By Sahar Azarkamand, researcher of the ARECO Fellowship at the UNESCO Chair in Life Cycle of ESCI-UPF. The European Union generated approximately 83.4 million tons of packaging waste in 2021. According to forecasts, if no measures are taken, packaging waste could increase by another 19% by 2030 (European Council, 2024). In recent years, the amount of packaging has grown more…
On International Day Against Climate Change, ARECO reaffirms its commitment to sustainability by promoting reusable packaging in the distribution of agri-food products, whose carbon footprint is 87% lower than that of single-use packaging. The International Day Against Climate Change, celebrated worldwide on October 24, is a global and unified response to the challenge posed by this phenomenon. This date, promoted…
IFCO, Euro Pool, and Logifruit assess the sustainability of their activities and their impact both financially and on people and the environment. Double Materiality has become a central issue for companies. The concept of Double Materiality was formally introduced by the European Commission in its 2019 Climate-Related Non-Financial Reporting Guidelines. The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) also incorporates the…
In 1972, the United Nations designated June 5 as World Environment Day to highlight that the protection and health of the environment are key issues affecting the well-being of people and global economic development. Ensuring enough food for the world’s growing population, while reducing impacts on the environment, is one of the major challenges of the 21st century (UN, 2015).…
Spain, especially in Catalonia and Andalusia, is experiencing droughts and water scarcity. During these dry periods, water levels in rivers, lakes, and streams decrease, concentrating pollutants and nutrients that reach the Mediterranean Sea, the Cantabrian Sea, and the Atlantic Ocean. This concentration can worsen acidification and eutrophication, damaging aquatic ecosystems. Therefore, effective water management is crucial to mitigate the impacts…
Sahar Azarkamand, researcher of the UNESCO Chair in Life Cycle and Climate Change at the Universitat Pompeu Fabra (ESCI-UPF), will start leading the postdoctoral research fellowship that ARECO signed two years ago with the Chair. The aim of this grant is to promote research projects on the circularity of packaging in agri-food distribution, as well as other scientific developments to…
In 2015, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development was launched after the agreement of the 193 member states of the United Nations. It is a 15-year plan of action that aims to end poverty, protect the planet and improve the lives of all the population. It has 17 objectives, the so-called Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), which are defined in a…
While the previous news have focused on the concept of circularity, circular strategies and indicators to measure it; this article focuses on what do we mean by material cycle. One of the key objectives of circularity is to “circulate products and materials (at their higher value)”. But to circulate materials or products, we first need to understand what a material…
