Rwandan industrialists have been encouraged to adopt Resource Efficient And Cleaner Production (RECP) practices as a way of limiting industrial pollution and protecting the environment.
The call was made on Friday, 16 September 2016, during a ceremony to award the most environmental-friendly companies among those located in the Lake Victoria Basin in Rwanda.
“The RECP program is a precautionary environmental strategy that addresses the low productivity and high pollution intensity of industries", observed Francois Kanimba, the Minister of Trade and Industry.
The main objective of RECP Awards is to increase awareness on the benefits of adopting the Resource Efficient and Cleaner Production, he noted, as he commended the level of adoption of the practices.
The Director General of Rwanda Environment Management Authority (REMA), Eng. Coletha U. Ruhamya, encouraged industries and institutions to adopt clean technologies .
“We aim at bringing down the cost of pollution of industries by promotion of clean technologies,” Eng. Ruhamya said.
“I wish to congratulate all industries that have implemented Resource Efficient&Cleaner Production programme and I also encourage other industries to adopt clean technologies so that we save LakeVictoria, a lake which supports one third of the East African Community population,” she noted.
RECP Awards recognise the best performers in resource efficiency and cleaner production technologies among industries located in the Lake Victoria Basin in Rwanda.
Winners
Several industries were for their efforts in promoting clean technologies and using resources efficiently.
Industries were awarded in the categories of water use, waste management, waste water management and energy use.
Bralirwa Breweries (Kigali) was the top winner of the evening, taking in total four trophies including the Overall Performance Award. Overall, Mata Tea Company and Utexrwa took he 2nd and 3rd positions, respectively.
Bralirwa scored in the water use category followed by SORWATHE and East African Granites Industries (EAGI). The soft-drink plant also won in the category of Waste Water Management followed by Inyange Industries and Sulfo Industries.
The energy use category award went to Kinazi Cassava plant, seconded by SORWATHE (1st Runner up) & Mata Tea Company (2nd Runner Up)
The Material and waste management category award was won by BRALIRWA followed by Kinazi Cassava Plant as the category’s 1st Runner up & Utexrwa, a textile plant, in third position.
Clean industries
RECP awards recognise the best performers in resource efficient and cleaner production technologies among industries located in the Lake Victoria Basin in Rwanda.
Companies under the Resource Efficient and Cleaner Production Programme (a component of the Lake Victoria Environmental Management Project – Phase Two) were evaluated based on a set of criteria, including (i) the consumption and use of resources such as energy, water, and raw materials, as well as point-source pollution reduction, (ii) management commitment to clean and environment-friendly operations and (iii) the company’s openness, benefit sharing, compliance with effluent standards as well as corporate social responsibility, among others.
The Resource Efficient and Cleaner Production (RECP) Programme aim to enhance the efficiency of resource consumption (energy, water and material) and reduce pollution from industry. RECP technologies reduce the costs of production, limit environment degradation by minimising waste and reducing the pollution intensity of industry and improve the competitiveness of industries.
The inaugural awards were held in April 2015. At the time, seven industries were awarded with Sulfo Industries being the overall winner.