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.
Sustainable construction is moving from concept to measurable impact as policies, materials science and investment converge around whole life carbon assessment. Developers are turning brownfield sites and disused mills into low carbon housing that redefines embodied carbon in materials as a recoverable asset. Projects such as the Royd Edge Mills redevelopment showcase sustainable building design that integrates circular economy principles and adaptive reuse to reduce the carbon footprint of construction.
Governments are recognising that environmental sustainability in construction is fiscal strategy as much as climate policy. Whole life carbon calculations and lifecycle assessments are increasingly informing urban resilience, housing and net zero carbon policy frameworks. Yet inconsistent incentives limit the adoption of circular construction strategies and the scaling of net zero carbon buildings. A coherent regulatory model linking life cycle cost, resource efficiency in construction and green infrastructure could accelerate genuine decarbonising of the built environment.
Advances in low embodied carbon materials and renewable building materials indicate that low carbon design has matured beyond prototype stage. Green construction now relies on verified performance data through environmental product declarations (EPDs) and building lifecycle performance metrics aligned with BREEAM and BREEAM V7 standards. Manufacturers and contractors adopting sustainable material specification and eco-design for buildings are closing the gap between innovation and implementation.
For the industry, the shift towards net zero whole life carbon and carbon neutral construction is reshaping competitiveness. Sustainable building practices, end-of-life reuse in construction and whole life thinking have become essential in achieving energy-efficient buildings and reducing the environmental impact of construction. What once represented idealism is now a commercial imperative: integrating sustainable design and circular economy in construction is no longer optional but defines licence to operate.
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