The Arab Forum for Environment and Development (AFED), in partnership with the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP),

Making a Transition to a Green Economy:Challenges and Opportunities

FINAL REPORT - August 4, 2009

Summary report of findings based on a series of workshops conducted in seven countries in preparation for an

Arab Green Economy Initiative

Prepared by

Bashar M. Zeitoon

Arab Forum for Environment and Development (AFED)

CONTENTS
Introduction                                                                   Workshop format                                                           Discussion                                                                       Conclusions and Next Steps                                               Appendix A: Arab Green Economy Initiative - AFED programs 
Appendix B: Workshop notes

Introduction

In preparation for launching an Arab Green Economy Initiative, the Arab Forum for Environment and Development (AFED), in partnership with the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), organized a series of workshops from May 8 to June 22, 2009, in seven Arab countries.  The workshops addressed the opportunities and challenges of navigating a transition to a green economy. 

Against the background of precarious and changing economic conditions, the workshops provided a public forum to discuss the form and nature of tomorrow's regional economies and the shape of investments that will be required.  To highlight the critical role of the private sector, the workshops addressed the business rationale for corporate environmental sustainability efforts and presented frameworks for incorporating environmental responsibility goals into business strategies.

Organization of the workshops has been possible using a unique partnership that brought together AFED, UNEP, and a dedicated group of AFED members acting as sponsors, which included Averda International (Lebanon), Alba (Bahrain), Kharafi National (Kuwait), Petrofac (Dubai/Sharjah, UAE), Alturki Group (Saudi Arabia), Aramex (Jordan), and Environment Agency Abu Dhabi (UAE).  The workshops brought together 315 executives representing leading private sector corporations, government agencies, civil society organizations, and academia.  The large, multi-sector turnout only highlights the priority placed on the economic, social, and environmental sustainability of the region under the shadow of a global economic recession. 

Participants represented industries from waste management, contracting, oil & gas, petrochemicals, banking, design, engineering & construction, tourism, heavy and light manufacturing, consulting, among others.  

The workshops included a mix of presentations, discussions, case studies, and group exercises, and concluded by forming steering committees representing participating bodies.  The national steering groups are entrusted with coordinating activities in the framework of an Arab Green Economy Initiative that will be undertaken by AFED in partnership with UNEP and in association with other regional partners.

Workshop Description

The content of the workshop was organized as follows:

1. State of our land, water and air: To set the context for the workshop, a summary report on the state of the region's land, water, and air environment and ecosystems was presented.  The summary of findings was based on the first comprehensive, independent report Arab Environment: Future Challenges, commissioned by AFED and published in November, 2008.
2. The Green Economy Initiative (GEI): "The GEI is a low-carbon, environmentally-friendly initiative designed to produce a roadmap for governments and other decision makers so that they can reshape and refocus financial markets and public spending towards areas such as clean technologies, renewable energies, and waste management, while sustainably using and preserving natural assets"[1] such as the planet's eco-systems (e.g., soils, forests, aquifers).  The GEI was launched by the Economics and Trade Branch of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) on October 22, 2008.  The workshop's presentation on the Green Economy Initiative was designed to make the economic case for investing in environmental assets "while providing policymakers and other stakeholders with information on the important role of the government in the march towards a green economy."[2]  

A March, 2009, UNEP green economy Policy Brief revealed that efficient buildings, renewable energy, sustainable transport, agriculture, and freshwater are particularly important targets for a green economy because of their significant impact on economic growth (GDP), employment, and environmental integrity.  The report argues "that environmental areas such as ecosystems, clean and efficient technology, renewable energy, chemicals and waste management, biodiversity based business, and sustainable cities, buildings, construction, and transport are the new engines for economic growth in the future.  Investing in these sectors can contribute to rapid economic recovery in the short term and sustained economic growth over the next few decades with positive contributions to decent job creation and poverty reduction."[3]

