Last Tuesday, January 25, AMUEBLA held online the final conference of the INNO Industry project for Spain, in which the cluster of the furniture sector of Murcia decided to address two fundamental issues that affect clusters of any sector and the companies and organizations that compose them: sustainability and digitization.

Under the title "Digitalization and Circularity: Clusters as a tool for the creation of new business models", AMUEBLA also wanted to help and guide SMEs on how to address the new challenges they face in the changing environment in which we live.

First, Raquel Ortega, project manager of AMUEBLA, presented the INNO Industry project, as well as its results and the regional action plan developed and the working group of experts that was created at the beginning of the project.

By bringing into the same conversation representatives of Industry 4.0-related policy makers, clusters and research centers, business associations and higher education institutions, among others, it has allowed the needs of the region to be addressed with all perspectives and potential agents involved.

While this action plan contains two very specific actions aimed at addressing the support to companies to promote their digitalization and the construction of a training map related to Industry 4.0 in the Region, there is also an added benefit specifically related to the clusters in the region.

The first speaker was Joan Martí Estévez, director of the Business Strategy Unit of ACCIÓ, who has more than 20 years of experience in clusters and spoke about how to increase the competitiveness of companies through clusters and how they do it in Catalonia.

Next, Mikel Ibarra San Martin, project manager of Aclima, Basque Environment cluster, dedicated his presentation to environmental innovation, and how digitalization and sustainability can go hand in hand to help companies in any sector to transform their business model towards circularity.