The Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Food and the Environment, through the Biodiversity Foundation, has published the first annual call for subsidies of the Empleaverde Programme, an initiative to promote and improve employment, entrepreneurship and the environment. For this call, 7.8 million euros will be allocated to projects, which will be co-financed by the European Social Fund (ESF).
The call seeks to support projects that promote entrepreneurship and the green and blue economy. Understanding a green economy as one that contributes to the emergence of new models of sustainable production and consumption, in turn generating social and environmental benefits in the territory and favouring the creation of new jobs. The blue economy, as indicated by the European Commission, recognises the importance of the seas and oceans as engines of the economy due to their great potential for innovation and growth.
In the entrepreneurship projects in the blue economy, Empleazul, special emphasis will be placed on those initiatives that are based on the potential offered by the marine areas of the Natura 2000 Network to undertake and create employment.
The call is aimed at public or private entities, with or without profit, that are based in Spain. These entities may submit a project to each of the seven lines of which the call consists. The deadline for receiving proposals will be open until May 8.
Depending on the recipients of the call, which can be unemployed people, workers and entrepreneurs, various axes have been established to which the projects can choose.
PROJECTS WITH A FOCUS ON SOCIAL INNOVATION
In the case of projects aimed at unemployed people, the focus of the call is ‘CREA’, whose objective is to create employment and achieve qualifications for the unemployed.
In the case of projects whose recipients are workers, the focus is IMPROVEMENT, the purpose of which is for workers to improve their employability and obtain better qualifications.
Finally, if the projects presented by the entities are aimed at entrepreneurs, there are two axes under which to opt for the subsidy: IMPULSA and CONECTA. The objective of these lines is to support the creation of companies. In the case of projects in the CONECTA axis, their purpose is to put Spanish entrepreneurs in contact with European actors in the entrepreneurship ecosystem.
Depending on the axis in question, the actions that will be developed within the projects include training courses, advice, accompaniment, training stays and meetings. In all axes, social innovation actions may be proposed, which test novel and innovative solutions to achieve the objectives pursued in each of the axes and that, in addition, can be replicated and serve as a model for other organizations or companies.
The minimum amount that can be requested per project is 100,000 euros and the maximum is 300,000 euros. The amount includes both ESF co-financing and that of the beneficiary and potential partners. The maximum duration of the projects will be 12 months.
Projects must pay special attention to priority groups, such as women, people over 45 years of age, young people under 35, immigrants, people with disabilities and those who live in protected areas and/or rural areas.
Applications must be submitted through the Biodiversity Foundation website, www.fundacion-biodiversidad.es and there is an email address available to answer questions about this call: empleaverde@fundacion-biodiversidad.es.
AN INITIATIVE TO SUPPORT EMPLOYMENT AND GREEN ENTREPRENEURSHIP
This is the first of the calls that will be launched annually by the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Food and the Environment, through the Biodiversity Foundation, within the framework of the Empleaverde Programme 2017-2023. The Foundation’s Programme is co-funded by the ESF’s Operational Programme for Employment, Training and Education (POEFE), the EU’s most important instrument for promoting employment and social inclusion.
Since 2001, the Biodiversity Foundation has been the managing body of the ESF, participating in the Entrepreneurship and Continuous Training (2000-2006) and Adaptability and Employment (2007-2013) Programmes. To date, the empleaverde Programme has co-financed 270 projects, collaborated with 500 organisations and supported 1,300,000 recipients, creating 2,600 companies and lines of business in economic sectors linked to the environment.
The Biodiversity Foundation, as an Intermediate Body of the POEFE of the ESF 2014-2020, channels its action through the Empleaverde Programme, which works to promote employment and green and blue entrepreneurship, serving as a bridge between employment and environmental policy.
