The number of ecolabels in the Basque Country increased by more than 10% in 2023, and the number of organisations with an EMAS environmental management system increased by more than 7%

A total of 448 products from Basque companies have been awarded this European label, which recognises and identifies environmentally friendly products and services. Around 100 Basque organisations are also registered with EMAS, an EU scheme to improve the environmental performance of organisations.

The competent authority in these matters in the Basque Country is the Department of Economic Development, Sustainability and Environment through its Vice-Ministry of Environmental Sustainability, supported by Ihobe, which is in charge of processing these applications.

The EU Ecolabel in Basque companies

57 Basque companies are currently signed up to the system with 448 products in 10 different categories. The label recognises that these products meet the highest environmental standards.

In 2023 alone, nine certificates were processed for 45 products or services, for a total of eight companies.

By product, tissue paper and its products accounts for 149 labels, with an increase of 14.6%. Furniture has 104 labels, paints and varnishes have 58 (+23%) and hard surface cleaning products, together with the aforementioned tissue paper, account for 81% of the labels.

Regarding companies, it is worth noting that 64% of them belong to the tourist accommodation category, and 10% belong to the paints and varnishes category.

Over 200% growth in the last decade

Over the last decade, this European label has become more widely used in the Basque Country. The number of Basque company products labelled by this scheme has increased by 283% and the number of certificates has increased by 239%. Similarly, the number of companies that have joined has increased by 280%.

The data for the Basque Country compared to the rest of the autonomous regions in Spain, according to the European Commission’s official catalogues on 31 December 2023, shows an increase in the relative weight of the Basque Country, placing it as the second region, both in terms of products with a label 448 (15%), and in terms of the number of certificates obtained, 61 (19%), right behind Catalonia, which has 1,265 (42%) and 87 (28%) respectively.

Regarding product categories, the Basque Country holds 100% of the certified products in the “Furniture” category and 70% of the certified tourist accommodation in Spain. It is also a leader in the cosmetics and graphic paper categories, accounting for more than 60% of these categories.

The report estimates that at present, the number of Basque products with the EU Ecolabel accounts for approximately 2.32% of the total in Europe.

European Environmental Management System EMAS

The European Environmental Management System (EMAS) is growing fast in Basque organisations, with 14 sectors and a total of 100 registrations. In 2023, eight new entities from four different sectors were registered and 31 EMAS registrations were renewed.

The public administration and manufacturing industry once again account for the highest number of registrations and together account for 39% in the Basque Country.

In Spain, the top five regions – Catalonia (239), Galicia (125), Madrid (112), the Canary Islands (104) and the Basque Country (100) – account for 70% of the registrations. The Basque Country is the only one of these five regions where the number is growing as well as the categories represented.

Some sectors are more represented than others in the Spanish EMAS. The Basque Country’s public administration sector stands out, rising from 21% to 30% of these registrations in its sector.

Other sectors with a significant number of Basque organisations are Information and Communications, with 21% of the registrations, and Construction, which accounts for 19% of the registrations in its sector.

The annual environmental management report estimates that the 100 registrations carried out in our region account for 2.47% of the European total.