Second ILO Academy on the Social and Solidarity Economy, 24-28 October 2011,

Montreal, Canada

Leandro Pereira Moraislpmorais@gmail.com

Policy and legal frameworks for the SSE: trends and opportunities in the green

economy

Leandro MoraisPUCCAMPINAS / OIBESCOOP

Brazil

Aims

- To discuss public policies (PP) for the SSE- To point out the main instruments and

trends- To discuss the relationship between those

policies and public action- To discuss the relationship between the

SSE and environmental sustainability.

First PartPolicy and legal frameworks for the SSE

Context - Two enormous problems of the contemporary world

a) Social exclusion: 75 per cent of world production is concentrated among only 25 per cent of the population, and fewer than 250,000 families (0.2 per cent of the population) account for almost 50 per cent of global wealth.

b) Environmental degradation: recurrent scenes of natural and environmental catastrophes worldwide and their impact on those who live in the most vulnerable conditions.

Sustainable development and poverty eradication

“Moving towards a green economy has the potential to achieve sustainable development and eradicate poverty on an unprecedented scale, with speed and effectiveness. This potential derives from two concurrent changes. First, there is a changed playing field in which our world and the risks we face have materially changed. These changes require a fundamental rethinking of our approach to the economy. Second, there is a growing recognition that the natural environment forms the basis of our physical assets and must be managed as a source of growth, prosperity and well-being.”

Source: UNEP, “Towards a green economy: pathways to sustainable development and poverty eradication” (2011:622)

The SSE

- “Phenomenon” – more economic, social and political visibility.

- Impact on PP planning (subjects, organizations, entities) – recognition, institutionality and strength; projects and action.

Globally ....

• Renowned international institutions have been producing documents, statements, resolutions, Conventions and Recomendations.

• Poorter (2010) – ILO Documents: SSE in 2 Declarations; 16 Conventions; 6 Resolutions.

E.g. Plan of action for the promotion of SSE in Africa (ILO 2009)

Global Crisis and the SSE

Opportunity to:

- rethink way of life (exclusion; inequality; poverty; global warming);

- PP: production inclusion / social equality / poverty reduction / environmental sustainability.

A new model?

1. Emergence of SSE PP

- New model of the relationship between government action and civil society

- “Policy in progress”: “experimental”

- Challenges: institutional fragility / vulnerability.

1.1 – Trends and Instruments

- Action to improve job qualifications among people in the informal economy

- Conventional measures to spread microcredit- Promotion of cooperatives (incubation)- Support for associations- Establishment of public SSE centres- Design of specific cross-cutting programmes- Design of legal and regulatory frameworks- Design of governmental structures at different

levels- Setting-up of logistics and infrastructure.

1.1 – Trends and Instruments

Neamtan & Downing (2005) - a systematized view – 4 major categories of SSE PP

1. Territorial policy: supporting local communities

2. Generic tools for development: investment tools, adequate markets, research, management practices and training

3. Sectoral policies: environment, housing, new technology, tourism, culture

4. Policies that favour target populations, integrating: youth, disabled, people, recent immigrants.

1.1 – Trends and Instruments

“Co-production”: citizens´collective action

- Not a “public construction” but “as the result of processes of interactions between associative initiatives and public policies” (Laville, 2006:19) –

- Territorial Development: social, political, economic, cultural, environmental aspects in their respective territories + associative articulation between local producers and consumers;

1.2 Cross-cutting Action

- The SSE cuts across different areas of public action

- Objectives – economic (generation of jobs and income) / social (improvement of social conditions, strengthening of territorial ties) / political (creation of public spaces for discussing problems and solving them) + cultural and environmental dimension

- Problem: lack of connection among government agencies at different levels (!!!)

1.2 Cross-cutting action and convergence between the SSE and the DWA – (Schwettmann, 2006)

Questions - Reflection (1)

• How can we institutionalize the SSE in governmental structures?

• How central is the SSE in other policies and what are its interfaces ?

• How can we “territorialize” government action?

• How can we establish permanent, effective mechanisms for the SSE to take part in policy management?

Second Part

The SSE and Green Jobs

2. The SSE and Green Jobs• It is possible to incorporate sustainability and environmental

considerations into the SSE’s proposals and developmental model.

• A recent study on this subject by Crystal Tremblay (2009) affirms that literature is starting to show how the SSE will contribute to environmental sustainability.

• With cooperation, self-management and solidarity based on common interests, objectives and efforts, it is possible to foment sustainable practices capable of advancing the production of goods and services with social and environmental responsibility.

