• This pioneering initiative, which focuses on the concept of Circular Cities, was kicked off at the national level on September; 30 companies have already joined the initiative. Moreover, a meeting was recently held for the companies interested in joining the initiative to explain the first steps of the initiative during 2022.
• Among the actions announced are the creation of a circular economy academy, the implementation of a car pooling service, the installation of the first local energy community or the digitalisation of the park's distribution network.

The eCityMálaga project has already defined this year's first actions to become the first Circular City in 2027. To this end, the project's work groups have defined the main strategic lines during the project's first months of activity, aimed at creating an eco-efficient environment with regards to its energy, water and materials, and based on the principle of eco-design, by means of extending the life cycles of resources, which will be shared and fully renewable. The final goal is to achieve zero emissions and zero waste.

In this regard, the main activities that will be carried out in the short and medium-term were presented to the more than 50 entities attending the first meeting held yesterday at The Green Lemon building, which included those already participating in the project and those interested in joining the initiative.

Among the initiatives planned for 2022 are the creation of a circular economy academy, aimed at creating an ecosystem that fosters the creation of knowledge and the application of the principles of the circular economy to stakeholders and their business activity, as well as boosting circular purchases to promote a more circular economic system.

In the field of mobility, it is worth mentioning the implementation of shared bus services and car pooling as measures to reduce traffic levels and the associated environmental impact.

With regards to the energy sector, the first local energy communities will be launched during 2022 with the installation of photovoltaic plants in parking areas, which will have electric vehicle charging stations. Likewise, the distribution network digitalisation process will start to adapt the network to new distributed generation uses.

Moreover, with regards to waste management, the initiative plans to create ecological islands that help classify waste at the source by bundling together the different types of existing waste and thus prevent the need for waste collection vehicles to have to travel to scattered locations.

Some of the actions planned for the protection of the park's biodiversity include the study of native vs. invasive bird species present in the environment.

As part of the project's digital layer, the Centesimal initiative of Málaga city council will be launched to find out more about the structural health in 218 of the city's buildings to improve their energy efficiency, monitor the level of pollution and occupancy levels.

Open innovation system

The presentation given during the meeting urged the attending companies to participate in the project's different work groups through an open innovation system. The importance of each member's contribution and networking as the core elements of the initiative were discussed.

This open public-private collaboration ecosystem, which is already being promoted by the administration, with coverage at the origin by the Andalusian Regional Government, the City Council of Málaga, the Málaga TechPark and Endesa, will ensure the deployment of the first basic elements to prepare the enclosure and develop towards a benchmark area for circularity.

About eCityMálaga

The eCityMálaga project aims to turn Málaga TechPark into the first sustainable urban space with an efficient, fully renewable and digital circular city model for the future.Málaga TechPark will respond to the challenges posed by the Sustainable Development Goals. This space will become a leader in technological innovation and a benchmark in sustainability by 2027, thus bringing the UN 2050 climate and energy goals forward by more than two decades.

Several of the park's companies and entities have joined the eCityMálaga project to make it a reality, within an open ecosystem of public-private partnership, promoted by Endesa, Málaga TechPark and Málaga City Council.