A SEED Initiative survey launched at the workshop shows that SEED winners bring about change through capacity training and skills development, together with the introduction of new and more environmentally-friendly technologies and production processes.
15 April 2011: The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) SEED Initiative convened a Green Economy symposium on 15 April, 2011, in Pretoria, South Africa. The symposium focused on ways to accelerate transition to a Green Economy in the developing world, and was attended by 200 participants, including 30 SEED Award recipients.
In order to understand how enterprises are delivering on social, environmental and business objectives, and ways in which policy makers can create an enabling environment for such enterprises, a baseline survey was undertaken among SEED Award recipients and applications. The results of the survey were included in a report titled “An Investigation into the Triple Bottom Line Performance of Micro and Small Social and Environmental Enterprise in Developing Countries.”
The report concludes that SEED winners bring about change through capacity training and skills development, together with the introduction of new and more environmentally-friendly technologies and production processes. Obstacles for the success of these enterprises include lack of access to funds and lack of skilled people at the community level. [UNEP Press Release]