On April 26th Suma Capital held its 4th Annual Sustainable Investment Meeting in Madrid. Under the title ‘Investment, sustainability, impact: building the future’, one more year we wanted to carry out this event that seeks to bring together leading figures in private equity and leading experts in sustainability to exchange ideas, share knowledge and discuss current and future trends in the sector.

On this occasion, and for the first time in our history, the event took place in Madrid. “This was a pending issue. We had held the three previous meetings in Barcelona, ​​where we were started out as a management company, but it was time to come to Madrid. And fortunately we were able to do it after opening Suma Capital’s first office in Madrid at the end of last year”, said Enrique Tombas, president of the firm.

The meeting had a record participation of close to 300 people and ten top-level speakers, all of them leading experts in sustainability within the business and financial sphere. The first guest speaker was the economist and writer Fernando Trias de Bes, who said that sustainability is no longer a ‘nice to have’, but has become the backbone of the value propositions of companies, so it has become a ‘must be’. “Sustainability is no longer merely an environmental discipline; it is a discipline that is already connected with society, with the market and with the economy. So, the expertise is not ‘I know a lot about sustainability’, it is how do I articulate sustainability within the operating schemes of modern economies and market economies, because, otherwise, it is not going to hold. So, it requires a type of competencies and skills that is not just knowing about the subject. It’s knowing how to channel this into the world.”

Fernando’s interesting presentation was followed by two round tables. The first, entitled ‘Capital for a sustainable future’, was moderated by José Zudaire, CEO of SpainCap, with the participation of Elena Nabal, Director of Investments at Grupo Catalana Occidente, Guillermo Jiménez, CEO of Axis, and Javier Rodríguez, Global Head of Sustainability at BBVA. The second round table, entitled ‘Transforming sustainability into a success factor’, was attended by Fernando Ruiz, CTO and director of Corporate Venturing at Repsol; Teresa Rodon, CEO of Bureau Veritas for Spain and Portugal; and Beatriz Herrera, director of IR and sustainability at Mahou San Miguel. This second session was led by ESG and sustainability expert Mariluz Castilla, who said that “we have to be able to generate investments worth 3 billion per year to limit the temperature to 1 and a half degrees. We are not achieving this, we are below 600,000 million per year so it is important to share reflections, share opportunities, share challenges and propose solutions that will help us to accelerate climate action and achieve the goal of neutrality that we have set ourselves.”

Juan Verde, an international strategist and leader in green economy, was the closing speaker at the 2023 conference. Juan, advisor to several U.S. presidents such as Joe Biden and Barack Obama, recalled that “events like this are spaces for analysis and strategic planning for shareholders, investors, companies and analysts. This is important because we are at a time of great opportunities, but also of great changes. To stop, raise our heads, look at the strategic horizon and understand how the economy is changing is a unique opportunity”.

At Suma Capital we have made a collective commitment to build the world we believe in. A more supportive and sustainable world. In short, a better world.

If you want to see the complete session click here.