:

http://www.elmundo.es/elmundo/2003/08/14/sociedad/1060845542.html

http://www.eldigitalcastillalamancha.es/homenaje-a-nueve-trabajadores-muertos-en-la-region-hace-ocho-anos-94263.htm

http://www.istas.net/pe/articulo.asp?num=22&pag=09&titulo=9-muertos-en-Repsol-YPF

http://uk.finance.yahoo.com/echarts?s=REP.MC#symbol=rep.mc;range=1y;compare=;indicator=volume;charttype=area;crosshair=on;ohlcvalues=0;logscale=off;source=undefined;

http://www.repsol.com/pe_es/corporacion/conocer-repsol/actividad/upstream/peru_2008.aspx

http://www.elmundo.es/elmundo/2011/04/18/solidaridad/1303131166.html

http://www.repsol.com/es_es/corporacion/responsabilidad-corporativa/modelo-responsabilidad-corporativa/politicas-posiciones/politica-comunidades-indigenas.aspx

http://english.pravda.ru/world/americas/24-02-2006/76426-repsol-0/


 


1 comentario / 04 Feb 2012 por Maria Diez Maroto
MERME /

El PROYECTO DESERTEC…La solución a las renovables?

Tras la noticia recibida el pasado 27 de Enero, con la aprobación por parte del Gobierno y posterior publicación en el BOE de la suspensión de forma temporal, aunque indefinidamente, de las primas a las energías renovables, estas se han convertido en uno de los temas de mayor discusión y conversación en los últimos días. Y aunque en esta ocasión, mi objetivo es el de explicar y dar a conocer mi opinión del proyecto, o también conocido como concepto, “DESERTEC”, considero que dicha noticia cambia en cierto modo tanto el punto de vista como los objetivos de este.

PROYECTO DESERTEC

El proyecto DESERTEC nace como una solución a los problemas que conciernen a la Unión Europea, al tratarse  del mayor importador de energía del Mundo. En este sentido destaca, como no podría ser de otro modo, la importación de petróleo y gas procedente de países (golfo Pérsico, Rusia y norte de África), cuyas inestabilidades tanto políticas como sociales dotan a este suministro un futuro del todo incierto.

Es por ello, que la búsqueda de una mayor diversificación de los combustibles, de las fuentes de suministro y de las rutas de tránsito, así como el compromiso en el cumplimiento de los objetivos fijados para el 2020 en torno al cambio climático, han desencadenado en la aparición del llamado Desertec Industrial Initiative (DII), conocido por muchos del sector como el mayor y más ambicioso proyecto energético de la historia.

En julio de 2009, un grupo de 13 empresas del ámbito energético, enmarcadas dentro de la Fundación Trans-Mediterránea de Cooperación en Energías Renovables (TREC-EU-MENA), en su mayoría alemanas, aunque con otros representantes, como la presencia de la española Abengoa, firmaron un acuerdo de participación en el Proyecto Desertec. La iniciativa nace con la idea de promover el uso de energías alternativas para disminuir las emisiones de CO2, pretende crear una red de producción de energías renovables, principalmente energía solar concentrada en Europa, Oriente Próximo y el norte de África.

Todo esto radica en el objetivo de producir electricidad suficiente para cubrir gran parte de los países de la región, así como el 15% de la electricidad europea el 2050.

Para poder llevarlo a cabo, el nombrado proyecto presenta las siguientes cifras:

El hecho de que mayormente la energía producida sea a través de centrales termoeléctricas, radica en que estas son idóneas para producir electricidad gestionable, mediante su almacenamiento de energía (principalmente mediante el uso de tanques de sales fundidas). Con ello y como se ha comentado, se podría no solamente generar electricidad que posteriormente sería importada a Europa, sino también otros subproductos de gran interés para la población de esta región como la desalinización de agua y la producción de frío con el calor de desecho.

