- The entity focused its lines of action on the social, environmental and scientific/educational fields
- These actions affirm its commitment to Island society
This figure reaches 63,215 people if we also take into account those who benefited indirectly from the Foundation's commitment to volunteerism in Canary Islands society.
To this end, last year Fundación Cepsa participated in 43 initiatives in the archipelago, in which it invested nearly €350,000 over the course of the year. Its most emblematic and consolidated social initiatives include the Social Value Awards, focused on supporting vulnerable groups and promoting values of solidarity among the company's professionals. The funding for this initiative this year amounted to €79,000, as the six winning entities in the 2022 edition in the Islands were joined by a seventh winner of the Special Cepsa Employee Award. Thus, Cepsa distinguished and financially rewarded Adepsi, Aesleme, AFES Salud Mental, Apanate, Fasican, Gull-Laségue and Pichón Trail Project, from among the 43 nominations received in its fifteenth edition.
Other outstanding social actions from the year include Fundación Cepsa’s collaboration with three other foundations to deliver a large isothermal truck to the Tenerife Food Bank, which since July has been able to collect surplus foodstuffs donated by manufacturers and supermarkets and deliver them to the most vulnerable groups.
On the other hand, the entity maintained its commitment to the victims of the volcanic eruption in La Palma, sealing an agreement with the Spanish Red Cross at the end of the year for the implementation of a social eco-gardens project that will allow fifty vulnerable people affected to get back in touch with the land and nature, thus improving their physical and mental health. The first garden has already been inaugurated in the municipality of El Paso.
Fundación Cepsa's contribution was also felt through its collaboration with the Christmas Charity Telethon “Compartir Canarias,” which this year broke its record by collecting nearly 40 tons of food, basic necessities, toys and hygiene products, distributed by the Food Banks of both Canary Islands provinces.
Another of its actions focused on its collaboration with the Tenerife Children's Park, which took place in the capital of Tenerife during the Christmas holidays, leading to the creation of a new large-format urban art mural as part of the “Sumérgete en Santa Cruz” initiative. The mural was painted on the outside of the municipal swimming pool, in an initiative that seeks to bring artistic activity closer to citizens and improve public spaces.
Rounding out the list of social actions, professionals from the Canary Islands participated in drives to collect bottle caps, as well as clothing and footwear in various campaigns throughout the year, and in a corporate volunteering activity against energy poverty.
Educational scientific field
Among the most outstanding initiatives promoted by Fundación Cepsa in the educational field in 2022 was the second edition of its “ProFormación” scholarships, which benefited 21 Vocational Training students in the Islands. These scholarships included an overall allocation of €52,500, €2,500 for each student, to help cover the costs of tuition, school supplies, books, transportation, cafeteria, etc.
The entity also collaborated in the “Chicas con Cienci@ULL” program, developed by the Fundación General Universidad de La Laguna and aimed at promoting scientific and technological vocations among students in the third and fourth years of Secondary Education and the first year of Bachillerato in the Canary Islands. The initiative included an informational audiovisual series aimed at promoting scientific and technological vocations by highlighting the achievements and contributions of a group of 24 female researchers from a wide range of fields at the University of La Laguna. Moreover, the initiative implemented an educational program in schools based on talks and experiential workshops on scientific topics.
Additionally, in line with our commitment to show young women different career opportunities, promote the presence of women in all areas of work, and promote equal opportunities, the initiative “Girls with Energy” was carried out, in which twenty daughters of Cepsa employees in Tenerife learned about professional women’s experience at the company first-hand. These female employees participated as volunteers in the initiative, sharing their background, experience, and vision, in order to serve as a reference when these girls think about their future career.
Fundación Cepsa participated in the events “Plenilunio” and “Ven a Santa Cruz,” in collaboration with the Sociedad de Desarrollo de Santa Cruz de Tenerife, offering a space for scientific workshops under the title “Manufacturing the future,” to bring science closer to the general public of all ages. Fundación Cepsa also participated in the 19th Science Fair of La Orotava, where activities related to nanosatellites, hydrogen production with renewable energies, and obtaining biofuels from frying oils or non-conventional oils, among others, were carried out.
