Abstract

This paper analyses the relocation, following Industrial Ecology principles, of tanneries from Igualada, Spain to a new sustainable industrial estate.

The tanning industry in Igualada has been located in the same river basin for more than 100 years. During the last decade, the city has been growing very fast and it is now beginning to force the industry to move to the outskirts. Environmental, social and economic aspects were analysed to assess the feasibility of the proposed move.

Results clearly show that relocating the tanneries to a new industrial estate is absolutely necessary for these companies to achieve sustainability. This move is economically feasible, it will have important environmental benefits (compared to the present situation) and is agreed upon by all involved. However, a very important challenge was detected: there is no agreement on where to locate the new industrial estate. The current proposal made by Catalan authorities lacks the unanimous agreement of all involved. To solve this problem meetings among interested parties will soon take place. Otherwise, the future of this important cluster in Igualada is uncertain.

This work helped the tanneries of the industrial cluster in Igualada, and could also help other similar clusters, e.g. to analyse the sustainability of a proposed move and to plan new sustainable industrial areas.