- During the development of this initiative, a Circular Economy Network in Ports will be created.
- Thanks to LOOP-Ports, a web tool on circular economy will be created to show the results of the project and to facilitate the exchange of information between the members of the network.
On October 18th, the first internal technical meeting of the European project "LOOP-Ports - Circular Economy Network of Ports" was held in Valencia, coordinated by the Valenciaport Foundation and financed by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) through EIT Climate-KIC.
LOOP-Ports' main objective is to facilitate the transition towards a more circular economy in the port sector, where products, materials and resources are not considered as waste but can be turned into sustainable and replicable business models in ports with similar characteristics.
The project, through the creation of a Circular Economy Network in Ports, will provide an innovation ecosystem to stimulate the implementation of this type of initiative in European ports. The network will focus mainly on the following materials: metals, plastics, cements and biomaterials. This network of ports will facilitate the exchange of experiences and good practices, make recommendations at the regulatory level and promote training as well as new business opportunities both in port clusters and in other industries related to their environment.
In particular, the main expected results of the project are
- Classification of ports at European level showing their suitability for the implementation of circular economy initiatives as well as particular studies of relevant cases.
- Analysis of the main drivers (legal, political, regulatory, market, financial, etc.) that can facilitate the transition to a circular economy for activities linked to the port sector.
- Training materials and pilot training projects contributing to the development of skills, knowledge and innovation capabilities, both within and between port clusters.
- Workshops and round tables on the circular economy with the different actors of the port communities gathering their interests and expectations.
- Development of business models - real cases selected during the project, looking for replicability in other ports with similar characteristics.
- Identification of funding opportunities to promote the circular economy in the port sector.
- Web tool on circular economy that shows the results of the project, facilitating the exchange of information among network members, stakeholders as well as the general public.
