Group 5 - La Fageda Report
Group 5 - La Fageda Report
Group 5 - La Fageda Report
BUSINESS
MINDSET
LA
FAGEDA
Table
of
Contents
INTRODUCTION
.............................................................................................................................
3
BUSINESS
MINDSET
........................................................................................................................
3
Philosophy
.............................................................................................................................
4
Motivation
............................................................................................................................
5
Business
approach
................................................................................................................
5
Actions
..................................................................................................................................
5
Business
mindset
matrix
.......................................................................................................
7
IMPLICATIONS
...............................................................................................................................
8
Underperformance
trap
........................................................................................................
8
RECOMMENDATIONS
.....................................................................................................................
9
REFERENCES
...............................................................................................................................
10
APPENDIX
..................................................................................................................................
11
Appendix
1
Key
figures
la
Fageda
2010
..........................................................................
11
Appendix
2
Business
Mindset
Comparison
.......................................................................
12
Appendix
3
Interview
transcript
(english
translation)
......................................................
13
Introduction
La
Fageda
is
a
cooperative
with
a
social
initiative.
It
was
founded
by
Cristobal
Coln
in
1982
with
the
aim
of
integrating
people
with
intellectual
disabilities
from
La
Garrotxa
region
(Girona,
Catalonia,
Spain)
back
into
society.1
La
Fagedas
mission
is
to
provide
labor
and
social
integration
for
mentally
disabled
people
while
creating
a
long-term
sustainable
business.
It
currently
employs
276
workers,
of
which
160
suffer
some
form
of
mental
illness
or
severe
mental
disorder.2
The
business
activities
of
the
cooperative
are
predominantly
agricultural
and
are
organized
under
the
administrative
framework
of
a
special
Special
Work
Centre
under
Spanish
law.
La
Fagedas
business
operations
are
dairy
production,
cattle
care
activities,
gardening
services,
a
nursery
and
a
craft
workshop.
Specific
to
its
dairy
production
La
Fageda
produces
18
flavors
of
yogurt
and
several
different
kinds
of
ice
cream
and
puddings.
In
2009
the
cooperative
totaled
9.8
million
Euros
in
revenues,
which,
in
2010
grew
to
10.75
million
Euros
(see
Appendix
1
for
Company
Statistics).3
La
Fageda
reinvests
all
its
earnings
to
provide
worker
assistance
and
improve
the
companys
facilities.
The
following
graphic
summarizes
La
Fagedas
business
model.
La Fageda not only provides the mentally disabled people employment opportunities but more with a purpose. The cooperative implements a policy of creating job openings for all applicants that suffer from mental illness in the region; for that reason La Garrotxa has an unemployment rate of 0% among people with mental illness.4 La Fageda has become an emblematic company in La Garrotxa, with a high reputation in Catalonia. The companys brand dignifies and enriches the primary sector of Catalonia and each month, La Fageda sells 3 million multi-flavored yoghurts, made from only natural ingredients. The cooperative distributes its products within the Catalonia region, and until recently has expanded its distribution to Andorra and Menorca.
Business
mindset
In
order
to
identify
the
business
mindset
of
La
Fageda,
we
analyzed
the
companys
main
features
within
the
four
categories
Philosophy,
Motivation,
Business
Approach
and
Actions
to
help
determine
La
Fagedas
position
in
the
business
mindset
matrix.
1 2 3 4
La FagedaSustainabilityReport 2010: Memria de Sostenibilitat 2010, p.2-3. Albert Riera (Communications Director), personal communication, November 7, 2011. La FagedaSustainabilityReport 2010: Memria de Sostenibilitat 2010, p.7. La FagedaSustainabilityReport 2010: Memria de Sostenibilitat 2010, p.7.
