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In January, P4G Global Director Ian de Cruz joined representatives from four P4G partnerships at several events at the World Economic Forum’s annual gathering in Davos. The event’s theme for 2019, globalization, put special emphasis on bringing together leaders from every sector and every part of the world to collaborate on the most pressing economic and environmental challenges of our future. The P4G mission – incubating and scaling innovative public-private partnership ideas aimed at inclusive growth – was welcomed given our focus on concrete solutions that are emerging in developing economies.

                Integral to P4G’s success throughout the week was the support from emerging supporters of P4G’s agenda including SAP, and the Global Head of the SAP Next-Gen program, Ann Rosenberg. SAP facilitated P4G’s presence at three key events: the Partnering for SDGs lunch on January 22, and two Citizens Agenda for the SDGs meetings on January 23.

During A Global Agenda for Partnerships to Achieve the SDGs co-hosted by SAP, Islamic Development Bank, Project Everyone, Hasso-Plattner-Institut, Greentech Capital, Deloitte and P4G, key contributors came forth to consider two key questions: what is a promising area or opportunity for public-private partnership in 2019 and why; and what is needed to accelerate this opportunity? Within this context, the hosts welcomed distinguished speakers including Dr. Bandar Hajjar, President of the Islamic Development Bank; Richard Curtis, screenwriter and SDG advocate; Nico Rosberg, 2016 F1 World Champion and promoter of healthy cities; Ana Hajduka, Founder and CEO of Africa GreenCo, a P4G partnership; and Jeremy Oppenheim, Founder and Managing Partner of Systemiq, a partner on P4G’s Sustainable Special Economic Zones (SSEZ) partnership. Nearly 60 attendees participated in a highly interactive discussion about how to accelerate partnerships for green growth.

"Companies are key drivers of this agenda to bring about the scale of the change with the speed that is required," said Rosenberg. "We need every sector, every group to be represented to accelerate these partnerships. These exchanges are the beginning of an action agenda that is happening all over the world."

The event was a critical opportunity for bringing P4G’s mission to life of becoming the world’s leading forum for concrete public-private partnerships for green growth. This agenda was universally shared by all speakers, participants and organizations and led to practical commitments for future collaboration opportunities, such as the commitment by the Islamic Development Bank to work with P4G on around P4G’s Food Loss and Waste Action partnership in Indonesia.

                On January 23, representatives from P4G partnerships Energise Africa and Africa GreenCo joined the Citizen’s Agenda for the SDGs launch event: a gathering of leaders with the aim to “create a working model by which each President, Prime Minister, Mayor, CEO, Dean or other leader commit to empower and support their citizens so that together they make the changes needed to accelerate solutions to the SDGs.” Both partnerships made valuable connections with the government and business leaders in attendance, whose investment goals were aligned with SDG-oriented projects.

Also at the launch, Lendahand CEO Koen The highlighted Energise Africa’s growing potential to increase investment in solar technologies in sub-Saharan Africa through the investment actions of individual citizens in UK and Netherlands.

 “Davos was an excellent way to kick off P4G’s second year,” remarked de Cruz after the week’s close. “Each P4G partnership in attendance was able to accelerate their partnerships in tangible ways both directly and indirectly.  We are so grateful for the support provided to P4G from a growing group of supporters like SAP who believe in our work and agenda and have so generously shared their networks, resources and skills to help progress our 2018 partnerships.”  

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NEWS RELEASE

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BOGOTÁ – OCTOBER 8 – Today, the government of Colombia and the P4G (Partnering for Green Growth and the Global Goals 2030) Initiative announced the launch of the Colombian P4G National Platform: a community of leaders in business, government and civil society that will provide guidance within the country to pursue a partnership-driven approach to advancing the SDGs.

The National Platform will make critical contributions to Colombia’s pursuit of a low-carbon economy. The country has committed to up to 30% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, a goal that requires coordinated action from leaders across sectors. Through the P4G National Platform, the Government of Colombia will have the opportunity to extend its network of innovators, thought leaders and investors aimed towards green growth solutions.

