Commitment

Increase in waste reuse creates new jobs in Portugal

Waste reuse can create 1300 new jobs in Portugal, as shown by the study “Sinergias Circulares: Desafios para Portugal” (“Circular Synergies: Challenges for Portugal”), carried out by BCSD Portugal - Business Council for Sustainable Development

The transaction of non-urban waste among companies, aiming at its reuse as raw material, could be generating 32 million euros in gross value added (GVA) and contributing to the creation of 1300 jobs in Portugal. These are some of the conclusions of the study “Sinergias Circulares: Desafios para Portugal” (“Circular Synergies: Challenges for Portugal”), carried out by BCSD Portugal - Business Council for Sustainable Development, which analysed national data from 32 companies, including Galp.

The companies assessed in the study produce around 8.3 million tons of 267 different wastes, of which only 43% are valued – the rest is disposed. Considering part of this waste could be used as feedstock in other industries, it is possible to avoid not only its disposal in landfills but also equivalent extraction from primary sources.

GREAT POTENTIAL

The study was based on the disposal of 1.1 million tons of non-urban waste that took place in 2015, as to extrapolate that it would be possible to reduce intermediate consumption by € 165 million and contribute € 32 million in gross value added (GVA) to national economy if the waste was to be traded as raw material among companies and reused. “It is necessary and urgent to find a useful purpose for the waste that is not yet valued and that constitute a financial cost for businesses as well as an environmental one for the country,” the authors of the study warn, considering that “potential is immense.”

Galp is gold sponsor of the Circular Synergies Project and is part of the BCDS Working Group on Circular Economy and Industrial Symbioses

According to Galp CEO, Carlos Gomes da Silva, “the adoption of a circular approach represents a unique opportunity to develop as it contributes to greater innovation and business resilience”. Gomes da Silva also notes that “the commitment to circular economy represents a sustainable development strategy that ensures greater competitiveness and enables us to anticipate and manage risks, promoting long-term value protection and innovation along the value chain.”

VARIOUS SOLUTIONS

Biodegradable waste can be used in the production of fertilisers for gardens and agriculture, while ashes can be used in buildings or asphalt production, slurries in the paper industry and solvents can in the production of paints and alternative fuels. According to the study, many waste transactions do not take place due to lack of information, lack of technical and technological capacity, associated costs, bureaucracy and legislative barriers. In order to accelerate the transition to a circular economy in the industrial sector, BCSD Portugal suggests changing regulations as to enhance tax and funding conditions, as well as promoting collective resource management platforms in order to allow for waste transaction.

WHAT IS THE CIRCULAR SYNERGIES PROJECT?

The project is developed by the BCSD Working Group on Circular Economy and Industrial Symbiosis, which includes: Altice Portugal, Altri, Amorim, ANA Aeroportos de Portugal, Cimpor, National Hair Cutting, Deloitte, EDP, Eurest, EY, Galp, Hovione, Jerónimo Martins, Lipor, Prio Biofuels, PwC, Secil, Sonae, The Navigator Company and Vieira de Almeida & Associados, as well as the Portuguese Environment Agency and 3DRIVERS - Engineering, Innovation and Environment.