Our goal

To generate cutting-edge scientific and technological knowledge and transform it into useful, sustainable and high-impact solutions. Through applied research, and the commercialisation and transfer of technology to the public and private sectors, we strengthen the innovation ecosystem so that businesses can become more competitive through technological innovation.

Our ultimate aim is to help solve complex challenges in areas such as health and care, manufacturing processes, the environment and energy, contributing to the well-being of society and the competitiveness of businesses.

Our vision and innovation objective

To be an international leader in applied research, technological development, technology transfer and innovation, transforming knowledge into tangible value for businesses and society. We aim to drive innovative, multidisciplinary and high-impact solutions that anticipate future challenges, strengthen the business community and contribute to sustainable growth and a better quality of life.

To achieve this, we deploy a strategy based on:

• Technology Transfer and Collaboration with Industry: The centre prioritises the efficient transfer of technology and the establishment of long-term partnerships, through value propositions tailored to the needs of businesses and industries. This involves working on the concept of partnership rather than the client-supplier model, having an industrial and intellectual property policy committed to the exploitation of results by clients, thereby ensuring increased competitiveness and the creation of competitive advantages, and making decisions regarding the incubation and acceleration of technology-based businesses (EBTs).

• Generating critical mass in technology and the role of technology centres: This involves developing communication programmes on the impact of technology that aim to raise awareness amongst companies, industries and society at large of the importance of innovation processes.

• Development of internal capabilities: We focus on developing technical and professional capabilities in various areas, using the state of the art in enabling technologies and technology transfer as our benchmark. This involves internal people management based on professional growth in three areas of activity: strategic, technical and business.

Our values

EXCELLENCE: We strive for the highest quality in everything we do, so that we are seen as a benchmark within the innovation ecosystem to which we belong.

SUSTAINABILITY: Developing the organisation to meet current needs without compromising the future. All of this is done with a clear focus on corporate social responsibility and contributing to the environment.

ENTHUSIASM AND CREATIVITY: Behaviour of the group with a high level of involvement and motivation. Capacity to generate ideas and initiatives. Innovative culture.

COMMITMENT TO REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT: Promote sustainable development in the Region to improve the quality of life and increase its competitive capacity.

The CARTIF DIRECTION, with the aim of ensuring a high standard of performance in all activities carried out by the Centre and of maximising value creation for its clients and other stakeholders, is committed to implementing, maintaining and continuously improving an Integrated Management System that ensures quality, environmental sustainability, technical competence, information security and, in particular, the systematic management of innovation as a key element in fulfilling its mission.

CARTIF understands innovation as a strategic, structured and results-oriented process, which begins with the identification of market needs, challenges and opportunities and concludes with the valuation, transfer, adoption and effective exploitation by stakeholders of solutions that generate economic, social and environmental impact. In this regard, the Management is committed to:

