With a focus on “measuring for improvement", Ihobe analysed the tools used by organisations to evaluate their performance with regard to the circular economy, spotlighting the electricity sector as a pilot field. The event aimed at showcasing the main findings of their work.

Opening the session, ACE Managing Director José Ignacio Hormaeche, highlighted the importance of the circular economy as one of the five KETs of the Strategy for the Technological and Industrial Development of the Basque Country (EnergiBasque), offering clear opportunities for application in energy sector value chains. He also emphasised certain aspects, such as ecodesign, analysing product life cycle, recycling, and battery second use as business opportunities and possible competitive advantages for companies operating in the sector.

In addition to the results of the analysis conducted by Ihobe, the session also looked at an international method for evaluating circularity in organisations (World Business Council for Sustainable Development-WBCSD), the main advances in developing ISO standards for the circular economy, and two success stories of electricity sector operators ,Iberdrola and EDP, who are working with Ihobe within the framework of the Basque Ecodesign Center to integrate and pilot circular economy indicators in their management processes.

Rounding off the talks, Begoña Molinete, Head of Projects with the Basque Energy Cluster, showcased the work carried out in conjunction with the Basque Environmental Cluster (ACLIMA) to identify priority areas of interest and specific partnership opportunities in which to apply the principles of the Circular Economy and ecodesign in energy sector value chains, by means of a shared project under the framework of the Bizkaia Provincial Council Elkarlanean programme.

The workshop confirmed the interest and opportunities of the circular economy for the business sector in the Basque Country in the context of current European policies, specifically the Green Deal, based on digital transformation and sustainability, the latter including initiatives aimed at measuring and evaluating organisations’ performance in the circular economy, using indicators such as those outlined in the day's discussions.