A coffee with… Iván Pedreira, Director of Transport Planning of the Basque Government and President of the Basque Logistics Institute

Logistics & Automation: What is day-to-day life like at the Basque Institute for Logistics and Sustainable Mobility and what is your role?

The logistics sector is characterised by continuous change, both in terms of regulations and materials, a reality that requires an organisation dedicated to supporting companies and professionals in learning about these changes, interpreting them and applying them in their day-to-day work in order to remain competitive. Precisely, the IVL is a non-profit organisation that plays a very important role in the study, research and support of companies in the Basque Country in the field of logistics, with a great predisposition to advise and resolve any type of question that may arise, a fact that is valued by the sector. We should not forget the role in training that it plays for the sector itself through the master’s degree in Integral Logistics, in collaboration with companies, which has very positive results both for those who take it and for the companies. I could go on indefinitely about all the activities that the IVL carries out on a daily basis, whether it be dealing with queries from professionals and companies or researching specific issues that affect the sector, but what I would like to emphasise, in any case, is the proactive attitude of the people who work there, which is a qualitatively differentiating factor.

Logistics & Automation: According to the latest data published by Eustat, logistics in the Basque Country is a sector that has not stopped growing and continues to do so. The Basque Country stands out, due to its strategic position in Europe, as a logistics hub and a key link in the Atlantic axis. How does the logistics sector in the Basque Country face the future and what challenges does it face as we begin 2023?

The most important challenge we face as a society in relation to an essential sector such as logistics is the challenge of sustainability, which is inescapably linked to the challenge of digitalisation. Basque companies are making an enormous effort in this regard and we in the administration are giving them unstinting support so that progress can be consolidated. Thus, from the Department of Territorial Planning, Housing and Transport of the Basque Government, we have doubled the amount of aid to the sector compared to previous years, a digitalisation aid order will soon be published within the framework of the Next Generation-EU funds, and we have approved in the Governing Council what is already the draft law on Sustainable Mobility in the Basque Country, currently in the parliamentary process. We are also collaborating with the sector, both through companies and clusters, in everything we can support, and we are making progress in drawing up the Sustainable Mobility Plan for the Basque Country, together with the sector itself, in the hope of obtaining an agreed document that establishes the bases and specific actions on which we must move forward together as a society.

Logistics & Automation: And while we are talking about the new year, the celebration of Empack and Logistics & Automation for the first time in Bilbao in March 2023, what benefits do you think it can bring to the sector? What do you ask of the event as a member of IVL?

All events where the logistics sector is represented are always positive, because they multiply the synergies in a professional field that is in itself dedicated to connecting. The fact that it is being held in Bilbao, regardless of the economic effect it generates for the territory, is also a good opportunity to give greater visibility to the strengths that we have as an autonomous community, not only because of its strategic geographical position, but also because of the configuration of the sector itself: intercommunicated, technically advanced and adaptable to changes in the market or the social situation. This was amply demonstrated during the pandemic, which showed how much we as a society owe to the logistics sector.

Logistics & Automation: If you could have one “logistics wish” for 2023, what would it be? What would it be?

Once again, as I said at the beginning of the interview, that we take firm steps towards sustainability. If we were all able to maintain and increase the sector’s weight by reducing the negative effects linked to transport in general, this would have a very positive effect on the fight against climate change and, consequently, also on society’s image of the sector itself.