The launch, hosted by the Government of Colombia and the Danish Embassy, featured high-level presenters, including First Lady of the Government of Colombia María Juliana Ruiz Sandoval, who opened the event, Ambassador Mogens Pedersen of Denmark, Ambassador Jeroen Roodenburg of the Netherlands, National Planning Minister Luis Alberto Rodríguez, Minister Ricardo José Lozano of the Ministry for Environment and Sustainable Development, and Leila Surratt, P4G Head of Strategy and Engagement. Speakers discussed how P4G is helping Colombia promote sustainable transportation in line with the government’s recent launch of its National Strategy for Electric and Sustainable Mobility. Presenters also discussed P4G’s partnerships’ contributions in Colombia toward clean energy and building efficiency. More than 90 individuals from diverse sectors also attended.

“In my role as Goodwill Ambassador of SDG 17 in Colombia, it is an honor to witness the launch of the national P4G platform, an accelerating and financing initiative for green projects and solutions that allows us to make visible and support the alliances we make in our country in favor of Ecological sustainability” said Mrs. Ruiz.

The Minister of National Planning reiterated the entity's commitment to lead the P4G initiative and the National Government's commitment to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals.

“As Minister of National Planning, I consider important to reinforce the message that sustainable development is a responsibility of all the stakeholders of the society. Within the P4G initiative, the private sector is recognized as a key player for green growth”.

“We are honored to work with the Government of Colombia to launch the P4G National Platform in Colombia today,” said Surratt. “Together with our Colombian partners, we have already built a strong foundation for progress. From our five partnerships working towards key SDGs in Colombia to the leadership the First Lady recently demonstrated at our 2019 P4G Awards event, we are glad to share this vision for a more sustainable, inclusive future with our Colombian stakeholders. We look forward to advancing on work that has yet to be done.”

To qualify for P4G funding and acceleration support, partnerships must include public, private and civil society partners, be focused on projects in one or more developing countries, and offer a commercially viable solution in one or more of the sustainable development goals (SDGs) in food and agriculture, water, energy, cities and circular economy. P4G is currently accepting applications for 2020 partnerships.

P4G currently funds five partnerships in Colombia:

The Zero Emission Bus Rapid-deployment Accelerator works in Mexico City, Mexico, São Paulo, Brazil and Medellín, Colombia to increase their deployment of electric buses. ZEBRA expects to secure a public commitment from regional finance institutions to invest USD 1 billion in zero emission electric drive technology in Latin America by 2021. The partnership is also working to gain commitments from major bus and engine manufacturers to support EV growth through collaboration with cities on vehicle specifications, charging strategies, pilot projects, financing and other steps necessary for fleet-wide deployment of zero emission buses.

The Clean Energy Investment Accelerator (CEIA) expands clean energy access with multinational companies in developing markets, including in Colombia, Indonesia and Vietnam. Their approach focuses on three pillars for increasing clean energy access at scale: purchasers, pipeline and policies. Having received a second round of P4G funding in 2019, the partnership will expand its onsite and offsite renewable energy procurement models in Colombia.

Cities Climate Action Project supported by the Building Efficiency Accelerator works across an international network that includes Green Building Councils, city governments, businesses and NGOs to bring about transformational change in building practices. Ultimately, the project will provide cities with the tools they need to develop and implement energy-efficient building policies and programs to scale energy savings. Through P4G funding support, the initiative is scaling across Latin America, with special focus in Colombia and Mexico.

PlusPlus is designed to scale agri-food related small and mid-size businesses in developing countries that are considered too large for micro-credit and too small for mainstream banks. The partnership provides a solution and creates access to funding for this so-called “missing middle” by linking them to a crowd of investors. Ultimately, this partnership will boost the expansion of many scalable agri-food businesses, contributing to sustainable economic development and the fight against hunger and poverty in Colombia, Ghana, Indonesia, Kenya, Mexico, Zambia.

Electric Mobility Partnership for Colombia aims to bring green economy principles to this high-traffic, high-movement microeconomy by working with a leading Latin American airline to renewably power their fleet of El Dorado Airport ground vehicles. To achieve this goal, the partnership will track the amount of organic residue the airport produces, and how much of this can be used to power fleet vehicles. When completed, this partnership provides a model circular economy approach to a more sustainable transportation sector in Bogotá.

About P4G

P4G – Partnering for Green Growth and the Global Goals 2030 – is funding 20 public-private partnerships with projects in developing countries. P4G is a collaborative partnership among 12 partner countries: Bangladesh, Chile, Colombia, Denmark, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Kenya, Mexico, the Netherlands, the Republic of Korea, South Africa and Vietnam. P4G is funded by the governments of Denmark and the Netherlands and hosted at World Resources Institute. Other partner organizations include C40 Cities, Global Green Growth Institute, International Finance Corporation, World Economic Forum and the United Nations Global Compact.