VOCES DISCORDANTES

Es evidente por lo dicho hasta ahora que el proyecto presenta muchas ventajas y proporcionaría importantes soluciones a la problemática energética de dependencia de los combustibles fósiles y su suministro. Sin embargo, y como todo megaproyecto, coexisten a la vez opiniones divididas. En este sentido, uno de los mayores problemas es el ocupacional, ya que si lo viésemos desde el punto de vista de alguien perteneciente a las regiones de actuación, el hecho de utilizar enormes extensiones de desierto, a pesar de ser estos inservibles en otro ámbito, afectaría al ecosistema que estos presentan, y todo ello sin que la persona de a pié tuviera la oportunidad de pronunciarse.

Otro problema que resulta evidente, dadas las cifras de este proyecto faraónico es el económico, y es que a pesar de contar con la participación de algunas de las multinacionales más grandes de Europa, entre ellas EON, Munich Re, Siemens, y el Deutsche Bank, los más de 500.000 millones de euros de su coste, hacen de él, algo impensable en una coyuntura económica como la actual.

Dentro del los trámites del proyecto también coexisten problemas socio-políticos, ya que preocupa como las políticas gubernamentales y la estabilidad regional puedan afectar a las futuras inversiones y se espera que cambios en la regulación creen “ un clima comercial favorable” para el proyecto. También se reconoce, sin embargo, que estos cambios serán difíciles de conseguir especialmente al involucrar la cooperación entre los 27 miembros de la UE y varios estados políticamente inestables en la región MENA. Emplazar parte o todo el proyecto Desertec en Europa ayudaría no solo a reducir costes sino también a eliminar los factores de incertidumbre geopolítica que podrían amenazar el potencial del proyecto.

 

Una vez explicados pros y contras, desde mi punto de vista, y centrándome más en lo que concierne a nuestro país, considero que  la política energética debe ir enfocada al consumo autónomo de electricidad en la medida de lo posible, lo cual llevará, sin lugar a dudas, un largo periodo de tiempo, adaptación y mejora. También, y ya vemos como cada vez la inversión es mayor, el desarrollo de las conocidas como smartgrids, que facilitarían en gran medida la integración de la electricidad, y nos evitarían envolvernos en la tarea ardua y compleja de las líneas previstas a instalar desde el Norte de África a nuestro país. Con todo esto, a donde quiero llegar, es que puede ser no del todo necesario el proyecto de Desertec, cuando disponemos de los recursos, tanto naturales, como tecnológicos para explotarlos y llegar a ser un país autóctono y autónomo en términos energéticos. Tras la noticia con la que comenzaba este post, parece que estamos decididos a no apostar al 100% en algo, y que no suele ser habitual, somos pioneros, y si en continuar dejando que tanto nuestra tecnología, como capital humano experto del sector (“yo ya tengo la maleta hecha”) esté en manos de otros.

Todos los que pertenecemos, en mayor o menor medida al sector energético, hemos escuchado en innumerables ocasiones el término de “isla eléctrica”, haciendo referencia a la situación de interconexión eléctrica tan baja que presenta nuestro país. Entonces uno se pregunta, cual es el interés de crear este proyecto, que conlleva un aumento exponencial de nuestra capacidad de interconexión, cuando el objetivo es el de importar electricidad y no exportarla?

Para finalizar, decir que el proyecto ya está en marcha, comenzando en Marruecos, en el área de Ouarzazatte, donde según los plazos previstos en este 2012 se empezará a erigir una central que ocupará 12 km cuadrados, por lo que es el momento para ver su desarrollo y si es capaz de acallar a las explicadas voces discordantes o  si por el contrario los problemas comentados impedirán el éxito de lo que sin duda se puede calificar como proyecto energético por excelencia en los próximos años.

