Ferrer joins forces with leading companies to help tackle Barcelona’s challenges
Early school leaving remains one of Barcelona's major social and economic challenges for the future. Its effects go beyond the education system: they shape young people's development opportunities, social cohesion and the city's ability to generate the talent its business community needs.
This is the first major challenge the Board 2030, a community of organizations committed to transforming the city, has set out to address, presented today at the Fundació Conservatori del Liceu. Driven by B Lab Spain, EADA Business School and Ferrer, under the umbrella of Barcelona+B, this alliance brings together business leaders and strategic players from Barcelona to drive solutions to shared challenges such as inequality, employability, housing and sustainability.
The launch event for this business community was attended by Barcelona's mayor, Jaume Collboni, who noted: “We need initiatives like the Board 2030 to build the city we want, a city where no one is left behind. This project sends young people a fundamental message: dare to dream, persevere, and don't let anyone limit your future. That's why the involvement of the business sector, through alliances like Barcelona+B, is essential to working together toward a shared goal: a better society.”
In line with the vision and international standards of the B Corp movement, the Board 2030 promotes collaboration and collective action to generate a tangible, measurable impact on the city.
In the words of Mario Rovirosa, CEO of Ferrer: “Business leadership makes sense when it is placed at the service of major social challenges. The Board 2030 was created to turn that leadership into collective action, aligning companies, administrations and social organizations around a common goal: to build a fairer, more inclusive, sustainable Barcelona and establish it as an international benchmark in impact economy.”
The companies and organizations that are part of the Board 2030 include: B Lab Spain, CBRE, Consorci Zona Franca, Cushman & Wakefield, Deloitte, EADA, Ferrer, Fundació Ship2B, Hospital Clínic de Barcelona, ImpactCO, Medichem, Moritz, Nactiva, Quadpack, R4S, Reig Jofré, TRAM, Uriach and Volkswagen Group España Distribución, among others.
A real impact on a systemic problem
The first collective action driven by the Board 2030 seeks to reduce the risk of poverty and exclusion in the city of Barcelona and increase local talent development opportunities, addressing one of the root causes of these challenges: early school leaving. As highlighted during the event, hosted by journalist Ramón Pellicer, school dropout does not begin only when a student physically leaves the classroom, but when they stop seeing possibilities for their own future.
To address this issue, the Board 2030 has partnered with Fundació Exit, an organization with more than 25 years of experience working to reduce early school leaving among vulnerable young people. During the 2025-2026 school year, the initiative supported 272 young people in Barcelona and its metropolitan area's Training and Integration Programs (PFI), with the aim of preventing them from dropping out of their education.
Professionals from the companies that make up the Board 2030 supported these young people throughout the school year with the aim of helping them continue their studies, offering guidance, explaining what the job market looks like, and telling them about their companies and departments. Without specific intervention, 40.7% of these young people do not continue studying; however, in the current school year, thanks to the program's support, 89% of participating students said they want to keep pursuing their education.
As Nacho Sequeira, general director of Fundació Exit, pointed out, “we too often talk about school dropout after it has already happened. Our experience shows that when young people find role models, get an up-close look at the professional world and feel that someone believes in them, their expectations for the future rise significantly.” He added: “Educational dropout is a multi-causal problem that can only be solved through collaboration between the education, business and social sectors.”
In addition, 98% of volunteer professionals recommend the experience, reinforcing the role of business as an effective agent of social change. This school year, the initiative mobilized a joint investment of more than €510,000 and the talent of 303 corporate volunteers, who acted as role models and mentors for the students.
Companies' commitment to local talent
During the event, which featured testimonials from young people and teachers, it was emphasized that school dropout is not just a problem for the education system, but a shared responsibility. In this context, the role of business and its capacity to contribute to community wellbeing was highlighted, with the understanding that supporting the educational development of Barcelona's youth also means fostering their future opportunities and generating professional talent for the city's economic fabric.
Pilar Varela, director of Institutional Relations at Hospital Clínic de Barcelona and a Board 2030 member, stated: “The Board 2030 is a top-level executive space that turns strategic reflection into real commitment and collective action, seeking concrete engagement with shared challenges. It activates the role of businesses as agents of transformation, connecting their business dimension with social impact and showing that it is possible to tackle complex challenges in a coordinated way.”
Beyond school dropout, the Board 2030 is being formally established with the intention of driving new collective actions in areas such as employability, housing, sustainability and reducing inequality, reinforcing the role of the business sector as an engaged actor in Barcelona's social and economic development.