INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS DIVISION OF LIPOR — more than a mission, a requirement of a forward-looking organization

Over its nearly 43 years of fruitful activity, LIPOR has learned a great deal from its own performance. It has benefited from benchmarking carried out around the world and encouraged its technicians to present themselves at congresses and seminars with Sanitary and Environmental Engineering solutions to share with other regions and countries, always building on the experience gained in our own region.

The logical step arising from a strategic reflection within the organization was the creation of an organizational unit dedicated to developing business abroad.

Thus, DNI was born — Lipor Internacional: Global Waste Management — where our colleague Susana Abreu took cautious yet firm steps, expanding our business over the years to more than 23 countries across several continents, in an approach that deserves recognition.

LIPOR does not seek to enter markets in competition with private companies already established there.

Instead, LIPOR seeks partnerships to support Portuguese companies in their internationalization. LIPOR’s role is not to build or operate waste treatment plants. Rather, it focuses on foundational work: developing strategic plans, capacity-building plans, tailor-made training for waste sector professionals, and providing support and consultancy to project owners so they can implement their projects using the best available techniques.

This work involves multidisciplinary technical teams, including 16 senior specialists, who ensure high-quality projects carefully designed for the specific locations where they are implemented.

LIPOR’s example in this field is a "business case" that many other Portuguese organizations could and should replicate. Until then, it is up to LIPOR and its team to continue growing the project and strengthening its credibility with key sector institutions such as the European Union, the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, the European Investment Bank, the Camões Institute, and the Ministry of Environment and its specialized agencies.

All of this is already underway, and it is this that gives us confidence in the continued growth of LIPOR’s international area.

Fernando Leite