 

Fuentes:

Artículos de opinión de diversos medios

http://cienciasstecnologia.blogspot.com/2012/01/el-proyecto-desertec.html

http://www.energy-spain.com/blog/noticias/proyecto-desertec

Desertec: el mayor proyecto industrial de la historia empieza a tomar forma

http://alfredo-palacios-dongo.suite101.net/el-despegue-de-la-energia-solar-a21764

http://www.motorpasionfuturo.com/industria/el-futuro-energetico-de-europa-en-africa

Videos y prensa dentro de la propia página del proyecto desertec:

http://www.desertec.org/?gclid=CMnw68Xjgq4CFZAgfAodhWwx3w

 


Comentarios desactivados en El PROYECTO DESERTEC…La solución a las renovables? / 03 Feb 2012 por Alfonso Medal Rendal
MERME /

Visita Instituto Energía Solar

La visita realizada el pasado día 18 a la ETSIT y al Instituto de Energía Solar supuso una buena forma de conocer de primera mano la tecnología fotovoltaica estudiada en clase.

Comenzamos viendo paneles de concentración, los cuales poseen unas lentes antes de las células que concentran la radiación solar, con el inconveniente de que esta radiación solo puede ser directa lo que conlleva la instalación de sistemas seguimiento. Esta tecnología ha quedado   apartada tras la bajada de precios de los paneles convencionales.

Después pasamos a observar una bonita y útil conjugación de paneles solares fotovoltaicos haciendo las veces de toldos en el edificio López Araujo de la ETSIT. En este edificio, cuya fachada principal está orientada al sur, el calor en verano como consecuencia del sol se hacía insoportable y acarreaba además el consecuente gasto en aire acondicionado para mitigarlo, con lo que la integración de los paneles fotovoltaicos supuso el desviar en cierta manera la radiación incidente en el edificio para además aprovecharla para generar electricidad.

Continuamos entrando a la sala de máquinas del edificio, donde vimos de primera mano la parte de las instalaciones fotovoltaicas que nunca vemos: los elementos de corte y protección y los inversores, así como el transformador de la escuela.

Posteriormente, en la azotea del Instituto de Energía Solar, vimos de cerca las placas fotovoltaicas. Pudimos comprobar de primera mano lo que le pasa a una célula cuando le da la sombra: se convierte en una resistencia que disipa toda la energía y como consecuencia de ello pasar el dedo por encima no es muy recomendable. Es por ello que se conectan diodos en paralelo como elemento de protección para que la corriente no circule por la célula.

Finalmente tuvimos la oportunidad de ver la MagicBox, una casa autónoma energéticamente que compitió en el Solar Decathlon en 2005. La casa posee sistemas fotovoltaicos, tanto paneles en el tejado como módulos de integración arquitectónica también concentradores solares para el agua caliente sanitaria. Esta casa es una utopía hecha realidad y aunque su coste permanezca utópico para la inmensa mayoría, supone una forma de ir abriendo camino hacia el futuro: la paridad de red.


Comentarios desactivados en Visita Instituto Energía Solar / 03 Feb 2012 por David Garcia
MERME /

INDITEX: a Closer View of the Company

Zara, Bershka, Pull & Bear, are worldwide known fashion brands. All these brands plus five more( Massimo Dutti, Oysho, Uterque, Stradivarious and Zara Home) belong to an enterprise called INDITEX (Industria de Diseño Textil Sociedad Anónima). On this blog entry we will make an analysis of how this enterprise manages its corporate social responsibility program.

Almost 40 years ago, in 1975 Amancio Ortega,  Inditex founder and owner, opened the first Zara store in  La Coruña, Spain. Since the beginning it was a successful company because it sold mid quality fashion garments for a low price. In 1988, the group achieved international expansion by opening a store in Oporto, Portugal.  This diversification was possible due to the company’s approach to fashion, quality, and ability to adjust to the market changing demands.

Today, Inditex Group has 8 store formats in 78 countries with 5402 stores, with 12 527 million euros annual sales and its business model is based on 5 main keys which are: customers, store, product/design, logistics and team. The group is continuing its strategy of multi-format global world.

