By SHARON UDASIN 02/25/2015

One of the biggest achievements of the €900,000-twinning program was the Israeli Environmental Protection Ministry’s publication of a draft Integrated Environmental Licensing Law.

Representatives of the Israeli and German Environmental Protection ministries, and of the European Union, celebrated on Tuesday the conclusion of an 18-month twinning project whose focus has been advancing green licensing standards in industry.

One of the biggest achievements of the €900,000-twinning program was the Israeli Environmental Protection Ministry’s publication of a draft Integrated Environmental Licensing Law in December, the EU delegation said. If the bill become law, it would streamline permitting procedures and demand that companies use best-existing technologies to reduce environmental damage, the delegation said.

EU Ambassador Lars Faaborg-Andersen as well as the twinning project leaders Dr. Michael Bass, a senior officer at the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, and Shuli Nezer, deputy director-general of the Israeli Environmental Protection Ministry, attended the celebratory event in Jaffa. Also at the ceremony were additional representatives from the environment ministries, the Manufacturers Association of Israel and the German Embassy.

The Environmental Protection Ministry presented prizes to the four winners of the Industry in the Environment competition – a contest in which 17 firms worked to minimize their carbon footprint and maximize environmental performance. The four winners were Coca-Cola Israel, Nesher Israel Cement Enterprises, Termokir Industries, and Paz Lubricants and Chemicals.

In July, another twinning project is expected to begin, during which the Israeli ministry will team up with its counterparts in Germany, Austria and the United Kingdom, the ministry said. This program will receive a €2 million contribution from the EU, the EU delegation said.

http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Jerusalem-Berlin-collaborate-on-green-industry-standards-392130