1. The business case for corporate environmental responsibility (CER): The starting point in this presentation focused on the definition of CER and a description of the different forms of CER and their logic.  Following a review of the business case for CER, the workshop invited participants to think beyond capturing the benefits of efficiency and recycling efforts and explore strategically new business models for delivering environmentally sustainable goods and services.
2. Case studies: Companies were invited to present case studies based on their own "green projects" implemented inside their organizations.  In total, 16 case studies were presented during the series of workshops representing water reclamation and reuse, energy conservation in office buildings, waste recycling, organic agriculture, reduction of air pollution emissions, and low carbon-intensity projects, among others.
3. Introducing the Arab Green Economy Initiative (AGEI): A primary objective of the workshops was to describe the motivations and lay the foundation for launching an Arab Green Economy Initiative.  By focusing on sustainable patterns of investment in labor-intensive sectors of the economy, the Arab Green Economy Initiative provides a compelling plan for addressing the region's endemic unemployment problems, economic diversification, environmental degradation, and food and water security threats.  This presentation concluded with a description of programs conceived by AFED and designed to form the backbone of an Arab Green Economy Initiative.  Detailed description of these programs is attached in appendix A.
4. Group exercise: Participants in each workshop were asked to reflect on two questions in order to foster a group discussion.  The input from each workshop was documented and notes can be found in appendix B.  The audience was asked to identify sectors of the economy that ought to be considered as green targets.  The second question invited participants to outline the enabling mechanisms and conditions that, in their view, are needed to green the identified sectors.

Workshop participants generously contributed to the discussion on green sectors and desired enabling conditions.  A discussion of the responses follows.

Discussion

Green sector analysis

In response to the first question, five sectors emerged as high priority green targets.  These 1^st tier sectors were consistently mentioned in at least 5 workshops.  1^st tier sectors share two characteristics: they have high environmental footprint and they are high on governments' and developers' target list for large-scale investment.  1^st tier sectors included transportation, waste management, design & construction & building, electric power generation, water, and tourism.  This identified group is consistent with those sectors deemed by UNEP's Green Economy Initiative to be particularly important targets in terms of their "greening credentials": they yield quick economic returns, generate high employment rates, and provide significant environmental benefits.

2^nd tier sectors emerged in a fewer number of workshops but are nonetheless considered highly vital to some economies.  Oil & gas as well as petro-chemicals were identified by workshop audiences in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Abu Dhabi as sectors that could benefit from a shift toward greener pathways.  The agricultural sector was identified as a green target in Lebanon, Jordan, and Abu Dhabi.  This may reflect the significance of agriculture to Lebanon's and Jordan's economies as well as the priority placed on food security by Abu Dhabi.

3^rd tier sectors included extraction & mining, health care, manufacturing, packaging, and fishing.  Although these sectors were identified less frequently relative to 1^st and 2^nd tier sectors, some of them (e.g., manufacturing and health care) are important green targets to any economy.

4^th tier sectors were each identified by one workshop only.  While some of them maybe unique to one country, some of the sectors in this group, for example banking, coastal management, and government procurement, deserve to be given higher priority by any economy.  A summary table of the identified sectors grouped into 4 tiers as prioritized by workshop participants follows.

Definitions:

1^st TIER: SECTORS COMMON AMONG MOST COUNTRIES (5-7)

2^nd TIER: SECTORS COMMON AMONG SOME COUNTRIES (3-4)

3^rd TIER: SECTORS COMMON TO TWO COUNTRIES

4^TH TIER: SECTORS UNIQUE TO ONE COUNTRY

Enabling Conditions

There was unanimity of voices in all workshops citing environmental legislation, regulatory mandates, enforcement of standards, market incentives, and education as key enabling conditions for making a transition to a green economy.  From the outset, there was much emphasis on the necessity to associate meaningful environmental regulations, for example factory emission standards, with credible enforcement measures to ensure compliance. 

In concert with legally mandated rules, there was also a widely held belief expressing the need for government agencies to use market mechanisms, price signals, and incentives to create the conditions for greener shifts in corporate and consumer behavior.  Some workshops provided concrete examples of the type of desired market mechanisms including placing a price on externalities and removing electricity, fuel, and water subsidies. 

Furthermore, there were suggestions imploring governments to consider public policies that would offer incentives that favor the adoption of environmentally clean technologies, renewable sources of energy, clean vehicles, recycling, and transparency in disclosing environmental performance.  Land use patterns and urban policies were mentioned as an important lever in government hands to create the conditions for sustainable cities.

One salient theme emerging from the workshops articulated the need for education and awareness campaigns targeting government public officials and media organizations.  There was a strong belief that education is a pre-condition for a transition toward a green economy.  One comment went as far as suggesting the need to cultivate "a culture of sustainability" inside organizations.

