Sustainable geniuses: a Q&A with: Natalia Gutiérrez 

Let’s be honest. You don’t have time to go through the 4.77 million hits that come up when you search “How to be sustainable”. No one does. It is, however, a very good question. That’s why we’ve decided to bring the curated answer to you. Like your private collection of insights. Except, you know, public.

Dopper presents: Sustainable geniuses. A series of interviews in which we bombard (willing) CEOs, Managers, product developers, athletes, life cycle analysts, Dopper owners, researchers, and more with questions on sustainability in business and life. So read on for inspiration on how to kickstart a wave of change, in your company, community, or life. (We’ll be reading along.)

Kicking things off is Natalia Gutierrez. Born in Madrid but very much at home in Latin America, too. Experienced in developing sustainability strategies & currently working as the Global Head of Sustainable Impact and Safety at Cabify.

What does sustainability mean to you?

“Sustainability means a way of living and doing business that understands and takes into account the impacts you have by simply existing. It’s about acknowledging and constantly balancing your goals, your future, your present, and your past. Finally, it’s about economics, social development, and environmental development.”

What is your motivation to work / live sustainably?

“My motivation is to leave a world where gender equality and social inclusion are no longer hot topics because everyone feels included and there is no more need to fight for in these terms. Also, I want to reach the point where companies know about their purpose and impact, and make strong and better decisions for their own sustainable development.”

Which book, podcast, or video inspired you to realise a sustainable change?

“Maybe it is not a book focused on sustainability, but ‘21 Lessons for the 21st Century’ by Yuval Noah Harari is one of the best books to help you think about these topics. And any kind of documentary about nature or our world, of course, makes me think about the strong need to conserve our environment.”

What do you consider your biggest success in sustainability?

“Developing not only a business strategy for the company’s biggest areas of impact and how to balance them or increase positive impact, but also developing KPIs to follow up and track the strategic outcomes. For example, last year we kicked off our transparency strategy at Cabify by launching our first sustainability report. And since then we have built a strong path to engage all our stakeholders not only with our projects but also with our concerns and vision of a sustainable future.”

Which processes does your company use to integrate sustainability into the business?

“At Cabify we are building a future for urban mobility where everybody is taken into account and safety, diversity, accessibility, and inclusion are granted. We put sustainability at the centre of what we do, on an environmental, social, and economic level.

In 2019, we conducted our first materiality analysis, which is a study of the issues that have the most impact on us and those that matter most to our stakeholders. With its conclusions, we have drawn up our Global and Local Sustainability Master Plan that will guide us for the next three years. This roadmap translates into five lines of action and specific commitments. To ensure that every step we take is in the right direction, we measure our actions through KPIs and other tools that we share monthly with the top management team.

Each person who is part of Cabify, through their individual contribution or as a team, has an effect on sustainability. In 2019, we created Cabify Way to better define the path to be followed by employees and collaborators when it comes to impacting the environment and our development as a company.

Everyone's efforts, coordinated and focused on clear and measurable objectives, enable us to build a successful yet sustainable company in economic, social, and environmental terms. And most importantly, to fulfil our mission of making cities better places to live.”

Do you use any framework or certification system to measure sustainability progress?

“We continue to work towards the Sustainable Development Goals 2030 and we’re members of the United Nations Global Compact – the largest Corporate Social Responsibility project in the world. Our strategy is aligned with their ambitions in the areas of human rights, labour, the environment, and anti-corruption. Likewise, since 2019 we are signatories of the Carbon Neutral Pledge led by the technological and entrepreneurial community of Silicon Valley and we’re collaborating with the European Union in the formulation of key public policies for the future, within the framework of the European Green Deal.”

In what way do you communicate about your sustainability efforts?

“Communication is a fundamental tool to speak up for different social causes and to promote social inclusion or eco-mobility alternatives. During 2019 we carried out many global campaigns on the occasion of International Women's and Girls' Day, LGBTI+ Pride Day, International Day of Persons with Disabilities, International Environment Day, and Earth Day. Furthermore, since transparency is a part of our strategy, we publish our Sustainability report once a year and communicate all our sustainability projects to our stakeholders. We approach each audience according to the channels they use and through social networks and different communication channels.”

Who is helping Cabify achieve its sustainability goals and why these people?

“As I mentioned, we have a cross-cutting vision of sustainability. We conceive it as something that encompasses our entire vision and business structure and therefore requires the effort and involvement of everyone: team and collaborators. So we work together as a team:

• Sustainable Impact and Security leads the vision of sustainability and sets the priorities.
• Pride & Talent (Human Resources) develop and hire employees to be agents of change.
• Operations and User Experience ensure that our vehicle fleet meets defined quality and emissions requirements and that drivers have the necessary support.
• The product department works to ensure that our app reflects the positive impact we want to have.
• Growth strengthens the economic sustainability of drivers so that, as members of a family and social group, their needs are covered.

About Cabify

“Founded in 2011 in Madrid, Cabify connects private and business users with the forms of transport that best suit their needs. With the aim of making cities better places to live, we’ve created a sustainable business model guided by ethical principles to help us act responsibly.

More than simply ‘mobility as a service’ (MaaS), we seek to offer a future full of new possibilities for the 90+ cities in which we operate, respecting both the environment and the people that live there. Today we have more than 1,000 direct employees and we create self-employment opportunities for hundreds of thousands of driver-partners, supporting local talent in all our markets.”

Dopper x sustainability

As a B Corp and a social enterprise working according to Cradle to Cradle principles, we too are constantly wondering how to improve, what we can learn and who we can learn it from. And when we’re not creating riveting interviews full of remarkable insights, we busy ourselves with saving our oceans from single-use plastic.

For example, by creating the Dopper Wave. A whale of a movement in which companies and individuals alike join forces to wash away the plastic trash. To turn the tide on plastic pollution. With simple everyday actions. Join the wave at dopper.com.