“10% of the clusters from all over Europe with the highest certificate of excellence are Catalan "”

“The Gold Label certificate recognizes, through an audit process, an extraordinary level of professionalism in terms of cluster structure, governance, financing, strategy and services.”

On the 16th of October, 6 Catalan clusters - Packaging Cluster, MODACC, Catalan Water Partnership, Beauty Cluster Barcelona, FEMAC and Secpho - received one of the most prestigious awards in the world in the field of clusters, the Gold Label certificate. A recognition that legitimizes excellence in the management of these organizations by the European Secretariat for Cluster Analysis (ESCA) and with the support of ACCIÓ, the agency for the competitiveness of the company of the Departament d'Empresa i Coneixement de la Generalitat de Catalunya.

The virtual event was chaired by the Minister of Business and Knowledge of the Generalitat de Catalunya, Hble. Ramon Tremosa, who reaffirmed the important role of changemakers such as clusters, especially in a context like the current one, characterized by the health and economic crisis. The entities have accompanied member companies on the path to recovery and business opportunities, with the generation of shared value.

The ESCA director, Helmut Kergel; the delegate minister of ACCIÓ, Joan Romero; Joan Martí, Director of Cluster Development; and the Clusters Managers of the award-winning organizations also participated in the session.

Àlex Brossa, Cluster Manager of the Packaging Cluster, not only thanked the entire network for the recognition that has made it possible to obtain the Gold Label, but also stressed the importance of the value chain:

<< Clusters generate proximity and trust in a specific environment, to work locally and impact globally. They are instruments of local connection that allow access to global knowledge networks, European projects, other markets and, above all, to be connected >>.

The Packaging Cluster underwent an audit process at the end of last year to obtain this certification, where the trajectory of the entity since it began its adventure in 2012, the structure and modus operandi, the level of integration of the innovation in the strategy, the collaborative projects promoted or the prospective future were evaluated, among other indicators from a list of 30 KPI's. Based on the results obtained, the cluster has been able to reformulate its action plan and structure the strategic lines that will mark the annual planning.

Thanks to this analysis, the entity has evolved exponentially in recent months, with a considerable increase in organized activities and conferences - more than 60 in 2020 - more specialized and with greater impact; an update of the website as the main intermediary with the audience; the digitization of processes and tasks, betting on the generation of virtual networking with meetings such as the Strategic Dive 2020; collaborative innovation projects; and more than 100 active members from the entire value chain of the packaging sector.