• Establish, maintain and continuously improve the Integrated Management System (SIGMAQ) throughout CARTIF, ensuring that activities are conducted in accordance with the UNE-EN ISO 9001, EN ISO 14001, EN ISO / IEC 17025, UNE-EN ISO 56001, ISO/IEC 27001 and National Security Scheme, taking into account the requirements set by customers and stakeholders, as well as legislative, regulatory and contractual requirements.
• To promote the value creation and technology transfer plan as the central pillar for implementing the Centre’s strategy, as it comprises a set of activities that help CARTIF staff in their day-to-day work to align their innovation activities with the opportunities and needs of the wider environment: society, the business and industrial ecosystem, and public administrations.
• To orient the Centre’s activities towards the market, promoting active and systematic engagement with businesses, public administrations, the scientific community and other stakeholders, so that the Centre’s activities, underpinned primarily by technological innovation, respond to real needs and contribute to improving the competitive position of the organisation and its environment.
• To manage the Centre through an innovation-based management approach in which processes are informed by continuous analysis of the context, the identification of opportunities, risk management and evidence-based decision-making, integrating the Centre’s internal and external knowledge. This involves process-based management founded on continuous analysis of the environment, taking all stakeholders into account, market-oriented, and making use of all existing knowledge at CARTIF to identify which, of the numerous forces present in the environment, are of the greatest importance, and to enable a deep understanding of the goals, objectives and plans pursued, thereby improving the organisation’s competitive position
• Compile and disseminate the current state of knowledge in each of the R&D&I areas.
• To develop, implement and continuously improve an Innovation Management System aligned with CARTIF’s strategy, enabling the transformation of knowledge and capabilities into solutions of value to the market, thereby reinforcing the Centre’s role as an agent driving business competitiveness and social prosperity through technological innovation.
• Strengthen the areas necessary to achieve the desired level of quality, with a focus on the three pillars set out in the strategy:
  · People: Strengthen training, education and talent development, viewing the workforce as one of the essential pillars for knowledge generation, innovation and the Centre’s future sustainability. Use the training and development of research staff as a lever to improve skills and performance in innovation-related tasks.
  · Infrastructure: Facilitate the acquisition of the technical and organisational resources necessary for the effective development of innovation activities, the maturation of results, their valorisation and their entry into the market for use and/or exploitation by the end user
  · Market: Developing and applying technologies and methodologies that contribute to the generation of value within the innovation ecosystem to which the Centre belongs, collaborating with all stakeholders to ensure their satisfaction. To achieve this, it is essential that the policy on use and/or exploitation is based on (-) adequately protecting the results of R&D&I activities.
• To foster a culture of innovation that encourages creativity, collaboration, organisational learning, initiative and continuous improvement, promoting the active participation of staff in the generation, development and transfer of ideas and solutions, through:
  · Disseminating documentation on SIGMAQ and ensuring that staff are familiar with this documentation.
  · Strengthening the implementation of the policy and procedures.
  · Promoting self-assessment as a tool for continuous improvement.
• Developing and applying technologies and methodologies that facilitate the improvement of companies’ competitiveness, drawing on the existing body of scientific and technical knowledge, and generating comprehensive solutions that are technically and economically viable and geared towards their effective adoption by the end user.
• Carry out R&D&I activities in areas of common interest to stakeholders, consolidating CARTIF as a unit for research, technological development and innovation aimed at generating social and technical impact in the market.
• To integrate the compliance policy into the Integrated Management System and the Innovation Management System, fostering a culture of compliance, ethics, integrity and good governance that enables the prevention and management of legal, regulatory, contractual and reputational risks, thereby strengthening stakeholder confidence and ensuring that innovation is developed in a responsible and safe manner, in line with CARTIF’s strategy.

The CARTIF DIRECTION AND STAFF are committed to the conservation of natural resources and the protection of the environment, in accordance with the following principles:

• Identify and evaluate environmental issues associated with life cycle processes, activities and operations developed by CARTIF, improve continuously avoiding the transfer of impacts of one life cycle stage to another and prevent pollution.
• Consider the environmental aspects associated with the life cycle of products, processes and services designed or redesigned within the projects developed by CARTIF. Working on improving the same, minimizing their environmental impact, considering the whole life cycle and preventing the transfer of environmental impacts from one stage to another.
• Comply with environmental laws and applicable regulations to the processes, activities and operations carried out by CARTIF throughout the life cycle of these as well as other requirements to which CARTIF commits.
• Use environmentally friendly products in the development of all its activities.
• Inform and train CARTIF staff in aspects related to the environmental protection.
• Analyze and improve its practices and processes in the light of technological advances, of the new safety conditions and environmental science, aimed at preventing and minimizing adverse impacts on all areas of the environment.
• Provide accurate and transparent information about the environmental performance of the center to customers, partners, governments and other stakeholders.

In this way, CARTIF reaffirms its commitment to an integrated management model in which innovation, quality, sustainability, safety and technical excellence work in tandem to fulfil its mission: to generate and transfer knowledge and technology to the market, support business competitiveness and contribute to social prosperity through technological innovation.

The Management Team of the CARTIF Foundation is committed to being a leader in Occupational Health and Safety in order to safeguard its employees and the organisation’s assets.

To fulfil this commitment, the CARTIF Foundation’s policy is based on conducting its activities in such a way as to minimise risks to the health and safety of its employees, clients and subcontractors.

This policy covers the design, manufacture and distribution of all its products, as well as the transport, handling and disposal of all materials.

CARTIF undertakes to:

• Comply with all laws and regulations relating to Health and Safety in all locations where it operates.
• Adopt its own standards where local laws or regulations do not sufficiently cover the requirements in these areas.
• As a condition of employment, every employee shall undertake to uphold the spirit and letter of this policy, as well as to comply with all Health and Safety procedures and policies established by CARTIF.
• The management team has a special obligation and responsibility to maintain workplaces in perfect conditions of health and safety, ensuring that all risks are identified and controlled.
• These principles are based on the fundamental belief that, regardless of their importance or urgency, all work can and must be carried out safely.

