“We are faced with four major ecological crises of a planetary nature. Of the top 10 global risks detected by companies, five are environmental in nature. This is why we are preparing the European Green Pact within the European Union, where the environment will be a key factor in our future economic growth.” This was a statement from the Director-General for the Environment of the European Commission, Daniel Calleja, expressed during the REDIT Board of Directors Forum held this morning at the Biomechanics Institute of Valencia.
Calleja explained that the European Commission understands that “we have to transform the four economic systems that have the most impact: energy, mobility, food, and construction and infrastructure”. He also stressed that “we are going to work in four key sectors: textiles, which only recycle 1% of products; and construction, electronics and plastics, promoting measures and targets such as making all products on the market recyclable by 2030.”
Summing up, the DG ENV declared that “we cannot talk about the Green Pact without talking about innovation”, adding that European companies have great new opportunities to emerge on the world level. The EU LIFE programme, launched in 1992, has achieved great success and “will now be increasing its budget by 70%,” he explained.
Participating in the Forum were over 60 businesspersons, plus various representatives from the administration, such as the Regional Secretary of Innovation, Jordi Juan, the General-Director of Industry, Empar Martínez, Innovation Director Sonia Tirado, and the DG of European Funds, Andreu Iranzo.
The event was opened by the rector of the Polytechnic University of Valencia, Francisco Mora, together with the chairman of REDIT, Fernando Saludes, who stressed that “technology centres are highly active on the environmental level and have been supporting their companies for decades in all the challenges and opportunities they face in this field.”
“Technology Institutes play an important role in many European programmes,” he added, “of note among which is the LIFE Programme. During the 2007–2017 period, we have captained 52% of all projects from Valencia, so we are a key coordinating body in the Valencian Community, having attracted over €24 million in funding for our region”.
“In addition, 9 of the projects coordinated by our Technology Institutes have been given LIFE AWARDS, Best LIFE Environmental Project and “Best of the Best Projects”, according to Saludes.
At the close of the Forum, attendees made a visit to the Institute of Biomechanics of Valencia, where they toured the laboratories and saw some of the latest projects on which the centre is working.
The Board of Directors Forum is a REDIT initiative whose objective is to bring together directors from all 11 Technology Institutes in the association – all acknowledged entrepreneurs in key sectors of the Valencian Community – to discuss and reflect on the strategies being implemented at these bodies as members of the regional Innovation System.