2. The SSE and Green Jobs

According to the ILO, green jobs:

- are those which reduce the environmental impact of companies and economic sectors to levels considered sustainable;

- can be found in agriculture, industry, services and public administration;

- may be found in energy supply – in recycling and in approaches to civil construction and transport;

- reduce consumption of energy, raw materials and water by using more efficient systems that cut greenhouse gases and by minimizing or preventing certain forms of waste and pollution.

2. The SSE and Green Jobs

In both urban and rural areas, it is necessary to rethink the pattern of development, and to consider projects that include:

• conservation and re-use of components;• incentives for energy systems that use local resources (e.g.

wind and sun);• planting of community allotments with a view to stimulating

agro-ecology, improving food safety and reducing the production and consumption circuits;

• social technologies as inclusive objectives and as an answer to local problems.

2. The SSE and Green Jobs

These projects should be conceived from the perspective of participatory integrated management, in such a way as to combat waste and open spaces for social innovation and learning with a view to environmental sustainability.

2.1 Practical SSE actions and their environmental consequences

“The world stands in need of a new era of social justice inspired by an ideal of sustainable development. An era in which policies are formulated according to people’s needs, to the care of our planet and equity; an era in which the benefits of globalization can be shared on equal footing; one in which youth can have its hopes renewed, where creativity is generated in our societies and credibility given to our policies and institutions, both in the private and public sector; one in which the dignity of work is promoted and respected; one in which the capacity to express participation and democracy prospers”

Source: ILO (2011). Una nueva era de justicia social. Memoria Del Director General. CIT – 100ª reunión, Ginebra.

ASMARE - Association of Paper, Cardboard and Reusable Material (Associação dos Catadores de Papel, Papelão e Material Reaproveitável)

ASMARE - Belo Horizonte (MG), Brazil

- Scavengers’ work benefits both society and nature

- Work that is gradually becoming structured, gaining in social value and providing a monthly income

- Scavengers have developed partnerships with businesses, schools and public entities, and have created awareness of the importance of collecting recyclables and their socio-environmental impact.

According to UNEP (2011):

- recycling employs 12 million people in just three countries (Brazil, China and the USA);

- if an average of US$143 billion were invested in waste management from 2011 to 2050, a total of 26 million jobs could be created;

- it is important to improve the labour conditions in the waste collection sector (need for decent work).

Grameen Shakti - Bangladesh

Grameen Shakti (GS) - Bangladesh

- In Bangladesh, where more than 70 per cent of the population had no access to electricity, GS created an economic, social and eco-friendly alternative in the electricity distribution network.

- This SSE enterprise installed photovoltaic solar systems in more than 100,000 rural establishments in the country, and its goal is to install more than 1 million solar systems by 2015.

- This contributed greatly to improving the quality of life while providing income-generating opportunities for people who previously did not have a source of energy or income. It also made it possible for local entrepreneurs to open new businesses.

- GS offers small loans which allow low-income families to buy a solar system and to learn installation and maintenance techniques (certificate).

Grameen Shakti (GS) - Bangladesh

Besides solar energy, GS is active in other areas that involve SSE and green jobs:

* Cooking Stove Programme: promoting improved cooking stoves in Bangladesh to address the high demand for biomass fuels and indoor air pollution caused by cooking on polluting, traditional stoves;

* Biogas Programme: credit which makes biogas plants affordable to the villagers;

* Organic Fertilizer Programme: developing organic fertilizers from slurry and marketing them through entrepreneurs as a supplement to chemical fertilizers.

CDM Project on Low-Income and Middle-Income Housing – Cape Town, South Africa

CDM Project on Low-Income and Middle-Income Housing – Cape Town, South Africa

- The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) project was designed to retrofit 2,309 low-income houses in the urban township of Kuyasa, Khayelitsha in Cape Town.

- The CDM Project trained local artisans and unemployed youth to carry out activities related to: insulating the roof to avoid the need for heating in winter; installing water-heating equipment through thermal solar energy; and more energy-efficient lamp bulbs.

- These activities contribute to energy-saving, jobs, employment and income-generation, and have improved the quality of life for the inhabitants of the poorest regions.

CDM Project on Low-Income and Middle-Income Housing – Cape Town, South Africa

- A community fund was created for the development of a community-owned sustainable enterprise providing energy services. This generated permanent jobs and enabled the monitoring of emissions reduction.

