REPORT

2021

We are Ihobe, the Public Environmental Management Agency reporting to the Department for Economic Development, Sustainability and the Environment of the Basque Government.

Our goal is to improve the environment by integrating environmental criteria in Basque public policy to create sustainable value added for our country and its organisations.

‘The Basque Green Deal: integrating the environment into sectoral policies’

Arantxa Tapia Otaegi

Minister for Economic Development, Sustainability and the Environment of the Basque Government and President of Ihobe, the Public Environmental Management Agency .

‘We are taking steps to improve our environment’

Alexander Boto Bastegieta

General Director of Ihobe,
Public Environmental Management Agency, Basque Government.

Our routemap

Ihobe in action

Results 2021

+ 0

businesses and organisations mobilised for the circular economy and tackling climate change

projects by public bodies

supported by the funding programme for Local Climate Eco-innovation

projects

funded through the Circular Eco-innovation call for applications 2021

SMEs

confirmed in the first call for funding applications for the Basque Circular SME programme

municipalities

in the process of designing and implementing the Local Agenda 2030

million euros

allocated to sectoral integration of environmental policy

The Ihobe multiplier effect in the private sector has been €6:
for each euro allocated, €6 have been mobilised for environmental investment.

Effects induced

by Ihobe’s work in 2021:

tonnes of greenhouse gasses avoided

tonnes of waste and soil landfill avoided

hectares of land recovered

tools

providing advanced knowledge for decision-making (publications, viewfinders, methodologies, technical guides, etc.)

Supporting environmental planning for sustainability

Approved in October

Approved in November

Approved in December

A public-private alliance set up in 2011 to enable collaboration between large businesses and the Basque Government. Its goals are to develop innovative circular economy projects and to generate and transfer knowledge to Basque industry, with Ihobe acting as Technical Secretariat.

Members of the Basque Ecodesign Center:

Basque companies

jobs

suppliers

We run the Basque Centre for Advanced Circular Economy Services, which is the result of a public-private collaboration involving the Basque Government, Bilbao City Hall, the University of Deusto, the University of the Basque Country, Mondragon University, the Euskadi-Tknika Centre for Applied Research in Vocational Training, and the Novia Salcedo Foundation.

The Basque Circular Hub has brought practical business training to:

young people

We run the Basque network of environmental education centres. It has four headquarters: two in Bizkaia (Ekoetxea Urdaibai and Ekoetxea Meatzaldea-Peñas Negras) and two in Gipuzkoa (Ekoetxea Txingudi and Ekoetxea Azpeitia).

In 2021, the Ekoetxea centres welcomed:

+ 0

people

The Basque network of sustainable municipalities, of which Ihobe is the Technical Secretariat, is a 20-year-old network comprising municipalities and public administrations that provides a platform for coordinating the sustainability policies of Basque local authorities from a comprehensive perspective.

In 2021, Udalsarea 2030 involved:

Basque municipalities

Ihobe and the Basque Energy Agency (EVE) are the organisers of ASTEKLIMA, the Basque Climate and Energy Week. Its second edition from 24th September to 3rd October 2021 reached out to all corners of the Basque Country:

+ 0

activities

local organisations

comprising

people

The Basque Urban Waste Coordination Body (OCRU), for which Ihobe coordinates the Technical Secretariat, is in charge of coordinating activities for European Week for Waste Reduction in the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country.

During the 2021 edition,
European Week for Waste Reduction in the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country supported:

actions

Ihobe milestones

January

Green publicprocurement and recruitment in the Basque Government.

has greened 46% of purchases from 38 organisations and has won global praise.

March

The first centre for advanced circular economy services in southern Europe

created by the Basque Government and Bilbao City Hall.

May

Launch of the Basque Green Deal

The Basque mode for fair and sustainable economic development.

May

The Basque Country achieved a 2% reduction

in greenhouse gas emissions in the year prior to the pandemic.

Data taken from the last greenhouse gasses inventory for the Basque Country published by Ihobe. The data broken down by historical regions were released in September 2021:

Bizkaia

Araba

Gipuzkoa

May

Acceptance of the climate change commitment

by 21 Basque local authorities which are signatories to the Mayoral Deal on Climate and Energy.

