PACT concludes European project “Recycling Business Models” with all proposed objectives achieved
31 May 2021
Last Tuesday, May 25th, the PACT Talks session on “Business Symbiosis in Science and Technology Parks” took place, which closed, on the part of PACT, the “Recycling Business Models” (RBM) Project, funded by the Horizon 2020 Framework (INNOSUP-05).
The project, which started in October 2019, aimed to create a methodology and a strategy to boost the creation of new business opportunities for SMEs and the creation of new companies, based on the revaluation of waste, equipment and its reintegration into the life cycle of companies located in Science and Technology Parks.
It was an atypical 15 months, due to the health situation that took place, but the objectives proposed by the consortium, made up of the Andalusia Technology Park (Spain), Johanneberg Science Park (Sweden) and PACT – Alentejo Science and Technology Park (Portugal), were achieved.
During the project, two manuals were designed that aim to guide companies on the path to becoming greener: 1) manual on good practices of Circular Economy in Science and Technology Parks and 2) manual on Circular Economy opportunities for SMEs and companies. The documents are available here, where a third manual will also be available soon, on the state of the Circular Economy among SMEs in Science and Technology Parks and suggestions for the creation of closed cycles.
During the implementation of the project, it was realized that most of the Science and Technology Parks are still at an early stage with regard to the adoption of a Circular Economy strategy. Aware of the importance of this new approach, the parks focus mainly on awareness campaigns for their target audience, as well as on the design and implementation of national and international projects, with pilot initiatives to test Circular Economy applications that can be implemented in these places. On the other hand, the most advanced parks in the field of Industrial Symbiosis are already designing strategic plans and are starting to implement initiatives related to waste management and infrastructure.
PACT recognizes that the future involves greener and more circular business models, and is aware of its role as an agent of knowledge sharing, in terms of raising awareness of the business fabric of the Alentejo region for issues related to the Circular Economy, an area that it assumes as strategic.