- The income from the sale of carbon emissions reduction certificates, together with the contributions by the beneficiaries, expanded the Fund’s operations. This made it possible to create small and micro local enterprises and to finance community development.

Other Experiences

a) Krueng Kala micro-hydropower in Indonesia: supplies electricity to the people living in that village and two others nearby. The villagers set up a cooperative to sell electricity, and the profits are used to improve the villagers’ welfare (e.g. by providing scholarships for underprivileged children or low-interest credit for local farmers and entrepreneurs).

b) Micro-hydroelectricity for Zege village electrification in Tanzania: aims to produce electricity from the Kidabwa stream in Zege Village (3,500 inhabitants) - USD 4 every month for electricity.

c) Biogas for household energy in Tete province in Mozambique: aims to use manure from livestock to generate household energy in the province of Tete, where livestock is abundant. The most common fuel used for household lighting is kerosene, followed by diesel. The project will help to avoid methane and nitrous oxide emissions and will replace the increasingly intensive use of firewood and liquid fossil fuels for cooking and lighting.

Other Experiences

d) Kibera Community Youth Programme: involves young people in one of the largest and poorest slums in sub-Saharan Africa. Offers jobs to young local residents producing small, low-cost solar panels. The energy generated by these panels fuels radios and recharges mobile phones in Kibera, and this technique has been passed on to other parts of Kenya and even to neighbouring countries.

e) German Alliance for Work and the Environment: a partnership among the German Government, construction workers, trade unions and non-governmental organizations. It began as a consequence of the recession in civil construction that hit the country in 2001. Produced 300,000 apartments with improved insulation for roofs, windows and walls, improved heating and ventilation systems, and new renewable energy equipment. From 2001 to 2006, the programme helped create about 140,000 new jobs and reduced annual emissions from buildings by about 2 per cent.

Potential green jobs in major segments of the economy

• Energy supply: integrated gasification; co-generation (combined heat and power); renewables (wind, solar, biofuels, geothermal, etc.)

• Transport: more fuel-efficient vehicles; hybrid-electric, electric and fuel-cell vehicles; public transport; non-motorized transport

• Manufacturing: pollution control; energy and materials efficiency; clean production techniques

• Buildings: lighting, energy-efficient equipment; solar heating and cooling, solar panels; green buildings

• Materials management: recycling; extended producer responsibility, product take-back and remanufacturing; durability and repairability of products

• Retail: use of eco-labels; minimization of distances (from origin of products to store location)

• Agriculture: soil conservation; water efficiency; organic growing methods• Forestry: reforestation and afforestation projects; agroforestry; sustainable forestry

management and certification schemes. Source: UNEP Report (2008; 2011)

The SSE and Green Jobs

- Within the SSE, green job generation is clearly possible. It will contribute to both economic growth with social inclusion and environmental sustainability.

- Many programmes include measures to combat inequality, reduce poverty and improve the standard of living for much of the population.

- The jobs created can affect millions of unemployed youth with no prospects, women, slum-dwellers and members of the poorest rural communities, who join together, either formally or informally, in associations, cooperatives and social enterprises.

This analysis is confirmed by several well-known SSE projects and local initiatives, such as:

(1) renewable energy supply for people below the poverty line in Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, Kenya and Mali;

(2) projects for energy efficiency and reduced atmospheric pollution with the use of two-stroke engines in the Philippines;

(3) energy-saving projects that reduce air pollution in closed environments by improving stoves in domestic, commercial and/or community restaurants;

(4) clean public transport projects generating employment in India;

(5) more efficient recycling methods in Brazil that generate jobs and lead to a cleaner work environment.

But ...

- Despite these highly successful ventures, the level of investment in these programmes by the public and private sectors is still low.

- To intensify these practices will require innovative funding mechanisms, a more suitable regulating system and a legal framework.

- It will be important to combine jobs, employment and income generation within the SSE in sectors that contribute to allaying environmental concerns and, consequently, improve well-being.

Vulnerabilities

(1) Lack of appropriate mechanisms to finance production (2) Difficulty in maintaining productivity, quality and

regularity in the supply of products and services (3) Conflicts that emerge in the management of enterprises (4) Limits to long-term links with consumers(5) Tensions between the logic of commercialization circuits

and the values and principles that give the enterprise an identity

(6) Low capacity of functioning in a network.

Question - Reflection (2)

Describe and discuss experiences in each country:

• advances• limits • trends.

Thanks!!!!!!Leandro Morais

Brazillpmorais@gmail.com