Mission

We are a public entity attached to the Department of Economic Development, Sustainability and Environment of the Basque Government, who works to improve the environment by integrating environmental criteria into public policies.

What we do

• We support policies to move towards sustainability.
• We promote networks and alliances to facilitate the exchange of knowledge and experiences.
• We propose approaches and methodologies to accelerate climate and environmental action.

Strategic objectives

• OE1. Integrate environmental sustainability into public policies.
• OE2. Deployment of instruments into Circular economy, Climate change, Soil protection, and Environmental sustainability policies.
• OE3. Achieve becoming a reference in the transfer of applied knowledge.
• OE4. Mobilize sustainable action to companies, public entities and citizens.

Corporate Policy

Ihobe aims to improve the environment, integrating environmental criteria in sectorial policies as a sustainable and competitive element of value for our country and its organisations.

We are an exemplary and innovative public organisation that fosters environmental improvement in the Basque Country, in collaboration with public administrations, companies and citizens. We seek to become an environmental benchmark in the Basque Country and work towards the international positioning of the Basque Country as an advanced region in environmental friendliness and sustainability.

The SDGs 2030, set out in the Basque Country Agenda 2030, are our reference to align our activity with a universal, integrated and transforming action plan to foster sustainable human development.

To do so, we integrate and address the expectations and demands of the different stakeholders and we use this Corporate Policy to carry out our activity in line with the following four pillars:

Advanced public management

Adopting advanced Corporate Governance practices, achieving efficiency and continuously improving the activities we develop through the adoption of sustainable practices, administering our resources responsibly and effectively.

Managing risks that may affect the fulfilment of the organisation’s objectives, minimising these risks and taking advantage of opportunities.

Fostering the appropriate safe, sustainable and healthy work conditions to protect our people and our suppliers and clients, ensuring the integration of risk prevention in all levels of our activity.

Fulfilling the requirements set out in the regulations and legal frameworks that are applicable to us or those that we voluntarily adopt.

Motivated and responsible people, committed to equality and the basque language

Involving, motivating and gaining the satisfaction of our people, through leadership and professional development.
Commitment to standardisation in the presence, use and management of Basque by our organisation and its staff.

Establishing measures aimed at ensuring the equal treatment of men and women in the workplace and in employment quality, as well as the entity’s external actions and specific actions to prevent and address sexual and gender harassment.

Addressing the needs of our clients in collaboration with our suppliers

Building a sustainable relationship with our suppliers and ensuring equal treatment and the principle of concurrence through transparent, objective and impartial processes.

Transparent communication to different stakeholders of relevant and accurate information on the activities carried out to address and satisfy their demands. Continuously adding value to our clients through trust and ongoing dialogue.

Promoting a network of alliances and fostering innovation as part of our identity

Weaving a network of alliances based on trust and mutual success. Fostering creativity, inspiration and innovation management as a future guarantee and lever for competitiveness improvement.

Systematising the training, analysis, enhancement and dissemination of useful information through the Monitoring and Intelligence process to provide added value to our clients.
Working to protect the environment and prevent contamination from a sustainable approach, through exemplariness and involvement of all Ihobe people in environmental and social improvement, beyond our activity.

Progress Reports

The Basque Government overall strategy sets some major environmental challenges to be addressed by 2024.

Ihobe is already tackling these, and they will determine future projects such as climate action, protecting our natural assets and boosting a circular economy.

Since December 2020, Ihobe has had a new Management Plan 2021 approved by its Board of Directors chaired by Arantxa Tapia, advisor for Economic Development, Sustainability and the Environment.

These reports present a summary of the most significant areas for Ihobe during the first quarter of the year.

Commitment to Equality  

Several years ago, the Ihobe management team and staff decided to take a step further to specify and systematise its commitment to gender equality, which is set out in the III Plan for Gender Equality and the Gender Perspective 2018-2020.

Ihobe’s III Plan for Gender Equality has 29 objectives and 21 actions grouped into four blocks, following the guidelines of the VII Plan for Gender Equality in the Basque Autonomous Community, and including:

• Good governance
• Empowerment
• Social and economic transformation
• Lives free from gender violence.

Since 2015, Ihobe has been recognised by Emakunde, the Basque Institute for Women, as a “Partner entity for gender equality".

One of Ihobe's hallmarks is its focus on ongoing cooperation with other public and private organisations. The relationship is based on trust, proximity and, above all, on the conviction that these dynamics of environmental policy cooperation is to the general benefit of Basque society overall.

Ihobe works closely with the following entities: