Pretoria (South Africa)
/ Nairobi, 15 April 2011 - Nearly 200 participants
of a Green Economy symposium organized by
the SEED Initiative, which is hosted by
the United Nations Environment Programme
(UNEP), met today with the 30 global winners
of the SEED Awards to look at ways to accelerate
the transition to a Green Economy in the
developing world.
The Symposium focused
on policies needed to accelerate the transition
to a Green Economy and on the environmental
and social contribution of community-level
entrepreneurs in developing countries.
The SEED Awards recognize
inspiring social and environmental entrepreneurs
whose businesses can help meet sustainable
development challenges, boost local economies
and alleviate poverty. By helping entrepreneurs
to scale-up their activities, SEED aims
to refocus policies towards promoting Green
Economic initiatives such as renewable energy,
sustainable agriculture, water and waste
management, eco-friendly tourism and green
construction and transport.
The latest SEED Award
winners largely come from Africa, placing
particular emphasis on initiatives from
Burkina Faso, Ghana, Kenya, Rwanda, Senegal
and South Africa. Together with Egypt, these
are pilot countries in a joint project between
SEED and UNEP's Green Economy Initiative
which is funded largely by the European
Union.
Among the winners were
a bamboo bicycle project in Ghana that makes
use of the country's vast bamboo supplies,
a Ugandan enterprise manufacturing stationary
from agricultural waste, a Chinese project
producing a novel solar device that turns
waste heat into electricity and a South
African female-run business making a hand-held
laundry device that saves water and cuts
pollution.
Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary-General
and UNEP Executive Director, said: "The
SEED winners underline how the green shoots
of a Green Economy are sprouting across
the developing world. Governments and public
policymakers can learn a lot from how these
entrepreneurs have catalyzed creative solutions
to local challenges and in doing so generated
livelihoods, employment, environmental benefits
and ways of eradicating poverty within and
outside their communities."
"Next year's Rio+20
meeting is an opportunity to scale-up and
accelerate these kinds of transitions. Our
SEED winners offer valuable insights and
knowledge on what works and how best this
can be realized," he added.
UNEP's Green Economy
report, launched earlier this year, shows
that investing only two per cent of global
GDP into ten key sectors can kick-start
a transition towards a low carbon, resource-efficient
economy. The report also highlights the
Green Economy as a key catalyst for growth
and poverty eradication in developing countries,
where in some cases close to 90 per cent
of the GDP of the poor is linked to natural
capital.
Ibrahim Patel, South
Africa's Minister of Economic Development
said: "The State has a role in supporting
small and micro enterprise and the social
economy. These activities are crucial for
providing new economic opportunities, but
there continue to be difficulties in accessing
private financing. The Green Economy will
be a focus of the Economic Development Department's
work in the year ahead."
A SEED Initiative survey,
which was also launched today, confirmed
that there is little doubt that the majority
of local enterprises working on green initiatives
are changing the model on how to deliver
sustainable development at the community
level.
The baseline survey,
An Investigation into the Triple Bottom
Line Performance of Micro and Small Social
and Environmental Enterprise in Developing
Countrie, was carried out among winners
and applicants to past competitions to see
how the enterprises were delivering on social,
environmental and business objectives and
what policy makers have to do to create
an enabling environment for such enterprises
to thrive.
According to the survey,
the SEED winners are bringing change through
capacity training and skills development
as well as the introduction of new and more
environmentally-friendly technologies and
production processes. Moreover, over half
of the respondents reported that over 50
percent of those being trained are women.
However, the survey
also underlined that two of the biggest
obstacles for the success of these enterprises
are lack of access to funds and lack of
skilled people at the community level. Only
13 percent of respondents indicated that
their financing was in place and less than
a fifth were able to make a living from
their enterprises.
By tracking the progress
of the firms as they grow, SEED seeks to
understand what policy and decision makers
need to do to allow these enterprises to
contribute to a greener economy in the developing
world.
"As a company,
we have recognized the need for sustainable,
green development and believe in taking
this into the grassroots of South African
enterprises. We believe that the SEED Awards
strongly mirror our company culture of innovation
through hard work and are extremely proud
to be associated with UNEP," said Jerry
Liu, General Manager for Hisense, South
Africa, who are the SEED Awards' corporate
sponsor.
All the SEED winners
have received a package of individually-tailored
support for their business that includes
access to relevant expertise and technical
assistance, meeting new partners, developing
business plans and identifying sources of
finance.
+ More
Business leaders debate
Green Economy in Paris
Paris / Nairobi, 14
April 2011 - Some 200 representatives from
business and industry, governments and civil
society gathered in Paris this week for
global talks on the transition to a green
economy.
Organized by the United
Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), in
collaboration with the International Chamber
of Commerce and the French postal service
Le Groupe La Poste, which hosted the event
at its Paris headquarters, the two-day Business
and Industry Global Dialogue aimed to define
the private sector's role in moving towards
a low carbon, resource-efficient green economy.
The event began with
opening addresses from UNEP Executive Director
Achim Steiner, the Secretary General of
the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC)
Jean-Guy Carrier and the Chief Executive
Officer of Le Groupe La Poste Jean-Paul
Bailly.
Sylvie Lemmet, Director
of UNEP's Paris-based Division of Technology,
Industry and Economics, delivered a keynote
presentation on UNEP's Green Economy Report
and stressed how engagement from the private
sector is crucial for the scaling-up of
a green economy on the road to 'Rio +20'
- next year's United Nations Conference
on Sustainable Development.
A high-level panel followed
with representatives from the UN Global
Compact, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation
and Development, the Danish Ministry of
Foreign Affairs and Hungary's Deputy State
Secretary for Green Economy and Climate
Change.
Later, members of the
private sector discussed the opportunities
and challenges outlined in the report with
a panel including the ICC Task Force on
Green Economy and the World Business Council
for Sustainable Development.
The second day offered
participants a chance to envision and map
out their contributions to the Rio+20 conference.
During the dialogue, Katrina Destrée
Cochran, Director of CSR Initiatives at
telecommunications company Alcatel-Lucent,
expressed the importance of measuring the
environmental and economic effects of 'business
as usual' practices.
There were further calls
from business leaders to encourage greater
investment in sustainable practices. Patrick
Widloecher from La Poste, a company that
is currently investing in electric vehicles,
affirmed that a green economy needs to be
recognized as a strategic investment for
business, rather than a cost.
UNEP's Green Economy
Report, released in February, challenges
the myth that investing in the environment
comes at the expense of economic growth.
The report shows how redirecting 2 percent
of global Gross Domestic Product into ten
key sectors - from forests and energy to
fisheries and transport - can boost green
growth and create more jobs than a 'business
as usual' model, while using the planet's
resources in a more sustainable way.
