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.
The UK’s geothermal development marks a structural shift in sustainable construction. Delivering steady, renewable baseload heat, the project moves low‑carbon infrastructure from ambition to application. For developers focused on sustainable building design, the opportunity lies in connecting dependable energy supply with energy‑efficient buildings and low embodied carbon materials that support a measurable reduction in the carbon footprint of construction. Integrating district heat networks into dense urban schemes advances both environmental sustainability in construction and the pursuit of net zero whole life carbon performance.
The acquisition of UK Power Networks by Engie signals a pivotal moment for grid resilience and building lifecycle performance. Reinforced capacity would underpin site electrification and low carbon design, aligning with circular construction strategies and the life cycle thinking in construction now central to sustainable urban development. Prioritising whole life carbon assessment and lifecycle assessment at early planning stages strengthens the alignment between infrastructure delivery and carbon neutral construction goals.
Policy shifts are equally significant. Scotland’s credible plan for deep emissions reduction indicates a regulatory move towards life cycle cost transparency and stronger accountability in decarbonising the built environment. London’s Oxford Street pedestrianisation pushes green infrastructure and eco‑design for buildings to the forefront, requiring sustainable material specification, adaptive reuse and low‑impact construction methods suited to live urban contexts.
The latest Met Office analysis underscores the escalating risk of climate under‑preparedness. Insurers, planners and asset owners are being driven toward resilient design frameworks where embodied carbon, resource efficiency in construction and end‑of‑life reuse in construction define future‑proof value. Comprehensive whole life carbon strategies, supported by environmental product declarations (EPDs), BREEAM and BREEAM v7 guidance, are becoming non‑negotiable benchmarks across the sector.
The direction of travel is clear. Sustainable building practices are converging with whole life carbon accounting, circular economy in construction principles and the design of net zero carbon buildings. Developers able to integrate green building materials, renewable building materials and low carbon construction materials into flexible, energy‑resilient schemes are positioned to lead the transition to an environmentally responsible built environment.
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