Billionaire philanthropist Esther Koplowitz has been awarded one of Spain's highest civil decorations for environmental sustainability and corporate responsibility - the Grand Cross of the Civil Order of Environmental Merit.

Koplowitz runs the global environmental services company – Fomento de Construcciones y Contratas (FCC), a pioneer of green technologies. She inherited the firm from her father and set up the Esther Koplowitz Foundation to channel some of the family’s wealth into social healthcare and biomedical sciences. Recently the Foundation donated 15m euros to open a biomedical research centre in Barcelona.

She has also built several care homes in Spain, specialising in support for the elderly, disabled adults and children with cerebal palsy.

Koplowitz has also funded many research programmes into diseases such as cancer, Alzheimer’s, drug-addiction and sclerosis. She has also financed over 1,400 scholarships for students with financial difficulties.