Morocco: Improving environmental business standard

LIFE capacity building assistance has helped to improve environmental standards on a Moroccan industrial park by developing understanding among businesses about sustainable waste water management systems.

Morocco’s third most important industrial park is located in the City of Berrechid, some 30 km from Casablanca. The 33 hectare park provides essential employment to a large number of people and supports over 70 different businesses. These businesses are required to comply with environmental standards, both to meet national legislation and to access European export markets. However, limitations in the industrial park’s water management systems were hindering companies’ capacity to comply properly with environmental standards and a LIFE TCY project was developed to help resolve this problem.

The LIFE ECO-BIZ project (LIFE04 TCY/MA/000065) was carried out as part of the Strategic Plan of Rehabilitation of Industrial Parks by Morocco’s Ministry of Industry and Trade. Project actions began with a diagnostic study of the businesses that were based at the industrial park. The study examined different factors during assessment of companies’ environmental performance, using a series of site inspections, water-quality analysis and a survey of the industries’ environmental issues.

Outcomes from this preparatory work led to the selection of 15 businesses, including the industrial park’s four most polluting companies. These were identified as being critical and exemplary for the whole industrial park, so LIFE support was used to undertake more detailed investigations of each of the 15 priority companies’ performance. Results from the investigations helped to identify options for specific infrastructure projects that could improve treatment and re-use of waste water.

Survey work was complemented by capacity building operations. These targeted the 15 priority companies, as well as the industrial park’s other businesses, with an information campaign that raised awareness about eco-efficient technologies and integrated systems for environmentally sustainable water treatment methods. At the same time, relations and contact between the businesses and the local authorities were also strengthened to increase the support for ongoing progress.

LIFE’s capacity building actions have been recognised as making important contributions towards building an environmental culture among local institutions, industries and population. This was assisted by the introduction of monitoring and alarm systems to provide essential data on localised water and ground pollution.

Such monitoring processes provided the park and its businesses with the evidence required to develop appropriate pollution mitigation measures and a considerable amount of effort was invested in facilitating future support from the Industrial Depollution Fund (FODEP). By the end of the LIFE project, five companies were submitting FODEP dossiers to allow them to receive grants for infrastructure improvements.

These LIFE legacies were reinforced by actions to train a team of four experts in waste water technologies for companies, and on environmental management requirements for industrial estates. This action was bolstered by the establishment of a permanent body in Berrechid that offers advice on environmental matters and waste water solutions. Furthermore, the Moroccan government has constructed a sewage plant in the industrial zone to further improve the water quality.

Dissemination of information about the LIFE project’s results and processes has attracted interest from other industrial parks in Morocco and Tunisia, with for example the possibility of replicating the ECO-BIZ approach at an industrial area in Casablanca’s Had Soualem.

More information about the LIFE TCY project is available on the project website.

LIFE-TCY project ‘ECO-BIZ’
LIFE04 TCY/MA/000065