The Founders’ Milestone Event brought together 40 stakeholders from across Lebanon’s waste valorization ecosystem to celebrate one year of building – and to launch the next chapter.
On Tuesday, 9 June 2026, QEEMA – Lebanon’s Waste Valorization Cluster – held its Founders’ Milestone Event at Berytech, Mar Roukoz, bringing together 40 participants including founding members, representatives from the Ministry of Environment, the Ministry of Industry, the National Solid Waste Management Authority, international organizations including UNIDO and UN Global Compact Network Lebanon, fellow cluster builders, and sector stakeholders.
The evening marked the culmination of QEEMA’s first year of establishment – a year defined bystakeholder engagement, strategy co-creation, field visits, international exposure, and the building of Lebanon’s first structured platform for the waste valorization sector.
“The ecosystem wins. Or no one does. QEEMA exists to build that ecosystem within the waste valorization sector – and tonight, it has the governance to do it” – Ingrid Salloum, Cluster Manager, QEEMA
A Year Built by Thirteen
The evening also paid tribute to QEEMA’s 13 founding members – the organizations that said yes from the very beginning, co-created the cluster’s strategy, and whose commitment over the past year made this milestone possible. From field visits to international exhibitions, from strategy workshops to nucleus meetings held across their own company locations, the founding members have been the backbone of everything QEEMA has built to date.
Their collective decision to build together rather than alone is what distinguishes QEEMA and sets the foundation for what comes next.
Announcement of QEEMA’s Founding Board
The highlight of the evening was the official announcement of QEEMA’s founding board – a milestone that marks the transition from a cluster in developmentto a cluster with formal governance. The seven founding board members, drawn from QEEMA’s founding membership, bring diverse expertise across the waste valorization value chain:
- Chahid Chamoun — Arcenciel
- Lara El Khoury — Berytech
- Ziad Abichaker — Cedar Environmental
- Marc Aoun — Compost Baladi
- Chady Makhlouf — Gemayel Frères
- Pietro Aoun — Holdal Group
- Mark Khoury — Phoenix Energy — Indevco Group
Following the announcement, the founding board members signed QEEMA’s founding charter – officially marking the establishment of the cluster’s governance structure.
Looking Ahead: Four Priorities for Year Two
With the founding board in place, QEEMA enters its second year with four strategic priorities:
- Public Sector Engagement — Deepening collaboration with municipalities and advancing policy dialogue with the Ministry of Environment, the Ministry of Industry, and the National Solid Waste Management Authority.
- Private Sector Activation — Expanding into new sectors including healthcare waste, construction and demolition wasteand agrifood waste, and building the evidence base for waste valorization through surveys and field studies.
- Official Establishment – Completing QEEMA’s legal registration and finalizing its governance structures.
- Innovation & Knowledge – Connecting operators, entrepreneurs, and researchers to build a pipeline of solutions for the waste valorization sector.
An Open Invitation to Join
QEEMA is now open to new members across Lebanon’s waste valorization ecosystem – from operators and investors to municipalities, researchers, and innovators. As Lebanon’s only waste valorization cluster, QEEMA offers its members access to a structured network, international exposure, capacity building, and a seat at the table in shaping the sector’s future.
Organizations and individuals interested in joining QEEMA are invited to visit www.qeema.org or reach out directly to the cluster team.
About QEEMA
QEEMA – Lebanon’s Waste Valorization Cluster – was established in 2024 with the support of ACT Smart and co-funded by the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It brings together like-minded organizations from across Lebanon’s waste valorization sector to collaborate, innovate, and build a stronger, more competitive ecosystem. QEEMA is hosted by Berytech.
