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Practical Action, Hystra and BoP Innovation Center are this week launching the Global Distributors Collective (GDC), which aims to help make life-changing products affordable and available to all. The initiative is being launched in partnership with funders including DFID and P4G.

Billions of people around the world do not have access to everyday products like solar lights, water filters and clean cookstoves, because reaching low income or vulnerable communities, often in remote, sparsely populated areas, is difficult and expensive.

Distribution businesses who serve these communities face a range of challenges: they operate in isolation within high-risk/low-infrastructure markets, with little capacity and no collective voice, and instead of learning from and leveraging one another they are continuously reinventing the wheel.

Through the GDC, Practical Action and its partners work to support these last mile distributors, and the underserved customers that they reach. This is done using collaborative, bottom-up and innovative approaches that support the sector as a whole.

The GDC’s focus will be on two pillars of activity:

• Testing collective ways to save distribution companies time and money, to accelerate the adoption of new business practices and to facilitate new business partnerships; and
• Building a collective voice for the last mile distribution sector and increasing transparency around what is currently an ‘invisible’ sector.

The GDC is developing and testing specific collective activities in East Africa, with the aim of expanding into other regions in future.

Last mile distribution companies are invited to sign up as members to access GDC’s support services and funding opportunities. To learn more about member benefits and sign up, visit the website at http://globaldistributorscollective.org/.

For more information, sign up to the GDC’s newsletter to receive updates on GDC activities, or contact GDC@practicalaction.org.uk to discuss partnership opportunities.

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At the World Economic Forum in Davos this month, a number of P4G Partnerships will have opportunities to discuss their projects with business and government leaders.  

On January 22, SAP and the Islamic Development Bank have invited P4G to present at a luncheon on “The Agenda for Partnerships to Achieve the SDGs: From smart cities to driving success in electric mobility and clean energy access.” P4G Global Director Ian de Cruz will provide an overview of P4G while the CEO of Africa GreenCo Ana Hajduka will share their plans to bring renewable energy to Zambia and other countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. P4G will also share details of the Zero Emission Bus Rapid-deployment Accelerator in Latin America. Project Everyone, a group of communications and campaign experts working to promote the Global Goals, is also supporting the event.

On January 23, P4G will be highlighted at the breakfast launch of the Citizens Agenda for Clean Air and all the Global Goals. Koen The, CEO of Lendahand, a social impact investing organization, will speak on behalf P4G’s Energise Africa partnership. They will be joining a small group of high-profile speakers committed to empowering and supporting a global citizens’ movement to act upon clean air and other human rights.

P4G’s Indonesia Food Loss and Waste Action Partnership will be featured at another Davos event, about which more information will soon be provided.

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 provides funding for P4G. Besides the partner countries, non-profit organizations such as the Global Green Growth Institute, C40 Cities, World Economic Forum, and the World Resources Institute (which hosts the P4G Global Hub) are also P4G partners.

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The International Finance Corporation (IFC) announced this month that it will join the Partnering for Green Growth and the Global Goals (P4G) Initiative as an Organizational Partner. In addition to their organizational alignment with P4G, IFC appointed Karin Finkelston, Vice President of Partnerships, Communications, and Outreach, to join the P4G Board of Directors. P4G and IFC are looking forward to working together on implementing and facilitating important partnerships throughout the developing world.

IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is considered the largest global development institution focused exclusively on supporting the private sector in developing countries. They work towards ending extreme poverty and promoting shared prosperity in every country by creating markets that promote opportunity for innovations addressing the biggest development challenges of our time. They are a leading mobilizer of third-party resources for projects around the globe, making this a particularly beneficial and globally advantageous partnership.

Karin Finkelston has unmatched involvement in development efforts and will prove a strategic member of P4G’s board of directors. Her experience includes leading IFC’s efforts to build strategic relationships with stakeholders, multilateral organizations, development institutions, civil society, foundations, and other key development partners to create markets and mobilize private sector investments in emerging markets. Finkelston leads IFC’s teams in Western Europe and Tokyo and oversees corporate communications and global engagement. She previously held leadership positions in investment and advisory business pursuits in Asia, which will provide significant insight into markets relevant to P4G’s existing global network.