About DNP

DNP – National Planning Department – is an Administrative Department that is part of the Executive Branch. Administrative departments are technical entities responsible for directing, coordinating a service and providing the Government with the appropriate information for decision-making. They have the same category of Ministries, but they have no legislative initiative. The DNP is an eminently technical entity that promotes the implementation of a strategic vision of the country in the social, economic and environmental fields, through the design, orientation and evaluation public policies, the management and allocation of public investment. As President of the SDG Commission, DNP is the leading entity for the implementation of the SDGs in Colombia.

About

Ian de Cruz of P4G explains how his organisation, which is funded by Denmark and the Netherlands, is bringing together governments, civil society and the private sector to catalyse game-changing projects to tackle climate change and the SDGs.

This article originally appeared in Ethical Corporation.

Cities, Zebra expects to secure a public commitment from regional finance institutions to invest $1bn in zero emission bus deployment in Latin America by 2021. In addition, Zebra will gain commitments from major bus manufacturers to support the growth of electric buses in Latin America through collaboration on vehicle specifications, charging strategies, pilot projects, financing and other steps necessary for fleet-wide deployment of zero emission buses.

Global Smart Green Logistics Innovation Partnership Together with P4G, Cainiao Smart Logistics Network Ltd (“Cainiao”), the logistics arm of Alibaba Group, the China Environmental Protection Foundation (CEPF) and Xiamen Municipal Government, will spearhead the growth of a green-packaging programme, zero packaging waste programme and electric vehicles delivery programme from the south-eastern Chinese city of Xiamen to other cities in China and globally as part of the Global Smart Green Logistics Innovation partnership. Cainiao Network, with a specially designated fund set up under CEPF, has devoted funding to promote green logistics for the long term. Cainiao rolled out the first green logistics city initiative in Xiamen, with a pilot programme started in late 2017. In Xiamen, a port city of 3.5 million people, Cainiao Network and CEPF are working with the Xiamen municipal government to set up more than 100 city-wide package recycling points by the end of 2018, where packaging waste is gathered, and sorted and processed for treatment and reuse. Cainiao also has begun deploying and promoting electric vehicles to deliver packages across the city.

P4G began accepting online applications for 2019 from partnerships with similar game-changing projects in developing countries demonstrated by the 2018 cohort. P4G will accept applications from qualified partnerships until February 15, 2019.  To learn more, visit the P4G website at p4gpartnerships.org.

Funded by the governments of Denmark and the Netherlands, P4G works in partnership with leaders in Chile, Colombia, Denmark Ethiopia, Kenya, Mexico, Netherlands, the Republic of Korea and Vietnam as well as partner organizations C40 Cities, Global Green Growth Institute, World Economic Forum and the World Resources Institute, which hosts the global P4G Hub. The initiative also cultivates projects that address sustainable development progress in five key areas: food and agriculture, water, energy, cities, and the circular economy.

While our journey is challenging, it is exciting to recognise the potential that emerges from the pairing of business imperative with political leadership. P4G looks forward to working with like-minded partners to drive the pace and scale of change needed to achieve a more sustainable and inclusive world.

About

10/20/18

Contacts:

P4G: Kate Danielsen, kate.danielsen@p4gpartnerships.org, +1 202 888 6443

Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Sarah Toftedal Vormsby, sarvor@um.dk, +45 61979272

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COURTALD COMMITMENT 2025 NAMED STATE-OF-THE-ART PARTNERSHIP OF THE YEAR AT P4G COPENHAGEN SUMMIT

 AT P4G COPENHAGEN SUMMIT – 20 October – There is a USD 26 trillion global opportunity in green growth according to the Global Commission on the Economy and Climate. As compared with business-as-usual, business from the angle of climate action could create over 65 million new low-carbon jobs, avoid over 700,000 premature deaths from air pollution, and generate USD 2.8 trillion in government revenues. However, surveys show that half of the business community believes that achieving a more sustainable world through the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and other commitments is a government responsibility. Meanwhile, governments know that they need the support from the public sector – both through innovation and finance – if ambitious SDG targets are to be met.

