Esade Alumni Social, the first giving-back consultancy established in Spain and Europe by a business school, provided 45 projects run by third-sector entities (4 more than the previous year), with over 17,000 hours during the 2022-2023 academic year, up 13% on the previous year: a new record in the 17 years since the project began.
The 45 projects by third-sector entities mentored during the last academic year include Banc del Aliments, Federació Salut Mental Catalunya, Oxfam Intermón Foundation and Médicos del Mundo, and also, internationally, the Awasuka Foundation in Nepal and the Limmat Stiftung in Switzerland. These entities involve different areas (33% social exclusion, 27% health, 11% international cooperation, 9% special work center, 7% disability and 2% environment) and different types of consultancy (35% strategy analysis, 20% communication and marketing, 18% funding proposals and revision, 16% service marketing plan, 7% HR, 2% digital transformation of in-house organizational processes, and 2% impact measurement indicators).
“Besides the success achieved this year, we’ve carried out new ventures including a new project focused on training in diversity and inclusion, together with Moving Stories, a new international giving-back hackathon, and two new projects involving international giving-back consultants (one in Switzerland and the other in Nepal). We aim to offer new opportunities of helping build a better world to as many members of our community as possible, no matter where they live and no matter how much available time they have, so that everyone can contribute and make a positive impact,” said the director of Esade Alumni Social, Isabel Rallo.
Everyday contribution to sustainability
On the other hand, in early 2023, Esade Alumni Social launched Do Good People – Esade Alumni, a participatory, transformative experience for the entire Alumni community using an app to analyze the challenges of improving sustainability and social impact. Thanks to participants’ help, the negative environmental impact was reduced by 818,097 liters, 2,559 kg de CO2 and 23.79 kg of waste, whilst making an impact on 11 Sustainable Development Goals.
With a view to encouraging Esade alumni to actively contribute to building a fairer society and a more sustainable world, in the 17 years since the launch of Esade Alumni Social, Esade associates and alumni have provided more than 137,000 hours of pro bono consultancy for the third sector including 21 international projects to bolster the productive economy in certain developing countries with the ultimate aim of generating wealth that directly benefits the local population. This year, for example, 12 new volunteers have joined and started new projects with this aim in Guatemala, Costa Rica, Mexico, Peru and Colombia.