June

Public-private alliance for eco-design and the circular economy

created by the Basque Government and 14 Basque businesses.

June

The state of the environmentin the Basque Country is improving

September

Basque Climate and Energy Week

ASTEKLIMA 2021 ran almost 200 activities to raise awareness of the energy and climate transition in Basque society.

October

The Basque Country represented the voice of the regions at the United Nations Conference

on ClimateChange-COP 26

October

The Basque Circular SME initiative announced a new funding programme

to foster integration of the circular economy in Basque small and medium-sized enterprises.

More milestones in 2021

130 young people receive training and participate in practicals on the circular economy through the Basque Circular Hub

23/12/2021

The Basque Country leads the national ranking for accommodation with the EU Ecolabel

13/07/2021

Visits to the Argalario confinement area resume. This project is a leader in the recovery of contaminated land

14/05/2021

The Basque Country hosts more than 135 actions as part of European Week for Waste Reduction

25/11/2021

Alexander Boto, General Director of Ihobe: ‘Environmental policy is bearing fruit’

22/12/2021

The Basque Country promotes its social, economic and industrial model at COP26 in Glasgow as a key aspect of climate action

30/09/2021

Noteworthy publications

20 years of ecodesign catalogue of circular products manufactured in the Basque Country

01/10/2021

Guide to sustainable industrial construction in the Basque Country

15/12/2021

Contribution of Basque municipalities to the Sustainable Development Goals

01/12/2021

Report on emissions trading in the Basque Country

10/12/2021

Carbon footprint of organisations Calculator tool

17/12/2021

Guide on preparing local climate and energy plans in the Basque Country

08/11/2021

The EU Ecolabel

15/07/2021

Ihobe International

We help position the Basque Country and the Basque Government as sustainability leaders

via the exchange of knowledge and good practice, political representation and engagement, and the creation of new global alliances.

Networking

The Basque Country holds the Presidency of Regions4, the global network of regional governments for sustainable development. Its diverse initiatives bring together more than 77 regions representing more than 300 million people to cooperate on climate change adaptation and biodiversity. The 2030 Agenda provides the routemap towards a sustainable and resilient future.

In 2021, Regions4…

co-organised the main regional government event under the UN High-Level Political Forum in New York in July.
included the Basque Country among the more than 220 governments which are signatories to the Edinburgh Declaration on the post-2020 global biodiversity framework.

invited Ihobe as a main speaker for a seminar on the integration of the climate change, biodiversity and sustainable development agendas.
enabled prominent Basque participation in the Multilevel Action Pavilion at COP26 in Glasgow and the selection of the Urban Klima 2050 project among the good practices highlighted in the publication titled ‘Raising ambitions on climate adaptation’.

The Basque Country is a member of the Executive Commitee of the Under2 Coalition, the biggest global network of countries and regions committed to reducing emissions under the Paris Agreement. The network members comprise more than 260 governments. which represents 50% of the global economy, working on climate action, public policy innovation and transparency.

Achievements of the Under2 Coalition in 2021…

Basque participation in the global Net Zero Futures initiative to showcase the work of the regions to achieve climate neutrality (+info).
Basque participation in the international press conference at COP26 to introduce the commitments of the regions to tackling climate change through to 2030.

Basque participation in the General Assembly of the Under2 Coalition at COP26. The Basque Country received a mention in the first edition of the Leadership Awards of the Under2 Coalition for its Local Climate Eco-innovation funding programme.

The Basque Country is a member of the Executive Committee of ENCORE, a political platform bringing together 122 European governments to support the implementation of the EU’s environmental policy, improve governance and take action in three areas: achieve zero emissions through climate action; maintain and improve ecosystem services; and integrate a circular society to create a just transition.

In 2021, the ENCORE Conference took place virtually. The YOUTHCORE event presented the Tullamore Declaration, which calls for better collaboration around European Environmental Policy.

The Basque Country, via Udalsarea 2030, is a member of the global Local Governments for Sustainability network. With more than 160 member governments across 30 European countries, ICLEI Europe promotes local action for low-carbon development which is nature-based, fair, resilient and circular.

