Bilbao was the perfect meeting point for the wonderful occasion of meeting the G!E members. During the first half of the day, internal discussion on updates from the G!E Secretariat, the introduction of the G!E new president, Anna Sager from the Research Institutes of Sweden (RISE), took place, and DTU offshore was presented as a new candidate member, DTU is located in Denmark. The first part of the meeting and the discussion on the second day were organized as a hybrid meeting to facilitate conversations about future alliances.
G!E Secretariat and GAIA organized an inspiring field visit to La Terminal, the eco-innovation and culture centre in Bilbao. La Terminal is the Former Stamping and Boilermaking Factory located in the center of the island of Zorrotzaurre. La Terminal is a creative and cultural industrial factory with more than 2,500 m2 of surface area, divided into five spaces (Terminals) where different artistic disciplines and unique leisure and gastronomy are offered. A fantastic international team has been working for more than 20 years, transforming the urban landscape of the Ribera de Deusto and Zorrotzaurre neighborhoods through culture, with more than 25,000 annual visitors. This space has been rehabilitated within the ZAWP Zorrotzaurre Art Work in Progress project launched by the Haceria Arteak Cultural Association in 2008.
During this visit G!E members learned about the eco-innovation process behind the shoe brand BASQ which, they claim, is the first and only company that creates all its products using recycled plastic bottles, working exclusively with 100% recycled materials. BASQ was born as a sustainable option for those who worry about the current situation of oceans and the planet situation. The BASQ creator affirms that the most sustainable and respectful option for the environment is to work purely with recycled materials. Several studies have confirmed this in Bilbao, which names the recycled materials used by BASQ as the most sustainable on the planet. Furthermore, another team from La Terminal presented different social experiments on the fashion industry, consisting of awareness campaigns about consumers' decisions and how unsustainable the textile and fashion industry is. G!E members were glad to get to know the people working behind the creative work of La Terminal, not only because it is quite inspiring, but La terminal also brings opportunities for teaming up to showcase their work and replicate these interesting initiatives in projects all over Europe.
On the second day, G!E members discussed the 2023-2024 Working Programme, and alliances for future proposals under the Horizon Europe 2023-2024 programme.
Greenovate! Europe is a network of organizations supporting sustainable innovation in Europe. G!E members span the research and innovation value chain – from research centres to industrial clusters, innovation consultants to communication and engagement agencies. If you wish to learn more about it, visit G!E website.