The Path Toward Sustainable Development in Israel 2006

March 21st, 2007 | Categories: SRI | Tags: none

I’ve considered for quite a while to start a blog however I never got around to the writing stage. One of my excuses was that I didn’t know what to write about since there are so many aspects of Kayema’s activities that its difficult to focus on one specific element.

Nevertheless, I’ve decided to jump into the cold water and start writing. So here goes.

Since Kayema was founded on the basis for Sustainable Investment Research, I will focus on this topic at least for now. My colleagues Saul Kramer and Jason Meister will focus more on Cleantech in Israel and abroad and the global infrastructure industry. Both topics are at the heart of our activities here at Kayema.

I would like to review the latest report by Israel’s Ministry of Environment on the country’s progress towards Sustainable Development.

This document is quite informative and I believe provides an accurate picture of where Israeli is holding vis a vis the national goal of sustainable development. Having said that I am afraid to say we are not in a good position.

Most of the initiatives mentioned in this report are tactical in nature. Take for example the summary of initiatives taken by the Ministry of Finance which lists five initiatives 1. Environmental reporting guidelines by the Israel Securities Authority for public companies; 2. Public tender for marketing brownfields for remediation and redevelopment of run down urban areas; 3. “Green” building principles and sustainable planning in government tenders; 4. Tax incentives for hybrid cars, 5. Higher taxes for diesel fuel. These initiatives, while very welcome do not focus on the core of the Ministry of Finance’s activities i.e. the country’s budget allocation strategy nor does is discuss its role as the regulator of the financial markets which is the Ministry’s second most important task.

Unfortunately we see this picture of dealing with issues on a tactical level rather than on a strategic level throughout the report.

I hope to write about my recommendations on refocusing our national efforts onto a more strategic path on future posts.

Bookmark this: These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.