Short Profile

Ecoinstitut is established in 1999 and since then we work for the protection of the environment and the introduction of sustainability principles in all sectors of society, for it to be a reality both at local and global scale. With transformative will, Ecoinstitut promotes actions to confront socio-environmental challenges with independency, rigorousness, exchange and creativity. The main topics of work are: Sustainable Lifestyles, Institutional Change Processes, Public Policies Evaluation, Knowledge and Innovation anf the City of the Future. In these areas of work Ecoinstitut carries out scientific studies, applied research, pilot projects, personalised assessment and mediation, promotion and diffusion actions. Ecoinstitut works for public administrations, institutions and companies that proactively take action to rationalised their processes and generate positive socio-economic and environmental changes.  The elaboration of environmental education materials is an integral part of most projects.
Whenever possible, Ecoinstitut Barcelona promotes on the one hand transnational collaboration in order to increase and adjust constantly existing environmental standards to the levels achieved in countries which are more advanced in that field and, on the other hand, promotes the Mediterranean idiosyncrasy in the European context as an specific contribution.
In the GreeNET project, ECOI participates in good practice thematic search, community building, implementation and dissemination and exploitation.

Key People

Bettina Schaefer is founding member of Ecoinstitut Barcelona. Architect with 20 years of professional experience in research, assessment, training and capacity building in Sustainable Consumption Policies. Member of Barcelona’s Municipal Council on the Environment and Sustainability and member of the board of the Association AUS (Architecture and Sustainability), Catalan Association of Architects. Coauthor of many of Ecoinstitut’s publications and communication materials.

Gemma Salvador Obiols holds a degree in environmental sciences (2002), and a master in "Landscape Management for Land Use and Environmental Planning" (2007). Since 2009 she works at Ecoinstitut, mainly developing conceptual strategic of projects that need an environmental communication and a close comprehension effort. Befor joining Ecoinstitut she has been working on designing environmental campaigns in different small towns in Catalonia; she also worked for six years at the Urban Ecology Agency of Barcelona.