70,000 vulnerable people have benefited from the collaboration agreement between the Naturgy Foundation and Caritas for the fight against energy poverty
For another year, the energy company’s foundation and Caritas have renewed the joint collaboration agreement they have maintained since 2017, with which they are committed to developing programmes to combat energy vulnerability.
The Naturgy Foundation and Caritas have reaffirmed their commitment to the joint fight against energy vulnerability by renewing the alliance they have maintained since 2017. Thanks to their joint agreement, 70,000 vulnerable people have benefited from the different programmes to combat energy poverty coordinated by the two organisations for the last seven years.
The Naturgy Foundation and Caritas work on three types of programmes: Energy Rehabilitation, Energy School and photovoltaic solar energy installation projects. By signing this new agreement, these programmes will continue to promote and expand their scope to benefit a greater number of people.
Naturgy Foundation vice-president, Jordi Garcia Tabernero, said at the renewal signing ceremony that “this is an alliance that represents very well the common values of both entities, committed to the sustainable development of society”. He also stressed that “all Naturgy employees are proud that our company helps people and families in vulnerable situations, and contributes to the social good by going beyond our purely business objectives”.
Meanwhile, Caritas Spain president, Manuel Bretón, stated that “this is not only one of the most important collaborations of the diocesan Caritas organisations present in all parts of the country, but it also represents an enormous opportunity to improve our commitment to renewable energies”.
The general manager of the Naturgy Foundation, María Eugenia Coronado, has valued the importance of networking. “The work we promote as a foundation would not be as far-reaching if it were not for our permanent and close collaboration with third sector organisations which, like Caritas, have direct contact with the most vulnerable people in our society”.
Energy efficiency advice and improvement
Joint actions of the two entities are twofold. On the one hand, they are focused on providing information and advice to optimise energy consumption. And, on the other hand, to promote renovation actions in homes and buildings to improve their energy efficiency.
In terms of improving efficiency, the Naturgy Foundation uses resources from the Energy Rehabilitation Fund to work together with Caritas on actions to improve the comfort of homes from an energy consumption perspective, such as the installation of insulation, enclosures, heating, replacement of lighting, appliances, and adaptations and improvement of electricity and natural gas installations. They have worked on 2,477 dwellings. The beneficiaries of these initiatives are people who suffer from economic precariousness belonging to different groups, such as families with minors in their care, young people, elderly people living alone or homeless people, among others.
They also jointly promote social innovation projects with the installation of photovoltaic self-consumption systems. By signing this agreement, four new installations with an installed capacity of 40.1 kWp, equivalent to 76 solar panels, will benefit around 500 people. These new installations are in addition to the 9 carried out in previous years, installing 404 panels and benefitting nearly 4,000 people.
Naturgy Foundation also has the Energy School, which provides training in energy issues with the aim of improving the quality of life of people in vulnerable situations. It has held 79 workshops attended by more than 1,000 families in collaboration with Caritas.
Caritas Spain
Caritas Spain aims to carry out charitable and social actions on behalf of the Catholic Church in Spain, through the Christian community, in order to promote and coordinate Christian communication of goods in all their forms, and to help the human promotion and holistic development of all people. To this end, it promotes, encourages and coordinates initiatives relating to welfare, the holistic promotion of the individual and prophetic denunciation. Its national network includes 5,400 parish Caritas organisations, 70 diocese Caritas organisations and the corresponding regional or autonomic Caritas organisations.
Caritas’ work to eradicate poverty also has a strong international dimension, which operates through 162 national Caritas organisations in over 200 countries and territories worldwide. Together, they form the Caritas International network, which has its headquarters in Rome. Caritas’ commitment to the excluded is supported by more than 71,437 volunteers and 5,427 paid workers. During the last year, Caritas Spain invested more than 486.5 million euros to support 2.5 million vulnerable people both in Spain and abroad.
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