The project is located in the Province of Lima and consists in switching fuels from anthracite coal to natural gas in a brick production plant. It incorporates adaptations and modifications in the fuel burners, allowing the consumption of natural gas instead of anthracite coal in the nine kilns used in the manufacturing of bricks.

Due to the facts that gas is more expensive than coal and that the switch to gas requires an investment to cover the costs for changing pipes and burners in kilns and boilers, carbon finance is the decisive element for this project to be realized.

The project activity improves the environmental performance of the brick production facility. It diminishes the atmospheric emissions of greenhouse gases and other pollutants, thereby improving air quality in the project area. On a national scale, the project serves as an important example of sustainable brick production since it is the first brick factory to use natural gas.

REX’s employees saved the company and their jobs from bankruptcy several years ago, maintaining 1,000 jobs and securing the well-being of the workers’ families. Through a real bottom-up process, the workers organized into management teams to improve their efficiency level and occupational health through fuel switching. Without carbon finance, the project was bound to fail due to prohibitive costs and the unavailability of bank loans. The employees decided in an open assembly to raise their own capital through payroll contributions from every employee with the promise of being reimbursed from carbon revenues.

The VER revenues are used to finance the CDM registration process. CDM registration is necessary to assure the long-term financial feasibility of the project. The National Environmental Council of Peru (the Peruvian DNA) recognized this project as the most important Peruvian project in terms of integrating social and environmental benefits that go far beyond CDM.