In 2017, fifty-five social and business agents signed in Madrid the Agreement for a Circular Economy at the Day of Discussion on the prospective Spanish Circular Economy Plan. This event was chaired by Isabel García Tejerina, the Spanish Secretary of Agriculture and Fisheries, Food and Environment, and Karmenu Vella, the European Commissioner for Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries.

Since then, the number of companies and social agents committed to the Agreement for a Circular Economy has grown steadily. EDUCA Business and Professional Association is one of them, having joined the Agreement in February 2020.

Growth, productivity, competitively, efficiency or innovation are important, but different environmental problems and the shortage of raw materials are even more important, which have become increasingly evident.

Thus, a circular economy must be seen as a cultural change in the way we understand the productive system.

 

Products, materials and resources must stay in the circular economy as long as possible. Waste production must be minimized: the best waste is no waste!

 

The European Commission has promoted this new production model for many years through the  “European Strategy for Growth 2020” and the initiative “Roadmap to a Resource-Efficient Europe“, which includes the goals and means to turn the current economy into a new growth model based on efficient resource use.

In order to promote the transition to a circular economy model in Spain, the Spanish Government has developed the Spanish Circular Economy Plan under the coordination and leadership of the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Food and Environment and the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness, in cooperation with the other Ministries involved, the regional governments and the Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces.

 

The transition to a circular economy will be possible only if there’s cooperation, participation and involvement from the society as a whole: not just from the public administrations and the different economic sectors, but also from consumers and citizens, whose purchasing decisions and waste sorting habits are vital.

EDUCA Business and Professional Association commits to boosting the circular economy transition by signing the aforementioned Agreement for a Circular Economy.

Given these circumstances, it’s essential to encourage public-private partnerships as well as the coordination between economic and social agents and public administrations.

 

Everyone who signs it undertakes to the following actions:

  • Reduce the use of non-renewable natural resources
  • Ecodesign and reparability of the manufactured goods
  • Apply the waste hierarchy effectively, fostering prevention and reuse, strengthening recycling and supporting traceability
  • Promote innovative ways for sustainable consumption, such as facilities, digital services and eco-labeling
  • Implement different environmental management systems or promote a sustainable and responsible consumption
  • Establish and use common evaluation indicators, which are transparent and accessible, in order to know the degree of implementation of the circular economy

 

Read the full Agreement for a Circular Economy here

Organizations that have signed the Agreement for a Circular Economy (04/02/2020)