In 2021, as part of the #SustainableCities campaign, ICLEI Europe, the Basque Country and Aalborg, supported by the European Committee of the Regions, organised the 5th Transformative Action Awards. The La Titaranya urban and social rehabilitation project in Valls (Tarragona) was a winner.

European projects

The Urban Klima 2050 Integrated LIFE Project is set to be the biggest climate action project in the Basque Country in the coming years. With an investment of 19.8 million euros and the involvement of 20 member organisations, the project will take forward 40 specific actions for climate change adaptation and mitigation in the Basque Country, split into 5 areas.

In 2021, the project released seven implementation reports/tools/materials and organised three technical workshops, a public awareness-raising campaign and three international events to share the project progress, two of which coincided with COP26 in Glasgow.

The goal of the AGREE project, supported by the European Commission’s Horizon 2020 programme, is to attract investment to improve the energy efficiency of private homes in the Basque Country and the quality of life of the residents. The project is led by the Department for Housing of the Basque Government, in collaboration with Ihobe and Tecnalia and with the local authorities in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Donostia-San Sebastián and Basauri.

In 2021, the project was unveiled to the Los Luises, Gastelu and Zarategi districts of Donostia-San Sebastián. Research was conducted with a view to rehabilitating the Adurtza and San Cristobal districts of Vitoria-Gasteiz, and the Federico Mayo district of Basauri. The goal is to invest approximately €8.5M and to achieve a 250-tonne reduction in Co₂eq/year by 2022.

The project involves 35 organisations from 10 European countries to make progress in implementing the circular economy in the construction sector. Ihobe manages the project’s scientific communication and dissemination work.

In 2021, the Iceberg project (still in its first year) developed functional tools to rapidly digitalise buildings at the end of their useful life, to improve planning, to accurately quantify and identify demolition waste, and for traceability to improve the circular nature of construction and demolition materials.

The Adapyr project is run by the Pyrenean Climate Change Observatory (OPCC). Its goals are to observe, capitalise, transfer and acquire good practices for climate change adaptation in the Pyrenees with cross-border cooperation. Ihobe is a project member together with 11 other regional, national and international institutions.

The main project activities in 2021 include completion of the Pyrenean Climate Change Strategy which sets out the vision for 2050 along with the challenges and lines of action for addressing climate change in the Pyrenees.

Coordinated by the Italian Area Science Park agency, POSIDON brings together 10 international organisations to identify innovative and sustainable solutions for appropriate and profitable management of soil contamination. Ihobe is a technical member of the project. It is part of the European Horizon 2020 programme.

In the second half of 2021, the POSIDON project successfully completed Phase 2. Phase 3 began in September and is due to finish in March 2022.

Ihobe people

As an organisation, we are committed to transparency, good governance and equality between women and men.

people
40 women
14 men

years
average
age

0 %

with a higher education qualification

level of satisfaction with their jobs
at Ihobe

PRESIDENCY

Arantxa Tapia Otaegi

Minister for Economic Development, Sustainability and the Environment

VICE-PRESIDENCY

Amaia Barredo Martín

Deputy Minister for Environmental Sustainability

SPOKESPERSON

Javier Agirre Orcajo

Director of Environmental Quality and the Circular Economy

SPOKESPERSON

Olga Martín García

CEO of Aclima

SPOKESPERSON

Alberto José Fernández González

Director of Technology and Innovation

SPOKESPERSON

Ane Etxenausia Aramburuzabala

Director of Tax Administration

SECRETARY

José Antonio Armolea Solabarrieta

Director of Legal Advice at Ihobe

GENERAL MANAGEMENT

Alexander Boto Basteguieta

General Director of Ihobe

GENERAL MANAGEMENT

Alexander Boto Basteguieta

General Director of Ihobe

STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT

Ignacio Quintana

Strategy and Innovation

Jose Antonio Armolea

Legal Advice

DEPARTMENTAL MANAGERS

Jaione Lanborena

General Secretariat

José María Fernández

Circular Economy

Mari Mar Alonso

Climate Action

Xabier González

Environmental sustainability

IN MEMORIAM

Marian Barquín López

You will always be part of Ihobe.

