Richard Fifer

The Castilla del Oro Foundation, led by Richard Fifer – Carles and chaired by Cristobal Colon (Spain) will develop a very important social project in the area of el Cerro de Andevalo. With concern for the environmental impact possible in mind, the Foundation has a number of professionals working in different areas in order to add value to society. One of the main topics of interest is environmental management.The fact that Spanish legislation uses environmental impact regulations in accordance to European directives, as a preventive tool prior to the substantive authorization, allows for the process to take place in two very different ways.On the one hand are the companies that carry out the classic environmental management processes, which consist in putting technical engineers first and environmentalists second. In this case engineers say how it is done and environmentalists simply draft a document to comply with what they are presented. What they do is paint it green and obtain permission for the project.On the other hand, companies like ours exist that create an integrated team where technical decisions are made jointly with environmentalists, evaluating alternatives, not just from the productive and economic point of view, but also ones more environmentally friendly with the natural and social environment. The problem is the fact that the permit obtained says nothing to differentiate these two types of attitudes.It is possible that the cost in the short term is slightly higher, but profitability in the long term has been demonstrated. All you have to do is resort to the relationship between the evolutions of the DJSI (Dow Jones Sustainability Index) with the Dow Jones itself. Companies that have been measured according to parameters of responsibility in their activities which have proven to be favorable have ended up having a higher overall profitability for its shareholders.History gives us the reason; there are cases of large companies that have moved to bankruptcy after environmental disasters as is the case of Dupont in Bhopal and Exxon Valdez in Alaska.Another of the multiple examples why projects should be born with the social and environmental variables integrated in their equation of the production, are not only for ethical reasons but also for economic purposes. This is one more reason why shareholders should value this kind of attitude when it comes to bringing their savings a part of a project.

Related posts:

1. Richard Fifer