“Collaboration with IFC will give P4G solid and extensive relationships throughout the developing world,” says Ian de Cruz, Global Director of P4G. “Working with expert professionals like Karin Finkelston who have robust involvement and understanding of partnerships in crucial sectors and countries will give P4G unparalleled development experience in our key working areas and will significantly benefit the mission and goals of our partnerships.”

P4G organizational partners are an essential part of bringing together business, government and civil society to facilitate our partnerships throughout the world. P4G’s other organizational partners include C40 Cities, Global Green Growth Institute,  World Economic Forum and World Resources Institute, which hosts the P4G Global Hub.

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COPENHAGEN – On day two of the P4G Copenhagen Summit, Prime Minister Mark Rutte of the Netherlands announced his country’s new five million Euro commitment to the P4G Initiative.

This funding contribution from the Netherlands will be used to further support the acceleration of innovative partnerships pursuing a more sustainable, inclusive future. It will also be a significant boost for supporting the development of new and existing P4G national platforms, which help incubate and implement these partnerships.

In September 2018 at the P4G Board Meeting in New York, the Netherlands became the ninth P4G partner country, joining Chile, Colombia, Denmark, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mexico, the Republic of Korea and Vietnam.

The swift transition from their joining of the initiative to their endorsement through funding sends a clear message about the early impact of P4G’s approach through partnerships as well as the Initiative’s potential to spur green growth action in the years to come.

“For the Netherlands, the P4G initiative – Partnering for Green Growth and the Global Goals -- isn’t only a deeply felt international responsibility,” began Prime Minister Rutte in his remarks at the Summit.

“It’s also a matter of enlightened self-interest. P4G means that we must act at national level and that we must act together.”

 On November 30, P4G will open its call for applications for partnerships in the 2019 funding period. The partnerships selected from this process will join 24 partnerships from the 2018 class that are already scaling green growth models in food and agriculture, energy, cities and the circular economy.

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JAKARTA –24 February 2020 – Today, Indonesia launches its P4G National Platform: a dedicated group of leaders led by the Bappenas (Ministry of National Development Planning/Bappenas) that will extend the breadth of P4G’s partnership-driven approach across the country.

Through the Indonesian P4G National Platform, the country will make further progress on delivering upon the national priorities, which include reducing inequality by balancing economic growth with social inclusion and environmental protection.

Indonesia has formally integrated sustainability objectives into the 2020-2024 National Medium-term Development Plan (RPJMN). The P4G National Platform will further support this and other sustainable development progress by identifying and accelerating innovative public-private partnerships in Indonesia and beyond, that enable progress on climate action.

Dr. Suharso Monoarfa, Minister of National Development Planning of Indonesia, said at the launch, “The world is embarking on a critical decade as we set out to reduce the impacts of climate change, which Indonesia is already feeling. Collaboration across sectors is the only headway to achieve our goals and ensure that our systems and communities endure and improve. We are excited to launch our P4G National Platform because we know it will play an integral role in our ongoing pursuit to enable and accelerate sustainable development in our country.”

Also in attendance was Danish Minister of Environment Lea Wermelin, who commented, “The growth of P4G across nations and regions only underscores the initiative’s core value of coming together to achieve sustainable progress. P4G’s strengthened presence in Indonesia through the Ministry of National Development Planning will allow Indonesia to connect with other P4G partner countries, including Denmark, to more significantly deliver on the global goals.”

Minister of the Environment of the Republic of Korea Cho Myung-Rae said, “In anticipation of the 2020 P4G Seoul Summit in June, the strengthening of Korea-Indonesia cooperation will provide better opportunity to identify and implement partnership projects that can improve the global landscape.”

