Jordan launches a circular economy and LCA/EPD project — EPDlogy gives the opening technical session

At the launch in Amman on 29 September, Jordan’s Minister of Environment Ayman Suleiman said that documented environmental data for products has become essential for Jordanian factories to stay competitive in export markets, particularly in Europe.

The project is “Promoting the Circular Economy Market and Life Cycle Assessment”, implemented by the Jordan Green Building Council (Jordan GBC) with support from the GIZ GAIN programme (Green Activities in Industrial Facilities), funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).

As reported by Petra, the project’s frame:

• Duration and scope: to April 2027; building materials, construction, chemicals and engineering.
• Components: capacity building through training, pilot LCA studies, support for industrial facilities in publishing EPDs, and — with the Jordan Industrial Estates Corporation and the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Supply — a practical guide to quick-impact green measures for industrial cities.
• Pilot facilities: Manaseer Group, Arab Concrete, Orbit Aluminum Industries, Arab Fertilizers & Chemicals Industries (KEMAPCO) and Arab Italian Insulation Materials.
• Scale: ten trainees who completed the LCA training programme will carry out five LCA studies across the five companies; two facilities are expected to publish EPDs internationally.

Jordan GBC Chairman Abdullah Bdeir said the initiative addresses a shortage of local experts trained in LCA and EPD. GIZ GAIN Project Director Simon Floeth pointed to the Jordan–Germany partnership in the industrial sector’s green transition. The components were presented by Jordan GBC Executive Director and Project Manager Ghaida Salameh together with GIZ Private Sector Advisor Mohammad Al-Shoshan.

The launch closed with a technical session by EPDlogy founder İpek Göktaş Kalkan on the return on investment in product sustainability data, the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) and alignment with the circular economy. The sources and glossary behind the talk are on our kick-off page.

Our reading: the project aims at the right bottleneck. What usually stands between a manufacturer and an EPD is not the calculation but local people who can run it and data that is ready for verification. Ten trainees working inside five real plants will learn more than any seminar can teach. The target of two internationally published EPDs is also a measured one: an EPD needs independent third-party verification and registration with a programme operator, and a first cycle rewards care over speed.

A longer look at the project from a verifier’s chair — what has to be set up right in a first cycle, and why EPD data and CBAM data are not the same thing — is in our blog article.