Nowadays, the group is considered as one of the leaders of fashion industry. It has taken a new approach to the industry and is gaining strength through the changes because of the markets demand. Last year, they started their new market strategy of “Sustainable Inditex” for the 2011 to 2015 period. The strategy consists on energy saving in their stores, production chain and with the raw materials for the production its garments as well.

“The results that Inditex achieved during the 2010 financial year showed that the Group is continuing its strategy of multi-format global growth and, what is more important, this is a reflection of the strength of its business model” ( Grupo Inditex, Annual Report 2010).

The economic world crisis, was not a barrier for Inditex planned growth and international diversification. Despite of this world wide issue that broke big and successful companies, Inditex continued with its regular sales and opening of stores around the world. During this period they launched a new brand Unique and their stocks remain trading in the stock market.

Stakeholders

Inditex has five main stakeholders: more than 67.000 shareholders, over 1170 suppliers, stores in societies of more than 78 countries, clients all-over the world  and about 95.000 employees.


Corporate Social Responsability

Reputational Risks

INDITEX, as a company focused in garments, faces reputational risks regarding social, environmental and economical issues.

From the perspective of clients as stakeholders, the most important value regarding social responsibility might be the working conditions of the employees, especially when it comes to supplier’s factories in developing countries such as India, Bangladesh, China or Vietnam. Responsible customers are aware that child labour and gender discrimination do happen in those countries and that factories are not always safe production places. NGOs working in fields related to human rights and fair trade will report any kind of abuse that might take place under Inditex manufacturing or suppliers factories, which could mean high losses of reputation and credibility for the company.

Nowadays Inditex out sources 40% of his manufacturing to cheaper labour markets, while the bulk of its production still remains in Spain, which contributes to reinforce the brand CSR policies.

Regarding environmental policies, Inditex might face reputational risks related to the sustainability of its activities and the ones of its business partners. Responsible customers demand organic or renewable raw materials for their products and are aware of the carbon footprint that links each piece of clothe to the country where it has been produced and the way its has been transported.

On the other hand the company has to make sure that shops -5.042 all over the world- and headquarters’ offices are environment-friendly and energy-efficient and that the group is collaborating in the compensation of the CO2 emissions it cause. As climate change and global warming are getting such an importance nowadays the company must ensure its green policies in order to maintain its image and reputation.

Lastly, Inditex must ensure clean and transparent accounts in order to avoid reputational risks. Fair salaries and payment of taxes are issues that matter to a society tired of corruption cases. Social investment is also important as it might contribute to improve the company’s image.

Scandals

On April 11, 2005, an ill-constructed factory in Bangladesh that produced clothing for Inditex brands and other foreign labels collapsed, killing sixty workers and injuring scores of others. To Inditex credit, the company proposed a compensation fund to indemnify the injured and the families of the victims, working closely with local and international garment workers unions and non-profit organizations to calculate the appropriate level of compensation and to convince other clients of the foreign subcontractor to support the effort.

The main English newspaper in the country -The Daily Star- gathered information regarding the accident as well as testimonies of the victims in the following article published in their weekend magazine:

http://www.thedailystar.net/magazine/2005/05/01/cover.htm

Since the Bangladesh factory disaster, Inditex has worked more closely with international workers organizations, but the unresolved issue of shared guilt between international brands and their sweatshop subcontractors continues to haunt the company that wish to combine global expansion with fair trade ethics, as well as to promote corporate social responsibility policies.