Ian de Cruz, P4G Global Director, commented, “We are pleased to welcome Indonesia to the growing network of P4G National Platforms. Their engagement will most certainly enable a better perspective and increased potential for P4G partnerships in-country and around the world. Given Indonesia’s demonstrated progress on the SDGs already, their contributions to the P4G network of sustainability changemakers will be a valuable addition to the work P4G does.”

P4G currently accelerates five P4G Scale-Up Partnerships and two P4G Start-Up Partnerships in Indonesia: i) The Energy Efficiency Alliance for Industry which addresses key barriers to energy efficiency solutions uptake by combining demand aggregation, manufacturer engagement, access to finance, and policy alignment; ii) PlusPlus, the partnership that provides a solution and creates access to funding for agri-food related small and mid-size businesses in developing countries by linking them to a crowd of investors; iii) 3R Initiative which will create a new plastic recovery and recycling crediting mechanism and will provide an efficient and powerful means to drive new finance to projects and activities that reduce plastic in the environment; iv) Sustainable Sourcing at Scale which implements Verified Sourcing Areas (VSAs) allow certifications to encompass larger geographical areas and reduces costs for sustainable agriculture certification; v) Clean Energy Investment Accelerator that focuses on three pillars for mobilizing and increasing access to clean energy investment at scale: purchasers, pipeline, and policies; vi) Food Delivery Companies for SDG 12 which aims to develop a shared protocol for reducing the use of single-use plastics, which food delivery companies and their food and beverage partners can easily adopt within their operations; and vii) Indonesia Food Loss and Waste Partnership, the partnership that will build a cross-sector program to reduce food loss and waste in Indonesia by 50 percent by 2030.

ABOUT P4G

P4G – Partnering for Green Growth and the Global Goals 2030 – funds over 30 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.

Our PIC for P4G Indonesia are:

• Bappenas: Mayang Rahmi Novitasari / Ms., Planner: mayang.sari@bappenas.go.id
• P4G Secretariat: Kate Danielsen / Ms., Communications Specialist: kate.danielsen@p4gpartnerships.org

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The P4G engagement team, Leila Yim Surratt and Kyra Reumann-Moore, recently met with national and private sector leaders in both Mexico and Colombia to help promote the advancement of these countries’ respective P4G National Platforms, emphasize the second call for 2019 partnership applications, and continue facilitation of existing 2018 partnerships. Both trips proved how committed both the countries’ public and private sectors are in supporting the Sustainable Development Goals and implementing economic growth in P4G’s five core areas. 

Mexico:

The Mexican Secretariat of Foreign Affairs (SRE) and Ministry of Environment (SEMARNAT) were key facilitators in organizing dynamic and thoughtful workshops, with an aim to emphasize the ongoing call for 2019 partnership applications and propel Mexico’s national platform forward with several stakeholders, including the Mexican Ministry of Economy and the Danish Ambassador Lars Nielsen.

The new administration in Mexico, with their focus on sustainable cities and poverty alleviation, expressed the importance of partnerships like those facilitated by P4G, and welcomed the opportunity for many potential partnership applicants in Mexico.

“The P4G premises are in alignment with national priorities lines for the new Mexican Government in the environmental sector,” said Norma Munguia Aldaraca, Head of the SEMARNAT International Affairs Unit. “The Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources has a transversal mandate, and just like P4G, we will drive action in pursuit of important SDG targets -- especially on challenges regarding a more circular economy, healthier cities, and clean water. We are looking forward to working together with the P4G and key stakeholders in Mexico, from the government and non-governmental sectors, to build a strong foundation for our country’s participation at the P4G, including our national platform and fostering SDG's public-private partnerships”

Instrumental relationships and progress were also made in developing public-private economic growth in Mexico. “The connections we were able to make through P4G’s visit will most certainly help guide Mexico to the next phase of a more sustainable economy,” noted Gilberto Garcia Vazquez, the Director of Foreign Investment at the Ministry of Economy. “Most notably, our links to the ZEBRA scale-up partnership as well as WRAP UK, a partner on the State-of-the-Art Award-Winning partnership Courtauld Commitment 2025, will provide access to key innovations in electric bus deployment and zero waste – two of the world’s most pressing environmental challenges. We’re excited for Mexico to step forward as a world leader in green growth, and P4G has enabled us to move closer towards this goal.”

