African companies see themselves as integral to their society, not a separate entity bordered by rigid walls. They consider their business to be responsible in and of itself, because it provides employment, salaries and products to its community. Even the process of paying taxes is an important feature of responsible companies in Africa because the informal sector is so omnipotent in many African countries, often carving out 50 percent of the economy.

Why Africa?

When africapractice was set up, people asked why a communications company would want to involve themselves with corporate citizenship or CSR in Africa. What people didn’t realise was that communication is vital in promoting responsible development and investment into Africa. africapractice, headquartered in London, provides strategic communications, corporate citizenship and environmental consulting services and works with clients to enhance their performance and communicate their commitment to African development. We believe that an ethical and responsibly acting private sector can do incredible things to alleviate poverty in Africa, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa. It generates wealth, increases productivity, and accounts for its environmental and social impacts. Our view is that businesses should aim to act ethically and responsibly in order to be a sustainable business in Africa. The upshot is that by being a good corporate citizen, you can play your part in alleviating poverty and delivering sustainable development.

Another distinguishing feature of African economies that determines how CSR is played out is the lack of publicly-listed companies. There are only 19 stock exchanges on the 56-country continent and apart from the Johannesburg, Egyptian and Nigerian Stock Exchange, African stock markets are relatively small and unsophisticated. Most businesses therefore do not feel the pressure from socially responsible investors or international civil society groups to apply global CSR standards.

Governance and Communications

African businesses in general, especially private companies, do not face the same level of pressure and scrutiny as those in the West. Outside South Africa and some North African countries, government regulation on environmental and social impacts are weakly enforced and civil society groups have a relatively quiet voice when it comes to corporate injustice.

Though African businesses see themselves as the community and therefore any action they do as socially responsible, this does not mean they should not be held accountable for their actions. Barring NGOs, multinational corporations are leading this movement by localising their global CSR strategies and policies to their African operations and instilling values of respect and responsibility. They do this by using three communication tools to engage and enthuse their employees, from directors to employees.

• The first is to raise awareness within the company about issues as wide-ranging as codes of conduct, environmental impact, accountability, and consumer satisfaction.
• The second is to align corporate values with a company’s non-financial activities. For example, Cadbury’s value of ‘working together to create brands people love’ is an umbrella for its CSR activities like ethical sourcing and procurement.
• The third is recognition and celebration. Two-way communication and feedback is vital to instil respect and learn about what works for a particular group of people or situation.

Leading multinationals also set themselves targets and monitor their progress towards these targets. We are familiar with the types of targets companies have set themselves such as reducing water use or carbon emissions by a certain percentage or donating a certain amount to community investment projects. In Africa, due to the current state of affairs, these initiatives can have a profound impact in helping to alleviate poverty.

Water of Life Since 2006, Diageo, a leading premium drinks company, has set itself a target to reach one million people in Africa with clean drinking water each year until 2015. It began measuring the impact of this initiative in 2007, commissioning an external evaluation of their projects to find out exactly how many people are being reached and understanding the impact clean drinking water has on these beneficiaries.

At the end of 2007, Diageo was reaching just over 840,000 people with clean drinking water and the company was beginning to see other benefits accruing to the beneficiaries, such as increased school attendance due to improved health, increased crop production for their subsistence farms, and less incidences of abuse and attacks at night while women went to fetch water.

What was also important to Diageo was communicating these results, both internally and externally. Diageo created a social network called the ‘Water of Life Social Network’. Members consist of Diageo employees and Diageo partners who help implement the programme. The network allows employees to discuss with each other and understand what challenges they each face and what best practices are out there. It is particularly useful for the Global Diageo team to communicate with their operating business in Africa, such as Guinness Nigeria or East African Breweries to stay abreast with updates.

To empower their operating businesses, Diageo also created an advocacy toolkit to communicate the results and impact of the 1 Million Challenge to key stakeholders. It allows consistency of messages and helps their African businesses to lobby national governments to prioritise water and sanitation issues up the national agenda. A Water of Life Handbook is also in the making. This handbook is an A to Z guide for Diageo’s operating businesses to implement Water of Life projects. It covers everything from selecting the appropriate projects, the do’s and don’ts of engaging with partners and what sustainability means.

Sustainable Development

Because Diageo started to measure and monitor the impact of its CSR project, it is now able to see how this initiative – which started as a philanthropic contribution – is now contributing to the sustainable development of its communities. Diageo’s emphasis
on communicating their results was central to them wanting to make a real and meaningful impact to their communities.

It is the combination of companies promoting responsible and ethical standards to their operations and viewing themselves as part of the communities in which they operate – the Ubuntu philosophy, which challenges traditional concepts of CSR into one that fosters sustainable development on the continent. We believe that communication, through stakeholder engagement and advocacy is the lynchpin to transforming philanthropic corporate donations into sustainable poverty reducing activities.

This article will first examine wave and tidal power with reference to its applicability in Pakistan. This will include an analysis of the history of these technologies, the conditions needed for successful projects and the benefits and drawbacks. The second part of the article will look at small hydro and why it is the best option for Pakistan at this time. Wave and tidal power are good technologies; however, the benefits of small hydro are much greater, especially for Pakistan’s developing economy.

An Explanation and History of Wave Power

Many companies have developed different ways of using wave power, but the two basic principles behind the designs remain the same. The first design involves the waves moving into a chamber where the water rises and falls. At the top of the chamber, there is a hole out of which air is forced, which drives a generator. The other type of design involves a long tube with hinges, which moves up and down due to the motion of waves. This motion moves hydraulic fluid, which drives a generator. A power cable then moves this electricity to where it is needed. The first design was used for the very first commercial wave power station, which is situated on Islay island in Scotland. This project began producing power in November 2000 and provides enough power for 400 homes, according to Nayyer Alam Zaigham, Professor & Director, Institute of Environmental Studies, University of Karachi. The second design was used for the Pelamis, which was also developed in Scotland, but the first project will soon be installed off the coast of Portugal. The Pelamis produces enough energy for 1500 Portuguese homes, as can be found using the Pelamis wave energy converter. Pelamis was developed by the student of Professor Salter at the University of Edinburgh.

Wave power began in France in 1799 with a patent that used wave power to drive heavy machinery; however, it was not until the 1970s when wave power was taken seriously. At the University of Edinburgh, Prof. Salter developed what is known today as Salter’s Duck. Salter’s Duck looked like very large boxes that were attached to the ocean floor. As the waves moved them back and forth, the mechanical energy became electrical energy, which drove a generator. Salter’s Duck was able to capture 90 percent of the wave motion and 90 percent of that could be turned into electrical energy, which is very impressive. In addition, at the time the Duck was completed, the cost of the electricity was the same as nuclear power; however, the nuclear power industry was able to lobby the government to cancel financial support for wave power in 1982, as stated in an article on Economist.com. This set back the cause of wave power for many years; however, other forms of energy such as tidal have shown promise.

Tidal Power

Tidal power is potentially very useful because tides are very reliable. However, only 40 sites in the world have been found that are suitable because there must be a five meter difference between high and low tides.

There are two types of tidal power stations: the first is built across an estuary and looks similar to a dam. Inside the dam, there are tunnels that the water passes through. The water then turns a turbine. The other type of tidal power station looks like underwater wind turbines, but the size is usually limited to 25 to 50 megawatts (MW), according to the Pembina Institute which works to advance sustainable energy solutions in Canada. The largest tidal power station was built in northern France in 1966 and it produces 240 MW of electricity.

Benefits of Wave and Tidal

Power Wave and tidal power have many benefits. A 40 MW wave power station, which is being proposed off the coast of Cornwall, England, will save 300,000 tons of carbon dioxide over 25 years. In addition, the net potential for both wave and tidal power is greater than wind and solar because water is 850 times denser than wind, which pushes the turbines faster, according to the Ocean Energy Council (OEC).

Also, because many cities are situated in port areas, the power can be used right where it is needed. This is important because, as electricity moves through transmission systems, some of the power is lost and cannot be recovered. Both tidal and wave power are fairly inexpensive to maintain and tidal power is very predictable. Tidal power cannot harm any marine life because underwater animals can often sense turbine movement and their sound. In addition, because tidal power requires a high current, there will never be any animals feeding in those areas because plants cannot grow.

Challenges of Wave and Tidal

Power Wave and tidal power also have many challenges that need to be resolved in order for these types of powers to be successful.

Generally, the best waves are situated in temperate zones, which means that Pakistan is not suitable for wave power. This is because west winds are often found in the temperate zones, which are the best for wave power. Also, strong winds over large areas as well as a location near the continental shelf are much more favourable for wave power because it ensures a disparity between wave height and wave length.

Sites such as these are very rare, as mentioned above. Wave power is also much younger than wind or solar power and the cancellation of the UK wave power programme did not aid that. The fact that wave power is young also means that the power generated costs more than other sources of power. Currently, wave power costs approximately 7.5 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) compared to 3 cents for natural gas, according to the OEC. Tidal power also faces many challenges. One of the main problems is that shore birds depend on the tide to uncover mud flats in order for them to feed; tidal power changes this quite drastically. The cost of tidal power per kWh is 12 cents, which is quite high. This cost would take many years to recover, which is not attractive for the developing world. Lastly, according to the OEC, tidal power has a very low capacity factor of 20 to 35 percent whereas nuclear power stations experience a 90 percent capacity factor, says E. Michael Blake in an article published in the Nuclear News magazine of the American Nuclear Society.

Thus, although nuclear power is a more questionable energy source, capacity factor is very important because if the capacity factor is higher, it ensures that power will be produced more frequently. The reason why tidal power has such a low capacity factor is that tides are only predictable for part of the day and thus, there is no constant supply of energy.

Small vs. Large Hydro

Due to the challenges just mentioned, Pakistan is not suitable for wave and tidal power. However, Pakistan has had some experience with small hydro and there is a continuing interest in the technology. Currently, Pakistan has 108 MW of small hydro, which consists of nine projects. There are also 10 MW under construction and 180 MW planned, according to the International Energy Agency. However, Pakistan has the potential for 46,000 MW of hydroelectricity, which includes large and small installations; at present, only 6459 MW are installed, states engineer Abdul Waheed Bhutto. Furthermore, he states that many people now realize that large dams are not suitable for the environment, economy and people because dams cause the flooding of villages and towns, which means that the overnment must spend money to resettle people; the Kalabagh dam, for example, will cost the government Rs. 2 billion in resettlement costs.

In addition, because reservoirs often contain decaying biomass, greenhouse gases are emitted. Large hydro is often accompanied by corruption, which is discussed in the next section.

Forms and Effects: What Corruption in Hydropower Looks Like

Grand corruption can occur in the form of bid-rigging and illicit payments, which are often disguised by channeling them through agents or subcontractors. Irregularities with environmental impact assessments can arise during the planning phase. In India, an accounting firm commissioned to conduct an EIA for two dams was caught in 2000 copying large sections of an EIA for another project 145 kilometers away. After a civil society watch group spotted the plagiarism and posted the information on its website, the contractor said it would rewrite the document. Vulnerabilities continue during project operation and maintenance. These can include corruption related to service access and provision, misappropriation or misuse of fees, illegal connections, failure to honour social and environmental mitigation commitments, patronage and abuse of funds in resettlement activities, and failure to honor benefit-sharing. If these vulnerabilities were addressed, the bene-fits that would flow to people and the environment would be considerable. Direct cost savings may start at US$ 5-6 billion annually if contractor bid prices decreased by 10 percent, which was suggested by Transparency International.

If corruption leads to cost overruns that eat into funds originally earmarked for maintenance, proper functioning may be put at risk, reducing the long-term benefits. Corruption can also hamper the expansion of electricity ser-vices in developing countries by driving up costs, delaying projects and lowering service quality and reliability, especially in rural areas considered low priorities. The table, printed in the Global Water Corruption 2008 report by Transparency International, summarizes the impact of corruption on hydropower.

How Small Hydro Works

Most small hydro systems work on the same principle known as run of river. One of the main benefits of this is the absence of a
reservoir, which means no towns are flooded. The water at the high point of the river is fed through a pipe, which turns a small
generator. After this, the water re-enters the river, which means that there are no environmental consequences and the system needed is fairly small.

These systems last for about 25 years and very little maintenance is needed. Small hydro has three different categories: pico, mini and micro, which are below 5 kilowatts (kW), 1 MW and 100 kW respectively, explain Taylor, Dr. Upadhyay and Laguna (Project Manager, European Small Hydro Association) in a review on small hydro in developing countries published on Renewable Energy World.
Vietnam is one of Asia’s leaders in pico hydro where a 300 watt unit costs $20 and produces enough power for one family.