In CARTIF Foundation, we are aware that our business management has to be in line with the needs and demands of society, and therefore we are committed to the development of a Plan for Equality between women and men in the company, following the guidelines set by the legislation ont he subject and therefore with absolute subjection to the integration of the principle of equal treatment and opportunities as set out in Organic Law 3/2007, for the effective equality of women and men.

Through the implementation of this Equality Plan, CARTIF Foundation undertakes to:

• Design and facilitate the necessary measures for the reconciliation of the personal, family and professional life of its members, taking as a reference the needs and expectations of the people who part of the organisation, communicating them and making them available to all interested staff, and committing to their communication and monitoring.

• Continuosly ensuring equal opportunities and non-discrimination in professional development, remuneration and compensation, whether for reasons of maternity or paternity, gender, disability, care for dependents, ethnic or racial origin, trade union membership, religion, beliefs or any other personal or social condition or circumstance.

The Management of CARTIF, committed to excellence, innovation, and continuous improvement in all its areas of activity, establishes this Information Security Policy as a framework to adequately protect information assets, support the fulfillment of the organization’s strategic objectives, and ensure the trust of its clients, partners, and stakeholders.

This policy applies to all people, processes, systems, and technologies involved in information management at CARTIF, within the framework of the Information Security Management System (ISMS), which is based on the principles, requirements, and measures defined in Royal Decree 311/2022, of May 3, which regulates the National Security Framework (ENS), and on the UNE-EN ISO/IEC 27001:2022 standard on information security management systems. It adopts a comprehensive, risk-based, and continuously improving approach.

General Objectives

CARTIF assumes and applies the basic principles of the National Security Framework as the foundation of its operations: comprehensive security, risk-based management, prevention, proportionality, accountability, documentation, continuous improvement, and periodic review. These principles guide the implementation of technical and organizational measures that ensure an appropriate level of information protection.

CARTIF is committed to:

• Protecting the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the information it manages, whether its own or that of third parties.

• Complying with all legal, regulatory, and contractual requirements, as well as with obligations derived from agreements and conventions.

• Preventing, detecting, responding to, and recovering from information security incidents.

• Promoting a security culture among staff through training, awareness, and individual responsibility.

• Applying a risk-based approach, assessing threats and vulnerabilities to establish appropriate and proportional controls.

• Integrating security into the development, operation, and support processes of information technologies.

• Implementing and maintaining a continuous improvement system, performing periodic reviews of the ISMS and this policy to adapt them to organizational, technological, or regulatory changes.

Scope of Application

This policy applies to information systems and services classified according to their impact on the confidentiality, integrity, availability, authenticity, and traceability of information, in accordance with Annex I of the National Security Framework (ENS).
In particular, the systems covered by the Information Security Management System (ISMS) are categorized with a Medium security level, based on the impact analysis carried out and documented by the organization.

Management and Staff Commitment

The Management of CARTIF assumes leadership in the implementation and improvement of the Information Security Management System (ISMS), providing the necessary resources and ensuring the involvement of all personnel.

In compliance with the National Security Framework (ENS), the following key security roles are explicitly defined: Information Owner, Service Owner, Security Officer, and System Owner, ensuring their effective coordination and integration into organizational processes and system life cycles.
All of them shall perform their duties in accordance with the principles of responsibility and proportionality, under the supervision of the Management.

Review and Approval

his policy is identified with the following document control information:

• Version: 1.0

• Approval date: 01/06/2025

• Approved by: CARTIF Management

This policy will be reviewed annually or whenever there is a significant change in the organizational, regulatory, or technological context. The review and approval are the responsibility of CARTIF Management.

The Significance Index, resulting from the annual evaluation of environmental aspects at Fundación Cartif, and which measures the impact of the entity’s activities on the environment (consumption, waste generation, emissions, etc.), has shown slight variations in recent years with a downward trend up to 2025, as can be seen in the following table:

This downward trend contrasted with the increase in staff and activity within the organization, which has been constant since its origin but has intensified in recent years. The figures reflect the results achieved through continuous improvement in the optimization of consumption and the minimization of waste generation, among other factors. During 2025, a greater number of projects focused on the valorization of waste and by-products were undertaken, aiming to reduce waste in society; however, this paradoxically increases waste generation within the center itself. Nevertheless, the final outcome of these projects represents a benefit to the Environment, which encourages us to continue working along the same lines.

In the annual evaluation of environmental aspects for 2025, fuel consumption and the generation of hazardous waste were identified as significant. The Significance Index reached 21.35, higher than the 2024 value of 18.98, due to an increase in the number of projects carried out and in staff. Improvement objectives for 2026 include reducing the consumption associated with these significant aspects.