WAS promotes the circular economy in Madrid's business ecosystem in a university-business dialogue conference
Madrid City Council's Centre for Innovation in Circular Economy (CIEC), a benchmark in the promotion of sustainable and circular models in Madrid's business fabric, hosted a conference organised by Women Action Sustainability (WAS) dedicated to strengthening collaboration between universities and business to accelerate the transition to the circular economy. The University of Design, Innovation and Technology (UDIT) was represented by the researcher, lecturer and coordinator of the Tendam Sustainability Lab, María Tamames Sobrino.
The meeting underlined the importance of innovation and training as strategic axes to advance towards a circular production model, capable of optimising resources and transforming waste into value. During the session, different voices from the academic and professional spheres agreed on the need to integrate the circular economy into higher education and business decision-making processes. In this regard, Ruth Carrasco Gallego, Director of the Madrid-UPM Chair in Circular Economy, highlighted the importance of involving students in actions linked to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and incorporating the circular approach in the training programmes of all degree programmes. Patrizia Laplana, CEO of ASLA Green Solutions and IE Faculty, stressed the need to train future professionals in methodologies for measuring environmental impact and making decisions based on sustainable data. Likewise, Alba Cabañas, founder of Sustain Thinking, emphasised the value of social impact within circular models, despite the challenges involved in their evaluation.
Representing UDIT, María Tamames Sobrino provided a strategic vision that placed university-business collaboration as a driving force for the transformation of the productive system. She stressed the importance of aligning the challenges of industry with the training of future professional profiles, incorporating transversal competences and a methodological approach based on the life cycle. He also insisted on the need to strengthen cooperation between institutions and companies as a lever for prosperity, well-being and regeneration, crucial to accelerate the transition towards circular, competitive and inclusive models.
The conference reaffirmed UDIT's commitment to sustainability, innovation and knowledge transfer, promoting strategic alliances that actively contribute to the transformation of the Madrid business ecosystem.