Benefits of Small Hydro

Small hydro has many benefits, both for the environment and for Pakistani society. Small hydro produces no greenhouse gas emissions after it is built. In addition, unlike tidal power, the ecosystem is not adversely affected. Pico hydro only requires a 1-metre rop in height, which means the technology is guaranteed to work more of the time than wave power, which depends on very large waves.

With regards to society, mall hydro guarantees that there will be electricity available more of the time, which means that children can study at night and women can also make handicrafts ormarkets, which gives them more economic power in society. In addition, women are given even more free time because they do not have to collect firewood anymore.

Pakistan can also benefit from the experience and knowledge of its neighbour India, which has 1694 MW of small hydro installed. Lastly, it is very mportant to note that many people in rural Pakistan do not have electricity and small hydro is very well suited to many of these areas because it does not have to be connected to the grid. Another option is to build grids that only cover one village or town, which is a very popular option in China, India and Vietnam because smallhydro can easily be connected to this type of grid, state Taylor, Upadhyay and Laguna.

Thus, small hydro is by far the best option available for Pakistan due o the presence of many rivers, the environmental and societal benefits as well as the drawbacks of wave and tidal power. It is now up to the government to put in lace policies that would allow people to purchase these systems cheaply. If Pakistan is able to independently produce power, this would greatly increase the umber of jobs and the benefit to society.

References:

Nayyer Alam Zaigham and Zeeshan Alam Nayyer “Prospects of Renewable Energy Sources in Pakistan”
<http://www.energy.com.pk/>
Wikipedia “Pelamis Wave Energy Converter”
http://en.wikipedia.org/
The Economist “The Coming Wave”
<http://www.economist.com/>
Pembina Institute “Energy Source: Tidal Power”
<http://re.pembina.org/>
Ocean Energy Council “Wave Energy”
<http://www.oceanenergycouncil.com/>
E. Michael Blake “U.S. Capacity Factors: A small gain to an already large number”
<http://www.ans.org/>
International Energy Agency “International Small Hydro Atlas: Pakistan”
<http://www.smallhydro.com>
Abdul Waheed Bhutto “Small Hydro-power Units for Remote Villages”
<http://my.reset.jp/>
Simon Taylor, Drona Upadhyay and Maria Laguna “Flowing to the East: Small Hydro in Developing Countries”
<http://www.esha.be/>

The areas affected by the 2005 earthquake comprise some of the most idyllic places in Pakistan. However, life in these areas is becoming increasingly difficult, particularly in recent years due to the increasing scarcity of water. This has forced several people to even abandon their ancestral villages – something previously unimaginable for them.
The earthquake further deteriorated the water supply situation, destroying over four thousand existing water supply schemes and affecting yields of water sources. It is estimated that the yields of these sources decreased by 40 percent due to the earthquake.
The Earthquake Rehabilitation/Reconstruction Authority (ERRA) took up the responsibility of reconstruction and rehabilitation of the affected water supply schemes. And the herculean task was undertaken on war footings in collaboration with development partners and affected communities.

Sustainable Solution to Water Scarcity

ERRA realizes that rebuilding the affected water supply schemes, even when new structures surpass the old structures in terms of quality and reliability, is not the solution to the acute water scarcity in this region. What are needed are innovative structures that ensure a sustainable supply of water. As more than 90 percent people live in scattered rural hamlets, huge projects relying on lifting water from large water bodies lying thousands of feet below in a valley or water sources high on the mountain tops provide neither viable nor cost-effective solutions.
Huge promise lies in rainwater. The earthquake affected areas receive an average rainfall of 1,500 millimetres, higher than in any other part of Pakistan. Even if a small fraction of this rainfall is harvested, this can significantly help overcome the problem of water scarcity. The rooftops of the new houses, constructed under ERRA’s Rural Housing programme, are made of CGI sheets. Rainwater flowing down these sheets is clean and safe for human use after harvesting.
The residents here are familiar with the concept of rainwater harvesting (RWH). Till twenty years ago, each household in these areas would have a small pond at its disposal. These small reservoirs, which stored rainwater, were an important pillar in the livelihood of the farming families as they provided water for irrigation and for the drinking needs of farm animals. However, water stored in these ponds was not considered fit for human consumption.
RWH in Northern Pakistan provides a plausible alternative and supplementary source of water in this situation: where existing water sources are fast depleting. ERRA has decided to provide a sustainable and alternative solution by reviving and developing the age old practice of rainwater harvesting. The WatSan Programme at ERRA estimates that no less than 90,000 litres of water (20,000 gallons) can easily be collected every year from a small house of roof-size 30 feet by 11 feet.

RWH Success Pillars

There are three basic components to rainwater harvesting: catchment, gutters and pipes and a storage system. The CGI sheet roof serves as an effective catchment surface. Rainwater flushes quickly and the accumulated water is quite clean, compared to other roofing systems. It can then be stored in water storage containers or can even be charged into aquifers through any structure like dug well, percolation well, boreholes, recharge trenches or water ponds.
Proper care while collecting water through sloping roofs yields high benefits. It is estimated by ERRA that around 10 to 15 percent of the water is utilized as drinking water while 85 to 90 percent is used for daily washing, bathing and other activities.

RWH benefits include:

• Supplementing the existing water schemes and providing water facilities in the most decentralized manner.
• The provision of an ample water supply for domestic use will promote better sanitation-related practices.

Plans to Extend RWH for Domestic, Agri Uses

In accordance with its Build-Back-Better Policy, ERRA has prepared a plan to popularize rainwater harvesting for domestic as well as agricultural purposes. Under this programme, 50 union councils facing acute water shortage will be supported to set up rainwater harvesting structures. A comprehensive project worth Rs. 761 million has been prepared for this purpose. Having received approval from the ERRA board, project papers have been forwarded to the Executive Committee of National Economic Council (ECNEC) for approval, and the project has passed the first tier of approval. The Planning Division of Pakistan has greatly appreciated this initiative and assured mobilization of resources for timely implementation of the project. ERRA has shared this idea with all its partner organizations in the WATSAN sector. Donors and doers both appear quite keen on supporting ERRA in transforming this dream into reality.

