Since its inception in 1991, the GEF has engaged the private sector in a variety of ways, mostly through direct project support. A consistent theme in the policy documents and assessments of the GEF’s engagement with the private sector is that the private sector is integral to achieving the overall global environmental objectives of the GEF. The private sector has played and should continue to play a pivotal role in providing solutions that contribute to protecting the global environment and thereby promoting environmentally sound and sustainable economic development. 

As early as 1996, initial policy frameworks for private sector engagement were developed through GEF Council papers  that provided a foundation from which the GEF engaged with the private sector, largely through direct project support. Most recently, two Council-approved documents detailed an updated strategy to enhance GEF’s engagement with the private sector: “GEF Strategy to Enhance Engagement with the Private Sector” (GEF/C.28/14) in March 2006, which was accompanied by an extensive information document “Additional Information to Support the GEF Strategy to Enhance Engagement with the Private Sector” (GEF/C.28/Inf.4).

The 2006 private sector strategy documents included an innovative proposal to establish a pilot public-private partnership (PPP) initiative to enhance GEF engagement with the private sector. A pilot PPP initiative was approved by the GEF Council in June 2007 along with funding of US$50 million. The concept was further developed as a pilot project in conjunction with IFC as a strategic partner, was renamed the GEF Earth Fund, and was approved by the Council in May 2008. 

The pilot project was established with separate trust fund arrangements to promote projects, technologies, and business models that will contribute to protection of the global environment The project allows the GEF to demonstrate ways to engage more systematically  with the private sector in order to reach beyond its traditional boundaries, foster innovation and open new markets, and demonstrate the potential for strategic partnerships to achieve greater scale of investment than generally achievable.

The GEF Earth Fund is being managed based on the concept of “Platforms,” under which a portfolio of projects will be managed. The portfolio has to be aligned with GEF Focal Areas or their equivalent, while projects within each Platform seek to address specific environmental challenges or to leverage particular business models or financial instruments. This is a delegated structure that allows projects to be approved by Agencies that manage Platforms approved by the Council.

The first US$30 million operational Platform was approved by the Council in May 2008, and is currently being managed by the IFC. A second US$5 million Platform proposal, “Global Market Transformation for Efficient Lighting,” to be managed by UNEP, was submitted for Council approval in May 2009. Other Platform proposals are currently being prepared for submission to the Council for approval during 2009, which will complete the initial funding allocation of US$50 million.

Although it is not contemplated that private for-profit corporations will manage Earth Fund Platforms, individual projects within the Platforms will generally involve the implementation, development, and replication of projects, technologies, and business models in partnership with the private sector.

IFC also manages the trust fund for the GEF Earth Fund pilot project and disburses funding to entities approved to manage Platforms upon Council approval and CEO endorsement. In addition, IFC participates in GEF Earth Fund Board meetings as an observer. 

Further information regarding the GEF Earth Fund  is provided in the document, “The GEF Earth Board Procedures (Pilot Project) – Strategic Priorities, Governance and Operational Procedures,” which was agreed with IFC and IBRD and submitted for Council approval in May 2009.

• IFC Earth Fund Platform
• GEF Earth Fund Board: Summary of Chair of the First Meeting 

For more information, contact the Earth Fund team: Ramesh Ramankutty and Paul Dolan.