Diversity Charter

19 Moventia companies have now signed the Diversity Charter, an initiative promoted by the Diversity Foundation in Spain with support from the European Commission, the Spanish Ministry of Health, Social Services and Equality, the Department of Enterprise and Occupation of the Regional Government of Catalonia and the employers’ associations CEOE, Fomento del Trabajo and PIMEC.

Specifically, four Moventis companies have renewed their membership of this initiative (Marfina Bus, Marfina S.L., Sarfa and TCC SA), which have now been joined by Autobusos de Lleida, Autocares Calella, Auto Pla Vic 4×4, Avenix, Casas, Comercial Martí, Ízaro, La Vallesana, Marfina Serveis, Motorprim, Moventis Illes, Sarsa Vallés, Stern Motor and TCC2 SL.

The companies from the Moventia group were the first in the mobility sector to join this commitment and have been renewing their support since 2012.

The Diversity Charter represents a commitment to promoting the main principles of equality, respect for everybody’s right to inclusion regardless of profile and recognition of the benefits to be gained from cultural, demographic and social diversity within the organisation. It also supports the implementation of policies to foster a prejudice-free working environment and non-discrimination programmes for disadvantaged groups.

As part of their commitment to promoting equality and inclusion in the workplace, the companies of the Moventia group that have voluntarily signed the Diversity Charter respect the rules governing equal opportunities and anti-discrimination, and assume the basic principles of awareness, inclusion, building a diverse workforce and work-life balance.

Moventia maintains its support for FERO

In 2021, Spain stands among the top three participants in the IRONMAN Study, the largest global registry of advanced prostate cancer patient samples, highlighting the commitment from Spanish society to this research. In fact, Spain has tripled its involvement from 80 to 237 patients within a period of 12 months. This figure once again demonstrates the solidarity of Spanish patients with this long-term project that will help us better understand the disease and develop new therapeutic options for the future.

Guillermo Mora, a 71-year-old patient who was diagnosed with prostate cancer six years ago and who has been in the metastasis stage for three years, wanted to share with Spanish society what it means to take part in a project like IRONMAN: “The responsibility to end this disease not only lies with doctors and researchers. As patients, we must be able to help and I feel that if my time, my experience and my samples can help us find a cure one day – hopefully sooner rather than later – then that is the least I can do. We are essential to the medical research and we have to be proactive if we want to achieve what so many of us so anxiously desire”.

This spirit of involvement and commitment to cancer research is the driving force pushing Moventia – a benchmark company in sustainable mobility – to maintain its commitment to this project through the FERO Foundation year after year as one of the main donors making it possible for Spain to be on the global IRONMAN map.

In the words of Silvia Martí, VP of Corporate, Internal and Institutional Communication at Moventia: “we have been supporting FERO on various projects for more than six years because we believe that we must all feel involved if we want to make real progress in cancer research: patients, relatives, researchers, doctors, civil society, companies, etc. Every one of us does our bit. For that reason, we are more convinced than ever that our effort to support IRONMAN year after year will be able to help people like Mr. Mora to improve their quality of life and find solutions that now seem unimaginable”.

Moventia’s support for this initiative forms part of the actions planned under its Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility Plan as a voluntary expression by the company to help build a better society.

More visibility and research

The spirit, strength and determination of Mr. Mora seem inherent to the hundreds of Spanish patients who have joined this project in one year. However, he calls for more visibility and commitment to a disease with which 1 out of 8 men will be diagnosed during their lifetime[1]. “Prostate cancer is as equally prevalent as breast cancer but has a much lower profile in the media and therefore lacks the same level of support… We must make people more aware, ensure they have themselves checked, know the warning signs, etc. because with cancer, more than ever, time is golden”.

