SwitchMed in Tunisia

United Nations 3 years ago

The Tunisian Sustainable Consumption and Production National Action Plan (SCP-NAP) was developed under the coordination of the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development under the EU-funded SwitchMed programme, with advisory services and technical support from the United Nations Environment Programme. The Plan is part of Tunisia’s efforts to achieve Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals. The SCPNAP (SDG12.1) addresses two priority sectors Tourism and agri-food and was developed in Tunisia through nationally owned multistakeholder processes. Switch to Circular Economy: Under SwitchMed II, a short document "How Tunisia is switching to a Circular Economy" was prepared to present an overview on how the country is implementing activities/policies/programs on SCP and Circular Economy. In this document you will see 10 success stories inspired by the work of SwitchMed in the Tunisian Republic. They show how what began in workshops developed into plans that created a ripple that flowed out around the country. This short publication shows that opportunities for countries from sustainable consumption and production are rich and varied. The Switch to SCP is off and running. SwitchMed is proud to have supported Tunisia in its work to build a society where people and planet thrive and prosper together Tunisia has already developed integrated plans and a regulatory framework that have SCP at their core. For some time now, it has been building on these, expanding its waste reduction plan, establishing a circular economy, and further developing its work on sustainable water managements and energy solutions. It is clear that SCP is no longer just something discussed in meeting rooms. Now it is happening on the ground, across business and industry, in cities and regions, reducing pollution, improving the air we breathe, and promoting better use of nature’s gifts through resource-efficient and low-carbon consumption and production practices.
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layersDaily Sustainability Digest

Published about 2 hours ago



The strongest signal for sustainable construction is a shift from broad claims of sustainability towards measurable whole life carbon, circular economy delivery and climate resilience. In the UK schools estate, offsite construction is being positioned as a practical route to low carbon design, with standardised components, controlled factory production and buildings designed for disassembly reducing embodied carbon and supporting end-of-life reuse in construction. For public-sector clients under pressure to deliver quickly, whole life carbon assessment, lifecycle assessment and life cycle cost analysis are becoming central to procurement, sustainable building design and building lifecycle performance.

Circular economy in construction is gaining momentum through plans for a wind-turbine recycling facility in the Scottish Highlands. The project reflects a maturing renewable energy supply chain and a growing requirement to address the embodied carbon in materials after first use. Decommissioned blades and composite components could become feedstock for green building products, low carbon construction materials and future green infrastructure, cutting landfill dependence and improving resource efficiency in construction.

Materials research is also moving beyond waste management towards performance-led sustainable material specification. Work converting waste plastics, including packaging and consumer goods, into polymer networks capable of harvesting water from dry air suggests new possibilities for eco-design for buildings in hotter, water-stressed regions. If developed at scale, such innovation could contribute to low-impact construction, carbon footprint reduction and the wider use of green building materials with stronger environmental product declarations (EPDs).

The main constraint is delivery capacity. Labour shortages threaten construction programmes at the same time that net zero carbon buildings, net zero whole life carbon targets and BREEAM v7 requirements demand more precise design, assembly, refurbishment and materials recovery. Environmental sustainability in construction now depends on skills, data and accountability as much as ambition. Decarbonising the built environment will require clients, regulators and contractors to treat sustainable design, circular construction strategies and low embodied carbon materials as core requirements, not optional enhancements.

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