Tribune

Informe-Reporta-2024
Reporta 2024 Report: Quum continues to promote corporate transparency

For the past 14 years, we at Quum have been proud to promote and coordinate the Reporta ReportThe report, the benchmark ranking that measures the quality of accountability of listed companies in Spain, has become an essential starting point for understanding how organisations report both financial and non-financial information in an increasingly demanding and sustainability-focused business environment. This report has become an essential starting point for understanding how organisations report both financial and non-financial information in an increasingly demanding business environment focused on sustainability.

Results of the 2024 edition: A new all-time high

Last September we presented the 2024 edition of the Reporta ReportThe results could not have been more encouraging. The average score has reached 52.2 points out of 100The new score was almost 2 points higher than the previous year, setting a new record in terms of score and growth.

On this occasion, the following were analysed 110 companiesand once again, Santander y CIE Automotive lead the ranking, both with 86 points. Endesa is in third place, improving two positions with a score of 83.3 points.

For the first time, the Technology and Telecommunications achieves the best sector average with 63.1 pointswith Telefónica in the lead. This sector has overtaken the traditionally strong Oil and Energywhich this year has obtained 61.2 pointswith Endesa leading the category.

However, not all sectors have advanced at the same pace. Consumer Goods (46.2), Consumer Services (48.1) y Financial Services and Real Estate (50.9) are below average. Within these sectors, companies such as Inditex, NH Hotel y Banco Santander as the best rated.

Progress and areas for improvement in accountability

This year's analysis reveals significant progress, although the focus remains on the environmental side. The information Environmental and on Employees, especially health and safety, are the best reported indicators, as they deal with issues that have been worked on over the years. However, the social aspect as a whole is not what is best reported by listed companies, which tend to focus excessively on social action.

Another critical area is the management of the ESG function which tends to focus on the role of the board of directors and does not delve into the operational management of ESG. Although the double materiality has made significant progress - with almost 70% of companies In addition to conducting a comprehensive analysis of ESG and financial impacts, the integration of operational management with business strategy still presents opportunities for further development.

With regard to the Human Rights and Environmental Due DiligenceThis field is at a very early stage. The 32% of companies evaluated have obtained a score of 0, with only the 14% has achieved a score of 3 or 4, indicating that there is still some way to go in this area.

An event to share knowledge and promote sustainability

This year we presented the Reporta 2024 Report in a face-to-face event at AENOR's headquarters. It was a meeting place to delve into trends in sustainability and accountability, with the participation of experts who shared their knowledge and experience. The event was led by our Director of Business Development, Innovation and ESG, Almudena Alonso, and brought together leading professionals in the field of sustainability.

On the one hand, we had a very didactic explanation of the future CSRD by José Mariano Moneva, professor at the University of Zaragoza and member of the EFRAG Sustainability Reporting Technical Expert Group. On the other hand, it was a pleasure to have several Sustainability Directors from listed companies for a rich debate and we would like to thank once again Marco Masip, Director of Strategy and ESG Reporting at Telefónica; Antonio Burgueño, Director of Sustainability at FCC Construcción; José Miguel Tudela, Director of Sustainability and Climate Action at Enagás; Marta Gil de la Hoz, General Manager of Strategy, Innovation and Sustainability at SACYR, and Santiago Velázquez, Director of External Communication and Sustainability at Línea Directa Aseguradora.

A future driven by transparency

Quum's purpose with the Reporta Report has always been clear: not to lose sight of the true value of sustainability and transparency. As Almudena Alonso, director of business development, innovation and ESG at Quum, "Our goal is for companies to understand that the sustainability challenge goes far beyond a simple checklist. It is about assessing the willingness to be transparent, analysing the relevance of their ESG strategies and how these align with their business"..

In an increasingly sustainability-oriented world, the reports that companies make available to their shareholders and stakeholders have become essential management tools. They are becoming increasingly detailed and will be further enhanced by the implementation of the CSRD in 2025. These documents not only serve to comply with regulations, but also allow for a deeper reflection on the path towards a sustainable economy.

At Quum, we will continue working to accompany companies in this process, promoting the advancement of ESG strategies and plans and clearer, more accessible and rigorous communication aligned with the values of transparency and sustainability that the current context demands.

