Circular construction in Rwanda

In the context of a pilot project, the Rwandan construction sector was introduced to circular construction. Local producers of building materials were coached in applying circular strategies, and expertise was integrated into specific guidelines for a circular economy in the sector. The project was a success, and policymakers in the African country are now also firmly convinced of the importance of circular and sustainable business models. 

In early December 2023, a delegation from VITO/EnergyVille travelled to the Rwandan capital Kigali to organise and moderate the closing event of the pilot project, which ran for a year and a half and was financed by the Belgian federal government agency Enabel and led by VITO/EnergyVille (with the NGO 'Ondernemers voor Ondernemers' as subcontractor). One of the components of the project was an incubation pathway, in which local producers were introduced to circularity and learned how circular strategies can lead to more sustainable products. Through workshops and company visits, they learned how circular practices can be incorporated into their own business. Guidelines were also drawn up for Rwandan policymakers, based on insights from the project. This will embed circularity in Rwanda's policies as a lever towards a more sustainable construction sector, and help companies in their transition to sustainable and circular business. 

"Now it's up to us" 

explains Carolin Spirinckx of VITO/EnergyVille, speaking from Kigali. "This was the end of our pilot project, but at the same time it felt like the start of a new, longer and sustainable story. The project was a preliminary pathway in which we explored what shape circular and sustainable construction could take specifically in Rwanda. Now the real work starts, with our Rwandan partners actually putting things into place and thereby creating an ecosystem for circular construction which involves both the market and the government." These partners include the local Ministries for the Economy and Environment, the National Industrial Research and Development Agency (NIRDA), the Centre for Green Production and Climate Innovation (CPCIC) and the University of Rwanda. 

Spirinckx highlights a set of five specific guidelines to promote circularity within the construction sector in Rwanda, one of the outcomes of the pilot project. "A working group with local stakeholders will now start work with each of these guidelines. It will also be looked at how they can be implemented. Ultimately, the result should be a veritable implementation roadmap for sustainable and circular construction, with a clear action plan and timeline." The Rwandan partners are enthusiastic to get started with the project. "You really got a feel for that during the closing event in December. 'Now it's up to us' is how you could describe the consensus." 

Partnerships 

But for VITO/EnergyVille, the work in Rwanda is not yet finished either. On the contrary, prior to the closing event, a letter of intent was signed with the University of Rwanda for a strategic partnership aimed at promoting sustainability, circularity and climate services in the country. The seeds have therefore been sown for a long-term collaboration, which for VITO/EnergyVille is also broader than just the partnership. Earlier in 2023, VITO/EnergyVille had already signed a similar letter of intent with NIRDA and CPCIC. Through these partnerships, VITO/EnergyVille wants to extend its focus on improving sustainability and circularity in Rwanda, through joint academic research (e.g. exchanges of PhD students and joint publications), by developing and training programmes, via joint project proposals for additional research and by further building business relations between Belgian and Rwandan industrial and public actors in the construction sector. 

The long-term goal is to allow Rwanda to address the challenges it faces with sustainable solutions. One of these challenges is the country's rapid urbanisation, with the population expected to double by 2050. "International cooperation to support the implementation of solutions for a sustainable world is in our DNA," explains Walter Eevers, Director of Research and Development at VITO/EnergyVille. "Once again, this can be seen in the declarations of intent, together with Rwandan knowledge partners who share the same drive to connect science with impact, as a core value in their raison d'être." 

Eevers was in Kigali in December 2023 not only to sign the memorandum of understanding with the University of Rwanda, he also gave a guest lecture at the university as professor of Sustainable Chemistry at UAntwerpen. The auditorium was packed with interested students and professionals during the lecture. "Actively sharing our knowledge with African entrepreneurs not only resulted in a successful project, it was also a good lesson for us on how sustainability is seen elsewhere in the world," Eevers remarked. "In fact, we have also learned to look through non-Western glasses. And if we want to have a global impact, we will also have to keep working together with international players in the future. That way, we can embed our knowledge much more effectively in a global reality, and turn from a European player into a truly global knowledge institute. That's why I'm looking forward with a lot of interest and ambition to future collaborations with Enabel in the rest of the world." 

A win for the environment and the economy 

During the closing event, there was also a closing workshop for the participating producers of building materials. They therefore had the opportunity to share their experiences with all project partners and participants. "There were some great stories among them, and sometimes surprising ones too," recalls Michiel Ritzen of VITO/EnergyVille. "A brick producer had started producing a reusable circular brick in the period between our first workshop and when we visited the company. The workshop had immediately got them thinking about circularity, and this prompted them to modify their product." Following the coaching, another firm decided to stop making its finished products (concrete garden furniture) in single pieces, but made up of different components, using recovered materials from demolition projects. That way, if they get damaged, only the damaged part needs to be replaced. In each case, these are examples of activities that have not only become more sustainable, but also more profitable for the companies. "While the environmental impact decreases, there is therefore economic gain," explains Ritzen. "So taking a sustainable and circular approach pays off." 

Due to the successes and the great enthusiasm of the Rwandan partners, VITO/EnergyVille expects follow-up projects in the pipeline. These will likely no longer focus only on building products and materials, but rather on the entire building process and the other actors involved in the value chain (e.g. architects or building professionals). "That means that we will have to deal with more complexity, with composite systems instead of single products, and also with possible interactions with other sectors such as agriculture," explains Ritzen. 

We will find out later in 2024 which new initiatives VITO/EnergyVille will specifically launch in Rwanda, and how the cooperation with the University of Rwanda, NIRDA and CPCIC will develop. In any case, Enabel and VITO/EnergyVille have already taken the initiative to meet again this spring, in Brussels this time rather than in Kigali. Indeed, the World Circular Economy Forum will be held in Brussels, and the fledgling circular and sustainable construction story in Rwanda will be presented to the world there.