• The Packaging Cluster has incorporated a specialist in circular economy projects to boost the impact of the initiatives developed with member companies and stakeholders in the industry

In the last year, the Packaging Cluster has grown exponentially as a result of the changes that have occurred in the immediate environment and in the global context, in addition to transforming its strategy to addapt services to the new reality. As a result, more than 100 key members of the entire value chain of the packaging sector, an activities plan with more than 60 technical and innovation seminars for its associates, 14 ongoing R&D&I projects and many news to discover.

To carry out all the initiatives present and those to come, the cluster has hired two full-time people who will increase the portfolio of services and meet all the objectives of the Strategic Plan. The idea is to consolidate all the work that has been done so far, reinforce the service to the member and develop content to offer value-added knowledge to the companies that make up the entity. With the necessary tools, the cluster will be able to make its structure more flexible and strengthen to face new challenges with security, energy and intelligence.

Therefore, we recently welcomed Carlos Jiménez, who will support us as project manager of projects related to sustainability and the circular economy. Carlos is graduated in Industrial Design from the Barcelona EINA University Center of Design and Art, with a Master's Degree in Sustainability Science and Technology, from the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya. He has experience as a project manager in the world of design in the habitat sector, in addition to having worked as the technical manager of the Circular Economy Observatory, of the Department of Territory and Sustainability of the Generalitat de Catalunya, a reference entity that makes visible the efforts made in matter of green and circular economy in Catalonia.

Carlos will help us to channel all projects in line with the circular economy, since the entity understands this paradigm as a driver for the transformation of the industry of the future, and will attend calls such as those raised in the recovery plan that has been agreed the European Commission, the European Parliament and the leaders of the EU, which will try to repair the economic and social damage caused by the coronavirus pandemic with innovative and sustainable measures.

This initiative, NextGenerationEU, has a long-term EU budget of 1.8 billion euros, the largest stimulus package ever funded to prioritize projects in sustainability and digitization, with the aim of achieving the transition to a green model.

On the European horizon, we also find the Circular Economy Strategy for 2030 of the European Commission, the Green Deal, which shows the commitment to improve the world in which we find ourselves, with a plan to optimize consumption processes and design a long-term action that is respectful with the environment and with society.

To finish, it is worth mentioning that Carlos will also address the proposals at the national level of the Spanish Circular Economy Strategy of the Ministerio para la Transición Ecológica y el Reto Demográfico, a plan that intends to continue and align with the objectives set out at the European level in the Green Deal.

In January, the cluster team will add a total of 6 people with the incorporation of the young professional Pol Marin Ruiz, who will provide support in the development of international projects and global positioning of the cluster in the container and packaging sector.