Springs on Rooftops

Situated on the top of a mountain, the idyllic village of Chitrah Topi is located 17 kilometres from the city of Bagh in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK). As residents of this village testify, living on a mountain top comes at a price. “A mountain top is not an easy place to live, because water flows downstream and you do not find many springs or streams flowing down your way,” explains a resident.
Until a few months ago, two thousand residents of Chitrah Topi, particularly women, faced a difficult situation. As gendered division of labour ordains, almost the entire burden of ensuring domestic water supply fell on the shoulders of women, or, literally speaking, on their necks. Women had to walk four to five kilometres every day to fetch water, an ordeal that could take up to eight hours, everyday. Some donkey carts brought water to the village, charging Rs. 30 to 40 for a 5-gallon container. But buying water was not an option for most residents of this low-income mountain village.
This situation worsened as a result of the October 2005 earthquake, as most water sources in the area dried up or changed their course, making it even harder to attain water for domestic consumption. It appeared that there was no end to this problem, until ERRA introduced the rainwater harvesting project in the village through its partner organization, the Maqsood Welfare society. As a result of ERRA’s initiative to promote RWH in earthquake affected areas, the society was able to obtain funding from Oxfam GB for a pilot project in Chitrah Topi village.
Apart from two schools and a large mosque, a list of 25 houses was drawn for supporting construction of rooftop rainwater harvesting facilities. The project, which started about four months back, benefits apart from residents of these houses, more than 470 children and teachers of two schools and a large section of community visiting the Jamia Mosque for prayers.
Soon after completion of the project, the heavy monsoon rains poured down from the skies. Residents of the village discovered that there were springs flowing from the rooftops.
Once harnessed, these springs ensure safe and clean water. As a result of the project, women have been freed from the drudgery of carrying water everyday and people are growing kitchen gardens in their homes. For the school children, toilets have been made useable for the first time.
“Life has changed for the 200 girls studying at our schools. The lack of toilet facilities discouraged girl children from studying and it made life miserable for the teachers as well. Thanks to the new RWH facility, we now have safe and fresh water available for all of our needs,” says Haleema, a teacher at Government Girls High School at Chitrah Topi.

Water Scarcity: A Problem of The Past

Hullar Syedan, a picturesque village in district Bagh, AJK is one of the places where the practice of rooftop RWH emerged and evolved, in response to people’s needs. Fifteen years ago, the villagers faced severe water shortages. The village had some communal
wells, which were kept locked and elderly women were made custodians of these keys to ensure equal distribution of water among the village residents. The villagers also had four ponds built, generations ago.
These ponds were used to store rainwater and were cleaned every year. However, these ponds and wells used to dry up if it did not rain for a month or so. When this happened, the villagers had to take their cattle to distant places for grazing and watering. The women used to carry water from streams located miles away.
In the 1970′s, many people from these villages moved to the Middle East for better employment. This resulted in improved economic situation by 1980 and people built houses with sloping roofs. Upon their own initiative, villagers started collecting water coming down from the rooftops in cans and pots. In a few years, all houses with a sloping roof had a water tank and toilet. These tanks could store a large volume of water. Periods of drought saw them using their water carefully so that supply could last till the next rainy season. In 1996, with the collaboration of the local government of Azad Kashmir, a large water pumping scheme was completed with the capacity to provide water to 2,500 people. The residents are running the water supply scheme on a self-help basis. They have set up a committee for the maintenance of the water supply schemes. Every household makes a monthly contribution to keep the system running. Along with this scheme, people are still using RWH to augment their water supplies. During the months of rain, pressure on the water supply decreases as people switch to the water collected through RWH. Water scarcity is now a problem of the past.

Pakistan, A Water-Scarce Country

An arid country, Pakistan depends heavily on annual glacier melts and monsoon rains. Water from these sources flows down the rivers and out to the sea. En route, there are seepages into the ground, where water-bearing rocks or aquifers absorb and store this water. Most parts of the country receive scant rainfall and have little or no access to surface water. Pakistan Water Partnership (PWP) states that in Pakistan the total available surface water is about 153 million acre feet (MAF) and the total ground water reserves are approximately 24 MAF, of which a substantial part has been mined without allowing for natural recharge. Currently estimated at 160 million, the population of Pakistan is set to double in 2.5 decades. This means that the per capita availability of water will decrease. There is likely to be a net decrease, rather than an increase in the country’s water resources, due to a number of factors including population growth, climate change, and exploitation of water.

By international standards, Pakistan was already a water-scarce country in 1992 at 1700m3 available per capita, according to UNFPA/Ministry of Population Welfare. By 2003, Pakistan’s per capita availability of water declined to the extent that it was categorized as a water-stress country by the World Bank, surpassing Ethiopia and on par with African countries such as Libya and Algeria. Pakistan is now a water-scarce country at 1200 m3 per capita per year.

According to water specialist Simi Kamal, based on current projections, water availability (per capita) will be 855m3 by the year 2020. We have already used up everything that exists in our water cycle and we do not have additional sources of water to mobilize. When we say we are putting up another dam or reservoir, it doesn’t necessarily mean there will be additional water coming in; we are just re-appropriating what’s already in the system.

Hrdro Problems

Our water resource base continues to be degraded because of pollution, atrophy, veruse of surface water and over-exploitation of groundwater. Large tracts of land have been rendered uncultivable due to water logging and salinity, direct results of mismanaged irrigation. Unsafe drinking water is responsible for numerous diseases including dysentery, diarrhea, typhoid, cholera, malaria and gastroenteritis. UNICEF estimates that 200,000 children in Pakistan die annually due to diarrhoeal diseases alone.

The Indus delta has been reduced to one partially active creek and there is no water flowing downstream of the Kotri Barrage for almost the entire year. Our mangrove forests, previously some of the largest in the world, have been reduced from 0.6 million acres to 0.25 million acres, said Simi Kamal and Jairath at the Asia Pacific Regional Consultation in Dhaka. The mix of sweet and sea water maintains a very critical balance in the coastlines. If that balance is destroyed, then the entire water system is affected and will, over time, be felt right up to the watersheds. Pakistan is dependent on a single river system and we cannot afford to take any more chances with the water/sediment/salt balance of the Indus Basin.

The Irrigation System of Pakistan

Pakistan has the largest contiguous irrigation system in the world. However, owing to the poor state of infrastructure, about two-thirds is lost due to poor transmission and seepage. This means that about 68 MAF is potentially usable water if the canal system is adequately repaired and maintained. Of the total sweet water availability of approximately 144 MAF, 97 percent is already used in agriculture. We have a situation where instead of improving farming methods to conserve water and increase productivity, agricultural landowners demand more water, only to maintain some of the lowest productivity rates in the world per unit of water and per unit of land.

All debates on water conservation, however, are cuffed by the constant refrain on dams and water sharing among provinces. Safeguards are needed.

The Solution?

