Accelerating the ecological transition and circularity of economic activities on the island of Réunion

Interview with Gilbert MANCIET, Managing Director of La Réunion Développement, and his two team members trained on the Circulab method, Véronique STERN and Véronique LEUNG.

La Réunion Développement recently joined the Circulab Community to encourage the emergence of circular and resilient solutions in the region. In this interview, we sat down with their teams to gain a better understanding of the challenges and dynamics of transition on this island territory.

What is the main purpose and activity of La Réunion Développement? What distinguishes you from other support organisations?

[Gilbert Manciet (G.M.)]: La Réunion Développement is the Regional Economic Development Agency for the Réunion region.

Its missions are based around the following pillars:

  • Analysing economic data in order to draw up economic and sectoral reports to provide political and economic decision-makers with decision-making aids
  • Meeting the structuring needs of the priority sectors of the regional strategy, through collective intelligence and financial engineering
  • To promote the ‘La Réunion’ brand in order to enhance the attractiveness of the region and support the internationalisation of its economic players

The ecological transition and competitive European financing are also cross-cutting priorities for the ecosystem.

The Agency acts both in the public interest and as a service provider, thanks to its status as a semi-public company.

Priority sectors include the agri-food, digital, renewable energy, tropical construction, blue economy, tourism, care economy, aeronautics-drone and image industries (cinema, video games, audiovisual).

The Agency’s aim is to breathe new life into the island’s economic development, so that it can assimilate the major economic, technological, geopolitical, societal and environmental changes of the future in a competitive and resilient manner. We pay particular attention to making the most of local resources, strengthening the structural and financial capacities of businesses and making projects sustainable for the region.

Because of its geographical position, its island nature and the historic development of its infrastructure, La Réunion faces a number of challenges. What are the specific features that you need to take into account when working with local players?

[G.M.]: There are many challenges. From an economic point of view, being an island poses certain constraints for our companies: dependence on imports, taking into account supply logistics lead times (I’m referring in particular to raw materials or packaging). Supplier sourcing also depends on shipping routes and the costs associated with transport: this doesn’t always allow for certain virtuous choices.

Proximity to Asia is not always a positive choice, as suppliers do not have the required or imposed environmental labels or regulations. Paradoxically, local production is often more expensive than imports. Waste is the second most exported product after sugar cane. Recycling facilities are developing, but not all of them are yet in place.

It is important to understand that investment and machinery are often oversized for a territory like Réunion. There are also strategic choices to be made in terms of landfill, incineration or energy recovery, sorting and recovery of materials or waste exports. Entry taxes on the most polluting products are also solutions and levers for action.

From a societal point of view, there is a growing trend towards integrating the environment into purchasing decisions and improving sorting behaviour. Awareness is growing with the younger generation. The heterogeneous social level, with a poverty rate of 36% (15% in mainland France), makes price the main criterion. The use of local resources is tending to develop, with reuse and recycling practices currently being developed.

The island nature of the region certainly exacerbates our environmental vulnerability. In agriculture, for example, the use of phytosanitary products can pollute the soil and the sea for too long. The choices made by some have an impact on others: on the entire chain of activity, the region and its inhabitants. This global view needs to be shared to help the various players become more familiar with it.

The circular economy is a major challenge if we are to strengthen economic resilience, reduce our dependency factors, minimise negative impacts on the environment, preserve our resources and safeguard the health of the people of Reunion Island. Public and private decision-makers are fully aware of this.

We now need to strengthen the resilience of our businesses so that they can overcome crises, preserve local employment and preserve or regenerate the natural environment in which we are rooted, 40% of the island being a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The island’s inhabitants, who are also consumers and workers, are well aware of this quality of life. The very definition of the circular economy aims to preserve people’s wellbeing, and my teams and I are fully committed to this approach.

For the past 3 months, La Réunion Développement has been proud to be the 1st member of the Circulab Community in Réunion and the Indian Ocean region. Two of our staff are certified by Circulab: Véronique Stern and Véronique Leung, who have been working on the ecological transition and supporting committed businesses for the past 3 years.

Ladies, could you each introduce yourselves in a few words and tell us more about your backgrounds?

[Véronique Stern (V.S.): My name is Véronique Stern and I’m in charge of support for industry sectors and projects. I’m also a collective intelligence facilitator. After a career spent working alongside the government to support and finance innovative business projects, I joined the regional agency to broaden my scope (beyond financing) and meet the needs of entrepreneurs. I enjoy contributing my skills in project analysis and choosing the most appropriate tools to advise entrepreneurs. I like improving products and services, imagining and designing solutions to improve both their use (design thinking) and their environmental impact.

