Maximum sustainability in the building work at Spotify Camp Nou

FC Barcelona is firmly committed to the circular economy and sustainability, one of the three pillars of the 2021-26 Strategic Plan. For that reason, a treatment plant has been set up on the land where the Miniestadi used to sit, where concrete and steel from the Spotify Camp Nou work is recycled for reuse during the stadium's reconstruction. It is planned for the plant to be operational until all the material has been recycled.

The recycling process is mainly based on separating the extracted concrete and steel, which is then crushed into different sizes for reuse as raw material for the construction of the new stadium, respecting the maximums permitted by current law - 100% in non-structural concrete (leveling and ditches) and 20% in structural concrete. The rest of the recycled aggregate will be reused as landfill.

The steel is transported to an external company that specialises in the recycling process, after which it is brought back to Spotify Camp Nou, with a minimum percentage of recycled material of 97%, where it forms part of the reinforced concrete and the new structure for the future stadium.

"In this treatment plant, the old concrete form the third tier of Spotify Camp Nou is recycled and reused at kilometre zero in one of the largest operations involving using resource and energetic materials ever carried out in a circular economy. Furthermore, it is a demonstration of Barça's commitment to play a part in solutions that can be applied in the face of the climate change crisis," says Jordi Portabella, director of the FC Barcelona Area of Sustainability. 

Circular economy and reduction of the carbon footprint

Including this maximum possible use of recycled concrete and steel from the demolition of Spotify Camp Nou as part of a kilometre 0 structure represents a benchmark for savings when it comes to extracting raw materials, protecting virgin spaces and also respecting the circular economy during the construction of the new stadium. 

Elsewehere, the Club's model of a circular economy brings a significant reduction in the carbon footprint of the Espai Barça redevelopment work, in terms of consumed materials and energy, transportation and also the manufacture of new material, with recycled concrete and steel accounting for approximately 50% of the carbon footprint of the future Espai Barça.