Charles Pepinster joined BBOXX as Director of Environmental and Social Balance

BBOXX partners used to work with Mr Pepinster, a former employee of the BelgianTechnical Cooperation in Rwanda working in the Rural Energy Sector, when running e.quinox at Imperial College. Mr Pepinster is joining BBOXX as the Director of Environmental and Social Belance to help us boost our social responsibility image and minimise the impact of our operations on the environment.

Mr Pepinster first task will be to develop a business plan to launch a lead recycling plan in Rwanda to efficiently recycle the lead batteries in the East African community in a profitable manner. BBOXX is spreading a large number of lead-acid batteries which are essential for the operation its off-grid solar systems. Lead batteries are very toxic to the environment if improperly disposed but are 95% recyclable if collected and treated correctly. The price of lead has tripled since 2007 and is expected to increase in the coming years which makes lead recycling a very attractive opportunity for investors on top of giving a strong social image. 

Mr Pepinster will be in Kigali until December and will also help manage BBOXX's operations in the region.

Mr Pepinster in rural Rwanda carrying out socio-economic surveys which were crucial to the proper product development and pricing structure of our solar solutions in East Africa.