BIOGEARS February 2020 Events

In February 2020 members of the BIOGEARS consortium attended numerous relevant events.The first one was the Basque Ecodesign Meeting held on February 26 -28 in Bilbao. This event gathered several sectors and institutions to share their experiences, challenges and synergies about the circular economy and eco-design. The programme included presentation and discussions on addressing new eco-design challenges and trends in the frame of the circular economy; showcasing the commitment and work carried out by the Basque Ecodesign Center and its social companies and presenting the Basque Government’s commitment to “Life Cycle Thinking”. BIOGEARS partners had the opportunity to listen to and meet Elisa Tonda, Head of the Consumption and Production Unit in UNEP Economy Division, who underlined the importance of the circular economy for tackling plastic pollution.

The second event took place on 27th February and was a presentation of the project CircularSeas, which is co-financed by the Interreg Atlantic Area Program through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), is based on the Lea-Artibai 2020 strategy. Precisely, in the need to combine the fisheries sector and the Circular Economy, defined 6 years ago by Leartiker, Leartibai Garapen Agentzia, Azaro Fundazioa and Lea Artibai Ikastetxea for the economic development of the region. The objective of this 3-year project launched in April 2019 is to seek strategies for the reuse of plastic waste from the maritime sector. The day was led by Leartiker as project leader and Azaro Fundazioa, as head of the Ondarroa Node. It was divided into two parts. To begin, the official presentation of the Circularseas project was made and then the first regional workshop.

BIOGEARS partners joined the workshop because both projects can be complementary in creating new economic activities through the circular economy and plastics regionally. In the photo below there are partners from Leartiker, Azaro Fundazioa, BIOGEARS and the Director of Fisheries and Aquaculture of the Basque Government.

The final event attended in February was organised by Cluster Acuiplus, a group of companies, entities and above all people related to the aquaculture sector that promote competitiveness and sustainability of the value chain of suppliers, including both products and services, and strengthening business, research and innovation processes. and sustainability. This event, that took place on 28th February was a workshop that focused on creating sustainable aquaculture to contribute to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals in the EU.

All these events attended led to rich discussions and food for thought about role of BIOGEARS in contributing to the circular economy and sustainability regionally, and globally.