The Biodiversity Foundation has presented the agreements for the promotion of employment and green companies, signed within the framework of the fifth edition of the Empleaverde Programme 2007-2013. These are 36 projects whose main objective is to harness the capacity of environment-related sectors to create jobs.

These projects, which have an investment of 1.8 million euros by the Biodiversity Foundation, cover a wide range of sectors of the Spanish economy, such as forestry, tourism, agriculture, livestock, industry, fishing, energy, investment and green economy, waste or transport. Among the themes, sustainable forest management, green entrepreneurship and sustainable tourism stand out for their greater representativeness.

During the presentation ceremony, the Minister of Agriculture, Food and the Environment, Isabel García Tejerina, accompanied by the Secretary of State for the Environment, Federico Ramos, stressed that “the Ministry works to conserve the environment and contribute to making the sectors of the economy it encompasses more competitive. And this, promoting the employment and business niches generated by activities linked to the environment”.

In his speech, García Tejerina pointed out that the Empleaverde Programme, in its five-year history, and without counting the projects that begin its journey today, has reached more than 800,000 people, of which 55,000 have received training. He also indicated that, in this time, a total of 220 projects have been launched, in which more than 400 entities have participated; and that they have supported the creation of 300 companies and 2,000 new lines of business in existing companies.

He also pointed out that the large number of projects submitted to this call (a total of 348) “demonstrate, once again, the interest and success of the programme”.

This edition of the empleaverde programme is part of the 2013-2016 Youth Entrepreneurship and Employment Strategy of the Ministry of Employment and Social Security to which the Biodiversity Foundation has adhered, so the participation of young people under 30 years of age has been prioritised, as a driving force for the generation of employment and the creation of green companies. “Young people are a priority for this government, and we are working to give them more opportunities, because they are the key to everyone’s future,” the minister stressed.

For her part, the director of the Biodiversity Foundation, Sonia Castañeda, pointed out that “through the Empleaverde Programme, the Biodiversity Foundation serves as a bridge between employment policy and environmental policy, creating synergies in both directions to ensure that the environment and sustainability are the basis for generating better jobs and more competitive companies”.