SwitchMed in Egypt

United Nations 2 years ago

The Egyptian Sustainable Consumption and Production National Action Plan (SCP-NAP) was developed under the coordination of the Ministry of Environment and the Centre for Environment and Development for the Arab Region and Europe (CEDARE) under the EU-funded SwitchMed programme, with advisory services and technical support from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The plan is part of Egypt’s efforts to achieve Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals. The SCP-NAP (SDG12.1) addresses four priority sectors water, energy, agriculture, and municipal solid waste and was developed in Egypt through nationally owned multistakeholder processes. The SCP-NAP for Egypt was officially launched on April 18th, 2016 at a side event during the 6th special session of the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN) in Cairo, Egypt. SCP-NAP demonstration projects: The implementation of the plan is ongoing through selected projects and initiatives. A selection process led by the Ministry of Environment with participation of different government stakeholders and the Projects Steering Committee choose two projects from the list of 28 project proposals of the Sustainable Consumption and Production National Action Plan: reducing plastic bag consumption and mainstreaming sustainable public procurement (SPP). CEDARE was designated by the Ministry of Environment as SwitchMed leading implementing partner for both projects. Reducing plastic bag consumption: Egypt consumes around 12 billion plastic bags annually, which vastly affects humans’ health as well as animal and marine life. The Ministry of Environment, CEDARE and UNEP cooperated with 7 main supermarket chains (Metro, Carrefour, HyperOne, Ragab Sons, Kheir Zaman, Fathalla Market & Al Raya Market) to encourage Egyptians reducing their consumption of plastic bags and to shift towards more environment-friendly alternatives. Sustainable public procurement (SPP): Sustainable public procurement is one of the priorities in the Sustainable Consumption and Production National Action Plan aiming at pointing out the importance of the public sector and government in creating a push and a demand for and from local markets for green and sustainable products. By acting as a role model in creating a mechanism for purchasing sustainable goods and services, other market stakeholders can be directly and indirectly influenced to join in promoting sustainable procurement and purchasing. Several activities were developed in Egypt to allow the country to move ahead in promoting sustainable public procurement practices and foster the switch through concrete actions and tools. For detailed project information please download the factsheets of the demo project.
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layersDaily Sustainability Digest

Published about 11 hours ago



The global construction sector is entering a more measurable phase of sustainable building design, defined by data‑driven approaches to performance and whole life carbon assessment. Climate‑responsive architecture is maturing, with passive cooling, green infrastructure being embedded in urban policy as structural, not aesthetic, priorities. This shift demonstrates the industry’s growing commitment to reducing the carbon footprint of construction and advancing environmental sustainability in construction through verifiable performance metrics.

Technological and material innovation are converging to achieve net zero whole life carbon targets. Breakthroughs in low‑carbon feedstocks, such as biomethanol technology, are shaping next‑generation low carbon construction materials and renewable building materials, reinforcing decarbonising the built environment as both a policy and market imperative. These advances complement the rise of digital oversight, where artificial intelligence enhances resource efficiency in construction, monitors embodied carbon in materials, and supports lifecycle assessment models that build transparency into supply chains.

A parallel cultural evolution is redefining eco‑design for buildings. Adaptive reuse projects in London demonstrate how sustainable material specification and circular construction strategies can achieve architectural precision while supporting circular economy in construction goals. Designs once judged by visual greenness now prioritise whole life carbon performance, life cycle cost optimisation and enduring durability.

As these practices gain traction, they illustrate that sustainable construction is moving beyond experimentation towards systemic reform, where reducing embodied carbon and enhancing building lifecycle performance underpin a credible transition to net zero carbon buildings.

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