Many private sector development programmes aim to achieve economic as well as environmental goals, including the mitigation of, and adaptation to, climate change, the reduction of pollutants, and a reversal of biodiversity loss and water scarcity. Meeting these needs can also be an opportunity for businesses in the developing world.
This page compiles key resources on green growth that are relevant to private sector development practitioners. For a broader collection of green growth resources, see the Green Growth Knowledge Platform.
At a glance: Short reads on Green Growth![]()
- Synthesis Note: Private Sector Adaptation to Climate Change and Development Agency Support, DCED, 2016 . Explores the role of the private sector in adaptation, and how development agencies are providing support.
- Green Economy. Why, what and how? Information brief, Sida, 2017: Four-page note explaining why a green economy is needed, what it is, how it can be done, and what a donor agency like Sida can do, to promote it.
- Green tool box: Dialogue and assessment tool, Sida, 2017: Four-page note providing ideas for questions that can be used in dialogue with partners about integrating environment and climate change perspectives in employment, market development and trade initiatives.
- Fact sheets on key avenues of Green Growth: Economic Policy for Green Growth, Green Growth: Risks and Opportunities for Trade and Investment, Green Industries for Green Growth, and Green Value Chains to Promote Green Growth. Three-page fact sheets, developed by the DCED under the auspices of GIZ in 2012, introducing different green growth approaches and illustrate relevant development agency activities.
DCED publications
- Gender-Responsive Green Growth Guidance Sheets: A series outlining the state of the art and current examples, with 1-page Summary, all by Katherine Miles for DCED, 2019:
- Supporting Green Growth in Fragile and Conflict-affected Settings, Technopolis – DCED, 2019. This scoping study explores how inclusive and green growth can be supported in fragile and conflict-affected contexts.
- The search for synergy: Business Environment Reform and Green Growth – A practical guide for policy practitioners, DCED, 2017. Identifies practical steps for programmes to leverage synergies and avoid or mitigate trade-offs between business environment reform and green growth approaches.You can view a presentation on the study here. The following case studies complement the report:
- Macroeconomic reform in Vietnam on ecological and inclusive growth
- Payments for Ecosystem Services in Costa Rica
- Business climate and competitiveness enhancement support provided by the Compete Caribbean Programme
- The “Eco-Agricultural Business for the Adaptation to Changes in Climate” project in Cameroon
- The Zambia Green Jobs Programme
- WWF Market Transformation Initiative (Cotton)
- Green Commodities Programme in Indonesia
- The OECD and DCED Green Growth Working Group co-organised a workshop ‘Engaging the Private Sector for Green Growth and Climate Change‘ in March 2016.
- Green Growth and Private Sector Development: Stocktaking of DCED Experiences, 2014. This stock-take is based on 120 intervention examples and reviews agencies’ diverse approaches to promote green growth.
- Policy Measures to Support Inclusive and Green Business Models, DCED and UN Global Compact, 2013. Addresses synergies and trade-offs between green and inclusive business models.
- Women’s participation in green growth – a potential fully realised? DCED, 2012. Poor women are often particularly badly affected by climate change. This study seeks to analyse opportunities and challenges for women’s participation in green growth.
Key overview documents
- Green and Inclusive Business Toolbox: Promoting Green and Inclusive Business Models in Development Cooperation Programmes, GIZ, 2019. Looks at how donor agencies can support green and inclusive business models in meeting social and environmental challenges.
- Inclusive Green Growth: A reflection on the meaning and implications for the policy agenda of the Dutch Directorate-General of Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation, 2015: Discusses the role of financing-, innovation- and governance-oriented policies in stimulating Inclusive Green Growth.
- The impact of green growth on employment, Grantham Research Institute and GGGI, 2015. Discusses the definition of green jobs and the impact of green policies on direct as well as indirect job creation.
- Is Green Growth Good for the Poor? The World Bank, 2014. Reviews potential trades-off between green growth and poverty reduction.
- Better Growth, Better Climate, The Global Commission on the Economy and Climate, 2014:
Seeks to understand how different economies can meet the goals of stronger economic growth and development while also reducing the risks of climate change.
- Research and Evidence on Green Growth, DFID, 2013: Reviews key concepts, evidence and knowledge gaps in the field of Green Growth.
- A Toolkit of Policy Options to Support Inclusive Green Growth, AFDB et al., 2012. Outlines key instruments that can be used to promote green and inclusive growth in developing countries.
Green growth approaches
- Mobilising private-sector investment to mitigate climate change in Africa, Stockholm Environment Institute, 2018.
- Delivering real change: Getting international climate finance to the local level, IIED, 2017.
- Mind the Gap: Bridging the Climate Financing Gap with Innovative Financial Mechanisms. Global Green Growth Institute, December 2016.
