A Model for Green Recovery - Moving towards
a Collaborative and Sustainable Future

As countries across the globe are battling the coronavirus pandemic, public support for action on building resilient economy is gathering momentum. The government and corporate actions are exploring new impetus to ‘build back better’. This means adopting practices that bring systemic transition in local economies that are just and have widespread social and environmental impact. Evidence shows that models of green recovery can boost economic growth, strengthen social cohesion and accelerate transition towards environmental sustainability. With a vision to leave no one behind in a post-COVID-19 future, it is important to strengthen solidarity among people and countries. The South-South Cooperation framework provides this opportunity. It integrates national well-being of people and countries of global south to development goals agreed internationally.

Development Alternatives Group (DA Group) has been implementing a mix of sustainability solutions that are being delivered collaboratively, through multi-stakeholder networks. DA’s model for greening economy hinges on interconnected components of transfer of inclusive and clean technology solutions, exchange of knowledge, and maximising influence through collaboration and alliances. The values created by these three components through inclusive entrepreneurship approach is helping DA to bring research to practice, connect large organisations to small enterprises, bridge gaps between technology and human abilities, and accelerate green innovations.

In case of the transfer of technology, DA is turning a mix of levers in the
ecosystem to make a new technology work. This involves:

• Local communities and civil society organisations (CSOs) to implement green solutions. The CSOs are trained and made anchors to support the ecosystem of enterprises post transfer;

• Local vendors and unions to create, sustain, and promote markets at local and regional levels; and

• Government agencies to support and promote sustainability initiatives at local and national levels.

Green technologies such as TARA EcoKiln, micro concrete roofing (MCR) tiles and limestone calcined clay cement (LC3) have been packaged and transferred to various countries in the global South, creating more than 470 enterprises, 55,000+ jobs, and mitigating 5.7 million tons of CO2 emissions.

DA’s process of knowledge transfer is an open-source sharing platform. Through platforms like Work4Progress, Systems Play and ILO Decent Jobs 4 Youth, DA…

• trains entrepreneurs and stakeholders of the enterprise ecosystem on proven technical, financial and marketing practices;

• shares learnings and experiences of implementation work with peers, social entrepreneurs, and policy advocates; and

• promotes interactions, and systems thinking on interconnected social and ecological issues.

These platforms are helping DA to co-create solutions, and ecosystems for
sustainable livelihoods, thereby creating sustainable livelihoods across 32 countries.

Lastly, the component of collaborations and alliances ensures impact of technology transfer and knowledge exchange is sustainable and exponential. Though platforms and strategic partnerships, DA:

• influences policy actions of local government agencies towards sustainable adoption of the solution; and

• directs flow of resources towards organisations that are working to sustain/accelerate the transition towards green economy.

As part of the Green Economic Coalition (GEC), Alliance of NGOs and CSOs
for South-South Cooperation (ANCSSC), Green Climate Fund (GCF) and
many more, DA’s policy and issue briefs, working papers etc. are influencing
 policy processes of countries around the greening of construction, agriculture,
tourism and small-medium enterprises sectors.

For last three decades, DA’s model of technology-led practice to policy is creating a win-win situation for local communities, innovators and promoters of green transition. The impact is deep and wide, bringing economic growth and resilience in underserved communities, scalability to the solutions of businesses, and fulfilling commitments of national governments.■
 

Aparajita A. Mathew
amathew@devalt.org
Mayank Nautiyal
mnautiyal@devalt.org