Morocco: EBRD helps kitchen furniture maker to improve carbon footprint

Flexibois, a kitchen furniture manufacturer operating in Morocco, has managed to reduce its energy consumption and CO2 emissions thanks to the support of the European Bank for Reconstruction & Development, the EU, the Green Climate Fund (GCF) and the Republic of Korea.

The company uses wood by-products to make furniture. It offers Moroccan consumers quality furniture without damaging the environment, said the EBRD in a press release issued Monday.

“We work with wood derivatives. This means we are cutting down fewer trees, because we’re working with composites rather than solid woods,” explained Flexibois Director, Aziz Boukhari.

The EBRD supported the company in acquiring two modern machines, which are equipped with highly efficient electric motors. The new machines have generated energy savings of 37 pc for Flexibois and reduced its emissions by 27 tCO2 per year. Thanks to increased precision, they are also safer for employees and reduce waste. Moreover, they have improved product quality by eliminating errors in the manufacturing process.

“We can produce large quantities of goods while also minimizing our energy consumption. We use less energy now because we don’t need lots of machines to carry out different tasks,” said Mr. Boukhari.

The EBRD’s investment is part of its Green Value Chain (GVC) Morocco credit line, funded by the EU, the GCF and the Republic of Korea.
The facility provides funding to partner financial institutions for on-lending to local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) operating in value chains for investment in high-performing equipment that leads to energy, water and resource efficiency.