Currently in the European Union, regional policies and their related programs are aware of the importance of fostering social responsibility, whilst, at same time, they have to promote entrepreneurship. Promoting the culture of sustainable entrepreneurship could be the answer. In this article, the Spanish case-study of the Autonomous Community of Extremadura is analyzed to show the existing regional policies fostering voluntary educational programs devoted to entrepreneurship since 2012. In this context, a specific entrepreneurship project related to sustainability was developed in 2017–2018 in secondary schools with the leitmotiv to consider the Sustainable Development Goals from the United Nations. Using the Structural Equation Modeling method with a sample of 630 students under the umbrella of the project called Teenemprende, the study concludes by highlighting that sustainable entrepreneurial culture programs in the public educational system already have some positive effect on the students´ attitude to social responsibility, thus empowering them to change the world for a better future.

In this paper, we analyze the effects of the energy transition process on economic growth in Spain and Portugal, countries that, adhering to European Union (EU) directives, opted to promote clean energies from the very start. On the one hand, we look at the energy transition laws introduced by the EU and other countries. On the other, we conduct a causal analysis of energy consumption and economic growth to confirm whether the change of energy model has generated positive effects on economic growth. The procedure was as follows. First, we conducted an aggregate causality analysis exploring the relationship between growth and energy consumption. As the results were not significant, we repeated the analysis with different disaggregations of renewable energy sources. With respect to solar thermal energy and economic growth, the main conclusion is that the data appear to show a one-way causal relationship for Portugal and EU-26 (European Union without Portugal and Spain) and a two-way relationship for Spain.

Social Responsibility in the Public Administration is an emerging phenomenon responding to the challenges and opportunities for public institutions faced by the rapidly evolving world. The general and ambitious global goal of sustainability is at risk because inequality is increasing among countries, but also within countries at the regional and local levels. Facing this problem, the aim of this paper is to approach how the social responsibility of local governments is impacting citizens’ participation as a way of managing the required transformation to sustainable development. In order to contribute to seed light in the field, a pilot study was carried out, employing partial least squares as an exploratory method, with an ad hoc structural equation model, and with a sample of 256 inhabitants in three municipalities in Extremadura (Spain). The findings are promising for place marketing, local public management and democracy reinforcement because it is empirically demonstrated that the municipality’s orientation towards responsibility impacts citizen´s connection, attraction, and identification with the municipality, increasing citizen participation.

Access to safe drinking water is essential to good health, a basic human right, and a component of effective policy for health protection. Improving the quality of local public water and waste services is one of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (Goal 6: Clean Water and Sanitation). This study aims to know the degree of satisfaction of domestic users who receive services related to water and waste in municipalities with less than 20,000 inhabitants in the province of Badajoz (Spain). We carry out this research because the perception of municipal services provided by the public administration is usually negative and deficient. The case study PROMEDIO, the consortium formula, is described as a successful partnership to improve the quality of local public water and waste services. For this purpose, a detailed analysis of the different aspects involved in the relationship between the users and the services provided is carried out. The consortium was found to increase citizens’ satisfaction with the services provided, given the close relationship between the municipality and the users.

This paper reflects on the controversies to protect, and develop rural areas presenting the current situation, and the future, of the La Siberia Biosphere Reserve, located in the Extremadura region of Spain. Adopting a qualitative research design, we have gathered and examined the primary initiatives implemented for the Tourism Sustainability Plan of the reserve spanning from 2021 to 2023 and engaged in discussions regarding the potential of this region with the manager of the current Regional Development Centre, and a selection of key informants. In addition, opportunities and threats have been gathered from media. We employed the qualitative method and the content analysis, with ATLASti software (ATLAS.ti.7). We have noticed that soon, this region will develop new proposals by fostering private-public collaboration. The findings indicate that the preservation of natural resources, that has emerged as a pivotal source of innovation, must deal with new entrepreneurial activities that can put the sustainability of the territory at risk. What sets this work apart is its portrayal of Extremadura as a benchmark for sustainable social and economic development fostered by regional public policies. It is our conclusion that both academia and society should establish collaborative spaces that facilitate the formation of entrepreneurial ecosystems, fostering the cultivation of talent and effectively addressing the new regional challenges in Europe.

The objective of this study is to explore the interconnections among three pertinent topics in contemporary public policy, particularly within the European context: employability, entrepreneurship, and regional development. Initially, we conduct a bibliometric analysis to identify the primary trends in this field. Subsequently, we present and analyze a case study, namely the Innovation and Talent Retour Program (PIRT 2022), which is a public initiative aimed at attracting university graduates with prior international experience. This program is part of the Entrepreneurial Culture Programs offered by the Autonomous Community of Extremadura, located in Spain. By employing a questionnaire based on the EntreComp framework and involving a sample of university graduates’ beneficiaries of the program, we validate the measurement scale and investigate whether this project contributes to the development of entrepreneurial competencies among the participants. The insights gained from the obtained results inform future programs within the region, as well as other regions undergoing similar processes. This study delves into the theoretical and practical aspects of the role played by universities as key agents in fostering the sustainability of their respective territories. It is concluded that higher education must even assume a more proactive role in the future concerning the employability of its graduates and the overall development of the surrounding region in which it is located.