Business in Society: Business Mindset La Fageda Philosophy The cooperatives primary goal is to create social value and its business activities are understood as a means to achieve this value. One of the main reasons for La Fagedas success is the cooperatives founder, Cristobal Coln. Coln was elected Social Entrepreneur of the year 2005 Spain, by Schwab foundation5. After working in mental hospitals for more than a decade, Coln founded La Fageda in order to improve his patients conditions by applying work therapy in a business context. Coln himself describes the business as a mere means end and states: We believe we dont just make yoghurts here; we are here to help a group of people to live a better life.6 He has also stated that if the business does not become sustainable he would simply try something else to help the mentally ill in the region. As such, the cooperative focuses on the well-being of its key group of stakeholders: the mentally disabled community from La Garrotxa; and works to provide them with professional treatment and daily monitoring according to their specific needs. The following organizational values are the pillars from which La Fageda builds its welfare approach policy7: The person as the axis. This value defines the organizational culture; it focuses on the person on the first level. This is the first value of La Fageda, thus it is the final aim of the project: making the life of the people working there better. Integrity. It sets the relation to the remaining shared values, the consistency and compliance with them. If we are not complete, we cannot build confidence in people or even in the project.8 Trust. Every person involved in the project is taken into account and accepted as they are; everyone has different capabilities and working with mentally disabled people can represent a challenge, but trust is essential in a project like this. Responsibility. With regard to social responsibility, the project assumes that the function carried out in society is more than the generation of capital assets, as it is responding to the needs of people who are not able to work properly; the project responds to those needs in a responsible way creating job opportunities and a work environment of the highest quality. Effort. To make a project like La Fageda succeed, there are several challenges that need to be overcome and the only way to do this is with effort. Effort is an attitude that goes hand by hand with growth, and the growth of the company is only possible thanks to the effort of the people who work here.9 Illusion. When an organization is able to generate enthusiasm among its members, it motivates them. This can be defined as the mental effort to do things just because the work force enjoys doing these things. This illusion stems from the confidence of the people involved in the project. If people have faith in the project they will be motivated to perform their functions as good as they can.
5 6
Social Entrepreneur Profiles, Retrieved from www.schwabfound.org, November 25 2011 Arenas, D., Lamolla, L., &Vernis, A (May 2009). Social Enterprise Knowledge Network: La Fageda Case, p.9. Purchased from Harvard Business School.
th
7 8 9
La FagedaSustainabilityReport 2010: Memria de Sostenibilitat 2010, p.10. La FagedaSustainabilityReport 2010: Memria de Sostenibilitat 2010, p.15. La FagedaSustainabilityReport 2010: Memria de Sostenibilitat 2010, p.18.
Business
in
Society:
Business
Mindset
La
Fageda
Motivation
As
mentioned,
the
motivation
to
found
La
Fageda
is
purely
social.
The
cooperative
was
created
to
solve
a
specific
social
problem,
the
social
and
work
integration
of
disable
and
mentally
ill
people
from
La
Garrotxa.
Its
primary
purpose,
therefore,
has
always
been
to
improve
the
quality
of
life
of
its
employees
and
this
is
implied
in
all
the
initiatives
La
Fageda
undertakes.
Business
approach
As
La
Fageda
is
driven
by
Cristobal
Colns
humanistic
values,
the
social
responsibility
undertaken
by
La
Fageda
is
part
of
its
understanding
of
doing
business.
Coherently
with
its
motivation
of
integrating
the
local
community,
it
has
a
zero
discrimination
policy,
for
which
it
is
committed
to
provide
employment
to
all
the
mentally
handicapped
people
from
La
Garrotxa
holding
a
valid
certification
document
that
allows
them
to
work.10
The
organization
does
not
cap
employment,
therefore,
the
number
of
potential
employees
and,
in
fact,
the
unemployment
rate
amongst
handicapped
and
mentally
ill
people
is
zero
percent
in
this
region.11
Consequently
it
can
be
stated
that
the
social
goal
is
ranked
above
all
business
matters.
