From 6-7 June 2016, the Global Green Growth Forum (3GF) will host the 3GF 2016 Summit in Copenhagen, Denmark. The summit will convene leaders from corporations, governments and civil society from all over the world, with a focus on 'Enabling Green Growth Solutions at Speed and Scale'. In this special blog post, the GGKP interviews Greet Anderson, Head of the 3GF Secretariat, to learn more about this year’s 3GF Summit, including the importance of collaboration, partnerships and links to the Paris Climate Change Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG)s.
1. Why is collaboration between businesses, investors, organisations and public institutions so important to achieving inclusive green growth?
Collaboration between businesses, investors, organisations and public institutions is important because the world we’re dealing with is very complex, and so are the sustainable development challenges we face. We are facing challenges relating to the environment, technical capabilities, finance, governance and social justice. No single arm of the public or private sector can address these challenges alone at the speed and scale that is necessary; we need the know-how and combined strength of collective effort.
Experience has shown that collaboration is the best way to tap into the diverse strengths of different types of stakeholders; for example, the private sector tends to be more innovative and flexible and can complement what policymakers bring to the table. Working together across geographic and sector boundaries, we can identify the most pressing challenges, break down policy and investment barriers, and explore practical solutions.
There is a saying, “The whole is greater than the sum of the parts.” This reflects 3GF’s philosophy exactly: bringing together diverse partners on sustainable development issues is far more productive than having them work on solutions on their own.
2. One of the aims of this year's 3GF is to help deliver solutions and impact at speed and scale. What does this mean when it comes to delivering on the climate targets and the SDGs?
There is no time to waste when it comes to acting on climate and building a more inclusive green economy. Our goal at 3GF is to harness the momentum of the 2015 agreements on the SDGs and climate change, and turn promises into solutions that can be replicated, sped up and scaled to produce impact.
3GF accelerates inclusive green growth solutions a couple of ways. First, by sharing knowledge among our participants, who are influential leaders from business and public institutions. Second, by acting as a platform for public-private partnerships to form and develop technologies, practices, policies and business models that can have a significant impact. For example, the 2030 Water Resources Group (2030 WRG) was established because an international group of partners – that includes governments and development banks as well as the Coca Cola Company, Nestlé, PepsiCo, SABMiller and Unilever – identified that, by 2030, we could be facing a 40% gap between available renewable water supply and demand.
Another example is the Building Efficiency Accelerator (BEA) partnership, which is helping cities and sub-national governments speed up implementation of best-practice policies and efficiency projects in buildings. A number of mayors from around the world will speak about this project at this year’s 3GF Summit.
3. Collaborative partnerships are the cornerstone of 3GF's work. Could you provide an example of a scalable partnership solution for achieving green growth that was initiated through the 3GF platform?
Collaboration and partnership are definitely at the core of 3GF - more than 30 partnerships are being initiated or accelerated at this year’s summit alone. An example of a partnership that was initiated through the 3GF platform is the Food Loss and Waste Protocol (FLWP). At the 3GF 2012 Summit, the partners agreed that there was a pressing need for a solution to the challenge of food loss and waste. One-third of food for human consumption is lost or wasted each year, which has huge environmental impacts, as well as being incongruent with the millions of people who are undernourished. Over the last three years, the FLWP has undergone an extensive process to develop the first-ever global standard for measuring food loss and waste, which will be launched at the 3GF 2016 Summit in June.
Another scalable partnership solution initiated through 3GF is the Global Forest Watch partnership, which is developing a near real-time forest monitoring system that unites satellite technology, data sharing, and human networks around the world to address deforestation.
4. What do you consider the key challenges with respect to achieving long-term global, inclusive green growth? And what can the policy, research and business communities do to overcome these challenges?
Inequality and exclusion are genuine threats to sustainability. The world is becoming more and more unequal and the growth we do see is benefiting a relatively small number of people. The world is changing so quickly and it’s increasingly difficult for those lagging behind to catch up. If there is not a determined effort to change our system – to transform our model to one of inclusive green growth – our environmental and social challenges will become ever greater.
The policy, research and business communities can help to overcome these challenges by assisting 3GF to bridge the knowledge awareness gaps associated with sustainable development issues. Global awareness of sustainability issues has improved tremendously over the last five years, and we have the two agreements in place – the Paris Accord and the SDGs – but there is still a lot of work to be done in raising awareness in general and, particularly, in the private sector, which is an important driver.
5. The GGKP’s upcoming Annual Conference focuses on the theme of "Transforming Development Through Inclusive Green Growth". How does 3GF’s mission address the need to make green growth more inclusive?
Developing and supporting public-private partnerships is at the heart of our mission, and is how we ensure that no one is left behind. Businesses, investors, civil society organisations and public institutions work together on identifying challenges and solutions, which not only leads to better solutions but also ensures that we close the resource gap, particularly in developing countries. Collaboration is what fuels us and what will forge a more inclusive, sustainable future.