Companies’ socioeconomic impact is a fundamental factor in a society’s development and wellbeing at many different levels. From creating jobs to contributing to economic growth, innovation, or driving the regions in which they operate, corporations play a crucial role in the society and economy of any community.
In Cellnex’s mission—to make the world smaller through the connectivity of telecommunications – the company explicitly states its desire to improve people’s lives through the universalization of such a basic good as communications.
Internationally recognized by the leading sustainability indexes as one of the most advanced companies in the sector in terms of respect for the environment, human rights, governance, community relations, diversity, and labor standards, Cellnex was one of the pioneering corporations in Europe to adopt high standard beyond strictly financial ones.
Borrowing from the quip by the Greek fabulist Aesop, “Deeds count, not boasting words,” the leading European telecommunication infrastructure manager wants to not just pay lip service to these values, and this is why every year it conducts an exhaustive analysis of the impact of its operations in the countries in which it operates. This is its way of demonstrating its commitment to responsible values and practices that contribute to socioeconomic growth.
At the heart of this approach is an ESG Steering Plan with ambitious environmental, social, and governance goals based on “being a facilitator of social progress,” including social commitments ranging from financing projects for the community to partnering with charitable organizations or educational, social, and cultural programs.
But beyond its commitment to values and programs to support the democratization of communications, Cellnex’s own activity and business vision generate an impact which is quantified every year by an independent outside consultant at the firm’s request and published in its annual report.
In the impact study of its activity in 2022, the consultancy measured the group’s contribution to jobs and direct, indirect, and induced wealth in the 12 countries in which it operates.
The results speak for themselves. In 2022, the company made a socioeconomic contribution to the countries analyzed totaling 7.266 billion euros in terms of GDP. A full 38.9% of this amount (2.826 billion euros) corresponds to its direct impact, while 46.5% (3.382 billion euros) includes the economic impact generated by the company’s spending and investments, and another 14.6% (1.059 billion euros) are categorized under induced impact, which includes consumption resulting from the increasing pay associated with direct and indirect employment.
The impact of the business activity in relation to Europe’s GDP is equivalent to 0.07% of the mean growth of these 12 countries, with a particularly significant impact in countries like France (0.12% of the GDP), Poland (0.14% of the GDP), and Portugal (0.19% of the GDP).
The direct and indirect jobs generated as a consequence of Cellnex’s investments and activities in the countries where it operates accounted for 70,260, 0,05% of total jobs in the countries where it operates.
By measuring its impact, coupled with its social progress approach, and its commitment to human rights, Cellnex proves that business success and a positive contribution to society are not mutually exclusive but instead interdependent and indispensable for a sustainable, prosperous future that requires constant mindfulness of the consequences of our actions.
