Examples of articulation in the Circular Economy
The current economic model poses a major threat to our society and our environment in terms of natural resource depletion, waste generation and ecosystem degradation. It is a linear economic model, based on extraction, production, consumption and disposal.
The transition to a circular consumption and production model represents a paradigm shift in the way we produce and consume. The circular economy seeks to produce goods and services by making use of resources and reducing the consumption of raw materials, water and energy sources. It avoids waste by preserving the value of products, components and raw materials.
Sustainability is not only a purely environmental issue. Its scope goes far beyond that, and it becomes a fundamental social and economic issue.
In this session, three collaborative experiences on the Circular Economy will be presented, which will tell us about their achievements but also about the difficulties they have had when carrying out the project and having to articulate the different agents involved in it. This will be followed by a group dynamic to reflect on what has been heard in the presentations and to think about the steps that should be taken to implement similar initiatives in our city.
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Speakers
Sébastien Hylebos is a project manager at Designregio Kortrijk. He is an expert in driving innovative projects focused on the circular economy. In collaboration, he takes an in-depth look at business processes, material use and waste streams to help companies operate in a circular way and minimise environmental impact. Sébastien strongly believes in the power of design thinking to promote sustainable innovation. He does this through co-creation with designers, where collaboration is essential to realise innovative solutions. With his commitment to creating a positive impact on the environment and business practices, he contributes to sustainable progress in the region.
The Circular Cocreation Hub (CICO HUB) joins forces to bring companies together and support them in the transition to circular business, focusing on the valorisation of waste streams.
ReLabs (Living Waste Laboratory) is based on 3 pillars: rubbish (materials that have not finished their useful life), culture and citizenship. It is a project that brings together consultancy, mediation, citizen participation and the participation of the public administration and other agents for proposals to review and improve the waste management system in cities. The aim is to promote not only a more circular management system, but also one that is aligned with the SDGs and the climate emergency.
Basurama is an art, architecture and environmental collective founded in 2001 that focuses its area of study and action on the city and the complex processes that coexist within it. It uses rubbish in its broadest sense as a starting point, as a means and as an end to think about and construct new possibilities. Networking, active participation, the enhancement of local resources and creativity are the keys to developing projects for social transformation. Awarded, among other prizes, by the Committed Artist of the Daniel and Nina Carasso Foundation, the Curry Stone Social Design Circle, UN-Habitat Innovative Practices on Waste Education, Premio Graffica and finalists in the Innovation in Politics Awards and Le Monde Prize Urban Innovation Awards. They have realised more than 150 projects in 40 countries and many self-promoted projects.
Mónica Gutiérrez studied Environmental Sciences and, subsequently, two master's degrees, one in International Cooperation and the other in Cultural Project Management. At the same time, she is linked to the cultural world through music, founding Fikasound (a cultural association to promote Swedish music in Spain) and as part of the collective MaryMuffins Dj SoundSystem. She is currently a member of Basurama, a collective that has been working for over 20 years among art, architecture and the environment.
Shandra Martínez is a manager and coordinator of artistic-cultural projects, as well as a visual artist and illustrator. With a degree in Law from the UPV-EHU and a Master in Cultural Management: Music, Theatre and Dance from the UCM, her multidisciplinary profile has led her, for 20 years, to form part of teams and projects in public and private institutions such as the European Cultural Capital of Culture Donostia/San Sebastián 2016 project, the National Orchestra and Choir of Spain in Madrid, Conexiones Improbables in Vitoria, or the San Sebastián Festival. Since 2018 she has been collaborating with institutions such as the Department of Culture of the Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa, Koldo Mitxelena Kulturunea, or the audiovisual production company Morgancrea, combining it with the research between Culture and the Circular Economy, which has received the award for the best Research Work 2021 by the SGAE Foundation.
The project that she promotes received the "Business Challenges against Climate Change from the Circular Economy" 2022 Award, granted by the Gipuzkoa Climate Change Foundation - Naturklima, and the Department of the Environment of the Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa, and collaborates with entities such as the Department of Culture of the Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa, Koldo Mitxelena Kulturunea, the EQZE film school, or museums such as Euskal Itsas Museoa and San Telmo Museoa, among other organisations and private artistic-cultural agents of the territory.
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