2nd National Workshop of the Project “Accelerating 0-emission Building Sector Ambitions in the MENA Region” (BUILD_ME) in Lebanon

On 10 May 2024, the Lebanese Center for Energy Conservation (LCEC), in collaboration with Guidehouse, organized the second national workshop for the BUILD_ME III project at the Mövenpick Hotel in Beirut. The event was held under the patronage of the Minister of Energy and Water, Dr. Walid Fayad, and was attended by over 60 high-level participants representing policy making, technical, and financial institutions.

The first session included addresses by the Minister of Energy and Water, followed by the newly elected presidents of the Order of Engineers and Architects in Beirut and in Tripoli, Eng. Fadi Hanna and Arch. Chawki Fatfat, respectively. Afterward, certificates were distributed to the first batch of Energy Performance Certificates (EPC) Experts who passed the training. Then, Eng. Ammar Fadlallah from LCEC presented the proposed EPC scheme, including the role of each stakeholder, the EPC label template, and an invitation for future training sessions.

The second session featured an online intervention by Mr. Riadh Bhar from Guidehouse on the progress of the BUILD_ME project across all partner countries, including the development of the BEP Tool. Afterwards, Dr. Sorina Mortada, Technical Consultant to LCEC, discussed the Energy Conservation project law and its potential role in integrating the EPC scheme into building construction permits. This was followed by a panel discussion moderated by Mr. Pierre El Khoury, General Director and president of the LCEC board, which focused on the prospects and challenges of implementing an EPC scheme in Lebanon and the general implementation of the energy conservation law. The panel included Eng. Ali Ramadan, Director General of Urban Planning, Eng. Rony Lahoud, Director General of the Public Corporation for Housing, and Dr. Imad Hajj Shehadeh, Technical Director at the Industrial Research Institute (IRI).

The afternoon session was dedicated to a training on the BEP Tool, targeted at project developers and financial institutions. The session included an overview of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy concepts and how the BEP Tool can benefit financial institutions by measuring the viability of Energy Efficiency measures, providing transparency for financial schemes. This was followed by a demo of the online tool and case studies demonstrating the impact of key measures such as window replacement and wall insulation.

The BUILD_ME project is financed by the International Climate Initiative (IKI) of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK). It is implemented in collaboration with the Lebanese Center for Energy Conservation (LCEC), Housing and Building National Research Center (HBRC), Integrated Development Group (IDG), Royal Scientific Society in Jordan (RSS), and the Intergovernmental Partner (RCREEE). The project is a promising step towards achieving highly efficient buildings in the MENA region.