Curitiba – Greca highlights circular economy strategies in his opening address to the Argentine authorities

In Buenos Aires, this Tuesday morning (18/10), the mayor of Curitiba, Rafael Greca, highlighted the strategies of the capital city of Parana in promoting a circular economy for sustainable development.

Greca was the main speaker at the event “Argentina Economía Circular”, held at the Stock Exchange in Buenos Aires, with the participation of political authorities and businessmen from the neighboring country. The mayor of Curitiba is in the Argentine capital this week to participate in the C40 World Summit of Mayors, an international forum of governments representing the Group of Major Cities for Climate Leadership.

“Curitiba is moving towards the transition to a circular economy with a collaborative approach, in partnership with different production sectors. Innovations, the use of technology and other initiatives led by institutions, industries, companies and commerce, such as the Buenos Aires Stock Exchange, are essential for the construction and success of the circular economy”, said Greca, speaking after the host city’s mayor, Horácio Larreta.

Opening the ceremony, the president of the Buenos Aires Stock Exchange, Adelmo Gabbi, cited Curitiba as an example of a city. The mayor of Buenos Aires, Horácio Larreta, spoke about the expansion of the BRT axis in the capital of Argentina and mentioned Curitiba as a symbol of sustainable transport.

The capital city of Paraná is part of the list of global partners of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, an organization that promotes the culture of a circular economy, alongside anchors such as Microsoft, Morgan Stanley Bank, Starbucks, Sid Lee, a Canadian creative agency and Zalando, a German multinational e-commerce company in the area fashion.

“Innovation exists only if it is transformed into a social process. Balanced and orderly development of cities begins with planning focused on urban and human sustainability. Overcoming the bureaucracy and turning the planned into practice is the mayor’s task and challenge for a better life,” said the mayor of Curitiba.

sustainable practices

In his presentation, Greca highlighted Curitiba’s history in sustainable projects and practices that position the capital of Paraná as the Brazilian capital that recycles the most waste (20% of total waste produced), as part of the Lixo que Não é Lixo (Lixo que Não é Lixo) program. The mayor also highlighted Câmbio Verde, the exchange of recycled materials for food, the collection of pruning material used for composting, Fazenda Urbana and Mesa Solidária.

Caximba and PlanClima

Greca highlighted the Bairro Novo Caximba climate risk management project as a pilot for the wide implementation of circular economy concepts, with the aim of social emancipation of the population involved in the project and ecological recovery of the implementation area.

He also pointed out that the development of circular economy strategies is already one of the activities of PlanClima, Curitiba’s climate action plan. In addition, as part of the partnership with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, technical-institutional training is underway in the capital city of Parana for the development of a circular economy municipal plan/program that should be included in the guidelines of the Sector Plan for Economic Development, one of the tools of the Curitiba Master Plan.

As part of the C40 commitments, Curitiba also adheres to Zero Waste, which envisages the development of a strategy, over the next two years, to expand the processing of organic waste and reduce discarded waste. By 2030, it is intended to reduce the amount of organic waste by up to 30% and also by 30% the emissions caused by waste disposal in general.

circular economy

The circular economy is a model of systemic solutions based on three design-driven principles: elimination of waste and pollution, circulation of products and materials at their highest value, and regeneration of nature. In a circular economy, business models, products and materials are designed to maximize their use and reuse, creating an economy where there is no waste and everything has value. Based on the transition to renewable energy sources and renewable materials, the circular economy is distributed, diverse and inclusive.

Schedule

Also this Tuesday, Mayor Rafael Greca is participating in a meeting with the Secretaries of Urban Development and Culture of Buenos Aires at the presentations of the Mercado de Abasto Cultural Project and the Parque de La Estación Urbanistic Project. At the meeting, they will present the projects Rosto da Cidade and Bairro Novo do Caximba. At the end of the day, Mayor Rafael Greca will be presented with the Diploma of Honorary Guest of Buenos Aires, awarded by the Parliament of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires.

On Wednesday (October 19), the preliminary commitments of the C40 summit will begin with the mayor’s participation in a meeting of representatives of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Network of Cities. On Thursday (October 20), Greca will be at the opening of the C40 Mayor’s Summit, he will meet with the Mayor of Milan, Giuseppe Sala; and Miami Mayor Francis X. Suarez and will make technical visits to the Environmental Information and Training Center (CIFA), the Cildañez Reservoir and the Padre Mugica neighborhood.

On Friday (October 21), Greca will participate in the panel “Innovative Finance and Climate Budget” and the panel “Forum of Cities and Enterprises”, where investments in electric buses will be discussed.
Accompanied by the mayor, the secretary of the municipal administration and the president of the Institute for Research and Urban Planning of Curitiba (Ippuc), Luiz Fernando Jamur; municipal secretary for the environment, Marilza do Carmo Oliveira Dias; and Municipal Secretary of Administration, Personnel Management and Information Technology, Alexandre Jarschel.