“Will Resource Efficiency Be at the Core of Business Success in Georgia?”

The purpose of the conference is to highlight and promote resilience and green growth in Georgian enterprises by showcasing the benefits of Resource Efficient and Cleaner Production (RECP) in the transition to a Circular Economy. Additionally, the event will provide an opportunity to discuss and share experiences, tools, and programmes on greening Georgia’s Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) through six sessions.

The stakeholders engaged in green economic development in Georgia (including Government agencies and relevant departments), industrial enterprises, businesses, experts in the fields of engineering (chemical, industrial, environmental) and energy, members of academia, RECP Clubs’ member and RECP Demonstration Companies from EU4Environment (2019-2024) and EaP GREEN (2013-2017), RECP experts, businesses, and representatives of the SMEs taking part in different components of the EU4Environment Action will participate in the event.

At the first session dedicated to national policies strategies governing green development will be discussed with a focus on manufacturing enterprises, reflecting on policies and associated development in Georgia. Inter alia, these also include questions of industrial pollution and emissions, waste and water management, and the issues of the EU Green Deal and development of the new Green Growth strategy of Georgia. The second session will be devoted to resource efficiency in practice as application of this methodology boosts competitiveness and improves performance of SMEs. At the third session, the focus will be on the transition to a circular economy (CE) in Georgia, which is supported already by a number of regional and national initiatives. Here, participants will receive an overview of Circular Economy mapping in Georgia and the Black Sea basin, and familiarize with priority practices for waste management. As part of the session, discussion will also include the concept of Industrial Waste Mapping (IWM), where the successful experiences of two pilot regions (the municipalities of Zestaponi and Rustavi) will be showcased. The fourth session includes overview of product-focused initiatives supporting greening of Georgian SMEs, such as Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) and eco-labelling as a part of the Single Market for Green Products (SMGP) initiative, promoting eco-innovation, and stimulating the greening of production through Sustainable Public Procurement (SPP) and its complementary tools.

The Day 2 of the conference will serve as a platform to discuss the necessary skills and national funding for greening SMEs. The fifth session will host presentations on training and certification programmes , including on energy transition for income and employment. It will also consider building a pathway between skills/training and high-value employment opportunities and showcase the award-winning solutions in this area. The issues dedicated to financing the green transition for SMEs in Georgia will be discussed at the sixth session. It will cover the country conditions, programs and available sources of financing for greening SMEs. The session will include presentations on the green taxonomy implementation in Georgia, interventions from various banks, and examples of successful projects serving as an inspiration to stimulate new green investments in the Georgian industrial sectors.

Background

Resource Efficient and Cleaner Production (RECP) is an umbrella term used for the application of preventative environmental strategies to processes, goods, and services in order to improve the industrial sector’s efficiency and lower risks to people and the environment. The RECP methodology was developed by UNIDO to assist enterprises in identifying, evaluating, and reducing their resource usage while eradicating losses, increasing resilience, and enhancing productivity and competitiveness. In Georgia and other Eastern Partnership (EaP) countries, the UNIDO RECP methodology is introduced under the regional programme funded by the European Union, "EU4Environment" Action.

About EU4Environment

EU4Environment is a programme funded by the European Union that aims to help the EU’s Eastern Partnership countries preserve their natural capital and increase people’s environmental well-being by supporting environment-related action, demonstrating and unlocking opportunities for greener growth, and setting mechanisms to better manage environmental risks and impacts. It is implemented by five partner organisations: OECD, UNECE, UNEP, UNIDO and the World Bank over the 2019-2024 period, with a budget of EUR 20 million.

For further information, visit: www.eu4environment.org; For more information about RECP in Georgia, visit: www.recp.ge 

For further information about the possibility to attend the event, please contact Ms. Tatiana Chernyavskaya, Project Manager (t.chernyavskaya@unido.org) and/or Ms. Liana Garibashvili, Project Coordinator Assistant in Georgia (l_gari@eecgeo.org, Tel: +995 599 548782).