Kamar Hannaoui
Nizar Adnane
Al Akhawayn University
Mary Grace Neville
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Kilimanjaro Environment is a natural organization that accumulates and recover used cooking oil in order to transform it into a bio fuel. This service provides a set of benefits to several stakeholders: society, customers, corporations and so on. It contributes to the reduction of CO2 emissions and provides a cheap and reliable energy source. The core innovation is that it represents an alternative to the polluting fossil fuel processes, as it is based on recycling leftover oil.
Transforming domestic waste into bio-fuel is the credo of Kilimanjaro Environment, based in Casablanca, Morocco. Indeed, the bulk of waste oils, nearly 80%, is found in households. According to Sheryn Ziani, the marketing manager of Kilimanjaro, "a Moroccan household rejects on average between one liter and one liter and a half of used oil per month." Based on this data, they launched a pilot project in Casablanca.
The idea is to get the resource directly from 50,000 households. "We are making people aware of the environmental impacts of mismanaging used oils," says Ziani. Only about 20% of the households adhere to the system. For participating households, Kilimanjaro leaves bottles of 75 cl in order to collect the used domestic oils.
To facilitate collection, the company has developed a system of ambassadors. Their homes function as relay points, where individuals can deposit their used oils in barrels made available by Kilimanjaro. "Ambassadors are also citizens that we have sensitized to our cause, but they store large volumes, coming from many homes, before we collect them. They receive in exchange a remuneration" detailed Sheryn Ziani.
The oils, processed or not, are then mostly destined for export, to Europe and South America. "Our main customers are in Spain, Portugal, Italy and Chile." Sheryn Ziani
Subsequent to learning at the Lycée Moulay Youssef, Mr. Youssef Chaqor joined the Mohammedia School of Engineers and got his degree as a State Engineer in 1998 in Industrial Engineering. When he graduated from the school, he spent a few years as a Marketing and Sales Manager at Unilever. Afterward he was hired as a business manager at Savola, a multinational company in the palatable oil refining industry.
Throughout his duties with this organization, he found another bio fuel segment that was emerging: a supply of agrarian crude materials, for the most part unrefined oils and sugar. Looking further, he understood the moral and ecological issues associated with this industry.
In 2008, Mr Youssef Chaqor created his company by his own means. "When I wanted to embark on the entrepreneurial adventure, I came to the idea of positioning myself on an equivalent but equitable and eco-responsible sector, since it uses the residual waste of its edible oils as raw material for the production of biofuels", declared Youssef Chaqor.
"At the beginning of our activity, nobody really knew the value of these oils, so we collected them for free, or at really minimal prices." Then the restaurateurs became aware of the value, and began to charge us 3 to 4 dirhams per liter. But since 2016, the system has changed in response to pressure from environmental standards, and now Kilimanjaro is paid to collect.
"We work mainly with companies belonging to multinational companies, they are subject to international standards and are obliged to ensure a good traceability of their used oils. This is not the case in many small Moroccan restaurants, which sometimes prefer to sell their oils to the informal sector."
The professionals who give their approval are in a database specific to Kilimanjaro. Today, the database has 10,000 companies, of which 3,000 are regular suppliers.
Before Kilimanjaro, huge quantities of palatable oil were disposed of. This leads to a huge environmental issue since most of the oil ends up on water systems and beaches. Kilimanjaro turns oils into eco-fuel which is a good source of energy. Thus protecting the environment while providing society with a cleaner alternative to fossil fuels.
In the last 5 years, there has been a boom in the world of green processes and inventions, and the need for an eco-friendly fuel has increased. In the world, 10% of the population is fully dependent on eco-friendly fuels and green sources of energy. By the end of 2014, Kimilanjaro achieved more than 40 million MAD in sales. Today, it is hiring more than 70 employees, and the company plans to double the size of its structure by 2020.
100% exporter, Kilimanjaro Environment generates the majority of its sales in countries of Europe and South America. "With respect to market opportunities in the local market, we are now more enthusiastic about the adventure of decompensating petroleum products, but hope that favorable conditions will be introduced for the introduction of 2nd generation biofuel in Morocco, and support for SMEs in the green sector will be put in place to enable the development of the ecological sector and clean energy production in Morocco " Sheryn Ziani.
The objective of Mr. Youssef Chaqor is to help the government protect the environment by reducing polluting emissions. Throughout this approach, the business benefits and profitability are measured by:
"Among our suppliers are renowned brands, national and international, to name a few: McDonald's, KFC, Burger King, La Grillardière, Pomme de pain, Accor Group, Newrest, or "Oasis Café" Akwa." - Sheryn Ziani
Kilimanjaro is committed to transforming the Moroccan community by creating jobs and sustainable projects. Thanks to their commitment, they offer Moroccans a better alternative to fossil fuels and polluting energy sources. The company’s impact on society and environment is considerable:
This home collection project will eventually lead to the creation of 2,000 jobs, the reduction of CO2 emissions of nearly 230,000 tonnes of waste per year, and the emergence of an estimated value of 1 billion to the country's trade balance.
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Mrs. Sheryn Ziani, Marketing Manager
