Año 2014
Eroski & Euskatel showcase their work at the Global Innovation Day’14
30 January 2014 - Bilbao
Organised by Innobasque, the Global Innobasque Day is an opportunity for Innobasque partners to showcase the innovation they are working on in the Basque Country.
Eroski and Euskaltel took part in the 2014 event held in Alhóndiga Bilbao on 30 January. Speci?cally, Alejandro Marínez, the general manager of the Eroski Foundation, unveiled the Desperdicio Cero [Zero Wastage] scheme, where surplus food that is good to eat is donated to 40 socially responsible organisations to combat food waste.
Jose Felix Gonzalo, the Quality and Organisation Director at Euskaltel explained, how Euskaltel after establishing its carbon footprint, has implemented a project to discover the environmental impact of its services/products (Internet, ?bre optic network and the manufacturing, use and end-of-life of the equipment used), thus estimating its potential impact on climate change.
“International trends in Ecodesign and Energy Labelling” seminar
21 February 2014 - Brussels
To achieve the EU2020 energy e?ciency and greenhouse gas targets, the European Union has set up two key instruments: the ecodesign directive and energy e?ciency labelling
A meeting, organised by the European Commission’s Directorate-General Enterprise and Industry to discuss the future of those instruments and their role in galvanising the green product environment market, was held in Brussels on 20 and 21 February, and in which experts and representatives of leading European companies and institutions took part.
The sessions were divided into six parallel work forums. Speci?cally, the Basque Ecodesign Center was invited to outline its experience during the forum that analysed the impact of Ecodesign on competitiveness, innovation and technological developments.
The role of Ecodesign in creating new jobs, in economic growth and as a tool to enter new markets were among the aspects analysed, from the environmental, legal, economic and technical perspectives.
“Designing for Recycling" seminar with ECOEMBES
17 June 2014 - Bilbao
On 17 June, a seminar focusing on driving prevention when designing packaging and containers was held at the Ihobe o?ces and in conjunction with the Basque Ecodesign Center. Organised by ECOEMBES, the event was an opportunity to identify some key aspects to make packaging more recyclable, through the results of the Designing for Recycling project. This project seeks to make packaging manufacturers aware of the impact of the packaging characteristics on the collection, selection and recycling processes, along with driving the practical integration of the aspects linked to managing packaging waste during the design phase.
The event ended with the visit to the Amorebieta packaging sorting plan so that the delegates could learn ?rsthand its operating and processes.
ENCORE Steering Group Meeting
30 & 31 October 2014 — Bilbao
On 30 and 31 October 2014, the ENCORE Steering Group Meeting was held in Bilbao, where twelve European regions considered best practices in di?erent environmental areas, including climate change, energy, air quali- ty, water and tourism in protected areas.
The Basque Government's Ministry for the Environment and Territorial Policy, an active member of the conferen- ce, showcased the contents of the Basque Ecodesign Mee- ting 2014, which gathered together in Bilbao three hun- dred professionals working in service and product design on 17 November. The UNESCO Chair of the University of the Basque Country also addressed the relationship bet- ween the ecosystem services, and territorial management and planning.
Servitization 2014: 3rd International Business Servitization Conference”
13 & 14 November 2014 - Bilbao
The 3rd International Conference on Servitization in Business Models, organised by Orkestra, the Basque Competitiveness Institute, was held in Bilbao on 13 and 14 November. During the conference, the Basque Ecodesign Center showcased the methodology that it is developing to incorporate servitization solutions based on Product-Service Systems in the business models of the product manufacturers.
This methodology approach, which was enthusiastically welcomed by the delegates, is part of the work line that the Basque Ecodesign Center has implemented and which will be launched as new methodological work during 2015, with the support and involvement of di?erent partner companies.
“Sustainable Engineering Products” seminar
11 December 2014 — Vitoria-Gasteiz
On 11 December 2014, the “Sustainable Engineering Products” seminar was held at the Vitoria-Gasteiz School of Engineering. The event sought to disseminate the culture of engineering with a minimum ecological footprint, both among the UPV/EHU students and sta? and among the companies and residents of Vitoria- Gasteiz, and to encourage sustainable companies to reach out to the university world.
The session was opened by Xabi Sancho, the Director of the Vitoria- Gasteiz School of Engineering, and by Iratxe Amiano, from the UPV/ EHU Sustainability O?ce.
The Basque Ecodesign Center was presented by Ihobe, which intervened along with other entities such as AENOR, private companies including Aernnova and Michelín, and consultancy ?rms such as Inèdit.
The seminar was also the opportunity to open an exhibition in the corridors of the Vitoria-Gasteiz School of University, and which turned the school into a museum during 8 day for students, university sta? and the general public.