More recently, in August 2011, Inditex was implicated in a slave labour scandal in Brazil, where 15 employees had to be rescued from a supplier company where they were working in degrading conditions. According to the press, Inditex denied any responsibility, placing the blame within the supplier company, which wasn’t following their ethical code, but agreed to arrange compensations for the affected workers and committed to use workshops that operate in accordance with the law. Further information can be found at:

http://www.lavanguardia.com/20110818/54201597972/brasil-expedienta-a-zara-por-un-escandalo-de-esclavitud-en-sao-paulo.html

Although the mayor scandals Inditex has been involved in are related to employees working conditions, there has been other minor news related to environmental issues. For example, in October 2009 the company was responsible of a fuel spill into the Galician river Arteixo.

http://www.laopinioncoruna.es/gran-coruna/2009/10/25/averia-inditex-provoca-vertido-gasoleo-rio-arteixo/329349.html

Scandals Effect on Reputation

Analyzing the INDITEX gross income from 2006 to 2010, we can see that it has continuously grown from the previous years. The net profit grew from 1,002 to 1,732 million euros. The EBITDA also grew from 1,790 to 2,966 million euros. The Sales enjoyed the highest growth, increasing from 8,196 to 12,527 million euros. The increasing trend in all aspects of the company’s economics shows that the incidents mentioned above have no impact on their reputation or sales of the products.

Despite the good news within the past four years, it has to be noted that many consumers are becoming aware about the products they are buying. In addition, there is a trend amongst consumers to hold the review and feedback of other shoppers in regards to the products they are buying, as more valuable than the information given by the company itself. A CSR study that focused on the sources of information that delivered fair treatment information of supermarket suppliers showed that clients trusted the sources in the following order: “consumer organizations, independent organizations, labeling verification and lastly, the supermarkets themselves.” (CI) Although focused on supermarkets, the study depicts the general trend of decreasing trust the public has towards companies and governments.

The importance of this information is the fact that more shoppers are moving from shopping in the store to relying more heavily on online retail.  A 2010 Consumer Trend Awareness report published some latest findings. It mentioned that “2010 has seen the upward trend in online purchases.” Women’s clothing ranked as the third most popular online shopping category, seeing a 33% trend growth from the previous year. This is because these products are  low weight and low value. The online retail trend is heavily influenced by the social media: “53% of consumers used an online forum, review or chat room to inform a purchase in 2010, up from 45% in 2009.” This is a steep increase and shows the importance of a positive image the fashion corporation must maintain online, in addition to its official communication channels.

Keeping this information in mind, and how quickly it is to find information on any company with the use of Google search, negative articles that can damage the corporation’s image, must be avoided at all costs. Since INDITEX is a global organization that values its ability to expand and open more stores abroad, such as new stores in India and Russia, it should be aware of the type of information that is being circulated about it on the web.

By minimizing its accidents and labor mishaps abroad, it can guarantee future success. This is especially important if the company wants to operate in new markets, and see a continued increase of its capital. With a more aware clientele, which experiences a lowered trust towards the company, keeping a positive image is key.

CSR Strategy

INDITEX, has many shareholders and the CSR strategy that is being implemented aims at satisfying all their needs. The 2010 CSR report states: “our intention to take a further step in strengthening our production chain, in dialogue with our main stakeholders, in the care for our products, of our customers and, in general, in the commitment that we have with the society in which we work.”

To address the issues that made negative headlines for the company in the previous years, INDITEX wrote: “these challenges have led us [to] accepting a commitment to the fulfillment of human, employment and Social Rights, linked to the firm desire to offer the best quality and service in the wide range of products that inditex markets.”

In addition, to give a platform and the ability for its employees abroad to have a louder voice, the company made several alliances with trade unions, employer’s associations, and non-governmental organizations. The report mentioned that it will use the following platforms to create dialogue between itself and its suppliers: Ethical Trading Initiative, Spanish Group of Textile Safety Standardization, Better Work Program of the ILO, The Global Compact of the United Nations, and American Apparel & Footwear Association.

Despite the following new initiatives, no further details were given as to how this information sharing and feedback platform would function in reality. Nonetheless, it is definitely a start and a sign of the importance the company puts in maintaining its positive image.

Final Comment

We think the company has being successful  since its beginning,  because of its awareness in the market needs and  its ability to adjust to the market changing demands.

INDITEX has been growing despite its accidents and other negative employee policies abroad such as bad factory settings, lack of safety standards, etc. However, for the future it is important to increase and rise  the client awareness.

Due to this, and the availability of all type of information online, the company should continue to focus in its image and behavior.Through its new channels of communication, and platform for the workers to communicate we can say that Inditex realizes the importance of it for the company and is trying to strengthen its positive image.

References:

– “Inditex Corporate Responsibility”, accessed from: http://www.inditex.es/en/corporate_responsibility/sustainability

– “Zara, Inditex and Amancio Ortega – the Responsibility of International Success”, accessed from: http://www.triplepundit.com/2006/08/zara-inditex-and-amancio-ortega-–-the-responsibility-of-international-success/

– “Left in the lurch” – Cover Story of the Star Magazine, May 6, 2005. Accessed from: http://www.thedailystar.net/magazine/2005/05/01/cover.htm

– “Brasil expedienta a Zara por un escándalo de esclavitud en Sao Paulo” – La Vanguardia, August 18, 2011. Accesed from: http://www.lavanguardia.com/20110818/54201597972/brasil-expedienta-a-zara-por-un-escandalo-de-esclavitud-en-sao-paulo.html

– Consumer International. (2010). “Hora de pasar por caja. Estan los supermercados europeos a la altura de su responsabilidad respecto de las condiciones laborales de los paises en vias de desarrollo?” Consumer International. Accessed on January 16, 2012 from: www.un.org/esa/dsd/…/CheckedOut-spanish.pdf

– Inditex. (2010). “Annual Report.” INDITEX. Accessed on January 24, 2012 from: http://www.inditex.es/en/corporate_responsibility/sustainability.

– Royal Mail. (2010). “Consumer Trend Awareness: All you need to know about changes in multi-channel retailing.” Royal Mail. Accessed on January 26, 2012 from: www.royalmail.com/sites/default/files/docs/…/Delivery_Matters.pdf

– Dossier de Prensa accessed from:
http://www.inditex.es/es/descargas/ITX_Dossier_p11_es.pdf

By: Group 1 -Natalia Díaz, Cristina García-Ochoa, Hokuma Karimova, Ricardo Garro


Comentarios desactivados en INDITEX: a Closer View of the Company / 02 Feb 2012 por Ricardo Garro Ruiz
MERME /

DESERTEC: La energía del futuro se hace realidad

El brillante futuro de la energía solar térmica o de concentración recibiría su impulso definitivo con el proyecto Desertec. 20 empresas europeas invertirán 400.000 millones de € para construir el proyecto más amplio concebido por TREC, consistente en crear una vasta red de plantas de producción de energías renovables a lo largo de todo el norte africano y Asia Menor que generaría empleos y riqueza a ambos lados del Mediterráneo, con beneficios y estabilidad económica (que contribuye a la estabilidad social y política) en los países árabes más cercanos a Europa. Además de centrales térmicas, se construirían parques eólicos, centrales hidráulicas, centrales de biomasa e instalaciones de energía geotérmica.

A finales de mayo de 2009, Greenpeace presentaba un estudio sobre las posibilidades de la tecnología de concentradores solares. El estudio, explica cómo la energía solar térmica puede crear 90.000 puestos de trabajo antes de 2015 y producir el 7% de las necesidades energéticas del mundo en 2030, mientras que lograría copar hasta el 25% de la energía que el mundo necesitará en 2050.

A diferencia de la energía fotovoltaica, que disminuye su rendimiento con el exceso de calor, la energía solar térmica aumenta la producción energética no sólo con la fuerza de los rayos solares que inciden sobre un conjunto de espejos, sino con el calor concentrado en el ambiente, lo que que multiplicaría la capacidad de generación energética de las centrales térmicas solares que se erigieran en el norte de África y Asia Menor.

