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GRANTS: Five young people and five companies will receive funds to implement the best initiatives resulting from their participation in the program
ACCIONA Energía and the City Council of Almendralejo have signed a collaboration agreement that marks the launch of 'Colabora Almendralejo', a social impact management initiative related to the Extremadura I, II and III photovoltaic plants in Almendralejo, Spain.
‘Colabora Almendralejo’ seeks to connect 25 young talents and 10 companies to work together and promote sustainability and employability in the municipality. The program will be implemented with the support of the company AlmaNatura and it is aimed at young unemployed people from Almendralejo aged between 18 and 35 and companies based in the municipality or with a direct impact on it. Registrations are open until 19 December and the main activities of the program will take place between January and March 2023.
The young people participating in 'Colabora Almendralejo' will receive free training sessions in various areas such as sustainability, innovation, and identification of socio-environmental challenges. The companies will take part in coaching sessions to identify their main areas for improvement and sustainability challenges. With the knowledge acquired, the young participants and the companies will work together in a series of co-creation workshops to develop solutions that promote the companies’ sustainability and help them overcome the challenges identified. The five best solutions that emerge from this collaboration will receive financial support consisting of 1,600 euros for each of the five selected companies and 700 euros for each of the five young people in charge of assisting in their implementation.
"The 'Colabora Almendralejo' program follows a social impact study that allowed us to gain in-depth knowledge of the socio-economic reality of the area and it is the result of an open and extensive dialogue with all the stakeholders identified in the area," said Mikel Ortiz de Latierro, ACCIONA Energía's Director of Environment, Social, Health and Safety, and Quality. "One of the main action lines identified on the social realm was unemployment, especially among people aged 25 to 44. Thus, we have focused on developing young talent and generating spaces for advice and co-creation of solutions with local companies that stimulate job creation and the economy".
The City Council of Almendralejo remarked its firm commitment to boost training and entrepreneurship from the different municipal spaces. "This type of projects are fundamental for the improvement of employability, sustainability and social welfare. The promotion of capacity building around key topics is essential to start up a new business project, and thus, it is very important to accompany and encourage people who have an idea and contribute to consolidating our entrepreneurial system and character", added José Mª Ramírez, Mayor of Almendralejo.
Juan José Manzano, co-founder and head of institutional relations at AlmaNatura, added that "'Colabora Almendralejo' seeks to promote the development of talent, boost employment and strengthen a network of agents for a positive change that design sustainable and resilient solutions to local challenges. These are three essential factors to improve the well-being of people and the environment, strengthen the populations roots in the territory and fight against depopulation".
EXTREMADURA I, II Y III
The 'Colabora Almendralejo' program is part of the Social Impact Management (SIM) plan for the Extremadura I, II and III photovoltaic project that ACCIONA Energía is building in Almendralejo. With a capacity of 125 MWp, the complex will generate around 257 GWh of clean electricity per year. The amount of energy generated is equivalent to the consumption of around 65,000 homes and will avoid the emission of more than 112,000 tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere each year.
In addition to Extremadura I, II and III, ACCIONA Energía owns and operates other renewable facilities in the Autonomous Community of Extremadura, such as the Miajadas biomass plant (15MW) and the Sierra Brava photovoltaic floating plant (1.125MW), and it will build the Logrosan biomass plant (50MW).