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1/18/24, 3:52 PM UAE launches new ‘EcoMark’ green accreditation framework for MSMEs – The Gulf Time Newspaper
UAE launches new ‘EcoMark’ green accreditation

framework for MSMEs

DAVOS / WAM

The UAE has announced plans to develop the first-ever sustainability accreditation framework explicitly for

micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). EcoMark Global Accreditation has been designed to
boost the competitiveness of MSMEs in the global green economy by streamlining and standardising the

regulatory processes surrounding sustainability benchmarking worldwide.
The EcoMark certification, which is based on ISO standards and digitally enabled, will include a full suite of
resources to help MSMEs attain EcoMark status, covering document requirement guidelines and a roadmap

to progress from basic to advanced levels of sustainability, and a standardised application process and
complete eligibility criterion for accreditors in the participating countries. The framework will be overseen by

a central body headquartered in the UAE.
The initiative was announced at the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos by Dr Thani bin
Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade, during a panel discussion titled ‘A New Trade Order:

Inclusive Growth’. The panel, which gathered ministers, policymakers, and academics to explore means to
better integrate LDCs, MSMEs, and female and youth-led businesses into global trade, highlighted the need

to help emerging enterprises keep pace with increasing consumer demand for products and services that
comply with green standards.
Launching the initiative, Al Zeyoudi emphasised that MSMEs have a pivotal role in driving the transition

toward a lower-carbon economy. However, the contribution of MSMEs such as those run and operated by
underrepresented groups including women and youth can only be unlocked through targeted and

customised support that reduces time, cost and resource constraints associated with environmental

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