Mrs BENSALAH CHAQROUN MIRIEM
President of the moroccan employers association CGEM (General Confederation of Moroccan companies) Admitted as an observer party to the Climate Conference
What are the actions that CGEM undertook in Morocco and in AfricaDuring the Moroccan presidency of the COP?
Following the COP22, CGEM, as the representative of the Moroccan private sector, has made commitments in the fight against climate change and has taken all the necessary steps to establish its positioning.
We have been given the title of “ObserverOrganization” by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change within the BINGO (Business and IndustryNon-Governmental Organization) category.
Aware of this topic’s importance, we have developed an ambitious program to make companies aware of Climate Challenges and the opportunities they offer, a program that has earned us the title of COP22 official partner.
A CGEM task force, thatI have the honor to preside, has been established to run this program. It gathers renown experts covering all topics related to climate.
Several events have been organized within this framework before COP22:
- 5 debates
- 3 conferences within the frame of the Green Growth Academy on water, tourism, fishing and agriculture in different cities in
- An international summit on waste
- 3 Business Dialogues on water in Tangiers; on agriculture and adaptation, in Nairobi; and on climate financing, in London
CGEM also took part in various national and international events, including the Business Climate Summitand MEDCOP.
During COP22, CGEM was very active. In fact, we organized 5 Side Events and set upa stand that served as a meeting and networking site.
CGEM marked its participation at this COPby organizing the High-level Business Summit’s second edition. Employers organizations Presidents, business leaders, and climate experts attended this event.
This commitment was also reflected in the signature of a joint declaration, “The Marrakech Declaration” by 47 international employers’ associations.
In addition to the initiatives that have already been undertaken by the confederation before and after the 22nd Conference of Parties on climate change, CGEM also launched “The Morocco Business Climate Initiative”. This initiative was designed to raise awareness, support, and train companies on climate change risks and opportunities. ¬It is carried out in partnership with the Mohammed VI Foundation for the Protection of the Environment.
What place does Energy Efficiency hold in the Moroccan industry, and how is it perceived by the main industrial companies?
Energy Efliciency is an important foundation for improving business competitiveness as it can be a measure of cost optimization.
Moroccan biggest industrial companiesare currently aware that the economic, environmental, and social challenges are linked to one another.Consequently, the green race was launched several years ago and businesses have integrated it.
Businesses can benefit financially from the reduction in their energy consumption, from the increase in their use of renewable energies, or from the establishment of an innovation culture. In this way, businesses that force themselves to better manage the inputs and outputs of their industrial processes assure their profitability and their sustainability. This is even more effective if companies combine their efforts.
However, to ensure that energy efficiency measures are adopted by companies, we need to develop a competitive industrial offer of equipment, services and engineering. This offer needs to be coupled with energy performance, productivity, quality and safety, as well as technical assistance in choosing the most appropriate solutions (equipment purchasing, team training…).
What aspects of Energy Efficiency is CGEM working on?
CGEM took very early into account the concept of sustainable development with a dedicated committee – “The Committee on Energy Climate and Green Economy.”
The actions vary from awareness-raising through various tools – mainly informational meetings with companies to inform them of the benefits of energy efficiency and the means to finance the needed measures, to on-site support and help in the implementation of their projects.
The goal is to facilitate the transition to a green economy in Morocco, the use of renewables and energy efficiency, and to encourage actions from private companies in the fight against climate change, relying notably on the Moroccan Center for Clean Production (CMPP), the technical branch of the commission.