The updated 2025-2029 Strategic Plan of the Consorci de la Zona Franca de Barcelona (CZFB) focuses on three cornerstones: the economic and social development of the region, the urban integration of District 4.0, and its ESG strategy centred on key criteria of governance, sustainability, and equality. All of this incorporates a fourth cornerstone: long-term economic sustainability, generating the necessary resources to support the other three strategic cornerstones.

The Consorci de la Zona Franca de Barcelona (CZFB) has renewed its commitment to diversity and inclusion in the workplace by joining the Diversity Charter of Fundación Diversidad, Europe’s largest business movement in favour of diversity and inclusion in work environments. The charter is a manifesto that promotes 10 European principles reflecting companies’ and institutions’ commitment to equal opportunities within the workforce.

Blanca Sorigué, CZFB’s CEO, attended the 11th edition of the World Free Zones Organization Congress, which brought together more than 2,000 attendees from 160 countries and over a hundred speakers. Sorigué was reelected as Vice President of the World Free Zones Organization, a position she has held since May 2023. Mohamed Alzarooni will continue as the organisation’s global President.

DFactory Barcelona, the heart of District 4.0 driven by the Consorci de la Zona Franca de Barcelona, is moving forward with its expansion project, which will increase its size from the current 17,000 m² to the planned 60,000 m²by the end of 2026. DFactory Barcelona has become an internationally recognised ecosystem for Industry 4.0, with more than 40 companies based there that develop and apply the technologies defining and characterising Industry 4.0.

The Prime Minister of Spain had the opportunity to get an up-close look at the projects being developed by the 40 companies based in the internationally renowned Industry 4.0 ecosystem promoted by the Consorci de la Zona Franca de Barcelona (CZFB). Accompanied by CZFB CEO Blanca Sorigué, Pedro Sánchez also showed interest in the projects presented by the start-ups that participated in BNEW 2025.

The ‘Feel the ZF Power’ programme from the CZFB, designed to introduce school-aged children to industrial activities and the 4.0 economy while encouraging future vocations, returned in 2025 with tracks focused on mobility, the 4.0 economy, chemistry, recycling, and logistics. The fourth edition of this programme included students from Institut Doctor Puigvert, Institut Elisabet, Escola La Marbella, and Escola Poeta Foix.

The CZFB is making progress on creating a leading laboratory for intelligent connected driving, equipped with the appropriate infrastructure to improve mobility and road safety. For several days, the Free Zone Industrial Park served as a testbed for a connected vehicle in a real-world traffic environment. This experience allowed for technical verification of the installed equipment’s performance, as well as validation of 5G network coverage.

The Barcelona Free Zone Women’s Council, which brings together 26 companies that have helped drive key initiatives on gender equality, celebrated its fifth anniversary by reviewing its main areas of action and the milestones achieved. Meanwhile, BWAW – a leading event for advancing gender equality – wrapped up its fifth edition with calls for greater equality and more female talent in the business world.

The plenary session of the Consorci de la Zona Franca de Barcelona (CZFB) approved the 2024 accounts, reporting an ordinary profit of 29.7 million euros. In 2024, the CZFB achieved a turnover of 65.5 million euros – 2.4 million more than the previous year. The entity’s net assets now stand at 654 million euros. As a public entity that funds itself through its own resources and the management of its assets, the CZFB reinvests all its profits into promoting innovation and boosting the economy.

Barcelona has become the world’s first free trade zone to receive the OECD certificate for security and transparency. This new certification recognises the Barcelona Free Zone as a global benchmark for its business model focused on innovation, Industry 4.0, and sustainability, along with its strong commitment to transparency in management and security in international trade. The award was presented during the Forum on Combating Illicit Trade, held at the OECD headquarters in Paris.