The cleanliness of localities, the air we breathe, the transformation of waste into a resource, adaptation to climate change, sustainable constructions, eating as much as possible with local products are factors that influence people’s quality of life, the environment, but also the economy. Here are some of the topics discussed on Tuesday, at the monthly meeting of AHK Romania members. To the discussion moderated by Ilinca Pandele, director of the Members department, the following were invited: Mircea Fechet, Minister of the Environment, Waters and Forests, Daniel Gross, CEO of REWE Romania, Radu Merica, CEO of RER Ecologic Group and Eugen Pănescu, architect and urban planner.
“Collaboration between the economic, political and society environment is very important. Only in this way can sustainable solutions and strategies be created and new impulses can be given for Romania’s future. Also, innovations and investments in the circular economy field open new business lines for Romanian companies. This will strengthen the competitiveness of the country and the European Union and create new jobs”, said the president of AHK Romania, Andreas Lier, at the opening of the “Environment-Climate-Economy” debate. Romania quo vadis?.”
The transformation of climate challenges into opportunities was also emphasized by the Minister of the Environment, who noted that the theme of climate change is no longer a philosophical one, but one that affects our lives: “Europe and Romania have a chance related to the evolution of these things, because the adaptation to the effects of climate change is the only thing we can do. Adaptation can mean investment, business opportunity, industry capital, innovation. As is already happening in Western countries, I think the theme of 2025 will be water.”
Currently, however, there are design and planning technologies that can make predictions about climate change and thus reduce its effects on localities, and especially on cities. “We are already working with software, with trained people looking ahead to climate and adaptive planning systems. You no longer have to guess where the wind is blowing, the amounts of water or the temperature. We just want the construction methodology to integrate the environment and especially the effects produced by what we build and develop on the environment,” explained urban architect Eugen Pănescu.
Constructions and the whole activity of people generate waste, which again influences the climate and the quality of life, but which can also create economic opportunities. One of these is turning waste into resources for other industries. However, a regulation is needed that differentiates waste from raw material.
“I would like some technical standards for construction and demolition waste and biodegradable waste that would define exactly when the status of waste ceases. Because only then can you know what recycling means. If there is no definition of recycling, you have no way to measure recycling rates,” said Radu Merica, general manager of RER Ecologic Group.
A first step in the direction of taking over the cleanliness of the localities is the guarantee-return system (SGR), which will soon be one year after its launch. This is the largest public-private partnership so far in Romania, which after one year managed to recycle approximately 80% of the amount of packaging collected. “SGR does not completely solve the problem of waste, but it is a good example for Romanian society. At the end of my mandate, I leave a cleaner Romania, and this is also thanks to SGR,” said Minister Fechet. He also mentioned some business opportunities created by SGR: modular container factories for the installation of automatic collection machines, hundreds of new jobs, investments. The target is that in the future other types of packaging such as glass or tetra pak will be included.
The SGR, together with energy efficiency, water recovery or building insulation, shows that sustainability is profitable, was the opinion of the general director of REWE Romania, Daniel Gross. “More often than not, sustainability also brings superior economic returns. Investments are also needed and this can be partially supported by the state, but I would like to promote the advantages of sustainability more. There is still the idea that if you are sustainable, you are more expensive. This is not the case, we have tried many projects and I can tell you that most of the time the return has been positive,” explained Gross.
One of these projects is Triplu RO, through which Penny tries to buy as much as possible from local producers, in order to offer products that have the main Romanian ingredient. “It is sustainable, because on the one hand it reduces the CO2 footprint, and on the other hand the customer wants Romanian products.” he also said, adding that investments are needed on the food processing side.
To turn all these challenges into opportunities requires dialogue. This was also emphasized by the minister Mircea Fechet, who showed at the end of the debates, that “the economic environment is affected by all the decisions we take at the ministry or at the government.”