El periodista garante de a verdad
The journalist, the guarantor of truth

By Guillermo Caruncho, consultant at QuumPR

The truth. I dare say that there is nothing more decisive in our near future. To detach things from their reality condemns societies to the grossest frustration and total obscurity. Practice tells us of a grotesque manipulation of the truth in all fields: science, politics, society, economics, anthropology... And the matter is getting worse. Faced with this scenario, the temptation is to decide to live on the sidelines, but in doing so we will only be laying the carpet for a triumphal stroll of post-truth. But we have an indispensable ally, a halo of hope to prevent us from falling into this fatal indifference: the journalist, who on 24 January we celebrate his day.

The media have a very important role to play in conveying information to the public, but this role has become indispensable due to the manipulation of reality that is so common nowadays. We are aware of the enormous power of the media in generating opinion in society, which is why informing society by sticking to the facts and not detaching things from their reality is a task that is as simple as it is crucial, especially in this world we live in.

The ethics of journalism include truth as a beacon of its profession, and the work of thousands of journalists in newsrooms reflects this. Not moving away from this vocation will be decisive when it comes to communicating, because, although news is intrinsically true, given that it is fact, and facts do not understand interpretation, this capacity for interpretation can be artificially added to it. Having journalism that conveys the facts as they are is a vital guarantee.

Chesterton said that "the day will come when it will be necessary to draw a sword to affirm that the grass is green". We have not yet arrived at fencing, but the moral drift is drawing us a world that does not attend to the reality of things, something as simple as it is poisonous, and it is the journalist, with his vocation for the truth, one of the main guarantors of reversing this drift and today, on his day, we would like to toast to him.

Many thanks to all those journalists who work hard in the newsrooms to make the truth triumph.

#HappyJournalistDay

Poder seducción metaverso
The seductive power of the metaverse

Cristina MurgasQuum's director of financial communications, Quum, has interviewed different experts in various fields such as education, law and financial services to define what role the famous metaverse will play in the short term. He believes that it is the present and the future and offers us the possibility of living in a digital world. It will be possible to work, shop, play and even fall in love. The metaverse will change the way we communicate. It is obvious that it will have an impact on all sectors and that communication experts will have to take this new world into account. Here experience will be key.

If you are interested in learning more about this subject from our expert, who heads Quum's financial communications area and has extensive experience in the sector Fintech and cryptoWe recommend this article he has published for the prestigious economic magazine Forbes. https://forbes.es/forbes-funds/156664/el-poder-de-seduccion-del-metaverso/.

Dia del periodista
That 13 October...

By Saray Calvo, Account Director at QuumPR

I remember it as if it were yesterday; I remember choosing the clothes, those nerves in my stomach - those good nerves that tickle and make your heart race. That folder full of blank sheets of paper.

The bag. Yes, a bag. Gone was that backpack loaded with books to make way for this accessory, a sign that you were taking another step towards maturity, that you were leaving behind that wonderful adolescence to become an adult.

The metro. Those few stations, that transfer that brought you closer to what was going to be your second home for a few years. THE UNIVERSITY.

Yes, 13 October marked the beginning of a dream, of a new path full of uncertainty, but full of wonderful, unrepeatable anecdotes... Of joys, of sadness... Of learning, sometimes hard, but necessary.

The adventure began...

24 January, Journalists' Day

Today is the Journalists' Day... And although that 13th October is now far away from the calendar of my life, and from this special day of commemoration ... For me, that 13th October is the day on which I began this great journey that made me a journalist.

So today, I want to highlight the value of our profession. To be able to say that I am very proud of this path that many of us have chosen.

And although it may sound like a cliché, I feel the need to highlight the great work we do. Always on the front line. During these two years of the pandemic, we have applauded and praised the immense work that has been done and is being done by the health and security forces... However, little has been said about journalists.

When everyone was confined to their homes, protecting themselves from a virus we knew little about, they were on the streets... investigating, covering press conferences, going to hospitals... exposing themselves to the virus with or without fear... but with a single objective: to inform.

Courage, curiosity and risk are just some of the adjectives that are present in the journalist's DNA. Above all, there is information, and only those of us who love this profession know that.

Why are we like this? I think because we have a special sensitivity to look at the world with unique eyes.

Lucky, aren't they?

Yes, we are communicators who possess the gift of the written and spoken word, the gift of seeing through a lens and showing what words, perhaps, cannot tell....

Difficult, isn't it?

That's the journalist. That's who I am, that's who we are...