Public-private partnerships offer a solution – and avoid an impasse – to the successful pursuit of a more sustainable future. They allow governments to attract private sector engagement, intellectual capital and investments to accelerate deployment of new technologies and innovations. Businesses can benefit when governments share investment risks, ensuring political stability and local market expertise. Through partnerships, businesses, governments and civil society share the responsibility and the benefits of climate-oriented development.

At the P4G Copenhagen Summit on 19-20 October, 15 international State-of-the-Art public-private partnerships presented their partnerships and shared lessons learned with aspiring P4G partnerships. Summit participants chose five inspiring examples that received the 2018 P4G State-of-the-Art Partnership Award and the opportunity to make a pitch for the P4G State-of-the-Art Partnership of the Year Award. All State-of-the-Art partnerships were chosen by a team of global experts and international organizations working with Danish government ministries based on their performance in four main categories: innovation, impact, potential to scale and implementation viability.

The 15 State-of-the-Art partnerships were equally distributed across the five focus SDG areas of food and agriculture, clean water, renewable energy, healthy cities and the circular economy. On 19 October, one partnership per sector was awarded the 2018 State-of-the-Art Partnership Award based on their presentations in breakout sessions, including The Courtauld Commitment 2025, Strategic Water Partnerships Network (SWPN) in South Africa, The District Energy in Cities Initiative (DES), Global Industry Partnership on Soot-Free Clean Bus Fleets, and Next Wave Plastics. Later on 20 October, these five teams presented and discussed their partnership with a panel of industry experts and in front of more than 500 Summit participants. The panel of industry experts selected the preeminent 2018 State-of-the-Art Partnership of the Year Award. Her Royal Highness the Crown Princess of Denmark announced Courtauld Commitment 20205 as the winner of the P4G State-of-the-Art Partnership of the Year Award at the Summit award ceremony later in the afternoon.  

“Through their presentations at the P4G Summit, these state-of-the-art partnership award winners totally inspired and heartened the outlook for collaborative action on the world’s most pressing sustainability challenges,” said P4G Global Director Ian de Cruz. “We are so proud to recognize each sector winner as well as the partnership of the year so that these projects can help drive us forward – as a P4G family and as a network of do-ers.”

“I am delighted to win such a prestigious award for WRAP’s work on delivering high-impact partnerships. This is a model, I think, that could be widely adopted around the world to help deliver the UN Sustainable Development Goals cost-effectively” said Dr. Marcus Gover, CEO of WRAP.

The 2018 P4G State-of-the-Art Partnerships are as follows:

FOOD AND AGRICULTURE – WINNER, P4G STATE-OF-THE-ART PARTNERSHIP OF THE YEAR

• The Courtauld Commitment 2025: A partnership that has established a voluntary agreement about reducing food waste in the United Kingdom by 20 percent and reducing water use through the entire supply chain. The partnership is “State of the Art” as it builds on voluntary commitment as a way to achieve the SDGs and on the approach “target, measure, act.” The partnership is already a model case for other initiatives around the world, including one of the new P4G partnerships. ​

Partners: Nestlé, Arla Foods, Tesco, Heineken, Unilever, WWF, Lidl Stiftung & Co.

WATER

• Strategic Water Partnerships Network (SWPN) in South Africa: A platform where private, public and civil society organizations contribute to development and implementation of efficient and innovative solutions to water challenges in South Africa. Projects include Coca-Cola, which aims to improve its water efficiency in South Africa by 20 percent through the reuse of water in the production process

Partners: South African Ministry of Water, World Bank; IFC, World Economic Forum WEF, Coca-Cola, Anglo American, Sasol, Nestlé, Eskom and NEPAD Business Foundation​

ENERGY

• The District Energy in Cities Initiative (DES): Helping developing countries and cities accelerate their transition towards more climate friendly societies by promoting modern district heating and cooling systems. The initiative helped realize a USD 12 million project where a PPP was created to build a new heating corporation. DES collaborates with EESL (ESCO) to establish a USD 200 million revolving fund, which is to generate further investments worth USD 2.8 billion.​

Partners: UNEP, Danfoss, IDEA Partnership, International Energy Agency (IEA), World Resources Institute, C40 Cities, Danida

CITIES

• Global Industry Partnership on Soot-Free Clean Bus Fleets: Four of the world’s largest bus and engine manufacturers committed to make it easier for major cities to purchase buses equipped with low-emissions technologies to tackle climate change and toxic air pollution. ​BYD, Cummins, Scania and Volvo Buses will ensure ‘soot-free’ engine technology is available for purchase in 20 megacities beginning in 2018.

