Commitment to sustainability

The major health and well-being challenges facing society reinforce Mutua Universal’s commitment to corporate social responsibility and sustainability. They also drive us to continue working responsibly in each of our activities as a mutual insurance company collaborating with Social Security.

Therefore, within the framework of our CSR and Sustainability Plan, the company continues to advance towards sustainable transformation and strengthens environmental, social, ethical, and good corporate governance (ESG) aspects in its day-to-day management, without compromising future generations.

At Mutua Universal, we are committed to caring for our surroundings and the environment: we work more sustainably and are aware of the consequences our decisions have on the planet.

In 2023, the company continued to implement, by consensus, actions to improve its environmental commitment, thus advancing transversally in fulfilling common corporate environmental objectives.

Mutua Universal promotes efficient and responsible resource management, thus minimising its impact on the planet.

Mutua Universal has an environmental management system certified by the ISO 14001 standard, implemented in all the company’s work centres, which ensures the systematisation of the environmental aspects generated in each of the activities carried out in the organisation, as well as promoting environmental protection.

In 2023, Mutua Universal joined the ecitySevilla project, a pioneering public-private collaboration initiative in Spain that proposes the development of a model city on Cartuja Island (Seville) in an open, digital, decarbonised, and sustainable ecosystem by 2025. The aim is to create a pioneering smart city on an international scale, making such a large urban space one hundred percent energy self-sufficient and emission-free.

Strategic environmental awareness is key to creating awareness. For this reason, Mutua Universal continuously conducts internal awareness and responsible consumption campaigns in collaboration with various departments of the company.

Mutua Universal is inherently committed to the well-being of people and organisations by caring for their health. This responsibility is carried out both internally (our own staff) and externally (our protected and member population). In 2023, the organisation continued to implement actions by consensus to improve its social commitment, thus advancing transversally in fulfilling common corporate objectives.

During 2023, Mutua Universal continued to work on a Diversity Plan that frames all the diversity management actions carried out by the company into a single strategy. The aim is to be more inclusive and to improve and generate value in all areas of action.

At Mutua Universal, we are aware that a work-related accident or occupational illness can lead to changes in family dynamics and the emergence of social and psychosocial needs. For this reason, we provide patients and families with a Health Social Work service which, in collaboration with other professionals in the care teams, attends to any needs that may arise or worsen after the accident.

The main objective of the Social Work service is to offer injured people and their families humane, comprehensive, and quality care.

Mutua Universal’s Socio-occupational reintegration programme addresses the occupational and social integration needs of people who have suffered a work-related accident or occupational illness, as well as their families.

During 2023, 55 workers with injuries resulting in total permanent incapacity for their usual profession were included in the programme.

38.18%

61.82%

The Special Benefits Committee is a participatory body composed of worker representatives, appointed by trade union confederations, and representatives of associated employers and the self-employed. Its objective is to manage Mutua Universal’s Social Assistance Reserve, studying and addressing situations of special need that may arise after a work-related accident or occupational illness. All of this is achieved through specific actions geared towards improving the protection of workers and/or their beneficiaries.

Mutua Universal has renewed the Social Responsibility Seal of Aragon in the large company category for the eighth consecutive year, awarded by the Government of Aragon through the Aragonese Development Institute.

This renewal means that the company remains a member of the Aragon Social Responsibility Plan, a programme promoted by the Aragonese Government, and is committed to voluntarily applying policies aimed at implementing improvement processes and good business management practices in any dimension of corporate social responsibility and sustainability.

Mutua Universal and the ONCE Foundation formalised the signing of the Inserta Agreement in 2023 to foster the hiring of people with disabilities, in addition to other actions and measures.

Adherence to the Inserta Agreement reflects the organisation’s commitment to diversity and inclusion, aiming to advance sustainability and foster a more egalitarian and tolerant society.

In 2023, Mutua Universal publicly presented the seventh edition of the Observatory of Working Women. This annual study, in collaboration with the Fundación Personas y Empresas, analyses the activity and presence of women in the workplace, covering aspects such as employment, incapacity to work, working from home, work-life balance, and the wage gap, among others.

At Mutua Universal, we believe that diversity is a social reality, enriching our organisation, society, and the people we interact with.

This commitment is embodied in the commemoration of the 1st Mutua Universal Diversity Week, part of the third edition of the European Diversity Month. This internal corporate social responsibility initiative aims to raise awareness of the five areas of diversity the company focuses on: gender, age, cultural, disability, and LGBT+ diversity.

For Mutua Universal, sustainability is not only a commitment to the well-being and health of people, but also to good governance, transparency, and ethics, strengthening participation and dialogue with our stakeholders.

To achieve its strategic objectives based on strict regulatory compliance, Mutua Universal has maintained an internal risk management system since 2012. This system enables the identification, evaluation, management, and control of the main risks the organisation faces by automating risk assessments and internal control activities.

To preserve the confidentiality of information and ensure its availability and integrity, Mutua Universal has a Data Protection Officer (DPO) and a Data Protection Committee, which continuously supervise the proper application of current regulations in this area.

Reporting directly to the Audit and Compliance Committee, Mutua Universal’s Internal Audit performs an objective and independent assurance function within the entity’s functional organisation. This ensures the complete independence of the function, which offers an objective assessment of Mutua Universal’s internal control and risk management system, identifying weaknesses and fostering improvements.

Mutua Universal has obtained AENOR’s Criminal Compliance certification, in accordance with the UNE 19601 Standard, aimed at reducing the exposure of organisations to criminal risk and promoting a culture of crime prevention.

The UNE 19601 on Criminal Compliance is the national standard for best practices in management systems for crime prevention, the reduction of criminal risks in organisations, and the promotion of an ethical business culture.

Mutua Universal has a Crime Prevention Policy through which it communicates to all its staff, individuals, companies, and organisations it interacts with, a strong opposition to any unlawful criminal acts or any conduct that may go against ethics and the values that underpin them. It also expresses a firm commitment to combat and prevent such unlawful acts within the company.

To this end, the entity has a Code of Conduct, a Conflict of Interest Protocol, and a Crime Prevention Manual, which were revised and updated in 2023 with regulatory and voluntary modifications.

To continue advancing in Mutua Universal’s commitment to sustainability and integrate the management of corporate social responsibility into the organisation’s Integrated Management System, Mutua Universal has updated its Integrated Policy.

The new Integrated Policy on Quality, Health and Safety at Work, the Environment, and Corporate Social Responsibility includes the basic principles to be considered in all of Mutua Universal’s business management activities and decisions.

Mutua Universal has implemented and internally and externally audited in 2023 a social responsibility system based on the international standard IQNet SR10. This certification ensures the transversal management of social responsibility in all the company’s processes and work centres, reducing risks and increasing the satisfaction, expectations, and trust of our protected group, staff, and other stakeholders.

IQNet SR10, the first international standard for a social responsibility management system, was developed by IQNet, the world’s largest certification network, whose Spanish member is AENOR.

Mutua Universal behaves responsibly and takes care of people, companies, and the environment. In doing so, it actively contributes to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The company carries out specific actions to disseminate the SDGs among both internal and external stakeholders. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a set of 17 goals, approved by the United Nations, which governments, the private sector, and civil society are urged to meet in order to eradicate poverty, ensure prosperity, and protect the planet. The following pages detail the initiatives undertaken by Mutua Universal that contribute to achieving the various SDGs.

25 September marked eight years since the United Nations approved the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. This is a key moment, as it marks the halfway point in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda. Mutua Universal produced an internal awareness-raising publication.