With the aim of promoting scientific and technological vocations, the entity, together with the Fundación General Universidad de La Laguna, collaborated with the MacaroNight project, in which 2,500 students from 32 schools in Tenerife and La Palma participated. Among the events included this year was the Scientific and Professional Career Fair of the Canary Islands, aimed at promoting young people’s interest in science, technology, innovation, and entrepreneurship for the development of their professional future.
Hand in hand with the Chair
The commitment to research, training, scientific dissemination, and knowledge transfer was evident through the wide variety of actions carried out by the Fundación Cepsa Chair of Ecological Transition and Innovation at the University of La Laguna.
Particularly of note is the Foundation’s ongoing support since 2020 of the “Teidesat” project, which is led by a multidisciplinary team of more than 40 students from the ULL, working on designing, building, launching, and operating a nanosatellite, with the aim of enhancing optical communications between space and earth.
In addition, we supported the R8 Island Motostudent student project, based on designing, developing and building a 100% electric racing motorcycle in the Canary Islands. The students will enter their motorcycle in a competition of student teams from all over the world.
Moreover, the Foundation has also helped design a MakerSpace room, located in the School of Engineering and Technology, which will be inaugurated soon. This room is intended to be a multidisciplinary work space where students can develop innovative projects to put into practice what they've learned in the classroom, as well as to promote team collaboration and serve as a meeting point for dissemination on issues related to the ecological transition.
In order to support new lines of research or maintain existing ones in the field of energy transition, sustainability, energy efficiency, circular economy, renewable energies, and biofuels, this year the Fundación Cepsa Chair launched a call for expression of interest for developing micro projects; four projects were ultimately selected.
In addition, the Chair's first and the University of La Laguna’s second industrial doctoral thesis on obtaining biofuels from vegetable oils and animal fats continued, and the third edition of the Best Bachelor's and Master's Degree Final Project Awards took place, where a total of six projects by university students were recognized.
On the other hand, a series of monthly seminars entitled “Women researchers for the ecological transition and innovation” began, which seeks to make visible the role played by women scientists in aspects related to the topics addressed by the Chair. This initiative was carried out in addition to other conferences, seminars, master classes, and workshops held throughout the year.
Environmental actions
The environmental actions in which Fundación Cepsa participated in 2022 include its commitment to natural spaces such as Las Mesas Park, where, under an alliance with the Santa Cruz Sostenible Foundation, an abandoned building will be refurbished to convert it into a Nature Classroom and Environmental Interpretation Center, as a multi-purpose space dedicated to environmental education and awareness.
In addition, two environmental volunteering activities were carried out with Cepsa employees and their families in this area, aimed at environmental awareness and dissemination, combined with reforestation actions in this peri-urban park.
The Foundation has also contributed to the creation of a “Signposted route of unique trees of Santa Cruz de Tenerife.” Both physical and digital, this route was designed by the Santa Cruz Sostenible Foundation and led to the development of a schedule of routes guided by specialized environmental instructors enjoyed by more than 400 people, in order to raise awareness of the richness and variety of tree species that the capital of Tenerife has to offer.
Another activity carried out this past year was school vegetable gardens. These gardens promote healthy eating among children through educational talks given by environmental instructors, and reached 1,227 students from 29 schools in Santa Cruz de Tenerife.
The Foundation joined the “Ambiéntate” event run by the Santa Cruz de Tenerife City Council to mark World Environment Day, which focused on environmental education projects for schools in which more than one thousand students participated. Fundación Cepsa also participated in the municipal program “Anaga on foot.” The aim of this program is to disseminate, through 13 interpreted hiking trails, the cultural values of the Anaga Massif Biosphere Reserve.
Additionally, at the end of the year, Fundación Cepsa signed an agreement with the City Council of Santa Cruz to protect and conserve the space and fauna of Palmetum de Tenerife, through the regeneration of an abandoned lake so as to encourage the arrival of more birds, which will also include a hide for observing these species.
In connection with this initiative, the Foundation has also collaborated on a new study by Seo Birdlife on the birds and pollinators that have been appearing naturally and spontaneously since this space was converted into a botanical garden, and their fundamental role in allowing the flora to multiply and making botanical diversity possible.
Alongside this study, we have updated and expanded the Palmetum's informational materials in order to raise awareness of the need to conserve the natural values of this space, through various information panels and brochures that include both birds and pollinators, butterflies, insectivores, and bats, whose presence is a bio-indicator that reflects the site’s good ecological condition.
