Basque Ecodesign Meeting 2017, an environmentally sustainable event with the “Erronka Garbia” certificate

Erronka Garbia is a certificate implemented by the Basque Government, through Ihobe, its environmental management agency, which recognises those events that include environmental measures in the design and organisation to minimise the potential negative impacts to the environment associated to the event being held.

This project seeks to raise awareness among the event delegates and organisers to offset the negative impacts associated with the organising of large events with the aim of holding events that have the minimum possible impact on the setting. Any entities, institutions, companies, associations or individuals that organise events according to environmental criteria may sign up to the Erronka Garbia certificate.

A series of measures to improve the environmental aspects most likely to have a negative impact on the setting needs to be implemented to achieve the appropriate sustainability in an event. Therefore, six focal points of action have been established to minimise the environmental aspects that occur in each of the phases of the event.

The Basque Ecodesign Meeting 2017 organisers, and as proof of our commitment to continuous environmental improvement, have sought to ensure that impact in those areas is reduced as far as possible. The principles of the Erronka Garbia certificate have therefore been applied to the organisation of the Congress and its certification has been obtained.

Some of the measures that are going to be implemented at the Basque Ecodesign Meeting 2017 in each of the focal points of action are listed below.

Mobility: The Basque Ecodesign Meeting 2017 will be held at the Euskalduna Conference Centre, centrally located and completely integrated in the Bilbao transport network, thus helping to cut emissions at the event and a greater use of the public transport.

Water Water: The Conference Centre facilities have water saving systems, such as water-saving shower roses, flow reducers and dual-flush toilets, which cut consumption by over 30%. The wastewater generated at the Euskalduna is also managed correctly through the Bilbao sanitation network.

Energy Energy: 100% of the energy used at the Euskalduna is from renewable sources. That, together with the high energy efficiency of the electronic equipment, dramatically cuts the CO2 emissions associated to the energy consumption of the Conference Centre.

Purchases: Both the Basque Ecodesign Meeting 2017 and the Euskalduna Conference Centre have a green procurement policy in place to reduce the environmental impact of their activity. The use of non-plastic lanyards fosters this policy, along with the reusing of the congress products.

Infrastructures: The Euskalduna Conference Centre holds numerous awards and certifications that make it stand out as one of the pillars of sustainability in Bilbao. Best Conference Centre of the World in 2003, ISO 14001 and LEED-EBOM environmental certification are some of the awards the recognise its exemplary qualities in terms of sustainable building and environmentally-friendly maintenance and resources management.

Waste Waste: The Basque Ecodesign Meeting 2017 prioritises the measures aimed at minimising waste management. The use of posters will be practically zero thanks to digital signage and the current digital media will prioritise a zero-paper event.