 

Como se puede ver en la imagen inferior, instalando la superficie equivalente a cada una de las zonas delimitadas por los recuadros grandes en rojo, se podría alcanzar con centrales térmicas solares:

Ya lo dijo Gerhard Knies, científico de la asociación paneuropea TREC, impulsora del proyecto Desertec, “los desiertos reciben en 6 horas más energía del sol que la que la humanidad consume en un año”.

¿Y quién está detrás de todo esto? Sobretodo Alemania, aunque con presencia del think tank Club de Roma. Y no es extraño que sea uno de los principales impulsores de esta iniciativa. En el año 2006 la dependencia energética del país germánico (la cantidad de energía que tenía que importar del exterior) era del 61,3%, claramente por encima del promedio de la UE (53,8%). Muy por encima de países como Francia (51,4%) y el Reino Unido (21,3%). Además Alemania es un país especialmente vulnerable a los conflictos surgidos en relación con las exportaciones de gas ruso, pues ha dependido fuertemente de los suministros de gas procedentes de este país. Así que, los alemanes han dejado claro que buscan un cambio en la política energética, que pasa por una mayor transparencia en el mercado energético de Rusia y por una necesaria diversificación de sus fuentes de energía.

Por su situación estratégica, España e Italia son las puertas naturales para la llegada a Europa de toda la energía renovable que Desertec generaría en el Magreb. Aumentarían las oportunidades de crear trabajos “de cuello verde”, o aquellos relacionados con las energías renovables en particular y las tecnologías sostenibles en general, así como las oportunidades de cooperación entre ambas orillas.

El nuevo gobierno Español haría bien en estudiar detenidamente los planes impulsados por TREC y el Club de Roma si de verdad quiere salir de esta crisis con un pie por delante y no por detrás como parece que va este país a medida que avanza el mundo.

Aceptar este reto e intentar mejorar en nuestra comprensión del futuro, sin olvidar el presente, no sólo nos ayudaría a cambiar el grave problema ecológico global, sino que además enriquecería de una nueva visión a una sociedad necesitada de un mundo mejor.

Terminaré escribiendo un cita que encuentro muy inspiradora para este caso, puesto que un nuevo futuro es posible:

“Hay una fuerza motriz más poderosa que el vapor, la electricidad y la energía atómica: la voluntad”. Albert Einstein.

 

Referencias
http://www.desertec.org/

http://www.desertec.org/downloads/summary_es.pdf

http://www.madrimasd.org/blogs/energiasalternativas/2010/04/22/130816

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desertec

http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/press/releases/concentrating-solar-power-250509/

http://www.energias-renovables.com/energias/renovables/

http://www.protermosolar.com/

 


Comentarios desactivados en DESERTEC: La energía del futuro se hace realidad / 01 Feb 2012 por Álvaro Rodero Bermejo
MERME /

Desertec: solución para la crisis, y ayuda al mundo en desarrollo…

Desertec es un proyecto que prevé utilizar la alta radiación que llega al desierto del Sahara para producir energía eléctrica principalmente a partir de centrales termosolares, para luego ser transportada y consumida en Europa.
Surge a partir de dos hechos o condiciones: por un lado, Europa demanda una gran cantidad de energía eléctrica, y sus recursos naturales no son suficientes para generarla en forma sustentable; por el otro, el norte de África posee un potencial de generación eléctrica a partir de energía solar que excede con creces su potencial estimado de consumo. La proximidad de estas dos regiones genera entonces una oportunidad única.
Los países Europeos son pioneros en el uso de este tipo de energías. Desertec les permite utilizar y explotar tecnologías en las que han invertido muchos recursos en su desarrollo, obtener energías limpias fuera de su alcance natural, y exportar mano de obra especializada, generando un mercado de empleo que hoy día será bienvenido.
África se ve también beneficiada, con creces, pues recibe tecnología de punta, puede desarrollar sus recursos humanos en ellas, y le permitirá recibir un flujo de dinero y recursos a partir de la venta de energía que sustituirá, en el futuro, la exportación de productos primarios que realiza hoy en día por una exportación de un mayor valor agregado.
Los principales inconvenientes son dos: en el caso político/social los países del norte de África han sufrido cambios políticos últimamente, los cuales pueden desincentivar la inversión de grandes instalaciones a largo plazo, como son el caso de Desertec.
En cuanto a tecnología, el principal problema es el transporte de la energía eléctrica a grandes distancias.

