The Eurecat technology centre is contributing to the projection of the Catalunya Circular Observatory, a circular economy innovation hub promoted by the Catalan Ministry of Climate Action, Food and Rural Agenda, which brings together information and knowledge about the actions, initiatives, success stories, indicators and aid that are implemented in this area in the Catalan ecosystem.
The news from last year was presented to the members of the Catalunya Circular Observatory during a meeting in early March that was used to announce initiatives including Eurecat’s collaboration with the Catalan government to boost and consolidate the Observatory, a meeting point for companies and institutions that provide solutions to consolidate the circular economy in Catalonia, a sector with a turnover of over 11 billion euros per year and that employs 32,800 people.
During the presentation, Anna Barnadas, the Catalan government’s Secretary for Climate Action, reiterated Catalonia’s commitment to the circular, regenerative, integrating and net-zero emissions economy, saying, ‘we’ve managed to get this to be one of the strategic areas of our economy and a key for our competitiveness and innovation’.
The collaboration with Eurecat is making it possible to bring together all the existing initiatives in the region in the collection of circular economy initiatives and generating specialised knowledge.
According to Frederic Clarens, the director of Eurecat’s Waste, Energy and Environmental Impact Unit, ‘with the project developed with Eurecat, the aim is to contribute to the Observatory increasing its value as a leading tool for Catalan companies and societies in their processes to shift towards the circular economy’.
The activities launched include identifying circular economy initiatives in the region, monitoring and publishing news and constantly updating the Catalunya Circular Observatory, detecting new content requirements for business support services and proposals for displaying the online space.
Furthermore, new circular economy indicators have been calculated and defined, while the existing indicators have also been consolidated and a set of monitoring indicators defined for Catalonia’s transition to the circular economy. These activities have benefited from the support of the consultants ENT Medi Ambient i Gestió.
The Catalunya Circular Observatory is one of the main initiatives rolled out by the Government of Catalonia in the framework of the Strategy for Promoting Green and Circular Economy, approved in May 2015, and that is now being updated via the Roadmap on Circular Economy in Catalonia with the horizon of 2027. This is a joint action with the collaboration of many economic and social players in Catalonia, where there are 626 companies dedicated to providing B2B solutions in this area, 60 per cent more than in 2017, as shown in the study from ACCIÓ published in December 2021, ‘L’economia circular a Catalunya’ (‘The circular economy in Catalonia’). In total, they generate a turnover of more than 11 billion euros and employ 32,800 people.