The seeds of conflict on water in Pakistan, therefore, are sowed by nothing more than hydrology and this needs to be recognized. We cannot solve a very complex geographical, hydrological, economic and environmental problem through politicking. The discussion on water distribution, therefore, should be in relation to uses and users, not among political or administrative units. This means, a discussion in terms of head, middle and tail farmlands in irrigated areas; and in terms of water for survival, subsistence and pastoral livelihoods in non-irrigated areas. Rainfed and arid areas should also be a part of the debate on water equity and water use. In addition, uses of water other than agriculture – for domestic use, for industry, for urban areas, and for the environment – should all be incorporated for a robust water policy for Pakistan.

There is a need to recognize that just because certain water-related practices have gone on for centuries does not mean that they are allowed to continue in the face of a world in turmoil. We need to change the way we think about water, the way we use water and the way we dispose off wastewater.

A Collective Approach is Needed Individuals and corporate citizens must engage with decision-makers across the board regarding rational and responsible use of water. Industries, agricultural industries and corporations must move to pollution control, micro-irrigation, recycling and reuse of water on bigger scales. Once these can be demonstrated, only then can the gigantic problems of wastage through the irrigation system and through leakages in municipal water supply be taken up.
Our first hurdle is the unfortunate habit of laying everything at the door of “the government”. But what is this government? At the level of the home, you and I are the government; and at the level of a company or private enterprise, the heads are the government. The political process itself should hence be the will of the citizens. In the end, it is the amalgamation of policies, regulations, guidelines and actions that will help us solve water problems, which are likely to get more complicated due to climate change and environmental instability.

The world’s fastest growing cities are found in either Asia or Africa. Out of the 20 fastest growing cities in the world, ten, are in China.

Take emerging megacity, Shenzhen: A small town until 1980, Shenzhen experienced an unparalleled population and economic boom after being designated a free trade zone. Today, Shenzhen has more than 7 million inhabitants, due largely to its prime location on the Pearl River delta – the age-old trend of civilizations to gravitate towards water sources. This is 23 times its population only thirty years ago, according to the UN.

Massive urbanization has arrived in China. If current trends prove correct, the country’s urban population will reach 1 billion by 2030 (there are currently about 1.3 billion Muslims in the entire world).

New research released by the McKinsey Global Institute (MGI) estimates 320 million more people will be added to China’s cities by 2025. This is more than the entire population of the United States today, just over 305 million.

Currently, China has a hundred cities with a population of over one million. In 20 years, it will add more than a hundred more cities of this size, and at least six more megacities containing populations over 10 million people.

While this exponential growth will have a positive impact on the country’s GDP (MGI estimates increases up to 20 percent), it also carries serious challenges and consequences.

To meet what is considered an “unprecedented transformation” in history, governments at both national and local levels must proactively implement policies now.

Decisions that China makes today will determine whether its cities struggle to cope with growth (e.g. like Mexico City, Mumbai or Sao Paulo) or emerge as “world-class” megacities, with new markets and opportunities for business.

“To understand the dynamics of the megacities is also to understand their dilemmas,” writes Dr. George Bugliarello, University Professor and Chancellor , Polytechnic University, Brooklyn, New York.

Megacities are where both problems and opportunities are visible on a larger scale. What happens in megacities have a greater impact on the rest of the world. The UN’s ‘State of the World Population 2007′ notes that “No country in the industrial age has ever achieved significant economic growth without urbanization.”

“Urbanization is unavoidable,” states Chief of the UN Populations Fund’s Resource Mobilization Branch, Jean-Noel Wetterwald. “The concentration of people concentrate the problems, but also concentrate the solutions.”

Urban Migrants

A report released by Deutsche Bank Research in March of this year, ‘Megacities: Boundless Growth?’ cites the growth of cities as fastest in those countries with a “big gap between rural and urban incomes.” The larger the difference between urban incomes and rural incomes, the faster cities expand.

With 230 million migrants expected to move from the countryside into China’s “new” cities, MGI forecasts that migration will account for about 70 percent of urban population growth over the next two decades. Most people migrate to cities expecting higher wages and an improvement in their standard of living.

In many instances, they also don’t have much of a choice. One of the reasons why more megacities are forming at this particular time is history is because of the loss of arable land. In China alone some 3,000 to 6,0000 square kilometers of farmland are estimated to be lost each year, cites Deutsche Bank Research.

The reasons? Industrialization, unsustainable farming methods, and climate change.

The Deutsche Bank research cites other reasons why, soon, most of the world will live in cities. Among these include:

Population Growth:

Megacities are largely the result of longer life spans due to advances in hygiene and medicine.

Technological Revolution: “Globalization and digitization” drive the economic development of megacities because of the way they cluster markets and skilled workers together.

Opportunities for Investment:

More investment opportunities are to be found in cities than in rural areas.

Mega-problems

Dr. Bugliarello is also Editor-in-Chief of The Bridge, the quarterly publication of the National Academy of Engineering. “Megacities are currently experiencing rapid growth with which they cannot cope,”

This creates a host of problems, including: Population growth; poverty increase; infrastructure problems in transportation and communications; land and housing pressures (i.e. On average, China “concentrates” 5.7 persons to a room, as compared to 0.5 in the US); environmental concerns; economic dependence; and capital scarcity.

Staggering Urbanization

Chongqing is a good illustration: Built along the Yangtze River, this former port town has grown to become one of China’s major economic hubs, and out of all the megacities in China, is purported to be the “fastest-growing urban center on the planet.”

If the day he spent in Chongqing is “typical,” says The Guardian writer Jonathan Watts, then “builders will lay 137,000 square meters of new floor space for residential blocks, shopping centres and factories. The economy will grow by 99 million yuan. There will be 568 deaths, 813 births and the arrival of 1,370 people from the countryside.”

Watts points out the incongruities in this emerging metropolis. From the “bangbang army” -a 100,000- strong crew of porters who carry heavy bundles of goods between Chongqing’s markets and earn approximately 20 Yuan a day (USD $2.9) – to the new, richer urbanites who have moved “off the land and into the sky.”

Implications

Urbanites tend to produce less and consume more, making demand for energy and water one of the biggest dilemmas of our times.

MGI forecasts the demand for energy in China’s urban areas is likely to more than double; and demand for water will increase by 70 to 100 percent.

This article is under Copyright 2003-08. Galt Western Personnel and has been tailored for TBL with permission from the Galt Global Review, www.galtglobalreview.com.

