How clusters deal with SDGs: The experience of Catalan Packaging cluster

By project AccelerateGDT

Published on 19 July 2024

Spain

Cataluña

About this good practice

Quality Education
Need: Training programs focused on technical aspects of the sector.
Action: Tailored training programs to improve business competencies and increase workers' knowledge in the ecosystem.
Stakeholders: Educational institutions, industry professionals, and packaging companies.

Decent Work and Economic Growth
Need: To promote communication and knowledge among young people about packaging sector, improve the sector's image, and open up job opportunities.
Action: promoting the sector to young people through various channels (podcasts, presentations, and SSMM)
Stakeholders: Educational institutions, youth organizations, industry associations, and media outlets.

Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
Need: To improve companies' competitiveness by incorporating technology and digitizing production processes.
Stakeholders: Companies, technology providers, and public funding bodies.

Responsible Consumption and Production
Need: To improve the using end-of-life, promoting eco-design strategies, and conducting life cycle analyses.
Packimpact tool help companies to analyse the performance life cycle of their packaging.
Stakeholders: Companies, environmental organizations, and consumers.

Partnerships for the Goals
Need: To implement European packaging legislation and promote initiatives that support ecological transition objectives.
Action: Value4Pack project
Stakeholders: Regulatory bodies, companies, environmental organizations, and industry associations.

Resources needed

The resources are covered by the cluster's annual budget sourced from member fees, public funding for projects, and revenue from other services offered to the ecosystem. This ensures that the initiatives are sustainable and effectively leverage the collective resources and knowledge of the cluster.

Evidence of success

Education: Increased enrolment in training programs, with a 3% rise in worker competency scores.
Economic Growth: Enhanced sector visibility led to a 5% increase in job applications from young people.
Innovation Companies adopting new technologies reported a 25% increase in production efficiency.
Sustainability: Use of Packimpact resulted in a reduction in packaging materials.
Partnerships: Successful collaboration led to securing more than €200,000 in public funding for sustainable projects.

Potential for learning or transfer

Comprehensive Training Programs: Regions with similar training gaps can replicate these programs or develop training initiatives on other relevant topics to effectively upskill their workforce.
Youth Engagement and Job Creation: Effective use of podcasts, presentations, and SSMM can help other regions attract and retain young talent.
Technological and Digital Innovation: Regions aiming to modernize their industries can learn from these technological integration methods by utilizing public funding and collaborating with the ecosystem.
Sustainable Practices: The Packimpact tool has successfully reduced packaging materials, promoting eco-design strategies. Other regions looking to enhance their sustainability efforts can develop similar tools to measure sustainability practices.
Effective Partnerships: Collaborations through projects like the Value for Pack initiative can support sustainable projects. Forming similar partnerships can help other regions align with European Green Deal goals