Transformador SIEMENS HVDC

Desertec tiene el ojo puesto en el desarrollo, necesario, de un tipo de tecnología de transporte: HVDC (High-voltage direct current), que permite el transporte de grandes flujos de energía con pocas pérdidas, y con una masa mucho menor de conductores, lo que ahorraría costos para volúmenes grandes, como los que se presentan en este proyecto.
Cabe destacar que España es pionera en el desarrollo de tecnología termosolar. La realización de este proyecto llega en un momento en que el país lo necesita: le permitirá generar una masa de exportación que traiga un flujo de dinero para hacer frente a la crisis. Todos los economistas coinciden en que exportar es la solución al actual problema, y ¿qué mejor que exportar tecnología en la que un país es líder, de alto valor agregado, y que ayu

da a cuidar el medio ambiente? La oportunidad que presenta para el país es óptima. Ayudará a reducir los índices de desempleo. Por otro lado, la ubicación de España t

ambién la beneficiará, pues las líneas de alta tensión cruzarán por el país, proveyendo mano de obra temporal en la construcción de obra civil.

 


Comentarios desactivados en Desertec: solución para la crisis, y ayuda al mundo en desarrollo… / 31 Ene 2012 por Federico Camino
MERME /

El Megaproyecto Desertec

El proyecto Desertec comenzó años atrás con la finalidad de aprovechar la energía solar en el desierto del Sahara. Para el presente año se planea poner la “primera piedra” dando inicio a la ejecución del proyecto. La primera planta, de energía solar concentrada (CSP) de 500 MW tendrá un coste de 2.8 mil millones de dólares y aprovechará la energía solar en el desierto de Marruecos. El coste total de Desertec está estimado en medio billón de dólares ($500.000.000.000) comprendiendo en gran parte, proyectos solares que ocuparán regiones del Sahara, Oriente Medio y Europa. Desertec en su totalidad está proyectado a producir suficiente energía eléctrica para proporcionar el suministro de energía a Oriente Medio y África del Norte, y al mismo tiempo cubrir el 15% de la demanda energética de Europa en 2050.

La Fundación Desertec, Deutsche Bank, HSH Nordbank, y otros grupos financieros y energéticos han dado su apoyo para que el proyecto sea viable. Cabe destacar que uno de los principales problemas de esta viabilidad es el factor económico, que para muchos es inconcebible en la coyuntura actual. A otro nivel se encuentran los desafíos morales y ecológicos, partiendo de la ocupación de grandes extensiones de desierto por parte de grandes corporaciones. Estos terrenos no son inhabitados, y cuentan con vida animal que se verá directamente afectada.

Pese a todo ello, el proyecto sigue en marcha. La planta solar de Marruecos es un primer paso, con una potencia de 150 MW, un área de 7,4 millas cuadradas y un coste de $ 822 millones. Por otra parte, Alemania, con empresas directamente implicadas en la iniciativa, ha decidido adelantar su inicio en tres años al prescindir de la energía nuclear en 2022. Están convencidos en que “La primavera árabe” facilita la puesta en marcha de ideas innovadoras en un marco político más estable.

Haciendo un balance y considerando que los desafíos y retos se acabarán superando, un mega proyecto de tal magnitud, sin precedentes, al ser factible y llevarse a cabo con equidad, sería una de las mayores oportunidades para contrarrestar el cambio climático y contribuir al desarrollo económico de los países africanos involucrados.

…Ver video (Desertec)

 


Comentarios desactivados en El Megaproyecto Desertec / 31 Ene 2012 por Jorge Andre Lewis Urizar
MERME /

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