On Thursday, March 12, more than 50 executives and industry experts gathered in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria for the conference “Sustainability in Action: Real Impact on Business Models in the Canary Islands,” organized by APD Canarias in collaboration with Auren. The event focused on the strategic integration of ESG criteria within organizations.

The session was opened by Ángeles Díaz Peralta, Partner at Auren Auditing, and Francisco Javier Torres del Castillo, Director of APD Canarias, who highlighted the increasing relevance of sustainability in corporate decision-making and in shaping business models.
The programme featured three panel discussions addressing key perspectives on the implementation of ESG criteria in the Canary Islands’ business landscape.

The first panel, moderated by Juan Francisco Campo, Partner at Auren Legal, examined the evolution of sustainability in family-owned businesses across the archipelago. María del Mar Araña Hormiga (Grupo Capisa) and Dhiraj Chhabria (Fund Grube) emphasized that the long-term vision and strong local ties characteristic of these organizations facilitate the incorporation of sustainable practices into their strategic frameworks.

The second panel, moderated by Rodrigo Gómez Sánchez, Partner at Auren Consulting, together with Ángeles Díaz Peralta, focused on ESG data governance and the importance of robust and reliable reporting systems. The discussion included contributions from Carlos Yánez (Grupo Félix Santiago Melián) and Juan Luis Santana Perera (Terminales Canarios, S.L.).

The event concluded with a third panel moderated by Amaya Aragón Valor, Partner at Auren Corporate, which addressed sustainability as a key driver of long-term value creation. Participants included Iñaki Muñoz Jiménez (CaixaBank Canary Islands), Javier Onieva (Nexxus Capital), and Isabel Schmunkamp Caride (SATOCAN).

The conference brought together over 50 senior professionals from across the business community, reinforcing its role as a platform for dialogue on the strategic importance of sustainability within the Canary Islands’ economic ecosystem.
The organizers expressed their appreciation to all speakers and attendees, as well as to APD Canarias for its collaboration, underscoring the importance of continuing to foster forums that support the effective integration of sustainability into corporate strategy