Port accessToday, the Port Authority of Bilbao received the three-star “Sello Gosasun” award – the highest honour this programme confers. It is an award promoted by Innobasque, the Basque Agency for Innovation, to encourage healthy practices in the workplace based on three main pillars- eating habits, physical activity, and emotional health.
The Port Authority has received the award due to its wide-ranging, pioneer programme Portu Osasuntsua (Basque for “Health in the Port”), which is an initiative generating workplace space to protect, promote and support the physical, mental and socio-cultural wellbeing of the company staff. In order to receive the highest distinction, the jury has also taken into consideration, the fact that the programme is included in the organisation’s management system, whether it can be applied in other environments or organisations, and that it is a new, original initiative.
To achieve all this, the Port Authority has implemented different actions, such as:
- Blood and bone marrow donation.
- Solidarity actions.
- Informative activity on the staff webpage.
- Diverse educational activities and talks with experts.
- A healthy eating programme: information sessions with a dietician, healthy meals in the canteen, healthy products in the vending machines, availability of seasonal fruit in common places in accordance with the recommendations of the FOOD project, the NAOS strategy and the SLOW FOOD movement, all carried out as far as possible through fair trade.
- Physical health promotion programme including: outdoor weekend sporting activities, participation in popular and family sporting races, triathlon relays, local hikes, sports centre subsidies.
- Prevention campaigns: colon cancer, prostate cancer, prevention of thyroid diseases and flu vaccination.
- Port cardiovascular health strategy 2014-2017 as a continuation of the measures that were undertaken with the cardio protection space certification awarded in 2011.
- Development of plan for equality.
- Development of plan for Basque language.
- Implementation of a harassment prevention procedure.
The activities the “Sello Gosasun” award recognises are initiatives that do not form part of the everyday activity of the organisations promoting them and they go beyond the responsibility of the organisations. They are programmes carried out systematically and deal with the promotion of health in an integrated way. The “Sello GOSASUN” award is a way of recognising the commitment of the GOSASUN agents to health promotion in the Basque Country.