Colombia:

Significant progress was also made in developing Colombia’s national platform, especially due to the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in bringing together several diverse representatives including Danish Ambassador Pedersen, and delegates from ProColombia, Colombia DNP, C40 Cities, and three P4G partnerships: BEA, ZEBRA and CEIA.

“Entrepreneurship is at the core of our national approach to equality and sustainability,” remarked Carolina Diaz Acosta, Director of Economic and Social Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. “P4G’s emphasis on green growth and collaborative, innovative business models will be especially transformative in our progress on key development issues. We anticipate that with P4G’s help, our network will be able to help solidify the opportunity for local investment in our country and to attract interest in our innovations from abroad.”

The partnerships advanced their relationships throughout Colombia through these stakeholders-- an essential outcome of the trip.

The success of Mexico and Colombia’s national platforms provided strong models for the foundation for imminent P4G platforms in more countries, propelled key partnerships forward in their pursuit of the SDGs, and exemplified the power of partnerships for climate action and green growth.

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NEWS RELEASE

Contact: Frank Walter, Head of Communications, P4G | frank.walter@p4gpartnerships.org 

Ho Chi Minh City—8 May 2019—Vietnam has set a target of 100% clean water coverage to all of its urban areas by 2025. To achieve this target, the 79 municipal water supply companies in the country will need additional investments in infrastructure and technology to improve optimization.

One important area of focus is reducing non-revenue water in half by 2025—from 30% to 15%. Non-revenue water (NRW) is the difference between the amount of water that flows through distribution systems and the amount of water billed to customers. When water companies reduce NRW they have greater financial resources and lower operational costs. The World Bank estimates that commercial water losses in developing countries to represent US$ 2.6 billion annually.

A new study that examined the operations of four Vietnam water supply companies found that investing in pressure management technology provides enough savings in energy costs and water leakage over a five-year period that the investment could be made through conventional financing rather than requiring public financing, loans or international grants. Pressure management in a water distribution system reduces leak flows, pipe bursts and repair and maintenance costs, while also resulting in fewer customer complaints and service calls.

Funded by P4G, the Partnering for Green Growth and the Goal Goals 2030 initiative, the study was led by the Asia Society for Social Improvement and Sustainable Transformation (ASSIST) in partnership with the Vietnam Water Supply and Sewage Association (VWSA), Grundfos, a global water solutions company based in Denmark, and the Danish Investment Fund for Developing Countries (IFU). Vietnam is one of the nine partner countries that participate in P4G, a new global initiative that funds public-private partnerships with innovative solutions to drive sustainable development and green growth.

“This study demonstrated a market-based solution for water supply companies in Vietnam that if implemented widely would offer significant operational and financial benefits for many of the water supply companies in Vietnam,” said Aru David, ASSIST Global Director, Private Sector Partnership. “Given the below-market rate of water and low cost of electricity in Vietnam, we had expected that the payback on the pressure management would take longer and require financing through grants and loans. However, what we found is that in developing countries where water and electricity pricing are higher, the payback could be as fast as three years.”

The study assessed the potential water, energy and cost saving for four different water networks in Vietnam:

• Tri Phuong Water Plant, Bac Ninh’s Center for Clean Water and Environmental Sanitation;
• Quang Tri Town Pump Station, Quang Tri Water Supply Joint Stock Company;
• Quang Tri River Pump Station, Quang Tri Water Supply Joint Stock Company; and
• Ca Giang Water Plant, Binh Hiep Joint Stock Company.

With exception of Quang Tri River Pump Station, the study found the investment in pressure management technology would recover costs in a five-year period. This payback period enables conventional water savings finance to be viable for these utilities, rather than requiring additional concessional finance.

