ITOCHU Corporation (headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo; Keita Ishii, President & COO; hereinafter "ITOCHU") announced today that BEO ČISTA ENERGIJA. (hereinafter "BCE"), the project company to which contributions are made by ITOCHU, VEOLIA, a leading French water and environmental utility company, and Marguerite Fund II, a pan-European equity fund investing in renewables, has obtained Certification of Carbon Credit (hereinafter "Credit") for the reduction of greenhouse gas (hereinafter "GHG") emissions by Gold Standard, international certification organization in Geneva, Switzerland. The project becomes the first Gold Standard certified project relating to an Energy from Waste Facility and the first of its kind in Serbia.

The voluntary carbon market is a private-sector initiative to offset GHG emissions that has been attracting attention in recent years due to the exploding offset market. Gold Standard is one of the major international certifiers that guarantees the effectiveness and quality of Credits in its market. Gold Standard ensures high quality Credits that feature significant contribution to various SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) such as local employment and biodiversity, through a rigorous screening process. BCE will be able to sell reduced carbon emissions by this project as high-quality Credits in the Voluntary Carbon Market. In addition to the environmental and social contribution by the project itself, BCE with Sponsors will further support the global trend toward the realization of a decarbonized society by generating high-quality Credits.

This project introduces the first modern integrated waste management system in the City of Belgrade, the capital city of The Republic of Serbia with an aim to solve one of biggest environmental and social issues in the country. The Energy from Waste Facility will produce clean electricity and heat from waste covering up to 10% of total households of the City of Belgrade. Closure of the old Vinča open dumpsite which is the major source of pollution of the Danube flowing through five countries in the downstream and has emitted about 90 million tons of greenhouse gases (CO₂ equivalent) from untreated waste over the 45 years and conversion into a green area is another key feature of the integrated facility.
The project achieves many SDGs with an average annual greenhouse gas reduction of 210,000 tons (CO₂ equivalent) per year. The Project also creates recycling market of recycled material from Construction Demolition Waste in Serbia where there was no such market before.

ITOCHU has included “Enhancing Our Contribution to and Engagement with the SDGs through Business Activities” in the basic policies in its medium-term management plan "Brand-new Deal 2023", specifically, ITOCHU has been focusing on expansion of the water and waste treatment businesses as a competitive edge.　ITOCHU has invested in similar preceding 4 Energy from Waste PPP projects in UK, which in aggregate treat around 1.3 million tons of waste annually, accounting for roughly 15% of the UK’s waste incineration market and generating enough electricity to power 160,000 British households. In November 2020, ITOCHU invested in the industrial waste management company in Jubail Industrial City, Saudi Arabia, and in March 2021, ITOCHU invested in one of the world's largest Energy from Waste projects in the Emirate of Dubai.
As a leading ESG company, ITOCHU will contribute to the realization of a decarbonized society, sustainable communities, and the reduction of burden in the global environment.