> Posted by Danielle Donza
Last night I saw a commercial advertising durable work boots that were lined with recycled plastic bottles. That is awesome, I thought, I love when green initiatives are also incredibly innovative.
Then, looking to get the creative, brainstorming juices flowing, I asked my boyfriend, “What else could we do to be more green?”
“You could take shorter showers,” he replied.
Whoa, hold on, that was not exactly the creativity I was hoping for, but a valid point nonetheless. Water is undoubtedly one of the most undervalued and (therefore?) wasted resources on the planet. Imagine how quick my showers would be if the price tag was ticking up like it does at the gas pump. And I applaud the efforts of Watercredit.org in working with microfinance institutions to meet the water and sanitation needs of clients in developing countries by offering WaterCredit loan products and lending models, and more.
Having recently returned from the Foromic in Costa Rica, I felt like there was a real buzz around green microfinance, perhaps influenced by Costa Rica’s goal to be the first carbon-neutral country by 2021. I was excited about a panel that provided more information on Mibanco’s PPP (people, planet, profit) Model in Peru, which emphasizes social, economic, and environmental performance.
I also know about trash pickers in India who maintain subsistence livelihoods recycling and trash, mainly out of necessity but still a green effort. I know many MFIs comply with the IFC’s exclusion list, educating their clients on the impacts of deforestation, and the harm that drift-net fishing and the use of explosives causes to the marine environment. And I know about the CFI’s Energy Links project, which catalyzed and helped build distribution networks to get tens of thousands of low-cost solar-powered LED lanterns to rural populations in Mali, Uganda, and Tanzania.
But now I’m asking you, microfinance community, “What else could we do to be more green?” Let’s dust off those thinking caps and really let the innovative juices flow. Let’s start brainstorming. Let’s encourage our clients to increasingly think: How could I make or save money while also saving the planet?
Image credit: Sproutecourse.org
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November 9, 2011 at 5:44 am
Alex Counts
Excellent post and call for ideas! Grameen Bank’s sister organization Grameen Shakti has done a great deal to promote a version of Grameen microfinance — they are financing and installing 1000 solar home systems PER DAY at this point. And doing it profitably! I am presenting a paper that looks at Shakti and other microfinance initiatives related to addressing energy poverty at the upcoming Microcredit Summit meeting in Valladolid, Spain. It will be part of a book published at the Summit available in English, Spanish and French.
December 2, 2011 at 7:51 am
sudhanshu
This indeed is a very interesting blog. Something similar to what Alex is trying to achieve, Humana People to People Microfinance is trying to achieve. We are collaborating with gram panchayat (the bottom most elected governing body in villages India) in Rajasthan in India and through them running a pilot project to test the viability of our microfinance product building the road side solar lights. Another effort to achieve a sustainable solar microfinance. Besides, we also delve upon the idea to support village level entrepreneur to establish solar charging stations (SCS) to serve a minimum of 30-50 lanterns in a village through our microfinance product.
December 5, 2011 at 2:17 pm
Danielle Donza
Thanks for the great comments. It is really exciting to hear about these incredible success stories! There seems to be tremendous potential to meet the increasing, and currently unmet, energy needs of large populations in a sustainable, scalable, and profitable way with solar energy. This is very encouraging and I look forward to tracking the progress of these efforts.
A few more notable green efforts are ACCION’s new operation in Brazil, which is focusing on providing credit and other financial services to promote economic development while protecting the rainforest environment, and Root Capital’s partnership with Green Mountain Coffee to improve the financial literacy and management skills of rural-based businesses in Latin America and Africa.
Are there any other green efforts out there? It would be great to hear about more success stories or new ideas!