The President of the Government of Catalonia, Pere Aragonès i Garcia, accompanied by the Minister for Business and Labour, Roger Torrent i Ramió, led the awards ceremony to mark Business Awareness Day 2024, which paid tribute to the company Grup Saltó. During his speech, the head of the Executive emphasised that “the Catalan economy works”, and assured those present that one of the key factors behind this is “the momentum of our productive fabric”. “The momentum from our country’s entrepreneurs and businesses, from our country’s businesswomen and businessmen, of all of you,” said the president.

These awards were part of the events to mark National Business Awareness Day on 27 June, which aims to highlight the work done by businesses that contribute shared value (economic, social and environmental), linked to aspects such as talent management, responsible consumption and local sourcing, among others.

The President emphasised that the finalists and the winning company are an example of “the values that explain why the Catalan economy works”. Aragonès recalled that these values are driven by aspects such as “sustainability, inclusion, the desire for greater social justice, service to people, and a commitment to research and innovation”.

The President stressed that Catalonia is “a strong driver of the European economy”. “We are growing more quickly than the Spanish average, and five times more than the European average,” explained Aragonès. However, he went on to warn those present that “we are not yet capable of transforming all this value that the economy brings to our society into prosperity and equal opportunities.”

The head of the Executive explained that “the Catalonia of 8 million people cannot be funded with a funding model for Catalonia of 6 million.” “We need to move towards the Catalan agreement,”argued the President. “The future of our economy, and with it the prosperity of our country, is at stake,”he said.