Alexander Boto
General Manager
Commitment to a sustainable Basque Country
This is a key time for sustainability. Climate change is advancing at a rapid pace, with ever more visible impacts on our environment, our cities and our economy. At Ihobe, we have taken up the challenge of driving the green transition of the Basque Country, working with companies, institutions and society to advance towards a more sustainable and resilient development model.
One of the fundamental areas of our action is climate action, to transform our way of producing and consuming energy, improving resource efficiency and bolstering nature-based solutions. Decarbonising industry, sustainable mobility and adapting our infrastructures to a changing climate are priority areas on which we are focusing our efforts.
Along with this transformation, the circular economy is positioned as a key strategy to relieve the pressure on natural resources and minimise waste. We are committed to a model where materials and products have a longer service life, where reuse and recycling are essential principles for companies and citizens. That is the only way that we can guarantee economic growth compatible with the planet's limits.
We will continue to work rigorously, drawing on innovation and collaboration to face the environmental challenges with real and effective solutions
Purpose
To inspire and mobilise Basque society and its agents towards a just ecological-climate transition.
Mission
To protect and improve the environment while addressing the ecological-climate transition of the Basque Country. As a Basque Government public entity, Ihobe's mission is to protect and improve the environment. Specifically, we must work to address the main challenges linked to the ecological-climate transition of the Basque Country, and thus improve the resilience and competitiveness of our region. We do this by generating and disseminating quality technical knowledge. We support the design, deployment, and evaluation of public policies. We develop action tools to mobilise and support society and its different socio-economic agents on their journey towards an environmentally sustainable transformation. We always work in close collaboration with our strategic partners and customers
Vision
To be the public entity of the Basque Government that aligned with the 2030 Agenda, promotes the ecological-climatic transition of the Basque Country.
Values
COHERENCE It is essential that we guarantee the effectiveness and efficiency of Ihobe’s internal management so we can provide an effective response to existing environmental challenges through quality public services.
COLLABORATION From a perspective of social and environmental responsibility, we must positively encourage collaboration with other people and entities to respond to our mission. We will support them in the sustainable transformation of their activities, adding value by taking part in joint ecological-climate projects.
COHESION The Ihobe team must have an unwavering commitment to improving and protecting the environment, a commitment that must always be based on the values of respect, trust and co-responsibility as the driving forces that guide teamwork and on which to build a shared vision of the entity’s future.
RESILIENCE Ihobe and its people must be continuously prepared to adapt to the changes and challenges that exist at every point in time. This requires flexibility in how we approach problems and a continuous willingness to learn, always under a prism that seeks solutions that benefit the whole.
12609
Actions taken with companies to mobilise them on circular economy, climate change, and contaminated soil issues
.webp)
150.000
People have been part of the change with the Ekoetxea network
21%
Of spending on innovation over Ihobe's total expenditure
106
Environmentally certified events with Erronka Garbia
67
Municipalities have produced their Local Climate and Energy Plans
80
Waste collection and cleaning actions carried out for the Let’s Clean Up Euskadi! initiative
Organizational Structure
Ihobe is strategically structured as a public corporation that pursues excellence in advanced management. The organizational structure for the period 2024-28 revolves around 4 operational areas that, in coordination with the strategic directions and the general management, lead the different projects aimed at the environmental improvement of the Basque Country in terms of climate action, circular economy, and environmental sustainability.
The Board of Directors is the Company’s management and representative body.
The Board of Directors’ powers are set out in the Company's Articles of Association and most notably include:
• To represent the Company at all kinds of events and contracts.
• To approve the annual Management Plan, including the budget proposal, and evaluate its implementation throughout the year.
• To approve the Company’s corporate social responsibility policy and to control and supervise the extent to which it is followed.
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In accordance with the Articles of Association of the Public Company Ihobe, its Board of Directors is made up of no fewer than 3 and no more than 7 people.
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PRESIDENT
Mikel Jauregi Letemendia
Regional Minister for Industry, Energy Transition and Sustainability
VICE-PRESIDENT
Josu Bilbao Begoña
Deputy Minister for the Environment and Sustainability
Member
Nicolas García-Borreguero Uribe
Member
Alberto José Fernández González
Director of Technology and Innovation
Member
Iñaki Alonso Arce
Deputy Minister for Finance
Member
Olga Martín García
General Manager of Aclima, Basque Environment Cluster
NON-DIRECTOR SECRETARY
Adriana Zabala Galarza
Project Manager. Ihobe
GENERAL MANAGEMENT
Alexander Boto Bastegieta
Ihobe General Manager
General Management
Alexander Boto Bastegieta
Strategy and Innovation Management
María García Flecha
Corporative Management
Jaione Lamborena Elorduy
Comunication Management
Yolanda Rodríguez Couso
Climate Action Management
Mª Mar Alonso
Circular Economy Management
José María Fernández Alcalá
Wastes and Soil Management
Xabier González Vegas
Ihobe's history is one of working with companies and public administrations to contribute to improving the environment and quality of life of Basque citizens. Since its origins in 1983, Ihobe has focused on improving the environment, integrating the environmental variable into Basque public policies in order to turn environmental sustainability into an element of competitiveness for Basque companies and promoting the sustainable development of the region.
