Greetings from the General ManagerAs the public environmental management company of the Basque Government, IHOBE is in a unique position to support the department that drives the economic policy and competitiveness of the main economic sectors in the Basque Country. Our expertise in key areas such as circular economy, climate change, soil protection and biodiversity, will be essential to promote the recovery of the Basque Country following the COVID-19 pandemic, in alignment with the European Green Deal. The European Green Deal is one of the main mechanisms for steering a way out of the crisis and achieving a more sustainable future. The Basque Government transfers the spirit of this commitment to the Basque Country through the Basque Green Deal. The main areas of this economic and environmental roadmap are: Climate Ambition, Clean, Safe and Affordable Energy, Circular Economy, Energy Efficiency and Sustainable Construction, Sustainable Mobility, Farm to Table, and Zero Pollution. We must all work together to make sustainability an intrinsic part of product and service development. The governance of the transformation process must explicitly recognise the role of sustainability as a factor of competitiveness. To achieve this, innovation must be promoted by improving sustainability in the smart specialisation strategy, and a common set of tools must be developed to facilitate dialogue and cooperation between socio-economic agents on the subject of sustainability. This is enshrined in the purpose of the Department for Economic Development, Sustainability and Environment: “accelerate an economic revival, creating jobs by harnessing digital, ecological, and social-health transformations as opportunities improve the competitiveness of the productive structure, and integrate environmental criteria into all sectoral policies, not as a condition, but as a competitive factor to create value.” It is precisely here that Ihobe is aligned and plays a key role in the deployment of this legislature’s programme. Our approach is comprehensive. The new Ihobe Strategic Plan 2024 covers the entire cycle of public policies and is based on innovation, to contribute to the environmentally sustainable development of the Basque Country and our proportional share of the overall Sustainable Development Goals as a reference, embodied in the Basque Country Agenda 2030. We are committed to sustainability!Alexander Boto Bastegieta General Manager
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 objectivesOE1. 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 PolicyIhobe 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 managementAdopting 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 languageInvolving, 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 suppliersBuilding 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 identityWeaving 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 ReportsThe 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. This plan, which is framed within the responsible governance strategy of this public entity and with its action plan, assumes a strategic commitment to integrate specific actions in the management of the organisation. Those actions showcase the gender commitment from an approach based on planning, coordinating and allocating resources to implement and assess the plan, by seeking to impact our workers and society.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: Environmental Policy and Strategy EEA, European Environmental Agency EPA Network, European Network of the Heads of Environment Protection Agencies DEFRA-Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (United Kingdom) RIVM-National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (Netherlands) Institute of Economics Applied to the Company of the University of the Basque Country Regions4 Sustainability Development ENEC Contaminated soil Common Forum on contaminated land in the European Union OVAM-Public Waste Agency of Flanders Sprilur-Company for the Promotion and Management of Industrial Land Elika, Basque Foundation for Agri-food Safety Environmental Product Innovation UNEP - United Nations Environment Programme Beaz Bizkaia School of Engineering of the University of the Basque Country AENOR-Spanish Standardisation and Certification Association Visesa-Vivienda y Suelo de Euskadi, S.A. Basque-Navarra Professional Association of Architects Mondragon UnibertsitateaEREK, European Resource Efficiency Knowledge Centre Eco-efficient industry IZAITE - Association of Basque Companies for Sustainability Aclima - Environmental Industry Cluster of the Basque Country Envirowise (United Kingdom) Entorno Foundation. Kimika-Basque Chemical Industry Cluster Responsible Administration IVAP - Basque Institute of Public Administration Biodiversity ENCA-European Nature Conservation Agencies Network Inbio-National Biodiversity Institute (Costa Rica) Waste Catalan Waste Agency Wrap-Waste & Resources Action Programme (United Kingdom) Climate Change BC3-Basque Centre for Climate Change EVE - Basque Energy Board The Climate Group Eco-innovation: Innobasque-Basque Innovation Agency Tecnalia Orkestra, Basque Institute of Competitiveness Deusto Foundation Ecodes Kutxa Eranet Susprise Eco-Innovera IPTS-Institute for Prospective Technological Studies of the European Commission´s Joint Research Centre (JRC) Municipality and Local Sustainability ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability Xarxa de Ciutats i Pobles cap a la Sostenibilitat de Catalunya CEA-Vitoria-Gasteiz Environmental Education Centre Eudel-Association of Basque Municipalities Ura - Basque Water Agency Knowledge transfer University of the Basque Country – Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea (UPV/EHU) Management Excellence Euskalit-Basque Foundation for Excellence NSF-Novia Salcedo Foundation EqualityRed de Entidades Públicas para la Igualdad de Mujeres y Hombres BAI Sarea.
Ihobe is a publicly-owned company coming under the Basque Government's Ministry of Economic Development, Sustainability and the Environment. The Ministry also includes the Housing Office and the Territorial Planning Office.. Ihobe’s Board of Directors is the management authority that represents this publicly-owned company and is made up of a minimum of three members and a maximum of seven, appointed by the General Meeting of Shareholders. Ihobe is structured around a General Management Division and three operational areas - Administration, Communication and Technical -, along with a total of 12 management units.
: Ihobe’s Board of Directors is the management authority that represents this publicly-owned company and is made up of a minimum of three members and a maximum of seven, appointed by the General Meeting of Shareholders.Participants: Pursuant to the Ihobe articles of association, its Board of Directors is made up of no less than 3 and no more than 7 members. CHAIR Ms. Arantxa Tapia Otaegui Minister for Economic Development, Sustainability and Environment DEPUTY CHAIR Ms. Amaia Barneo Martín Deputy Minister for the Environment MEMBERS Mr. Javier Agirre Orcajo Environmental Administration Director MEMBERS Alberto José Fernández González Director of Technology and Strategy MEMBERS Ane Etxenausia Aramburuzabala Director of Tax Administration MEMBERS Olga Martín García Aclima General Director NON-EXECUTIVE SECRETARY Mr. José Antonio Armolea Solabarrieta Lawyer and Coordinator of the HR and General Administration Unit. GENERAL MANAGER Alexander Boto Basteguieta
Ihobe Save 28/03/2023 Ihobe Ihobe manages to mobilise nearly 3 euros on environmental investment for every euro of its budget executed The public company attached to the Basque Government's Department for Economic Development, Sustainability and the Environment published the most important data on its work in 2022 today in its corporate report, including all the initiatives and actions carried out during this period to promote sustainable environmental policies through its operational divisions devoted to environmental sustainability, climate change and the circular economy.
Ihobe Save Ihobe Ihobe celebrates 40 years leading climate action, local sustainability and circular economy in the Basque Country 26/01/2023
Ihobe, Ihobe International Save Ihobe, Ihobe International Ihobe is recruiting for Urban Klima 2050, the Basque Country’s biggest climate action project for the next few years 05/08/2022
Ihobe Save Ihobe Ihobe allocated €70 million to environmental investments in Basque industry in 2021 28/04/2022
Environment, Ihobe Save Environment, Ihobe Ihobe publishes its 2020 Environmental Statement and renews its EMAS registration 09/03/2022