Actions
When
La
Fageda
was
founded,
the
Spanish
government
viewed
it
as
unfeasible
to
run
a
business
with
mentally
handicapped
people
as
employees.
La
Fagedas
business
model
is
the
core
of
its
innovation
and
is
considered
radically
innovative
at
the
time.
The
company
provides
mentally
disabled
people
with
jobs
and
makes
them
a
productive
segment
of
society
when
society
fears
and/or
suspects
them
of
not
being
competent
and
able.
This
is
an
example
of
how
La
Fageda
has
used
second-order
innovation
to
focus
on
the
root
of
the
social
problem.
The
company
provides
employment
opportunities
for
these
people
and
helps
them
become
proactive
members
of
the
community.
Instead
of
following
a
triple
bottom
line
approach,
the
company
focuses
more
on
its
social
and
environmental
performance
than
on
its
economic
return.
For
example,
this
is
demonstrated
by
the
fact
that
they
reinvest
all
their
annual
profits
in
the
company
to
keep
improving
the
social
services
they
offer
to
their
employees
and
maintaining
its
100%
environmentally
sustainability.
This
is
also
reflected
in
the
business
model
which
is
composed
of
two
parts:
economic
and
social
and
environment
services.
10
Arenas, D., Lamolla, L., &Vernis, A (May 2009). Social Enterprise Knowledge Network: La Fageda Case, p.9. Purchased from Harvard Business School.
11
The profits generated by operations are reinvested into the company allowing it to offer social and environmental services. The primary operations of the company include dairy production, landscaping services, nursery, and cattle care facilities.12 These operations allow the company to provide social services and environmental services. Social and Environmental services La Fagedas social services mainly revolve around providing professional and personal development for the employees. The company employs three psychologists, five social workers, social educators, and monitors.13 These employees support the mentally disabled employees through assisting them individually and offering therapeutic prescriptions. A key feature of this is the job rotation policy at La Fageda. If employees are overwhelmed or desire to switch jobs, their preferences are of high priority and action is taken in transferring them to other jobs.14 Also, monitors provide assistance in work and supervision. Monitors are knowledgeable in dairy farming and have leadership and conflict resolution skills.15 They play a primary role in supervising employees and helping them with the assigned tasks. Furthermore, rehabilitation, recreational and therapeutic activities are always available to employees. La Fageda also provides complimentary social services through its private foundation called Fundacin Privada de ServiciosAsistenciales de La Garrotxa.16 La Fageda is located in a natural reserve, La Fageda den Jord, in the middle of the Parc Natural de la Zona Volcnica de la Garrotxa.17This means they have to abide by restrictions on its activities and take certain precautions to preserve the environment. The company complies with the ISO 14001 environment quality standard.18 It practices energy and water conservation, waste reduction and treatment, and recycling activities. La Fageda reaches out to the community by providing cleaning and maintenance services of public green areas with its landscape services and reforestation plants grown in its nursery.19 These projects are highly regarded to in La Garrotxa region.
12 13
La Fageda. 2010. Retrieved from www.fageda.com, 8 November 2011. Arenas, D., Lamolla, L., &Vernis, A (May 2009). Social Enterprise Knowledge Network: La Fageda Case, p.8-9. Purchased from Harvard Business School.
14 15
Albert Riera (Communications Director), personal communication, November 7, 2011. Arenas, D., Lamolla, L., &Vernis, A (May 2009). Social Enterprise Knowledge Network: La Fageda Case, p.9-10. Purchased from Harvard Business School.
16 17
La Fageda Sustainability Report 2010. Memria de Sostenibilitat 2010, p.15. Arenas, D., Lamolla, L., &Vernis, A (May 2009). Social Enterprise Knowledge Network: La Fageda Case, p.11. Purchased from Harvard Business School.
18 19
La Fageda. 2010. Retrieved from www.fageda.com, 8 November 2011. La Fageda. 2010. Retrieved from www.fageda.com, 8 November 2011.
Business
in
Society:
Business
Mindset
La
Fageda
Business
mindset
matrix
Taking
into
account
all
above
considerations,
La
Fageda
can
be
identified
with
the
Idealist
mindset,
as
it
is
driven
by
humanistic
values
and
its
value
creation
is
focused
on
just
one
dimension,
the
social
bottom-line.
Therefore,
as
we
can
see
in
the
image
below,
La
Fageda
is
placed
in
the
upper-left
part
of
the
graph,
the
idealist,
representing
an
altruistic
mindset
and
a
We
do
business
for
society
approach.
Figure
2:
B usiness
Mindset
As can be seen from the graphic it is difficult to compare La Fageda with other companies from the food and beverage industry described in the Business in Society course, as their positioning in the matrix and size of their business is very different from La Fagedas.
The
business
mindset
matrix
also
shows
the
positioning
of
other
companies
from
the
food
and
beverage
industry
that
were
described
in
the
course.
It
is
worth
mentioning
that
most
of
these
companies
have
undergone
a
shift
in
business
mindset
in
the
past.
Today
many
companies
from
the
food
and
beverage
industry
incorporate
multi
dimensional
goals
and
values,
something
that
can
especially
seen
in
companies
such
as
McDonalds
and
PepsiCo,
companies
that
have
been
stereotypical
American
for
profit
corporations
in
the
past.
Naturally,
as
most
companies
were
initially
founded
on
a
for
profit
basis,
contrary
to
La
Fageda,
these
companies
mainly
focused
on
financial
performance
in
their
actions
and
where
of
the
economist
type.
It
appears
however,
that
a
shift
in
business
mindset
has
been
taking
place
in
the
whole
industry
and
social
and
environmental
values
are
today
an
important
part
of
companies
in
the
food
business.
Most
relevant
for
La
Fageda
is
the
positioning
of
Nestl
in
the
matrix,
as
the
two
companies
directly
compete
for
market
share
in
the
Diary
super
premium
market
in
Catalonia.20
While
Nestl
is
positioned
as
a
strategist
that
has
a
financial
goal,
La
Fageda
is
able
to
produce
a
superior
product,
even
to
large
multinational
companies
because
its
different
focus.
La
Fageda
produces
superior
quality
dairy
products
in
terms
of
taste/flavor,
texture,
and
acidity.
It
controls
the
whole
production
process
from
raw
material
usage
to
manufacturing
and
uses
milk
from
its
cows
and
runs
microbiological
tests
on
the
milk
for
quality
control
purposes.
This
is
what
La
Fageda
calls
a
real
yogurt
farm.
To
further
provide
a
clear
summary
that
compares
La
Fageda
with
the
idealist
type
of
business
mindsets,
Appendix
2
describes
the
main
features
of
the
idealist
mindset
and
how
they
are
applied
in
La
Fageda.
The
comparison
is
mainly
based
on
the
self-understanding
of
La
Fageda,
as
provided
in
the
personal
interview
we
undertook
with
Albert
Riera,
Communications
Director,
and
in
the
most
recent
corporate
documents21.
20 21
Extracted from Brand Management Lecture: Retail Branding, Professor Oriol Iglesias, 10th November 2011. Appendix 3 Interview transcript (English translation)
Implications
The
following
discusses
the
implication
that
the
business
model
and
mind-set
of
La
Fageda
has
for
its
operations
and
long
term
sustainability.
Underperformance
trap
As
it
is
common
for
organizations
located
in
the
idealist
part
of
the
business
mindset
matrix
to
suffer
the
risk
of
running
into
an
underperformance
trap,
La
Fageda
does
so
too.
The
combination
of
the
following
three
aspects
creates
a
risk
to
fall
into
this
trap.
Scope
of
business:
The
Companys
focus
is
limited
to
La
Garrotxa
region
in
Spain.
