The Naturgy Foundation and the Red Cross help over 7,000 vulnerable families with advice, training and energy rehabilitations

Today, the vice chairman of the Naturgy Foundation, Jordi Garcia Tabernero, the chairman of the Spanish Red Cross, Javier Senent, and the Managing Director of the Naturgy Foundation, María Eugenia Coronado, renewed the collaboration agreement between the two entities for the third year in a row. This agreement has made it possible to help 7,000 families through different social programmes that alleviate energy poverty.

Thanks to the new agreement signed today, the Naturgy Foundation will provide new resources to continue rehabilitating the homes of vulnerable families to make them more energy efficient and help them make savings on their energy bills. Furthermore, they will continue to provide advice and training on energy-related matters to vulnerable families receiving help from the Red Cross through the Energy School and volunteering programme.

García Tabernero stated that “the situation of thousands of families has worsened as a result of the pandemic, and many people also need help now due to the economic crisis caused by COVID-19. This is why it’s important that companies double up their collaboration efforts with organisations that, as is the case of the Red Cross, are experiencing this situation first hand and offer them all our support by providing advice, training and energy rehabilitations”.

Moreover, Senent expressed that “energy poverty is one of the limiting factors and potential causes of social exclusion with more “hidden” consequences, which prevent people from leading an adequate life and will foreseeably increase next year due to the current economic, social and labour crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic”.

Energy rehabilitations in 350 vulnerable homes

Due to the appearance of the pandemic, this year the Naturgy Foundation and the Red Cross had to refocus the assistance they provide in homes, and the activities were adapted to provide advice by telephone, online training and personalised calls. Both entities have taken advantage of this situation to expand the geographical reach of the help provided to families. These new forms of digital assistance will continue to be used next year and until health protocols allow for the return to in-person services.

The Red Cross will continue to have access to the Naturgy Foundation’s Energy Rehabilitation Solidarity Fund. With these resources, it will be able to continue carrying out rehabilitations like the 350 performed to date in the homes of its beneficiaries. These interventions have improved the energy efficiency of the flats and have allowed families to reduce their energy bills.

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 500 volunteers, has given almost 4,000 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, as well as for the beneficiaries of this entity. Over 4,500 workshops have been held during these three years of collaboration.

Collaboration in the health emergency

Through its foundation, Naturgy has also collaborated this year with the Red Cross REPSONDE plan, which the humanitarian organisation launched to deal with the COVID-19 health crisis.

Naturgy employees, along with a contribution from the company, donated more than 2 million euros to the Red Cross. The entire amount was used for purchasing medical supplies such as personal protection equipment and volumetric ventilators with expendable material, which were assigned to health centres in Spain.

Spanish Red Cross

The Red Cross is the largest independent, humanitarian citizens’ movement in the world. It has been collaborating with public and private entities for 156 years to ensure that humanity and equal opportunities reach everybody all over the world, at all times and in any circumstances.

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis, the Red Cross has operated in all the affected countries worldwide, representing the largest mobilisation of resources, capabilities and people in favour of the most vulnerable people in the organisation’s history. In Spain, the Red Cross has launched its RESPONDE plan to deal with the COVID-19 crisis. This integral emergency, health, social inclusion, education and employment plan has already helped over 2.8 million people.

The Red Cross has more than 250,000 volunteers and more than 1,400 assistance points across Spain, which allows it to help more than 4 million people per year in this country. Over 1.7 million are involved in social programmes supported by more than 1,360,000 partners, companies, and allies.

The Spanish Red Cross belongs to the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, which is present in 192 countries. Always acting in accordance with its seven Fundamental Principles: Humanity, Impartiality, Neutrality, Independence, Voluntary Service, Unity and Universality.

Naturgy Foundation

The Naturgy Foundation carries out all of the social programmes linked to Naturgy’s Vulnerability Plan, the first of this kind to be developed by a Spanish energy company. The plan provides for over 20 operational and social measures aimed at strengthening and systematising the management of vulnerable customers, as well as enhancing collaboration with Third Sector entities and communication with social services.

The foundation was founded in 1992 by the energy company and its mission is to promote, educate and inform about energy, technology and the environment through serious and detailed discussion and awareness programmes aimed at young children.