85 Basque businesses from 14 sectors are registered with EMAS

The Basque Country holds 9% (85) of EMAS certifications in Spain (986), putting it in fifth place after Catalonia (25%), Galicia (14%), Madrid (12%) and the Canary Islands (11%). The construction sector and manufacturing industry comprise 42% of the total and constitute the most EMAS registrations in the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country. Europe-wide, the Basque Country holds around 2.1% of total EMAS certifications.

Organisations with EMAS certification have a clear environmental policy, use an environmental management system and provide regular, independently-verified environmental declarations on the operation of said system.

The EU Ecolabel in the Basque Country

Currently, 53 Basque businesses offer products or services with the EU Ecolabel. From 2010 through to 2021, Basque companies increased the number of products with this certification from 39 to the present total of 375. The product categories with the EU Ecolabel includes tissue and related items, paper, dishwashing detergents, heavy duty cleaning products, cosmetics, industrial dishwashing detergents, paints and varnishes, furniture, tourist accommodation and indoor cleaning services.

The EU Ecolabel is an official system of the European Union that recognises and identifies environmentally friendly products and services. It is a reliable, rigorous and voluntary system that promotes products and services with a lower environmental impact throughout their life cycle owing to efficient resource use and a high degree of environmental protection. The EU Ecolabel enables consumers to easily and quickly identify products and services that meet these criteria.

The Basque Country currently boasts 13% of all Ecolabel-certified products in Spain behind only Catalonia and Valencia (43% and 17%, respectively). In terms of the number of certifications obtained, however, the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country is in second place with 20% of current valid Ecolabel licences after Catalonia (27%). The Basque Country can claim 100% of all certified products in the furniture category as well as 67% of all Ecolabel-certified tourist accommodation nationwide.

Looking at the European total, the Basque Country holds around 2.8% of all products in the EU with the Ecolabel – a similar percentage to the number of EMAS certifications.

The Vice-Department for Environmental Sustainability is the competent authority for these certifications in the Basque Country and keeps an up-to-date list of Basque businesses registered in EMAS and of Basque products and services with the EU Ecolabel. The list is available on the website of the Department for Economic Development, Sustainability and the Environment of the Basque Government.