Basque Circular Hub and Barcelona Lead Initiatives Advancing Business Sustainability and Impact Economy
October 2025 sees focused training in Vitoria-Gasteiz on climate-related business risks and a Barcelona event addressing challenges and opportunities in the impact economy ecosystem.
- • Basque Circular Hub offers free October training courses on circular economy and climate risks for active workers.
- • Training highlights importance of analyzing physical and transition climate risks for business competitiveness.
- • Barcelona Activa and Alternativas Económicas to present an impact economy dossier amid growth and challenges of the ecosystem.
- • Experts warn against 'impact washing' and urge collaboration for genuine social impact sustainability.
Key details
In October 2025, two significant initiatives in Spain are advancing the understanding of business sustainability and the social-impact economy. The Basque Circular Hub in Vitoria-Gasteiz, via a partnership between Ihobe and the Vitoria-Gasteiz City Council, is offering free training courses aimed at active workers. These sessions, scheduled for October 2, 23, and 30, focus on building competencies related to circular economy, climate risks—both physical and transitional—and their financial impacts. This training emphasizes the critical need for businesses to effectively analyze climate risks due to evolving government regulations and financial stakeholders' expectations, safeguarding competitiveness (91434).
Concurrently, on October 29, Barcelona Activa hosts the presentation of a dossier from Alternativas Económicas titled 'Business with Purpose: Great Opportunity or New Washing?' The event at Impact Hub Barcelona features key figures like Álvaro Porro, Director of Social and Impact Economy at Barcelona Activa, who underscores both the growth potential and the risks of 'impact washing' within Spain's impact economy ecosystem. Porro stresses that while impact economy concepts are straightforward, their transformation into tangible, sustained social impact requires collaboration among public administrations, social economy entities, and responsible businesses. This roundtable discussion will gather diverse voices from organizations such as Ship2B Venturas, Cofides, and Fundació Seira to address fostering a transformative and authentic impact ecosystem (91437).