VITO and OVO are complementary
Interview and article by Marc Van de Velde
VITO, the Flemish Institute for Technological Research, is one of the partners of Ondernemers voor Ondernemers (OVO). This is no coincidence. The research organisation is active on many fronts, with sustainability as a common denominator. This is precisely what OVO attaches great importance to.
VITO describes its mission as follows: "VITO is the benchmark for independent, applied technology research to generate a positive impact on a society in transition. We aspire to a future where people, nature and the economy are always in balance. To achieve this, we deploy our knowledge, innovations and technologies for maximum impact in three areas: the sustainable use of raw materials (circularity, bioeconomy, energy and water), climate change mitigation and adaptation, and a sustainable living environment.
VITO combines its knowledge of people and the environment with technological innovations, (pilot) infrastructures and digital applications. In this way, VITO reduces the innovation risk for companies and produces a measurable effect for citizens, industry and policy in Flanders, Europe and the world. "In this way, we can improve everyone's quality of life and support the UN's SDGs. Together for a better future". This mission fits perfectly with that of OVO and makes our complementarity immediately obvious.
Circular businesses are the future
Inge Neven, CEO of VITO, can only confirm this. "VITO and OVO are indeed complementary. OVO has the expertise to help entrepreneurs think in market terms and develop business plans. As a research organisation with sustainability in its DNA, VITO contributes substantial knowledge, particularly on the circular economy and transition pathways. Positive transition thinking, systemic innovation and cooperation are at the heart of our approach.In this way, we are helping to strengthen the competitive position of Flanders in Europe, Europe in the world and the transition to sustainability on a global scale."
Serious added value
Björn Macauter, Managing Director of OVO, agrees. "We have cooperated with VITO on two projects and, indeed, we complement each other. We work closely with entrepreneurs, in other words from the bottom up. VITO is more active at the political level, from the bottom up, and their advice is based on science, which is a major added value for us.They have a long-term vision, whereas we think more in terms of seasons.To raise awareness of climate change, you need their models.In Uganda, for example, we work in a region where a lot of maize is grown, a crop that is sensitive to climate change. So you already know that, eventually, you'll probably have to switch to other crops. That's why we've introduced Hebiscus to the region, to familiarise farmers with the plant. In short, OVO and VITO are partners and we have already agreed to carry out other similar projects in partnership."
Circular construction in Rwanda
Very recently, VITO and OVO collaborated on a project in Rwanda, financed by the Belgian federal government agency Enabel. Through this project, circularity concepts and new business models were introduced to local Rwandan building material producers. VITO's expertise in sustainability and circularity was combined with OVO's knowledge and experience in coaching entrepreneurs in developing sustainable business models.
Carolin Spirinckx, project manager of a team working on 'Sustainable Built Environment' at VITO and Energyville, participated in a Boost Camp organised by OVO in Rwanda. "Sustainable Built Environment covers the whole chain, that is from raw materials and building materials to their use in buildings and even down to the district or city level. We can therefore advise the whole chain, from the producers of building materials, through architects and building professionals to policy makers. The collaboration with OVO was particularly interesting for our team because it gave us the opportunity to also work in Africa around sustainability and circularity in the construction sector. The request for collaboration came from Enabel, the Belgian federal government's development agency.
They concluded that the circular economy could be a solution for the construction sector in Africa. With population growth, there is a huge amount of construction to be done, so let's do it right away. We then suggested to Enabel to set up a coaching project because the construction producers in Rwanda are not familiar with the issues. And that's how OVO came into the picture.
OVO coaches mainly at company level from an economic point of view, our coaching focuses on making products sustainable and environmentally friendly. The result was a boost camp in March 2023. While OVO looked mainly at the business model, we looked at the environmental impact. It was striking that many of these issues went hand in hand. We then proposed a number of improvement paths that reduce the ecological footprint while also saving costs. Ten companies participated in the Boost Camp, but the ministries of environment and infrastructure, the Rwanda housing association and associations of architects and engineers were also involved.
A total of 50 to 70 people were involved. A number of companies have since started working on the coaching programme and a brick manufacturer has already received a loan from OVO. So the particularly fine cooperation between our organisations is clearly leading to results."
We gladly give the last word to CEO Inge Neven: "The complementary cooperation between VITO and OVO revealed a wonderful synergy of expertise and passion and resulted in a positive impact in Rwanda, where circular practices were introduced and sustainable growth was stimulated."