Egypt participates in the Global Eco-Industrial Park Programme’s (GEIPP) Final Event in Vienna
An Egyptian delegation representing the beneficiaries, partners and stakeholders of GEIPP in Egypt participated in the programme’s final event in Vienna. The event took place from 7 to 9 November 2023 at the Vienna International Centre under the title “Final Event – GEIPP I and Beyond”. The event aimed at capturing vital lessons learnt from the UNIDO’s Eco-Industrial Parks (EIP) policy advancement in the GEIPP countries since the start of the programme in 2019, fostering knowledge exchange, encouraging collaboration and promoting the implementation of the Global Eco-Industrial Parks Program (GEIPP). Egypt was the last country to join GEIPP, with operations starting in early 2022.
Over 2 days, the event provided a dynamic platform for participants to acquire invaluable insights into policy development while exploring the challenges faced and best practices from other countries. The event proceedings focused on the topics of Policy Development, Technical Assistance and Capacity Building, and included a site visit to Siemens Green City in Vienna.
The Global Eco Industrial Park Programme (GEIPP) aims at the scaling up of Resource Efficient and Cleaner Production (RECP) approaches to the level of eco-industrial parks. This allows for the integration of RECP support at the level of enterprises and parks, and for the consideration of critical policy issues. The overall development objective of the GEIPP is to demonstrate the viability and benefits of EIP approaches in scaling up resource productivity and improving economic, environmental and social performances of businesses. The programme is funded by the Swiss government and implemented by UNIDO.
“This event provided a unique opportunity for seven countries across the world to share their experiences on their journey towards transforming conventional industrial parks to EIPs. Countries with similar national contexts and challenges, could learn from each other and establish a platform for future collaboration on sustainable industrial development” said Alessandro Flammini, the Technical Lead and Project Coordinator of GEIPP-Egypt based in Vienna.
Environmentally friendly industrial complexes provide opportunities for strategic planning and effective management of industrial complexes to achieve economic, social, and environmental goals and are considered an effective tool to overcome challenges related to comprehensive and sustainable industrial development. Sustainable industrial zones contribute to attracting more local and foreign industrial investments, which contributes to providing job opportunities and increasing income while preserving the environment and facilitating the transition towards a green industry and a circular economy.
In Egypt, the programme supports the government’s efforts to improve economic, social and environmental performance of the industrial zones by supporting industrial policies and legislations necessary in order to establish sustainable industrial zones. Furthermore, the programme provides technical support services to agencies responsible for managing the industrial zones, service providers and small-and-medium-sized factories.
