Ihobe measures its impact on the Sustainable Development Goals

• The report concludes that Ihobe's activity has an impact on goals of a marked environmental nature as well as others that promote improvements to health and welfare, responsible production and consumption, as well as peace, justice and strong institutions

Ihobe, the publicly-owned company environmental management company within the Basque Government's Department of Economic Development, Sustainability and Environment, has published the diagnosis carried out to measure the real contribution of its activity to the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDA) and Agenda 2030. The study was presented during the meeting of the Board of Directors of the Public Company, chaired by the Regional Minister Arantza Tapia, which also presented an advance of the new Strategic Plan 2024 and the Management Plan 2021 of Ihobe.

Among other major findings, the report reveals Ihobe's positive social, economic and environmental impact, and reveals that its activities have a remarkable direct effect on environmental and other SDGs.

Many of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals are closely linked, either directly or indirectly, to environmental objectives. SDG 9 on industry and eco-innovation, SDG 11 on sustainable cities and communities, SDG 13 on climate action, SDG 15 which protects terrestrial ecosystems and calls to their sustainability, and SDG 17 of alliances to achieve these goals are intrinsic to Ihobe's activity.

These create a framework for the work that this publicly-owned company carries out through eco-innovation and eco-design programmes with the business sector, its efforts as technical secretariat of the Basque Network of Sustainable Municipalities Udalsarea 2030, and climate change mitigation and adaptation projects such as Life Urban Klima 2050. Also notable are its efforts to develop natural heritage protection and nature-based solutions, and active participation in international networks such as Under2 Coalition, The Climate Group and Regions4.

The study also shows how Ihobe has made significant contributions to other targets, such as SDG 12 for responsible production and consumption, SDG 3 for health and welfare, and 16, of peace, justice and strong institutions, which are, in this order, the objectives to which Ihobe contributes most, together with those of the environmental nature mentioned above.

The green public procurement and hiring programme, citizen awareness campaigns, its contribution to deal with contaminated land and environmental infrastructures, and its support to the Basque Government in public participation processes and the design of environmental planning are among its outstanding achievements in this block.

The analysis also uncovered that Ihobe is failing to make a meaningful contribution to three of the SDGS. These are SDG 1 (No poverty), SDG 2 (Zero hunger), and SDG 10 (Reduce inequality). While these may not seem to be connected to the organisation's area of influence, Ihobe understands that mechanisms linked to corporate social responsibility can be put in place to address these challenges.

Finally, the report has an additional objective, which is thought of as the 18th Sustainable Development Goal and which concerns linguistic and cultural diversity. This objective and SDG 5 (achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls), and SDG 17 (revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development), are considered to be transversal axes of Ihobe's work, and this is reflected in the organization's Strategic Plan for the next four years.

“Ihobe’s contribution to the SDGs in this report proves that the values of exemplary and innovative public organisation are based on results, and provide impetus for future work to achieve a more sustainable Basque Country”, said the Councillor for Economic Development, Sustainability and the Environment, Arantza Tapia, who is also chair of the Board of Directors of the publicly-owned company.

Basque Country Agenda 2030

The Agenda 2030 adopted by the United Nations in 2015 is a road map for sustainable development through the 17 SDGs. The programme has a 2030 horizon and urges countries, regions, municipalities and organisations of all kinds to embrace them and to form alliances to achieve them.

The presentation of the Basque Country Agenda 2030 drew the roadmap to align public policies and priority areas of action in the Basque Country with the SDGs. “The Euskadi Basque Country Agenda 2030 is a pioneering initiative in Europe in the regional implementation of the 17 SDGs and has paved the way for fostering social cohesion, equality, growth, employment, solidarity and a firm commitment to the environment," said counsellor Tapia.

In addition, to analyse its own contribution to the SDGs contained in this report, Ihobe also participated in THE EUSKADI 2030 GUNEA working group in which several organisations from various sectors and fields have developed a practical guide for Basque organisations to implement Agenda 2030 and contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals.