The Minister of Agriculture, Food and the Environment, Isabel García Tejerina, presented this afternoon the awards of the second edition of the Red emprendeverde Awards, awarded by the Biodiversity Foundation, with which the Ministry recognizes the best sustainable business initiatives. This edition has had the participation of 265 candidates, of which 14 have finally been awarded, five of them financially endowed and nine special mentions.

The minister underlined “the value” of green companies in the Spanish economy, which she said constitute “the foundations on which we must build our model of economic growth and our model of society in the medium and long term”.

As a novelty this year, the special mentions have recognized the international projection, innovative character, young entrepreneurship and initiatives promoted by women. A new mention has also been incorporated in which Twitter users have voted for their winning option.
 
With these awards, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and the Environment recognises and promotes green entrepreneurship, both in newly created companies and in those that have been in business for five years. These companies are part of the Emprendeverde Network, which is coordinated by the Biodiversity Foundation, and which already has more than 6,300 members.
 
The Secretary of State for the Environment, Federico Ramos and the director of the Biodiversity Foundation, Sonia Castañeda, were also present at the awards ceremony.
 
SOLAR ENERGY, ECOLOGICAL COSMETICS AND RECYCLABLE FURNITURE
 
In the “Emprende en verde” category, the winners of the first prize, endowed with 6,000 euros, was the project “Sola r aerothermal collector“, for the creation of a solar energy capture system for domestic and industrial use. The second prize, endowed with 3,000 euros, has been awarded to the company “Pecocos”, for its activity focused on the production and marketing of personalized organic cosmetics.
 
Meanwhile, in the category “Grow and consolidate yourself in green” the sustainable mobility company “Bluemove” has been distinguished with the first prize (6,000 euros), whose activity consists of offering car-sharing services. In second place (3,000 euros) was the company “Carton Lab”, dedicated to designing furniture and spaces with 100% recyclable cardboard.
 
Likewise, a second prize for the protection of biodiversity, endowed with 6,000 euros, has been awarded to the company “La Pina”, which offers formulas for collective management of the forest, unifying small forest plots.
 
Similarly, the Ministry has awarded nine special mentions, which have recognized international projection (Naturae); businesses whose development team is less than 30 years old (Fungiforest and Laboratorios Edyma); the presence of women in the management and staff (Solar aerothermal collector and Gluten Free Fiber); the commitment to innovation and R+D+i (Naturae and Ecodoreme); and the two business ideas that have received the most votes from Twitter users (Bluemove and Aqueloo).