How can plastic waste become an engine for jobs, climate action, and innovation?

In early September, a German Government delegation visited Kubik, a pioneering recycling company turning plastic waste into durable, low-carbon building materials. Their story shows how German Cooperation through the NatuReS programme strengthens the link between waste workers, businesses, and policymakers in building Ethiopia’s circular economy. Led by the German State Secretary Mr Jochen Flasbarth, the delegation comprised visitors from the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Climate Action, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMUKN), the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the German Embassy in Ethiopia.

Kubik is a member of the Partnership for Circular Value Chains in Addis Ababa, a multi-stakeholder partnership facilitated by NatuReS on behalf of the German government. Active since 2020, the partnership empowers stakeholders along the solid waste value chain to protect natural resources from pollution and prevent loss of economic resources. Over the past year alone, Kubik sourced more than 218,000 kg of plastic waste from individual collectors and small and medium-sized enterprises. 81% of this came from partners trained by GIZ NatuReS. These efforts not only prevent plastics from polluting the environment, but also create reliable income opportunities for waste workers, many of whom are women.

German cooperation with the private sector

During the visit, the German delegation emphasised that cooperation with the private sector is central to Germany’s development priorities. “We are committed to increasing local added value, creating jobs, and supporting a socially compatible, gender-equitable and environmentally friendly transformation of economic systems,” one delegate noted. Kubik, in turn, expressed appreciation for the support received through NatuReS: “We are eager to contribute to our shared mission of multi-stakeholder collaboration and strengthened market links along the plastic value chain. This is not just about dialogue but structured collaboration towards common goals – creating market opportunities that align with societal and environmental needs.”

The delegation’s visit reaffirmed Germany’s commitment to working together with the private sector and local stakeholders to achieve sustainable transformation. NatuReS’ stewardship multi-stakeholder partnerships are a great tool for this: By embedding principles of shared responsibility, long-term commitment, and collective action towards common goals, we can leverage the private sector’s unique capacities – technological, innovative, operational and financial – more effectively than conventional models. For Ethiopia, companies like Kubik demonstrate how circular economy models can create jobs, empower women, and contribute to climate action.

To ensure long-term sustainability and widespread adoption of any good practice, it is crucial to move beyond individual projects and aim for mainstreaming into policy. This is also relevant for NatuReS II in its efforts to establish stewardship multi-stakeholder partnerships (SMSPs) as an instrument for consensus-building in Just Transition processes in economic zones with extreme resource use pressure. Therefore, the programme is working to incorporate the SMSP approach into regional or national guidelines for participation formats in the project countries. This creates a framework that facilitates collaborative action by government bodies, private sector, and civil society and ensures that stewardship principles are upheld across different levels of governance.

Mainstreaming stewardship through national policy in Ethiopia  

One successful example is the Guideline for Protection, Rehabilitation, and Restoration of Surface Water Bodies in Ethiopia that NatuReS II has been supporting with the Ethiopian Ministry of Water and Energy (MoWE). This guideline aims to support stakeholders in the protection, refurbishment and restoration of surface water bodies in Ethiopia. It contains practical recommendations, principles and best practices in sustainable water management and ecosystem conservation. The stewardship approach is anchored as a central component. The guideline complements the national Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) framework and contributes to its overarching objectives of coordinated, equitable and sustainable use of water resources in the country.

How we got there: From local partnership implementation to anchoring at national policy level 

Local Beginnings in Hawassa: The journey began in the Lake Hawassa area, where stakeholders identified severe risks stemming from the unsustainable use of natural resources like water and soil. But no single actor can tackle challenges such as pollution, erosion, water scarcity, or wetland degradation by themselves. So, in 2018, a group of stakeholders from the public, private, and civil society sectors came together to develop integrated solutions. This marked the start of the Protecting Lake Hawassa Multi-Stakeholder Stewardship Partnership.

Project Implementation and Scaling Up: From 2018 to 2022, the partnership implemented joint activities mainly at a small scale. Throughout the process, the MoWE has been actively involved in the partnership through their local representation, the Rift Valley Basin Administration Office. The success of these activities then led to increased interest and support, allowing for upscaling with funds from existing and new partners. This period (2022-2023) also saw growing attention from the national level, recognising the effectiveness of the approaches tried, tested, and jointly implemented at the local level.

National Anchoring: Since 2024, the results achieved have led to national-level interest in taking up the stewardship approach in national policies. Today, the ministry recognises that water management will only be effective based on comprehensive multi-stakeholder collaboration with strong focus also on the private sector and plans to roll out this approach at national level. Thus, MoWE has requested support for development of National Water Bodies Protection Guideline which includes stewardship and collaborative multi-stakeholder action prominently as key elements of effective basin management.

A multi-stakeholder review process

A draft of the guideline was developed jointly with MoWE and the Generation Integrated Rural Development Consultancy (GIRDC). It has then undergone a consultation phase allowing for inclusive stakeholder participation. In June 2025, NatuReS II and MoWE hosted a review workshop with over 80 participants from six federal ministries, all regional bureaus of water, environment and agriculture, nine universities and research centres from the public sector as well as representatives from the private and civil society sector.

The workshop started with opening remarks by the State Minister of Water and Energy, His Excellency Motuma Mekassa. His Excellency once again stressed the importance of collective action in the protection of natural resources and the development of the standard national guideline. Following the opening, consultants from GIRDC presented the draft guideline which participants then reviewed in three breakout groups. Afterwards, GIDRC incorporated their detailed feedback into a revised version. The final draft has now been submitted to the ministry and publication of the guideline is expected by the end of September 2025.

Lessons learned for policy anchoring processes

By anchoring stewardship principles into national policies, Ethiopia is taking a significant step towards sustainable water management and ecosystem conservation. Learning from the successful practices in Hawassa, this bottom-up approach was a key success factor. It showcased collaborative stewardship action on the ground first, which created visibility and attracted national interest by the tangible implementation results achieved. Starting with small joint activities is also critical for establishing trust between public sector, private sector and civil society which can then grow from there. Another key takeaway is the importance of the active involvement of the public sector since the beginning that created ownership and support from authorities and public decision makers – a game changer for anchoring in policy processes.