That figure is included in the corporate report that the Basque Government’s environmental agency has published this morning. The report covers the main results of Ihobe’s activity during the past year, along with its impact on compliance of the Basque Green Deal.

The document considers Ihobe’s main results and milestones

Specifically, Ihobe managed to rally some five hundred companies and entities to adopt measures to facilitate the circular economy, and to minimise climate change. Furthermore, the company has developed some thirty advanced knowledge tools – including technical publications, climate modelling viewers, carbon calculator, circular design and ecodesign methodologies, green procurement technical handbooks, ecodesign, sustainable construction, etc. – to facilitate decision making.

Special mention should be made of the renewal of the Basque Ecodesign Center public-private partnership between leading companies and the Basque Government, with Ihobe as the technical secretariat, to develop innovative circular economy projects, generate knowledge and transfer it to the Basque industrial fabric. This partnership is made up of 14 Basque companies employing 148,000 people and involving 103,000 suppliers.

Furthermore, the new Basque Circular Hub, an advanced services centre for the Basque Country’s circular economy and the outcome of the partnership between Ihobe and Bilbao Centre, opened its doors in March 2021. Last year, 130 young people were trained there and who have gone on to implement circular economy projects in Basque companies.

A further aspect regarding the circular economy is the launch of the Basque Circular SME initiative. It includes a new line of funding that has benefitted 106 small and medium-sized companies in its first call.

The most important technical publications include the first Catalogue of Circular Products Manufactured in the Basque Country, the Handbook for Sustainable Industrialised Construction of the Basque Country or the Environment Status and Outlook in the Basque Country 2020.

As regards environmental education, Ekoetxea – the Basque network of environmental education centres, which Ihobe manages in Urdaibai, Meatzaldea-Peñas Negras, Txingudi and Azpeitia, received over 138,000 visits despite the pandemic restrictions.

At municipal level, Ihobe is the technical secretariat of Udalsarea 2030, the Basque network of sustainable municipalities. Last year, the network, made up of 191 Basque municipalities, marked 20 years of directly working with municipal staff to integrate sustainability in local government. Precisely, with the support of Udalsarea 2030, Ihobe and the Basque Energy Board (EVE) held the II ASTEKLIMA, Basque Climate and Energy Week, in 2021. During the week, over 200 activities were organised all over the Basque Country, involving 63 local authorities with a total of 865,000 inhabitants.

All of Ihobe’s results, together with its most notable milestones in 2021, can be consulted in the 2021 corporate report.

About Ihobe

Ihobe is the environmental management agency answering to the Basque Government’s Ministry of Economic Development, Sustainability and the Environment. Its mission is to improve the environment by integrating environmental criteria in Basque sectoral policies as a sustainable competitive edge for the Basque Country and its organisations.

It employs 54 people – 40 women and 14 men – with an average age of 49 years old. Seventy-eight percent of the staff have completed higher education. Furthermore, the satisfaction of the Ihobe team is 8/10.

Ihobe has been recognised as a “Partner Entity for Gender Equality” by Emakunde and is a member of BAI SAREA, the network of entities that hold this recognition and are voluntarily committed to promote gender equality.

You can find out more information on Ihobe’s activity, actions to promote equality, activities to drive cooperation, insertion and education, international activity, and other initiatives driven by this publicly-owned company in its full corporate report, available through this link: memoria2021.ihobe.eus.