Presentation of the Circular Economy Business Forum in Cantabria

Santander, 5/06/2018.-The Chamber of Commerce of Cantabria  presented the creation of a business forum of circular economy, on the ocassion of the International Day of the Environment, with the aim of informing on funds, organizing meetings and multisectoral rounds and mediating between companies and the Administration.

This was announced  by the President of the Chamber of Commerce of Cantabria, Modesto Piñeiro, and the Regional Vice-President and Regional Minister for the Environment, Eva Díaz Tezanos, who is collaborating in the project.

Among its functions, this new forum will provide information on European calls for financial and economic support and will organise multi-sectoral meetings and rounds with different companies to discuss and contribute ideas, all with the aim of improving the economic performance of companies while reducing the use of resources.

It also aims to serve as an intermediary body between the regional administration and the Cantabrian companies, which Piñeiro has called on to join this “challenge”.

According to Piñeiro, the forum will unite the economy and the environment to try to move from a linear economic system to a circular one, which will help the waste generated “continue to live” through its reduction, reuse and recycling.

The Minister for the Environment pointed out that it is “very important” to have a consultative body like this one, which will serve as a space for debate in order to be able to face “the great challenges and challenges” that society faces.

To this end, Díaz Tezanos has shown the “full involvement” of the government that, he said, approved in April the Climate Change Action Strategy, which will cover the period from 2018 to 2030 and contains a set of actions and measures to involve both the public and private sectors in a challenge that, in his opinion, requires public-private collaboration.

He also pointed out that the public company Sodercan, for which he is most responsible, offers a call for aid for the promotion of the circular economy, with the aim of making progress in this new economy linked to economic development and job creation.

The presentation of this forum was attended by the General Manager of EIT Climate-KIC Spain, José Luis Muñoz, who highlighted the role that this Innovation and Knowledge Community dedicated to accelerating innovation against climate change throughout Spain can play in the Forum due to its “wide experience in acting as a bridge of information and knowledge between the academic world, companies, the public sector and non-profit organisations”.

For the Director General, this exchange of ideas and approaches achieved through the interaction between the community, business, research and education, as well as regions, cities and NGOs, “is known as the fourfold helix of knowledge”, and is the basis of the “European knowledge economy and knowledge exchanges of EIT Climate-KIC”, he said.