Partnership Building

1. The Seed Initiative

Scaling up its activities since its launch in 2004, the SEED Initiative is making its awards component an annual event as of 2008. This inspiring initiative of UNEP, UNDP and the IUCN has now opened its call for submissions for SEED Awards 2008. The Award carries a special prize: instead of prize money, five Award Winners will receive a 12 month package of targeted support services, such as business development counseling, technical assistance, and using the SEED network to find new partners and access expertise. All finalists will receive support through capacity development activities or networking opportunities. The finalists will be announced at the 16th session of the UN Commission for Sustainable Development (CSD) in New York, May 2008. The deadline for submissions is 16 March. For more information go to www.seedinit.org.

Published in 2006, the first Seed Partnership Report, provides analysis of over seventy local level partnerships who participated in the first call and the five Seed Award winners who received support services during 2005 - 2006. The report describes the challenges local entrepreneurs face in experimenting with new financing and business planning models in their efforts to implement projects advancing world environment and development goals. The background to this is a pool of over 260 emerging partnerships who sent submissions for each of the first two calls of the Awards.

Download the Seed Initiative Partnership Report 2006 (PDF - 6.12 MB). A new Partnership Report will be published in 2008.

What is the Seed Initiative?

The Seed Initiative consists of three legs: (i) an award scheme that recognizes innovative and promising partnerships, (ii) a partnership support channel to provide targeted support and sevices to help awardeed set up their new partnerships and (iii) a research and learning channel to draw out policy lessons and relevant conclusions from the partnerships experiences.

Who is the Seed Initiative?

The Seed Initiative brings together a diverse group of partners that represents leaders in environment and development. The group draws on close involvement with the work of the United Nations on the Millennium Declaration Goals and the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation. The founding partners are:

• IUCN - The World Conservation Union
  
  
• United Nations Environment Programme
  
  
• United Nations Development Programme

Other collaborating groups include International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) and the Collective Leadership Institute (CLI). The Seed Initiative enjoys strong support from governments and the United Nations Global Compact. It was formally launched at simultaneous events the World Social Forum (Mumbai) in January 2004, and the World Economic Forum (Davos) also in January 2004.

Who can participate in the Seed Awards?

The Seed Awards will be given annually to new innovative partnerships that:

• at least involve three different stakeholder groups - such as community or church groups, local or international non-governmental organisations, small or global businesses, governments, labour unions, and others.
  
  
• relate to the tree pillars of sustainability: economic, environmental and social or have the potential to contribute to the Millenium Development Goals and/ or the outcomes of the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation.
  
  
• centres on a local initiative and display entrepreneurship in its broadest sense
  
  
• and has the following elements already in place:
  
  • a definition of partnership goals;
    
  • a governance structure; and
    
  • a work plan.

For more information see the Seed Initiative official website.

2. Business Award of the ICC in collaboration with UNEP

The 2002 Award

The 2002 Business Award for Sustainable Development Partnerships was presented at WSSD in Johannesburg on 31st August to the top-ten of the final thirty-two recipients, recognised for their "excellent contribution
to sustainable development".

Over 120 partnership nominations were received from nearly 37 countries for the 2002 Award. These involve businesses, industry sector associations, labour, non-governmental organisations, governments and international agencies and institutions. The focus of the award was on partnerships (multi-stakeholder) and sustainable development (all three pillars - being environment, social and economic).

For more information download the Award Brochure (PDF - 130 Kb).

The 2000 Award

The Millennium Business Award for Environmental Achievement was presented for the first time in May 2000 by the ICC in collaboration with UNEP. The aim of this award was to recognise the so-called "hidden gems" of corporate environmental management. Entries world-wide were received by ICC national committees, who selected two finalists for each country following agreed selection criteria. No type or size of companies were excluded from entering, but the international Selection Committee wished to recognise companies that are less well known on the international stage.

The award winners from the first round included a major Japanese electric power utility and a Peruvian brewer, an aluminium producer in Bahrain and a printer in southern England (press release - 5 Kb)

UNEP Executive Director Klaus Töpfer explained that "the [2000] award winners may not have achieved all the goals of environmental performance that UNEP desires, but that their managers and employees are showing the road to sustainable industrial development by implementing cleaner production and eco-efficiency in their operations".