BUILD_ME III - National kick-off Workshop to Promote Energy-Efficient Buildings in Lebanon

The BUILD_ME III National-Kick off workshop was held at the SmallVille Hotel in Beirut, Lebanon on March 2nd, 2023. The workshop, hosted in collaboration with the Lebanese Center for Energy Conservation (LCEC) represented by Dr. Sorina Mortada, marked the launch of the third phase of the BUILD_ME project: “Accelerating 0-emission building sector ambitions in the MENA region”.

Led by Mr. Riadh Bhar, the BUILD_ME project manager, the workshop provided insight into the completed phases of the project. The first two phases of the project identified market barriers for the uptake of highly efficient buildings in Egypt, Jordan, and Lebanon. The tools to close these gaps and improve the framework were developed, including benchmarking, Building Energy Performance calculation (BEP) tool, and a building typology database. 

The third phase of the BUILD_ME project will focus on using these tools and frameworks to facilitate the financing of energy-efficient building projects and to promote climate friendly buildings. The workshop brought together financial institutions, project developers, local experts, and international organizations. Insights from the climate-friendly building sector stakeholders in Lebanon were discussed.

Ms. Jihan el Osta replaced Mr. Tarek Al Khoury, the Regional Coordinator for Climate Change at the UNEP, and introduced insights of the international perspective on the Net-Zero Built Environment Transformation incl. the role of the GlobalABC and initiatives driven by the Finance Sector. Ms. Henriette Zalzal presented a newly introduced Solar Energy Loan process launched by Banque de L’Habitat. Furthermore Ms. Karen Sawaya representing UN-Habitat, gave an overview about the Beirut heritage rehabilitation programme known as the BERYT project. Finally, Dr. Eng. Riad Assaf illustrated the latest version of ARZ 2.0 (Green Buildings Rating Systems for Lebanon). The workshop ended with intensive discussions on the existing conditions in Lebanon and whether there are currently more barriers or even more opportunities for energy efficiency. We are confident that the BUILD_ME team will be able to find answers in the course of the project.

The BUILD_ME project is being implemented by the Lebanese Center for Energy Conservation (LCEC) in partnership with Guidehouse and with the support of the International Climate Initiative (IKI) of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action. The project is a promising step towards achieving highly efficient buildings in the MENA region.