Thirteen Partnerships Granted P4G Start-Up Funding to Support Green Growth in Developing Countries
Subject
P4G Partnerships
Publication Date
2019-08-06
About
NEWS RELEASE
P4G Contact: Kate Danielsen, Communications Specialist, kate.danielsen@p4gpartnerships.org
WASHINGTON DC—August 6, 2019—P4G, the Partnering for Green Growth and the Global Goals 2030 Initiative, today announced 13 public-private partnerships to receive start-up funding for projects in five Sustainable Development Goal areas—food and agriculture, water, energy, cities and circular economy. These 2019 P4G Partnerships will receive up to USD 100,000 funding to improve the viability and scalability of their innovations in these key sustainable development areas.
The opportunity for climate action is clear: last year, New Climate Economy reported that cleaner, climate-smart growth could deliver over USD 26 trillion in economic benefits through 2030, as compared to business-as-usual. With this potential as a driving factor, P4G partnerships make innovative solutions for social and environmental progress possible. By bringing together a network of visionary leaders in government, business and civil society, the P4G Initiative enables these solutions to duplicate and scale in economies and geographies across the world.
In 2018, P4G’s first year, the Initiative funded 11 start-up partnerships – some of which are beginning to report on their progress, with good results. Their diverse approaches to a greener economy – including models for reducing food loss and waste in Indonesia; impact investing for renewable energy access in Kenya; and a marketplace for the re-use of industrial materials in Vietnam – have played a crucial role in creating engaged networks around thematic areas that P4G’s 2019 start-up partnerships bring to the fore.
The 2019 P4G Start-up Partnerships are clustered in areas such as clean energy access finance models, minimizing food loss and waste, a sustainable plastics economy and zero- or low- emissions transportation. Across the SDGs, P4G funded two projects each for SDG 2 in food and agriculture, SDG 11 in sustainable cities and SDG 12 in responsible consumption and production; three in SDG 6 for clean water and sanitation; and four for SDG 7 in affordable and clean energy. Many of the projects are also based in P4G partner countries—including Colombia, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mexico and Vietnam.
P4G Global Director Ian de Cruz commented, “We are pleased with how these partnerships build on the early successes we have seen with our 2018 start-up partnerships. Beyond their potential to implement and scale, many of these projects could become the P4G Scale-up Partnerships of tomorrow. Now in our second year, we have nearly three dozen partnerships underway in developing countries, creating a learning laboratory of sustainable solutions to drive inclusive growth, implement sustainable development goals and act on climate change. We look forward to working with these partnerships both individually and collectively, using the emerging partnership themes to build strong networks of keen investors, business leaders and government changemakers for a more sustainable, inclusive future.”
Learn more about the 2019 P4G Start-Up Partnerships below:
SDG 2 | Food Security/Sustainable Agriculture
Sustainable Technology for Tackling Extensive Food Loss in Kenya
Partners: World Wide Fund for Nature - Kenya (WWF-Kenya) and M-PAYG
Focal Country: Kenya
In Kenya’s costal fishing regions, it is estimated that nearly a third of all seafood is lost post-harvest due to a lack of access to cold storage. By drawing on World Wide Fund for Nature – Kenya’s experience with natural resource management and the expertise of Danish clean energy company M-PAYG, this partnership will provide these fishing communities with affordable off-grid solar-powered cooling appliances. This solution reduces the environmental impact of overfishing and provides food and income security for these fishing communities.
Smallholder Solar Pump Alliance
Partners: TechnoServe, Inc., Green Way Farms, HelloSolar International, SunCulture and Ethiopian Solar Energy Development Association (ESEDA)
Focal Country: Ethiopia
Only five percent of arable land in Ethiopia is equipped for irrigation, even though these systems enable better agricultural productivity, higher incomes, more jobs and improved nutrition. This disparity has spurred the Ethiopian government to prioritize irrigation expansion, powered especially by conventional fuel pumps. The Smallholder Solar Pump Alliance will guide the transformation of this nascent, burgeoning market by building a financially sustainable and scalable system to power irrigation with solar pumps, rather than conventional diesel ones – improving the ways water is used and accessed on the national scale.
