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Final Consultancy Report

Guyana Green Business Framework

Prepared for:

Ministry of Business

229 South Road, Lacytown

Georgetown, Guyana

On behalf of:

Compete Caribbean Partnership Facility

Inter-American Development Bank

Maxwell Main Road, Christ Church, Barbados, BB17068, W.I.

Submitted by:

Alex Boyd

Consultant

February 27, 2019

Final Consultancy Report: Guyana Green Business Framework

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Table of Contents

Executive Summary ......................................................................................... 1

1. Background, Objectives and Methodology ....................................................... 15Low Carbon Development Strategy: Transforming Guyana’s Economy While Combating Climate Change ............................................................................................................................................... 15Guyana Green State Development Strategy ......................................................................................... 15Objectives of the Green Business Framework ...................................................................................... 17Methodology ....................................................................................................................................... 17

2. Overview of Relevant Policy Frameworks and Key Public and Private Sector

Organizations .............................................................................................. 20Overview of Policy Frameworks that Support Green Business Models ................................................. 20Overview of Government Institutions ................................................................................................... 22Overview of the Ministry of Business ................................................................................................... 23Overview of Private Sector Institutions ................................................................................................ 28

3. Key Findings from a Situational Analysis on the State of Green and Sustainable

Investment Climate in Guyana ......................................................................... 30Summary of Key Findings ................................................................................................................... 30Awareness Building and Messaging .................................................................................................... 33

General awareness building about roles and expectations ................................................................. 33Articulating and messaging the business case for adopting green business practices ......................... 34

Absorptive Capacity and Institutional Capacity Development .............................................................. 36Improving capacity, training and recruitment practices of key agencies ............................................ 36Targeted workforce development to address human resources gaps.................................................. 37Improving data collection and analysis ............................................................................................ 38

Regulatory Framework ....................................................................................................................... 38Mechanisms for grid connection and access .................................................................................... 38Performance based incentive system to promote resource efficiency ................................................ 39Green business certification and eco-labeling programs ................................................................... 40

Physical Infrastructure........................................................................................................................ 41Electricity grid reconfiguration and capacity expansion ................................................................... 41

Access to Finance ............................................................................................................................... 42Investment and Market Demand .......................................................................................................... 43Mapping the Critical Enabling Environment Issues Identified .............................................................. 44

4. Framework for Driving Green Business Development in Guyana ........................... 46Proposed Policy Recommendations and Strategic Lines of Action in Priority Enabling Environment Issue Areas ......................................................................................................................................... 48

1. Promoting Awareness Building and Messaging ........................................................................ 49


2. Improving Capacity Development and Absorptive Capacity ..................................................... 523. Optimizing the Regulatory Environment .................................................................................. 544. Enhancing Physical Infrastructure ............................................................................................ 575. Facilitating Access to Finance.................................................................................................. 586. Fostering Investment and Market Demand ............................................................................... 60

5. Putting the Green Business Framework into Practice .......................................... 63Coordinating Decisions and Activities with Other Government Agencies and Private Sector Organizations ..................................................................................................................................... 63Initial Roadmap for Implementing the Framework ............................................................................... 64Proposed Approach to Program Design .............................................................................................. 70Next Steps ........................................................................................................................................... 72

6. Annexes .................................................................................................. 74Annex 1: Review of Select International Case Studies and Best Practices ............................................ 74

Access to Finance Initiative for Off-Grid Lighting Products in Ethiopia ........................................... 75Energy Efficient Product Uptake and Clean Technology Industry Development through Energy Audit and Advisory Services in Germany ................................................................................................. 76Fostering Green Building Practices in Singapore ............................................................................. 77Transitioning to Solar Water Heaters in Tunisia .............................................................................. 80Treating Waste as a Resource in Haiti ............................................................................................. 81Key Lessons Learned for Guyana from International Case Studies ................................................... 83

Annex 2: Legislative Changes Enacted to Promote Green Development .............................................. 85Annex 3: Summary of Documents and Sources Reviewed .................................................................... 87Annex 4: Summary of Key Informant Interviews.................................................................................. 91


1

Executive Summary

Objectives and Context

Guyana has been at the forefront of the global green growth policy movement for some

time and the effort to develop a Green Business Framework is an important step in

Guyana’s decades-long and gradual, but steady transition to a green development

agenda.

The Government of Guyana’s (GoG) Low Carbon Development Strategy: Transforming

Guyana’s Economy While Combating Climate Change (LCDS) launched in 2009 in

partnership with the Government of Norway, established an ambitious agenda, “to

transform Guyana’s economy on to a low carbon, sustainable development trajectory,

while simultaneously combating climate change.” 1 Importantly, the LCDS and

associated activities helped lay a solid foundation for Guyana’s increasingly ambitious

green agenda by helping to raise environmental awareness and buy-in in Guyana,

increasing the mainstreaming of climate change issues into broader development

planning and exposing the Guyanese business community both within and outside the

forestry sector, to the notion that commercial benefits could be derived via

environmental protection.

More recently, the Government of Guyana (GoG) is expanding the scope of the

country’s green agenda well beyond deforestation prevention with the Guyana Green

State Development Strategy (GSDS) 2 which strives, “to reorient and diversify Guyana’s

economy, reducing reliance on traditional sectors and opening up new sustainable

income and investment opportunities in higher value adding and higher growth sectors;

while promoting an equitable distribution of benefits to all,” 3 and in doing so, guide

Guyana along a trajectory towards a truly ‘Green State’. 4 The GSDS is intended to

provide a roadmap towards achieving Guyana’s sustainable development and guide the

country’s economic and socio-cultural development over the next 15 years. A final draft

of the GSDS was submitted to Cabinet on October 31, 2018 and is currently under

review.

In response, GoG Ministries and agencies are in the process of adapting their policies,

objectives and approaches to align with expanded scope of the green agenda and the

1 https://www.lcds.gov.gy/ 2 https://motp.gov.gy/index.php/2015-07-20-18-53-36/2825-green-state-development-strategy-is-more-than-just-

another-document-minister-harmon-at-sdgs-gsds-alignment-workshop 3 http://www.guyanareddfund.org/images/stories/pdffiles/Green-State-Development-Strategy-ProjectDocument.pdf 4 ““President David Granger said that the Green State Development Strategy is intended to become a rational

roadmap to guide Guyana along the pathway towards the ‘Green State’ and show how the ‘good life’ can be assured.”

Source: http://www.guyanareddfund.org/index.php/grif-projects/guyana-green-state-development-strategy/47-grif


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Ministry of Business (MoB) is taking the lead in designing a Green Business Framework

to provide guidance on ways to incentivize and drive Guyanese businesses towards

practices that continue to foster local and foreign investment and economic growth,

while maintaining environmental sustainability. 5

Achieving this type of balance between a conducive business environment and

environmental sustainability is by no means a simple task and each nation should

endeavor to adopt those policies for helping to make a greener economy possible that

are most appropriate given that country’s particular context. It will also be important

that the eventual course of action taken does not lead to a material reduction in the

competitiveness of Guyanese enterprises, but rather, strives to better position them to

compete in local, regional and global markets while realizing both economic and

environmental benefits.6 The recent major oil discoveries off Guyana’s coast and the

anticipated subsequent impacts on the country’s economic and business structures only

underscore the timeliness of this analysis.

There is widespread recognition that Guyana’s private sector will need to drive the

response to the challenge of maintaining environmental sustainability while fostering

diverse investment and economic growth provided that the appropriate policy and

regulatory framework to incentivize and steer business towards adoption of green

business practices. Thus, on one hand, a primary aim of the Green Business

Framework is to provide guidance on measures to encourage domestic and foreign

investment into a range of green sectors such as clean technologies industries,

renewable energies, water services, clean transport, waste management and green

building. Simultaneously, the Framework also sets out to provide guidance on

measures to foster further adoption of green business practices in other economic

sectors of the Guyanese economy.7

5 The Green State Development Strategy: Vision 2040 Implementing Matrix assigns responsibility to the MoB towards

realizing several development objectives. Under the Green, Inclusive and High Value-adding Service Industries

development objective priority actions to support the travel and tourism and business process outsourcing sectors.

Under the Strengthening the Business Environment development objective, priority actions are called for in the areas

of transparency, dispute resolution, property rights, business regulation and private sector services including business

taxes. In addition, the GSDS calls for the Small Business Bureau (SBB) to continue to offer loans to small-to-medium

enterprises (SMEs) and work with private sector creditors to expand the options SMEs have for posting collateral; the

Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS) to review and update building standards and consider the case for fiscal

incentives for energy efficient buildings; and also calls for establishing a dedicated team and monitoring system to

deliver against Guyana's commitments under the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA). 6 For example, “LafargeHolcim [a global building products company] is making construction more sustainable as well

as affordable. By differentiating the products and making operations more efficient, the company has decreased its

CO2 emissions by 26.1% from 1990 to 2015.” Source: https://update.sml.zhaw.ch/opportunities-green-economy-

latin-america/ 7 “Environmental authorities have regulatory competency over only part of the SME community, and they are not the

primary interlocutors of small businesses. However, in OECD countries they often coordinate the efforts of other

public and private actors to promote green behaviour of SMEs….this role is increasingly being assumed by ministries

of economy. It is important that a national government body take the lead in establishing a network of actors

engaged in helping SMEs improve their environmental performance.” Source: Organisation for Economic Co-

operation and Development, “Environmental Policy Toolkit for Greening SMEs in the EU Eastern Partnership countries

- First edition.” 2015


3

Methodology

During the course of this effort, a combination of primary and secondary research was

utilized to conduct a situational analysis to evaluate the enabling conditions for

transitioning to a green economy and provide information regarding the current state of

green practices and the incentive framework to facilitate the uptake of green business

practices and investment into green sectors.8 The results of this situational analysis

were brought together in a Final Baseline Report (July 25, 2018) that helped inform the

design of the Green Business Framework.

