Green Digital Finance Alliance (GDFA), has set in motion a new global partnership, Every Action Counts (EAC), to encourage one billion people to take green action by 2025.
The GDFA was launched by Ant Financial Services and UN Environment Programme (UNEP), to address the potential for digital finance and fintech-powered business innovations to reshape the financial system in ways that better align it with the needs of sustainable development.
In a statement posted on its website, GDFA said: “A new partnership to harness the power of green consumer behaviours to enhance biodiversity and climate efforts has been launched with some of the world’s leading digital platforms, financial institutions, and consumer goods and services companies as launch members.
“The ‘Every Action Counts’ (EAC) coalition is launched today by the Green Digital Finance Alliance (GDFA), funded by the Finance for Biodiversity (F4B) initiative of the MAVA Foundation.”
It added that the EAC brings together a global network of digital, financial, e-commerce, and consumer goods and services companies with experts in sustainability, and nature and biodiversity conservation.
“The new network will share best practices in encouraging individuals to take positive actions in daily life to create planet-friendly outcomes. Each coalition member will endeavour to pursue locally relevant approaches to driving sustainable consumer behaviours by advancing people-centric, tech-enabled and innovation-oriented engagement models,” the statement said.
Furthermore, it said the coalition holds the potential to scale green action as a norm which is encouraged, recognised and rewarded leveraging technology and innovation models.
GDFA also explained that the Alliance’s Advisory Council comprises innovative financial and sustainable development institutions committed to using digital technology to advance sustainable finance.
The founding members include the Central Bank of Kenya, the European Climate Foundation, the International Finance Corporation, the MAVA Foundation, the MIT Media Lab, M-Kopa, the Paulson Institute, PayTM, Sustainable Energy for All, and UN Women.
Already, a number of organisations such as the Ant Group, BBVA, BigPay, Dana, FNZ, GCash, Lazada Group, Mastercard, MTN Group, Paytm, Rabobank, Sanlam and Telenor Microfinance Bank/Easypaisa have signed on to the Alliance
Agreeing that empowering one billion digital green champions barely three years from now is ambitious; believe the Alliance can help as: it “draws in allies from across the worlds of environment, development and finance, who, through their expertise, insights and networks can contribute to collaborative actions with timely and scaled potential.”
In particular, the new EAC coalition is expected to connect experts in nature conservation and climate change with some of the world’s leading digital platforms, financial institutions and consumer goods firms,” GDFA added.
Speaking, UNEP Executive Director, Inger Andersen, said: “Nature provides the air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat, but we have not been so kind in return. I welcome this coalition aiming to empower 1 billion people to become part of creating a world where everyday actions and choices combat climate change and end biodiversity loss. As we embark on the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, putting people at the centre of the green transition is key.”
The MTN Group in its own statement explained each coalition member will endeavour to pursue locally relevant approaches to driving sustainable consumer behaviours by advancing people-centric, tech-enabled and innovation-oriented engagement models.
Although the network service provider could not indicate how expected targets will trickle down on its Nigerian operations, it however said T”he coalition aims to promote knowledge sharing to inspire innovative green tech solutions around the world, helping each payment platform and consumer goods company to focus on the green behaviours most relevant to their audience.
This new coalition wants to creatively leverage technology and partnerships to enhance green awareness and catalyse green action for 1 billion people by 2025.
The Group Executive, Corporate Affairs and Sustainability, MTN, Nompilo Morafo, said: “As MTN works to drive greater digital and financial inclusion, we recognise the importance of reducing our impact on the environment and balancing this to ensure more people are connected daily. We take a conservative approach to the use of energy, plastic, water and other resources through demand reduction, refurbishment, recycling and upcycling. For us, Every Action Counts enable us to offer our customers access to opportunities towards greener lifestyles and green job opportunities which can unlock the green economy across our markets.”
Spokesperson for the EAC coalition and Executive Director, GDFA, Marianne Haahr, said: “This new coalition wants to creatively leverage technology and partnerships to enhance green awareness and catalyse green action for 1 billion people by 2025. We want to encourage consumer behaviour that can become a driver of nature conservation and regeneration.
“We see a future where economic growth can coexist with, and even support, nature conservation and climate action, which is why we are bringing together partners who can help champion this vision for our global economy.”