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La noción “transición ecológica justa” supone apartarse de un modelo productivo depredador que, con el único objetivo de lograr el mayor enriquecimiento, degrada el medioambiente y precariza a las personas trabajadoras. Implica, así, transformar la manera de producir para adoptar procesos más respetuosos con el medio ambiente y con los derechos laborales de las personas trabajadoras. En el presente trabajo se examina el concepto “transición ecológica justa”, tanto en sus bases normativas como en su significación sustantiva, efectuando un análisis de la normativa clave en materia medioambiental o con incidencia en ésta, para determinar de qué manera y en qué medida se proyecta en ella. Tras este examen, se pone de manifiesto el perfecto encaje que tiene la economía social en los postulados y exigencias de la transición ecológica justa, por lo que se destaca que, con los debidos apoyos, puede ser el motor de la transición ecológica justa.

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THE SOCIAL ECONOMY AS A ENGINE OF SUSTANAIBLE ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

The verification of the anthropocene nature of climate change determines that the only possible rational response is the introduction of profound changes in the way of living, consuming, and, in general, in the way of being and acting in the world. Among those areas in which it is essential to introduce changes is, in a priority place, the way of producing and, correlatively, of working. In this way, the economic and social dimensions (understood in the broadest sense) are involved frontally, posing new challenges hitherto unknown. Until now, the only guideline that has been followed is that of exponential and unlimited economic growth led by large companies and supported by States, which, among other things, has meant degrading the environment (often at zero cost). In addition, these growing profit margins have not been projected in the socio-labour field, in which there has been a constant downward pressure on working conditions.

In this context, the notion of “just ecological transition” arises as a reordering response of society from social law, incorporating a system of guarantees linked to the “principle of green social justice” that implies guiding the entire legal system to achieve the objective of stopping the climate change by applying a socially just ecological transition strategy. Such a concept means breaking with the pre-existing predatory productive model that, with the sole objective of achieving the greatest enrichment, degrades the environment and makes workers precarious. Thus, it implies transforming the way of producing to adopt processes that are more respectful with the environment and with the labor rights of workers. The concept “just ecological transition” only has a clear meaning in a partial way, since it presents another more variable part, given the intensity and diversity of channels through which it can transit. In this sense, the work of the ILO in describing the ecological transition as “socially just” and also in reinforcing the specific labor aspect within the framework of this process is very remarkable. In any case, this intervention was as necessary as it was logical, since this transition already started from a previous negative employment context that the transition to the new system could exacerbate if adequate measures are not established to avoid it and, finally, because any change implies a risk, but also, well oriented, an opportunity for improvement. In this way, taking decent work as a central reference as an essential condition for social justice, it has established a socio-labour “road map” for the transition. Such a conception has been projected in the supranational sphere (UN, EU). With regard to Spain, Law 7/2021, of May 20, on climate change and energy transition, which constitutes (or should constitute) the central axis of the transition process, although it states in its preamble that social justice must guide the ecological transition, the truth is that it is more concerned with designing and ordering the instruments for the so-called “climate governance” than with establishing true guarantees so that the ecological transition is socially just. Other recent regulations with labor content, such as Laws 2/2023, of February 20, regulating the protection of people who report violations of regulations and the fight against corruption, and Law 3/2023, of February 28, on Employment, surprisingly, they have also been missed opportunities to make substantial progress on the just ecological transition.

Regarding the development model, the capitalist mode of production is closely linked to the “dirty economy” that causes environmental degradation and, beyond, climate change. This pattern, although it is the one that has been applied in the majority (in fact, it has been self-servingly intended to be unavoidable), is not the only existing development option. In this sense, the social economy offers development channels that are more balanced in its objectives and interests, which are not based on exploitation, but on harmonious growth, which can generate important positive effects from the social and environmental point of view. These advantages are essential in the current context, so they must determine that these alternative formulas take center stage in the context of the climate crisis and, coherently, that they be promoted in order to guarantee their expansion in the face of the evidence of resistance to their empowerment. The Comprehensive Law for the Promotion of the Social Economy -which at the time this paper is being written is in the draft phase-, among other things, intensifies the projection of the cooperative values of the international cooperative alliance in the definition of social economy. Given that the social economy provides an “added value” with respect to the other economic agents, which increases its transformative capacity and, therefore, also its usefulness for society in the current context, it can play a key role in the ecological transition. This is how the Employment Law seems to understand it, which dots its text with references to the social economy, especially in terms of active employment policies. In this way, given the pointed connection that may exist between the activities linked to ecological production and the social economy, by this indirect route, ways could be found in the Employment Law that promote at the same time the forms of production of the social economy and green economy. In the last part of this work, it is highlighted that cooperatives are the social economy entities that best respond to the transforming social and purely ecological vocation, by constituting their natural way of acting in the development of their activity, in which it is central. the work of those who integrate them. Although every cooperative assumes environmental protection, by virtue of cooperative principles, some adopt it as a specific objective, thus gaining special significance as promoters of the necessary greening of the economy. These are the associated work cooperatives that carry out activities within the green economy, which constitute an important driver of “green jobs”, in the qualified socio labour dimension given by the ILO, which includes as an essential part of the definition the character of decent. That is why, in the necessary transition to a more ecological world, it is essential to specifically promote the action of cooperatives that carry out their activities within the framework of the green economy and create green jobs, as genuine actors of the necessary change. To this end, the regulatory measures that establish advantages in relation to these entities, as well as the institutional programs to support and promote creation and employment in cooperatives, are considered very positive. However, it is missing that cooperatives that carry out activities within the green economy and create green employment are promoted, specifically and to a greater extent, since they are the ones that can most adequately pilot the necessary transition from a productive model.

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Los efectos que conllevan las herramientas de lucha contra la emergencia climática hacen insoslayable apostar por una transición justa hacia economías verdes donde debe adquirir un protagonismo esencial el empleo decente. En este marco, el envejecimiento progresivo de la población provoca cuantiosas necesidades sociales de atenciones personales, capaces de generar grandes expectativas, por un lado, para el incremento de los índices de inserción laboral, acompañados además de unas condiciones ocupacionales adecuadas (ingresos suficientes y protección social) y, por otro, para reducir el impacto ambiental, garantizando la utilización más eficiente de los recursos existentes. Una fórmula imprescindible para que la imbricación entre sostenibilidad ambiental y creación de empleo de calidad en el sector cuidados resulte exitosa puede encontrarse en la denominada “Economía Social”, anclada en el principio de primacía de las personas y del fin social sobre el capital.

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SOCIAL ECONOMY, GREEN JOBS AND LONG-TERM CARE: KEYS TO A JUST TRANSITION

The effects of the instruments for combating the climate emergency make essential to commit to a just transition towards green economies, in which decent employment must become an essential part of the equation. In this context, the progressive ageing of the population creates considerable social needs for personal attention, which can generate great expectations, on the one hand, for an increase in labour insertion rates, together with suitable occupational conditions (sufficient income and social protection) and, on the other hand, to reduce the environmental impact, ensuring the most efficient use of existing resources.