Overview of Key Organizations and Findings from the Situational Analysis

This research effort revealed that a number of public and private sector actors are

actively working to create the type of enabling environment that will facilitate more

domestic and international investment into green sectors and increased adoption of

green business practices. For example there are a number of GoG institutions that have

roles in enabling the transition to increased green business practices9 including at a

minimum:

• Department of Environment, (MoP)

• Office of Climate Change, (MoP)

• Environmental Protection Agency

(EPA)

• Ministry of Public Infrastructure

• Guyana Energy Agency (GEA)

• Public Utilities Commission (PUC)

• Guyana Power and Light Inc. (GPL)

• Ministry of Natural Resources

• Ministry of Agriculture and

Fisheries

• Ministry of Communities

• Ministry of Foreign Affairs

• Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA)

• Guyana Water Incorporation

• Guyana Livestock Development

Authority

• Guyana Association of

Municipalities

Given the sizeable number of government organizations with roles in enabling the

transition to increased green business practices and the fact that the Ministry of

Business’ mandate is inter-sectorial in scope, considerable inter-agency cooperation and

coordination will be required to realize the Ministry of Business’ vision for a diverse and

green economy.10

8 Over one hundred documents, studies and other sources were reviewed and approximately four dozen key

informants were interviewed during the research effort. See Annexes 3 and 4 for summaries. 9 During the course of the research activities representatives of a number of public and private stakeholder

organizations were consulted. Abbreviated overviews of their roles in facilitating increased adoption of green

business practices and investment into green sectors were presented in the Final Baseline Report (July 25, 2018) that

helped inform this study. A summary of key informants interviewed can be found in Annex 4. 10 Ministry of Business, “Ministry of Business Strategic Plan 2016-2020.” Final Report - September 26, 2016


4

Globally many renewable energy and energy efficient technologies have become

economically competitive with fossil fuels and more traditional energy products. This

trend combined with the number of tax exemptions and other incentives currently

extended to Guyanese businesses, would seem to demonstrate that the business case

for increased adoption of certain green business practices and the rationale for further

investment into green sectors are rather straightforward.

Nonetheless, many enduring structural issues, specifically a number of features within

Guyana’s current policy and regulatory frameworks and certain market conditions

constrain green investment. For instance, the high cost, and unreliability of energy,

continues to significantly impact Guyanese firms’ competitiveness by limiting their

ability to control the costs of production. 11 Further, the electricity grid’s unreliability has

forced a number of larger Guyanese manufacturing firms to pursue their own off-grid

energy generation solutions. And it continues to be difficult for SMEs to obtain

financing to fund the purchase of certain energy efficiency products that often have high

up-front capital costs such as photovoltaic solar panels and solar water heaters.

Further, a broad array of information barriers and market failures are currently

discouraging many Guyanese companies from adopting more energy efficient practices,

irrespective of the prevailing high energy prices that companies are forced to absorb

into their cost structures. Most Guyanese companies lack the requisite information to

make the right choices on energy efficient products or services that are appropriate for

their business. For example, unbeknownst to much of the Guyanese business

community, there are several tourism businesses in Guyana’s interior that have adopted

solar power generation systems, significantly reducing their operating costs and

dependency on fossil fuels. Further the difficulty many enterprises experience accessing

finance to fund the purchase of energy efficient equipment and other technologies

compounds the slow uptake of green business practices and products. 12

Based on the situational analysis13 the key barriers to creating the type of enabling

environment that would facilitate the increased adoption of green business practices

and to drive investment into green sectors primarily fall within the following enabling

environment critical issue areas, accompanied by a few specific examples:14

11 “The business environment is a crucial factor in country competitiveness levels. In Guyana, the biggest constraints

to the ease of doing business, as identified in surveys by the WEF and the World Bank, include the lack of adequate

infrastructure (particularly access and cost of electricity, and logistics), access to finance, the level and complexity of

tax rates, and the skills gap in the labor market. During the consultation process for this plan, the private sector

confirmed the need for improvement, particularly in these areas.” Source: Ministry of Business, “Ministry of Business

Strategic Plan 2016-2020.” Final Report - September 26, 2016 12 https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/sustainability-and-resource-productivity/our-insights/promoting-

energy-efficiency-in-the-developing-world 13 The key findings from the situational analysis are summarized in the Final Baseline Report (July 25, 2018) and

summaries of the documents and sources reviewed and key informants interviewed are compiled in Annexes 3 and 4. 14 The key critical enabling environment issues identified during the situational analysis are discussed further later in

this section of the document.


5

• Awareness building and messaging

o Need for further clarity on what adopting green business practices means

practically for some public and private sector actors.

o Enhanced messaging that articulates the specific business cases to adopt

green business practices for specific types of firms.

• Absorptive capacity limitations and capacity development requirements

o Technical capacity limitations within GEA, PUC, GPL and GRA.15

o Inadequate access to technical support and capacity building services

such as firm-level energy audit services to assist businesses with adopting

green technologies.

• Regulatory framework

o Mechanisms needed to help facilitate electricity grid interconnections

with potential new sources of renewable power.

o Performance based incentive systems to promote resource efficiency.

o Sector-specific green certification (of business practices) and eco-labeling

(for products) programs have become more common in other countries

and have helped catalyze increased demand for green business practices.

• Physical infrastructure

o Grid configuration and capacity limitations.

• Access to finance

o Difficulties securing financing to fund the often, high upfront costs of

adopting some renewable energy technologies is contributing to a slower

transition to renewables.

o Scarce economic incentives such as grants, low-interest loans and tax

incentives for businesses.

• Investment and market demand

o Lack of major investors and sources of demand to drive further

investment into green sectors.

o More explicit focus on attracting investment into green sectors needed at

Go-Invest.

o Limited green procurement policies.

15 As outlined in the Final Baseline Report (July 25, 2018), stakeholders interviewed reported that GEA currently lacks

adequate technical capacity to understand and compare different design proposals for PV installations. As a result a

race to the bottom can occur as some bidding companies will submit inferior designs to meet minimum requirements

rather than the best technical solution. This can negatively affect the image of the entire solar industry if the selected

technical solution is not optimal. In addition, several stakeholders interviewed asserted that PUC and GPL do not

currently have access to workforce talent familiar with the renewable energy and oil and gas industries’ requirements

and relevant technologies that will be required to design, regulate and manage the modernized grid envisioned for

Guyana. Finally, stakeholders reported that the GRA currently lacks the administrative capacity and technical

expertise to properly evaluate new and different energy efficient products to determine if they meet duty and tax

exemption criteria. This can lead to lengthy delays in customs, which in turn, has delayed some renewable energy

installations, stunting the adoption of green business practices and acts as a disincentive to investment in green

sectors.


6

Mapping the critical issues identified on a continuum from initial market demand to

product purchase and aftermarket repair and maintenance reveals how a number of

these issues are interrelated and/or interdependent:

Figure 1: Interrelation and Interdependence of Key Enabling Environment Critical Issues

Source: Consultant’s analysis

The issues highlighted in red are the bottlenecks most critical towards increased green

business adoption and attracting investment into green sectors. That is, it will be

imperative to prioritize and address these issues to realize the goals embedded in the

proposed Green Business Framework.

This diagram is not intended to be a comprehensive portrayal of the existing enabling

environment for facilitating companies’ increased adoption of green business practices

and to drive investment into green sectors. Rather, the aim of the diagram is to depict

some of the key dynamics that impact these two objectives, highlighting some of the

primary gaps identified, how a number of these issues are interrelated and/or

interdependent and potential priorities for resource allocation. The diagram also aims to

show that a holistic approach is called for to meet the objectives of the Green Business

Framework.

MarketDemand Informa/on Accessibility Absorp/ve

Capacity Affordability Reliability

Policy

CapacityBuilding

WorkforceDevelopment

Electricitygridcapacityandconfigura;on

•  Awarenessbuilding

•  Ar;cula;ngandmessagingthebusinesscaseforgreenbusinessprac;ceadop;on

Regula;ons•  Mechanismsforgridconnec;onandaccess(e.g.feed-intariff)

•  Energyefficiencystandards

•  Recyclingprograms

•  Greenbusinesscer;fica;on

•  Ecolabeling

•  Incen;ves•  DutyandVATexemp;ons

•  Taxcredits

Governmentprocurementpolicieswithgreenbusinessprac;cerequirements

Technicalcapacitydevelopment•  GEA•  PUC•  GPL•  GRA

Commercialbanks’technicalcapacitydevelopmenttoevaluate“green”projects

Accesstofinanceandgreenloanprograms

SMEscapacitytoadoptanddiffusetechnology

•  Servicesuppliers•  Ongoing

maintenanceandrepairworkforce

Workforceto:•  Installsolarpanels•  Performenergyaudits•  Provideenergyefficiency

advisoryservices

SMEcompliancewithbankrequirements

ResourcesforEPAenforcementofenvironmentalstandards


7

Framework for Driving Green Business Development in Guyana Guyana is presently immersed in an extremely dynamic process in which various public

and private sector actors are adjusting simultaneously to both, the ongoing

transformation to a green economy and the realities associated with the anticipated

emergence of a sizeable oil and gas sector and its impact on the Guyanese economy.

The GoG is leading by example with its GY$1 billion 16 annual Renewable Energy

Programme to improve the energy efficiency of government departments through solar

photovoltaic (PV) system installations on government buildings. 17

The Green Business Framework presented forthwith sets out to accelerate the greening

of Guyanese businesses and contribute to Guyana’s overarching national development

objectives as expressed in the GSDS. The Green Business Framework is tailored to

Guyana’s specific conditions and aims to provide a structure for policy development that

offers guidance on the design of policies, initiatives and to promote the adoption of

green business practices and encourage investment into a range of green sectors.