“I am always surprised by how open our patients are to taking part in projects like IRONMAN, how motivated they are to form part of projects that can help us better understand the disease. We are tremendously grateful to them and we try to respond by learning as much as we can about the disease from the data and the samples that they provide us with so altruistically”, explains Dr. Joaquín Mateo, Head of the Translational Prostate Cancer Research Group at the Vall d’Hebron Institute of Oncology (VHIO), the oncologist for Mr. Mora and one of the coordinators of the study here in Spain.

The project

The IRONMAN project is based on three main lines of action: a systemic collection of clinical data from patients with advanced prostate cancer (treatments, evolution, response to them); to this register are added data on the personal life of the patients (how they live with the disease, how the treatment affects their daily life); and, finally, a bank of participating patient samples is created in order to conduct translational research with them. The goal is to become a major international platform for clinical and molecular data from patients in 16 different countries in order to help better understand the disease and to fight it more effectively in the future.

“IRONMAN is special because, besides what we learn from the project itself, which we hope will be a great deal, it helps us build a network between researchers and hospitals in our country, which I’m sure will facilitate many other projects and lead to progress in this field in the future”, explains Dr. David Olmos, Head of the Clinical Research on Prostate Cancer Unit at the National Centre for Oncology Research (CNIO) and Spanish coordinator of the study alongside Mateo.

Eleven benchmark Spanish centres are already taking part in this research network, which connects oncologists in Catalonia, Madrid, Valencia, Andalusia and Asturias. Furthermore, the project in Spain is also backed by the FERO Foundation and the Movember Foundation, two non-profit organisations engaged in promoting cancer research.

Moventis supports the Pilarín Bayés Awards

Once again, Moventia (through Autocares Calella) supported the XVIII Pilarín Bayés Awards by providing the transportation for primary school children from various schools across Catalonia taking part in the event. The award ceremony took place at the Catalan National Art Museum on 1 June.

The prizes are presented in recognition of stories written by primary school children. The awards seek to encourage reading and to bring books closer to children, stimulate their imagination and make them reflect and work on issues based on values. They are organised by Editorial Mediterrània in partnership with Obra Social San Juan de Dios. Lockdown was the chosen theme for the competition this year. An experience shared by all children but approached very differently in every home.

 

Many congratulations to all the winners!

 

 

 

 

Culture is a driving force for investment and enhances our reputation as a country

Sílvia Martí, Vice-President of Corporate, Internal and Institutional Communication of Moventia, took part in the “Culture as a Catalyst for the Economy” meeting held at the Círculo Ecuestre with support from the Catalunya Cultura Foundation. 

The event highlighted the importance of culture as a fundamental factor in boosting the economy and creating jobs and wealth. Sílvia Martí was very adamant about this, saying that “culture is a driving force for investment and enhances our reputation as a country. Unfortunately however, the level of investment is far below the European average”.

In saying this, she was referring to the figures on public investment in culture in Spain, which currently stands at 1.2% of the budget with an impact on Spanish GDP of 3.4%, while this impact is 4.7% in Europe.

During the debate, Sílvia Martí also expressed her concern over the foreseeable difficulty to be encountered by culture companies – especially the smaller ones – in accessing Next Generation funds to enable them to finance key projects in their sector. “I am very interested to know how this will happen, when and what the deadlines will be. The culture sector is suffering tremendously and, if the public authorities do not take an interest, we will continue to have a serious problem in the world of culture”.

Agreement on this came from everyone else taking part in the round table discussion moderated by Georgina Ferri, CEO of the ARA newspaper, and featuring Ramón Agenjo, Vice-President of the Damm Foundation; Anna Gener, CEO for Barcelona of Savills Aguirre Newman; and Eusebio Güell, President of the Güell Foundation. They all agreed on the urgent need for a country like Spain to approve a Patronage Act, one of the central issues in cultural policy over the last decade and which seeks to incentivise donations of private capital for cultural activities.

