- Tandem Social coordinates the Business Forum for Social Transformation, an initiative promoted by Aigües de Barcelona that creates a space for cross-sector reflection and collaboration, enabling companies to address today’s social challenges and integrate social impact into the core of their strategies.
- For the first time, the Forum brings together professionals from corporate foundations and leaders in social action and philanthropy to share experiences, build partnerships, and promote a more systemic perspective on the role of businesses in social transformation.
Businesses cannot remain indifferent to social challenges, yet they often do not know where to start or who to collaborate with. This is the premise behind the Business Forum for Social Transformation, an initiative promoted by Aigües de Barcelona and coordinated and co-designed by Tandem Social, a strategic consulting cooperative. The inaugural event took place at the Hub Social in Barcelona, bringing together professionals from corporate foundations, social action leaders, and other stakeholders in corporate philanthropy.
The Forum aims to become a permanent space for reflection, dialogue, and action, where companies can share experiences, build partnerships, and adopt a more systemic perspective on their social role. Its starting point is a context marked by persistent poverty, rising living costs, and the weakening of the welfare state, which calls for greater involvement from the business sector beyond traditional charitable approaches.
A Paradigm Shift: From Traditional Models to Systemic Transformation
The event sought to mark a turning point in how businesses address today’s social challenges. In a context of persistent poverty, rising living costs, and a weakening welfare state, organizations have evolved from traditional charitable approaches toward social impact strategies integrated into their value propositions.
During the institutional welcome, Felipe Campos, CEO of Aigües de Barcelona and Director of Sustainability and Social Action at Veolia Spain, emphasized that “the Forum was created with the aim of bringing together capabilities, sharing knowledge, and building partnerships that will allow us to move beyond social action toward transformation models with real and sustainable impact.”
Josep Maria Coll, Professor of Strategy, Sustainability, and Innovation at EADA Business School, opened the event with an inspiring presentation entitled “New Business Leadership for a Transformative Purpose.” He advocated for the need to move toward a new leadership model capable of integrating purpose and positive impact into business decision-making and corporate strategy.
Trust, Dialogue with the Third Sector, and Moving from Words to Action
The event continued with a roundtable discussion entitled “Perspectives on Social Transformation,” featuring Jordi Gusi, founding partner of Tandem Social; Felipe Campos; Sira Abenoza, Professor in the Department of Society, Politics, and Sustainability at ESADE, researcher at the Institute for Social Innovation, and Director of the Vicens Vives Program; and Mària Vallés, an executive specializing in foundations and nonprofit organizations, with experience in humanitarian projects, development, and sustainability.
Participants reflected on the factors driving the evolution of the role of businesses in addressing social challenges, the value the business sector can contribute, and the key elements needed to promote this change within organizations.
Representing Tandem Social, Jordi Gusi pointed out that, historically, the third sector and businesses have focused on transparency and accountability. However, a new key element has emerged: how to build trust, both among organizations and between the third sector and businesses, in an environment filled with noise and competing messages. “We must be able to unlock the potential of organizations to achieve real transformation,” he stated.
Different Models, One Shared Purpose
The second part of the event showcased different experiences that already integrate social impact into business activities. Under the title “Different Models, One Shared Purpose: Social Impact Through Strategy,” four initiatives demonstrated, from different perspectives, how social transformation can be incorporated into responses to operational business challenges, the development of products and services, or social intervention models themselves:
- Fundación Mahou San Miguel presented how working through networks enables the foundation to promote training, employment, and labor market inclusion for thousands of people in vulnerable situations.
- Aigües de Barcelona demonstrated how social action can be integrated into corporate strategy through its ONA and Llars a Punt programs, directly connecting these initiatives with the company’s operations and impact strategy.
- Fundación Ricardo Fisas Natura Bissé presented its Oncology Aesthetics Program, a multidisciplinary ecosystem providing specialized dermatological care for cancer patients, combining health and aesthetics in a pioneering field.
- El Llindar focused on building strategic partnerships between businesses and social organizations through co-creation and integration into the value chain.
A Permanent Space for Partnerships Between Businesses and the Third Sector
With this inaugural event, the Business Forum for Social Transformation, promoted by Aigües de Barcelona and coordinated by Tandem Social, begins its activities with the aim of supporting and accelerating the evolution of the business sector. The Forum seeks to promote an approach in which a commitment to social transformation becomes an integral part of how companies understand and conduct their business activities.v
