Ormazabal joins forces with the Basque Government and 13 other Basque companies to form the largest public-private alliance in ecodesign and circular economy in Spain

The agreement for the Basque Ecodesign Center, which took place on June 9, marks a milestone in the roadmap of the European Green Pact and the Basque Green Deal, challenges aligned with Ormazabal’s sustainable DNA

Ormazabal achieves a new milestone after signing up together with the Basque Government and 13 other leading companies in the Basque Country, as well as the public companies Ihobe and SPRI, to form a public-private collaboration alliance in the field of eco-design and circular economy; supporting the change towards an efficient economy in the use of resources and the reduction of raw materials. The Basque Ecodesign Center, which is the name chosen for this agreement, identifies itself with Ormazabal’s sustainable DNA and “wants to contribute to the transformation of the Basque industrial fabric so that the Basque Country can face the environmental challenges of the coming years with solvency”, as the Basque Government’s Minister for Economic Development, Sustainability and Environment, Arantxa Tapia, has stated.

The agreement is composed of ArcelorMittal Sestao, Batz Group, CAF, CIE Automotive, EDP España, Eroski, Grupo Campezo, Iberdrola, Kutxabank, Ormazabal Velatia, Orona S.Coop., Siemens-Gamesa Renewable Energy, Vicinay Sestao, Viuda de Sainz, the public company Ihobe, SPRI and the Basque Government itself. The companies of the Basque Ecodesign Center represent an annual turnover of 59 000 million euros, they employ 148 000 people and they have 103 000 supplier entities.

The agreement will also enable the creation of a think tank in which Ormazabal will participate in order to carry out an annual strategic reflection on the challenges presented in the circular economy in the Basque business sector. These reflections will be translated into commitments on behalf of companies and recommendations for the improvement of environmental policy in the Basque Country.

The circular economy, a commitment that is reflected in Ormazabal’s activity

In addition to this agreement, over the last academic year Ormazabal has carried out a series of key initiatives to strengthen its commitment to the circular economy. It is worth mentioning the implementation of different recycling and equipment reuse procedures that promote the elimination and reduction of wast, offering the necessary tools to generate the least possible impact on the environment.
In this respect, different divisions of Ormazabal have carried out the following actions:

• In the transformers division, different projects have been undertaken to reduce greases and oils: grease separator pit in the installations, repair of the oil tank wiring conduit, oil tank legalization project, adaptation of a nourishing oil unloading point.
• In the protection and automation division, various plans have been undertaken to reduce packaging and waste. Developments such as an ongoing project to reduce the generation of wood waste by replacing wooden pallets with plastic pallets for reuse with suppliers stands out; also, an ongoing project to eliminate plastic film from all packaging and a new 2020 project to replace plastic corner protectors with cardboard corner ones. Although this new model of corner protectors has been approved, due to the fact that the remaining stock of plastic corner protectors has been used up during the year, the results are not yet reflected in the main figures.
• At the factory in Seseña, which is dedicated to the manufacture of concrete enclosures, two projects have been carried out: one for the segregation of plastics (recycling of plastics) and the other one to reduce waste by replacing the polyurethane paint used in underground products with a flexible waterproofing mortar based on hydraulic binders and synthetic resins.
• Finally, in the secondary distribution division, the polyethylene corner protectors have been replaced with cardboard ones.

Furthermore, for waste management, most of the Ormazabal companies have contracts with management companies specialised in the transport and handling of waste. These contracts cover the entire process, from collection to handling and, in some cases, the return for the reuse and responsibility of both parties.