The policy recommendations and strategic lines of action put forward within the Green

Business Framework are organized in six policy areas that mirror the key enabling

environment critical issue areas identified during the situational analysis that were

highlighted above. The policy recommendations and strategic lines of action are

designed to address the key structural issues impeding the uptake of green business

practices and the investment climate for green sector investment and fostering enabling

conditions that make green activities more attractive opportunities for both businesses

and investors alike. Further, many of the proposed policy recommendations and

strategic lines of actions put forward in the Green Business Framework reinforce and

complement a number of the integrated objectives that have guided the GSDS:

16 Approximately US$4.8 million based on current exchange rates. 17 In 2017, the Renewable Energy Programme resulted in the award of contracts for the installation of PV systems on

the rooftops of 70 government buildings and a 400kW Solar PV Farm, totaling 1.36 megawatts (MW) and a contract to

replace inefficient lights and the installation of 10,427 light-emitting diode (LED) lamps and 3,766 occupancy sensors

at 46 government buildings, as well as 360 energy efficient outdoor lights. Source: Guyana Energy Agency,

“Milestones, Challenges, and 2018 budget presentation.”


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Table 1: Proposed Implementation Timeline

Strategic Lines of Action

Proposed Priority Actions

Short Term (Year 1) Medium Term (Year 2-3) Long Term (Year 3+) 1. Promoting Awareness Building and Messaging

• Create awareness building program

• Design/deliver messaging that

communicates business case(s) for

adopting green business practices.18

• Design dedicated “Green” section of the

MoB website

• Deliver awareness building campaigns and

communication strategies as eco-labeling, green

business certification program etc. are launched

2. Improving Capacity Development and Absorptive Capacity

• Design/deliver tailored capacity

development programs for GoG agencies

• Improve the MoB’s capacity to collect

green economy-related data

• Conduct green sector skills gaps

assessments

• Implement targeted workforce development

programs that address human resources gaps

3. Optimizing the Regulatory Environment

• Execute study to determine the

appropriate net-metering/net-

billing/feed-in mechanism for electricity

grid19

• Design and implement eco-labeling program

• Design and implement green business certification

program 20

• Support design and implementation of

performance based incentive systems that

• Consider the design and

implementation of new recycling

and waste management programs

18 “The benefits of green growth are often complex, abstract and difficult to calculate or communicate. By contrast, the related costs are often tangible and immediate…credible

and trusted messengers compelling evidence-based messages are needed to make the case for deviating from business as usual….the most effective communication strategies

demonstrate these benefits at the individual level, using metrics that are tangible and relevant to the daily lives of the target audience – an approach that is more impactful than

demonstrating impacts at the aggregate level..” Source: The Green Growth Best Practices (GGBP) initiative, “Green Growth in Practice: Lessons from Country Experiences.” First

Edition, 2015. “In making the ‘business case’, it may be particularly useful to present examples of other similar companies receiving commercial benefits as a result of the

environmental management improvements in question. Case studies should preferably be local in order to increase the acceptance of their conclusions by small businesses.”

Source: The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), “Environmental Policy Toolkit for Greening SMEs in the EU Eastern Partnership countries - First

edition.” 2015 19 Appropriate mechanisms for grid connection and access for new sources of renewable energy affect the economic feasibility of certain technologies such as solar panels. 20 “Hands-on, direct resource efficiency support programmes [such as eco-labeling and green business certification programmes] seek to bridge the gap between providing

general knowledge and applying it to specific circumstances of individual businesses by assisting companies to identify both opportunities and means for implementing resource

efficiency measures, as well as their potential costs and benefits.” Source: The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), “Environmental Policy Toolkit

for Greening SMEs in the EU Eastern Partnership countries - First edition.” 2015


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promote resource efficiency 21

4. Enhancing Physical Infrastructure

• Support execution of electricity grid

integration/production cost analyses

study

• Support execution of study to assess

Guyana National Bureau of Standards’

existing testing and inspection

infrastructure and capabilities

• Implement feasible measures to support the

modernization of the national grid.

• Continually procure requisite

National Quality Infrastructure

(testing and inspection)

5. Facilitating Access to Finance

• Improve awareness program to promote

existing GBTI Green Loan program

• Design and implement a Government-sponsored

green financing program

• Support commercial banks to design, implement

and promote private sector-funded green financing

schemes

6. Fostering Investment and Market Demand

• Create targets for Go-Invest to attract

investment into green sectors and

provide Go-Invest with the necessary

resources to be in a position to better

achieve those targets.

• Scale up/expand GoG Renewable Energy

Programme (solar photovoltaic systems)

• Scale up/expand GoG Energy Efficiency Program

(energy efficient lighting)

• Support design and implementation of a fiscal

incentive regime that incentivizes investment into

renewable energy and other green sector projects.

• Support design and implementation of incentive

regime to incentivize the oil and gas sector to

adopt green business practices

• Add environmental considerations

to all public purchasing decisions

across all appropriate agencies.22

This framework aims to employ a holistic approach that provides the policy and institutional means to implement those measures

that encourage businesses to adopt broader green practices and facilitate higher levels of investment into green sectors. Some

21 Performance-based regulations specifies required outcomes or objectives, rather than the means by which they must be achieved. Firms and individuals are able to choose

the process by which they will comply with the law. Source: https://www.oecd.org/gov/regulatory-policy/35260489.pdf 22 “Governments can exert its own supply chain pressure through its procurement policies. Green public procurement can play a significant role in creating demand for green

products and services and boosting the market where private consumer demand for them is insufficient. By using their purchasing power to choose goods and services with

lower environmental impact, public authorities can help to drive down the costs of such purchases and make them more affordable generally.” Source: The Organisation for

Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), “Environmental Policy Toolkit for Greening SMEs in the EU Eastern Partnership countries - First edition.” 2015


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proposed priority actions do not fall within the MoB’s areas of responsibility. Yet they are still included in this framework because

they are interdependent with other proposed priority actions and in some cases, are critical prerequisites for businesses to adopt

certain green business practices or attract investment into green sectors at scale. It is recommended that the MoB should aim to

ensure to the extent possible that those recommended actions that fall outside of the MoB’s remit are implemented by the other

government agencies or ministries that are ultimately responsible for them.

It is proposed that initially, the primary focus should be on early actions required to promote the uptake of green business practices

that are largely not dependent on prerequisite actions of other ministries or government agencies. These include awareness and

internal capacity building activities23 and designing, implementing and evaluating pilot programs and case studies during the first

year of implementation, with the bulk of the proposed implementation activities to take place in second and third years once higher

levels of competencies and installed capacity are in place.

Further, as the Proposed Implementation Matrix in the table below suggests, some of the proposed priority actions fall within the

MoB’s remit and as such, the MoB should be the lead implementation agency. However, others do not, and yet, are still critically

important towards the overarching successful implementation of the Green Business Framework. It is suggested that the MOB be

the lead coordinating agency to implement the framework. And in those instances where other government agencies and ministries

will be ultimately responsible for the implementation of specific priority actions, the MOB should provide support, guidance and

expertise as appropriate. (See Table 2 below)

23 For example, enhancing technical understanding of specific green business practices and related technologies and the relevant business case(s) for their adoption by specific

types of companies and improving capacities to collect, aggregate, analyze and act on, green economy-related data.


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Table 2: Proposed Implementation Matrix

Strategic Lines of Action Proposed Priority Action Proposed Lead

Agency (ies)

Proposed Cooperating Agency (ies)

1. Promoting Awareness Building and Messaging

• Create awareness building program MoB GEA, GPL, GWI

• Design/deliver messaging that communicates business case(s) for adopting green business

practices.

MoB GEA

• Design dedicated “Green” section of the MoB website MoB GEA

• Deliver awareness building campaigns and communication strategies as eco-labeling,

green business certification program etc. are launched

MoB GEA, GPL, GWI

2. improving Capacity Development and Absorptive Capacity

• Design/deliver tailored capacity development programs for GoG agencies MoB GRA, GEA, GPL,

PUC

• Improve the MoB’s capacity to collect green economy-related data

MoB GEA, EPA, GPL,

GWI, GRA

• Conduct green sector skills gaps assessments MoB Ministry of

Education

• Implement targeted workforce development programs that address human resources

gaps

MoB Ministry of

Education


• Execute study to determine the appropriate net-metering/net-billing/feed-in mechanism

for electricity grid

GPL PUC, GEA, MoB

• Design and implement eco-labeling program MoB GEA, GRA

• Design and implement green business certification program

MoB GEA

• Support design and implementation of performance based incentive systems that

promote resource efficiency

MoB GEA, GRA

• Consider the design and implementation of new recycling and waste management

programs

Ministry of

Communities

MoB, EPA


• Support execution of electricity grid integration/production cost analyses study

GPL GEA, MoB

• Support execution of study to assess Guyana National Bureau of Standards’ existing MoB GEA, GRA


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testing and inspection infrastructure and capabilities

• Implement feasible measures to support the modernization of the national grid GPL PUC, GEA, MoB

• Continually procure requisite National Quality Infrastructure (testing and inspection) MoB GEA, GRA


• Improve awareness program to promote existing GBTI Green Loan program

MoB GEA, GRA

• Design and implement a Government-sponsored green financing program

MoB GEA, GRA

• Support commercial banks to design, implement and promote private sector-funded green

financing schemes

MoB GEA, GRA


• Create targets for Go-Invest to attract investment into green sectors and provide Go-

Invest with the necessary resources to be in a position to better achieve those targets.

MoB GEA

• Scale up/expand GoG Renewable Energy Programme (solar photovoltaic systems) GEA MoB, GPL

• Scale up/expand GoG Energy Efficiency Program (energy efficient lighting)

GEA MoB, GPL

• Support design and implementation of a fiscal incentive regime that incentivizes

investment into renewable energy and other green sector projects.

