Despite Lebanon’s current economic and financial crisis, industries are taking remarkable steps to adopt more resource-efficient and sustainable practices.
The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) organized a closing event in Beirut to present the SwitchMed/MED TEST III project results to government representatives and industries. This project, initiated in 2019, successfully trained and assessed 15 industrial companies in Lebanon, ranging from large enterprises to small companies in the food and beverage, chemical, plastic, and printing sectors. The 15 companies were trained and underwent assessments to demonstrate the potential for resource-efficient production models in Lebanon.
Ms. Alessia Squarcella, Deputy Head of Cooperation at the EU Delegation to Lebanon, underscored the significance of promoting resource efficiency and cleaner production as fundamental strategies for sustainable industrial development. She emphasized, “The capacity to make better use of limited resources, including financial resources, is key for achieving long-term resilience within the industry.”
The MED TEST III project involved close collaboration between UNIDO, the Ministry of Industry, the Ministry of Environment, and industry associations. Together with the 15 companies, the project identified resource efficiency measures that have the potential to save 28,000 cubic meters of water, 22,700 megawatt hours of energy, 256 tons of materials, and 9,556 tons of CO2 equivalent every year.