Expo – Basque Circular Summit

Basque Circular EXPO Objectives

In order to raise awareness of the progress made by Basque companies in terms of the circular economy in recent years and to serve as an instrument of recognition by the Basque Government for the work carried out, a great exhibition of circular solutions will be held within the framework of the Basque Circular Summit 2025, like in previous editions, under the name of Basque Circular EXPO 2025.

All Basque companies that have developed new circular solutions (products and/or services) may participate in the exhibition, no matter whether they have been developed with the support of the Ihobe company, with their own resources or with the support of third parties

Circular solutions

The exhibition will feature products and services that are a fully developed circular solution and at the production or marketing stage, along with functional prototypes at an advanced or testing phases, all of which with environmental improvements accredited by the official report measuring environmental impacts (Environmental Product Declaration (EPD), verified carbon footprint, LCA with external critical review).

“Basque Circular BEST 2025” Awards

Within the framework of the Basque Circular Summit 2025, the Basque Government’s Public Company for Environmental Management, Ihobe, is organising the first edition of the “Basque Circular BEST” Awards in recognition of the best business solutions in circular economy, both in terms of products and services and business models.

Through these awards, Ihobe aims, on the one hand, to publicly recognise the contribution of these initiatives to increasing sustainability and, on the other hand, to act as a catalyst to foster the implementation of this type of projects in the Basque industrial sector.

To be eligible for these awards, the products, services or solutions proposed must be physically displayed at the “Basque Circular EXPO” which will be held at the Euskalduna Conference Centre in Bilbao from 2nd to 4th April 2025 as part of the “Basque Circular Summit 2025”.

The awards do not receive any monetary payment.

There will be four awards:

  1. Award for the most circular product.
  2. Award for the most circular service.
  3. Award for the most circular business model.
  4. Award for the startup with the most circular solution.

Winning an award implies a balanced integration of all the aspects mentioned in the “evaluation criteria” section.

Furthermore, the Jury may award special mentions for any of the aspects considered.

The members of the jury are as follows:
Irantzu Allende Fernández de Eribe President of the jury: Irantzu Allende Fernández de Eribe Deputy Minister for the Energy Transition. Basque Government Alexander Boto Bastegieta Alexander Boto Bastegieta General Manager of Ihobe, Environmental Management Agency. Basque Government Aitor Cobanera Rodríguez SPRI Business Promotion Director Xabier Caño Xabier Caño González ACLIMA Chair Carlos García Crespo Director of the Mondragón Polytechnic School. Mondragón Unibertsitatea (MU) María García de la Fuente María García de la Fuente Chair of the Association of Environmental Journalists (APIA) Olaia Irulegi Garmendia Former chair of EIDE – Basque Design Association / Euskal Diseinuaren Elkartea Marcelo Leslabay Marcelo Leslabay Martínez Design lecturer and researcher. Deusto University Rikardo Minguez Rikardo Mínguez Gabiña Director of the Master’s Degree on the Circular Economy: Application to Business. Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea-University of the Basque Country EHU / UPV Tamara Yagüe Tamara Yagüe Martínez CONFEBASK President
The duties of the jury are to:
  • Decide on the quality of the entries and, if applicable, shortlist them.
  • Decide on the ranking of the entries in each of the sections of the award.
The decisions will always be reached with the absolute majority of the members of the Jury. The Jury’s decision is final and will be announced during the ‘Basque Circular Summit 2025’ from 2 to 4 April 2025. The award ceremony will be a public event during the summit.

The Jury will evaluate the following criteria in each category:

• Circularity criteria (50% of the score)

Aspects related to circularity and sustainability as a whole will be considered. Contributions to reducing the environmental footprint throughout the life cycle will be assessed.

• Technological and innovation criteria (30% of the score)

These aspects are related to innovation in the product/service or business model as well as in the technology used, both in its production and the technology it integrates, analysing its contribution to increasing the company’s competitiveness and differentiation in the market.

• Communication criteria (20% of the score)

The way in which the proposed solution is communicated, the way in which it conveys the added value to the customer and the tools and channels used to do so will be assessed.

The documentation required will be the same as that submitted when applying to take part in the “Basque Circular Expo”. Therefore, those companies wishing to enter the awards will simply have to indicate this on the application form to participate in the exhibition, indicating the category of the award they wish to enter.

As it is possible for the same company to submit several proposals, it will be able to choose which one(s) it wishes to enter for the awards and the desired category in each case.

This is an official World Circular Economy Forum Side Event