MoB

• Support design and implementation of incentive regime to incentivize the oil and gas

sector to adopt green business practices

MoB GEA, EPA

• Add environmental considerations to all public purchasing decisions across all appropriate

agencies.

MoB GEA


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Proposed Approach to Program Design In terms of putting the Green Business Framework into practice, it is important to keep in mind that the transition to green business practices is likely to be a gradual and incremental process and therefore, a long-term view will be required. Many institutional capabilities and structures are just emerging and in their infancy stages, while some priority areas fall outside the MoB’s responsibility areas requiring other Ministries to take direct actions. As such, it is recommended that when designing specific programs to further the objectives promoted in the Green Business Framework, it will be important to focus on near-term, “low-hanging-fruit”-type interventions that can demonstrate success and tangible results and build momentum within the business community towards broader acceptance of green business practice adoption. With this approach to program design in mind, it is recommended to design pilot projects with these three key features:

1. Programmatic activities that are not significantly interdependent with prerequisite actions that would need to be taken by other Ministries or government agencies.

2. Focus on businesses’ most immediate and pressing needs first, such as energy cost savings through adoption of relatively simple and cheaper energy efficiency technologies; and,

3. Design and employ relatively small-scale, pilot initiatives focused on very specific industry subsectors or segments that have been vetted and are more likely to participate and thereby generate actionable data and demonstrate tangible results that can be used to fine-tune and adjust program design as required to further pilot success and up-scaling.

In addition, when designing relatively small-scale, pilot initiatives, it is recommended that any pilot initiatives draw from the priority actions in a holistic manner such that the various dimensions of an immediate challenge confronting a targeted industry subsector or segment are addressed simultaneously. Thus for example, if the goal of a pilot project is to encourage adoption of energy efficient technologies within a specific industry subsector or segment, a design approach might be to combine a tailored communication strategy that defines appropriate business case(s) with corresponding capacity building programs, subsidized technical assistance, a hybrid financial incentive scheme to induce adoption and compliance, a credit facility to facilitate access to finance and a government green procurement program to create more overarching demand for the products of focus. This type of integrated pilot program approach and design can attempt to address the various dimensions of an immediate business challenge concurrently.


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Holistic, multifaceted and integrated pilot projects designed to focus on businesses’ most immediate and pressing needs that are drawn from international cases studies and best practices and yet, tailored to Guyana’s specific context, will be key success factors. Next Steps The proposed Green Business Framework provides guidance on potential measures to facilitate green sector investment and increased adoption of green business practices amongst existing Guyanese companies. To create the type of business enabling environment that will help drive the green development agenda of Guyana the Green Business Framework requires simultaneous advances on a number of fronts. As such, a rapid mobilization and coordination around priority actions is called for to accelerate the creation of the preconditions required to attract greater amounts of investment into green sectors and significantly scale up the uptake of green business practices amongst existing Guyanese companies. By addressing these critical issues and implementation challenges in a holistic and logically sequenced manner, important steps will be made towards harmonizing the somewhat separate and siloed business support programs into an integrated business support system. An integrated business support system will more effectively facilitate the adoption of green business practices and attract investment into green sectors on a much broader and more sustained scale, creating new job opportunities and enhancing low-carbon efforts, climate flexibility and sustainable consumption and production patterns that are all key elements of Guyana’s overarching national development objectives as articulated in the Guyana Green State Development Strategy.


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1. Background, Objectives and Methodology

The effort to develop a Green Business Framework is an important step in Guyana’s decades-long and gradual, but steady transition to a green development agenda.

Low Carbon Development Strategy: Transforming Guyana’s Economy While Combating Climate Change In large part due to the country’s vulnerability to climate change, Guyana has been at the forefront of the global green growth policy movement for some time. 24 The Government of Guyana’s (GoG) Low Carbon Development Strategy: Transforming Guyana’s Economy While Combating Climate Change (LCDS) launched in 2009 in partnership with the Government of Norway, established an ambitious agenda, “to transform Guyana’s economy on to a low carbon, sustainable development trajectory, while simultaneously combating climate change.” 25 To meet these goals the LCDS aimed to, “create a low deforestation, low carbon, climate resilient economy with the objective of transforming the economy while combating climate change, mainly through incentives to avoid deforestation.” 26 The LCDS and associated activities helped raise environmental awareness amongst Guyanese fostering a widespread receptiveness for the increasingly ambitious green agenda that Guyana has continued to pursue.

Guyana Green State Development Strategy More recently, with the Guyana Green State Development Strategy (GSDS) 27 the GoG is endeavoring to expand beyond deforestation prevention initiatives, “to reorient and diversify Guyana’s economy, reducing reliance on traditional sectors and opening up new sustainable income and investment opportunities in higher value adding and higher growth sectors; while promoting an equitable distribution of benefits to all,” 28 and in doing so, guide Guyana along a trajectory towards a truly ‘Green State’. 29 The GSDS is intended to provide a roadmap towards achieving Guyana’s sustainable development

24 “Guyana is one of the countries most vulnerable to global climate change. A high percentage of the population and critical infrastructure are located in the coastal area, which lies below mean sea level. Rising sea levels will accelerate coastal erosion, increase flood risk, and can lead to permanent loss of land. These developments call for comprehensive measures to enhance resilience to climate change.” Source: Ministry of Business, “Ministry of Business Strategic Plan 2016-2020.” Final Report - September 26, 2016 25 https://www.lcds.gov.gy/ 26 http://guyanachronicle.com/2018/02/08/work-continues-on-lcds-projects 27 https://motp.gov.gy/index.php/2015-07-20-18-53-36/2825-green-state-development-strategy-is-more-than-just-another-document-minister-harmon-at-sdgs-gsds-alignment-workshop 28 http://www.guyanareddfund.org/images/stories/pdffiles/Green-State-Development-Strategy-ProjectDocument.pdf 29 ““President David Granger said that the Green State Development Strategy is intended to become a rational roadmap to guide Guyana along the pathway towards the ‘Green State’ and show how the ‘good life’ can be assured.” Source: http://www.guyanareddfund.org/index.php/grif-projects/guyana-green-state-development-strategy/47-grif


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and guide the country’s economic and socio-cultural development over the next 15 years. As such the Framework of the Guyana Green State Development Strategy and Financing Mechanisms policy document that was completed in April 2017 builds off of the, “LCDS and several other national documents, such as the Nationally Determined Contributions, Climate Resilience Strategy Action Plan (CRSAP), Draft National Energy Policy, and National Adaptation Strategy for the Agriculture Sector (2009 -2018),” 30 and is intended to provide guidance on the prioritized areas to be developed in the GSDS. The Ministry of the Presidency through the Department of Environment is coordinating the process to elaborate the GSDS with technical support from the United Nations Environment Programme (UN Environment) and is being developed via a broad, participatory process involving a number of public and private sector and civil society actors. 31 Seven ‘thematic areas’ were established to form the structure of the strategy:

1. Green and Inclusive Economic Transformation: Diversifying the economic base, accessing new markets and creating decent jobs for all.

2. Sustainable Management of Natural Resources and Expansion of Environmental Services: stewardship of natural patrimony.

3. Energy – Transition to Renewable Energy and Greater Energy Independence. 4. Resilient Infrastructure and Spatial Development. 5. Human Development and Well-being. 6. Governance and Institutional Pillars. 7. International Cooperation, Trade and Investment. 32

Subsequently, Multi-Stakeholder Expert Groups were formed around each of the seven thematic areas and have been convening regularly to provide expert support in relation to the specific thematic area that will inform the development of the GSDS. 33 On October 4, 2018 the Draft of the Green State Development Strategy: Vision 2040 – was shared for comment providing, “a comprehensive set of strategic action lines to guide public investment over the next 20 years in achieving sustainable and inclusive development.” 34 Subsequently, the final draft of the GSDS was submitted to Cabinet on October 31, 2018 and is currently under review.

30 http://guyanachronicle.com/2018/02/08/work-continues-on-lcds-projects 31 Terms of Reference: Multi-Stakeholders Expert Group Green State Development Strategy - (V-04 -12-2017) 32 Terms of Reference: Multi-Stakeholders Expert Group Green State Development Strategy - (V-04 -12-2017) 33 “Guyana’s Green State Development Strategy is meant to be a national development plan, providing long-term vision and guidance for Guyana's economic, social and environmental development.” Source: http://www.cep.unep.org/guyana-launches-gsds-inter-ministerial-and-multi-stakeholder-advisory-committee-hosts-un-regional-director-for-201cgreen-conversations201d 34 “Green State Development Strategy: Vision 2040 - Diversified, Resilient, Low-carbon, People-centred.” Draft shared for comment on October 4, 2018


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Objectives of the Green Business Framework

Building on the solid foundation the LCDS helped establish and taking into account the Green and Inclusive Structural Transformation theme elaborated within the GSDS, the Ministry of Business (MoB) is taking the lead in designing a Green Business Framework to provide guidance on ways to incentivize and drive Guyanese businesses towards practices that continue to foster local and foreign investment and economic growth, while maintaining environmental sustainability. There is widespread recognition that Guyana’s private sector will need to drive the response to the challenge of maintaining environmental sustainability while fostering diverse investment and economic growth provided that the appropriate policy and regulatory framework to incentivize and steer business towards adoption of green business practices. Thus, on one hand, a primary aim of the Green Business Framework is to provide guidance on measures to encourage domestic and foreign investment into a range of green sectors such as clean technologies industries, renewable energies, water services, clean transport, waste management and green building. Simultaneously, the Green Business Framework also sets out to provide guidance on measures to foster further adoption of green business practices in other economic sectors of the Guyanese economy.35 Achieving this type of balance between a conducive business environment and environmental sustainability is by no means a simple task and each nation should endeavor to adopt those policies for helping to make a greener economy possible that are most appropriate given that country’s particular context. It will also be important that the eventual course of action taken does not lead to a material reduction in the competitiveness of Guyanese enterprises, but rather, strives to better position them to compete in local, regional and global markets while realizing both economic and environmental benefits.36 The recent major oil discoveries off Guyana’s coast and the anticipated subsequent impacts on the country’s economic and business structures only underscore the timeliness of this analysis.

