THE CONSTRUCTION INTERVIEW
“ YOU WILL ALWAYS NEED PRIMARY RAW MATERIALS AT ONE POINT, BUT I THINK WE ARE FAR FROM MAXIMISING THE USE OF SECONDARY RAW MATERIALS”
Mathias Schluep Managing Director World Resources Forum
The legacy of the WRF Projects in Africa and beyond are central to the World Resources Forum and something Mathias has introduced during his time with the organisation, first joining as Program Director. The conference itself is what the forum was founded on, with each edition designed to have a unique storyline.
“ We need to understand what we have achieved, how the world has changed and then link [ the last ] conference to the next,” says Mathias.“ The whole conference we organise is a story of failure and success and learnings and seeing how we continue.”
Through the conference and projects, the forum is not only meeting stakeholders, but working on problems it can actually address. Amid the energy transition and the rush for the critical raw materials, the forum has advanced responsible sourcing, recycling and sustainable governance.
Mathias adds:“ We have supported raising it on the agenda of politicians, with many others, so they realise it’ s not just about climate change or energy provision, it’ s also about how we can access the raw materials.”
The forum recently collaborated with the International Organization for Standardization( ISO) to advance global circular economy frameworks. This includes helping to transition early secondary-material guidelines into formal standards such as ISO
30 October 2026