From 27.02 – 01.03.2024, representatives of the Centre for Sustainable Development UG Director Dr Krzysztof Szczepaniak and Jolanta Mrozek-Kwiatkowska participated in a study visit to Norway as part of the project ‘CIR-CO-WAY – Polish-Norwegian way to the circular cooperation in industrial, science and technology parks’ funded by the Bilateral Cooperation Fund of the European Economic Area Financial Mechanism 2014-2021 and the Norwegian Financial Mechanism 2014-2021.
The project is implemented by the Pomerania Development Agency in partnership with the University of Gdansk and Skogmo Industripark from Norway. The visit was attended not only by project partners, but also by project stakeholders – representatives of eight science and technology parks from all over Poland: Pomeranian Science and Technology Park from Gdynia, Gdańsk Science and Technology Park, Olsztyn Science and Technology Park, Poznań Science and Technology Park, Science and Technology Park in Ełk, Kraków Technology Park, Słupsk Technology Incubator and Toruń Technology Park.
The visit began with a tour of the Skogmo Indusripark Overhalla Hus and Overhalla Betongbyggs production halls. During the meeting at the Skogmo park, the Norwegian side presented the model of cooperation between the park and its tenants in the implementation of circular solutions, while the Polish parks had the opportunity for short presentations of their activities. During this part of the visit, the CIR-CO-WAY partners also presented the results of the project to date. There was also time for networking.
Another item on the agenda was a workshop at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology NTNU in Trondheim and a study visit to the Zero Emissions Building LAB. The participants were interested to learn about the technological solutions used in the building, which is also a laboratory for ongoing testing of new technologies.
On the last day, both representatives of the project and its beneficiaries from Polish science and technology parks had the opportunity to participate in a dedicated workshop prepared by one of Europe’s largest research organisations, SINTEF, which focused on building cooperation between the park, business and science in the field of the closed loop economy.
Good practices presented during the trip will be able to be used in the implementation of circular economy solutions in Polish parks participating in the project. A valuable result of the visit is also the contacts made, which will undoubtedly result in further cooperation.
CIR-CO-WAY project
The Pomerania Development Agency’s project “CIR-CO-WAY – Polish-Norwegian way to the circular cooperation in industrial, science and technology parks“, with the Centre for Sustainable Development UG as a partner, has been selected for funding under the Green Transformation Initiatives of the Bilateral Cooperation Fund of the Norwegian Funds programme.
The project concerns Polish-Norwegian cooperation in order to increase the competence and role of science, industry and technology parks in green transformation, especially in the context of circular economy. The project will develop recommendations and a guide based on best practices and good practices from Norway. On the Norwegian side, the partner will be Skogmo IndustriPark.