Methodology During the course of this effort, a combination of primary and secondary research was utilized. The research effort primarily centered on the following focus areas: 35 “Environmental authorities have regulatory competency over only part of the SME community, and they are not the primary interlocutors of small businesses. However, in OECD countries they often coordinate the efforts of other public and private actors to promote green behaviour of SMEs….this role is increasingly being assumed by ministries of economy. It is important that a national government body take the lead in establishing a network of actors engaged in helping SMEs improve their environmental performance.” Source: OECD, “Environmental Policy Toolkit for Greening SMEs in the EU Eastern Partnership countries - First edition.” 2015 36 For example, “[Global building products company] LafargeHolcim is making construction more sustainable as well as affordable. By differentiating the products and making operations more efficient, the company has decreased its CO2 emissions by 26.1% from 1990 to 2015.” Source: https://update.sml.zhaw.ch/opportunities-green-economy-latin-america/


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• Existing policy and regulatory framework that have an impact on making green business practices more widespread in Guyana’s economy

• The needs of stakeholders relating to the framework, in particular Guyanese manufacturers;37

• Existing goals and targets for green business development aligned with those of the GSDS;

• Strategic areas and avenues for achieving green business development, while proposing incentives; to foster desired outcomes;

• International best practices in green business policy frameworks that are closely applicable to Guyana’s context; and,

• The institutional capability within the Ministry of Business to put a green business framework into practice.

Relevant documents, studies, issue-specific research resources and general information clearinghouses that monitor and report on developments at the intersection of business and sustainability were reviewed to inform a situational assessment. 38 In addition, stock-taking, institutional assessment and training exercises were carried out during two visits to Guyana in May and October 2018. 39 This involved a thorough examination of stakeholder needs and priorities derived from key informant interviews held with representatives of nearly two dozen public institutions, non-governmental organizations and private sector leaders representing a broad cross section of key actors with roles in advancing Guyana’s green agenda.40 The results of this situational analysis were brought together in a Final Baseline Report (July 25, 2018) that helped inform the design of the Green Business Framework that can serve as a guide to improved sustainable investment and eco efficient business practices that can help drive the green development of Guyana. This document is organized in five sections and an appendices section:

• Section 1 describes this consultancy’s specific objectives and the methodology employed to meet those objectives.

• Section 2 reviews existing relevant policy frameworks and key public and private

sector organizations.

37 Several representatives of manufacturing companies were interviewed, see Annex 4 38 A summary of the documents and sources reviewed can be found in Annex 3 39 Institutional capacity assessment questionnaires were circulated to the various departments within the MoB in advance of the trainings in an effort to assess the existing institutional capabilities within the MoB to put the framework into practice. Findings from the questionnaires and the trainings were included in a Post-Training Report submitted on October 31, 2018. 40 A summary of the key informants interviewed can be found in Annex 4


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• Section 3 reviews the key findings derived from a situational analysis on the state of green and sustainable investment climate in Guyana.

• Section 4 outlines the Green Business Framework’s proposed policy

recommendations and strategic lines of actions for driving green business development in Guyana.

• Section 5 outlines a roadmap for implementation of the framework and a

proposed approach to program design.

• Section 6 includes a compilation of the appendices.


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2. Overview of Relevant Policy Frameworks and Key Public and Private Sector Organizations

Considering that the final draft of the GSDS was submitted to Cabinet on October 31, 2018 and is currently under review, performing a situational analysis of the state of the green and sustainable investment climate in Guyana was an important first step in the design of a Green Business Framework. 41 This review was intended to evaluate the enabling conditions for transitioning to a green economy and provide information regarding the current state of green practices and the incentive framework to facilitate the uptake of green business practices and investment into green sectors.

Overview of Policy Frameworks that Support Green Business Models The aforementioned LCDS and associated activities focused largely on the forestry sector and forest conservation issues and has been noted for the national system for monitoring, reporting and verifying deforestation and carbon emissions that was established. In addition, the funding derived from LCDS activities also helped capitalize the Micro and Small Enterprise Development Fund (MSEDF) and the Amerindian Development Fund (ADF) 42 and implement other actions such as:

• Guyana’s Education for Sustainable Development Policy; • Curricula revision at the University of Guyana and Secondary School level; • Climate change and audience-specific environmental awareness programmes

within schools and throughout the local government system; • Climate smart agriculture training; • Enhancing technical capacities and training for conversion of the power sector to

100% renewable sources; • Capacity-building and start-up financing for green micro and small enterprise

development; • The Green Bartica Development Strategy;43 and, • Consolidation and diversification of Guyana’s sugar industry. 44

41 During the course of the research activities representatives of a number of public and private stakeholder organizations were consulted. Abbreviated overviews of their roles in facilitating increased adoption of green business practices and investment into green sectors were presented in the Final Baseline Report (July 25, 2018) that helped inform this study. A summary of key informants interviewed can be found in Annex 4. 42 Tim Laing, “The Impacts of International REDD+ Finance: Guyana Case Study.” Climate and Land Use Alliance. June 2015 43 “The Government of Guyana [also recently] received a US$650,000 grant from the Government of Italy in support of its model ‘Green’ town, Bartica Project. The primary objective of the grant is to establish a reliable point of reference for the existing state of energy use in Bartica. The data generated from this will be used for future measurements and predictions for evidence-based decision-making and pursuance of projects and programmes.” Source: http://guyanachronicle.com/2017/06/04/us650000-for-bartica-green-town-project


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And importantly, the LCDS and associated activities helped lay a solid foundation for Guyana’s increasingly ambitious green agenda by helping to raise environmental awareness and buy-in in Guyana and increasing the mainstreaming of climate change issues into broader development planning:

“The importance of environmental issues generally, and climate change in particular, within and outside government, has increased as a result of Guyana’s pursuit of a low-carbon development pathway… the LCDS is more an economic development plan than a plan to directly reduce the pressure on forests. This integration of climate change aspects into wider development frameworks is also occurring through projects run outside the government. “ 45

Further, the LCDS process helped expose the larger Guyanese business community both within and outside the forestry sector, to the notion that commercial benefits could be derived via environmental sustainability. With a national system for monitoring, reporting and verifying deforestation and carbon emissions in place and the environmental principles of the LCDS well entrenched within Guyanese society and the business community, the GSDS effort has expanded the scope of the country’s green agenda well beyond deforestation prevention. In response, GoG Ministries and agencies are in the process of adapting their policies, objectives and approaches to align with expanded scope of the green agenda. The rather dynamic state of policy development that currently exists in Guyana is evidenced by the multitude of different policy documents that are in various stages of development. A non-exhaustive list of several policy documents that have been recently issued to update previous policies to align with the transition to a green state and/or respond to recent oil and gas discoveries includes:

44 Rawle Andrew Small and Ms Maria Witz, “Skills for Green Jobs Study - Guyana.” International Labour Organization Office for the Caribbean - 2017 45 Tim Laing, “The Impacts of International REDD+ Finance: Guyana Case Study.” Climate and Land Use Alliance. June 2015


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Table 3: Status of Several Recently Issued Relevant Policy Documents* Policy Document Status Year publicly released or year of

enactment (where applicable) Energy Transition Roadmap for Guyana Publicly issued** 2017 Draft National Energy Policy of Guyana

Draft

2017 Draft National Grid Code 2018 Draft National Tourism Policy 2018 Draft National Forest Policy and Plan 2018 Draft Oil and Gas Policy 2018 Draft Local Content Policy 2018 National Mining Policy and Plan Proposed

2018

Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) Policy 2018-19 Source: Consultant’s analysis * The status and issue dates for some of these policy documents are based on stakeholder interviews and have not been corroborated. ** This document provides a, “’suggested’ energy transition roadmap for Guyana with a focus on achieving 100% renewable energy penetration in the electric sector.”

Each of these policies contains specific elements that will likely impact the adoption of green business practices and investment into green sectors in different ways. The MoB will have an important role in ensuring that these various policies are coordinated and harmonized to help create favorable conditions for inducing significant uptake of green business practices and investment into green sectors

Overview of Government Institutions Mirroring the dynamic state of policy development that currently exists in Guyana, a number of GoG institutions have roles in enabling the transition to increased green business practices.46 These include at a minimum:

• Department of Environment, (MoP) • Office of Climate Change, (MoP) • Environmental Protection Agency

(EPA) • Ministry of Public Infrastructure • Guyana Energy Agency (GEA) • Public Utilities Commission (PUC) • Guyana Power and Light Inc. (GPL) • Ministry of Natural Resources

• Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries

• Ministry of Communities • Ministry of Foreign Affairs • Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) • Guyana Water Incorporation • Guyana Livestock Development

Authority • Guyana Association of

Municipalities Importantly, this research effort demonstrated that relevant government institutions and their staff members are embracing the GoG mandate to transition Guyana towards a green state in specific ways and are endeavoring to actively orient their organizations

46 During the course of the research activities a number of these GoG institutions were consulted. Abbreviated overviews of their roles in facilitating increased adoption of green business practices and investment into green sectors are presented in the Final Baseline Report (July 25, 2018) that helped inform this study. A summary of stakeholders consulted can be found in Annex 4.