Partners: ICCT, UN Environment, Climate and Clean Air Coalition, C40 Cities, Cummins, Volvo Buses, BYD, Scania, Abidjan, Accra, Addis Ababa, Johannesburg, Lagos, Lima, Manila, Mexico City, Nairobi, Santiago, São Paulo and Sydney

CIRCULAR ECONOMY

• Next Wave Plastics: Shifting practices on the use of plastic in manufacturing and building upon the current engagement around collecting ocean plastic for use in products and packaging.

Partners: Dell, Interface, Herman Miller, Humanscale, General Motors, Bureo, Van de Sant, Trek Bicycles, New Materials Institute, The 5 Gyres Institute, The Story of Stuff, Gaia, governments of Chile, Indonesia, Denmark, Cameroon and Malaysia

ABOUT P4G

P4G – Partnering for Green Growth and the Global Goals 2030 – is a new initiative with the ambition of becoming the world’s leading forum for developing concrete public-private partnerships at scale to deliver on the SDGs and the Paris Climate Agreement. The government of Denmark is providing initial funding for P4G from 2018-2022. P4G partner countries include Chile, Colombia, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mexico, the Netherlands, Republic of Korea and Vietnam. P4G partner organizations include the Global Green Growth Institute, C40 Cities, World Economic Forum, and the World Resources Institute (which hosts the P4G Global Hub).

About

6 August 2019

Contact: Amanda Williamson, PR Manager, 01295 236643/07890 627365 or Amanda.williamson@wrap.org.uk

WRAP Global, the international arm of WRAP, the sustainability organisation, has been awarded $100,000 (c £82,200) to help tackle supply chain food loss and waste in Mexico – conservatively estimated at around 20 million tonnes every year.

The funding was awarded by P4G (Partnering for Green Growth and the Global Goals 2030). It will assist the development of Comprometido con la Comida – a public-private partnership involving WRAP, Walmart Mexico and World Business Council for Sustainable Development which will bring together organisations from along the food supply chain along with the Mexican government, to measure and reduce food loss and waste and recover surplus produce to sell or donate to those in need.

Last year WRAP Global was the recipient of separate funding from The Roddenberry Prize to develop a bespoke programme to tackle the specific problem of food waste in Mexico City.

In the just published Conceptual Framework for a National Strategy for Food Loss & Waste for Mexico, prepared for the Mexican Government, WRAP and the World Bank has brought together the data on food loss and waste in Mexico for the first time. The report suggests a conservative estimate of around 20 million tonnes of food lost or wasted in every year from farm gate to retail. This represents over 35% of total food produced in Mexico, and is worth US $25 billion, about 2.5% of the country’s GDP. At the same time 24 million people are food insecure and nine million live in extreme poverty in the country.

Claire Kneller, Head of Food at WRAP Global, said:

“We are delighted to have been awarded this funding from P4G, which will contribute to Mexico’s national strategy to reduce food loss and waste. The Comprometido con la Comida start-up partnership will complement existing efforts in Mexico and will help to reap the economic, social and environmental benefits of tackling food waste whilst ensuring that food also gets to those most in need.”

“The partnership is modelled on WRAP’s ground-breaking Courtauld Commitment which has successfully shown in the UK that we can work faster and more cost effectively when we work together to jointly solve challenges and to work across the supply chain to get to the root causes of food waste.”

P4G is an international forum which works with businesses, governments and civil society organisations around the world to develop public-private partnerships which can help accelerate progress towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Last year Courtauld Commitment 2025 was awarded P4G’s State-of-the-art Partnership of the Year.

The Mexico funding was among 13 public-private partnerships which received start-up funding for projects from P4G in five Sustainable Development Goal areas—food and agriculture, water, energy, cities and circular economy.

P4G Global Director Ian de Cruz said: “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.”

WRAP Global, the international arm of WRAP, the sustainability not-for-profit, works with governments, businesses and NGOs to create a world that is sustainable.

Its mission is to accelerate the move to a sustainable, resource-efficient economy through:

• Re-inventing how we design, produce and sell products through product and process innovation and supply chain collaboration.
• Rethinking how we use and consume products through consumer campaigns and enabling collaborative change by businesses.
• Re-defining what is possible through recycling and re-use through market and infrastructure development and improved collections.

About 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.

