IHOBE PRESENTS THE “ERRONKA GARBIA” METHODOLOGY FOR SUSTAINABLE EVENTS AT THE ANNUAL TURESPAÑA CONVENTION

Ihobe, the Public Environmental Management Company attached to the Department for Economic Development, Sustainability and the Environment of the Basque Government, today presented the “Erronka Garbia” methodology for the organisation of sustainable events as part of the annual Turespaña convention held in Donostia-San Sebastián between 23 and 25 October.

“Erronka Garbia” is a procedure developed by Ihobe that allows the negative impacts on the environment associated with the holding of events to be minimised. The application of this methodology and its subsequent recognition with the “Erronka Garbia-Sustainable Event” certificate seeks to raise awareness among the attendees at the event and the organisers about the need to mitigate the negative impacts associated with hosting multitudinous events.

To certify an event under the Erronka Garbia brand it is necessary to complete the certification application form prior to organising the event. During the event, organisers are required to complete the “Environmental Sustainability Plan”. Ihobe confirms that the organisers implement the activities and measures defined in the Plan with an on-site audit. After the event, the organisers should calculate the environmental impact of the event using the Erronka Garbia calculator and submit the Event Environmental Declaration.

Since the creation of the methodology, the number of certified events has risen continuously, from 8 in 2016 to 66 in 2022. To date, in the period January-October 2023, 85 events have been certified, of which 60% were held in Bizkaia.

By type of event, the majority of certified events are congresses or conferences (44%), but exhibitions (11%), sporting events (8%), professional trade fairs (7%), concerts and music festivals (6%), folk festivals (6%) and other events (18%) have also been certified