The EU funded MED TEST II project targets industries in the Southern Mediterranean to take on best practices in Resource Efficient and Cleaner Production (RECP) that can help save resources and money for the companies. Halfway through the project, results and experiences from Israel, Jordan, Tunisia, and Lebanon already point out the untapped potential of RECP in the Southern Mediterranean region.

End of January, a national dissemination event in Lebanon marked the halfway through milestone for the SwitchMed MED TEST II project. This innovative component of the SwitchMed programme showcases the many benefits of how RECP could help the industry in the Southern Mediterranean to become more resource efficient, less polluting, and more competitive. Together with local partners, UNIDO has so far identified 808 measures of improvement that would generate a private investment of 23.7 million euros in RECP, with an average payback period of 1.5 years in the 53 companies from Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, and Tunisia that choose to join the project. This indicates that there is indeed a business case for RECP to be made in the region, and with rising prices for raw materials, energy and water, this will much like continue to be the case.

With the TEST methodology of UNIDO (Transfer of Environmental Sound Technology), innovative ways on how to switch to more Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP) patterns, have been introduced to industries, entrepreneurs and service providers and with very convincing outcomes. The companies have been able to identify saving measures in their raw material, energy, and water consumption, which would annually save; 680,000 m3 of water; 16.3 GWh of energy; 18,858 t of raw materials, corresponding to a value of 15.6 million euros in annual savings for the companies. This has enabled the companies to realize their full economic potential, as their productions now not only operate with higher economic profit but also in line with environmental standards. For instance, the reduced resource consumption yields into annual reductions of 55,570 t of CO2emissions and 3,200 t of solid waste from the participating industries.

The SwitchMed sustainable consumption and production programme aims to promote a switch by the Mediterranean economies towards sustainable consumption and production patterns and green economy, including low-emission development, through demonstration and dissemination of methods that improve resource and energy efficiency. It also seeks to minimise the environmental impacts associated with the life cycle of products and services and, where possible, to promote renewable energy.

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