Webinar on senior mobility

Josep Maria Martí took part in a webinar on Friday, 23 April, promoted by the Mobility Institute and presented by the Chairman of RACC, Josep Mateu, on the conclusions reached by a study conducted by this organisation in partnership with Deloitte and entitled “The boom of the future: senior mobility”. The event was used to highlight the mobility needs of the over-65s, a growing part of the population that will experience a veritable “demographic tidal wave” when everyone born during the baby boom of the 1960s reaches retirement age.

 

The round table discussion in which Josep Maria Martí took part was focused on senior mobility, both as pedestrians and as users of public transport. The Managing Director of Moventia took the opportunity to offer his own vision of mobility outside of the major cities in the metropolitan area and talked about on-demand mobility services, such as shared buses. He went on to present the projects that Moventia is currently working on in the field of group transportation to meet the needs of senior citizens.

DAS WELTAUTO delivers a ŠKODA KODIAQ to SOS CHILDREN’S VILLAGES in Catalonia

Das WeltAuto, the second-hand vehicle brand of the Volkswagen Group, delivered a ŠKODA KODIAQ to SOS Children’s Villages in Catalonia to help the children of Aldea de Sant Feliu de Codines in Barcelona get around.

The loan of this vehicle, which was handed over at Sarsa Terrasa, forms part of the “A Chance to Help” project that will support the mobility of over
300 boys and girls.

The vehicle was handed over during an event held on the Sarsa premises in Terrasa (Barcelona). The event was attended by: Carlos Calatayud, Sales Director of ŠKODA Spain; Enric Fauste, Managing Director of the Sarsa Group; Jordi Doménech, Manager of ŠKODA and SEAT for the Sarsa Group; José Luis Escobar, Regional Director of SOS Children’s Villages in Catalonia; and Carmen Nicolás, Director of Aldea de Sant Feliu de Codines.

The loan of this car forms part of the “A Chance to Help” project consisting of seven second-hand vehicles in total from Das WeltAuto to provide mobility services under the protection programmes run by this NGO in various autonomous regions of Spain. This initiative is a response to the commitment from the Volkswagen Group to helping children at risk of exclusion. Das WeltAuto is giving seven vehicles to SOS Children’s Villages to meet the mobility needs of around 300 boys and girls growing up without the care of their parents at six of the villages managed by this organisation throughout the country. The vehicles will be on loan for one year, at the end of which they can be swapped for others of a similar nature.

This ŠKODA KODIAQ and all the vehicles included in the initiative have passed an exhaustive testing process by Das WeltAuto and come with the Volkswagen Group guarantee. The vehicle models were chosen according to the needs expressed by SOS Children’s Villages.

Through this initiative, Das WeltAuto seeks to help integrate vulnerable children by providing vehicles that will help them attend training activities, visit the doctor or enjoy recreational activities that require travel.

Moventia attends Conference on Best Practices for Equality Plans

Agustí López Fitó, HR Manager at Moventia, spoke at the Conference on Best Practices for Equality Plans held on 25 March, the goal of which was to reveal what companies and social entities in Sabadell are doing to support gender equality and respect for sexual diversity. Best practices were also shared by Pilar Medel, the Equality and Technical Human Resources Coordination Officer for Parc Taulí; Estela Sánchez, General Manager of DICOMOL, SL; and Júlia Alsinet, the Partner for l’Eixida of Telar Cooperatiu. 

Agustí López Fitó spoke about the Moventis project carried out in partnership with the Catalan Employment Service (SOC) to train new bus drivers. Participants in the project are given the chance to obtain both the D and CAP licences, with a period of work experience at companies in the Moventis group. 50% of trainees were subsequently given a contract at the company. 

This project seeks to raise the number of available driving professionals by training the unemployed or others wishing to improve their current employment status. Priority is given to young people, women and other groups at risk of social exclusion. 

