- 150 volunteers from Endesa and the Cruz Roja virtually participated in the closing day of the fifth edition of the programme.
- With this programme, which has the collaboration of ECODES, households could get a saving of 16% per year on their energy bill.
A total of 2,397 families at risk of social exclusion and with problems associated with energy poverty have benefited from the 2020-21 Energy Volunteering programme launched by Endesa and the Endesa Foundation in collaboration with the Red Cross and the Ecology and Development Foundation (ECODES).
The Energy Volunteering programme, which has been running since 2015, has completed its fifth edition with the participation of more than 150 volunteers from Endesa and the Red Cross who, maintaining strict security measures derived from the pandemic, have launched what has probably been the most necessary and supportive edition of those carried out.
To this end, different lines of action have been carried out: on the one hand, around 2,400 families have been advised on energy bills, energy efficiency and social bonuses to optimise their energy bills. This has been done both through personalised advice and more than 200 online workshops on consumption, energy efficiency and social bonus.
In addition, around 1,700 customised energy efficiency kits have been delivered that, depending on the casuistry of each family, include edging and insulation for glass, reflectors for radiators, strips to prevent the devices from remaining on pause spending energy, low consumption bulbs, etc.
Finally, special action has been taken in those homes where significant deficiencies in their well-being or safety have been detected. As such, more than 120 household appliances have been acquired for families (refrigerators, ceramic hobs, boilers, radiators, washing machines, etc.) and 62 renovations have been undertaken in homes with installations that have electrical risk affecting the safety of people.
As part of this volunteer project, ECODES has provided volunteers with the online tool ENERSOC, to be able to give energy advice. This foundation has also made an impact report of the actions carried out that concludes that, as a result of the initiative, households could have a saving of 16% per year in their energy bill, with respect to the expenditure they made. In addition, with the application of energy efficiency measures, an emission reduction equivalent to planting 600 trees has been achieved.
Meanwhile, knowledge about the social bonus has increased: from 39% of families who knew about this aid at the beginning of the project to 71% once completed, and the feeling of comfort in the homes has increased above the average.
The project has been rated 4.7 out of 5 by the beneficiary families.
Since this initiative began in 2015, nearly 3,300 families corresponding to about 10,000 people have benefited from the different actions undertaken within the framework of the project.
This energy volunteering action is one of Endesa's lines of work in its commitment to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 7 on "Access to energy", which frames the fight against energy poverty, in collaboration with strategic partners such as the Red Cross and Ecodes. Under the Creation of Shared Value (CSV) model, Endesa promotes the premise of "leaving no one behind" in those communities where it operates.
Endesa Foundation, in its commitment to the reduction of social inequalities and the fight against climate change, collaborates with its founding entity in this initiative through training vulnerable families in the optimisation of their electricity bills. This is possible thanks to the volunteers participating in this program, promoted through the new Corporate Volunteering area, which offers the company's employees the possibility of participating in initiatives focused on improving the lives of others and the environment.
The Red Cross also supports families suffering from energy poverty through two types of actions: social inclusion, and those that are in favour of sustainability and the environment, meeting the most urgent needs throughout the territory, having doubled the number of families helped in the first half of this year compared to the same period of the previous year, and gifting energy efficiency kits.
About Endesa
Endesa is the largest electricity company in Spain and the second largest in Portugal. The company is also the second largest gas operator in the Spanish market. Endesa operates an end-to-end business from generation to marketing and through Endesa X also offers value-added services aimed at the decarbonisation of energy uses in homes, companies, industries and public administrations. Endesa is firmly committed to the United Nations SDGs and therefore strongly supports the development of renewable energies through Enel Green Power España, the electrification of the economy and Corporate Social Responsibility. The Endesa Foundation is also active in CSR. We have a workforce of 9,600 employees. Endesa is a division of Enel, the largest electricity group in Europe.