Thirty companies on the Zona Franca Industrial estate commmit to optimising waste processing and resources by harnessing circular economy strategies

• This meeting marked the start of a symbiotic collaborative industrial and sharing economy experience, as part of the Consorci de la Zona Franca’s (CZFB) strategic initiative to establish a new environmentally sustainable industrial culture.
• The CZFB is upgrading the industrial estate’s infrastructures with improved public lighting and new optical fibre, a network of cycling paths, security systems, etc.

30 companies based on the Zona Franca Industrial Estate took part in a work meeting to develop circular economy and industrial symbiosis projects by making the most efficient use of resources and to move towards zero waste.

El Consorci de la Zona Franca, the organisation that manages this industrial estate in Barcelona and whose executive chairman is Jordi Cornet, invited companies housed on the industrial estate to take part in an experience called Zona Franca Circular Economy as a first step towards more efficient, sustainable and socially responsible resource management.

The CZFB’s new general manager, Blanca Sorigué, explained the project to the companies. Through workshops to share information and experiences, they analysed cooperation agreements between companies according to their production, resources, residue and specific needs, as shown in the image.

The initiative will not mean extra costs for the companies, rather, based on an efficiency and sustainability strategy, they will save resources and energy while encouraging synergies between companies, moving towards the new industry 4.0 culture towards which our society is evolving.

Different types of firms took part in the meeting, including automotive companies and others from the chemical, logistical and industrial sectors that are representative of the industrial estate, and the small and medium-size companies based in metropolitan Barcelona’s main production zone.

IMPROVEMENTS TO INFRASTRUCTURES IN THE INDUSTRIAL ZONE

El Consorci is upgrading infrastructures on the industrial estate and improving services for manufacturing industries as part of its 2015-2020 strategic plan.

This has meant replacing sodium vapour lights with LEDs. A total of 72% of all street lamps have already been upgraded at a cost of almost half a million euros, slashing electricity bills in half during the three months since the switch.

The entire estate now has FTTH optical fibre, and security conditions have been improved by installing an IP video surveillance circuit which, in coordination with state law enforcement agencies, control movement of vehicles onto or out of the estate, recording vehicle registration plates to detect attempted criminal activity by collecting evidence. This will also add to the estate’s reputation as one of the most secure in the country. The project is currently in the throes of a public tender process with a budget of €1.7 million euros.

The plan to improve connections between the estate and the local area will see new cycling lanes, to extend the existing section between Paseo de la Zona Franca and A Street with new cycling lanes in streets 1, 2, 3 and 6, Avenida Parc Logístic and K Street, so the main streets on the estate will have routes for cyclists.

El Consorci de la Zona Franca is a public company which was founded by the Spanish government, Barcelona City council and the city’s civilian society in 2016. A legal entity in its own right, it is self-financed and stimulates economic activity.

It manages the Zona Franca Industrial Estate and Customs Area, supporting industrial, logistical and urban areas, and carries out real estate projects, as well as staging events and trade fairs of interest to the business, logistics and real estate sectors.

The company’s governing bodies include municipal and state representatives, and economists. Its track record is evidence of its constant spirit of cooperation and commitment to society.