SRAAC promotes Technical Seminar on Circular Economy

Oct. 4, 2022

The Regional Secretariat for the Environment and Climate Change promotes on 6 and 7 October, in Praia da Vitória, a Technical Seminar on Circular Economy, aiming to disseminate, raise awareness of, and discuss the concept among the various industries to actively involve the interested parties.

It will be a great opportunity to discuss the future of Circular Economy in the region, bring together all stakeholders and partners and promote a strong dissemination moment.

The specificities of the Azores make Circular Economy an obvious necessity for regional sustainability, responding to the new European challenges in implementing a green economy.

This seminar is intended to promote dialogue with experts and share experiences and knowledge related to the transition to Circular Economy models.

The necessary transition marks a paradigm shift in the economic model, actively promoting the efficient use of resources, through products, processes and business models, based on dematerialization, reuse, recycling and recovery of materials.

The promotion of the seminar, which includes 24 expert speakers in different areas, is part of a series of projects under development, among which we highlight the preparation of the Autonomous Region of the Azores' Circular Economy Agenda, the circularity platform and the best practices guide for circular events. These actions are funded by the REACT-EU programme: Green Economy Project - Promotion of measures and investment support for circular economy elements in the Azores, with a total investment of 500 thousand euros.

On 6 October, during the morning, the seminar will be attended by Ana Rodrigues, Regional Director for the Environment and Climate Change, who will address the  Circular Economy Agenda of the Autonomous Region of the Azores, whose development began this year and whose completion is planned for 2023; Dália Leal, Head of the Waste Division of the Regional Directorate for the Environment and Climate Change, who will present the project funded by REACT-EU for the development of the Roadmap for Carbon Neutrality; with Ana Cristina Carrola, from the Portuguese Environment Agency (APA), who will make a presentation on Circular Economy; Rosa Onofre from the Alentejo CCDR, who will make the presentation of the Forum for the Circular Economy of Alentejo; and Cláudia Sá, from the Regional Directorate for the Environment and Climate Change of Madeira, who will make the presentation of the Autonomous Region of Madeira's Circular Economy Agenda.

Later in the afternoon, Cristina Rocha from the National Laboratory for Energy and Geology (LNEG) will give a lecture on Circular Business Models, followed by João Wengorovius Meneses from the Business Council for Sustainable Development (BCSD Portugal), who will be talking about industrial symbioses.

Next, there will be a presentation session on Cirular Economy Best Practices, with Francisco de Sousa Fernandes, director of the Regional Civil Engineering Laboratory (LREC), to present the REBUILD 17 project; Raquel Galante, from Fibrenamics Azores Association, will also lecture about the development of casein fibre from non-food milk produced in the Azores; Sérgio Loureiro from SustainUtility Atlantic Biotec, to talk about the Mar4Terra project - biorefinery of food waste; Joana Ávila to present the Begs & Bags project and Ana Almeida, from Boa Fruta, Lda., to talk about the production of furniture from pineapple leaf fibre.

On the morning of 7 October, there will be several thematic sessions simultaneously. One is about performance diagnosis tools in Circular Economy, by Paula Silvestre and Francisco Salgueirinho Moreira, from Associação Empresarial de Portugal (AEP). Another is about the valorization of by-products and waste, led by Inês Gomes from the Smart Waste Portugal Association. Cristina Rocha and Paula Trindade from the National Laboratory for Energy and Geology (LNEG) will lead another on life cycle assessment. There will also be a session on food waste, led by Iva Pires from NOVA University of Lisbon, and on the management of material flows, led by Cândida Rocha from Lusófona University.

Later in the afternoon, four more thematic sessions will be developed. One on digitalization in agriculture, led by Tiago Sá, from Wisecrop; another on circular economy, focused on hotel waste, led by Maria José Nunes from CCDR Algarve; another on Eco-design, led by Nieta da Ponta Rocha, from Circular Blue Group and another on the theme of sustainable and circular shopping, led by Paula Trindade, from LNEG.

The event also counts on the presence of Marcos Couto, President of the Câmara do Comércio e Indústria dos Açores, and Sónia Silva, executive director of TERAMB, the Empresa Municipal de Gestão e Valorização Ambiental of Terceira island, as moderators, and with the presence of the Mayor of Praia da Vitória, Vânia Ferreira, the Mayor of Angra do Heroísmo, Álamo Meneses, and the President of the Entity for the Regulation of Water and Waste Services of the Azores (ERSARA), Sónia Santos.

So far, the event has more than 130 registered participants.