The significance of environmental information received considerable attention at a number of workshops.  The discussion on "information" veered in multiple directions: the measurement of environmental indicators; data collection; the availability, accessibility, and credibility of environmental data; the disclosure of environmental performance; the need for transparency and improved governance; and the availability of information tools.  It was commented that the availability of information tools is a key enabler for the functioning of market-based mechanisms, eco-labeling, and benchmarking.  Participants have also stressed the need for training and capacity building for data measurement, collection, monitoring, analysis, and reporting.  It was believed that developing an information infrastructure is a prerequisite for building knowledge and for enhancing the capacity to use knowledge for environmental sustainability.

The following enabling conditions were brought up in at least two workshops and therefore, they deserve to be mentioned:

1.      Centralizing and greening of government procurement/spending

2.      Adopting an all-inclusive stakeholder engagement process

3.      Re-prioritization of national economic planning/agenda to make it more aligned with a green economy agenda

4.      Institutionalization of environmental impact assessment (EIA) studies for strategic projects or the adoption of environmental strategic assessments

5.      Setting up public-private partnerships for clean technology transfer

6.      Capacity building

a.       Financial resources

b.      Technical expertise

c.       Human resource capital

d.      Training of workers for jobs in renewable energy

7.      Emphasizing development plans reflecting local cultural heritage and adapting environmental technologies and practices (e.g., LEED certification) to local contextual conditions

8.      Federalization of policies (in the UAE)

9.      Harmonization of regulatory policies within the Gulf Cooperation Council

10.  Regional integration/cooperation/harmonization in policies and practices

11.  Active participation in international environmental conventions

12.  Supporting bottom-up change, civil society empowerment, and democratization

13.  Adopting corporate ethical pledges and facilitating commitments to them

14.  Leadership development

15.  Political will

The issues that were raised at the workshops resonated remarkably with the elements of the proposed Green Economy Initiative.  In the March 2009, Policy Brief, UNEP outlined domestic policy reforms to enable the success of green investments within domestic economies.  "Among the changes that need to be given the most urgent attention", according to the Policy Brief, "are reform of perverse subsidies, provision of right incentives, land use and urban policy reforms, integrated management of freshwater, and strengthening environmental legislation."[4]

Questions were raised at the workshops about assistance to small and medium enterprises (SME), the development and transfer of clean technologies, and about tools to help decision makers evaluate the value of ecosystem services.  Indeed, UNEP's call for a re-articulation of an international policy architecture "puts emphasis on action in the areas of international trade, international aid, a global carbon market, global markets for ecosystem services, development and transfer of technology, and international coordination for a Global Green New Deal (GGND)."[5]

Conclusions and Next Steps

1.      The workshops have achieved one of their primary objectives: to begin national and regional conversations about the motivations for navigating a transition to a green economy.  We intend to build on these conversations with concrete efforts to lay the foundation for launching a regional Arab Green Economy Initiative (AGEI).  We describe below these concrete steps that, in our view, will permit AGEI processes to take shape.

2.      Steering committees representing workshop participating bodies have been formed in 7 regional cities/countries.  The national steering groups are entrusted with coordinating activities in the framework of an Arab Green Economy Initiative that will be undertaken by AFED (see appendix A) in partnership with UNEP and in association with other regional partners.  As a first task, the steering committees have been asked to contribute to the making of this report by soliciting their input and incorporating their feedback into the report.

3.      In cooperation with the steering committees, AFED will initiate a project to document the achievements of regional green projects.  Organizations from the private, public, and civil society sector will be invited to provide descriptions of green projects undertaken inside their organizations.  To keep a record of these case studies, a documentary video will be produced and used as an education tool and for dissemination of best practices.

4.      The Arab Forum for Environment and Development will organize a green economy special plenary panel discussion as well as breakaway sessions at the AFED Second Annual Conference, which will take place in Beirut, Lebanon, on November 19-20, 2009.  Selected members of the steering committees will be invited to the conference to present case studies and workshop recommendations.

5.      The steering committees will be asked over the next few months to hold discussions in order to begin to define, in consultation with AFED, how best to contribute to the Arab Green Economy Initiative and how best to mobilize and leverage their own networks to generate more support for the initiative.  We plan to conclude these discussions by preparing collectively a plan for action in time for release at the AFED Second Annual Conference.  One proposed initiative is creating an Arab Companies Green Index, in association with a regional player, to track, rate, and rank the environmental (sustainability) performance of leading Arab public companies.  The steering committees may have a role to play in promoting the index within their sphere of influence.  Another potential mission for the steering committees is to create a regional network for nurturing and supporting young environmental leaders.