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to substantively contribute towards the realization of this economic vision. Yet given the sizeable number of government organizations with roles in enabling the transition to increased green business practices and the fact that the Ministry of Business’ mandate is inter-sectorial in scope, considerable inter-agency cooperation and coordination will be required.47

Overview of the Ministry of Business The Ministry of Business (MoB) is striving to seize on the broad consensus in the country on the need to improve the business environment and to diversify the economy towards value added production. In recognition that businesses are central to securing the sustainable economic growth desired to drive Guyana’s future and that the business environment is a crucial factor in Guyana’s competitiveness, in September 2016, the Ministry of Business issued a 5-year Strategic Plan with a vision to increase living standards for all Guyanese in a diverse and green economy. The challenge faced by the MoB lies in maintaining environmental sustainability while fostering diverse investment and economic growth. It is widely recognized that the private sector has the capacity to address this challenge, however, government will need to provide the appropriate policy and regulatory framework to incentivize and steer business towards increased adoption of green business practices. To realize this vision for a diverse and green economy and accomplish its mission of “creating a business environment that fosters innovation, competitiveness, growth and diverse employment opportunities by improving the ease of doing business, attracting sustainable investment, promoting value-added exports and enhancing workforce skills through policy-making, advocacy and cooperation with the private sector” the MoB is aiming to implement the following four key strategies: 48

• National Sustainable Investment Strategy; • Doing Business Action Plan; • National Value Added Export Strategy; and, • Increased Access to Finance, Technology and Procurement for Micro And Small

Enterprises/ And to most effectively accomplish its mission and implement these strategies, the MoB is organized into departments and semi-autonomous agencies as follows:

47 Ministry of Business, “Ministry of Business Strategic Plan 2016-2020.” Final Report - September 26, 2016 48 Ministry of Business, “Ministry of Business Strategic Plan 2016-2020.” Final Report - September 26, 2016


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Technical Departments

• Department of Industry • Department of Commerce • Business Strategy and Policy

Unit (BSPU) • Consumer Affairs Division

Semi-autonomous agencies • Guyana Office for Investment (GO-Invest) • Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS) • Small Business Bureau (SBB) • Competition and Consumer Affairs

Commission (CCAC) • Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA)

Their respective mandates and key activities are further elaborated in Table 4 below:


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Table 4: Mandates and Key Activities of Ministry of Business Departments and Agencies MoB

Departments and Agencies

Mandate Key Activities

Department of Commerce

To promote the attraction of sustainable investment, trade and the ease of doing business through licensing and trade policy formulation and implementation

• Spearhead the implementation of the Single Window for trade transactions as part of a task force appointed by Cabinet

• Provide policy recommendations regarding trade negotiations and seeking business opportunities in current ones

• Process trade licenses in a timely and efficient manner • Develop of a framework to attract sustainable investment to the country and create awareness

in the business community of the importance of implementing green business models • Design a framework to regulate and incentivize the manufacturing sector to adopt greener

business processes and use eco-efficient machinery Department of Industry

To develop and implement policy and programs to promote economic diversification, growth of the manufacturing sector and exports of value added products

• Provide recommendations on industrial policy for a National Value Added Export Strategy, which will aim to enhance value added production and exports, and monitor its implementation

• Develop a concept for the utilization of industrial estates as an effective tool for industrial development and monitor its implementation once approved

• Conduct and update value chain analyses in prioritized manufacturing sectors in order to recommend policies and actions that will enhance sector competitiveness

Business Strategy and Policy Unit

To design and support the design of new strategies and policies in all areas covered by the Ministry, namely investment promotion, work force enhancement, sustainable development and export promotion, and monitor their implementation

• Develop policy proposals for new initiatives within the remit of the Ministry of Business, both at Ministry and national level

• Identify and facilitate the implementation of reforms that address performance in the Doing Business Index and other broader challenges of the business environment

• Produce economic research that guides policy, program and project development and informs the private sector on investment decisions

Consumer Affairs Division To enhance public awareness and

understanding of consumer rights and responsibilities and support consumers in enforcing these

• Implement the consumer education program and develop effective public relation policies on consumer issues

• Investigate and resolve consumer complaints • Assist GNBS and CCAC with consumer protection issues, e.g. the development of policies and

regulation National Exhibition Centre

To provide, develop and maintain a space to accommodate and host national events that promote local businesses as well as business opportunities in Guyana

• Provide facilities and amenities of a high and international standard • Organize exhibitions and trade shows together with public and private institutions

Go-Invest To promote and facilitate the attraction of sustainable investment and exports with particular emphasis on value added ones

• Develop and implement a National Investment Promotion Strategy, which will provide priorities to target investors, an investment narrative, key events and branding

• Design and implement a new matching grant program for exporters, aimed at enhancing quality


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and innovation in emerging value added services, by co-financing business development services Guyana National Bureau of Standards

To improve the quality of goods and services in Guyana, by collaborating with government, consumers and industry through the process of standardization, metrology and conformity assessment

• Develop, revise, adapt and adopt standards based on requests from stakeholders for national and regional standards (Standards Development)

• Provide technical assistance to companies that wish to implement a management system (Consultancy Services)

• Award the National Standards Mark to products that meet the requirements of National Standards (Product Certification Services)

• Certify medical and testing laboratories to the National Standard GYS 170 (Laboratory Certification Services)

• Conduct management systems training for local companies (Training Services) • Execute audits for companies that have implemented management systems meeting the

requirements of international standards (Audit Services Program) • Conduct the verification of weighing and measuring devices used in commercial trade (Legal

Metrology Program) • Monitor approximately 20 categories of commodities at the ports-of-entry and sales outlets to

ensure compliance with labelling and quality standards, and investigate complaints regarding commodities monitored (Standards Compliance Program)

• Provide industrial metrology services to companies and laboratories by calibrating scales, masses, measures, measuring cylinders, calipers, pressure gauges, moisture meters, etc. (Laboratories Services)

Competition and Consumer Affairs Commission

To promote, maintain and encourage competition and enhance economic efficiency in production, trade and commerce, to prohibit anti-competitive business conduct, which prevents, restricts or distorts competition or constitutes the abuse of a dominant position in the market, and to promote the welfare and interests of consumers

• Investigate any enterprise suspected to be engaged in anti-competitive business conduct either on its own initiative or responding to a complaint.

• Promote and ensure compliance with quality standards for consumer goods and services • Inform and sensitize the public about consumer rights, e.g. through consumer awareness

campaigns, and monitor the legislative environment to ensure effective safeguarding of these rights

• Investigate complaints of individual consumers or consumer organizations

Small Business Bureau

To prepare small business policies and administrative reforms with respect to fiscal and other incentives. To develop appropriate frameworks to foster the access of small businesses to government procurement, and to maintain a register of GRA and NIS compliant small businesses

• Give general business advice and guidance, assist with business plans, prepare financials for loan applications, and review proposals and submissions for credit (Advisory Support)

• Implement and manage the MSED project that addresses access to finance and small businesses garnering appropriate business skills through the provision of grants, loans, credit guarantees, and interest subsidies, and business management and technical skills programs

• Facilitate small business exposure and access to (international) markets through NewGMC or attendance of local and overseas expositions and trade fairs, and assist with research required for this or the development of promotional material (Market Support)

• Liaise with major regulatory bodies, namely NIS and GRA, through respective MoUs to assist small businesses with registering and related matters


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• Develop and implement a framework for Small Business Public Procurement, which will allow the government to achieve its goal of 20% public procurement from small businesses as set in the Small Business Act

Guyana Tourism Authority*

Statutory body primarily responsible for the development of tourism in Guyana

• Regulations and licensing • Standards and guidelines • Partnerships and alignment with private sector, other Ministries and sister agencies • Strengthen data collection and aggregation • Support the improvement of the tourism policy environment • Strengthen approach to training

Source: Ministry of Business Strategic Plan 2016-2020, Final Report - September 26, 2016 * Guyana Tourism Authority information drawn from https://www.guyanatourism.com/about-gta/


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Given their respective mandates and key activities, a number of the MoB’s departments

and agencies will have central roles in advancing green business practice adoption and

attracting investment into green sectors, 49 most notably:

• Department of Industry

• Department of Commerce

• Business Strategy and Policy Unit (BSPU)

• Guyana Office for Investment (GO-Invest)

• Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS)

• Small Business Bureau (SBB)

• Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA)

Each department and agency’s proposed roles in implementation are further elaborated

in Section 5 of this document.

Overview of Private Sector Institutions

In Guyana, the private sector is critically important to the economy, as businesses are

the major sources of GDP, income and investments in Guyana. For example, in 2014 the

private sector accounted for over 80% of total expenditure and was Guyana’s major

employer with estimates that two thirds of all workers are employed in either the

formal or the informal business sector. 50

Further, there is widespread recognition that although the GoG can provide an

appropriate policy and regulatory framework to incentivize and steer business towards

increased adoption of green business practices, Guyana’s private sector will still need to

drive the response to the challenge of maintaining environmental sustainability while

fostering diverse investment and economic growth. For private sector actors will

ultimately have the largest role in, and determine the success of, the Green Business

Framework via their direct actions and whether or not they elect to adopt green

business practices and/or make investments in green sectors.

To this end a number of private sector organizations advocate for Guyana’s businesses

and have been providing key inputs during the process to elaborate the GSDS. Several

of these organizations were consulted during the course of this effort, including:

• Private Sector Commission (PSC)

• Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association (GSMA)

• Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI)

• Tourism and Hospitality Association of Guyana (THAG)

49 Specific findings related to the existing institutional capabilities within the MoB to put the framework into practice

were included in a Post-Training Report submitted on October 31, 2018. 50 Ministry of Business, “2015-2020 Strategic Action Plan.” October 2015


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• Forest Products Association of Guyana (FPA)

• Guyana Agro-Processors Association (GAPA)

• Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners Association (GGDMA)

All private sector institutions consulted confirmed their commitment to supporting the

broad tenets of Guyana’s green agenda and representatives noted that some private

sector organizations have already formally endorsed the key principles and objectives

that are expected to be elaborated in the GSDS. Stakeholder interviews confirmed the

organizations’ continuing commitment to providing support to the GSDS

implementation 51 and there was significant agreement that eco-labeling and green

business certification programs could be helpful in driving increased green business

practice adoption.

