Valencia - 26.11.2020. The Institute of International Economics of the University of Valencia has organized, within the framework of the European project LOOP-Ports, an Institutional Workshop on Circular Economy in the ports of the Valencian Community, which has been attended by representatives of both the port sector and, among others, companies specializing in the management and revaluation of waste.
The workshop, which was welcomed by María Dolores Real García, Vice Chancellor of Innovation and Transfer of the UVEG, aimed to present the results of the project that ends next December and thus open the discussion on the potential of the circular economy in the ports of the Valencian Community and the role of institutions to facilitate and promote its implementation.
Presentations by Enrique López Balaguer(Head of the Prevention, Reuse, Recycling Promotion and Circular Resource Management Service of the Generalitat Valenciana) on the circular economy strategy in the Valencian Community, Cliona Howie(Director of Circular Economy of EIT Climate-KIC) on the actions of Climate-KIC on Circular Economy and Maria Feo(researcher at the Institute for International Economics) on the results achieved in LOOP-Ports have set the context and frame of reference of the workshop, highlighting the commitment among all social and economic actors that requires an effective transition to the circular economy.
An overview of the main lines of action in terms of sustainability and environment in the ports of the Valencian Community and their positioning and potential in terms of circular economy was then provided through the interventions of Ports of the GV (by Francisco Bayarri, Head of the Ports Operation Service in Generalitat Valenciana), the Port Authority of Castellón (María José Rubio Felip, Head of the Sustainability Department) and the Port Authority of Castellón (María José Rubio Felip, Head of the Sustainability Department), Head of the Ports Operation Service of the Generalitat Valenciana), the Port Authority of Castellón (María José Rubio Felip, Head of the Sustainability Department) and the Port Authority of Valencia (Federico Torres Monfort, Head of Ecological Transition).
Finally, the principal investigator of the project, Jorge Lara López of the Valenciaport Foundation, closed the day by explaining the next steps and inviting the attendees to continue exploring the topic in depth at the national workshop to be held on December 4 and at the final conference of the project sponsored by the World Circular Economy Forum on December 16.
LOOP-Ports
The European project "LOOP-Ports - Circular Economy Network of Ports", coordinated by the Valenciaport Foundation and funded by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) through EIT Climate-KIC, has as its main objective to facilitate the transition to a more circular economy in the port sector, where products, materials and resources are not considered as waste but can become sustainable business models that can be replicated in ports of 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 initiatives 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 best practices, formulate 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.