SDG 6 | Clean Water and Sanitation
Ethiopian Beverage Alliance for Water
Partners: Nestlé Waters Ethiopia, Coca-Cola Beverage Africa, 2030 Water Resources Group and
Ethiopian Bottled Water and Soft Drink Manufacturing Industries Association (EBSMIA)
Focal Country: Ethiopia
Millions of Ethiopians lack access to clean water. This problem is made worse by poor water resources management and strife between communities and businesses battling for the same water sources. This partnership aims to approach these challenges by establishing an alliance between major beverage providers in the country. The alliance will develop a roadmap for increased water-use efficiency and accountability for more sustainable practices across the sector.
uMngeni Ecological Infrastructure Partnership
Partners: Duzi Umngeni Conservation Trust, Sappi, South African National Biodiversity Institute and Conservation Outcomes
Focal Country: South Africa
The uMngeni Ecological Infrastructure Partnership focuses on improving water governance, knowledge and effective collaboration between businesses and governments within the KwaZulu-Natal province in South Africa. This region -- home to more than 10 million people – often experiences flooding and water purity crises. This region -- home to some 10 million people – often experiences flooding and water purity crises. The partnership aims to help save money on current and future costs of flood mitigation and water purification, reduce flooding events, improve water quality and security and support economic growth.
BRAC and Hydro Industries; Clean water for all
Partners: BRAC and Hydro Industries Limited
Focal Country: Bangladesh
In the southwestern coastal region of Bangladesh, harmful microbes and contaminants including arsenic, iron, manganese and chloride pollute both ground and surface water. This partnership will develop an inclusive service delivery model that delivers safe water, at high volumes and affordable prices in formerly neglected and hard-to-reach communities in Bangladesh.
SDG 7 | Affordable and Clean Energy for All
Solar Cow 4 Impact Partnership
Partners: YOLK and Energy 4 Impact
Focus Country: Kenya
It is estimated that about 40 percent of Kenyans live in rural areas lacking access to reliable energy – an indicator that also illustrates social and economic wellbeing. The Solar Cow 4 Impact Partnership provides an innovative solution to bring solar power to these rural communities while also providing better opportunity for children to receive an education. Solar Cow 4 Impact partners with schools across Kenya to install solar systems that charge portable batteries distributed to families in off-grid communities. Families in need of electricity send children to charge the batteries at school – encouraging them to attend lessons in formal classrooms.
Green 4 Access First Loss Facility
Partners: GreenMax Capital Group and Energy 4 Impact
Focal Region: Sub-Saharan Africa
Capital investment is critical to achieving affordable and sustainable energy for all. However, these investments have not reached their full potential due to the perception of high risk. To catalyze investment, the Green 4 Access First Loss Facility partnership will seek to partner with major development finance institutions and impact investors to create a First Loss Facility to encourage upscaling investment in off grid energy solutions in Africa.
Partners: BSR (Business for Social Responsibility) and Green Freight Asia
Focal Country: Vietnam
In Hanoi, transport is responsible for 70% of the city’s air pollution. As Vietnam’s economy grows, so does its road freight sector and the associated impacts on climate and air quality. Vietnam’s trucks are mostly older and operate with sub-optimal fuel efficiency, accounting for disproportionately high volumes of transport-related emissions and pollutants. Led by BSR and Green Freight Asia, this partnership will launch a set of incentives for green freight certification to motivate Vietnam’s trucking companies to adopt eco-friendly practices and improve fuel efficiency, contributing both to their bottom line and to cleaner air and lower greenhouse gas emissions from the country’s trucking sector.
