• The Fundación Valenciaport is a pioneer and benchmark in the European maritime ecosystem in initiatives and projects to promote the strategic integration of sustainability and social responsibility.
• The agreement between the Foundation and the Master in CSR of the UPV contemplates collaboration in actions linked to the university curriculum, as well as the promotion of new joint innovative initiatives.

València, 15 July 2024. – The Fundación Valenciaport ratifies and strengthens its alliance with the Master in Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability of the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV) with its incorporation to the Business Council. Since its constitution, Fundación Valenciaport has worked together with the companies and other agents that make up the port community to promote the real and effective integration of sustainability and social responsibility strategies. This work in alliance has led the Valencian port cluster to tackle pioneering projects and benchmark projects for other sites.

The Fundación Valenciaport has maintained close collaboration with the UPV CSR Master’s Degree since its launch. According to Pilar Blaya, Director of CSR and Human Capital at the Fundación Valenciaport, “the UPV was a pioneer in Valencia in promoting specialised and postgraduate training in social responsibility. We have witnessed its evolution and the growth of great professionals formed from this training. In these years, we have taken on several interns and it is encouraging to see how they are seeing that there is another way of approaching the company’s strategy to promote sustainability.

“The composition of the Master’s Council aims to continue adapting its content to the business reality. I believe that this is the basis for any training to be effective and useful for the preparation of future professionals and those responsible for sustainability, ESG aspects and/or social responsibility,” adds Blaya.

The agreement between Fundación Valenciaport and the Master in CSR of the UPV is valid for four years, during which they will collaborate both in actions related to the training plan, as well as in other initiatives and joint projects aimed at disseminating and promoting sustainability in the university and business environment of the Valencian Community.

“Sustainable mobility and transport are part of the great challenges to achieve the global objectives of decarbonisation and minimisation of impacts on the environment. Valenciaport’s experience, its commitment and its capacity to generate alliances and synergies, positions Valencia as an example of good practices that are an object of learning and inspiration for many students and sustainability professionals. For years, we have been working with Pilar Blaya in our training programmes and, with the strengthening of this alliance, we will open other lines of joint work”, emphasises Gabriel García Martínez, director of the Master’s in Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability at the UPV.

Training, consultancy and projects in alliance

One of the objectives of the Fundación Valenciaport is to “support companies and organisations that share the need to be involved in their environment beyond the norm and want to acquire a greater commitment, defining policies, plans and actions that directly benefit their area of influence and provide a differential value in the social, labour and environmental fields”. This work is carried out through advice, guidance, training, collaboration, the exchange of experiences and the extension of their knowledge.

From the point of view of social responsibility, the most emblematic initiative is Aportem-Puerto Solidario Valencia. The association, which brings together a representative group of companies and organisations linked to the port cluster, develops shared and collaborative actions for the benefit of the most vulnerable groups in the Port of Valencia.
The Foundation is also a pioneer in initiatives aimed at the environmental sustainability of the sector. Among the most recent initiatives, it is one of the partners in the European project ‘GreenMED. Green Shipping Pathways Towards a Clean Energy Transition in the Mediterranean’, led by the National Technical University of Athens. Within the framework of this project, the ‘Observatory of Sustainable Maritime Transport in the Mediterranean’ will be developed, which will serve as a basis for the elaboration of decarbonisation plans for the sector.

A pioneering study plan in Spain

The Master of Lifelong Learning in Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability (60 ECTS, 600 hours) is a degree of the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV). It has a long history: it is currently in its seventeenth edition, with students from all over the world, thanks to its online format. In addition, it has reached twelve editions in Colombia and five in the Dominican Republic, in collaboration with universities in these countries. The Master’s syllabus is complemented by a Specialisation Diploma in Social Responsibility and Sustainability (30 ECTS, 300 hours) and an Expert Diploma (15 ECTS, 150 hours).
The director of the Master, Gabriel García Martínez, and the academic coordinator, Guadalupe Orea, are professors of the Department of Economics and Social Sciences of the UPV. The teaching staff is made up of national and international professionals, who work both in the university and in the business world.

The Master’s Business Council includes organisations such as Consum, Fundación Étnor, Caixa Popular, Teika, Grupo Ribera, Cáritas València, Acteco Productos y Servicios, Sodexo, SanLucar, Grupo Huevos Guillén, Grupo Cajamar, Ángela Impact Economy, Statkraft, EQA, Novaterra Grupo, Fundación de Estudios Bursátiles y Financieros (FEBF), Volies, Asociación Empresarial de Residencias y Servicios a Personas Dependientes de CV (Aerte) and Asociación Española de Gestores de Administración Pública (AEGAP). It is open to other members.