AMBIT – Living Spaces Cluster (https://ambitcluster.org), formerly known as CENFIM, was created in 2006 in the municipality of La Sénia (Tarragona) with the aim of promoting innovation in furniture manufacturing companies in southern Catalonia. Its foundation was promoted by the Generalitat of Catalonia through ACCIÓ, the Rovira i Virgili University, the wood and furniture business associations of the four Catalan provinces, and the La Sénia City Council.
The initial scope of AMBIT, focused on a specific sector and territory, has been progressively expanded, partly in response to the real estate crisis of 2008 and to new needs and opportunities in the habitat and contract sector.
Today, we are a non-profit entity that brings together 240 companies and entities from the entire habitat value chain in Spain. We have a team of 20 people and an annual turnover of close to 3 million euros, which we reinvest year after year in projects and activities for the benefit of our members.

We are a cluster committed to the strategic transformation of companies in the habitat and contract sector, working from three key axes: marketing, innovation and talent. These axes are constantly adapted to the changing environment to respond to the specific needs of companies, addressing topics such as: contract, internationalization, product digitalization, innovation in spaces, production processes, circular economy, trends, strategy and shared value.
For each of these topics, we deploy two main lines of action. On the one hand, we promote and execute collaborative innovation projects – more than 40 per year. On the other, we organize more than 100 annual activities, including talks, conferences, workshops, visits, training, international missions and more.
Our comprehensive approach seeks to generate a positive and lasting impact on the competitiveness, sustainability and development of our partners.

The circular economy is not only a necessity, but also a great opportunity. More and more managers and technicians in the home and contract sector are convinced of its importance and are actively working on the circular design of their products and on the deployment of new services and more circular business models. In addition, they are directing their offer towards prescribers and clients who are increasingly informed and committed to environmental issues, responding to the demands of a market in transformation and more aware of sustainability.
The European Green Deal and its Circular Economy Action Plan are being key catalysts to drive the transition of the European industry towards a more circular model. In this context, the recent publication of the Sustainable Product Ecodesign Regulation (ESPR) stands out, a framework legislation aimed at improving and standardising the sustainability of products in the European Union. And everything indicates that furniture and mattresses will be one of the first priority categories to be regulated by a “delegated act”, which will establish specific eco-design requirements. This will mark a milestone in the adoption of circular practices in the home and contract industry, promoting more durable, repairable and recyclable products.

Digitalisation in the housing and contract sector is advancing progressively, although with different levels of adoption depending on the type of technology and the digital maturity of companies.
The penetration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is growing, especially in areas such as design, visualisation of spaces, product personalisation, optimisation of production processes and improvement of the customer experience.
Tokenisation is still in an early stage, but it is gaining interest, especially in the traceability of raw materials and the certification of sustainability.
The Internet of Things (IoT) has a more consolidated adoption, mainly in the development of smart products, such as connected furniture or adaptive lighting systems. It is also used to optimise manufacturing processes through sensors and systems interconnected in real time.
While these technologies represent significant opportunities, widespread adoption faces challenges, including a lack of technical resources in smaller companies, resistance to change, and the need for specialized training. However, the sector is moving forward, driven by demand for more innovative, sustainable, and functional products.

The life of a product is made up of different stages: obtaining raw materials, manufacturing, distribution, use and management at the end of its useful life. Multiple companies and actors are involved in each of these phases, and it is very useful for them to be able to have detailed and transparent information about the product from the beginning of its life cycle.
For example, a recycler will be able to work more efficiently if they know the material composition of the product and are certain that it is free of hazardous substances. This controlled transfer of information – protecting confidentiality – between “upstream” and “downstream” agents not only optimizes processes, but also contributes to a more circular economy and helps prescribers and customers make more informed purchasing decisions.
This is precisely the need that the Digital Product Passport (PDP) is intended to meet, as a set of sustainability information in digital format that accompanies a product throughout its life cycle. The PDP will be mandatory for products regulated by the ESPR Regulation, which will most likely include furniture and mattresses.