 

 

Moventis SARFA receives recognition for its social responsibility actions during the pandemic

Begur Town Council and El Baix Empordà Regional Council have officially recognised Moventis SARFA for its social responsibility initiatives during the pandemic. The actions most deserving of this high praise are: its promotion of quality employment in the region, its collaboration with local employment services, its launch of initiatives aimed at employment inclusion for people with functional diversity and its donation to Palamós Hospital.

Enric Gimeno, General Manager of Moventis SARFA, collected the award in recognition of the various social responsibility actions undertaken by the company during the pandemic.

The Mayor of Begur, Maite Selva, presented the award to Moventis SARFA and highlighted the importance of such companies that are based on hard work, innovation and commitment in tough times for society like the COVID-19 pandemic. “Commitment shown by companies like Moventis SARFA, which continue to bring added value to all during such tough and uncertain times and have contributed more than ever to consolidating a social, collaborative, sustainable and responsible economy in our region.”

The Palafrugell Municipal Theatre was chosen as the venue to host the award ceremony organised by the El Baix Empordà Regional Council and the El Baix Empordà Regional Network of Economic Promotion Officers, with support from several local council authorities throughout the region, including Begur Town Council. The event sought to highlight those companies in the region that have shown themselves to be socially responsible during the COVID-19 pandemic through initiatives leading to a positive impact for the general public. 

The awards, which were presented to 17 businesses in the region, were proposed by a technical committee made up by the regional council and various local council authorities in El Baix Empordà.
 

The role of Moventis SARFA during the pandemic

Moventis SARFA is an iconic company in El Empordà, a leader in the transport sector and boasts a history spanning almost 100 years. The organisation has been recognised for its regular collaboration with local employment services through participation in training and accompaniment programmes for the re-employment of the unemployed, the inclusion of people with functional diversity in its workforce and the economic contribution made to Palamós Hospital.
 

Social responsibility as a cross-cutting issue

Social responsibility at Moventis is something that forms a major part of its day-to-day business. According to Enric Gimeno, “we are fully aware of our opportunity to build a more equal society and generate well-being for people. It can therefore be said that the concept of solidarity is another of the underlying pillars that support Moventis, an inherent characteristic of our nature”.

According to its CSR Policy, Moventia is committed to returning to society that which society gives to Moventia, understanding solidarity as a voluntary expression by the company in its contribution towards building a better society, its commitment to continually strive to improve and go beyond simply complying with legal obligations and to continue investing in human resources, the environment and stakeholder relations.

Based on this approach to solidarity, Moventis is highly dedicated to commitment and social responsibility in its environment, working with its partners to build a better society.

8 March: International Women’s Day

At Moventia, our goal remains to foster equality and parity between men and women within the mobility sector. Ever since plans for equality between men and women were launched in 2007, and following our adherence and commitment to the manifesto promoted by the European Transport Commission to encourage the hiring of women, our company has ceaselessly pushed towards building a sector with more equal treatment and jobs between men and women. At present, all our companies have sexual harassment prevention mechanisms in place and are governed by equal access to employment, professional classification, training and promotion, as well as equal pay and work-life balance for everyone who works at Moventia.

Moventia at the awards: #PremiIMPULSA and #PremiEMPRESACULTURA

The #PremiIMPULSA and #PremiEMPRESACULTURA awards were presented on 4 February during an event held at the Old Estrella Damm Brewery that was attended by the Culture Councillor, Ms. Àngels Ponsa. On behalf of Moventia, Silvia Martí was honoured with a seat on the panel.
The EMPRESA CULTURA Prize [CULTURE COMPANY] was given for the first time by the Catalonia Culture Foundation to raise the profile of a company engaged in action that is committed and contributes to culture with a regional impact.
The panel particularly valued its regional scope, great social impact and contribution to motivating multiple pro-culture initiatives beyond the boundaries of its corporate purpose.
Through this recognition, the Catalonia Culture Foundation seeks to thank the world of business for its contribution to culture, an essential sector that is currently experiencing some very tough times due to the pandemic.