About

P4G aims to become the world’s leading forum for public-private partnerships driving the new climate economy. The Initiative’s network of national platforms, countries and organizations brings a diverse background of resources and expertise to this goal, underscoring P4G’s capacity to connect leaders and accelerate progress in the green economy. This month, P4G highlights State of Green: Denmark’s official green branding organization and the Initiative’s first national platform.

State of Green is a multi-stakeholder public-private partnership founded by the Danish Government and Denmark’s four leading business organizations: the Confederation of Danish Industry, the Danish Energy Association, the Danish Agriculture & Food Council and the Danish Wind Industry Association.

Denmark has been an international pioneer since the 1970s in pushing the green transition. By 2050, Denmark intends to become the first country in the world entirely independent of fossil fuels. Already, almost 60 percent of electricity consumed in Denmark is based on renewables.

“State of Green aims to usher Denmark towards this achievement and thus, into a position of global leadership in driving successful economic solutions for a greener, more sustainable world,” said Finn Mortensen, Executive Director of State of Green. “We are excited about being the national Danish P4G platform and facilitating collaboration between Danish public and private stakeholders and P4G partnerships around the world.”

P4G and State of Green share focus areas in the respective realms of food/agriculture, water, energy, healthy cities and the circular economy. “Crossover in these realms will open both partnerships to a wealth of resources and access to innovation; broadening the scope of P4G and State of Green’s individual and collaborative impacts,” Mortensen adds.

P4G’s collaboration with State of Green is an essential component to the Initiative’s global impact. State of Green has already connected several leading Danish companies and civil society organizations with partnerships applying for P4G funding and facilitation support. At the P4G Summit in Copenhagen in October, State of Green will showcase some of Denmark’s innovative technological solutions in the P4G sector areas, including by way of site visits for participants.

“State of Green is an ideal partner for P4G,” said Ian de Cruz, P4G global director. “They have extensive experience working with public-private partnerships and private sector companies who are global leaders in many key sectors, such as wind energy, food and water infrastructure.”

Cruz says State of Green will benefit from its role as a country platform by having greater access to governments and emerging markets who share Denmark and P4G’s ambitious intentions towards a sustainable future.

In partnership, P4G and State of Green will capitalize upon shared goals and networks to lead the global transition to a green growth economy.

About

P4G and WRAP UK recently connected over the value of public-private partnerships in the global approach to a more sustainable world, with a special focus on how WRAP is inciting positive change across both local and global food systems.

WRAP CEO Marcus Gover and Director Richard Swannell shared reflections on how winning the 2018 State-of-the-Art Partnership of the Year Award has propelled their growth enabled their sharing of expertise in pursuit of the UN Sustainable Development Goals in food and agriculture and circular economy.

WRAP, based in the United Kingdom,  works uniquely with governments, businesses to citizens towards the sustainable use of resourcesespecially in the food and drink, plastics, electronics, and textiles industries. WRAP is also the leading partner on the Courtauld Commitment 2025, winner of the 2018 P4G State-of-the-Art Partnership of the Year Award – a recognition of excellence for sustainable development partnerships boasting measurable success.

P4G: How has the Courtauld Commitment progressed since winning the 2018 P4G State-of-the-Art Partnership of the Year?

GOVER: As CEO of WRAP, I was, first of all, very honored to get the Partnership of the Year Award. To get that sort of recognition in front of such a prestigious audience, and such a significant group of countries pledging to work together – that was real recognition.

And now, I’ve been able to say this to many partners and really emphasize that, look, this award shows that Courtauld is the best in the world – you could be part of it. Let’s make it happen. I’m using the award to urge others along.

I think P4G is on a very important mission to achieve the global goals. And that’s what we’re all about, too – so we’re keen to continue working together, and helping each other achieve real impact.

P4G: Could you explain the value of the Courtauld Commitment – or in your own words, why it is considered State-of-the-Art?

SWANNELL: One of the critical things about the Courtauld Commitment is that it is trying to drive systemic change right across the food system and in line with the Sustainable Development Goals. One of the key things that came across in our discussions at the P4G Summit was how we’re creating a voluntary agreement with players across the food system all focusing on trying to get the UK on track towards delivering [sustainable development goal] 12.3. It brings everybody together: citizens, food business, manufacturers, hospitality and food service, and indeed farmers and suppliers – which is why Courtauld is part of the reason that the UK has so far reduced food waste by 19%, which is well on the way to the targeted 50% reduction.