Appendix A

The Arab Green Economy Initiative (AGEI) - an AFED proposal

Introduction

The political economies of the Arab world today face a number of challenges and a choice of two futures.  The challenges facing the region include an economic downturn, vulnerability to boom and bust cycles, high unemployment rates, unsustainable development patterns, future water and food security risks, and vulnerabilities to climate change for which the region is completely unprepared.

In light of these challenges, Arab societies face two futures:

1.      Wait out the current world recession for as many years as it might take, and follow business as usual.  This scenario will be marked by national incomes that will continue to rely on hydrocarbon exports directly or indirectly.  Arab economies will be subject again to oil price volatilities and future shocks in world economic and financial systems.  In this scenario, Arab governments will have to contend with about 70 million unemployed over the next 10 years.  Another source of social instability might result from potential food and water security crises.  In addition, continued degradation to air, water, and land will impede environmentally sustainable human development.  The region will be hard pressed to make adaptation to climate change vulnerabilities a priority on Arab governments' agendas.

2.      Re-direct Arab energies and vast resources to making a transition to a green economy based on value-adding sustainability offerings that converts the region's extractive commodity assets into highly differentiated green products and services.  This future is one that entails environmentally sustainable patterns to economic and social development.  A green economy strategy is ideal for promoting income diversification, productive employment, and poverty reduction.  In this scenario, value creation will be based on investments in the region's environmental infrastructure as well as in green pathways for investing in 21^st century economic infrastructure:

a.       Ecosystems (e.g., eco-tourism; protected areas)

b.      Energy efficient buildings

c.       Chemical and waste management and mitigation technologies

d.      Sustainable management of water resources 

e.       Renewable energy (e.g., solar; wind; geothermal; sustainable biomass)

f.        Sustainable agriculture and fisheries

g.       Sustainable transport

h.      Green cities and smart urban design

We believe that a key building block will be creating public-private partnerships.  AFED plans to engage all sectors by offering facilitation, capacity building, and technical assistance to enable these partnerships become a driver for the green economy.  Specifically, AFED will launch the following programs as a backbone for an Arab Green Economy Initiative:

1. Economics of Eco-system Investing: AFED will work in partnership with UNEP to demonstrate the economic value of our fisheries, soils, land, water, and biodiversity, and provide policy makers with tools they need to incorporate the true value of ecosystem services into their decision-making processes.   This effort is necessary to enable us to communicate to businesses and governments a compelling economic case for investing in environmental assets (ecosystem services) as a source for economic value-creation.  In addition, these investments have social and political objectives.  They will help alleviate poverty and ensure a secure food and water future.
2. Arab Green Enterprises: AFED will work with UNEP to analyze the investments made by existing green enterprises in the Arab region and estimate their effects on generating green jobs and restoring biodiversity.  Case studies on compelling green initiatives will be documented and widely disseminated with various audiences to demonstrate that pathways to a green economy transition are no longer theoretical. 
3. Public Policy Recommendations: AFED will work with UNEP to provide guidance to policymakers for greening their national economies by articulating the range of government public policies, price signals, and market incentives that will be needed to shift consumer and business behavior.
4. Corporate Environmental Responsibility (CER): AFED will manage a corporate partnership program to assist businesses navigate a transition to green enterprises.  The partnership will assist corporations introduce the principles of clean production, pollution prevention, and resource conservation to business operations.  The CER program will organize a number of workshops to present methods, tools, processes, and case studies for planning and implementing CER projects.  These programs will be designed with an eye on assisting small and medium size enterprises (SME).
5.  Sustainability Reporting: AFED will organize a number of workshops to assist corporate partners develop capabilities for disclosing their sustainability performance.  The workshops will present the reporting framework developed by the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), including guidelines for preparing sustainability reports.  Other workshops will present methodologies and protocols for selecting, measuring, and monitoring relevant environmental indicators.
6. New Business Models and Sustainability: We are cognizant that as necessary and important as they are, efficiency measures alone will get us part of the way.  Therefore, our partnership program will organize workshops to strategically explore new business models for delivering environmentally sustainable goods and services.  The new business models will be based on opportunities created by the sustainability challenges facing the region such as the strategic management of waste, water resources, real estate development, tourism, fisheries, oil & gas resources, chemicals, etc.
7. Product Stewardship Workshops: AFED will facilitate product stewardship stakeholder workshops that bring together government agencies and businesses.  The purpose is to create the conditions for source reduction, re-use, and recycling of waste.  The stakeholder meetings will design and promote policies, practices, and incentives for taking a stewardship approach to products from electronics, lights, mercury products, packaging, paint, pesticides, fertilizers, pharmaceuticals, carpets, paper, to tires, etc.  This will create green pathways to waste management and product design and should help unleash green entrepreneurial projects and jobs.
8. Environmental Housekeeping Handbook: AFED will produce a practical guide for conducting environmental energy and water audits for large office buildings and warehouses.  The purpose of the audit would be to identify and prioritize cost-effective investments that result in energy savings for building owners or leaseholders and to develop a plan to fund and implement these projects.  These investments normally pay for themselves through reduced operating costs.  A large scale audit program will stimulate a green market for materials, labor, and products such as labeled high efficiency systems for cooling, heating, lighting, office equipment, ventilation, and water heating.
9. Web-based Consumer Education: AFED will use Internet online technologies to enable consumers and institutional buyers make green purchasing decisions.   We will design a web site for communicating advice for those who want to reduce their environmental footprint.  Website content may include tips for recycling, driving efficiently, saving energy at home and in the office, learning about carbon offsets, using solar thermal for water heating, and selecting fuel-efficient vehicles.