“The study in Vietnam has proven how sustainable water solutions can be financially attractive also in developing countries,” said Ask Møller-Nielsen, Senior Manager, Head of Group Public Affairs at Grundfos. “Non-revenue water is an enormous waste in most countries, and the partnership has shown that solutions that save valuable water for the local communities can be implemented as an attractive investment. This study is interesting for Vietnam but also an inspiration for other countries in the world. As a water company, it is important for us to be part of partnerships that make an environmental difference but with a benefit for all partners – public and private.”

The study notes that reducing NRW also often involves more costly investments in new piping and other infrastructure, which would require greater investment resources, such as from concessional sources of public financing, or public-private financing mechanisms known as blended financing.

“This partnership has created valuable knowledge that can guide investments to support the growth needs of Vietnam’s water sector. Additionally, this study sets the direction for other countries working on non-revenue water issues,” said Ian de Cruz, P4G Global Director. “If we are to accelerate progress on the Sustainable Development Goals, we need public-private partnerships to develop solutions that can lead to market investment as in the case of this project.”

The Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Vietnam Ministry of Planning and Investment launched their P4G National Platform in July 2018 at the National Conference on Sustainable Development, emphasizing Vietnam’s commitment to green growth. At the conference, Vietnam discussed the importance of advancing public-private partnerships and improving productivity and competition to affect sustainable growth. Vietnam currently hosts P4G partnerships that focus on improving investment in water infrastructure, promoting efficient energy consumption, and implementing circular economy principles in Vietnam’s booming manufacturing sector.  

About P4G

P4G – Partnering for Green Growth and the Global Goals 2030 – is currently funding and facilitating 24 public-private partnerships. These include projects to 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.

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México City —May 27, 2019— The Ministries of Economy, Foreign Affairs Environment and Natural Resources announced today their leadership in a crucial initiative at the forefront of green growth. The Ministries will host the Mexican national platform for P4G - Partnering for Green Growth and the Global Goals 2030 – a initiative funded by the Danish government that identifies and incubates the most innovative public-private partnerships to drive sustainable economic growth worldwide.

As a P4G national platform, the Government of Mexico seeks to establish itself as a leader of the green growth movement. The Ministries in collaboration with business leaders, local governments and sustainability professionals from across the country will help identify and support partnerships in Mexico that offer innovative sustainability solutions. Mexico recognizes P4G as a conclusive next step in uniting organizations, businesses and governments around the world in the pursuit of a sustainable future.

“P4G looks forward to working with the Mexican government, private and civil society sectors to champion innovative partnerships that can drive the new climate economy in Mexico,” said P4G Global Director, Ian de Cruz. “Mexico can play a leading role regionally in adopting clean transport such as electric buses, clean energy and improved building energy efficiency—all of which can create economic, environmental and health benefits for the country.”

To qualify for P4G 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. In 2018, P4G selected 24 partnerships to receive facilitation and/or funding support to advance their projects from nearly 450 applications from over 80 countries.

In addition to facilitation support, those partnerships selected as start-up finalists qualify for up to 100,000 USD in P4G funding while the scale-up finalists will compete for up to USD 1 million in funding.  In Mexico, P4G is funding two partnerships:

• The Zero Emission Bus Rapid-deployment Accelerator (ZEBRA) to increase the deployment of electric buses in Mexico City, São Paulo and other cities in Latin America.  Replacing diesel buses with electric buses leads to cleaner air and a reduction in carbon emissions that contribute to global warming.
• The Cities Climate Action Project supported by the Building Energy Efficiency Accelerator to support cities in Mexico with their energy efficiency policies and programs.  

P4G’s national platforms in partner countries bring together business, government and civil society organizations to collaborate on and help inform public-private partnerships that advance the SDGs. In addition to The Government of Mexico, other P4G partner countries include Chile, Colombia, Denmark, Kenya, Ethiopia, South Korea, The Netherlands and Vietnam. P4G also works with organizational partners C40 Cities, Global Green Growth Institute, International Finance Corporation, UN Global Compact, World Economic Forum and World Resources Institute, which also hosts the P4G Global Hub.

About P4G

Launched in 2017, 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.