IDB’s Multilateral Investment Fund and the Brazilian National Standards Organization launch $2.8 million project to help smaller enterprises measure and manage their carbon footprint
The Inter-American Development Bank’s Multilateral Investment Fund (FOMIN), in partnership with the Brazilian National Standards Organization (ABNT), will launch a program to help 200 small and medium-size companies manage their greenhouse gas emissions.
The $2.8 million project will provide technical support to SMEs to carry out emissions inventories, support participating companies with identifying related business opportunities and help the ABNT become accredited as a third-party verifier of GHG emissions according to internationally accepted standards and protocols.
To date, voluntary GHG management initiatives in Brazil have only involved large companies. There are few resources available to assist SMEs in training staff and implementing GHG management systems, and there are no Brazilian organizations or firms accredited as third-party verifiers of GHG emissions to assure the quality of data.
“Equipped with better tools and capabilities, Brazilian SMEs will no longer be left on the sidelines of the region’s burgeoning green economy,” said FOMIN project team leader Zachary Levey.
Brazil is considered a global leader in climate change action and sustainability. In 1992 it hosted the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED, or the Rio Earth Summit) in Rio de Janeiro, where the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was signed. Brazil will host the Rio+20 Summit in June 2012.
The project will be executed by ABNT, a non-profit established in 1940 to develop technical standards in Brazil. A founding member of the International Organization of Standardization, ABNT has significant experience with implementing quality management systems, environmental management systems and several product certification schemes for SMEs.
About FOMIN
Established in 1993 as part of the IDB Group, the Multilateral Investment Fund develops effective approaches to support economic growth and poverty reduction through private sector-led development in support of micro, small and medium enterprises, benefitting the poor—their businesses, their farms, and their households.