On 26th of February 2020, the Basque Government’s Ministry for the Environment, Territorial Planning and Housing, represented by IHOBE, the Public Environmental Performance Agency, officially became a new funding partner of the Life Cycle Initiative, hosted by UNEP.

IHOBE supports the Government in developing Environmental Planning (Basque Environmental Frame Program 2020, Biodiversity Strategy 2020, Climate Change Plan and the Circular Economy Strategy 2030) and Demand Driven Instruments to foster Ecodesign and Circular Economy (legislation, economic instruments, standards, market instruments), leading Ecoinnovation Project Supporting Programs (a budget of 1,5 million Euros/year that activates more than 35 projects) and transferring its results to the private sector through its companies network of Green Supply Chain Management and a cascade network that reaches more than 300 industrial SMEs. IHOBE also coordinates the Environmental R&D priorities and partners in the Basque Research and Development Plan 2020 in the area of Circular Economy.

Ms Elena Moreno (left), vice-minister of the Basque Ministry for the Environment and President of IHOBE, signs the funding agreement with Ms Elisa Tonda (right), Head of UNEP’s Consumption and Production Unit.

IHOBE became a funding partner of the Life Cycle Initiative to support the access and interoperability of LCA data, to enhance harmonization of impact and to foster application of LCA globally and by SMEs.