Private companies must play a leading role to support public institutions in their efforts to break the "business as usual" model. They will have to move gradually towards cleaner, energy and resource-saving, as well as eco-innovation based production methods, which constitute the only way to transform environmental constraints into opportunities for economic and social performance.
The study that has just been launched by the ECA Sub regional Office for North Africa aims to assess the commitment of businesses to consider environmental concerns and principles of sustainable development.. This study entitled "industry and green economy in North Africa: Challenges, experiences and prospects" should help to better understand the strategic positioning, the challenges and opportunities of the green economy for private businesses. These companies are facing rising of energy and raw material prices, which now requires them to reconsider their production plans to better control resource consumption and reduce their production costs. Several sectors such as renewable energy, energy efficiency, recycling and recovery of household and agricultural waste, water management and sanitation, sustainable agriculture, ecotourism, industry or services related to the environment, offer opportunities to increase competitiveness, create jobs and promote industrialization
The study will analyze the experiences of companies to integrate sustainable development and develop green industries; it will also identify best practices as well as their constraints and expectations. The lessons learned from this analysis will guide the definition of the necessary conditions for the business contribution to the national effort of structural transformation of economies, the efficient use of natural resources and reduction of poverty and inequality.
To support the research and analysis necessary to conduct the study, a questionnaire was developed by the Office. It aims to examine the perspective of companies on the issue of the green economy, their understanding of the challenges and opportunities, the progress made to integrate the issues of green economy in their strategies and activities as well as their expectations in terms of public policy reforms to remove constraints. The questionnaire is aimed at companies from different sectors that stand out for their engagement / approach to sustainable development and / or show a potential for green economy.
