Photos: 'Des-embolcall 'by Júlia Farriol. The Secretary of Climate Action, Anna Barnadas, recently awarded the IV Catalunya Award for Ecodesign 2021, which is convened by the Department of Climate Action, Food and Rural Agenda of the Generalitat de Catalunya. The biennial award recognizes products, products in development and proposals from the student world designed to improve their environmental performance throughout the life cycle and their contribution to the circular economy. In this edition, 131 applications have been submitted.
The Catalan Waste Agency (Arco) announced the award for the first time in 2001 and it has been held every two years until its transformation into the Catalonia Ecodesign Award four editions ago. It has expanded the scope to integrate all the aspects that intervene in the sustainability of the products, such as saving resources, the design of new consumption models or the optimization of the end of life. This year, it has celebrated its twentieth edition. The award includes three categories: Product, Product in Development and Young Design.
Product: draining flooring, by Breinco
In the Product category, the award went to Draining Pavement Llosa Filtrant presented by Breinco. The jury has valued that the product offers an innovative paving solution with a high percentage of permeability that improves water management, minimizes erosion and increases the comfort of pedestrians with an element of natural aesthetics. Long-lasting modular slabs that incorporate recycled, reusable and recyclable aggregate, and that represent an adaptation of the city to climate change.
Product in development: sustainable washing machine, by Girbau
In the category of product under development, the award went to the Sustainable Washing Machine GS7018, Presented by Girbau, S.A. an ergonomic industrial washing machine with an intuitive interface, with high efficiency and circularity of resources, which optimizes energy, water and chemical consumption. It provides innovative solutions to increase the durability of the textile and the separation of microplastics, in order to reduce a global problem that affects the entire food chain.
Young design: 'des-embolcall' (unwrap), by Júlia Farriol
In the category of Young Design, the award went to the project 'Des-embolcall', presented by Júlia Farriol Duran de Elisava, University School of Design and Engineering of Barcelona, attached to UPF. 'Des-embolcall' is a reusable packaging system in standardized formats designed to improve the distribution chain, with dual functionality, transporting goods from the point of extraction to the point of sale and displaying them without changing the container. It is a well-argued eco-design, which has a life cycle analysis and enhances proximity and bulk consumption, and the reduction of packaging materials.
