UNIDO selects Ogun for flagship circular economy project

The United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) has selected Ogun State as one of Nigeria’s key states to drive the country’s transition to a circular economy, citing its environmental sustainability programmes and climate change initiatives.

The designation places Ogun among the states implementing Project 220145 Component 2, an initiative aimed at supporting Nigeria’s transition to net-zero emissions through circular economy practices.

The Commissioner for Environment, Ola Oresanya, announced the development on Thursday while declaring open a UNIDO workshop on the State-Level Implementation Plan and Guidelines on Data Collection and Management under the Used Off-Grid Renewable Energy Equipment Waste Management Project in Abeokuta.

Oresanya described the recognition as a validation of the state’s environmental policies and ongoing efforts to promote sustainable development.

“The UNIDO recognition of the state as one of the core states under Project 220145 Component 2 adds to the various achievements in climate change programmes and circular economy projects,” he said.

According to the commissioner, the recognition follows several environmental initiatives undertaken by the state government, including the distribution of biomass smokeless stoves to more than 3,000 residents in partnership with the Federal Government to reduce carbon emissions and lessen the impact of rising cooking gas prices.

He added that Ogun was among the first states in Nigeria to introduce electric motorcycles and compressed natural gas (CNG) buses as cleaner alternatives to fossil fuel-powered transportation.

Oresanya said the state’s environmental programmes also include the Blue Box waste segregation scheme, the Plastic for Cash recycling initiative, community recycling projects, cement industry decarbonisation efforts and the establishment of senatorial material recovery centres aimed at reducing pollution, promoting resource recovery and creating green jobs.

He urged participants at the workshop, drawn from government agencies, academia, the private sector and civil society organisations, to contribute to the development of an effective implementation framework for the renewable energy waste management project.

Speaking at the event, the National Field Coordinator of the UNIDO Nigeria Office, Emem Umana, commended Ogun State’s commitment to circular economy initiatives.

She urged the state government to sustain its environmental and socio-economic reforms, noting that its achievements had earned international recognition and positioned Ogun as a model for other states pursuing green development.