Establishing a baseline for a longitudinal study
Heather Creech, Leslie Paas, UNEP and IISD, 2010. Book, 86 pages, copyright: UNEP
The SEED baseline study provides insights into how social and environmental enterprises can achieve their social, environmental and business objectives, and how policy makers can create a more enabling environment for such enterprises to thrive. According to the survey, these enterprises are bringing change through capacity training and skills development as well as the introduction of new and more environmentally-friendly technologies and production processes. A critical success factor is their ability to form and manage a diversity of relationships, from the community level to international market chains and aid agencies.
However, the survey also underlined that two of the biggest obstacles for the success of these enterprises are lack of access to funds for training and lack of skilled people at the community level. By tracking the progress of the enterprises as they grow, SEED seeks to understand what policy and decision-makers need to do to allow these enterprises to contribute to a greener economy in the developing world.
Access the book here.
About the International Institute for Sustainable Development
The world is challenged by a changing climate, biodiversity loss, abject poverty and environmental degradation. What can make a difference? Good ideas. Creativity. Passion. Innovation. The achievement of change.
IISD is in the business of promoting change towards sustainable development. As a policy research institute dedicated to effective communication of our findings, we engage decision-makers in government, business, NGOs and other sectors in the development and implementation of policies that are simultaneously beneficial to the global economy, the global environment and to social well-being.
In the pursuit of sustainable development, we promote open and effective international negotiation processes. And we believe fervently in the importance of building our own institutional capacity while helping our partner organizations in the developing world to excel.
Established in 1990, IISD is a Canadian-based not-for-profit organization with a diverse team of more than 150 people located in more than 30 countries. Through our dynamic portfolio of projects, we partner with more than 200 organizations throughout the world. To learn more about our history, please visit the IISD Timeline.
Click here to learn more about our project work and programs, which are guided by our strategic institutional directions. And please visit our IISD Linkages site to follow our coverage of international negotiations on environment and development.
IISD is registered as a charitable organization in Canada and has 501(c)(3) status in the United States. IISD receives core operating support from the Government of Canada, provided through the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and Environment Canada, and from the Province of Manitoba. The Institute receives project funding from numerous governments inside and outside Canada, United Nations agencies, foundations and the private sector.