That is why, on this sheet of paper, which used to be white, all these phrases appear, to pay homage to our profession and to the decision to undertake this fabulous journey; perhaps I do it from a very emotional point of view, but I think it is necessary, as I often think that we forget what we are really like.

HAPPY DAY, COMRADES!

Legislación y criptomonedas
Legislation and cryptocurrencies

Cristina Murgas, director of financial communications at Quum, analyses the different legislations of cryptocurrencies, which have lived 10 years on the fringes of the law. What has Europe and the United States done?

If you are interested in going deeper into this subject with our expert, you can read about it in this Forbes article. https://forbes.es/criptomonedas/131837/las-leyes-con-las-que-los-paises-intentan-cercar-el-campo-de-las-criptomonedas/

Siete tendencias finanzas
Discover seven trends in finance in the face of a potential recession

That after this gap in the form of holidays we will start a September plagued by uncertainties and in a complex context marked by inflation, is clear to all of us. However, we must take a positive view of the trends that are gaining strength and that can face up to this historic cycle in finance and the economy.

Thus, our director of financial communication, Cristina MurgasTogether with some of his clients and other market influencers, he analyses the seven trends that can make us stronger in the face of an expected recession: the sustainable investmentsThe growth of Fintech, the rise of crypto-assets, the acceleration of virtual technologies, the modernisation of traditional companies through the DEFIs, the training in new finance through specialised communities and new business patterns.

Do you want to know in detail this information and what our expert proposes as the seven saving seals of the expected financial apocalypse? Click here, at Forbes

Día del influencer
Happy Influencer Day!

The 30th of November is celebrated Influencer Day to recognise all those people who inspire others thanks to their content. Although the celebration of this day is very recent, the date dates back to 30 November 2016, the figure of the influencer is not really so new. Those of us who have been working in this sector for years were already "using" celebrities in the last century to promote products, companies or even campaigns. However, with the emergence of social media, the so-called "digital influencers" have appeared. In other words, people like any of us, who have managed to consolidate an important audience, thanks to the content they share on their social networks or blog and which the public can easily access.  

Influencer is an anglicism used in reference to a person with the ability to influence others. Of course, it is not a word accepted by the RAE which, as an alternative, proposes the term influential.

Rivers of ink have been written about the power of influence and the new terms in vogue such as micro or nanoinfluencers. For example, we remember the case of Ariana Renee, the influencer with more than 2.5 million followers who was unable to sell 36 T-shirts to launch her own brand. Another influencer, @kissmyeliteHe commented on this case: "focus on building real loyalty and not on the number of followers because most of them won't buy anything from you".

According to the report The state of Influencer Marketing Only 40% of active content creators worldwide are free from various forms of fraud, such as buying followers or paid comments. Research conducted by Kaspersky Kasperskyexplains that 74% of Spaniards say that they interact with the influencers they follow. And above all by commenting on their publications (46%) and reacting to their publications or stories (40%). The same percentage say that learn from influencers on topics such as health, hobbies, news or style. And 45% say that influencers provide them with an escape from reality and everyday problems.

So is it a panacea for communication or a lie? It is neither. We know from experience that implementing influencer marketing is effective. Think of the power of prescription, for example, of gamers. But logically, influencers must be within a broader communication strategy. And of course, be clear about the objective of the campaign and share it with the influencer, previously analyse their community and what they can contribute, etc. 

In short, they are an important part of our clients' communication and their work contributes to our objectives. It is a must in the communication strategy. Thus, we work together and wish you all a happy #InfluencerDay

Silvia Peñalver

Director of Quum PR

El criptomundo ya está aquí
Is the crypto world already here?

Money is an essential element of economic growth. But money cannot be confused with wealth, the great mistake of the mercantilists, who are also incapable of observing that money is nothing more than a medium of exchange.

Want to know more about the world of cryptocurrencies? In an article published in the magazine ForbesCristina Murgas, financial communications manager at Quum, reflects on whether or not they can be a means of preserving financial wealth. It's certainly no longer just a few geeks who have created their own coins. Now the traditional banks, which used to throw stones at cryptocurrencies, want to have them in their own backyard too. Yes, it looks like they are already here.