Appendix B

Workshop Discussion Notes

By country

AFED Workshop in Beirut, Lebanon

May 8, 2009

Sectors identified for greening:

1.      Transport (goods and people)

2.      Agriculture

3.      Tourism

Enabling conditions:

1.      Need environmental regulations, compliance, and enforcement

2.      Need market-based incentives in concert with legal standards

3.      Green public procurement

4.      Use language appropriate to target audience (Trade, agriculture, etc)

5.      Training of workers for jobs in renewable energy

6.      Put a price on externalities

7.      Remove market distortions

8.      Need transparency and accountability

9.      Use praise & shaming

10.  Include all stakeholders - be inclusive

11.  Education targeting public/government officials

12.  Need to promote a sustainability culture

13.  Include in formal education: schools and colleges

AFED Workshop in Manama, Bahrain

May 24, 2009

Sectors and enabling conditions:

1.      Transport (goods and people)

a.       Set car emission standards

b.      Offer market incentives for cleaner vehicles

c.       Use education to change driving habits and patterns (car pooling)

d.      Better enforcement of standards

e.       Encourage mass transport

f.        Use urban policy to reduce traffic and miles-driven

2.      Power generation  & water (utilities)

a.       Use price signals

b.      Remove subsidies

c.       Offer incentives for renewable energy

3.      Beverages

a.       Offer refunds for empty bottles, cans

4.      Municipal waste management

a.       Encourage composting

b.      Educational campaigns to reduce waste

c.       Provide incentives for recycling infrastructure

5.      Design & construction

a.       Use penalties and incentives

b.      Enact legislation to force developers to provide green urban spaces

AFED Workshop in Kuwait

May 27, 2009

Sectors identified for greening:

1.      Urbanization

2.      Coastal management

3.      Transport (goods and people)

4.      Design, architecture, and construction

5.      Waste management (municipal, industrial, medical)

6.      Utilities (power and water)

7.      Hospitality services (hotels, conventions, restaurant, travel)

8.      Fisheries (farming)

9.      Oil

10.  Packaging (incorporated in trade sector)

11.  End-of-life vehicles

Enabling conditions:

1.      Transport standards and regulations

2.      Market pricing for water and electricity (utilities)

3.      Need for Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) studies for strategic projects

4.      Market incentives:

a.       For clean, less polluting, vehicles

b.      For mass transit transport

c.       For recycling

d.      For environmental research & development (R&D)

5.      Active participation in international environmental Conventions

6.      Regional integration/cooperation/harmonization in policies and practices

7.      Re-prioritization of economic planning/agenda

8.      Changes in governmental and corporate governance

9.      Public awareness campaigns

10.  Better regulations for health, safety, and environment management systems

11.  Availability of and incentives for adopting environmental technologies

12.  Reward system/recognition for corporate environmental R&D

13.  Setting up public-private partnerships

14.  Better capacity to use knowledge

15.  Education targeting government public officials

16.  Educational campaigns in and by media

17.  Leadership development

18.  Strengthened/enhanced resources for enforcing government regulations

19.  Imposing and collecting penalties (part of enforcement)

20.  Need for training and capacity building for data measurement, collection, monitoring, analysis, and reporting, etc

21.  Need for building knowledge (see above)

22.  Communicating data

23.  Need for transparency

AFED Workshop in Dubai/Sharjah

June 2, 2009

Sectors identified for greening:

1.      Transport (goods and people)

2.      Design, architecture, and construction

3.      Waste management (municipal, industrial, medical)

4.      Utilities (power and water)

5.      Tourism & Hospitality services (hotels, conventions, restaurant, travel)

6.      Fisheries

7.      Manufacturing

8.      Health care

9.      Water

a.       Drinking

b.      Irrigation

c.       Wastewater

d.      Industrial

10.  Marine shipping

Enabling conditions:

1.      Regulatory standards & enforcement

2.      Market incentives

a.       Removing subsidies

b.      Imposing penalties

3.      Capacity building

e.       Financial resources

f.        Human resource capital

g.       Technical expertise

4.      Political will

5.      Education and awareness

6.      Corporate R&D

7.      Environmental R&D

8.      Civil society empowerment (democratization)

9.      Urban planning (rules, policies, zoning)

10.  Emphasizing development plans reflecting local cultural heritage

11.  Federalization of policies

12.  GCC policy and regulatory harmonization

13.  Mandating ISO standards and processes

AFED Workshop in Dammam

June 6, 2009

Sectors identified for greening:

1.      Transport (goods and people)

2.      Construction & Building (design and materials)

3.      Waste management (municipal, industrial, medical)

4.      Utilities (electricity and water)

5.      Tourism & Hospitality services (hotels, conventions, restaurant, travel)

6.      Petro-chemicals (energy and water use, waste)

7.      Oil & Gas

8.      Mining (Copper, gold, phosphate, iron)

9.      Quarries (limestone)

10.  Packaging

11.  Tannery (Cr)

Enabling conditions:

1.      Government legislation & enforcement

2.      Market incentives (to reward behavior)

3.      Education and awareness

4.      Incentives for corporate R&D

5.      Partnerships for technology transfer

6.      Incentives for disclosing information (transparency) and information tools

7.      Incentives for information tools that enable market mechanisms

8.      Eco-labeling

9.      Benchmarking

AFED Workshop in Amman

June 14, 2009

Sectors identified for greening:

1.      Design & Construction & Building

2.      Extractive & mining

3.      Government spending/procurement

4.      Services sector (hospitality, restaurants, hospitals)

5.      Waste management (municipal, industrial, medical)

6.      Agriculture

7.      Financial & banking

8.      Water

Enabling conditions:

1.      Incentives and penalties

2.      Establish infrastructure for and encourage waste separation

3.      Encourage bottom-up change

4.      Education and awareness for

a.       Public officials

b.      Media

5.      Get universities and colleges, and think tanks involved

6.      Institutionalize Environmental Strategic Assessments

7.      Alignment of green economy agenda with national economic agenda

AFED Workshop in Abu Dhabi

June 22, 2009

Sectors identified for greening:

1.      Transport (goods and people)

2.      Construction & Building (design and materials)

3.      Solid waste management

4.      Wastewater management

5.      Utilities (electricity and water)

6.      Petro-chemicals

7.      Oil & Gas

8.      Agriculture

9.      Real estate development

10.  Retail

11.  Health care

12.  Cement manufacturing

13.  Aluminum manufacturing

14.  Food import

Enabling conditions:

1.      Government legislation & enforcement

2.      Market incentives (to reward behavior)

3.      Price structure

4.      Education and awareness

5.      Incentives for corporate R&D

6.      Dissemination of information on clean technology

7.      Incentives for disclosing information (transparency) and information (improving governance)

8.      Incentives for reporting (and measuring) environmental indicators and consumables

9.      Linking compensation of employees to achieving sustainability goals

10.  Stakeholder engagement

11.  Centralizing and greening government procurement

12.  Adaptation of environmental technologies and practices to local contextual conditions

13.  Voluntary partnerships and commitments

14.  Ethical pledges with facilitation

[1] United Nations Environment Program

[2] http://www.unep.org/greeneconomy/index2.asp?id=ger

[3] http://www.unep.org/greeneconomy/index2.asp?id=ger

[4] Global Green New Deal - Policy Brief. UNEP, March 2009

[5] Global Green New Deal - Policy Brief. UNEP, March 2009