As the European Green Book on Ageing notes, old age, ageing and longevity, will invariably lead to a structural increase in the global demand for long-term care services able to create a significant volume of jobs with decent working conditions, promote social equity, improve environmental quality and increase prosperity. In fact, while the number of people in a situation of dependency has begun to grow exponentially on an upward trajectory that will reach 60 per cent in the next two decades, the demand for external assistance will grow in the same proportion, because longevity is associated with severe organic and psychological dysfunctions, accompanied by molecular and cellular damage, usually resulting from serious chronic diseases, mobility difficulties, co-morbidities or disabling disorders. All of them linked to older age and various shortcomings such as health impairments, loneliness, insufficient material resources or architectural barriers.

These physical and psychological handicaps mean that the carer and the person cared for acquire an indisputable link, so that the quality of the working conditions of those dedicated to this activity is not only enunciated as a postulate of good intentions, but is included as a fundamental element of the well-being of the elderly, as pointed out in the document Spain 2050. Fundamentals and proposals for a long-term national strategy, according to which public spending on care will rise from the current 0.8% to more than 2.0% of GDP over this time horizon.

An essential way for the synergy between sustainability and the creation of quality employment in the care sector to be successful can be found in the called “Social Economy”, which, based on a business model characterised by the primacy of work and the human factor over capital, provides solutions to new social needs, through new sources of employment, thanks to its capacity to adapt to changes and maintain its activity in situations of risk or recession, always remaining faithful to its mission of social interest.

These organisations of Social Economy, based on private initiative (although often in collaboration with public administrations), aim not only to make profits, but also to contribute to achieving goals such as the creation of quality employment, social cohesion, rural development, gender equality, the well-being of citizens and the protection of consumers and the environment. These characteristics confirm that the Social Economy model contributes more than other business models to Sustainable and Inclusive Development, as established by the United Nations through the approval of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Objectives.

The social economy includes a varied series of formulas, such as cooperatives, mutual societies, foundations and associations that carry out economic activity, labour companies, insertion companies, special employment centres, fishing guilds, agricultural transformation companies and singular entities created by specific rules that are governed by the principles of the primacy of people and the social purpose over capital, application of the results obtained mainly on the basis of the work contributed and the service or activity carried out by the partners or their members to the social purpose of the entity, promotion of internal solidarity and solidarity with society, and independence with respect to the public authorities (arts. 4 and 5 Law 5/2011, of 29 March, on Social Economy).

It is for this very reason that the social economy has enormous potential to contribute to the construction of a more caring society in line with the values and aims underlying policies for the care of the elderly.

The Spanish government has identified the social economy as a “key industry” in the reconstruction of the country, given its potential for cohesion and equality and its capacity for productive transformation, as well as being “a driving force in the green, digital, social and care transition”, on the road towards the era of decent work. This is reflected in the “Strategic Project for the Recovery and Economic Transformation (PERTE) of the Social and Care Economy”, which brings together, closing the circle, two clear aims that are no less worthy of reiteration: on the one hand, to promote and develop the Spanish Social Economy and its potential as a provider of sustainable employment; on the other, to promote and encourage advanced services in the field of care, accessible, sustainable from an environmental point of view and focused on people’s well-being.

The participation of the social economy in its different manifestations in the preparation of individual diagnoses, in the planning of interventions, in their effective implementation, monitoring and evaluation, as well as in their day-to-day development, is therefore of great interest for the care of the elderly. However, the difficulty of social economy entities in a market characterised by free competition makes it essential for the public authorities to intervene in their implementation, expansion and operation through financial aid for their constitution and for the development of their activities, subsidies for social security contributions, subsidies for the jobs created by them, subsidies to cover the fixed investment required to carry out their corporate purpose or, if not more, reserves or advantages in public sector contract tenders; all of which are more than justified when the productivity deficit derived from their engagement with the social network for which they provide services can be predicted.

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En este momento resulta de especial interés analizar el desarrollo y la sostenibilidad. Aparentemente, la Economía Social, como el resto de las cuestiones económico-jurídicas, no puede permanecer ajena al desarrollo y la sostenibilidad. Así, se pretende en los últimos años, impulsando un Estado Social, Económico y de Derecho cuyo punto de partida, para ser sostenible y universal, precisa de los Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible de Naciones Unidas. No obstante, por un lado, dichos Objetivos presentan graves incongruencias desde el punto de vista jurídico, tanto por la indeterminación de los conceptos utilizados y los sujetos afectados, como por su contenido y eficacia, ya que han surgido bajo el amparo de Naciones Unidas, fuente de la que proceden, para aplicarse en todos los Estados miembros de dicha organización, por encima de sus Constituciones y Estados de Derecho.
En las siguientes páginas se analiza, en primer lugar, el concepto y características, exigibilidad y fundamento jurídico de los Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible. En segundo lugar, se trabaja sobre la acogida y repercusión del desarrollo y la sostenibilidad en la normativa de Economía social.

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SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS, RULE OF LAW AND SOCIAL ECONOMY

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals are offered as a global achievement, after decades of work. Initially, they were oriented towards the environment, and later towards social and human development. There are 17 universal objectives regarding the planet’s natural resources, social and human reality, and future actions, although they are not mandatory or enforceable.

Within the European Union there is a theoretical commitment to the development and sustainability objectives, although the scope of action is conditioned by the particular competences of the States in each area: environmental, economic and social. Article 45 of the Spanish Constitution establishes respect for the environment as a legal principle, within Chapter III -objectives of regulatory development-.

This article focuses on analyzing some issues of interest in relation to the Sustainable Development Goals, their concept and characteristics, enforceability and legal basis; as well as their necessity or not in a study regulation, in particular, the Social Economy.

In recent times, experts in the field have been working continuously on the lines of evolution of the law and the necessary and possible changes in the various institutions. Now it seems that we are required to go a step further, to decide whether or not to review and specify the concepts from a broader global perspective, that of the Sustainable Development Goals. The COVID-19 era has made it clear, with or without the intention of doing so, that development is the unfinished business of human beings, for which we have no time to spare, although we must ask ourselves where we are moving towards The United Nations Goals, which were understood as a global goal, seem increasingly farther away, not only because of the current global situation, but also because of the interpretation that we as jurists must make of their content and binding nature.

It is important to start with the analysis of the right to development -an indeterminate legal concept- and sustainability from the point of view of the United Nations Goals, and their reception in the European Union and in our legal system. Thus, at the beginning, observing the indeterminacy of the concepts themselves due to the difficulty of conceptualizing, the indeterminacy of the subjects affected, and their content. Continuing with the study of their effectiveness or ineffectiveness, derived from the problems that arise in relation to the enforceability and enforceability of these objectives. To conclude by questioning, to the point of legally dismantling its basis, due to the difficult compatibility within our Rule of Law.