The
position
of
the
cooperative
in
the
natural
reserve
poses
a
barrier,
as
the
possibility
to
expand
operations
is
naturally
limited
to
the
area.
Further,
the
size
of
the
operations
is
unclear
as
there
could
be
a
natural
limit
to
the
ability
to
employ
mentally
ill
in
a
larger
scale
business.
Thus
far
La
Fageda
has
been
able
to
employ
all
mentally
ill
that
applied
to
work
for
the
business,
but
in
terms
of
organization
unforeseen
challenges
may
occur
beyond
a
certain
size
of
the
operations.
One-dimensional
goal:
La
Fageda
reinvests
100%
of
its
profits
back
into
the
business.
In
the
long
term,
the
purely
social
focus
causes
it
to
miss
out
on
generating
revenues
that
can
be
reinvested
to
improve
care
services
and
increasing
added
social
value.
By
applying
all
earnings
to
improving
the
social
cause
the
cooperative
might
fall
short
on
business
oriented
investment
that
allows
La
Fageda
to
further
improve
and
expand
business
and
therefore,
long
term
sustainability
of
operations.
Financial
dependence:
Although
the
2010
income
statement
reported
more
than
800,000
Euros
in
earnings
this
number
has
to
be
interpreted
carefully.
In
the
financial
statements
La
Fageda
currently
reports
about
1.4
Million
Euros
in
subsidies
and
donations.
Although
these
two
numbers
might
suggest
that
the
cooperative
is
currently
not
sustainable
with
negative
earnings
of
600,000
Euros
the
situation
is
not
that
simple.
Being
a
Special
Work
Center
under
Spanish
law
entitles
La
Fageda
to
receive
certain
advantages
such
as
a
very
low
tax
rate
and
further
subsidies.
Therefore
it
would
be
inaccurate
if
these
subsidies
and
donations
were
simply
deducted
from
current
earnings
to
try
and
determine
the
sustainability
of
the
cooperative.
That
being
said,
the
company
receives
certain
government
support
but
also
private
sponsorship.
La
Fageda
is
probably
financially
sustainable
because
of
its
special
status,
but
it
is
vulnerable
to
economic
conditions
because
of
private
contributions
from
local
entities
such
as
La
Caixa.22
This
vulnerability
can
also
be
seen
in
the
statement
made
by
the
communications
director
during
our
personal
interview.
Because
of
current
economic
conditions
La
Fageda
is
not
sure
whether
it
will
be
able
to
uphold
its
policy
to
employ
all
mentally
ill
applying
to
La
Fageda
in
2011.
To
conclude,
La
Fageda
has
a
special
business
status
that
provides
the
cooperative
with
advantages
that
allow
it
to
be
financially
sustainable.
At
the
same
time
it
is
still
vulnerable
to
external
factors
that
determine
the
amount
of
private
contributions
that
it
can
attract
from
sponsors.
22
Recommendations
Given
the
structure
of
the
business
La
Fageda
has
been
able
to
create
a
sustainable
business
that
is
successful
in
addressing
a
social
problem
in
La
Garrotxa
region.
The
analysis
showed
that
the
mind- set
of
La
Fageda
is
highly
innovative
in
terms
of
business
model
and
that
many
of
the
multinational
food
companies
are
now
shifting
their
business
mind-set
towards
a
more
integrated
approach
that
also
incorporates
some
of
La
Fagedas
ideologies.
Being
a
pure
idealist
type
organization
however
poses
the
threat
of
financial
dependence
on
external
sources.
Also,
the
initiative
and
vision
from
the
founder
Cristobal
Colon
plays
an
important
role
in
the
success
of
the
organization.
For
La
Fageda
it
will
be
important
to
become
independent
and
therefore
sustainable
in
the
long-term,
as
the
current
economic
situation
in
Spain
already
poses
a
threat
to
the
business
model.
Financial
independence
In
order
to
become
less
vulnerable
to
external
conditions
La
Fageda
should
try
to
position
itself
in
a
larger
network
of
companies
and
organizations
in
its
industry.
