Barcelona+B is a multi-sector alliance that brings together businesses, educational institutions, social organizations, and public administrations to transform Barcelona into a more sustainable, inclusive, and regenerative city. Driven by strategic partners B Lab Spain, EADA Business School, Ferrer, and the Barcelona City Council—through Barcelona Activa—Barcelona+B aims to position Barcelona as a global leader in contributing to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at the local level. To achieve this, it works along three main lines of action: promoting impactful business models, fostering collaboration between businesses and institutions to address urban challenges, and activating citizen participation to tackle the goals of the 2030 Agenda.
Young people in Barcelona understand sustainability, but they don't put it into practice.
The findings of the Eduquem+B study show students' understanding and a very positive attitude towards sustainability, but only 42% express their intention to take action.
Barcelona aims to position itself as a leading city in sustainability. To achieve this, Barcelona+B asserts that it's essential to start in schools. This premise is the basis for the Eduquem+B project, a program that surveyed over 2,000 students from 29 schools across the city to determine if young people are prepared to face today's environmental and social challenges. The initiative, spearheaded by Barcelona+B with academic support from EADA Business School, begins with an innovative test. Be Ready for NowBased on the European GreenComp competence framework, the objective is clear: to diagnose what young people know about sustainability, how they act, and what skills they need to develop to become real agents of change. Training and raising awareness in educational institutions is the foundation for action.
The diagnosis reveals that students demonstrate a very positive attitude and a good level of understanding regarding environmental issues. They excel in systems thinking (69.1%) and in promoting nature (60.6%). However, only 42.8% express an intention to act in favor of sustainability, especially in the collective and political spheres. This contradiction worries the project's promoters. "Young people understand the complex nature of the problems, but they don't know how to act systemically; they don't act in groups or mobilize others," explains Federica Massa-Saluzzo, Director of Sustainability at EADA Business School. She points out that, historically, it has been young people who have driven major social transformations, and therefore considers the low level of civic participation detected "worrying." "We believe that good training and awareness-raising in schools could change this baseline," states Elena Damiá, Director of Barcelona+B at B Lab Spain.
Another important conclusion is that students primarily associate sustainability with waste management and ecological impacts. However, the social dimension, such as inequality and working conditions, remains much less clear. According to Massa-Saluzzo, this is not solely the responsibility of young people: "This lack of a systemic vision reflects the society in which we live. The concept of social and environmental sustainability is not sufficiently present in education or in culture in general."
Bringing sustainability closer to classrooms and businesses
The Eduquem+B project is part of one of the three pillars of Barcelona+B, an initiative driven by Ferrer, EADA, and B Lab Spain, which aims to connect business, education, and citizens to accelerate the transition to a more inclusive and environmentally responsible city. The three basic pillars of work are: business transformation, collaboration between companies and organizations to create high-impact solutions, and education for sustainability, under which Eduquem+B is framed. The study has become the starting point for educational initiatives and collaborations with companies. "If a young person joins a company with training in sustainability, their integration and capacity for transformation are much more direct," argues Massa-Saluzzo. Resources and training for teachers
During the pilot program, schools received basic materials to work on student outcomes. The next step is to reinforce this teacher training with more in-depth yet practical and accessible tools. The response from the schools, the organizers explain, was "very positive." Teachers and coordinators have opened their doors and expressed their interest in continuing their training so they can "teach with greater discernment in the classroom."
Barcelona as a laboratory for change
Eduquem+B doesn't just aim to raise awareness, but to empower young people to be agents of the change the city needs. That's why, Elena Damiá emphasizes, it's necessary to stimulate curiosity, critical thinking, and initiative: "They shouldn't just rely on what they see on social media, but rather be explorers, inquisitive, and think before they act."
Barcelona+B offers a clear assessment: there's a foundation, interest, and awareness, but now the challenge is to transform knowledge into real collective action. And this, they point out, will only be possible if education, businesses, and institutions work together.