It is necessary to question the definition, content and effectiveness of the Sustainable Development Goals and their application in our law. Following the presentation of the SDGs, and their reception in Europe and Spain, the right to development and sustainability must be distinguished as complementary aspects of a vision that is apparently presented as unitary: sustainable development. On the other hand, the vision of the three pillars of sustainability, as a whole, is essential to analyze whether its content is already regulated: environmental, economic and social. It is important to question the legal status of the Sustainable Development Goals, their definition, the subjects affected, their content and effectiveness, and the problems related to their enforceability. Their legal status does not seem clear, and their defense cannot be championed at any cost, as it may be at the expense of our rule of law.

The Sustainable Development Goals are not legal provisions emanating from state power, and do not comply with the characteristics and structure of the legal norm. The Goals could be General Principles or be incorporated into the concept of Public Order, unless they are expressly incorporated by a legal norm.

Indeed, it is doubtful that, depending on the international organization from which they emanate, they can be considered positive legal norms in themselves, just because Spain is a member of said organization. According to the concept of legal norm, and the elements of Positive Law, the norms must comply with the idea of justice, method and matter. The Sustainable Development Goals comply with the first and third of these elements, since they pursue the idea of justice and propose a material legal reality de lege ferenda, although they present serious fissures in terms of the method used. The Sustainable Development Goals come from outside our rule of law, are privately financed, have an indeterminate owner and object, their content is undefined, and they do not provide for real and concrete enforceability. It is not clear that they are legal norms; they could be referred to as principles or limits, but never as binding legal norms. Therefore, it can be stated that the Sustainable Development Goals are indeterminate, unenforceable and generate insecurity.

On the other hand, taking as a reference the regulations relating to the Social Economy, perhaps in many areas the aims of the Sustainable Development Goals are already being met across the board, without the need to refer to them.

Concretizing the study of a field of law such as the Social Economy, it is of interest to investigate whether its content is incorporated into our legal system in some way that is already sufficient, in particular, in relation to environmental/energy objectives, and also economic and social objectives. Thus, with regard to the Social Economy regulations, and some of its institutions in particular, it could indeed be the case that the basis of the Objectives is de facto incorporated into our law. Perhaps the Social Economy complies with real and not theoretical development and sustainability, and does not need to be adapted.

The Social Economy is a legal parcel of past, present and future development, with obvious advantages of determination; regulation, effectiveness and enforceability; and legal security. the Social Economy rules are concrete, applicable, enforceable and secure legal rules. They have been issued by the competent bodies within the framework of the Rule of Law, regulate specific aspects of social life, offer applicable solutions, assign rights and duties, and provide for consequences in the event of non-compliance. Therefore, and after the presentation of the Social Economy regulations, and the analysis of its principles, it can be stated that the current regulations are sufficient, and contemplate the specific needs of our Social and Democratic State of Law. It could even be said that the Sustainable Development Goals are nothing more than principles, not so new, that take their inspiration from older ones, such as cooperative principles.

Indeed, it is not necessary to resort to indeterminate, unenforceable and insecure international objectives, which come from entities that were not elected by Spanish citizens to regulate the content of our personal, family and social life, and whose financing is mixed private and public.

Finally, the Sustainable Development Goals can be considered values reflecting civilized human ethics and morals, although their mandatory application cannot be defended, at the expense of our Rule of Law. The Sustainable Development Goals were born in response to a laudable need for reflection, and as such present the opportunity to review some concepts in order to solve or avoid problems. Indeed, it should be put on the table whether globalization and globalization conceal a deep crisis of States, de facto subjected to invisible and hidden powers that make decisions. It is always interesting to look for the subject or subjects that b
enefit from such a situation in order to understand what underlies the course of events. In such a case, it could be questioned whether there are indeed hidden powers under the banner of globalism, and whether this option poses a real danger to the sovereignty of countries and the democracy of states governed by the rule of law such as ours.

Although it is not easy to predict the path of the future, indeed, a moment of crisis such as the current one can be an excellent opportunity to face problems and difficulties to which the law and society must provide a response, without this implying the dynamiting of our rule of law.

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La finalidad de las entidades de la Economía Social debería ser muy diferente de la meramente lucrativa de las típicas sociedades mercantiles. Por ello es necesario que se mantengan fieles en general a los principios y valores de la Economía Social. Se están eludiendo la aplicación práctica de los pilares y el fundamento esencial de su naturaleza, fomentando la creación de entidades alejadas de lo que es la Economía Social y en algunos casos cometiendo fraude de ley, al querer aprovecharse del tratamiento diferenciado y privilegiado como el que poseen estas entidades, a través de los beneficios fiscales, normativos y de ayudas públicas que se les conceden por sus fines sociales, eludiendo en su objeto y finalidad el de una economía centrada en las personas, la democracia (un socio un voto), la búsqueda de la calidad del empleo y la consecución de los fines y los objetivos sociales, tal y como propugna la Agenda 2030.

Con este estudio, demostramos como a través del control de legalidad y la revisión de los principios y valores de la Economía Social, los Registros Públicos Administrativos actúan como primera línea de vigilancia y control. En consecuencia, obliga a denunciar la existencia de sociedades que optan por este revestimiento jurídico para obtener el régimen propio de estas, cuando su verdadera naturaleza dista mucho de los principios y características propias de las verdaderas entidades de la Economía Social.

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SOCIAL ECONOMY VERSUS FOR-PROFIT: THE LAW AS A NECESSARY INSTRUMENT FOR THE CONTROL OF LEGALITY AND DEFENSE OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS

Cooperativism was born in the 19th century with worker associations, as a collaborative response between producers and consumers for a better distribution of wealth and benefits among cooperative members, when workers organized themselves in the face of degraded living conditions and unemployment generated by the industrial revolution, proposing a different model from the capitalist one for an equitable distribution of goods among all, with a social and human approach based on people, as the fundamental axis from which to start.

The Rochdale Pioneers were responsible for the birth of what is known as cooperative societies, in the cotton factories of the town of Rochdale in the northwest of England. There were 28 artisans who worked in 1844. The weavers in the cotton factories had precarious working conditions so they could not pay the high prices of food, so they decided to pool their resources and work together to gain access to the goods of basic consumption and to be able to participate in the benefits and decisions of the cooperative in a democratic way and according to their contribution.

In the Laws that regulate the entities of the Social Economy (ESoc), the actions that violate them are expressly contemplated. Greater vigilance and control would be necessary in the Public Administrative Registries of the ESoc, to hinder certain abusive practices, such as concealing under the formula of a Cooperative Society purposes of commercial companies or the possible fact of committing legal fraud.

Consequently, these practices distort the models of the ESoc, their credibility before society and the improvements and social purposes they propose. For this reason, we must monitor and control that these entities remain faithful to the principles and values of the Social Economy and in particular of cooperativism.

