Real CSR starts with sustained commercial growth

MAPFRE’s chairman and CEO, Antonio Huertas, in his recent opinion piece published in Insurance Day, outlined his interpretation of what corporate social responsibility (CSR) really means: a company’s mere existence ensures a direct contribution to the economic development of the country in which it is present, and this contribution is further amplified as a result of the impact of the multiplier effect.

The most effective CSR therefore relates to facilitating companies large and small in maintaining satisfactory commercial growth rates.

The social contribution of the vast majority of companies in the SCR field starts with three core elements: tax payments and social security contributions, which allows for continuous outlay in public services; employees’ salaries, which allows them to take of their families, and the preliminary costs incurred in the creation and the commercialization of products and services that ensures the survival of provider networks and millions of related jobs.

In this regard, MAPFRE spent over 22 billion euros in 2017 on these three elements – a significant amount of money in any terms – but when the multiplier effect of this outlay is factored in, this 22 billion swells to over 125 billion euros. This is a clear illustration of how a global company operating in diverse geographic markets in a service-intensive sector that collaborates with tens of thousands of providers, can make a real contribution to sustained economic progress in society.

Antonio Huertas finishes his article making reference to the unwavering commitment of Fundación MAPFRE and the work that it does in order to improve people’s quality of life, especially those who are most in need, which last year carried out more than 300 programs in education, health, road safety and culture in more than thirty countries. Over the last decade, Fundación MAPFRE has invested 500 million euros in its program activities, bringing tangible benefit to more than 100 million people.