Several private sector interviewees noted that some Guyanese businesses have already

proactively embraced key tenets of the GSDS. For example, Demerara Bank Limited has

installed solar panels on its headquarters facility to generate electricity. And due to

Guyana’s image as an ecotourism destination52 and high energy costs which often make

Guyana’s tourism products more expensive than competitor destinations, THAG has

been actively promoting that tourism businesses adopt energy efficiency technologies

and other green business practices for some time.

There was widespread agreement amongst private sector stakeholders (including

commercial banks) regarding the primary barriers towards increased adoption of green

business practices and investment into green sectors, which will be reviewed in greater

detail further below. It was also clear that the “business case” is ultimately the most

important criterion for adopting a green business practice, and thus, the business case

needs to be convincing.

Private sector stakeholders are also hopeful that the GoG will continue to consult

private sector actors throughout the process to elaborate and implement the GSDS as

ongoing and productive collaboration between the public and private sectors will be

crucial towards securing private sector buy-in to Guyana’s green agenda and the

eventual successful implementation of the GSDS.

51 http://dpi.gov.gy/psc-endorses-guyanas-gsds-urges-more-companies-to-go-green/ and http://dpi.gov.gy/gmsa-

private-sector-encouraged-to-play-their-part-in-realising-the-vision-of-the-gsds/ 52 “More and more…environmentally savvy tourists are seeking out green tourist destinations — those that make a

proactive effort to address critical issues such as carbon emissions, biodiversity conservation, waste management,

and water supply.” Source: https://www.strategy-business.com/article/10304?gko=2abaa


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3. Key Findings from a Situational Analysis on the State of Green and Sustainable Investment Climate in Guyana

Summary of Key Findings

As the situational analysis contained in the Final Baseline Report (July 25, 2018)

indicated, the GoG is taking steps in crafting policies and strategies to ensure full

compliance of both public and private sectors to ensure all citizens enjoy a greener

economy. This research effort revealed that a number of public and private sector

actors are actively working to create the type of enabling environment that will facilitate

more domestic and international investment into green sectors and increased adoption

of green business practices.

Nonetheless, many enduring structural issues were also cited during the stakeholder

interviews which are largely consistent with many of the key findings highlighted in the

2014 United Nations study, An assessment of fiscal and regulatory barriers to deployment of energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies in Guyana. For

instance, stakeholder interviews confirmed that a long-standing feature of Guyana’s

enabling environment, the high cost, and unreliability of energy, continues to

significantly impact Guyanese firms’ competitiveness by limiting their ability to control

the costs of production. 53 In many cases, energy costs can be by far the most costly

component of firms’ costs structures. Further, the electricity grid’s unreliability has

forced a number of larger Guyanese firms to pursue their own off-grid energy

generation solutions.

Given that globally many renewable energy and energy efficient technologies have

become economically competitive with fossil fuels and more traditional energy

products, and a number of tax exemptions and other incentives currently extended to

Guyanese businesses, the business case for increased adoption of green business

practices and rationale for further investment into green sectors would seem rather

straightforward.

However, a number of features within Guyana’s current policy and regulatory

frameworks and certain market conditions constrain green investment and “the

willingness and capability of SMEs to adopt sustainable practices generally face size-

related resource constraints, skill deficit and knowledge limitations.” 54 For example,

53 “The business environment is a crucial factor in country competitiveness levels. In Guyana, the biggest constraints

to the ease of doing business, as identified in surveys by the WEF and the World Bank, include the lack of adequate

infrastructure (particularly access and cost of electricity, and logistics), access to finance, the level and complexity of

tax rates, and the skills gap in the labor market. During the consultation process for this plan, the private sector

confirmed the need for improvement, particularly in these areas.” Source: Ministry of Business, “Ministry of Business

Strategic Plan 2016-2020.” Final Report - September 26, 2016 54 The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, “Environmental Policy Toolkit for Greening SMEs in

the EU Eastern Partnership countries - First edition.” 2015


31

there are barriers that restrict the significant uptake of solar technologies because on

one hand, the regulatory framework 55 is not in place to support the commercial viability

of a solar energy market. Simultaneously, it is difficult for SMEs to obtain financing to

fund the purchase of solar energy products, which often have high up-front capital

costs.

Based on the situational analysis the key barriers to creating the type of enabling

environment that would facilitate the increased adoption of green business practices

and to drive investment into green sectors primarily fall within the following critical

issue areas, accompanied by a few specific examples:56

• Awareness building and messaging

o Need for further clarity on what adopting green business practices means

practically for some public and private sector actors.

o Enhanced messaging that articulates the specific business cases to adopt

green business practices for specific types of firms.

• Absorptive capacity limitations and capacity development requirements

o Technical capacity limitations within GEA, PUC, GPL and GRA.57

o Inadequate access to technical support and capacity building services

such as firm-level energy audit services to assist businesses with adopting

green technologies.

• Regulatory framework

o Mechanisms needed to help facilitate electricity grid interconnections

with potential new sources of renewable power.

o Performance based incentive systems to promote resource efficiency.

o Sector-specific green certification (of business practices) and eco-labeling

(for products) programs have become more common in other countries

and have helped catalyze increased demand for green business practices.

• Physical infrastructure

o Grid configuration and capacity limitations.

55 Appropriate mechanisms for grid connection and access for new sources of renewable energy affect the economic

feasibility of certain technologies such as solar panels. 56 The key critical enabling environment issues identified during the situational analysis are discussed further later in

this section of the document. 57 As outlined in the Final Baseline Report (July 25, 2018), stakeholders interviewed reported that GEA currently lacks

adequate technical capacity to understand and compare different design proposals for PV installations. As a result a

race to the bottom can occur as some bidding companies will submit inferior designs to meet minimum requirements

rather than the best technical solution. This can negatively affect the image of the entire solar industry if the selected

technical solution is not optimal. In addition, several stakeholders interviewed asserted that PUC and GPL do not

currently have access to workforce talent familiar with the renewable energy and oil and gas industries’ requirements

and relevant technologies that will be required to design, regulate and manage the modernized grid envisioned for

Guyana. Finally, stakeholders reported that the GRA currently lacks the administrative capacity and technical

expertise to properly evaluate new and different energy efficient products to determine if they meet duty and tax

exemption criteria. This can lead to lengthy delays in customs, which in turn, has delayed some renewable energy

installations, stunting the adoption of green business practices and acts as a disincentive to investment in green

sectors.


32

• Access to finance

o Difficulties securing financing to fund the often, high upfront costs of

adopting some renewable energy technologies is contributing to a slower

transition to renewables.

o Scarce economic incentives such as grants, low-interest loans and tax

incentives for businesses.

• Investment and market demand

o Lack of major investors and sources of demand to drive further

investment into green sectors.

o More explicit focus on attracting investment into green sectors needed at

Go-Invest.

o Limited green procurement policies.

And many of these same barriers and critical issues are consistent with the results of a

2014 PROTEqIN survey of Guyanese businesses that aimed to identify the key

constraints to firm-level performance and competitiveness in Guyana:

Figure 2: Most Serious Obstacles Affecting Guyanese Businesses (%)

Source: Sukrishnalall Pasha, Elton Bollers and Mark Wenner, “Constraints Affecting Guyana’s Private Sector: Survey Results.” Inter-

American Development Bank, Policy Brief NºDB-PB-273, 2014

The results of the survey indicate that electricity58 and access to finance59 were reported

the first and fifth most serious obstacles affecting business respectively, with

58 “The firms surveyed indicated that they also experience an average of eight power outages per month with an

average duration of three hours, the highest in the Caribbean…The estimated loss from power outages for firms in

Guyana exceeds the levels incurred by their counterparts in the Caribbean…the estimated loss approximates 1.6

percent of annual sales, compared with a regional average of 0.7 percent of annual sales.” Source: Sukrishnalall

Pasha, Elton Bollers and Mark Wenner, “Constraints Affecting Guyana’s Private Sector: Survey Results” Inter-

American Development Bank, POLICY BRIEF NºDB-PB-273, 2014


33

inadequately educated workforce and cost of finance cited as key constraints in the

survey as well.

The key critical enabling environment issues identified during the situational analysis are

discussed in greater detail below.

Awareness Building and Messaging

Aspects of the awareness building and messaging critical issue area manifest in various

ways. But with respect to increased adoption of green business practices, they primarily

fall within two key areas.

General awareness building about roles and expectations

It was widely reported that although there is extensive support across all sectors for

pursuing a green agenda, there remains some confusion as to what this means

practically for both government institutions and private sector actor alike, namely in

terms of specific roles that each institution/actor should assume and the specific actions

to be taken. One private sector stakeholder interviewed asserted that, “there is no

clear definition of ‘green’.”

The transition to green state is a relatively new concept and the sensitization program is

required with messaging tailored for specific audiences, stakeholder groups and industry

segments. For example:

Consumers and retailers are often not aware of the electricity access

solutions now available and the economic benefits they offer. Where a

market is in the early stages of development, individual solar product

companies rarely have the resources to create this awareness, and those

who do attempt to do so risk losing the commercial benefits of this

“public good” to other market participants. 60

The submission of the final draft of the GSDS to Cabinet on October 31, 2018 provides

more clarity on how the green agenda will be rolled out, what the phasing and sequence

of activities will be and what specific roles different stakeholders play during the rollout

and going forward. Still, it will be important that the GoG’s awareness building

program evolves from more general aspirational messaging to a series of specific

messages that communicate precise commercial, societal and environmental benefits

and anticipated roles and expectations depending on the specific audience, stakeholder

group or industry segment. Again, private sector actors will ultimately have the largest

59 Importantly, “The survey revealed that 6.7 percent of the firms regard this factor as the most serious obstacle for

doing business.” Source: Sukrishnalall Pasha, Elton Bollers and Mark Wenner, “Constraints Affecting Guyana’s Private

Sector: Survey Results” Inter-American Development Bank, POLICY BRIEF NºDB-PB-273, 2014 60 The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, “Environmental Policy Toolkit for Greening SMEs in



34

role in, and determine the success of, the Green Business Framework via their actions

and whether or not they elect to adopt green business practices and/or make

investments in green sectors.

