- Lebanese people exchanged around 400K items* through OLX Lebanon in 2016, giving products a second life and reducing Lebanon’s ecological footprint by over 3.9 million tons of CO2 emissions, which is equivalent to 102 million trees saved
- The CO2 emissions saved are equivalent to over 15 billion kilometers driven by the average passenger vehicle, which is 100 times the distance between planet Earth and the Sun
Beirut, June 7, 2017: On Thursday (June 1st, 2017), President Donald Trump announced he would withdraw the US from the Paris Agreement, the 2015 international accord under which the world’s nations proclaimed their intention to limit global warming. That might seem at first like a daring act, especially since global emissions appear to have reached a plateau over the last few years since the world’s big polluters converged on the agreement. OLX Lebanon takes Trump’s announcement as an opportunity to remind its users that neither Trump nor critics of Paris pullout will affect the climate – the true change starts in our own homes.
Lebanon has been very active in recent years in addressing climate change – through the submission of its Intended Nationally Determined Contribution** during Paris Agreement in 2015, the Lebanese government has publicly outlined what climate actions it intends to take under the new international agreement by 2030, and has set a target of 15% CO2 emissions reduction as an unconditional target and committed to reduce 30% of its CO2 emissions conditional to finance, technical support and capacity building. Moreover, the Ministry of Environment** launched three new initiatives funded by European entities and implemented by the UNDP (United Nations Development Programme), which will draw the path for Lebanon to meet its commitment of having 12% renewable energy in its energy mix by 2020.
Every time a transaction is made on OLX Lebanon, it ignites a sustainable behavior. Every time an item is sold on OLX Lebanon, the life of that product gets extended ensuring more sensible use. Every time an item is bought on OLX Lebanon, one less item gets produced, lowering carbon-dioxide (CO2) emissions.
In 2016, 400K items were exchanged on OLX Lebanon which have directly curbed over 3.9 million tons of CO2 emissions. This number is equivalent to around 102 million trees grown for a period of 10 years. If we consider another measurement, the CO2 emissions saved is equivalent to over 15 billion kilometers driven by the average passenger vehicle, which is 100 times the distance between our planet and the Sun. This, and more, has been revealed by an exclusive OLX Lebanon report done in conjunction with Alcott Group.
Abdallah Touqan, Director of PR and Comms for OLX MENA said: “Leadership in climate change starts in the home, l would urge people to confront this reality and challenge their decisions around the way they consume”. Touqan continued “OLX Lebanon is a key contributor in reducing the carbon footprint and contributes to more sustainable consumption. Because of that, our users adopt the ‘Resell-Reuse-Reduce’ habit the minute they logon to OLX Lebanon!”.
Select insights from the report were released in the run-up to World Environment Day on June 5, 2017. The report covered OLX Lebanon transactions for the year 2016. All stages in the life-cycle of a product until it reaches the user were considered for some of the most traded product categories on OLX Lebanon.
“Extending the life of a product is an essential strategy towards sustainability. The Lebanese market has been a remarkable success story in passing on goods, and making it commercially viable is a wonderful example of leapfrogging to a sustainable lifestyle.” Touqan concluded.