By
creating
a
strong
network,
based
on
long
term
partnerships
it
will
create
a
situation
where
other
companies
and
organizations
are
dependent
on
it
as
they
are
an
essential
part
of
each
others
business.
In
that
sense
La
Fageda
becomes
less
dependent
on
donations
and
contributions
from
others
as
the
support
it
receives
would
shift
towards
non-financial
services
rather
than
mere
financial
aid.
The
goal
for
La
Fageda
should
be
to
create
a
mutually
beneficial
relationship
with
other
businesses
in
order
to
decrease
financial
dependence
on
currently
one-sided
donations
from
others.
Management
independence
La
Fageda
has
been
founded
by
Cristobal
Coln,
a
visionary
social
entrepreneur
who,
to
this
day
commits
100%
of
his
time
and
energy
to
the
business.
Much
of
the
past
success
of
the
business
model
can
be
attributed
to
his
person
and
it
appears
that
La
Fageda,
to
an
extent,
is
dependent
on
Cristobal
Coln.
In
order
to
become
really
sustainable
in
the
long
term
it
will
need
people
with
a
similar
vision
and
motivation
and
it
is
important
to
look
for
these
people
early
on.
In
order
for
the
business
model
to
be
fully
independent
it
will
be
important
for
La
Fageda
to
find
ways
that
allow
the
cooperative
to
become
less
vulnerable
to
the
current
management
of
the
organization.
References
Albert
Riera
(Communications
Director),
personal
communication,
November
7,
2011.
Arenas,
D.,
Lamolla,
L.,
&Vernis,
A
(May
2009).
Social
Enterprise
Knowledge
Network:
La
Fageda
Case.
Purchased
from
Harvard
Business
School.
La
Fageda.
2010.
Retrieved
from
www.fageda.com,
8
November
2011.
La
Fageda
Sustainability
Report
2010.
(Memria
de
Sostenibilitat
2010).
La
Fageda
Financial
Report,
2010
Profile
of
Colon
Cristobal:
Schwab
Foundation
for
Social
Entrepreneurs.
Retrieved
from
http://www.schwabfound.org/sf/SocialEntrepreneurs/Profiles/index.htm?sname=168495&sorganiz ation=0&sarea=0&ssector=0&stype=0,
9
November
2011.
10
Appendix
Appendix
1
Key
figures
la
Fageda
2010
Main
magnitudes
(31.12.2010)
Total
number
of
assisted
people
and
workers
People
with
certificate
of
disability
People
who
receive
residential
services
Unemployment
of
mentally-handicapped
people
in
La
Garrotxa
Annual
Turnover
in
Euros
Evolution
regarding
the
previous
exercise
Annual
units
(yoghurts)
produced
Number
of
Friesian
Cows
Investment
in
euros
Job
positions
created
in
2010
People
employed
in
other
companies
of
the
region
Source:
Sustainability
Report
(Memria
de
Sostanibilitat
2010)
11
Business
in
Society:
Business
Mindset
La
Fageda
Appendix
2
Business
Mindset
Comparison
Philosophy
Idealist
mindset
La
Fagedas
implications
We
believe
we
dont
just
make
yoghurts
here;
we
are
here
to
help
a
group
of
people
to
live
a
better
life.
- Main purpose: to create social value - Enterprise is embedded in society, organization for society
-Drivers:
social
agenda
and
humanistic
values
-
To
help
solve
social
problems,
responsibility
as
an
end
in
itself
Business
approach
-Social
cause
-
CSR
part
of
DNA
-
Guiding
question:
How
to
help
stakeholders
in
need?