Since 2023, I’ve been a collective intelligence facilitator, which is a real plus when it comes to establishing win-win cooperative logics that are useful for setting up circular loops and partnerships. I also enjoy creating events and workshops that respond to the social needs and issues that I have identified. At La Réunion Développement, I was able to design support programmes in eco-design, circular business models, service design and design thinking, for example. My areas of expertise: agri-food, collective intelligence, design, the circular economy and eco-design.

[Véronique Leung (V.L.)]: I’m Véronique Leung, Transition Officer and Facilitator. After working for Franco-Chinese cooperation, I wanted to take on a new challenge in the development and implementation of regional innovation and economic development strategies. As part of this, I’ve been able to facilitate contacts and lead a network of around a hundred players.

For the past 5 years, I’ve been organising awareness-raising campaigns on circular business models and supporting project leaders in their transition process, using the circular economy as a lever. At the same time, I’m helping to implement the regional circular economy action plan and facilitating group work between economic and public-sector players.

What opportunities are offered by the transition to Réunion’s economic players?

[V.S.]: ‘Circular thinking’ enables local players to design or re-design their activity in conjunction with other activities already in place, using available resources and taking greater account of social issues. The benefits are numerous: development of new activities, lower import or production costs, pooling of resources, employee well-being through more local approaches.

The challenge for the region is undoubtedly to create jobs and enhance the skills of employees through the emergence of new activities. These can, for example, make better use of ‘waste resources’ or better integrate the environment through the use of natural resources that can be regenerated or local resources. Consuming sparingly while maintaining economic development that has little impact on the environment is therefore the ambition we must pursue.

A company that embarks on an ecological transition can develop products with high added value and reach high-end local or foreign markets. Réunion enjoys a positive international reputation, which could be enhanced by an even stronger commitment to the environment.

Could you give us a few examples of the support you have provided using Circulab tools?

[V.L.] : Between 2021 and 2023, we carried out a number of actions designed with four members of the Circulab community: Florian Cezard, Anne Brisacier, Hélène Guehenneuc and Annabel Hary.

A total of 11 workshops were held (8 of which were remote) with 72 project owners and managers. We gave 28 entrepreneurs more in-depth coaching on their circular business model. The satisfaction rate was at 92% ‘Very satisfied’.

Here are two examples from the agri-food sector:

  • A company offering soya-based plant products followed two complementary courses at the Agency: one focused on eco-design and the other on its business model to better integrate the principles of the circular economy. This has given the company new ideas for action, in particular for developing manufacturing co-products or diversifying its business towards a wider range of plant-based foods.
  • Thanks to the Circulab tools, a company offering ice cream in cones was able to map out its value chain and open up new ideas and circular loops. Ideas for reusing sticks have emerged in connection with the agricultural sector for mulching, new partnerships have been discussed, particularly in the social economy, and changes to packaging have also been considered, with the aim of achieving zero waste and low energy consumption.

We also supported two start-ups in the cosmetics sector, one of which was able to work on its primary and secondary packaging in recycled and recyclable materials, and less impactful solutions were devised, particularly on the subject of bulk and transport.

Finally, the digital sector was also present, with the support of two project leaders from different activities who were able to move towards reconditioning, repair, even preventive maintenance, the resale of parts, and why not towards the economy of functionality and cooperation.

What is your current approach to coaching and what new added value are you seeking to bring to your programmes with the Circulab method?

[V.S.] : We are very familiar with the Circulab method, which has already been tested and approved for 3 years. This year, we’re pleased to have strengthened our skills and to have been able to join the Circulab community, with whom we have regular exchanges.

The agency now wants to offer support with the Circulab method on an ongoing basis, whereas in the past it was provided in the form of events, and therefore on an ad hoc basis. Now there are regular needs. So we’re going to be able to provide much more in-depth support to entrepreneurs in the region’s various key sectors, with more regular monitoring of projects so that we can better measure the impact of the recommendations made and the improvements made to business models. The next workshop is scheduled for December 3, 2024.

The analysis of value chains is an element that we would like to develop and which is already underway. Finally, strengthening links with players in countries in the Indian Ocean region, depending on the project, is also an avenue to be considered, particularly in terms of sharing best practice.

What are your ambitions as members of the Circulab community?

[V.S. and V.L.]: Our ambition as a member of the Circulab community is first and foremost to be able to better follow the context and trends, both national and international, in this environmental field and to regularly exchange with experts located in different contexts. The Circulab network is highly qualitative and diverse. We need this regular external link and the exchanges proposed in the community to fuel our thinking. Being able to target and call on specific experts is very interesting.

But we would also like to be able to contribute our know-how through collaborations that could emerge within the community. Co-constructing support programmes in other regions with other experts would be very enriching. In any case, Réunion Développement is open to all kinds of collaboration!

Our core business of supporting companies should be able to benefit from this know-how, which we are committed to developing and consolidating.

Now, it's up to you.

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