You can read this article in full at https://forbes.es/forbes-funds/125310/el-criptomundo-ya-esta-aqui

Día Mundial del Ahorro
Fintechs democratise savings

Money for the future when there is not much to make ends meet... it is a problem of the present. The dilemma we face is stark: more than 60% of Spanish households spend more than they earn. As a result, the savings rate is still in the doldrums. According to the latest INE figures, the annual household savings rate stood at 6.5% at the end of June, the lowest figure since the first quarter of 2008.

What is the problem? Once again, World Savings Day has arrived, a date on which we could say mea culpa for not knowing how to save. How can we not die trying if saving ensures a better way of life? Perhaps it is a question of knowing how to prioritise, a lack of financial education in our homes? I asked an expert for some sage advice and he replied "I would tell people that saving is a question of priorities, that the future is coming before we know it". According to Javier Niederleytner, a veteran professor of Stock Exchange and Financial Markets at the IEB, we should save as much as we can, and as our income comes in, we should subtract the part that each of us deems necessary. The question is that we don't do it and it is paradoxical because the economic situation is improving, as is employment.

In savings, new factors also need to be taken into account, such as the influence of digital transformation on the financial ecosystem. Savings is valid in any form, and FinTech opens up new ways to achieve it. Learning from a masterclass by François Derboix, CEO of Indexa Capital, "in savings and investments, the main difference between FinTech companies and traditional financial services is that FinTech has put the customer back at the centre of the business". There is a lot of truth in this because roboadvisors or automated management platforms are offering new savings and investment alternatives to their customers. For example, companies such as Indexa and Finizens have already attracted thousands of customers since their respective launches in 2015 and 2017.

Currently, the market offers an infinite number of savings and investment models adapted to all types of budgets, risk profiles and expected returns. It is feasible to invest in your own home, taking advantage of the low interest rate environment, as well as through crowdfunding, where platforms such as Housers are democratising investment in the real estate market with investment options from 50 euros.

Another alternative savings channel in the FinTech environment is crowdlending or financing of companies, projects or individuals by numerous investors. According to data from the consultancy Finnovating, more than 20 companies are already operating in Spain and it is estimated that this year the total volume will exceed 100 million. With inflation at around 1.5%, investing through crowdlending is a good alternative to traditional banking, whose deposits and interest-bearing accounts barely cover the general increase in prices.

For the more daring, now that it is fashionable to talk about investing in cryptocurrencies, we must not forget that financial education allows us to control risks. Some say that the financial and banking crisis of recent years has highlighted the decline of the current monetary system and that physical money will soon disappear because virtual money is more transparent in its operations and is here to stay. Today there are more than 700 cryptocurrencies and investors in Bitcoin, for example, have witnessed a meteoric rise in its value, with a return of more than 1,000% in 2017 alone.

It is scary to gain so much, but even more scary to lose it all, to save you have to be consistent and prudent. "In the task of investing, it is the investors themselves, with their behavioural biases, who decide to be aware of the behavioural aspects of investing", a lesson I have learned from Ken Hsia, manager of Investec AM. This is economic psychology, investor behaviour and markets. We are not willing to save for our needs, but we are willing to spend more for what we like and are excited about. Let's stop looking at the short term, with a broader spectrum for managing our long term savings.

Daños colaterales de la situación en Catalunya
Collateral damage of the situation in Catalonia in the communication sector
Do you think you are going to read yet another political or economic assessment? Well, no, I can tell you that I don't intend to.

However, I would like to assess how this is affecting communication professionals, dircoms and agency executives. who work in the field of media relations. Because this tribune only intends to reflect on the situation of our work at the moment.

Logically, those of us who are directly affected because our companies are changing their headquarters, have subsidiaries there or our managers have or want to position themselves, we are in a situation where we have to face a new situation. turbulent period, with much public exposure. Although it is not the kind of coverage we would have dreamed of in our 2017 communication plans.

But what about the rest? Competing in terms of information is impossible at a time when news is king. and in which all journalists need to close their reporting in the escalation of events. They have to assess the impact on the economy, on labour issues, on sport, on culture, and on any kind of news field. Thus, communication plans are being postponed because trying to launch a product on the market, to hold an event, or even, almost to send a press release, has become complicated because we see that it will not have the best acceptance and repercussion. It doesn't seem to us to be the best moment. We are just another collateral damage.

But events continue to unfold and Can we stop communicating? Clearly not..

So good luck to all of us who work in the field of media relations. We must continue to work for our companies and our clients.

And then there will be peace of mind...

 

By Silvia Peñalver, Communication and PR Director of Quum Comunicación

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