The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment (MAGRAMA) supports the water sector as a source of green job creation that is committed to promoting an efficient and sustainable use of water and energy resources. This has been made clear at the emprendeverde meeting: “Green entrepreneurship in the water sector”, which has been organized today by the MAGRAMA, through the Biodiversity Foundation, within the framework of the events that take place this week on the occasion of the celebration, on Saturday 22nd, of World Water Day. dedicated on this occasion to the binomial water and energy.

In Spain, the water sector generates 38,000 direct jobs and represents 0.3% of the inputs required by other sectors of activity in the Spanish economy. Water management is one of the five subsectors that has generated the most green employment, along with agriculture, environmental services to companies, energy efficiency and photovoltaic solar energy.

According to the United Nations Environment Programme, green jobs reduce the environmental impact of companies and economic sectors to sustainable levels. In addition, in recent years, companies in our country have been pioneers in the development of innovative projects in the water sector, mainly in the application of new strategies that contribute to the rationalization and reuse of water in response to the growing concern about the decline in available natural water resources. associated with climate change.
 

Entrepreneurial initiatives in the water sector

The director of the Biodiversity Foundation, Sonia Castañeda, highlighted during the opening of the meeting “the support, through the Emprendeverde Network, for the creation of companies and new lines of business in economic activities linked to the environment that pursue a positive environmental and social impact”.

In addition, the director of business innovation at Agbar/Aqualogy, Fernando Rayón, addressed the impact of Smart Cities in this sector and the importance of innovation by companies to better position themselves in this new context. Thus, he advocated for the support of entrepreneurship and innovation through a venture capital fund.

For his part, Alejandro Maceira, director of the iAgua web project, presented his entrepreneurial experience through the web platform for information and debate on the water sector in Spain and Latin America.

In their speech, the managers of Audit Irrigation, Helena Cuartero and Marcos Pérez, valued water and energy efficiency audits as tools for improving the sustainability of irrigation installations in green areas by saving water and energy.

Among the entrepreneurial initiatives presented, the founding partner of HBiO, Miguel Retolaza, has shown the operation of a grey water recycling system – regeneration – that reduces water and energy consumption. Along the same lines, the CEO of D&BTech, Javier Dávila, has also presented an innovative initiative that allows the reduction of energy consumption through bubble generation technology of high flow and efficiency with applications in industry, aquaculture and the cultivation of microalgae, among other sectors.

After the end of the interventions, the participating entrepreneurs shared experiences in the networking organized within the framework of this initiative.
 

Emprendeverde meetings

The Emprendeverde Meetings are training and networking micro-events aimed at entrepreneurs of the Emprendeverde Network, the first platform specialising in green business aimed at entrepreneurs and investors in order to promote the creation and consolidation of companies or new lines of business in activities linked to the environment, as well as to channel investment towards sustainable economic activities. Currently, the Emprendeverde Network has more than 5,000 members, of which 91 are investors and financiers.