A letter from our Chairman

An Unsustainable Debate

A dangerous combination of pessimism, economic crisis and depleted financial resources is casting doubts—from both a theoretical and practical point of view—on the very fundamentals of our society.

On the one hand, there is a desire to redefine capitalism, the laws of the market are being challenged and calls are being made for increased state interventionism, which is presented as something “acceptable” or even “desirable”, depending on who is putting forward the proposal. This exercise is as coherent as it is necessary, and it will help to set the doctrinal/ideological pendulum at the halfway point between Neo-liberalism and Keynesianism.

But a more worrying trend is also taking shape, one which attempts to sway us into establishing an agenda of priorities in which environmental, social and energy issues take a back seat. I’m thinking of those short-term theories that claim that “the only important issue right now is to get over this crisis” or that assure us that “this is no time to be worrying about sustainability.”

When you stop to think that this crisis has been caused precisely because of the unsustainable nature of the current model, it comes as something of a contradiction to challenge the need to make structural changes in the model’s three main pillars—energy, social and environmental—in order to solve the crisis. Quite apart from being a necessity, an obligation and a right, reviewing this model is one of the ways—in my view, the only way—to sort out the current situation.

The worst attitude to adopt would be to let ourselves be lulled by the soothing effects of cheap oil, in much the same way as we did during the crisis in 1973. I’m convinced that if we were to go down that particular road, then the next crisis that we’d have to face would be of unprecedented proportions, with unforeseeable consequences for society as a whole—and at that stage there might not even be a solution at all. And I’m afraid to say that this is something that will befall us in a not-too-distant future.

There are those who believe—and I don’t think that they’re entirely wide of the mark—that the current crisis is just a small taste of things to come if we don’t take steps right now to prevent it. Others go even further and claim that the current situation is a “warning” and part of a “small extension” on time that is rapidly running out. The idea stems from the view that the current social and economic model, at the rate of growth of demand at which we were moving up until a few months ago, was unsustainable, even over the short term. It is also based on the view that the Western world’s frenetic consumption, along with that of the emerging nations, cannot go on rising insatiably and that any possible solution slips further and further away with each passing day.

From this point of view, it would be reasonable to say that this crisis is forcing society the world over to completely rethink its growth model and its patterns of consumption; this would lead necessarily to a slowdown in the constant rise in carbon emissions and would reduce the deterioration of the environment, two basic features of the situation prior to the crisis. I think we would do well to view the current difficult situation as a kind of warning. We should see in it a call to carry out structural changes so that when we eventually get back on the growth path, it will be in a less frenzied way and more solidly based on social progress—particularly where education is concerned, because it is the only thing capable of attenuating the demographic explosion that is expected over the coming decades—and with a far more responsible attitude toward the environment. If we can achieve this, despite the severity of the required adjustments, we will be able to rest content in the knowledge that all our efforts will have been worthwhile.

But, unfortunately, the possibility exists, albeit a remote one, that we will prefer immediacy to transcendence and that we will be unable to take advantage of the additional time and the favorable predisposition toward change that this situation implies. There is every chance that we will give in to our worst instincts and that we will refuse to give up our long-standing privileges, that we will be incapable of putting aside our ideological differences and that during this “extra time” we will continue to squander precious time on sterile dogmatic arguments.

I sincerely hope that our political leaders will make the very most of this opportunity. But we must not forget that change is something that depends on all of us. It’s a shared responsibility and that whatever our walk of life, we can all make a very valuable contribution to bringing about this change.
 
That’s why now, more than ever, it’s important that we remain true to our principles, and we must conduct business, politics or whatever it is that we do in life in a responsible way, displaying solidarity at all times and always taking the long-term view.

For many years now, at ACCIONA we have been betting firmly on sustainability as a fundamental part of each and every one of our actions and activities. It wasn’t a change that took place overnight. We made constant efforts to rearrange and systematize the thinking and the everyday way of doing things of a company that was created at the turn of the 20th century. By doing things this way, we were merely nurturing a heritage of vocation of development and innovation, displayed time and time again by our predecessors in the face of adversity. Nowadays, as much as or perhaps even more than ever, this will to succeed marks our way forward.

Consequently, at ACCIONA we have based our expectations of future growth on our being a central part of the solution to some of the most complex problems and challenges that society is facing today: the creation of infrastructure, the energy model and access to water.

Infrastructure, in the broadest sense of the term, makes up the backbone of progress in any society and has a direct influence on economic development, on a society’s essential structure and on the distribution of wealth. Whether it is linked directly to productive activities, such as transport and trade; basic supplies such as energy, water or telecommunications; or social welfare, such as education or public health, infrastructure provides the indisputable base for a nation’s economic planning.

Energy, for its part, is the force that moves industrial productio, stands as the symbol of social welfare and is constantly called upon for greater capacity and availability. This growing demand cannot be satisfied without previously making immediate structural changes not only in the supply sources, but in productive processes and in our own awareness, as a society, of the limits of the natural world. The transition toward a new energy model will define the success or failure of our attempts to “shift” the world and to enjoy comforts.

Last but not least, water is essential to life and to economic advancement. Supplying good quality water and in the right quantities is one of the major challenges that we face. For the less developed nations, water has always been, and will continue to be, a very serious problem. But now, when the developed world is waking up to the sheer scale of the problem because it has it on its own doorstep, water has become a priority all over the globe.

Our ability to rise to these three great global challenges is our only guarantee of economic growth, social advancement and environmental balance. And that is why, at ACCIONA, we have placed our bet firmly on sustainable development.

Today, more than ever, sustainability must stand at the top of the list of priorities of every company and every government. More so for those who have the greatest power to make decisions. Because in these troubled times, in which we have witnessed the fall of previously unchallenged principles and concepts, the moment has come to rethink the world, to make it different, better. More sustainable.

—José Manuel Entrecanales
ACCIONA´s Chairman