As part of the long-standing commitment from the European Union to Lebanon, the EU-funded SwitchMed/MED TEST III project promotes the adoption of resource efficiency as a strategy for companies to reduce energy, water and raw materials consumption costs and build back with better resilient and production processes.

Supported by the Ministry of Industry (MOI), the Ministry of Environment and in close collaboration with the Association of Lebanese Industrialists (ALI) and the Association of North Metn Industrialists (ANMI), the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) has demonstrated the business case of a resource-efficient and cleaner production (RECP) in companies from selected sectors.

Following an assessment on the situation among industries in Lebanon, the food and chemical sectors were selected as priority industries for promoting the uptake of more resource-efficient production practices. These sectors are vital for supporting Lebanon’s food security and import substitutions. In addition, the identified sectors also have significant saving potential for energy efficiency measures, which is vital for businesses struggling with the ongoing shortage of energy supply in the country.

Together with the 15 companies, the project identified resource efficiency measures that could save 28,000 cubic meters of water, 22,700 megawatt hours of energy, 256 tons of materials, and 9,556 tons of CO2 equivalent every year.

Together with two Lebanese dairy companies, the MED TEST III project also undertook a whey valorization initiative to develop whey-based dairy products for the Lebanese market. As a result, a series of whey-based products have been launched, and the initiative has been replicated to other dairies in the region.