Our mantra – target, measure, act – makes it easy to make a difference.

Target – so it is very clear where we’re going.

Measure – make it clear that everyone is measuring indicators in the same way at different stages in the supply chain, and therefore knows exactly what the causes of food waste are. Then each stakeholder can work with customers and suppliers to reduce that food waste.

And then we act on that information.

P4G: Building upon that multi-player approach – getting everybody involved – what are the benefits for the various stakeholders, especially businesses? Why are they so effective in their actions?

SWANNELL: One of the things that the partnership does is help businesses develop their “target, measure, act” approach. And to attract businesses to this model, we’ve done some research with World Resources Institute to quantify actual benefits. We looked right across the supply chain in 17 countries around the world and found that when you look at the costs of measurement of food loss and waste, and the benefits accrued, you get around $14 back for every $1 invested. This gives you an idea that this is a “no regrets” strategy in terms of investing business income. There’s a very clear business case for reducing food loss and waste.

P4G: Now that you have a high level of engagement, and have proven the benefits to your approach, what are the next steps for the Courtauld Commitment?

SWANNELL: As we’ve been working with this sector for a while, each next change is getting harder. Getting toward 50% reductions becomes increasingly difficult as we achieve the milestones and build up to it. We have to get more and more businesses to measure this as part of their normal operations and use their influence to get their suppliers and customers to act.

In this regard, one thing we’re trying to do, which has been really helped by P4G and the winning of this award, is to take this model and use it in other areas. For example, we’ve already moved into plastics, and launched the The UK Plastics Pact with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation. And we’re taking the approach of Courtauld to other countries within the EU. The Netherlands is already taking it up, and increasingly countries like Germany, Hungary, Denmark, and Sweden are all beginning to copy this model.

This is the sort of momentum we’re trying to achieve – and it has grown since our receipt of the Partnership of the Year Award.

P4G: What sorts of learnings might other public-private partnerships in earlier phases take from Courtauld’s success and growth?

SWANNELL: Well, that’s exactly what we’re trying to do. Our new guide “Building Partnerships, Driving Change” is focused particularly on food waste, but it lays out the steps you need to build voluntary agreements. Not only are we seeing countries in Europe beginning to think harder about this, but we’re seeing the EU promote this internationally, and we’re beginning to get interest in countries as far afield as Australia or Mexico – and of course from P4G’s Indonesia Food Loss and Waste Action Partnership.

The critical thing here is that partnerships can be used widely and effectively around the world. They’re not the only way to drive change, and of course they can be integrated with things like fiscal incentives and policy objectives, but it is fantastic how we can use the P4G network to build this impact and share best practices across public-private partnerships everywhere. How we can learn from each other, not only in plastics and food but in a lot of other initiatives, and how we’d like to share best practices.

Building on the back of the P4G Award – it gave additional credibility to our approach and allowed us to grow it to an international context. Given the international reach of P4G – the fact that it represents countries around the world – it has given public-private partnerships a sort of impetus that means it’s not just a European way of thinking about things. Partnerships actually can be adapted and used much more widely – really anywhere -- to deliver upon the sustainable development goals and global approaches to green growth.

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December 10, 2020 — P4G partnership Zero Emission Bus Rapid-deployment Accelerator announced commitments from top e-bus manufacturers and investors for innovative financing models to accelerate an e-bus transition in Latin America. The vast majority of commitments were made by Chinese manufacturers, and the ZEBRA partnership asked European and US manufacturers to join this electric mobility alliance as soon as possible.

Monica Araya, the transport lead for the UNFCCC COP26 Climate Champions, opened the event by sharing her support for ZEBRA’s achievements and expanded on the Race to Zero campaign. She stressed the importance of collaboration between cities, investors, manufacturers and fleets to achieve these ambitious goals at speed and scale. ZEBRA also garnered praise from Roberto Capuano, Director of Metrobus, for the partnership’s assistance in a new Mexican law eliminating tariffs on the import of electric motor vehicles.  

The event presented clear asks from manufacturers and a path forward for investors. Manufacturers pointed out that while they have the buses and the clients, the next step was getting credit guarantees from governments. During a discussion on investor risks, Asymetric Return Capital (ARC) representatives stepped in with the missive that the market is ready for this type of investment and innovative models like the ones they are working on can mitigate risk to encourage other investors to crowd in. Representatives from Mexico expressed a strong desire to make a shift to Mexican domestic e-bus manufacturing, while Chile discussed how to integrate the three distinct e-bus markets in the country to create a marketplace for reselling buses and batteries.

