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 sustainable construction industry has entered a new phase of maturity, defined by its focus on decarbonising key materials and embedding whole life carbon assessment into sustainable building design. A global certification scheme for architectural glass endorsed by major manufacturers such as JLR and Volvo marks a decisive advance in addressing embodied carbon in materials often excluded from formal lifecycle assessment frameworks. By formalising transparent environmental product declarations (EPDs) and requiring full supply-chain traceability, the initiative elevates glass to equal footing with concrete and steel in sustainable material specification. This positions the sector for more rigorous whole life carbon evaluation and enhanced life cycle thinking in construction, supporting the broader goal of decarbonising the built environment.
The UK government-backed GB Energy has launched its first national strategy, aiming to deliver clean power for ten million homes through 15GW of new capacity. Channelled into regions with deep industrial heritage, the plan unites green infrastructure investment with skilled workforce deployment to accelerate a net zero carbon energy transition. The integration of these assets will advance low carbon design principles across future development and construction projects while linking renewable generation to energy-efficient buildings and low-impact construction standards aligned with BREEAM v7.
A landmark power purchase agreement between McDonald’s and a Scottish wind energy project further demonstrates the mainstreaming of renewable building materials and circular economy in construction financing. The ability of large corporate offtakers to secure predictable output from dedicated renewable assets signals increased confidence in carbon neutral construction and stable life cycle cost planning, reinforcing the commercial feasibility of net zero whole life carbon pathways.
Concurrent research into the UK bioeconomy forecasting annual potential exceeding £200 billion highlights the central role of eco-design for buildings and green building materials in advancing environmental sustainability in construction. Expansion of this sector will depend on long-term policy certainty, enabling scalable solutions in low carbon construction materials and resource efficiency in construction that improve building lifecycle performance and extend end-of-life reuse in construction.
Taken together, these developments represent a tangible evolution from ambition to execution, positioning sustainable construction as a foundation for sustainable urban development, resilient investment, and measurable carbon footprint reduction across every stage of the built environment’s value chain.
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