The practical application of the pillars and the essential foundation of their nature are being eluded, with the creation of entities far removed from what the Social Economy is by wanting to take advantage when it is not theirs, of the special and privileged treatment that these entities have, through tax, regulatory and public aid benefits that are granted to this type of entities for their social purposes, avoiding in its object and purpose that of an economy centered on people, democracy (one member, one vote), the search for quality employment and the achievement of social goals and objectives, as advocated by the 2030 Agenda.

The principles and values that we defend and that guide the Social Economy and the objectives of sustainable development, have as a configuring element the primacy of people and the social purpose over capital, which is materialized in autonomous and transparent management, as well as in participatory democracy which leads to prioritizing decision-making more based on people, their work contributions and services provided to the entity or based on the social purpose, than in relation to their contributions to social capital and based on this the application of the results obtained from the economic activity of the work provided and the service or activity carried out by the partners to the social purpose of the entity, which favors the commitment to local development, equal opportunities between men and women, social cohesion, the insertion of people at risk of social exclusion, the generation of stable and quality employment, the reconciliation of personal, family and work life and sustainability.

With this study, we intend to demonstrate how the main means of monitoring, legality control, verification and review of the principles and values of the Social Economy is through the Administrative Registries of Cooperatives, as well as the way to channel the coordination of surveillance, control and anti-fraud activities together with state and regional tax agencies, Social Security bodies, Public Employment Services, bodies in charge of managing and granting public aid and the Labor and Safety Inspectorate Social.

The Registries, acting as the first line of surveillance and administrative control, must act by denouncing and denying, where appropriate, the qualification of the registrations of the companies that opt for this legal coating to obtain the proper regime of the ESoc entities, when their true nature It is far from the principles and characteristics of these entities of the Social Economy.

In this study, we are going to focus on the entities of the Social Economy, as included in article 5 of Law 5/2011, of March 29, on Cooperatives.

Incardinated with the principles of the Social Economy entities we have the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which are framed within the so-called UN 2030 Agenda. It is, as indicated in its founding document, “an action plan in favor of people, the planet and prosperity”, which also has the “objective of strengthening universal peace within a broader concept of freedom and the eradication of poverty “including extreme poverty”. Constituting one of the greatest challenges facing humanity and an essential requirement for sustainable development. In this way, cooperatives are constituted as a strategic instrument from which citizens and producers participate in the achievement of the goals of the SDGs and in particular objective 1 of achieving the end of poverty, the goal 2 zero hunger, goal 8 Promote sustained economic growth and decent work for all, goal 10 Reduce inequality within and between countries, goal 12 responsible production and consumption, and goal 17 establishment of partnerships to achieve the goals.
In point II, we confirm the importance of the Administrative Records of the Social Economy, as surveillance and control instruments in the fight against legal fraud and in the defense and promotion of sustainable development objectives.

In turn, in point III, we intend to make known the different cases in which we have been able to verify the existence of legal fraud in the Social Economy and the way these operate, demonstrating compliance with Campbell’s Law according to the which the risk of corruption of a social indicator is proportional to the intensity of its use for decision-making.

Through point IV, we show the importance of law as a necessary instrument for the control of legality and the defense of the objectives of sustainable development and we present our final conclusions.

The Supreme Court in Judgment 2263/2018 of May 18, 2018, recognizes that the cooperative is a particular way of jointly organizing the production of goods and services for third parties, but understands that it is not enough to be formally constituted, but that You will have to prove that you are carrying out a real activity for the benefit of your partners. The Court starts from the presumption that cooperatives can be instruments to defraud.

With all of the above, we have wanted to value the Public Administrative Registries of Cooperatives and the need for legal control and the verification and review of the principles and values of the Social Economy, prior to the qualification of the registration, in the records themselves Administrative Public Registries acting as the first line of surveillance and control of the Social Economy entities and consequently promoters of the objectives of the 2030 Agenda, through the Social Economy entities.

The necessary means must be enabled so that the Administrative Registries can carry out their investigation and control work efficiently.

The methodology used in the development of the work, has consisted in the study of the legislation, doctrine and jurisprudence on the subject. Resulting from all the analysis and research, a legal-descriptive and critical study.

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Frente al cambio climático resulta imprescindible reforzar analizar las posibilidades que presentan las entidades de economía social para llevar a cabo la transición ecológica. En particular, se analiza el papel de las empresas de inserción en la lucha contra la vulnerabilidad social y la protección medioambiental, desde su regulación laboral, incluyendo la cualificación y recualificación en empleos verdes para el personal en inserción, hasta las posibilidades de convertirse en un laboratorio para la creación de empleos verdes y para formar parte de la economía circular a través de la gestión de residuos y reciclaje. Finalmente, se destaca la importancia del impulso a la alianza entre empresas de inserción y la lucha contra el cambio climático desde las administraciones públicas.

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INCLUSION ENTERPRISES AS PARTNERS FOR A GREEN TRANSITION, PARTICULARLY IN THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY AND GREEN JOBS

Faced with the effects and consequences of climate change, it seems necessary to carry out a profound ecological transition, which must change the current production model. The first steps have already been taken by the European Union and at the domestic level, on the one hand, through the European Green Pact, and on the other, through the enactment of Law 7/2021, on Climate Change and Energy Transition.

The Law 7/2021, on Climate Change and Energy Transition seeks, on the one hand, to make progress in the fight against the climate crisis and, on the other, to anticipate and offer solidarity-based and inclusive responses to the groups most affected by climate change and the transformation of the economy. To achieve this, and in accordance with its art. 1, it is based on four pillars: ensuring compliance with the objectives of the Paris Agreement, signed by Spain on 22 April 2016; facilitating the decarbonisation of the Spanish economy; promoting adaptation to the impacts of climate change; and, finally, implementing a sustainable development model that generates decent employment. Precisely among its guiding principles set out in Article 2, sustainable development (which must include the concept of decent work in its meaning) reappears, together with social and territorial cohesion, the protection of vulnerable groups and equality between women and men.

In the light of the objectives of European and Spanish regulations and their design lines, social economy entities are essential allies when it comes to jointly facing climate challenges and carrying out a fair environmental transition.

To this end, the 2020 Just Transition Strategy itself proposes, as one of its main lines of action (active green employment and social protection policies) and as the content of numerous actions, the promotion of green employment and explicitly mentions social economy organizations as levers to be used when it comes to meeting the objectives indicated.

While it is true that the instruments to be used to achieve the goals set out in the document lack precision, it does help to mark out (to a greater or lesser extent) the path to be followed in the fight against climate change.

In the face of the effects and consequences of climate change, it appears necessary to among all the entities belonging to the social economy, attention has been focused on insertion enterprises: these enterprises fight against social exclusion by facilitating labour insertion and, as such, they represent a manifestation of the above-mentioned principles that must govern a social economy enterprise. In fact, these entities constitute one of the main vectors of social integration and a form of participation in the activity of society through the creation of employment for the excluded. Moreover, they have provided continuous support to the most disadvantaged people who participate in them, linked to the territory and to work needs, looking for spaces in the world of work and creating jobs.

