Uganda’s transport sector is currently defined by men driving heavily polluting internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles on poor quality roads. Motorcycle-taxis have come to be a defining aspect of the transport sector in Uganda, particularly in regional towns and rural areas.1 Women report widespread harassment in the transport sector and are vanishingly rare as motorcycle-taxi or minibus operators. While they represent less than 1% of motorcycle-taxi drivers, they have made more inroads in government roles and in mobility startups. However, official gender-disaggregated data on the sector is severely lacking, with only very limited public data on vehicle imports and registrations, workforce composition, the occasional qualitative report on women in transport, and private sector data that is not made public. The e-mobility industry in Uganda has begun to address some of the major gender gaps in transportation but remains a long way off in gender parity in both leadership and ridership. From a brief survey of the sector, women tend to make up between 30-50% of the e-mobility startup workforce, but without known female founders or executives. Additionally, women electric motorcycle riders represent only around 2.3% of the e-motorcycle fleet, though this is higher than the less than 1% operating in the ICE motorcycle fleet. This report is a deliverable under the project “E-Mobility as a Driver for Change - Towards a gender transformative and just transition to electric mobility” which is being implemented by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) with funding from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). The project aims to ensure that the introduction of, and shift to, electric mobility (E-Mobility) in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) will include and promote the position and interests of women, to create a more gender transformative and just transport sector. Engaging more women in the E-Mobility ecosystem can in turn help to speed up the transition to zero emission mobility systems.
State influence and global finance are accelerating sustainable construction as a core industrial strategy. The nationalisation of British Steel illustrates a shift towards decarbonising the built environment through low carbon steel production, linking industrial preservation to a wider agenda of environmental sustainability in construction. Record climate finance of $163 billion demonstrates a new seriousness about funding net zero Whole Life Carbon transitions and supporting circular economy models essential to Life Cycle Cost optimisation and long-term resource efficiency in construction.
Infrastructure milestones underline the integration of sustainable building design into major projects. The HS2 green tunnel at Burton Green symbolises practical application of low carbon design principles through a Whole Life Carbon Assessment approach, embedding eco‑design for buildings into transport engineering. The Whittle Laboratory’s new green aviation facility highlights how lifecycle assessment and digital innovation enable low embodied carbon materials and net zero carbon buildings to move from research to implementation.
Policy inconsistencies remain. Delays to plastic recycling risk undermining circular economy in construction targets and the carbon footprint reduction goals that underpin sustainable building practices. Global deforestation warnings confirm that achieving carbon neutral construction depends on both material innovation and robust life cycle thinking in construction. With governments expanding direct ownership, investors channelling funds into green construction technologies, and new standards such as BREEAM v7 broadening assessment of embodied carbon in materials, the sector is redefining sustainable design through measurable whole life performance.
Sustainable architecture now extends beyond ambition to quantifiable delivery, embracing circular construction strategies, environmental product declarations, and end‑of‑life reuse in construction. The result is a maturing framework in which green infrastructure, low carbon building methods, and renewable building materials converge to cut the carbon footprint of construction and create a genuinely sustainable built environment.
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