Circular and social economy

Description

In today's global society, social challenges are highly interrelated. In particular, the circular economy is a key option for managing and reducing waste while providing training and job opportunities for people at risk of social exclusion. This redistribution process involves: product collection (clothing, IT products, food, household appliances), sorting on production lines (type, quality), order preparation, and distribution. The overall objective of this line of research is to develop decision support tools to optimise integrated production planning and labour task allocation, considering demand forecasting and training objectives.

The research is being carried out in collaboration with two entities:

Formació i Treball: The Formació i Treball Foundation aims to train and employ people at risk of social exclusion and to manage the delivery of clothes, furniture and other household equipment to vulnerable families referred by the different Social Services in Barcelona.

El Rebost, Terrassa Social Food Distribution Center: El Rebost is a project that brings together the work of the main organisations that distribute food to vulnerable families in the city of Terrassa. Its aim is to improve logistics and coordination, thus reaching more people, while providing better quality care. The food is received mainly from European Funds, the Banc dels Aliments and donations from nearby supermarkets. For more information about the work with the Rebost, see the following explanatory video

Main projects:

• 2023-2025. Optimizing the social distribution of food: improving the nutrition of vulnerable people

• 2023-2025. Assessment and implementation of Agriculture and Life Science Universities' first Gender Equality plans in Widening Countries. HORIZON-WIDERA-2022-ERA-01 Coordination and Support Action 101094158

• 2022-2023. Aids to decision-making by entities in the context of the circular and social economy III II

• 2021-2022. Aids to decision-making by entities in the context of the circular and social economy

• 2018-2019. New design and manufacture of a crusher suitable for obtaining natural adobe applied to different materials and crops. Prospection of the possible machines needed by small farmers in the process

• 2017-2021. Gender Equality in Engineering through Communication and Commitment