SUSTAIN analyses the benefits of Shared Value for SMEs in the construction sector

The SUSTAIN Eurocluster project consortium held a webinar this morning on the practical application of the concept of shared value in cluster development policy. The head of ACCIÓ’s Shared Value Strategy team, Pau Virtudes, participated in the telematic session, presenting the shared value strategy promoted by ACCIÓ as part of the development of the cluster policy. “If we want to generate economic impact, we must generate sustainable impact, and this is at the heart of our strategy”, said Virtudes. This webinar also served to present some initiatives of Catalan SMEs in shared value by Akna Márquez, head of Sustainable Construction at OMPLIM.

The session, led by CEEC’s Head of Innovation, Francesco Valezano, has begun with an introduction to the SUSTAIN Eurocluster project which is focused on sustainable construction and the development of mechanisms that allow companies to bring in the latest technological advances in the field of sustainable and efficient building. “The objective is to put innovation at the core of SMEs so that they can take a step forward in their competitiveness”, said Valezano.

Right after, the session continued with the presentation on the Shared Value concept by Pau Virtudes, head of ACCIÓ’s Shared Value Strategy team. Virtudes has referred to environmental and social challenges, such as the climate crisis or the reduction of emissions, which are part of the foundations of the concept. “If we want to generate economic impact, we must generate sustainable impact, and this is at the heart of our strategy”, he commented. Virtudes also talked about how this concept has led to significant positive changes for many companies in the energy cluster through the transformation program carried out by ACCIÓ.

On the other hand, the session also had time to present the shared value initiatives of Catalan SMEs, in which OMPLIM’s head of Sustainable Construction, Akna Márquez, participated. “Sustainable construction must be within everyone’s reach”, commented Márquez during his speech, a fact that she described as a “challenge” considering the current prices of raw materials in the field of construction. The member of OMPLIM has emphasized the entity’s clear commitment to a collaborative model in the construction sector based on “efficiency and quality”, putting as an example an current project in Montcada i Reixach, where they focus on the participation of local suppliers and the inclusion of the local community.

To finish this session, CEEC’s head of Innovation, Francesco Valezano, recalled some of the next steps of the SUSTAIN project, which now focus on the launch of the second open call and, in parallel, the organization of new webinars and dissemination events around technological innovations in the field of building and sustainable construction.