The Minister of Economy, Planning and Employment, Marta Gastón, has closed this Monday the conference “Circular Economy and Sustainability in Aragón. Good business practices”, which was held at the headquarters of CEOE Aragón. Gaston stressed the “key role” of companies in the promotion of “circularity” and thanked the “tangible commitment” of CEOE Aragon with sustainability, “materialized” in the launch of its new Commission for Circular Economy and Sustainability.
Through this new body, the Government of Aragon will have “a direct and unique dialogue”, as indicated by the counselor, who explains that it will “work hand in hand with this commission so that the momentum that has given the circular economy in these three years” since the launch of the Aragon Circular strategy “is even more powerful and we have greater possibilities of disclosure and dissemination” among companies and citizens.
Marta Gastón announced that on January 31 an event will be held with the companies and entities that have committed to this plan and to the development of the circular economy in the Autonomous Community, especially with the 72 that have obtained the Aragón Circular Seal in its first call, some distinctions that will be called again on February 3, as the Minister of Economy has also advanced. “It will be an event in which we will endorse the territorial commitment to be a circular territory, in search of decarbonization”, she added.
Circular Aragon
The regional government launched the Aragón Circular strategy in January 2020. Since then, despite the pandemic, it has made it possible to boost the circular economy in the Aragonese territory through various measures and dissemination actions to promote new sustainable initiatives, especially among companies. Among these measures, in addition to the call for the Aragón Circular Seal, the grants for business R&D stand out, which, in their first two calls -published in 2021 and 2022-, have allowed to subsidize 52 business projects with 95 entities involved that have meant a total investment of more than 46 million euros and the creation of at least 74 direct jobs. At present, work is already underway on the publication of a new call for these subsidies, which will be endowed with eight million euros.
On the other hand, a specific line of financing has been set up through SODIAR, 145 companies have already signed the Aragón Circular declaration and work is being carried out on several projects at European level. Among the latter, Resource stands out, an initiative led by the Department of Economy of the Government of Aragon which aims to obtain around 20 million in private investment to finance circular economy business projects, using this Autonomous Community as a test bed.
Within the Aragón Circular strategy, there has also been a commitment to specialized training, both through the Aragonese Employment Institute (INAEM) and the Expert Course in Circular Economy that the Department of Economy offers, together with the School of Industrial Organization (EOI), in blended learning format from Teruel, with an 80% subsidy. Its third edition will start in February.
Conference at CEOE
The event held this Monday at CEOE Aragón was the first day of the Circular Economy and Sustainability Commission of CEOE Aragón and it was also attended by the president of CEOE, Antonio Garamendi, the vice president of the Corporate Social Responsibility Commission of CEOE, Iñigo Zavala and Clara Arpa, president of the Global Compact, as well as leading companies in sustainability such as Eboca, Fertinagro Biotech or Ibercaja Foundation, among others.