Motivation
To provide the best care solution for adults with mental illnesses and mental disabilities from the region of La Garrotxa, based on the therapeutic aspects of work. We will grow enough to guarantee the projects survival. To accomplish that goal, we are working in many future projects but we are atypical businessmen, as our business operations serve a higher purpose: to enhance the living conditions for the mentally-challenged people who work in this project. La Fageda has undertaken a business project with the goal of offering a paid job to these people in order to give them the constitutional right of having a decent working position. We take care of our people, because human capital is our most significant asset. And the people who work here feel there is no greed in our organization.
Action
-Social,
environmental
or
humanitarian
bottom-line
-
Proactive
CSR
approach
-
CSR
driven
by
social
purpose
12
Business in Society: Business Mindset La Fageda Appendix 3 Interview transcript (English translation) Interview to Albert Riera, LA FAGEDA Communication Director 7th November 2011 Do you have a Corporate Social Responsibility annual report?
No, we have the Sustainability Annual Report, which includes the social, economic and environmental aspects of the company. We currently have the 2009 report available in Spanish and Catalan, but we have not finished the 2010 report. Is La Fageda a non-profit cooperative? Yes, it is a social business. It is a company based on people and a set of values that has to work in a specific area in collaboration with the local agents at the social, economic and even political levels. Furthermore, it works with the so-called allies, strong companies which provide us with things that we cannot afford. These companies collaborate with us because they find the project interesting and we receive market research reports, technology for the factory or marketing reports. Do these companies act as donors? No, because we understand donors as passive agents that just contribute with money. Our allies, on the contrary, are involved in the project and take advantage of it, sometimes through their foundations. With the increasing CSR development, a lot of companies have a foundation nowadays. This is like the social part of the business, where social actions are undertaken and sometimes they find that La Fageda is in line with their actions and they decide to collaborate with us. They contribute money, or hours of a senior or junior consultant, studies, knowledge, etc. Do these companies have activities at a national level or just in Catalonia? We collaborate with different kinds of companies. There are some big companies such as Accenture, Kantar, financial institutionsThis is our way of working. We are a non-profit organization, but this does not mean that we are not interested in making profits, because otherwise the business would not be economical sustainable. All our profits however are reinvested in the organization. There are no shareholders because it is a cooperative. The owners of the company are the working partners, who contribute with their work and own the company, but they are not investors. There is no capital, so capital is not the most important asset, but the employees. Which are the main financial resources? They are basically: profit reinvestment, donations and leverage, because we also ask banks and other official credit institutions for lines of credit. 13
Business in Society: Business Mindset La Fageda And do you also receive subsidies from the Spanish government?
Yes, we receive subsidies, as we are a Special Working Centre, which is a type of company protected by the law. Since more than the 70% of the total employees are disabled people, the Government gives us 12,000 euros for every new job position and it pays half of the basic interprofessional salary, which are 300 euros per month for every worker with a disability certificate. It also helps us hire a psychologist per 100 employees. Comparing us with other companies, we have a more developed social activity, as we have 3 psychologists, 4 or 5 social workers, social educators and monitors. They support all the production activity at a human level. Do disabled employees have their work tasks and also daily assistencial services? Yes, the assistencial services are included in their daily work. We do not provide a medical treatment because we are not part of the health network, but we work in collaboration with the public health care services. We undertake a tailored monitoring linked to the work they do and we provide them with accommodation in case they do not have family. Are there just three psychologists for all the employees? Yes, but there are also social workers. We have 10 pure assistencial professionals in the production area, plus the ones who are in the houses. There is more assistencial part than in any other company, even in the factory. There are two or three assistencial monitors that are taking care of the employees, monitoring the work shifts to ensure everything is in order and that employees are not stressed. Are people from other regions joining La Fageda or is it restricted to La Garrotxa inhabitants? Legally, we can just hire people from the area of La Garrotxa, which is a region with 50,000 inhabitants. This is because the social services in Catalonia are divided by regions, every region has its services and we act as part of these social services of La Garrotxa. However, we hire all the people from La Garrotxa who hold a valid disability certificate, there is no waiting list. The problem is that now, with the current crisis, the Government is telling us that it will not pay more to the new position, so without the governments help; we may not be able to hire new people. But this is how we have been acting so far. La Fageda is made up of a cooperative and two foundations, could you explain us the role of each one of them? Yes, this a bit complicated. The cooperative, La Fageda, was created in 1982. With the development of the houses and the purely assistencial activities that were not related to the work framework, a 14
