Collaboration between the Naturgy Foundation and the Red Cross has helped over 10,500 vulnerable families with advice and energy refurbishments

Chairman of the Naturgy Foundation, Rafael Villaseca; Vice-Chairman of the Foundation, Jordi Garcia Tabernero, and the General Director, María Eugenia Coronado, have renewed the collaboration agreement with the Spanish Red Cross Chairman, Javier Senent, that has enabled them to attend to over 10,500 families since 2018 with different social programmes to alleviate energy vulnerability.

According to this new agreement, the Naturgy Foundation will maintain its contribution of resources to continue with energy refurbishments of the homes of vulnerable families to improve their efficiency and help them save on their utility bills. Its Energy School and volunteering programme will also continue to offer advice and energy training for vulnerable families attended to by the Red Cross.

A new project will also be conducted next year to extend energy-related awareness activities to other groups. Mobile public information points will be installed, primarily in rural areas, to inform the population about the subsidised rate, energy fees and efficiency measures in the home, among other matters of interest. The goal is to launch two campaigns per Autonomous Region, coinciding with the hottest and coldest periods of the year and with the participation of volunteers.

Villaseca said he was satisfied with the results obtained so far. “The wide-ranging collaboration agreement we have in place with the Red Cross and which we are renewing for the fifth consecutive year proves that networking adds up and enables us to multiply the scope of our social programmes”, explain the Naturgy Foundation Chairman.

Senent also emphasised the value of energy volunteering, “which advises families at risk of exclusion to make more efficient use of energy, improve comfort at home with micro-efficiency or refurbishment measures, and teaches good practices”. According to the Spanish Red Cross Chairman, “we are renewing this commitment with the Naturgy Foundation to continue fighting against energy poverty through volunteering, the family service expert, thanks to which we can maintain and renew this commitment”.

García Tabernero also stated that “the economic crisis caused by the pandemic continues to affect thousands of families, which is why at the Naturgy Foundation we want to accompany those who need it most, to help them, with our resources and advice, to improve the comfort in their homes and save on their energy bill”.

Energy refurbishments in vulnerable homes

Ongoing collaboration over the last four years has enabled the Red Cross to manage the refurbishment of around 950 homes of vulnerable families, who have benefited from improved energy efficiency in flats and savings on utilities.  These actions are possible thanks to the Naturgy Foundation's Energy Rehabilitation Solidarity Fund.

Volunteers from both entities will keep working to advise vulnerable families on matters related to energy consumption and service payment. In addition, the Naturgy Foundation, which has more than 360 volunteers, has given almost 10,500 micro-efficiency kits to Red Cross beneficiaries.

Under the agreement, the Naturgy Foundation’s Energy School will continue to hold training sessions for Red Cross volunteers and technicians. The school’s activity is reinforced with the work of volunteers who have held two weekly online workshops this year. These sessions explain basic concepts of contracts, bills and regulatory updates, as well as tips for better energy use at home. More than 4,700 workshops have been held to date.

In addition to annual energy efficiency and advice agreements, through its foundation, Naturgy collaborated last year with a 2 million euros donation to the Red Cross RESPONDE plan, which the humanitarian organisation launched to address the COVID-19 health crisis.