Press tour to introduce eco innovative approaches to small and medium-sized businesses

The Press Tour was held, organised by EIEC under the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia

The enterprises that have already taken some steps towards greening their production processes were examined by the participants. Also, the participants got acquainted with the work processes of  ‘’ECO GEORGIAN GROUP’’ ‘’BIODIZEL GEORGIA’’ ‘’YVARLIS BAGA’’ and ‘’SARTICHALA WINERD MANAGEMENT''. The representatives of the media were in the village of Ikhalto, at the building of an energy-efficient kindergarten. The rehabilitation of the kindergarten is supported by the EU.

The meeting was held within the framework of the press tour, which aimed to gather the representatives of the media, decision-makers, and entrepreneurs together, in order to share information, opinions, and plans regarding entering the next level of sustainable business practices and green economy. The advantages of ecolabeling and awareness-raising issues were also discussed.

The Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia, Solomon Pavliashvili, has informed the media representatives about the condition of the green economy and the implementation of its principles in Georgia.

The press tour was attended by the UNEP program officer, Farid Yaker, the expert on EU4environment, Lesya Nikolaeva, the Deputy Head of the State Procurement Agency, Kakha Demetrashvili, the director of EIEC, Tamar Aladashvili, and the representatives of small and medium businesses in Georgia.

The meeting was held within the framework of the program funded by the EU4Environment. The executor of the program activities is the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP). The United Nations Environment Program, with the EIEC and the Agency of State Procurement in Georgia, actively works to implement and popularize sustainable public procurement. These measures include improving legislation to introduce sustainable public procurement provisions.

The Association Agreement with the European Union envisages the transition to the principles of the green economy, in particular, the introduction of a sustainable public procurement approach, and the encouragement of ecolabeling and eco-innovations.