- EBRD’s 2019 Annual Meeting and Business Forum is carbon neutral
- Turkish Gunaydin Wind Farm to offset emissions
- Bank committed to make its operations carbon neutral in 2018
The EBRD is compensating for every tonne of CO2 emitted as a result of its 2019 Annual Meeting and Business Forum this week in Sarajevo with over 2,500 international and local guests.
In order to offset emissions the EBRD purchased carbon credits from the Gunaydin windpower project in Turkey. The credits will compensate for activities such as travel, stay and the energy consumed in buildings during the event following calculations by First Climate consultants.
The 10 MWm Gunaydin windpower project, located in the Manyas District in the west of Turkey, utilises the wind energy potential of Turkey to reduce the dependence on fossil fuels by replacing it with a clean, reliable and sustainable source of energy. The wind farm was financed under the EBRD Mid-size Sustainable Energy Financing Facility (MidSEFF), a programme developed by the EBRD and supported by the European Investment Bank and the European Union.
The EBRD has consistently offset greenhouse gas emissions related to its Annual Meetings in Istanbul (2013), Warsaw (2014), Tbilisi (2015), London (2016), Cyprus (2017) and Amman (2018). Building on this track record, in December 2018 the Bank committed to compensating for its CO2 emissions across its operations by purchasing carbon credits from a renewable energy project that it had financed earlier.
Consistent with the EBRD’s Green Economy Transition (GET) approach, the Bank seeks to minimise its environmental impact. For example, the EBRD is actively seeking to reduce the amount of waste produced in the run-up and during its Annual Meeting and Business Forum.
Particular emphasis this year is placed on recycling by sourcing eco-friendly merchandise and providing all participants with water flasks to reduce the consumption of plastic water bottles.