Ihobe is spearheading the work with companies in their transition towards a decarbonised economy and that optimizes the value of products, materials and resources in the face of the challenge of the circular economy and climate change. The Basque Country has a Basque Circular Economy and Bioeconomy Strategic Plan 2024, which aims to respond to a series of challenges such as promoting the creation of new, more circular business models; reducing the consumption of raw materials and waste generation; promoting a more efficient use of plastic; and increasing the reuse, recycling and recovery of waste, among others.
The circular economy is a development model in which the value of products, materials and resources is retained in the economy for as long as possible. Instead of disposing of the materials after using them, they are reintroduced into the production cycle as secondary raw materials. Ecodesign is a key stage of the circular economy linked to product development as it aims to reduce the impact of products on the environment.
The Basque Government’s Public Environmental Management Company offers companies a network called Basque Circular Hub, which includes centres for advanced circular economy services, where new green economy entrepreneurship initiatives are encouraged in order to promote their competitiveness.
The Basque Circular Hub centres, located in Bilbao and Vitoria-Gasteiz, offer advanced training for teachers, workers and unemployed people, and students who wish to specialise in this field.
Climate&Circularity Calculator is the first web tool that allows you to calculate the carbon footprint, the environmental footprint and a battery of circular economy indicators with an organizational focus, as well as the carbon footprint and simplified life cycle analysis with a product focus. and services; all with the same starting information.
It is a tool created from the knowledge generated in the last 10 years regarding the calculation of organizational and product metrics in an integrated manner by Ihobe, thanks to the work developed by the Basque Ecodesign Center, the public-private alliance in ecodesign. and the most important circular economy in the state.
The EU Ecolabel is the official European system for recognising and identifying environmentally friendly products and services. Ihobe, the entity appointed by the Basque Government to process this accreditation, manages the process with the aim of promoting products and services that have a lower environmental impact.
The EMAS (Eco-Management and Audit Scheme) is a voluntary scheme for companies and organisations that wish to assess, manage and improve their environmental performance, providing organisations, regulators and the public with a tool to assess and manage an organisation’s environmental impact.
Ihobe facilitates the implementation of circular economy actions by issuing or managing calls for grants identified in other Basque Government funding programmes, such as the Circular Berrindartzea Programme, the Circular Eco-innovation Programme, and sectoral competitive monitoring reports.
