FCC ámbito participates in the conference for the Municipal-Industrial Symbiosis

The Spanish chapter of the Club of Rome, in collaboration with the University of Zaragoza, the Zaragoza City Council and the CEMEX Chair of Sustainability, held a conference on circular economy and the relationship between public and private institutions on March 22 in Zaragoza.

The session, held in the CaixaForum auditorium, was entitled “The municipal-industrial symbiosis: the necessary link for circularity. The case of the city of Zaragoza”.

The main purpose has been to establish a dialogue between various companies and the Zaragoza City Council to identify the obstacles and seek solutions that allow progress towards a true circular economy that closes the material cycles. To this end, the importance of cooperation and collaboration between the different government bodies, entities, companies and citizens for the proper functioning of the circular economy has been highlighted.

The conference was opened by Carlos Álvarez, Vice President of the international Club of Rome, who was followed by Jorge Azcón, Mayor of Zaragoza. Antonio Valero, Professor at the University of Zaragoza and Member of the International Club of Rome, presented the importance of the municipal-industrial symbiosis as a central link in the circularity of materials. Miguel Ángel Anía, Technical Advisor of the Public Services and Mobility Area of ​​the Zaragoza City Council, spoke about the work of the city council and the research carried out a few months ago on the management of urban solid waste.

The first part of this event ended with a presentation by Roberto Sandín, Manager of the UTE Ebro – Urbaser Plant, in which he explained the operation and innovations of the Zaragoza Urban Waste Treatment Complex (CTRUZ).

The second part of the conference consisted of a round table led by Miguel Angel Anía in which the following company managers participated:

  • Alfonso Conde López, Cement Operations Director of CEMEX in Aragón
  • Marcelo Liendo, Responsible for the environment of the group López Soriano
  • Alejandro Antona, Regional Director by Saica Natur
  • Emanuel F. Andrade, Programming and Logistics Director of Verallia in Spain
  • Domingo Franco, General Manager of the Verallia factory in Zaragoza
  • Carlos Mallén, Managing Director of FCC AMBITO Glass Recycling
Participation of FCC ambito Carlos Mallen

Finally, Natalia Chueca, Minister of Public Services and Mobility, Zaragoza City Council, presented the conclusions of the conference. Subsequently, the Declaration for Municipal-Industrial Symbiosis was read and signed.

The document concludes by indicating that “turning Zaragoza into the European capital of industrial-municipal symbiosis will only be possible thanks to the involvement and commitment of citizens, the city council, universities, research centers and companies. Moving towards the circular economy and closing the material cycles is a long road full of challenges. Precisely for this reason we need to join efforts from cooperation in the same direction”.