From Vision to Impact: How Sinba, Peruvian Enterprise, Measures Its Impact on the Journey “Towards a World Without Waste”

Can you briefly describe Sinba, its mission, and its greatest achievement so far?

Did you know that waste impacts not only the environment and climate change but also social aspects? One-third of all food grown globally is wasted. Managing this waste falls to municipalities, which face significant challenges in waste management and data reporting. Globally, around 2.3 billion tones of municipal waste are generated each year. In South America, over 30% of waste is uncontrolled, so nobody knows where it ends up, less than 10% is recycled, and just over 50% goes to landfills. This is a global issue, and we want to be part of the solution. In Peru, we generate waste equal to 2.5 National Stadiums, 80% of it is recyclable, and only 2% gets recycled.  And at SINBA we think that the only way to truly address this problem is through the circular economy and innovation.

For that reason, our circular model repurposes waste from families, restaurants, and industries to prevent it from ending up on the streets of Lima (Peru) in ecosystems, or landfills. We emphasize the social role of recyclers by enrolling them in our incentive program, purchasing their materials, ensuring traceability, and directing the materials to the final industry instead of dumps. In these 7 years of operation, we have repurposed over 12,000 tons of waste, enrolled 60 recyclers, and shared our knowledge on social media and within both national and international communities of entrepreneurs, public managers, and corporations. We collect data, learn, adapt, invest, and also reach out to others. The recyclers join us, our customers trust us and know where their waste ends. We collaborate with companies like Coca-Cola and Monteles to discuss achieving a greater impact and addressing waste-related problems. All this process is powerful because, as entrepreneurs in the circular economy, we are now frequently sharing our learning and opportunities to shape better public and private sector policies. 

We started as a startup with only two of us, and now our team consists of more than 60 people. We provide daily or periodic waste collection services and sell transformed products, including training on waste segregation. Additionally, we install bins, containers, and bags if the customer needs it. The waste is taken to our bio-factory in Lima for the transformation of organic materials into animal feed and, if there is a surplus, composted. Used oil is filtered and sent to the biodiesel industry. We also have our Inclusive Circular Recovery Center (CIRC), where inorganic materials enter a traceability route, are sorted by subcategory, and sent to the final industry, ensuring 100% traceability and nothing is lost.

Despite the informality in waste and recyclable material management, I believe we have learned a lot and are cooperating with other partners to repurpose materials and bring them to an articulated and formal market. For example, through our recent consortium with Desafío Ambiente, we have opened a previously non-existent route in Peru for flexible plastics, ensuring they do not end up in the ocean or as waste, but are transformed into plastic lumber. This also provides recyclers with additional income from these materials because we are working to co-create a world without waste, where nothing is wasted and no one is left out.

(…) we are working to co-create a world without waste, where nothing is wasted and no one is left out.

Many recyclers sell to us because of the benefits offered by our program.  However, we know it is challenging to compete with informal waste collectors that can pay slightly more. Some collection centers operate with minimal permits, unlike us, who meet all requirements and costs, such as a basic fire safety system. While some recyclers understand and appreciate the formality and benefits we promote, they are also driven by their immediate needs and can earn 0.1 cents more. Therefore, the final industries have a crucial role in promoting formality within the system, as they are the ones who set the prices and purchase the materials. They can prioritize buying from a formal supply chain.

Does Sinba measure the impact of its activities? What is the purpose of this measurement, what tools and methods are used, and how is the process managed? Who are the main actors involved, and what roles do they play?

Yes, we measure the impact of all our activities with our team. Currently, we are focused on establishing a data management area, as we believe it is important for better impact evaluation and it is also a bright future for our business. We are in the process of hiring a data analyst or a data assistant to help set up and develop our data management system.

We prepare impact reports for each month detailing how we use the funds provided by our partner brands to help subsidize the program with recyclers and our customers. This information is transparently shared on our social media channels. In line with our focus on social impact, we also track the number of people educated through our workshops and evaluate the training to improve it, as well as the activities we promote with recyclers. For instance, we have football tournaments planned for next August to engage more recyclers and associations in our work. 

Additionally, we measure the environmental impact by tracking the amount of material we recover and process, calculating its equivalent in CO2 and trees. In other words, if we hadn’t captured this material, how many trees would we have needed to plant? For this, we use a modification that we made to the CO2 equivalency calculator from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

(…) we measure the environmental impact by tracking the amount of material we recover and process, calculating its equivalent in CO2 and trees. (…) For this, we use a modification that we made to the CO2 equivalency calculator from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Concerning other types of measurement, we also carefully monitor our social media presence, as these channels are crucial for connecting with our diverse audiences. Internally, we assess the impact of having female and male employees to promote equal opportunities to work together and have this systemic perspective of our circular economy model.

What challenges has Sinba faced in measuring its impact in Peru, and how have they addressed them? Does Sinba invest in impact measurement, and how do they encourage others to do the same despite the costs?

As I mentioned, we are open to hiring someone specifically for this role, which is a challenge. The main issue, however, is ensuring traceable data without human error. To address this, we plan to invest in systems with cameras and dynamic scales for precise data collection. Although this requires significant investment, it is worthwhile. As an entrepreneur or organization, if you are not focusing on data management and artificial intelligence, you may be missing out on a potentially profitable opportunity. In our logistics company, the data we gather can provide valuable resources and be more profitable than many other aspects. This also aligns with our plans to start selling carbon credits.

Currently, at Sinba, measuring impact is part of our administrative expenses. We have already invested in Blocker Studio, a Google platform that stores all information and functions as an intranet for our customers to access their historical environmental impact data. Additionally, in collaboration with students, we are developing a new platform aligned with our goals.

Can you provide an example of a project where Sinba successfully measured its impact and explain the key factors contributing to this positive outcome?

Our achievement of diverting 945 tons of CO2 is an example of how we are moving in the right direction toward our mission. However, we are continually seeking opportunities for improvement and exploring new methodologies to enhance our impact measurement. Our goal is to consolidate our data into a single system, integrating operational data with impact data to streamline reporting and reduce the need for additional personnel. Currently, our operational and impact data are stored in separate systems. By integrating these, we aim to simplify the process and improve efficiency. We are also investing in technologies such as cameras and dynamic scales to enhance data collection and analysis. We aim to automate data capture and reporting to facilitate more accurate and efficient analysis. With the right data, we can improve our performance indicators and better evaluate the impact of our activities. Sinba is a growing company learning and contributing to the sustainable movement.