The Spanish Railway Industry Association has held the third of the sectoral forums of 2022, which aim to serve as key mechanisms for sectoral dynamisation and which are emerging as a meeting place between the organisations that make up the value chain of the railway sector. on this occasion it has been focused on “finance and sustainable investments”.
The General Director of Mafex, Pedro Fortea, has carried out during the morning of 5th April the opening of the third of the Forums that the Association will launch this year. On this occasion, the Forum has been focused on sustainability and specifically on “Sustainable Finance and Investments”. Fortea has pointed out that “Everyone is aware of the fact that the railway is the most sustainable mode of collective transport, but, as an industry, we must not only pay attention to environmental and pollution reduction criteria when we refer to sustainability, but also to social and governance aspects. Our clients incorporate more and more sustainability criteria into their strategies and their relationship with their suppliers. We must therefore address sustainability as a key competitiveness factor for the future where the Spanish railway industry must be properly positioned to increase its competitiveness and attractiveness. Sustainable finance certainly presents an opportunity and a key factor to consider.” During the session, Ana Puente Pérez, S.G. of Securities and Financial Instruments Market Legislation from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, and Alex Saz-Carranza, Head of Public Sector Financing, from the European Investment Bank (EIB) had the opportunity to learn about sustainable financing in a context of consolidated global growth and where, in addition, Spain holds the top positions in terms of issuance of green bonds and linked to sustainability, among others.
In addition, Andrea González G. Vega, Deputy Director General of Spainsif – Sustainable and Responsible Investment, and Rafael Matos Martinón, Director of Sustainability and Impact of Cofides explained the advances in financial regulation and taxonomy or how the inclusion of sustainability criteria and governance in financial decision-making is key to the transition to a carbon neutral economy.
To end the session, the round table on “Finance and sustainable investment in the railway sector” by Manuel Fresno Castro, General Director of Finance and Management Control of Adif, Rebeca Estévez, Financial Director of Metrotenerife and Inés Ferguson, Director of Business Development of Typsa explained what challenges and opportunities sustainable financing presents when being addressed it from within a company, how it is carried out, its positive impact and the importance of having a portfolio of railway projects aligned with sustainable finance, from the point of view of engineering businesses. This is in addition to highlighting “the importance of preparing projects well, following standardised metrics and creating an ecosystem of reliable and comparable data, to generate trust and attract investment to the sector” in the words of the latter.
This interest and commitment of the railway industry has been reflected in the participation of more than 35 companies in the sector, in addition to the presence of entities such as the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation.