Business in Society: Business Mindset La Fageda new foundation was created, to be in charge of all the assistencial part and separate it from the production area. Five or six years ago, we decided to create another foundation to concentrate the general services of La Fageda. This allowed us to organize the company better and allocate part of the cooperatives patrimony in the foundation as we started to earn a lot of money. As the foundation has a state guardianship, there is not private appropriation. And this is how the Sentit foundation was created, to be in charge of patrimonial issues and to manage the central services. The employees who are not working in the factory but in the central services are hired by this foundation. Its name, Sentit, sense in English, is due to the fact that Cristbal, La Fagedas founder, is always talking about the sense of the work; he always says that the sense of the work is a work with sense. What is the maximum age to work in La Fageda? There is no age limit, because we also have services for retired people, which is like a social club. If they are still autonomous and they do not have a family, it would cruel to stop provide them with services, so they come, help us and there are some activities for them. Is La Fageda a signatory of any principles or initiatives such as Global Compact, UNPRI, etc? No, we are not signatory of any of these initiatives. We comply with the ISO 9001-2008quality standard and the ISO 14001, environment quality standard, and we are subscribed to the European Charter for Sustainable Tourism (ECST). Which are the environmental measures La Fageda undertakes? We have implemented several measures: from the energy conservation, waste reduction to recycling activities. Further, the company reaches out to the community by providing cleaning and maintenance services of public green areas with its landscape services and reforestation plants grown in its nursery. We are located in a natural reserve, so the environment preservation is a must for us. Which would be La Fagedas performance indicators? Social responsibility isnt supervening; it is original, in the environment and in the social. How where you granted with the space La Fageda is located now? The company was born at the same time when the protected space was being created; during the Franquism the area was not protected. Just when La Fageda was created the natural parks where being created as well and then it is when it was regulated, urbanity plans where made where the rural areas and urbanity areas where defined. We make a special plan, an urbanity plan where we talk with the government agencies and we tell them that we have a project where we explain the uses the farm will have in the next 10 years, where we will invest, where we will have the production operations, services, etc. and the government approves the project, because the project puts in order the spaces. Which are the growth indicators? 15
Business in Society: Business Mindset La Fageda Turnover, investment, job positions created, unemployment rate. As for the environment, we report on specific actions that have been done and the yearly investment we make for this area. We also have a different kind of reporting that are social networks, where we have a community of 4000 fans in Facebook, 2000 followers in twitter and 5000 bulletin subscribers. Depending on each person level of disease, do they perform different tasks? Yes, depending on the diagnosis we determine the activity and the time that the patient will be able to work. It is possible that at the beginning they only work for 2 hours, or that one week they work in the garden and the other one in the production line, they shift job tasks. We have workers with mental diseases and mentally disabled. Mentally disabled people are those who were born like that and people with mental disease means people who contracted the disease like esquizofrenia, psychosis or other disorders. If things go fine, have you thought of expanding? Hire more people? No because our objective was to cover la Garrotxa region and it is already covered. We provide with work to the people in the region. We are not trying to compete with Danone; we offer a different kind of product for a different market segment. Every year do you invest a certain amount to the environment? Every year we invest different quantities, we do not have a standardized amount. How does La Fageda Innovate? We make social innovation, we do not advertise, we do word of mouth, we receive 45,000 visits per year. We are researching a new packaging based on lactic acid. Which are the key stakeholders? The families of the patients are very important to us; the employees come in the first place, the users of the installations that are not employed in La Fageda, the clients (supermarkets), the consumers and the public and private associations. Thank you very much for the interview.
16