Alcantarilla, Cartagena, Las Torres de Cotillas, Molina de Segura, Murcia and San Pedro share their Social Responsibility strategies, in the online round table 'CSR and the SDGs as an opportunity for municipalities' The University of Murcia (UMU) organized through its ODSesiones project the round table 'CSR and the ODS as an opportunity for municipalities', in which the mayors of Alcantarilla, Cartagena, Las Torres de Cotillas, Molina de Segura, Murcia and San Pedro del Pinatar. Likewise, this activity framed in SDG 11: 'Sustainable cities and communities', also had the intervention of the general director of Local Administration of the Ministry of the Presidency and Finance, Francisco Abril, and the president of the Federation of Municipalities of the Region from Murcia, Dolores Muñoz. The round table was moderated by the vice-rector for Social Responsibility and Transparency of the UMU and director of the CSR Chair, Longinos Marín, as well as the researchers of this chair Lola Abellán and Juan de Dios Cánovas. This 'webinar' valued the commitment of six municipalities in the Region of Murcia to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), to demonstrate that municipal policy is firmly committed to the United Nations 2030 Agenda, especially in matters such as change climate, urban mobility, commitment to renewable energies, health or equality. The president of the Federation of Municipalities of the Region of Murcia, Dolores Muñoz, explained that "municipalities are capable of launching pioneering projects, because without local entities the 2030 Agenda could not be achieved." "I also believe in the power of city councils to change the mentality of citizens to form sustainable communities, since it is everyone's responsibility to achieve that change," he argued. According to Muñoz, "we have all the tools to achieve common goals for everyone.
Because the SDGs are not just an opportunity, but an obligation to society," concluded the mayor of Bullas. Reforestation Table After Muñoz, the mayor of Cartagena, Ana Belén Castejón, intervened.
"Cartagena is committed to sustainable development, good governance practices and transparency.
We are clear that, although these objectives are global, we must transfer them to the closest environment so that citizens can make them their own and involve action plans that promote responsible management of companies and all kinds of local organizations, as we are already doing, "he said. Castejón put as an example of public-private collaboration, the various actions that have been carried out and that are being planned in the area of ??reforestation, following the guidelines of the Reforestation Table, as well as the green volunteering that has been presented in various projects that have been requested to the European Union. Murcia, pioneer in CSR in Spain The next mayor to intervene was the mayor of Murcia, José Ballesta, who stressed that "the 21st century will be that of the cities, for this reason we design the foundations of a Murcia that looks to the future with responsibility, aware of caring for the environment and the protection of the most vulnerable groups ". For this reason, they are developing their own CSR strategy, in which the UMU Chair of CSR collaborates.
In fact, Murcia is the first of the seven largest cities in Spain to have a CSR Report, in which UMU researchers Longinos Marín, Lola Abellán and Pedro J.
Cuestas collaborate. Molina 2030 Advance With You After Ballesta, it was the turn of the mayor of Molina de Segura, Esther Clavero.
In his speech, he specified that his municipality "is committed to CSR and the SDGs because they are the best opportunity to end poverty, bet on urban mobility or reduce air or water pollution." "Always, through public policies that seek the common good with projects such as 'Molina 2030 Avanza Contigo', a very powerful tool for social change to become a 'smart city' before 2023," he explained. Change engine For his part, the Mayor of Alcantarilla, Joaquín Buendía, thanked the invitation to the UMU CSR Chair for "making visible the actions on sustainability within the local administration." "In Alcantarilla we work to bet on social housing, open spaces for citizens and more green areas to improve the quality of life of our citizens to achieve a real change, where local corporations are the engine of change," he explained. In his presentation, Buendía highlighted the EDUSI strategy, on which the actions of the city council are based "to make our city a more welcoming and sustainable environment for all". San Pedro, synonymous with administrative modernization The mayor of San Pedro del Pinatar, Visitación Martínez, congratulated herself on the award granted to the council in the modality of administrative modernization of the Region of Murcia for her project 'Strategies for promoting administrative modernization and transparency in the local sphere' . While the mayor of Las Torres de Cotillas, Joaquín Vela, stressed that "in terms of CSR and the SDGs, the private and public sectors must go hand in hand to build a roadmap towards a more sustainable society." 'Corresponsables' Award This is the last session of the ODS 11 of ODSesiones, a UMU project that has received the 'Corresponsables' award for the best initiative of public administrations in the category of Sustainable Development Goals (ODS) at the gala of the XI' Awards Corresponsables Iberoamérica ', organized this week by this leading Spanish-speaking CSR specialized media outlet. After organizing more than 40 activities this November, ODSesiones will resume its activity agenda in February 2021 raising awareness about ODS 12: 'Responsible production and consumption', whose activities will host three UMU faculties: Communication and Documentation, Economy and Business and Veterinary.
