Agencia EFE and SIGNUS Ecovalor have launched the third edition of the Cristina Yuste Environmental Journalism Scholarship, an initiative designed to strengthen specialist reporting on environmental issues and improve media coverage of waste management, recycling and sustainability. The new call was formally presented in Madrid on September 17, 2026, when EFE President Miguel Ángel Oliver and SIGNUS Ecovalor General Director Carlos Prieto Menéndez signed the collaboration protocol. The scholarship will give young journalism students practical training with EFE Verde, Agencia EFE’s environmental news platform, while exposing them to specialist reporting on topics including waste management and the circular economy. SIGNUS, which manages end-of-life tires in Spain, has supported the initiative since its launch in 2013 as part of its broader commitment to sustainability and professional training in environmental communication.

Scholarship focuses on environmental journalism and waste management

The Cristina Yuste scholarship is intended to encourage specialization in environmental journalism while improving the quality and accuracy of reporting on waste management. Participants will receive practical training alongside journalists from EFE Verde, allowing them to work directly with professionals covering sustainability, environmental policy and resource management.

For sectors such as tire recycling, specialist journalism can play an important role in explaining complex subjects including extended producer responsibility, end-of-life tire management, recycled materials, circular economy policy and emerging recycling technologies.

EFE and SIGNUS renew collaboration

The third edition was formalized through a cooperation agreement signed by Miguel Ángel Oliver of Agencia EFE and Carlos Prieto Menéndez of SIGNUS Ecovalor. Both organizations emphasized the growing importance of environmental information and the need for journalists who can communicate technically complex issues accurately to the public.

The initiative combines EFE’s journalism training capabilities with SIGNUS’ experience in sustainability and waste management. SIGNUS operates Spain’s collective system for managing end-of-life tires and supports recycling, reuse and market development for recovered tire materials.

Practical training provided through EFE Verde

The selected participant will receive practical professional training with EFE Verde, Agencia EFE’s specialist platform for environmental journalism. The program is intended to help young journalists develop reporting skills in an area that increasingly combines science, regulation, economics and industrial development.

EFE President Miguel Ángel Oliver said specialist journalism is particularly important when covering complex subjects and that journalists need sufficient knowledge to communicate them rigorously and clearly. He also highlighted the role of practical training in helping young journalists enter the labor market.

Initiative dates back to 2013

SIGNUS said its cooperation with EFE on the scholarship began in 2013 and forms part of its corporate responsibility activities. The initiative links sustainability with professional development by supporting journalists who may later cover environmental and circular economy issues professionally.

Carlos Prieto Menéndez stressed that training and specialization are essential if information about sustainability is to reach society with sufficient rigor. Environmental reporting increasingly requires an understanding of technical issues ranging from waste legislation and recycling processes to lifecycle impacts and resource efficiency.

Environmental communication supports circular economy awareness

The scholarship also reflects the broader importance of accurate communication around waste and recycling. Topics such as tire recycling, retreading, rubber recycling, recycled materials and circular economy policy often involve complex regulatory and technical details that can be difficult to communicate without specialist knowledge.

By supporting environmental journalism training, EFE and SIGNUS aim to improve the quality of public information available on these subjects. Better specialist coverage can help distinguish between different waste treatment routes, explain environmental performance and provide greater context around sustainability claims.

SIGNUS links journalism training with sustainability

SIGNUS describes the scholarship as part of a long-term commitment to sustainability and environmental awareness. Alongside its core responsibility for end-of-life tire management in Spain, the organization supports initiatives intended to improve understanding of recycling and circular resource use.

The third Cristina Yuste Environmental Journalism Scholarship therefore combines professional journalism development with broader efforts to improve public understanding of waste management, recycling and sustainability as Spain continues developing its circular economy framework.

Information source: Agencia Efe.