Introducción
Ihobe surgió en plena reconversión industrial de Euskadi como referente europeo en el ámbito de la descontaminación y gestión integral del suelo. Nuestra historia es fruto de una trayectoria de trabajo compartido con empresas y administraciones públicas para contribuir a la mejora ambiental y mayor calidad de vida de la ciudadanía vasca. A lo largo de sus primeras 4 décadas, la actividad de Ihobe se centra en la mejora del medio ambiente, integrando la variable ambiental en las políticas públicas vascas para convertir la sostenibilidad ambiental en un elemento de competitividad para las empresas vascas y favoreciendo el desarrollo sostenible del territorio.
1. Decontamination and certification
In its early days, Ihobe tackled the serious problem of soil contamination in the Basque Country resulting from its long history of industrial activity. This achievement has made the public environmental management company one of the European agencies with the greatest theoretical and practical knowledge on how to recover our soils. In the 1990s, Ihobe began a major campaign to raise awareness and encourage Basque companies and actors to promote environmental certification processes. Consequently, in 1996, the clean production service was rolled out to companies, thereby encouraging a new culture in organisations, the forerunner of today's corporate environmental sustainability strategies, by promoting the ISO 14001 standard through “TaldeISO” working groups, which has since been followed by other accreditations such as the European EMAS certification and the European Eco-label, as well as the “Erronka Garbia” methodology for sustainable events and venues. .At the turn of the century, Ihobe undertook the largest environmental engineering project to date in the Basque Country: the Argalario safety cell, an infrastructure to deal with the serious problem of lindane. Through these projects, Ihobe has consolidated its position as a European leader in developing the tools required to solve the problem of soil decontamination through policies, guidelines, laws and advisory services. Proof of this is the Euskadi Soil Protection Strategy 2030 which, takes a holistic approach, going beyond the traditional one of working on contaminated soils and becoming a pioneering initiative both in the Basque Country and in Spain. At the same time, Ihobe also contributes to solving waste-related problems by means of different infrastructures such as SOGECAR, Oleaz, which for years was the Basque Country's Official Used Oil Analysis Centre, accredited with ISO 17025, and Recipilas, and by tackling the crisis caused by the sinking of the ship ‘Prestige’.
2. Leading the way in circular economy and eco-design
The Basque Country has been familiar with these matters for years thanks to the work of Ihobe. In 2003, it became the driving force behind the development of the first eco-design standard (UNE 150301, now UNE-EN ISO 14006) and its successful implementation by Basque companies. In 2011, it led the Basque Ecodesign Center, the largest public-private alliance to design eco-innovative projects on the circular economy and eco-design for creating knowledge and drive the value chain of large Basque companies. Ihobe has continued to promote eco-innovation to the Basque business sector, a commitment that has been rewarded with the recognition of the Basque Country as one of the most advanced European regions in this field.
Since 2021, Ihobe has managed the advanced circular economy services centres of Euskadi Basque Circular Hub, which bring together all the experience accumulated in two previous initiatives: the Ecodesign Classroom programme (2003-2014) and the Basque Ecodesign Hub (2015-2020). A benchmark in Spain and southern Europe, the Basque Circular Hub is a unique initiative that offers market foresight services, advanced training, trend analysis and the creation of expert knowledge in the field of the circular economy.
3. Leading climate action in the Basque Country
In the most recent history of Ihobe, the public company leads from 2019 the largest European climate action project for Euskadi: Urban Klima 2050, co-financed by the LIFE Program of the European Union that integrates 20 entities and nearly 20 million euros of budget. Ihobe's Climate Action area carries out extensive work in the development of key tools for the integration of climate change into other instruments such as territorial planning. Ihobe has a long history to its credit where the annual elaboration since 2002 of the Greenhouse Gas Inventory of the Basque Country based on an improved calculation methodology validated by the United Nations expert team stands out. Translated with DeepL.com (free version)
In 2016, Ihobe started the elaboration of regionalized climate change scenarios, with a high spatial and temporal resolution. These scenarios have been key for the development of other tools such as municipal vulnerability and risk indices. Studies related to sea level rise and coastal risk, such as Kostaegoki, identify the risk to the population, natural environment, beaches and resources by modeling wave propagation and flooding. The tools developed by Ihobe are completed with carbon footprint calculators for organizations and citizens, municipal inventories or the guide for the development of climate and energy plans. .
4. Working with municipalities and citizens
In 2002 Ihobe promoted the creation of the Basque network of sustainable municipalities, then called Udalsarea 21 and now called Udalsarea 2030. More than 250 municipalities, regions and supra-municipal entities make up this network, which encompasses 98% of the Basque population, and is aimed at simulating the sustainability policies and action plans of local entities, in line with the Sustainable Development Goals. These policies include the green public procurement and contracting programme, which has been working on developing environmental criteria since 2008 and has become a technical benchmark in this area.
Ihobe is in charge of managing the Ekoetxea network of environmental centres in the Basque Country, a cornerstone for raising public awareness with the aim of offering visitors experiences that will help them to live more sustainably. In 2007, Ekoetxea Urdaibai, in Busturia (Bizkaia) was the first centre in the network, and it was later joined by the centres of Txingundi and Azpeitia, in Gipuzkoa, and Meatzaldea, in Bizkaia, and is currently waiting for the Salinas de Añana centre, in Alava, to join.