These insertion companies can be the ideal tool for holistically fulfilling the aims set out in the Climate Change Act: protecting the environment by virtue of the activities carried out through so-called green jobs, carrying out circular economy or bioeconomy processes, providing decent and dignified employment in places and/or groups suffering from ecological transitions and helping to fix the population in rural areas.

It should not be forgotten that the main advantages of green jobs are that they help to fix the population and generate a heterogeneous demand for employment, both in terms of qualifications and working time. Due to the intense involvement they tend to have with the environment in which they are developed, they are more difficult to relocate and for this reason they would be more stable and would contribute to the fixation of populations in the environments. This advantage is clearly in line with the opportunity provided by the creation of social economy entities such as insertion enterprises, which are clearly involved and interwoven with their environment and which, on many occasions, their activity consists precisely of providing assistance services to other companies or to the people who live in the territories themselves.

In addition to the above statement, there is a need for re-qualification or training to meet the new demands for skills linked to the transition towards sustainable, low-emission development, and insertion companies, thanks to the pathways aimed at people in insertion, are at an advantage when it comes to meeting this demand, adapting the skills in which they train insertion staff to the specific needs detected. However, the potential vulnerabilities of these services are carefully analyzed, in particular with regard to gender discrimination and occupational health and safety risks.

Once the characteristics of the so-called eco-jobs and the interconnections with insertion enterprises have been analyzed, the activities that could form part of the productive sub-sector of the circular economy are examined, in order to check whether they coincide (or not) with those developed by social economy entities and the possibilities for growth in this field. In this respect, special attention is paid to the possibilities that the current recycling and waste collection and management obligations entail. In this area, the potential of the social economy, a pioneer in job creation linked to the circular economy, will be strengthened by the mutual benefits of supporting the green transition and strengthening social inclusion. In conclusion, social economy organisations, particularly insertion enterprises due to their specific characteristics, and the circular economy are essential allies in the fight against climate change and, at the same time, in favour of decent and dignified work.

Finally, among the list of measures aimed at promoting the emergence and maintenance of social economy entities, it is worth paying attention to the one that specifically refers to insertion enterprises and comes from the Public Administrations, which, as we have seen, have to comply with an increasing number of obligations in the field of the circular economy, even though it is still necessary to disseminate and comply with the good practices developed in this respect, in order to achieve greater activity of these enterprises in the sectors of green jobs and the circular economy.

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En este trabajo se analiza la capacidad de la economía social para favorecer una transición ecológica socialmente justa desde el punto de vista de las personas empleadas en las entidades que forman parte de la economía social. Más concretamente, el objeto de estudio evalúa la capacidad de las empresas de inserción para garantizar el derecho a la formación de las personas sujetas a itinerarios de inserción con el fin de conseguir su plena integración en un mercado laboral en transición hacia modelos de producción más sostenibles. De esta manera, se toma como referencia la economía circular como sector específico de actuación de las empresas de inserción para contrastar la oferta formativa relacionada con la economía circular y la base formativa de los puestos de trabajo de las personas trabajadoras de las empresas de inserción.

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WORK INTEGRATION SOCIAL ENTERPRISES AND CIRCULAR ECONOMY: THE TRAINING PROCESSES AS A TOOL FOR JUST TRANSITION

This article analyses the contribution of the social economy to a socially just ecological transition. To this aim, it analyses the training capacity of Work Integration Social Entreprises as specific actors of the social economy with an important role in the circular economy.

The first part of the paper examines the interrelationship between the circular economy and the social economy from the regulatory perspective of the European Union (EU) and Spain. To this end, the political documents and legal instruments adopted in the EU (the 2021 action plan for the social economy, the 2020 new Circular Economy Action Plan, the European Green Deal) and in Spain (the Spanish 2030 Circular Economy Strategy, the Spanish Social Economy Strategy 2023-2027) that demonstrate a connection between the two are studied. The first conclusion of the research is that a greater number of documents adopted at EU level than at national level show the connection between the social economy and the circular economy, especially when it comes to the ecological transition. Subsequently, the analysis focuses on vocational training as a specific element of policies contributing to the achievement of a socially just ecological transition as set out in the International Labour Organisation’s Guidelines for a Just Transition to Environmentally Sustainable Economies and Societies for All, the Council Recommendation of 16 June 2022 to ensure a just transition to climate neutrality and the Spanish Just Transition Strategy. In all of them, vocational training appears as a specific component, separate from employment policies, thus highlighting its importance as a policy area for socially just ecological transition. With regard to the specific policies included, the article sets out the main features of the various proposed reforms of vocational training contained in these instruments, although it is argued that there is a common trend for the whole training system to be redesigned in order to bring in the environmental dimension. The article also highlights the differences between the vocational training measures set out in the Spanish Just Transition Strategy and the measures in the Circular Economy Strategy.

The second part of the paper presents, in the first sub-section, the legal framework of the right to vocational training, taking into consideration the Spanish Constitution and the Organic Law on Vocational Training. The analysis highlights the relationship of the right to vocational training with other rights such as the right to education or the right to work. Subsequently, the relevant supranational regulations are analysed in order to apprehend the obligations of the public authorities to fulfil the right to vocational training: the European Social Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Then, the article presents the institutional framework of the Vocational Training System in Spain, including the training supply and the capacity of enterprises to participate as entities providing the corresponding training actions. With regard to the latter, the paper criticises the absence of explicit references to the vocational training provided by Work Integration Social Entreprises to people employed in insertion programmes both in the Organic Law on Vocational Training (Organic Law 3/2022) and in the Law regulating the Vocational Training System in the workplace (Law 30/2015), despite the special role that training plays in the social purpose of Work Integration Social Entreprises. Finally, it contains a brief mention of the recently approved Employment Law (Law 3/2023) and the Spanish Active Employment Support Strategy 2021-2024 as the latest legislative developments affecting the regulatory framework of the right to vocational training.

The following subsection analyses the regulation of Work Integration Social Entreprises through Law 44/2007 and the Social Economy Law (Law 5/2011). Specifically, it argues the inclusion of Work Integration Social Entreprises in the scope of the social economy and analyses in detail the content of Law 44/2007 with regard to the most relevant aspects of their social purpose. Concerning Law 44/2007, it is noted that the law states that the common labour legislation is applicable to people employed in insertion programmes – which implies that the basic labour rights in vocational training provided for in the Workers’ Statute are applicable to them. The article also criticises the lack of specific regulation of the vocational training rights of people employed in insertion programmes.

In the last part of the research, the training capacity of Work Integration Social Entreprises to train their workers in the skills considered favourable for employability in the circular economy is studied. The reason for focusing the study on the case of Work Integration Social Entreprises is due to their significant presence in activities related to the circular economy and the importance of the training received by people employed in insertion programmes. To this end, the research examines the presence of occupational qualifications linked to the circular economy according to the Prospective Study of Economic Activities related to the Circular Economy in Spain of the State Public Employment Service (“Servicio Público de Empleo Estatal”, SEPE) among the occupational qualifications detected in Work Integration Social Entreprises by the academic literature. Overall, the prospective study of the SEPE identifies up to 26 professional qualifications affecting up to seven professional families linked to the circular economy. For their part, the results of the map of qualifications detected in Work Integration Social Entreprises show a total of 58 professional qualifications corresponding to 18 professional families.

As a result of the analysis, the study suggests a high degree of training capacity of the Work Integration Social Entreprises: on the one hand, it is found that five level 1 qualifications are classified as relevant for the circular economy. In this respect, up to three of the aforementioned qualifications coincide with those detected in the insertion enterprises, which is due to the level of training susceptible of being offered to the people employed in the insertion programmes; on the other hand, the potential of Work Integration Social Entreprises to provide training to their own workers is highlighted, taking into account the greater training of workers employed by companies operating in the economic activities where Work Integration Social Entreprises predominate.

In the conclusions, in addition to setting out the main results of the study, the limitation of using the SEPE report as a reference is noted, as well as the necessary amendment of Law 44/2007, considering the horizon of the ecological transition.

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La colaboración público-privada es una fórmula de cooperación entre sector privado y administraciones públicas que tiene por finalidad bien modernizar la oferta de infraestructuras y de servicios públicos estratégicos, o bien delegar ciertos servicios públicos en empresas privadas, lo que permitirá utilizar este instrumento de colaboración como vía para el desarrollo de políticas públicas. Las alianzas se configuran como uno de los instrumentos de crecimiento inteligente, sostenible e integrador, que a la vez garantizan un uso más racional de los fondos públicos. Una de las fórmulas más equilibradas en la colaboración público-privada es aquella en la que se incluyen criterios sociales a través de la utilización de cláusulas sociales o contratos reservados, o bien a través de entidades de la economía social. En el ámbito de la energía, las comunidades energéticas, y en particular las de energías renovables tienen como objetivo principal la producción de energía a partir de fuentes renovables y supondrán un gran impulso para la gestión de la demanda y son una buena oportunidad para ayudar a combatir la pobreza energética.

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PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTICIPATION IN THE ENERGY TRANSITION THROUGH COOPERATIVE ENERGY COMMUNITIES

Public-private partnerships are a formula for cooperation between the private sector and public administrations with the aim of either modernizing the supply of infrastructures and strategic public services, or delegating certain public services to private companies, which will make it possible to use this collaboration instrument as a means of developing public policies. Partnerships are one of the instruments for smart, sustainable, and inclusive growth, while ensuring a more rational use of public funds. One of the most balanced formulas in public-private partnerships is that which includes social criteria using social clauses or reserved contracts, or when the provision of certain services is delegated to social economy entities. In the field of energy, energy communities, and in particular renewable energy communities, have as their main objective the production of energy from renewable sources and will be a great boost for demand management, constituting a good opportunity to combat energy poverty.

Our legal system obliges public authorities to be aware of their capacity to achieve social and public objectives in procurement and to include social aims in the tendering of contracts. Therefore, it is essential to define the object of the contract according to the specific needs or functionalities to be satisfied, incorporating technological, social or environmental innovations that improve the efficiency and sustainability of the goods, works or services to be contracted, which will be combined with the best quality-price ratio. Likewise, the possibility of entering into contracts included in its mixed economy company modality is contemplated when a majority of public capital and private capital concur, provided that the choice of the private partner is made in accordance with the rules of the LCSP and the figure of reserved contracts by which the contracting bodies are empowered to limit the participation in certain procedures or lots to two types of social companies, insertion companies and special employment centers of social initiative.

Energy communities, and in particular renewable energy communities, have as their main objective the production of energy from renewable sources; however, this is not the only objective, as stated in Directive (EU) 2018/2001, which considers it necessary, on the one hand, to ensure that they are not exempt from the costs, charges, levies and taxes that end consumers who do not belong to the community would assume, and on the other hand, that they promote energy efficiency and include other energy uses such as transportation or the supply of heating and cooling among their fields of action. In the same terms, citizen energy communities are regulated in Directive (EU) 2019/944 which redefines the general regulatory framework applicable to the electricity system. This kind of communities are conceived as a vehicle for citizen participation through which participants will be able to see their rights and freedoms as end consumers satisfied. We agree with the Spanish legislator that it is necessary to provide end consumers of electricity with new tools that allow them to take advantage of the benefits derived from the continuous penetration of renewable energies, offering them alternatives to the traditional models of electricity supply and empowering them, which justifies the emergence of new models of citizen participation such as citizen communities.

The objectives pursued by energy communities are aligned with cooperatives, as an organizational model that prioritizes the individual and local development over strictly economic results. The cooperative activity is aimed at creating quality employment, local development, improving social welfare and empowering citizens, always considering a gender perspective in line with the guidelines set by the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA Manchester 1995). Electric, consumer and user cooperatives, and in particular renewable energy cooperatives, were created with the aim of bringing electricity supply to certain geographical areas, usually rural, and facilitating access to electricity under equal conditions. In these entities, citizens, in their role as cooperative members, collectively own and control energy projects at the local level with the consequent social benefits that this can bring.

The communities must provide environmental, economic, or social benefits to their members and must be conceived as entities that promote the participation of individuals, SMEs or local authorities, in projects of proximity or not, depending on whether we are dealing with renewable energy communities or citizen communities.

Pre-existing electric cooperatives may be configured, with a small modification in their bylaws, either as citizen energy communities (Directive 2019/944) in which proximity is not required or even that the energy is exclusively renewable, or as renewable energy communities (2018/2001), if the energy generated is renewable and the partners or members are located in the vicinity, which in most cases will have a local scope, of the renewable energy projects owned by that legal entity.

However, although the cooperatives are aligned with the dictate of the regulation, the truth is that they are not the only entities that comply with the requirements set by the legislator for their consideration as energy communities. Statutorily it is possible to include the absence of profit motive, also in commercial companies, in accordance with the Resolution of December 17, 2020, of the General Directorate of Legal Security and Public Faith.

The rules relating to energy communities do not exclude the existence of other citizen initiatives, such as those deriving from private law agreements. Nevertheless, the Project of Royal Decree on Energy Communities of April 20, 2023, force to them to have legal personality, introducing barriers to entry by not allowing certain public-private partnership formulas in which most of the public capital is held to qualify as an energy community.
Although the Legislator understands that in its Project of Royal Decree it has opted for a flexible approach, in fact is that by requiring the energy community to have legal personality, it is excluding other associative legal formulas that absence personality such as communities of property, owners’ associations or temporary joint ventures, which have traditionally been used to develop public-private collaboration projects.

We conclude, therefore, that the cooperative is a formula that per se, incorporates all the elements determined by the Community Directives on energy communities, although other formulas should not be rejected.

