Environmental development of the Spanish ceramic tile manufacturing sector over the period 1992–2007

Abstract

The Spanish tile manufacturing sector has grown steadily over the years covered by the three benchmark studies, carried out in 1992, 2001, and 2007, from which data are compared in this paper. In that period, production output doubled, although since the last study was published, the situation has undergone a radical change and current production output stands at a level similar to that of 1995. Nevertheless, despite the world economic crisis, which has also severely impacted the ceramic wall and floor tile sector, it is worth noting that the sector’s environmental parameters have demonstrated a constant and positive trend, both in companies’ individual environmental performance and in the actual manufacturing processes itself. To a large extent, this situation was forced upon the sector as it had to adapt to numerous environmental regulations, which in general terms call for harsher and more stringent conditions than before. In this sense, the adoption of IPPC regulations, which affect practically the entire ceramic tile sector, and the approval of EU Directive 2003/87 establishing a scheme for greenhouse gas emission allowance trading were significant factors