As the economic world turns upside down, the issue of trust – in business, governments, media and pressure groups in particular – has returned as perhaps one of the most urgent challenges of our time and one that has no borders. This can also be seen in the broader context of confidence – by customers, employees, shareholders, and also communities – in business policy and its translation into practice. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has provided opportunities for companies to align their activities with broader societal expectations. However, there is still a view that this is window-dressing and does not go to the heart of the business.

There are many different definitions of ‘corporate citizenship’ and ‘corporate social responsibility’. The Commonwealth Business Council (CBC) uses the term corporate citizenship with a definition developed from the work of the World Business Council on Sustainable Development: “Corporate citizenship is the commitment of business to contribute to sustainable economic development, working with employees, their families, the local community and society at large to improve the quality of life of all stakeholders”. For the Federation of Pakistani Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI), CSR is “the strategic and practical link between inclusive development and economic growth realised by business behaviour that generates a trustworthy reputation with the commitment of key stakeholders. Its effectiveness is directly dependent upon an organisation’s implementation of its values, corporate governance, business relationships and impacts”.

According to the FPCCI, CSR should be viewed as an umbrella term for a variety of activities, which share the following features:

Companies have a responsibility for their impact on society and the natural environment, sometimes beyond legal compliance and liability of individuals.

Companies have a responsibility for the behaviour of others with whom they do business (for example, suppliers).

Business needs to manage its relationship with wider society, whether for reasons of commercial viability or to add value to society.

There are seven reasons why CSR matters:

1. Moral and ethical reasons-to ‘do the right thing’.
2. Sustainability of the markets companies rely upon for income.
3. Brand image and reputation.
4. Employee/stakeholder motivation.
5. To enable the company to respond proactively to changing stakeholder agendas and be able to cooperate effectively under a range of business conditions.
6. To account positively on its performance to stakeholders in a way that will enhance the company’s reputation.
7. To provide managers with a framework for managing the business in a more holistic
   manner.

Stakeholders and Society

There is currently an almost bewildering array of international CSR initiatives. However, stakeholders such as governments, businesses, and civil society groups have identified a range of significant weaknesses in current approaches to promoting CSR. These need to be remembered as an increasing number of companies in Pakistan pursue a ‘beyond philanthropy’ model of CSR:

An over-proliferation of CSR initiatives at the international level and lack of clarity about how these initiatives relate to each other;

An excessive focus on getting businesses to make commitments to CSR and not enough focus on enabling them to implement them;

An absence of credible monitoring and verification processes;

A lack of effective mechanisms of redress for communities affected by companies that flout national or international norms on sustainable development or human rights;

A lack of engagement with developing country governments and their sustainable development priorities (for example, economic development and poverty reduction);

A failure to bridge the governance gap created by weak public sector governance of the private sector in many developing countries;
Limited impact on sustainable development goals; and
A lack of government involvement and/or investment in international CSR initiatives, which is contributing significantly to their underperformance.

Despite the volumes of paper and the number of events, the CSR (and corporate governance debate) in Europe and the USA while contributing to heightened awareness of the issues has significant drawbacks which are seldom acknowledged.

Eight Problems with CSR Today

1. Reputational risks of CSR advocates: variable standards and a lack of transparency by a growing number of (western) NGOs which undertake advocacy, consultancy and third- party auditing, all too often in tandem, continues to constrain confidence in the processes involved.

2. A lack of understanding of how corporate governance links to CSR: There is an imbalance in the CSR debate which fails to distinguish where CSR relates – and does not relate – to corporate governance. In this area recent developments by the CBC (see below) and also the OECD (cf. the Policy Framework for Investment) are of note. At the same time, the significance of developments in Asia, especially Japan, which links the two areas is being increasingly recognised. Moreover, in developing countries it is important to highlight not just why but how responsible behaviour and good governance can contribute to a more favourable investment climate.

3. A lack of understanding of what CSR means – and how it is perceived – outside a European / North American / Christian context: This has several dimensions. As Canon in Japan has noted, “the Anglo-Saxon debate on corporate responsibility seems to be centred only on their historical and social criteria, which naturally deal with Catholicism, Protestantism and Western European Individualism”. In addition, there is a risk that a strong and sustained focus on China and India does not crowd out visibility for innovative practice – and an appetite to learn – in other countries in South Asia.

4. A weak understanding of the dynamics of international trade and how diversified exports from developing countries for supply chains of global companies can contribute to SME development and poverty alleviation: The private sector is the main driving force of industrial development in virtually all countries and – through changing patterns of international production, investment and trade – shapes the economic globalisation process. A vibrant private sector building on the combined strength, linkages and relationships between large, medium, small and micro enterprises, is an essential prerequisite for triggering economic dynamism, enhancing productivity, transferring and diffusing new industrial technologies, maintaining competitiveness, contributing to entrepreneurship development and ultimately poverty reduction, and reduced social and business risk.

5. A lack of sectoral specific context: A profusion of questionnaires from a growing number of (western) rating agencies with a ‘one size fits all’ approach for diverse sectors is resulting in questionnaire fatigue on the part of companies.

6. A lack of explicit focus on productivity: Traditionally, the productivity debate has focused on its input-oriented economic and technological aspects. This view is being increasingly challenged. The increasing focus on sustainable development, corporate governance, social responsibilities and ethics, and social auditing and standards represents a significant shift in the growth paradigm which acknowledges that social conditions also affect the rates of productivity growth. The approach of the Asian Productivity Organisation (APO), of which Pakistan and India are founder members, has helped to highlight the link between CSR and productivity in an Asian context.

7. An insufficient focus on capacity-building, training, and development, especially in developing countries: A unique gathering of global companies, major investors and international policymakers at the UN in Tokyo in November 2003 agreed that there has been too little focus in CSR and governance in these areas. Management education can play a critical role – by building the human capacity and management capability. Events on CSR and corporate governance, whether in Europe or Asia where experts parachute in with set piece presentations and negligible understanding of context, are no substitute for activities which build the confidence and trust as well as develop the capabilities and harness the creativity of those directly involved, especially decision-makers among policymakers, companies, and investors from developing countries. In this, a trusted regional inter-governmental intermediary such as the APO which now spans a range of 20 Asian countries is key and much-needed. The SAARC Chamber can also play a role in sharing knowledge and building capability at a regional level.

8. An industry which has issues with training, quality, transparency, and measurement: Although now changing, many people who work in CSR – as suppliers and consultants – often lack a sufficiently broad or deep private sector background and are too often from NGOs or academia.

