Recognition Of Sustainable Innovation Of SMEs And The Self Employed

A recognition of the sustainable innovation of SMEs and the self-employed. The Fundació Antigues Caixes Catalanes and BBVA announce the second edition of an award that distinguishes companies with good environmental practices.

The Predictive Company, Cargobici, Oimo and Shotl are the firms that are up for the award.

The preponderance of SMEs in the Catalan and Spanish business fabric is well known. Up to 99.8% of the country’s companies are included in this category , although companies considered small – from 10 to 49 workers – and medium – from 50 to 249 workers – are also a minority, and only represent a little more. 6% of the companies, while the rest are micro-businesses and self-employed.

In response to this reality and with the aim of promoting business innovation in the field of sustainability, the BBVA Award for Environmental Innovation for SMEs and Self-Employed was launched in 2019 .

This year the second edition of the award is celebrated, the winners of which are chosen taking as a reference the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, established by the United Nations General Assembly, and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) , with special attention to the that focus on the environment.

The award is convened and co-organized by the Fundació Antigues Caixes Catalanes and BBVA, and also has the collaboration of the Fundació Pimec, CECOT, the Col·legi d’Economistes and EL PERIÓDICO .

4 FINALIST COMPANIES
In the second edition of the awards, 36 projects were presented, from which 4 finalists were selected.

This is The Predictive Company (TPC) , a spin-off of the Polytechnic University of Catalonia that has developed energy efficiency software for buildings; Cargobici , a start-up that offers last-mile logistics solutions in the urban environment; Oimo , an emerging new materials and ecodesign company specializing in the development of sustainable biodegradable marine packaging; and Shotl, a firm that helps transportation operators and cities make better use of their bus system by replacing low-occupancy routes with on-demand transportation systems.

The winner of the award will be announced during a closed-door event at the Recent Modernista in San Pau on Wednesday, May 19 at 5:00 p.m. , and can be followed live through this link .

During the award ceremony, the presentation SMEs and the SDGs: a business opportunity, too , will be given by Mireia Cammany , vice president of PIMEC and deputy general director of EPI industries family of companies. The conference will focus on the economic environment derived from the 2030 Agenda and how this context can represent a business opportunity for SMEs.