Electric Mobility Partnership for Colombia
Partners: Ambientronika Ltda, Findeter, Sodinlec Ltda and Fondo Acción
Focal Country: Colombia
El Dorado International Airport in Bogotá is one of the busiest hubs in Latin America – moving more than 700,000 tons of cargo and 4.4 million passengers over the course of a year. It’s fleet of ground vehicles makes this possible – however, they are all diesel-fueled, and thus contribute to greenhouse gas emissions. This partnership will accelerate the transition to a low carbon economy in Colombia through the electrification El Dorado International Airport’s ground fleet. The partnership will work with a leading airline to replace most of its diesel vehicles with electric vehicles charged through an on-site charging station partially powered by spent oils and other organic waste generated by businesses inside the airport.
SDG 11 | Sustainable Cities and Communities
Partners: International Council on Clean Transportation, and WRI Mexico
Focal Country: Mexico
Diesel-powered trucks, delivery vans and other vehicles used to transport goods pollute the air in cities and contribute disproportionately to greenhouse gas emissions from the transport sector. Led by the International Council on Clean Transportation, with support from FedEx Mexico and WRI Mexico, this partnership will work with private industry and local and federal governments in Mexico to design and implement programs that lead to cleaner fleet vehicles. The partnership will incentivize the use of new electric vehicles or existing vehicles retrofitted with newer technologies.
Partners: Center for Region and Urban Studies (Vietnam), CLEAN (a Danish cleantech cluster), Green Tech Center Korea and JHSustain (Republic of Korea)
Focal Country: Vietnam
Home to 17 million people, Vietnam’s Mekong Delta region is prone to flooding that experts predict will get worse due to climate change and rising sea levels. Led by a collaboration of Vietnamese, Danish and Korean organizations, the partnership will install smart sensors and actuators in Long Xuyen City to pilot a networked system to improve disaster forecast accuracy and on-site response to flooding. By creating a model to better predict and manage flood events, the project aims to reduce human casualties from flooding while protecting agricultural production and community livelihoods.
SDG 12 | Responsible Consumption and Production
Partners: WRAP, Walmart Mexico and World Business Council for Sustainable Development
Focal Country: Mexico
One third of all food produced for human consumption is lost or wasted between harvest and the home, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. This partnership will bring together leaders in agriculture, food retail, government and environment to identify the root causes of food waste and the economic incentives for advancing more sustainable practices at every level of food production and supply in Mexico.
Post-Consumer Resin Market Development Partnership
Partners: Asia Society for Social Improvement and Sustainable Transformation (ASSIST), Unilever Vietnam, Coca-Cola Vietnam, IAV Global, Vietnam Business Council for Sustainable Development (VBCSD), Citenco and Vietnam Department of Natural Resource and Environment
Focal Country: Vietnam
In Vietnam, nearly 5 million tons of plastic ends up in landfills annually. Too often, plastic bottles, straws, bags and other wrappings pollute the rivers and oceans, threatening the environment and the world’s supply of fresh fish. The partnership will gain commitments from large consumer product companies to use recycled plastic, known as post-consumer resin, in their packaging materials and products. Additionally, it will prepare a business plan for building a state-of-the-art plastics recycling factory in Vietnam within a two-year time frame.
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About P4G
P4G – Partnering for Green Growth and the Global Goals 2030 – has funded 31 public-private partnerships with projects in developing countries. These include 18 start-up and scale-up partnerships from 2018 and 13 start-up partnerships from 2019. For example, these partnerships pose solutions that accelerate the adoption of electric buses in Latin America, expand the supply of renewable energy in Sub-Sahara Africa, reduce food loss and waste in Indonesia and reduce plastic and packaging waste from e-commerce in China. P4G is a collaborative partnership among nine partner countries: Chile, Colombia, Denmark, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mexico, the Netherlands, the Republic of Korea and Vietnam. In addition, C40, World Economic Forum, Global Green Growth Institute, IFC and World Resources Institute, which hosts P4G’s global hub, are partner organizations to P4G.