However, it is clear that the CSR agenda also has some important strengths:

The high levels of commitment shown by some key leadership companies;

The capacity for innovation and openness to change shown by a range of international CSR initiatives;

The openness of leadership companies and CSR initiatives to working in partnership with a wide range of stakeholders; and

The growing recognition that a CSR agenda must address public sector governance issues and scale up the impact of CSR activities to improve the delivery of sustainable development at a systemic level.

The elephant in the room is getting bigger

There is one area where CSR – certainly as perceived in the West – has too long been ignored but where alienation, articulation and anger make this no longer possible: minority rights and status. As Amartya Sen, a Nobel laureate and chair of the Commonwealth Commission on Respect and Understanding (2007) said, “civil paths to peace also demand the removal of gross economic inequalities, social humiliations and political disenfranchisement, which can contribute to generating confrontation and hostility”.

The business case for connecting CSR to the status and empowerment of minorities is clear – it is based on moral fairness, the need for social stability and cohesion but also recognises that as economic power shifts, India and the UK will need to connect more, not less, to centres in the Gulf and beyond. As the CBC Guidelines on Business Principles (2007) made clear, “a wide perspective is now seen as essential for directors of high performing boards in which diversity is not just desirable in itself but also for ensuring an organisation is better equipped to leverage opportunities from changing trading relationships in emerging markets”. By showing leadership in this area, international and local companies can change a reputational risk into a reputational opportunity.

Reference

-A. Zaman, ‘Made in Japan – Converging Trends in Corporate Responsibility and Corporate Governance,’ Royal Institute of International Affairs, London, 2003. See: www.chathamhouse.org.uk/publications/papers/download/-/id/137/file/3110_madeinjapan.pdf
-SustainAbility Gearing Up (report for UN Global Compact Meeting 24/06/04)
-UN report available at:-
www.henleymc.ac.uk/henleyres03.nsf/files/CORR_ReportUNIDO_041103.pdf/$FILE/CORR_ReportUNIDO_041103.pdf. Meeting supported by UK Embassy in Japan, UN, Cable & Wireless, Japan Business Council in Europe and Reuters.

IFC Partners with Global Reporting Initiative to Improve Corporate Reporting on Gender Issue

A 12-month research and consultation project has been launched in September by IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, and the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) to help private enterprises worldwide create new opportunities for women, adopt best practices in sustainability reporting, and improve their bottom lines.

The project is expected to help develop a Gender Sustainability Reporting Resource Guide that will complement the GRI’s innovative Sustainability Reporting Framework, the most widely used and recognized global framework for nonfinancial reporting. The GRI framework links elements of effective sustainability management systems with indicators that can drive continuous improvement of company performance.

This project is part of a larger IFC-GRI partnership to help companies adopt sustainability reporting as a tool for improving environmental, social, and business performance. The governments of Germany, Iceland, and Switzerland are lead sponsors of the project.

Rachel Kyte, IFC Vice President for Business Advisory Services, said, “Adding a gender perspective to existing nonfinancial reporting frameworks will help private companies win recognition as diversity leaders by workers, investors and consumers.”

Sean Gilbert, Director of Sustainability Reporting Framework at GRI said that GRI will provide practical, hands-on guidance for reporting on gender issues through extensive consultations with GRI’s global network.

The new guide is intended for companies that want to establish themselves as leaders in managing gender issues. It will demonstrate the value of creating business opportunities for women, provide guidance on improving gender management through sustainability reporting, and help improve the quality and scope of gender reporting by including new categories such as “women as consumers,” “women as entrepreneurs in the supply chain,” and “women as part of the community.”

CSR TRENDS: A Practical, In-depth Tool for CSR Reports

CSR TRENDS 2008, a practical and in-depth tool for organizations and practitioners, was released recently by Canadian Business for Social Responsibility (CBSR) and Craib Design & Communications. CSR TRENDS is an overview of trends and best practices in the ever-expanding field of corporate social responsibility reporting. It surveyed 75 Canadian and international reports and reviewed a larger group of 250 reports for best practices. Best practice reports:

• Address tough questions posed by stakeholder groups – 91 percent of reporters described specific stakeholder engagement methods and 64 percent provided results or responses from engagement initiatives.
• Place their information in global context by using external guidelines – 71 percent of reporters used the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) guidelines, while 20 percent used the UN Global Compact principles.
  Use the web effectively, including interactive timelines, maps, games, “create your own report” capabilities, and more.
• New reporters and those with years of experience will benefit from current case studies, statistics and useful visual examples in a number of areas of reporting. The CSR trends survey can help companies create a framework for their own reports.

Environmental Crimes Rampant and Under-investigated, Report Says

Environmental crimes such as illegal logging, trade in endangered species, illegal fishing, and trade in banned refrigerants are rampant and growing, according to a report from the nonprofit Environmental Investigation Agency. Organized crime networks are raking in over $10
billion a year through commission of environmental crimes, and national and international police organizations are doing little to stop them, the report charges.

“Even if we bring intelligence to the attention of authorities, often the political will is not there,” said EIA’s Debbie Banks. “We really need to see environmental crime treated as seriously as narcotics and arms. At the moment, that’s not happening.”

Some of the recent growth in environmental crimes is due in part to “the proliferation of international and regional environmental agreements, [which lead] to more controls on a range of commodities,” the report says. “It is also due to mutations in the operations of criminal syndicates which have been diversifying their operations into new areas like counterfeiting and environmental crime.

Greening the Internet

A recent study by McKinsey, a consultancy firm, and the Uptime Institute, a think tank, predicts that by 2020 the carbon footprint of the computers that run the internet will be larger than that of air travel. Data centres consumed 1 percent of the world’s electricity in 2005.

According to Google, “computing centres are located on a ship or ships, anchored in a water body from which energy from natural motion of the water may be captured, and turned into electri-city and/or pumping power for cooling pumps to carry heat away.” The increasing number of data centres necessary to cope with the massive information flows generated on popular websites has prompted companies to look at radical ideas to reduce their running costs.

The supercomputers housed in the data centres use massive amounts of electricity to ensure they do not overheat. As a result the internet is not very green.

Google has announced plans to launch its own “computer navy” -supercomputers which will enable operation of its internet search engines on barges anchored up to seven miles (11km) offshore. The “water-based data centres” would use wave energy to power and cool their computers, reducing Google’s costs.

Rich Miller, the author of the datacentreknowledge.com blog, stated that Google’s computer navy solution is: “Really innovative, outside-the-box thinking”. Technology experts said it is an unexpected but clever solution.