Ihobe and equality

We are recognised by Emakunde as a ‘Collaborating body for equality between women’

The network comprises organisations with this badge and which are voluntarily committed to promoting equality between women and men.

Some results from the 3rd Equality Plan:

The entire workforce trained in an empowerment workshop and another workshop on the feminist economy of care.

Collaboration with local bodies to promote the employability of women who have difficulties accessing the job market.

Review of hiring procedures to correct and include equality clauses.

The International Change the Change Conference included talks on female leadership and took a gender perspective on climate change.

We are currently preparing our 4th Equality Plan.

Ihobe and social responsibility

We promote the development of the organisations in our social environment

We take an active role in activities where we can fulfil a social role that aligns with our abilities and values and supports our strategy. We support measures that contribute to environmental sustainability. Above all, we value cooperation, integration and education.

Main milestones in 2021

New version of the procurement procedure enables direct hiring from social enterprises.

Donation of 50 computers to ten NGOs via a participative process.

0 %

Around 15% of new hires from social enterprises, which is above the 5% established by the Basque Government.

+€ 0

billed by social enterprises and special job centres.

6 social enterprises and special job centres hired.

Review of template documents to ensure social clauses are effective.

Transparency

€ 0 M

budget in
2021

0 %

budget execution in 2021

100 %

debt

0 days

on average to pay invoices to suppliers in 2021

More about Ihobe

Partnerships

This public agency undertakes ongoing cooperation with other organisations and fosters a spirit of collaboration around environmental policy which has widespread benefits for all of Basque society.

Ihobe works closely with the following bodies:

Suppliers

In 2021,
Ihobe’s suppliers wanted more knowledge on clean technologies, climate change adaptation and green procurement.

Ihobe organises the annual Ihobe Supplier Forum to disseminate its lines of work and its recruitment plan. The forum supports the strategic needs for knowledge or support in this subsector, both in Ihobe and for socio-economic agents across the Basque Country. The needs of the participating companies are recorded through the forum.

Ihobe and environmental communication

At Ihobe, we believe that quality environmental communication is key to making society more sustainable. In 2021, we continued to promote the Environmental Journalism in the Basque Country Award and the Environmental Communication School, and we launched the En verde-Berdean podcast on sustainability and the environment.

Environmental Communication School

We have a collaboration agreement with the Association of Environmental Journalists (APIA). This led to the creation, among other initiatives, of the Environmental Communication School comprising summer courses at the University of the Basque Country to address two key concerns: communication and the environment.

The third edition of the Environmental Communication School, held on 8th and 9th September 2021, looked at the energy and climate transition in the context of a critical period of social and economic transformation that includes the environment.

Environmental Journalism Award

We work with the Basque Association and College of Journalists (CVP-AVP). Since 2019, it has promoted the Environmental Journalism in the Basque Country Award that recognises journalists working on sustainable development, climate change and natural environment conservation, among other matters.

The 2021 winner was Eva Caballero, journalist and director for the ‘La Mecánica del Caracol’ programme on Radio Euskadi. An experienced journalist, she conducts her work with rigour and responsibility.

Podcast chanel

In 2021 we launched En verde-Berdean, a podcast by Ihobe on sustainability and the environment led by the journalist Begoña Beristain. The podcast gives a platform to people and organisations working towards a more sustainable lifestyle model. It discusses their experiences and projects linked to the natural environment and environmental challenges in the Basque Country.

In the first episode, we heard from the writer and naturalist Gabi Martínez. In the second, we were joined by Lexeia Larrañaga and Alex Gutiérrez, Director and Producer, respectively, of Avis Producciones. In the third, we heard from Adriana Uribesalgo, Creative Director and co-founder of Ekmodo. In the fourth, Izaskun Suberbiola took us into the Mater ecoactive museum. In the fifth, the writer, scientific communicator and environmental expert Andreu Escrivà discussed some keys to halting climate change. And in the last episode of 2021, Alexander Boto, General Director of Ihobe, looked at the past, present and future environmental challenges in the Basque Country.

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