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El Tercer Sector ha sido desde sus inicios un agente económico y social dependiente de recursos económicos externos. Junto a las formas tradicionales de financiación, como las donaciones o el mecenazgo, han aparecido nuevos sistemas basados en la tecnología blockchain, como son las criptomonedas. Sus características y amplias funcionalidades dotan de flexibilidad, simplicidad y seguridad a los intercambios y prestaciones de bienes y servicios. En los últimos años ha proliferado su uso, haciéndolas accesible a una gran parte de la población. No obstante, en algunos casos las criptomonedas tradicionales se están utilizando como instrumento de especulación, lo que está teniendo importantes efectos negativos, no solo en cuando a la justicia social, sino también sobre el medio ambiente, debido a su sistema de creación basado en el minado.
Frente a este modelo, están adquiriendo una enorme popularidad las criptomonedas sociales, que por sus características y principios pueden integrarse en las relaciones económico-financieras de las entidades del Tercer Sector, sin tener un impacto sobre nuestro entorno. Especial consideración merece la denominada Ğ1, “Juna” o Moneda Libre, por el nuevo paradigma que plantea, al no estar respaldada ni por bienes o servicios, ni por moneda fiduciaria. En el presente trabajo se analizan las repercusiones tributarias de su uso, así como la idoneidad de su utilización como sistema complementario de financiación digital y verde para el Tercer Sector.

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TOWARDS GREEN AND DIGITAL FUNDING OF THE THIRD SECTOR THROUGH COMPLEMENTARY SOCIAL CRYPTOCURRENCIES. TAX ASPECTS

The financial sustainability of the Third Sector is essential for carrying out its activities in the long term within a framework of stability, legal certainty and respect for the environment. Along with traditional forms of financing, such as public subsidies, donations or patronage, new systems based on Blockchain technology, such as cryptocurrencies, have appeared. Their features and extensive functionalities provide flexibility, simplicity and security for the exchange and provision of goods and services.

However, some cryptocurrencies based on the aforementioned technology seriously impact the environment due to the high energy consumption involved in creating new blocks through so-called mining and the transactions derived from their use. To mitigate this effect, for several years, Ethereum has been working on other more energy-efficient options, which would require less electricity consumption and a different method of emission, which still presents certain risks of centralization of the system.

As opposed to traditional cryptocurrencies, in recent years, there has been a boom in complementary social cryptocurrencies linked, to a certain extent, to the scope of action of Third Sector entities, enhancing some of their characteristics, such as their democratic and participatory management, commitment to the community and human-centered approach, in line with the content of the OECD Declaration on a “Trustworthy, Sustainable and Digital Future” and the content of the OECD Declaration on a “Digital Future that is Reliable, Sustainable and Inclusive.” The model differs from the current financial system since it combines a series of instruments created and used by communities, collectives and individuals to facilitate the provision of services and the exchange of goods and knowledge through alternative mechanisms to fiat money or debt money and the system based on speculation.

The paper analyzes a specific type of decentralized complementary social cryptocurrency based on this blockchain technology, which has no administrators or controlling certifying authorities. We refer to the so-called G1, Free Currency, or June, which constitutes a new paradigm that allows it to be linked to Third Sector values. Commencing in 2017, G1 is based on the work of French mathematician, Stéphane Laborde, entitled Relative Theory of Currency, published in 2010.

Its main characteristics are neutral distribution since its production is managed equally by all the users; the daily distribution to all the members within the network of an “average monetary mass” in the form of a Universal Dividend; equity in value, due to the biannual updating of this last magnitude; sustainability and respect for the environment in its creation process since the emission algorithm was designed with the intention of consuming very little energy, without the need for mining; the impossibility of conversion to the euro or to legal tender, which limits speculation; the need to obtain the endorsement of the members of the trusted network to become a new co-creating member of the currency, and the vocation of universality, which is compatible with its use as a local currency, since each community can assign it the value it deems appropriate.

The paper concludes with an analysis of the legal regime of complementary social cryptocurrencies in the European Union and the questions raised by their tax regimes. Indeed, the qualification of these instruments within the meaning of the definition contained in Article 1 of Law 10/2010, of April 28, 2010, on the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing, is studied initially. It then verifies if the tax information requirements implemented for traditional crypto assets apply to these types of social currencies. It also explores the possible application of VAT and the Tax on Asset Transfers and Documented Legal Transactions of the deliveries of goods and the benefits of services carried out through this figure by business people and other professionals, as well as the application of Corporate Tax and Personal Income Tax in the aforementioned operations.

The study described above has been developed taking into account the guidelines contained in the recently approved European Regulation on Cryptoasset Markets (MiCA), which aims to implement a legal framework for the issuance of the different crypto assets, providing legal certainty in their use, ensuring the protection of investors, consumers and limiting fraud, illicit practices and money laundering.

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El ecofeminismo no es una mera noción dogmática con una relativa implantación en los instrumentos de soft law. El ecofeminismo constituye hoy en día un principio instrumental que, aunque no reconocido formalmente como tal, se plasma materialmente en la normativa sobre cooperativas desde una perspectiva multinivel, fundamentalmente a través de la labor llevada a cabo por la Organización Internacional del Trabajo y la Unión Europea. Un análisis comparado nos muestra interesantes experiencias, singularmente en el ámbito de América Latina, que abren nuevos horizontes esperanzadores a las mujeres para salir de la pobreza desde su valiosa contribución a paliar los efectos del cambio climático. En el contexto español, algunas normas nacionales y autonómicas sobre cooperativas están transversalizando su regulación desde la perspectiva ecofeminista. Los instrumentos de negociación colectiva negociados en el seno del mundo cooperativo se destacan en este trabajo como estudio de caso de los avances que, para las personas trabajadoras con vínculo laboral se dan en materias clave para las mujeres, como la estabilidad en el empleo, la (re)clasificación profesional, la salud laboral, el tiempo de trabajo, la formación en los retos medioambientales y la movilidad sostenible.

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ECOFEMINISM IN THE FIELD OF SOCIAL ECONOMY: A VIEW FROM THE COOPERATIVES

There is a comprehensive and continuous need to incorporate the environmental requirements that emanate from the regulatory body, and the fact that all sectors of activity, and not only the industrial sector, have an impact on the environment increases this requirement. On this basis, companies have progressively strengthened their commitments and environmental initiatives in matters such as: (a) cooperation on the environment between management and workers; (b) the reduction of energy consumption and the introduction of renewable energies; (c) the adequacy of the management of the waste produced during the company’s own activities, facilitating selective collection and influencing the prevention of its production; (d) promoting the distribution and use of products that are more respectful of the environment; (e) improving the use of water resources; (f) the establishment of environmental awareness campaigns aimed at users and customers of the company; (g) the achievement of good communication between the company and society on this matter. The 1972 Stockholm Declaration on the Human Environment serves as an example, establishing that each person “has the fundamental right to freedom, equality and adequate conditions of life, in an environment of a quality that permits a life of dignity and well-being”. However, it is evident that, at present, the United Nations has placed the concept of sustainability at the centre of social debate.