Microsoft is also looking into building a data centre in the cold climes of Siberia, and in Japan, Sun Microsystems, a technology firm, plans to send its computers down an abandoned coal mine, using water from the ground as a coolant. Sun said it could save $9 million (£5 million) of electricity costs a year and use half the power the data centre would have required if it were at ground level.

Green Power for Mobile Programme in Developing World

The Green Power for Mobile programme, an initiative of the GSM Association, will transition mobile phone towers which currently run on off-grid power to renewable energy. This programme will save about 600 Million Gallons of Diesel. A news story on treehugger, the leading media outlet dedicated to driving sustainability mainstream, states that the end objective of this initiative is “to use renewable energy to power 118,000 mobile phone base stations – the sites that receive and transmit calls – by 2012. New and existing off – grid sites currently running on diesel generators will be targeted first. Powering these base stations with solar, wind or biofuel will save 600 million gallons of diesel fuel each year”.

The Green Power for Mobile programme has already begun in some places: The Pacific Island of Vanuatu has 17 stations running on wind or solar; 30 stations in Kenya are running on wind and solar. In Andhra Pradesh, India 350 stations are currently running on an 80/20 mix of diesel and waste cooking oil, but in the future this is expected to be a 50/50 mix, with sustainable grown biofuels replacing the waste cooking oil.

In the Wake of The Hurricane..

Hurricane Ike left a big mess behind as it passed over Galveston, Texas, and other Gulf Coast areas, but the mess wasn’t just from debris. Just as with Hurricane Katrina, the combination of destructive high winds and subsequent flooding have created a toxic soup that’s potentially dangerous to residents, cleanup crews, and the environment. Floodwaters have mixed with gasoline, paints, household chemicals, and construction debris (some containing asbestos) to make an unpleasant, icky, potentially hazardous mess that could also cause respiratory problems when it dries into dust. “Quite frankly, we are reaching a health crisis for those that are remaining on the island,” said Galveston city manager Steve LeBlanc. Plenty of standing water has also led to a boom in mosquitoes and the county has been asked to spray the area to kill the larvae.

Hurricane Ike has also messed with area wildlife. Ike’s storm surge helped turn some fresh-water wetlands as far as 20 miles inland into salty marshes hostile to many freshwater fish, as well as other wildlife. “[The salt

infusion] exasperates everything that needs freshwater,” said Jim Sutherlin, superintendent of a Gulf Coast wildlife area. Algae blooms have also been a problem; caused by untreated sewage rushing into Galveston Bay after the storm, algae blooms have been sucking oxygen out of the water, leaving little available for marine life. Ike’s high winds also shredded many mulberry trees that migrating birds depend on for fuel to cross the Gulf of Mexico.

(Shared by Grist, an online environmental news magazine)

Recycled Messenger Bags Cut Costs Considerably

The new Hewlett-Packard laptop “will be displayed on shelves wearing only the HP Protect Messenger Bag”, at Wal-Mart. Scandalous! But actually, there’s no need to avert your eyes: the HP Pavilion dv6929 is served up in a recycled, reusable messenger bag instead of a box, cutting cardboard and plastic packaging by 97 percent. Thinking outside the box helped HP win Wal-Mart’s Home Entertainment Design Challenge, which judged suppliers’ products on attractive design, environmental innovation, and less-wasteful, less-toxic packaging. Wal-Mart says 25 percent less truck space is now needed to schlep the computer to stores, cutting transportation costs by 31 percent. In addition, purchasers of the $798 laptop, which is available only at Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club, can recycle an old PC for free.

(Shared by Grist, an online environmental news magazine)

New Study Calls for National Commitment to Increase Energy Efficiency in Low-income Homes

An estimated 25 million low-income families in America struggle with increased utility and energy costs due to inefficiently built housing. A new study by Enterprise Community Partners, ‘Bringing Home the Benefits of Energy Efficiency to Low-Income Households: A Case for a National Commitment’, calls for a national commitment to rehabilitate and retrofit low-income housing with energy-efficient features that will offer substantial financial savings for residents and ensure long-term gains in environmental and energy sustainability.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) currently spends more than $4 billion each year to pay utilities in government-assisted properties. Yet, these funds cover only a fraction of the families and individuals in need of financial help. In contrast, with an annual investment of $5 billion during a ten-year span to rehabilitate low-income homes, considerable gains can be made in energy savings, carbon reduction and cost savings to the renters and homeowners.

CSRwire states that “the report recommends a comprehensive, 10-point plan that would, among other aspects, be able to: Build capacity to implement low-cost improvements; Ensure climate change legislation supports low-income home energy efficiency; Green the revitalization of distressed public housing communities; and Incentivize major financial institutions to finance energy-efficient very low-income homes. These recommendations would engage public-private partnerships to help overcome the market barrier of financing the cost of improvements. The points also offer suggestions for federal support to incorporate private capital investment such as credit enhancements and tax incentives as structures to diversify direct governmental spending”.

“A national commitment to bring home the benefits of energy efficiency to low-income families in their homes would save families money, cut carbon emissions and create hundreds of thousands of good green jobs, ” said Stockton Williams, senior vice president and chief strategy officer of Enterprise Community Partners.

(Shared by Grist, an online environmental news magazine)

Pledge to Deliver Access to Financial Services Worldwide

A pattern of exclusion from access to financial services persists around the world and surfaces in developed and emerging economies alike. An estimated 2 billion consumers worldwide lack access to basic financial services, including nearly 50 percent of citizens in new EU member states, 70 percent of the population in Mexico and places like Tanzania where bank account ownership rates dip as low as 5 percent. The Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) aims to deliver accessible, affordable and empowering financial services to at least 5 million consumers worldwide who do not currently have adequate access to financial products and services that meet their needs. CGI’s objective is to direct resources and focus attention on improving access to financial services, a solution CGI views as key to alleviating poverty throughout the world.

MPOWER Ventures, a socially committed venture fund,  today announced a five-year commitment to the CGI. “This commitment keeps our mission in focus and the collective efforts of the MPOWER group of companies squarely aimed at the positive impact we seek to achieve by providing affordable and accessible financial services…” said Roy Sosa, founding partner, MPOWER Ventures. Innovations like prepaid debit cards have been a powerful solution for bringing unbanked consumers into the financial mainstream in the U.S. and Europe.

The venture fund aims to develop more such innovative solutions and breakthrough products capable of reaching previously inaccessible markets and will bring underserved consumers around the world a broad range of financial services, including the ability to deposit and withdraw funds, transfer funds, make purchases and accept payments anywhere, anytime.