- Mobilising Investment for Inclusive Green Growth in Low-Income Countries, GIZ, 2013.
- Mobilising International Climate Finance: Lessons from the Fast-Start Finance Period, ODI/WRI, 2013.
- Private Investment in Inclusive Green Growth and Climate-related Activities: Key Messages from the Literature and Bibliography, IFC, 2012.
- Making Carbon Markets Work for the Poor in Vietnam, Practical Action et al., 2009.
Business Environment Reform
- DCED publication on the Synergies between Green Growth and Business Environment Reform.
- ‘Leaving no one behind’ through enabling climate-resilient economic development in dryland regions. ODI, 2018.
- Making the Switch: From fossil fuel subsidies to sustainable energy. Nordic Council of Ministers, 2017.
Green Industrial Policy
- Green Industrial Policy: Concepts, Policies and Country Experiences, DIE and PAGE, 2017.
- Greening Africa’s Industrialization, UNECA, May 2016.
- Korea’s Green Growth Experience: Process, Outcomes and Lessons Learned, Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI), 2016.
- Building Competitive Green Industries: The Climate and Clean Technology Opportunity for Developing Countries, The World Bank, 2014.
Green Innovation
- Informality and inclusive green growth, IIED, August 2016.
- Policy instruments for Eco-Innovation in Asian countries, in: Sustainability, September 2015
- Fast-tracking Green Patent Applications: An Empirical Analysis. ICTSD Issue Paper 37, 2013.
Climate Change Adaptation
DCED/GGKP Webinar on Climate Expert: Helping SMEs develop strong climate adaptation strategies, September 2019
- Keeping Track of Adaptation Actions Africa: Targeted Fiscal Stimulus Actions Making a Difference, UNEP, 2014.
- How can donors advance climate change adaptation, AFD, 2011.
- Business leadership on climate change adaptation: Encouraging engagement and action, PwC, 2010.
Green Growth and Gender
DCED/GGKP Webinar on Making Gender-Responsive Green Growth Happen, December 2019
- Gender-Responsive Green Growth Guidance Sheets: A series outlining the state of the art and current examples, all by Katherine Miles for DCED, 2019.
- Community–based adaptation to climate change: A theoretical framework, overview of key issues and discussion of gender differentiated priorities and participation, IFPRI, 2013.
- Women’s participation in green growth – a potential fully realised? DCED, 2012.
Green Jobs and Skills
- Green Jobs: Impacts of a Green Economy on Employment, GIZ, 2015.
- Skills Development for Green and Inclusive SMEs in India: Entrepreneurs’ Approaches, DCED, 2014.
- TVET for a Green Economy, GIZ, 2013.
- Sustainable development, decent work and green jobs , ILO, 2013.
- Working towards sustainable development: Opportunities for decent work and social inclusion in a green economy, UNEP et al., 2012.
- Methodologies for Assessing Green Jobs, IL0, 2012.
Political Economy
- The Political Economy of Green Growth: Cases from Southern Africa, Danielle Resnick et al., 2012.
- The Political Economy of Renewable Energy, UNDP, 2011.
Sector Resources
Agriculture
- Topic Guide: Climate Change, Food Security and Agriculture, DFID, 2015.
- Case Study: Malawi’s Agriculture, Climate Change and Food Security Country Analysis and Programming Recommendations, DFID, 2015.
- The Decarbonization of China’s Agriculture, UNU-WIDER, 2012.
Livestock
Manufacturing
Energy
- Poor People’s Energy Outlook, Practical Action, 2014.
- DFID (2013) Evidence brief: Factors influencing large-scale uptake of cleaner and more efficient household energy technologies, DFID, 2013.
- From Gap to Opportunity: Business Models for Scaling up Energy Access, IFC, 2012.
Tourism
Urban Areas
- IIED (2014) Urban informality and building a more inclusive, resilient and green economy, IIEDS, 2014.
- Opportunities for Private Sector Engagement in Urban Climate Change Resilience Building, Intellecap, 2010.
Country and Regional Studies
- Measuring Inclusive Green Growth at the Country Level: Taking Stock of Measurement Approaches and Indicators, Green Growth Knowledge Platform (GGKP), February 2016.
- Achieving Sustainable Development in Africa through Inclusive Green Growth, UNECA, June 2015.
- The economy-wide effects of climate change on Philippine agriculture, IFPRI, September 2015.
- Aid and environment in Africa: the case of Tanzania, UNU-WIDER, 2014.
Useful links
- ILO Green Initiative – 2017
- GIZ. AdaptationCommunity.net
- Green Economy Coalition
- Green Growth Knowledge Platform
- International Energy Agency, World Energy Outlook, Energy and Development section
- International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), Sustainable Markets Group
- Overseas Development Institute, Climate Funds Update
- OECD, Work on Green Growth
- UNEP, Green Economy Initiative