It is not possible to move towards higher levels of environmental sustainability if we don’t consider the gender perspective. There are some crucial legal effects derived from the intersectionality of the gender perspective associated with environmental sustainability. For this reason, diverse strategies from ecofeminism -such as social progress with environmental advances- must come together to achieve a comprehensive treatment of the concept of sustainability that leaves no one behind. In this sense, promoting women’s economic agency can be made compatible with higher levels of environmental sustainability.

Ecofeminism is not a mere dogmatic notion with a relative impact in soft law instruments. In the current days, this is an instrumental principle. Although not formally recognized as such, it is materially embodied in the regulations on cooperatives from a multilevel perspective, mainly through the work carried out by the International Labour Organization and the action of the European Union’s Green Deal. A comparative analysis shows us interesting experiences, particularly in Latin America, and this opens new hopeful horizons for women to get out of poverty based on their valuable contribution to alleviating the effects of climate change. In the Spanish context, some national and regional regulations on cooperatives are mainstreaming their regulation from an ecofeminist perspective. The collective agreements negotiated in the framework of the cooperatives are highlighted as a case study of the advances for workers in key issues for women, such as job stability, professional (re)classification, occupational health, working time, training in environmental challenges and sustainable mobility.

Through the intersectional analysis that involves environmental care from equal opportunities, this work highlights the emancipatory potentialities posed by a joint vision of sustainability with a gender perspective. The ecofeminist perspective involves a dynamic, adaptable and evolutionary approach that is especially linked to effective equality, as well as preventive evaluations of the work environment. This is materialized in stronger provisions on environmental aspects in equality plans, as article 49 of the Spanish Act 3/2007, on Effective Equality. For example, from the point of view of sustainable mobility, new safe scenarios for women are necessary.

Despite the mixed nature between labour and societal, this work maintains that the option for the cooperatives is the most suitable form of business for ecofeminist objectives. Moreover, promoting the democratic functioning and the principles from which it is nourished, it is the best formula capable of responding to the Sustainable Development Goals designed by the United Nations strategy 2030. The Spanish experience of cooperatives shows that it is possible to conceive a model that improves flexible schedules for satisfying the personal needs of workers, good working conditions, a high predictability of working time, the possibility of obtaining autonomy in the workplace, together with occupational health and safety planning that considers environmental risks in terms of gender. All these issues promote the labour standards of working women towards higher levels of decent work. In addition, this conception is capable of favouring the egalitarian values ​​of coexistence and empowerment of women, their access to economic, health and technological resources, and an adequacy of health prevention and care for women in the framework of the specific particular circumstances of the territory. One of the keys towards successful management in the cooperative is planning with the environment as a limit for the economic development, and at the service of improving well-being, quality of life and the expansion of people’s freedom.

Collective bargaining, constitutionally guaranteed by art. 37 of the Spanish Constitution, stands as the keystone towards the transformations through cooperatives. Nevertheless, this instruments find serious obstacles in their effectiveness and scope due to the dysfunctions derived from the corporate legal status of the people who works in cooperatives. The segmentation between the societal and labour legal status, particularly in the specific case of the workers owners cooperatives, should be urgently addressed by the legislator, given that an integrating system -based on the seventeen Sustainable Development Goals- urges to the protection of all the workers under the umbrella of the cooperative. Unfortunately, the current Spanish regulations on workers cooperatives increase the gaps that are precisely trying to avoid from the ecofeminist approach.
The commitment towards a sustainable development and the satisfaction of the basic needs of future generations will imply the integration of respect for the environment and the effort to combine labour well-being, effective equality and environmental objectives. Weaving these connections, from an integrating methodology, stands as a collective task of citizens, in favour of strengthening freedom, equality and social justice, in line with what is prescribed in the clause of the social and democratic State of the art. 1.1 of the Spanish Constitution.

In sum, the reconceptualization of work and the well-being of working people permits a reflection from ecofeminist perspectives in the transition towards an environmentally and socially sustainable model based on cooperatives principles.

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En esta sentencia se analizan las consecuencias de un expediente sancionador contra un socio de una cooperativa. Al margen de las cuestiones estrictamente procesales, que también son de gran interés, la principal cuestión litigiosa consiste en determinar si los órganos judiciales pueden limitar el poder disciplinario de la Cooperativa, rebajando la cuantía de la multa impuesta. Igualmente, la sentencia resulta de gran interés por dos motivos. Por una parte, porque queda patente la importancia de relatar debidamente, con máximo detalle y coherencia en todas las sentencias que versan sobre un mismo litigio y forman una secuencia, los hechos, los resultados de las pruebas practicadas y los fundamentos de Derecho. Por otra parte, porque puede observarse la confusión de distintas instituciones jurídicas propias del Derecho cooperativo, como la baja calificada como no justificada, la disciplina social y la denominada «solidaridad cooperativa».

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VOLUNTARY LEAVING QUALIFIED AS NOT JUSTIFIED, SANCTION FOR NOT PARTICIPATING IN THE COOPERATIVE ACTIVITY AND REDUCTION OF THE SANCTION FOR JUDICIAL INTERVENTION
COMMENTARY ON JUDGMENT 727/2023, OF FEBRUARY 28, 2023, CIVIL CHAMBER OF THE SUPREME COURT

This judgment analyzes the consequences of a disciplinary procedure against a member of a cooperative. Apart from strictly procedural issues, which are also of great interest, the main litigious issue consists in determining whether the judicial bodies can limit the disciplinary power of the Cooperative, lowering the amount of the fine imposed. Likewise, the judgment is of great interest for two reasons. On one hand, because the importance of duly reflecting, with maximum detail and coherence in all the sentences that deal with the same litigation and form a sequence, the facts, the results of the tests carried out and the legal foundations, is clear. On the other hand, because the confusion of different legal institutions typical of cooperative law can be observed, such as leaving qualified as unjustified, social discipline and the so-called `cooperative solidarity´.

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La pobreza energética es un problema social en España que se ha visto especialmente agravado por el actual escenario de inflación y cambio climático. Los cambios normativos actuales han permitido la creación de cooperativas energéticas que se están convirtiendo en una posible solución que permite obtener energía renovable a precios asequibles tanto para particulares como para empresas. Los proyectos piloto están permitiendo analizar los diferentes modelos de funcionamiento que ayudarán al desarrollo de un adecuado marco normativo.
Existen diferentes modelos en función de los agentes implicados, la forma jurídica, la forma de generación o financiación entre otras. Este trabajo pretende mostrar tres modelos que se están desarrollando en Andalucía y que pueden servir de ejemplo para otros proyectos de similares características.

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Energy poverty is a social problem in Spain that has been especially aggravated by the current scenario of inflation and climate change. The current regulatory changes have allowed the creation of energy cooperatives that are becoming a possible solution that allows obtaining renewable energy at affordable prices for both individuals and companies. The pilot projects are making it possible to analyze the different operating models that will help to develop an adequate regulatory framework.
There are different models depending on the agents involved, the legal form, the form of generation or financing, among others. This work aims to show three models that are being developed in Andalusia and that can serve as an example for other projects with similar characteristics.