Greenwashing worries and concerns us. In 2023 we published a “Guide for the communication and improvement of environmental attributes in habitat companies”, available online. The guide aims to guide habitat companies, and as far as possible their entire value chain, on how to communicate the most relevant environmental attributes or characteristics of companies and their habitat products and how to define a progress pattern towards their environmental improvement.
Environmental attributes are classified into four perspectives or approaches with which the environmental performance of a company can be improved: i) organization, ii) manufacturing, iii) product and iv) distribution.
For each of the 42 attributes included, the guide includes a summary sheet, which describes the environmental attribute, indicates what and how it can be communicated, and defines progress guidelines towards environmental improvement associated with it.
We use this taxonomy and common language in AMBIT projects and activities to communicate truthfully and effectively the environmental improvements achieved by our companies, such as, for example: in the nominations for the award for the sustainable product for the design of hotels and restaurants that we call for each year within the framework of Interihotel (https://interihotel.com/).

We will close 2024 with almost 130 activities carried out, in which we have had a total of 12,000 attendees (77% in person and 23% online). About 50 activities were carried out during the 19th and 21st of November within the framework of our interihotel fair held in Madrid. The rest of the activities have been carried out throughout the year, dealing with new topics of interest to companies in all our thematic areas of action: contract, product digitalization, circular economy, shared value, strategy, space innovation, internationalization, production and trends & design.
We have different formats for our activities: talk, meeting, event, training, working group, report, intercluster, day, international mission, information session, workshop and visit. Many of our activities are exclusive to our associates and some are open to the general public.

Indeed, interihotel MAD24 (https://interihotel.com/) closed its doors on Thursday, November 21, with the attendance of more than 10,000 professionals from the hospitality-design sector. Throughout the three days of the event, attendees were able to enjoy a complete showroom full of products and design materials from 262 exhibiting brands, as well as a program of conferences, workshops and top-level discussion panels.
As regards the innovation activities during interihotel, we would like to highlight, on the one hand, our three disruptive and innovative spaces: Concept Rooms Lab, Xperience Lab and Materials Lab. And, on the other hand, the call for six award categories: award for the sustainable product for the design of hotels and restaurants, award for the innovative product for the design of hotels and restaurants, award for the best stand design at interihotel, award for the best restaurant design, award for the best hotel design and award for professional career in hotel and restaurant design.

Yes, we have several innovative projects in the field of circular economy planned for 2025. Let me briefly introduce a couple of them:
FurnCIRCLE (https://furncircle.eu/): In this project, we are finalising a practical guide aimed at facilitating the implementation of circular economy strategies in companies in the furniture sector. The guide includes 30 circular design strategies and more than 400 real examples of their application in European companies in the sector. In addition, it is complemented by an online self-assessment tool that allows companies to measure their level of maturity in the circular economy. The tool identifies weak points, providing clear recommendations to move forward in the adoption of more circular practices.
CirCLER (https://www.circler-furniture.eu): This project focuses on the creation of training materials and resources designed to prepare a new professional profile: the “Circular Economy Transition Manager” in companies in the wood and furniture sector. The training kit, which will be available at the end of 2025, is made up of 10 modules totalling 150 hours of training. The modules that will make up the course are: 1) introduction to the circular economy; 2) legislative instruments; 3) voluntary instruments; 4) circular business models; 5) circular design; 6) new and sustainable materials; 7) key enabling technologies; 8) manufacturing processes; 9) circular economy transition strategy; and 10) conclusions and final reflections.

I enjoy the sea and the mountains. I have a deep admiration and respect for nature. I try to apply ethics and sustainability criteria in everything I think, say and do. I am greatly motivated by being able to inspire, guide and help people and companies in their challenges and innovations in terms of sustainability. And, without a doubt, everything is even more rewarding when I do it with someone else.