Within the framework of the environmental commitments undertaken by the Forum,
in accordance with the principle of sustainability, the Environment Unit is promoting,
encouraging and supporting respect for the environment and the surroundings.
The territory and the Forum site include infrastructure that forms part of the
metabolism of the city, such as the treatment plant or the urban waste incinerator.
At the same time, the construction of the giant photovoltaic module for the production
and supply of electricity represents the promotion of renewable sources of energy
to replace energy coming from finite and polluting fossil fuels.
The criteria of environmental management have been applied from the outset and
have been taken into consideration in the design and the planning of the activities,
and in the operational and dismantling phases, while bearing in mind the difficulties
of applying them to any untried, unusual, temporary or mass event.
For the development of the Forum activities (exhibitions, performances, dialogues,
markets, workshops and games, as well as food, cleaning, mobility and maintenance
services...) environmental commitments and actions have to be made by the organization,
but also personal attitudes in carrying out duties, in accordance with the instructions
and the recommendations laid down.
The Forum has adopted a series of preventive mechanisms and actions, in order
to reduce the detrimental effects to the surroundings of each activity and, in
addition, the number of instructions has been reduced to good environmental practices
that in the end it is down to each operative to apply.
The application of the program of environmental management to the Forum offers
clearly visible results and other internal ones, less obvious to visitors; the
preventive measures taken in waste, in water, energy and materials, are evidence
of the objectives achieved and some of the actions that must be applied during
the operational phase.
 Waste
| The impact here will be one of the most important. Measures have
been adopted for reducing waste and preventing it from being generated. Selective
collection must be made of the waste that is generated. All operations and the
interior/exterior spaces will have adequate, well signposted bins. |
- It is envisaged that food is a sphere or sector in which most waste will probably
be generated, either in the preparation process in the kitchens or in the provision
offered by the different food services for workers and visitors. The food will
arrive already cleaned, which will mean a major reduction in organic waste at
the site.
- As regards all the kitchens in the food establishments, fractioned waste
separation will be made: used cooking oils, glass, separation of organic matter...,
and refuse, which will follow the correct systems of selective collection and
treatment.
- In contrast to customary consumption of single-use packaging, a process that
generates a high consumption level of materials and a significant volume of waste
that needs to be managed, the food services will be using ceramic crockery and
reusable metal cutlery.
- The use of the reusable glass, like that which is used at many village fêtes,
will be a major contribution in preventing the build-up of refuse from single-use
glasses and in attaining the objective of a container-free Forum.
- Applying the same criterion of reducing the containers and packaging on the
site, drinks and soft drinks will mainly be served on tap and from bulk.
- Throughout the site numerous points are planned with bins for the selective
collection of waste: glass, paper, containers and packaging and organic matter,
and every 50 meters, litter bins for refuse.
- As well as inside shops, stores, and rest areas... bins will be provided
for the selective collection of different types of waste.
- The operation of an internal tip will serve for the separate deposit of large-volume
waste and special waste (batteries, light bulbs, etc) generated by the activities
of the organization itself. In the transfer and storage area, the roll-on system
of goods distribution will enable waste on the site to be limited.
- The dismantling of the installations and infrastructure at the end of the
Forum will take place using processes that allow everything that is not hired
to be reused and/or recycled.
Water
| In any activity water must be treated as a scarce asset and something
that must be protected. |
- The Forum street-cleaning, and also the watering of landscaped areas, is based
on the use of phreatic or underground water, and making use of this scarce and
limited asset frees up water resources for domestic consumption.
- Saving on the consumption of drinking water is also implemented by fitting
taps with double-jet water reduction devices, and reduced capacity cisterns or
tanks for toilets.
- Another of the initiatives that has been provided for visitors and workers
has been the installation of free cold-water dispensers placed throughout the
site.
- We should bear in mind that the Forum Plaza is the roof of the main water
treatment plant for this area of metropolitan Barcelona. It is an example of how
to integrate this need for treatment into an urban area.
Energy
| Lighting, heating and air conditioning of buildings and the transport
of people and goods, are the major energy consumers of the Forum. |
- The drive for renewable energies and the application of new technologies
to the Forum will be made evident with the construction of the photovoltaic module,
capable, using non-polluting energy from the sun, of providing the electricity
supply for the buildings and dwellings of the area.
- The urban
waste incinerator, fitted with new technological advances, and using a system
that recycles water vapor, provides the heating/air conditioning for the Forum
Building and the Convention Center, with a major reduction in energy consumption.
- With selective collection of cooking oils used in the kitchens of the different
food establishments of the Forum, biodiesel is manufactured, a fuel that can be
used in automobiles. The small trains inside the site travel on this type of BDP10
fuel, which will contribute to the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions into
the atmosphere.
- The fleet of
vehicles of the Forum consists of small motorcycles and non-polluting electric
cars, together with the external fleet of hybrid vehicles, with combined electric
and petrol engines. Encouraging the use of the bicycle and public transport will
help to minimize the environmental impact arising from the combustion of motor
fuels.
Materials
| Any human activity entails the use of materials that –
either in their manufacturing process or during their use or in their disposal
– have an impact on the environment. |
- At the stalls of the markets
and craft exhibitions, there will be products that are made from natural materials
(hemp, bamboo…), from recycled materials or ecological products originating
from biological agricultural cultivation.
- In the Forum shops the
shopping bags are biodegradable, made from cornstarch instead of the usual ones
of polythene, which is a petroleum derivative. In addition, these "T-Shirt
bags" are reusable, handy for throwing away organic waste, such as fruit
and vegetable peelings, remains of fish and meat..., and can be turned into compost.
- Most books and publications (maps, guidebooks, pamphlets…) are printed
on 100% recycled paper, totally chlorine-free (TCF) and office paper meets the
same officially approved standards.
- The promotional gifts have been produced using renewable raw materials (wood,
seeds…), recycled materials (rubber, glass...) or biodegradable materials
(mater-bi).
- The sets for most of the artistic productions, whether their own or hired,
also include environmental criteria in their adoption of the commitment to recycling
costumes and properties, to making them from recycled materials or otherwise the
reconversion of manufactured elements using recycled materials.
- In the activities of the
workshops and games, special care has been taken in the composition of the
materials used, encouraging renewable raw materials (mud, natural pigments…),
the use of surpluses of factory seconds, avoiding special, hazardous and toxic
products. The sprays for the graffiti workshop meet the environmental regulations
on CFC.
- Haima, a temporary
construction central to the Plaza, is covered in cotton and is built from materials
totally free from PVC. With the same selection criterion, the underground networks
of water pipes are free from PVC or its derivatives. The pollution stemming from
the treatment and incineration of PCV throughout the world is recognized as being
extremely serious.
- The exhibitions and
many temporary constructions on the site have been subjected to environmental
audits to reduce all of their effects.
- In the acquisition of materials and products, as in the provision of services,
special consideration has been given to those that presented environmental guarantees,
complying with the conferral of a seal of quality or environmental certification
and giving priority to hiring over purchasing.
The program of environmental management has contemplated the creation of environmental
teams who will check compliance with the instructions on selective waste disposal,
the effectiveness of the preventive measures applied and the difficulties that
might arise in the course of daily running, in order to aid and improve the environmental
efficiency of the operation. This monitoring will be made through the agreement
set up between the Forum and the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona - Universitat
Politècnica de Catalunya. |
