Sponsorship and Patronage

The Sponsorship and Patronage initiatives cover one-off contributions by both Inditex and the Group’s different subsidiaries and brands to non-profit organisations with the aim of helping improve community life locally.

These initiatives are coordinated by the Sponsorship and Patronage Committee, which is made up of the Secretary General and Secretary of the Board, the Director General of Communication and Institutional Relations and the Director of Corporate Social Responsibility.

In 2012, in this modality, the Group invested €8,844,753 both financially and in kind, benefiting 305 non-profit organisations working in the areas of influence of the Group’s different companies.

In this sense, most of the projects approved by this committee are initiatives based in Spain and, in some cases, Galicia, reflecting Inditex’s links to the territory where its headquarters are based.

Safe to Sea

Among the most important initiatives in 2012, mention should be made of the Safe to Sea (S2S) project. This is a device with GPS technology capable of alerting and geolocating sailors who fall overboard, developed after six years’ research by the Scio IT company, in conjunction with the universities of A Coruña and Vigo. Inditex helps by covering 20% of the cost of the device. The goal is to fit the system in 4,000 boats belonging to more than 60 fishermen’s associations throughout Galicia, through a gradually applied programme.

Training and innovation

In the context of training, in 2012, Inditex provided support to various training activities, which the Group considers an essential driving force for growth. These include support for different universities, with which it has maintained stable links for some time. This is the case of the Universities of A Coruña, Santiago de Compostela and Vigo. Also worth mentioning are the agreements with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the Carolina Foundation. In the field of innovation and scientific and technological research, Inditex has worked with the National Central Cardiovascular Research Foundation (PRO-CNIC), the CYD Foundation and the Prince of Girona Foundation.

Culture and sport

The promotion of cultural events and organisations, as well as support for sport, are other pillars to Inditex’s sponsorship and patronage activities. In the former case, this support has led to the stable collaboration with the Galicia Symphony Orchestra, the Association of the Friends of Opera of A Coruña, the Reina Sofia Association of Friends of Art and the Royal Toledo Foundation. In the field of sport, Inditex supports the work of promoting grass-roots sport.

Social assistance

Empowering women in disadvantaged situations, the fight against cancer, social reintegration and the work of providing shelter to vulnerable groups are just a few of the examples of the actvities that, in the field of social assistance, Inditex undertook in 2012 as part of its sponsorship and patronage actions.