Libreville. ARISE IIP, pan-African developer and operator of world-class industrial parks, is pleased to announce the award of an ISO 14064-1 carbon neutral certification for the Gabon Special Economic Zone (GSEZ). The certification provides a transparent third-party assessment for GSEZ carbon footprint and offsetting.

ARISE IIP is a pan-African developer and operator of industrial parks committed to making Africa thrive, developing the industrial sector and creating jobs. It is deeply committed to the industrial development of the continent without any compromise on the global fight against climate change. In the past years, ARISE IIP has built a climate and biodiversity strategy to reduce its environmental footprint, invest in low carbon solutions and monetize environmental services and assets.

In addition to its efforts to measure and manage greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, GSEZ will focus on increasing utilization of timber (that moved from 40% to over 70% and is expected to reach 90% by end of 2022) and renewable energy sources to supply GSEZ with carbon-free electricity. Solutions for low carbon transport are also being assessed.

Aera has been mandated to coordinate this GHG measurement and improve this data collection system. Swiss certification leader SGS has been appointed as the carbon auditor.

The inventory of GHG emissions included in the footprint assessment are based on the mandatory scopes of the Carbon Neutral Protocol methodology for Space/Buildings/Office spaces/Venue type. It shows that overall direct and indirect emissions encompassing Scope 1, Scope 2 and Scope 3 amount to a total of 50,037 metric tons of CO2 equivalent. GSEZ 2019 emissions balance has been offset by voluntary retirement of certified emission reductions from four supported projects.

Gagan Gupta, cofounder and CEO of ARISE IIP
“GSEZ is using best in class practices and the highest international standard to meet its target of Carbon Neutral industrialization. This provides a replicable framework for all ARISE IIP’s industrial zones and will lead to systemic and clean transformation across Africa."

Samaila Zubairu, CEO of Africa Finance Corporation
"The certification of Arise IIP's GSEZ demonstrates how businesses can drive climate action, setting an example for the private sector worldwide. With a bespoke decarbonisation strategy and investments in low-carbon technologies, GSEZ shows that it is possible to enable low carbon industries.

Pr Lee White, Minister of Water, Forests, the Sea, and Environment of Gabon
"Gabon recently adopted a ground-breaking climate law to ensure that our country maintains its carbon positive position until 2050 and beyond. We are therefore proud to host Africa's first carbon neutral certified industrial zone. This achievement is aligned with our government’s commitment to introduce structured mechanisms to measure and curb emissions at the national and sectoral levels."

About ARISE IIP
ARISE Integrated Industrial Platforms (ARISE IIP) [5] is a pan-African developer and operator of world-class industrial parks committed to making Africa thrive. We identify opportunities in commercial and industrial value chains across Africa, and conceive, finance, build and operate the necessary infrastructure, playing a catalytic role in supporting countries to transition to an industrial economy. We are driven by the pursuit of green growth; our ambition is to unlock the continent’s industrial potential while neutralising our carbon emissions and climate impact. ARISE IIP is currently present in Benin
(GDIZ), Togo (PIA) and Gabon (GSEZ). GSEZ was ranked the world’s best special economic zone in the timber sector (2020 FDI ranking).