P4G Global Director Ian de Cruz delivered closing remarks for the session. He emphasized how market-based solutions like ZEBRA present a win-win for everyone in creating new jobs, access to new technology and more investment opportunities for impact. He spoke about the P4G Summit and COP26 as two major moments for the community to innovate together with P4G. He highlighted Latin America as the epicenter of this innovation and invited stakeholders in the e-bus transition to join P4G and deliver impact at speed and scale.  

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The Ethiopian government has launched a P4G national platform as part of its ambitious plan to achieve development through green growth. P4G (Partnering for Green Growth and the Global Goals 2030), supported by the Danish government, is a space for innovative partnerships with businesses, national and city leaders, financiers, and community development advocates to work towards solutions in support of sustainable and inclusive development.

Speaking at the launch, which took place on the sidelines of the Global Green Growth Conference, Ethiopia’s Minister of Environment, Dr. Gemeldo Dallen Tussie, said Ethiopia, like other countries affected by the changing climate, needs to forge coalitions with different players to build resilience and sustainable growth.

"Involving the private sector plays a very important role if we are to meet the national and international long-term targets. I believe private-public partnerships will be critical in meeting the sustainable development goals and my country remains committed to encouraging and also closely working with the private sector," said the minister.

October 18, 2017

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P4G’s Board of Directors and representatives from its national platforms and organizational partners met April 12 in Washington, DC, to discuss how best to support the initiative’s growth and continued success in 2019 and beyond. 

The board was updated on P4G’s annual meeting planned for September 22 in New York City on the sidelines of the UN Climate Action Summit 2019. On September 23, P4G expects to lead acceleration workshops for three to five of its 2018 partnerships and showcase its 2019 scale-up and state-of-the-art partnerships during an awards luncheon. In addition, P4G is hoping to participate in the UN Climate Action Summit’s Energy Transition track, which is led by Denmark and Ethiopia with support from Sustainable Energy for All, and the World Economic Forum’s Sustainable Development Impact Summit. The board also agreed to accept an additional four countries for membership to P4G in 2020. These countries will be announced in the coming months.

Ulla Tørnæs, Minister for Development Cooperation for Denmark, expressed enthusiasm for P4G’s progress and its potential to support sustainable development and growth through partnerships.

“We are pleased that the first P4G partnerships are now unfolding – partnerships that will help electrify rural Africa and replace diesel buses with clean alternatives in Latin America, to mention a few. These partnerships will show impacts on the ground and help us prove the concept of P4G,” she said.

Three board meeting attendees shared brief updates on the following P4G 2018 partnerships: Sustainable Special Economic Zones by Dr. Julius Muia, Principal Secretary of Planning, National Treasury and Planning of Kenya; Zero Emission Bus Rapid-deployment Accelerator by Rafael Puyana, Deputy General Director for Sectors, Colombia National Planning Department, and the Sustainable Food Platform by Peter Steen Mortensen, Senior Manager, Global Public Affairs, Novozymes. 

“Under Kenya’s Vision 2030, P4G is one of the instruments to achieve our national goals,” said Dr. Muia. “P4G is a framework to work a better way, bringing together the public and the private sector to advance green growth. This is happening already with the Sustainable Special Economic Zones being planned by this P4G partnership in Kenya.” 

In Colombia, Puyana reported that the city of Medellín will have 64 electric buses operating by the end of the year and  that it plans to convert its entire fleet to zero-emission buses by 2030. In Chile, Pablo Solar, political officer for the Chilean Embassy in Washington, noted that Santiago has deployed 200 electric buses—making it the largest deployment in Latin America. 

Novozymes has joined the Sustainable Food Platform in its work to create a locally-sourced, nutritious biscuit in Ethiopia. Mortensen reported that together with DanChurchAid, Technical University of Denmark and Ethiopian companies, the partnership is exploring biscuits made from locally-grown quinoa and chickpeas that can be mass produced in Ethiopia. 

New board member Karin Finkelston, IFC’s vice president, partnerships, communications and outreach, said P4G aligns well with IFC’s goals. “We need public-private partnerships to deliver on the UN SDGs. Organizations like ours want to fund projects that are fit for purpose and contribute to a more sustainable world.”