The Economic, Social, and Environmental Sustainability Section of the Renewable Energy Institute is composed of the GEAR research group from the University of Castilla-La Mancha (UCLM). The group has extensive research experience, evidenced by numerous high-impact publications, participation in nationally and internationally funded competitive research projects, knowledge transfer contracts with companies and institutions, and the supervision of seven doctoral theses between 2013 and the present.
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The section comprises ten full-time PhD researchers with academic backgrounds in Economics and Business Administration and Management, all affiliated with the Department of Economic Analysis and Finance at UCLM. Additionally, it includes three permanent collaborators from both UCLM and other research institutions. Currently, two doctoral theses are in progress.
Researchers in this section specialise in analysing the sustainability of economic activities, primarily through the estimation and assessment of footprints across the three dimensions of sustainability—economic, social, and environmental—at local (city), regional, national, and international levels, as well as at the organisational, sectoral, and institutional levels. Specifically, the GEAR group has extensive experience in:
- Assessing impacts derived from international trade and global value chains
- Estimating environmental footprints (greenhouse gases, materials, water, etc.)
- Analysing social footprints, such as employment by qualification and gender
- Developing hybrid carbon footprint models for organisations (Scopes 1, 2, and 3)
- Evaluating the socioeconomic impacts of projects or productive sectors
The GEAR group also has a strong track record in knowledge transfer activities. Notable contributions include the development of the AENOR Manual for calculating carbon footprints using input-output modeling; participation in the Energy Modeling Network for a Sustainable Energy Transition (RED MENTES), funded by the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities (2020–2023, 2025–2027); an ongoing contract with UNEF for the development of the Annual Macroeconomic Report of the Spanish Photovoltaic Union (UNEF) since 2018 (eight consecutive years); a contract with Ideas Medioambientales for the socioeconomic analysis of strategic plans, including photovoltaic parks by Lightsource and SOLARIA; the drafting of the Energy and Climate Plan for Extremadura in collaboration with FUNDACIÓN TECNALIA; and the development of Satellite Accounts for Atmospheric Emissions in the Balearic Islands, in partnership with the Balearic Islands Statistics Institute (IBESTAT), among other recent and energy- and environment-related projects.
The GEAR group offers its expertise in developing multiregional input-output (MRIO) models, which are expanded to include economic, social, and environmental dimensions, to the scientific community, businesses, and institutions interested in assessing the impacts of economic activities at regional or global scales.