Development of a National Circular Economy Strategy and Implementation Plan (CESIP) for Kenya - Sitra

Background and objective of the procurement Kenya has a rapidly developing economy with high potential for growth in the coming decades. The economy is predominantly linear with a high dependence on both extraction and imports for many key commodities. Much of the value of products, components and materials is only to a limited degree retained across lifecycles with much of the resources ending up as waste after a short use phase, with pollution and other adverse environmental impacts as a consequence. Many countries have turned to the circular economy as a solutions framework for driving growth and tackling environmental challenges – largely by consolidating and operationalising existing policies and catalysing industry action. Although the implementation of these plans in practice has been limited, falling short of the ambitions, many African countries have developed national CE roadmaps and strategies, and in 2025, the African Union published a Continental Circular Economy Action Plan, which calls for all African countries to consolidate national CE strategies. While Kenya lacks a national CE (circular economy) roadmap, it already has a comprehensive policy framework related to CE, including the: • Environment Management and Coordination Act (1999) • National Environment Policy (2013) • Green Economy Strategy and Implementation Plan (2016-2030) • Updated Nationally Determined Contribution (2020–2030) • National Sustainable Waste Management Policy (2021) • The Sustainable Waste Management Act (2022) • Environmental Management and Co-ordination (Controlled Substances) Regulations • Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Regulations (2024) • Many related policies are under development, including an emerging bioeconomy framework. A National Circular Economy Strategy and Implementation Plan (CESIP), hereafter referred to as CESIP or ’roadmap’ could consolidate as well as help operationalise many existing Kenyan policies across priority sectors and align them with broader national goals in industry development, trade, climate action, and supply security. A wide range of stakeholders drawn from government agencies, businesses, eco-industrial parks, academia, civil society, and regional and international partners like the African Union, African Development Bank (AfDB), European Investment Bank (EIB), the European Union (EU), and Member States are already actively engaged in CE initiatives, and it is essential that CESIP is backed by a comprehensive and inclusive stakeholder process that embodies an all-of-society approach, which consolidates, activates and builds on existing activities and provides both a baseline through a co-created vision and a clear action-oriented framework for implementation. 2b) Governance and implementing team The process to develop CESIP is led by the Kenyan Ministry of Environment, Climate Change & Forestry (hereafter the “ministry”). The roadmap consolidation process is guided by a national Steering Committee led by the ministry, and supported by Sitra through the EU CERC, with additional budget support earmarked by Team Denmark. Additional experts will also provide feedback to the roadmap process after the public consultation without formal decision-making power. To support the analysis, technical consultation and consolidation process of CESIP, Sitra seeks an experienced and diverse ‘implementing team’ that through their combined expertise and organisational profiles, possibly representing multiple service providers (e.g. through a consortium or sub-contracting), can perform the assignment (chapter 3) and the associated objectives and activities tasks outlined with steering from the ministry and the ‘working group’ in the spirit of a multi-stakeholder, all-of-society approach. The ‘working group’ is intended to serve a slimmer, operations-focused unit compared to the broader Steering Committee, including as members the ministry, National Environment Management Authority, Sitra, Team Denmark and the implementing team. The ‘working group’ can be expanded with other members from the Steering Committee or reduced at the ministry’s discretion. The implementing team is responsible for delivering the predefined objectives and activities and reporting to Sitra. The ministry will convene the predefined working group together with the implementing team. Sitra is responsible for defining the requests of the working group and possible changes to the contract and to a designated person communicate these to the implementing team in the form of a lead expert who assumes the overall responsibility for delivering the objectives of the project. 2c) Priority sectors The following five priority sectors have been identified for a focused baseline analysis, material flow assessment, stakeholder roundtables, target-setting, sector-specific strategies, and action planning in this CESIP process: 1. Plastics 2. Agriculture and food systems (organic waste) 3. Textiles, Apparel, and Fashion 4. Electrical and Electronic Equipment 5. Mining, Quarrying, and Construction These sectors were identified based on the following criteria: 1. Environmental and Health Impact 2. Job creation potential 3. Economic growth potential 4. Alignment with National Goals Moreover, these sectors align closely with the National Environment Management Authority’s modelling priorities, which are agri-food, plastics, construction, Electrical and Electronic Equipment (EEE) waste, and general waste, as well as being consistent with the ongoing national CE initiatives, with textiles treated as an emerging/high-potential area. Possible refinements may be confirmed by the Kenyan Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change during the inception phase. The value of the Procurement The value of the procurement is €100,000 (excluding VAT). The procurement includes the tasks required for the implementation of the assignment and possible travel expenses