Articulating and messaging the business case for adopting green business

practices

Expanding on the specific messaging concept outlined above, several business

stakeholders reported that the existing messaging to date regarding the transition to a

green state has been largely aspirational and primarily focused on environmental

benefits. Rather than messaging that speaks to the business case for adopting green

business practices and the resulting potential commercial impacts on businesses’

bottom lines. Private sector actors consulted asserted that a convincing business case is

ultimately the most important determinant for adopting a green business practice.

For example, several stakeholders reported that although energy costs typically

represent a significant percentage of a private firm’s cost structures, especially for

manufacturers, there is widespread uncertainty regarding the cost savings that can

potentially be achieved through adopting various energy efficient technologies. For

example, during a recent training session as a party of this consultancy, GoG participants

evaluated existing Guyana Energy Agency (GEA) awareness-building campaign materials

focused on adoption of solar water heaters and energy efficient air conditioners and

identified a number of ways that the business case for adopting these green business

products could be improved to resonate better with businesses. 61

Moreover, there are several recent examples of Guyanese businesses that have realized

substantial cost savings as a result of adopting energy efficient technologies.62 Yet to

date, these case studies have not been captured and disseminated in any sort of

awareness building or messaging campaign to encourage the increased adoption of

green business practices:

“There is [often] a widespread misperception that protecting the

environment is associated with technical complexity, burdens and costs.

Even when they are aware of the potential of better environmental

performance to improve a firm’s competitiveness, a lack of appropriate

skills and expertise commonly prevents firms from acting upon win-win

opportunities. At the same time, the lack of resources often leads to

SMEs being risk-averse and less willing to invest in new technologies,

partly because of the uncertainly about the payback period.” 63

61 See the following links for the existing awareness-building campaign materials:

https://gea.gov.gy/downloads/Solar-Water-Heaters-Final.pdf and https://gea.gov.gy/downloads/Energy-Efficient-

Air-Conditioning-Final.pdf 62 For example, there are several tourism businesses in Guyana’s interior that have adopted solar power systems and

have significantly reduced their operating costs and dependency on fossil fuels. 63 The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, “Environmental Policy Toolkit for Greening SMEs in



35

In fact, the main drivers for businesses to adopt green practices are often non-

regulatory and/or non-environmental and include:

• The rising price of commodities and key raw materials;

• Potential cost savings and competitive advantage; and,

• Market pressure from customers. 64

Further, the situational analysis confirmed a key finding of a 2014 United Nations

analysis that noted that, “without reliable information on the relative costs and benefits

of the available renewable energy technologies, it is difficult for the government to

accurately assess which technologies are the most appropriate for the various

circumstances and decision makers may therefore not fully understand the

opportunities.”65

As such, in addition to general awareness building about the environmental benefits of

green business practices, it is important to build and communicate the business case for

green business practice adoption that demonstrates to businesses that the benefits

outweigh both the direct costs in terms of upfront capital investment for installation

and the indirect costs of staff time for ongoing maintenance:

Packaging the information and formulating the right message is crucial

for the effectiveness of communication tools. Business benefits of

improved environmental performance (in terms of increased efficiency

and competitiveness) should be the main “selling point” of

environmental outreach to SMEs. In making the “business case”, it may

be particularly useful to present examples of other similar companies

receiving commercial benefits as a result of the environmental

management improvements in question. 66

As a component of any messaging programs to articulate the business case for

adopting green business practices, awareness seminars could be undertaken to

educate current and prospective entrepreneurs on the benefits of a green

economy and help them to understand that the transition might present some

initial challenges, but will assist them to be cost efficient in the future thus

resulting in an increase in disposable income.

64 The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, “Environmental Policy Toolkit for Greening SMEs in

the EU Eastern Partnership countries - First edition.” 2015 65 Devon O. Niel Gardner, Dillon Alleyne and Charmaine Gomes, “An assessment of fiscal and regulatory barriers to

deployment of energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies in Guyana.” ECLAC – Studies and Perspectives

Series – The Caribbean – No. 27, February 2014 and http://www.reegle.info/policy-and-regulatory-overviews/GY 66 The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, “Environmental Policy Toolkit for Greening SMEs in



36

Absorptive Capacity and Institutional Capacity Development

Improving capacity, training and recruitment practices of key agencies

A 2014 United Nations analysis noted that, “though there has been some recent focus

on addressing capacity building…administrative hurdles continue to play a significant

role in deterring [renewable energy] investments…[and] there is a limited technical

expertise for dealing with renewable energy issues within the respective government

ministries and agencies, which compromises efficiency in processes.” 67

The results of the stakeholder interviews confirmed that several technical capacity

limitation issues continue to represent significant barriers to both, driving investment

into green sectors, and to steering companies to increasingly adopt green business

practices. Specific capacity limitations to effectively manage green initiatives were

particularly noted within the Guyana Energy Agency, Public Utilities Commission,

Guyana Power and Light and the Guyana Revenue Authority. These findings are

consistent with a finding documented in a recent Consolidated Report on Outcomes of the Expert Group Consultations that reviewed the thematic group process to elaborate

the GSDS, which found that, “improving capacity, training and recruitment practices of

key energy sector agencies e.g. GPL, GEA, PUC” is a critically important investment

intervention in the transition towards renewable energy and greater energy

independence.68

Guyana Energy Agency – A 2014 United Nations analysis noted the, “lack of institutional

capacity for project evaluation and approval [related to renewable energy issues].”69

Stakeholders interviewed confirmed this finding, especially noting that this capacity

limitation is resident within parts of the GEA. For example, stakeholders reported that

GEA currently lacks adequate technical capacity to understand and compare different

design proposals for PV installations. As a result, as one stakeholder noted, a “race to

the bottom” tends to occur as some companies will submit inferior designs to meet

minimum requirements rather than submitting the best technical solution, which results

in negatively affecting the image of the entire solar industry. 70 67 The chief administrative hurdles identified include: improved clarity and transparency for renewable energy

project approval; planning delays and restrictions; lack of coordination among different authorities and agencies; long

lead times in obtaining authorizations; and costly process for obtaining permission.” Source: Devon O. Niel Gardner,

Dillon Alleyne and Charmaine Gomes, “An assessment of fiscal and regulatory barriers to deployment of energy

efficiency and renewable energy technologies in Guyana.” ECLAC – Studies and Perspectives Series – The Caribbean –

No. 27, February 2014. 68 It is understood that capacity development within GEA, GRA and PUC/GPL does not fall within MoB’s areas of

responsibility. Yet increased green business adoption and investment into green sectors can be facilitated in part, by

improved capacities within these four GoG institutions. To meet the demands of Guyana’s evolving economy

technical capacity building and enhanced recruitment practices will be required within all four of these GoG

institutions. 69 Devon O. Niel Gardner, Dillon Alleyne and Charmaine Gomes, “An assessment of fiscal and regulatory barriers to


Series – The Caribbean – No. 27, February 2014 and http://www.reegle.info/policy-and-regulatory-overviews/GY 70 Although it is suggested that GEA receive sustained capacity development in certain areas, it is also important to

note that GEA can be a source of energy efficiency information and analysis. Within GEA there is technical expertise


37

Public Utilities Commission and Guyana Power and Light – A 2014 United Nations

analysis noted that the, “[PUC] seems to have considerable legal, personnel and

financial constraints, all of which limit its ability to fulfill its role in regulation of the

electricity sector and in setting service standards and tariffs.”71 Guyana’s electricity grid

is poised to undergo an unprecedented modernization in the coming years and will

potentially be reconfigured to integrate new forms of energy such as renewables and

natural gas. Several stakeholders interviewed asserted that PUC and GPL do not

currently have access to workforce talent familiar with the renewable energy and oil

and gas industries’ requirements and relevant technologies that will be required to

design, regulate and manage the modernized grid envisioned for Guyana.

Guyana Revenue Authority – Similarly, although tax and duty exemptions are

moderately facilitating increased purchase of imported renewable energy and energy

efficiency products it was emphasized that the GRA currently lacks the administrative

capacity and technical expertise to properly evaluate new and different energy efficient

products to determine if they meet duty and tax exemption criteria. This can lead to

lengthy delays in customs, which in turn, has delayed some renewable energy

installations, stunting the adoption of green business practices and acts as a disincentive

to investment in green sectors.

Targeted workforce development to address human resources gaps

The capacity development and absorptive capacity issue area also contains a related yet

separate workforce development dimension. A 2014 United Nations analysis

highlighted that, “there is low qualification and a lack of reliable certification schemes

for installers. A typical barrier that continues to persist is also the lack of trained and

competent installers for avoided generation systems, such as solar water heaters (SWH),

in most markets.” 72 The results of stakeholder interviews confirmed these findings and

also indicated that there is an existing lack of private sector companies and business

support organizations (BSOs) that can conduct energy audits and advise on appropriate

energy efficiency options given a business’ specific context and needs and a lack of

workforce in aftermarket services to maintain and repair renewable energy and energy

efficient equipment once it is operational.

These are all key skillsets that will be required to identify, deliver, install and maintain

and repair a variety of different renewable energy and energy efficiency options. To

support the adoption of green business practices and investment into and expansion of,

to collect, aggregate and analyze energy efficiency data that MoB can potentially leverage in its future efforts to

implement the Green Business Framework. 71 Devon O. Niel Gardner, Dillon Alleyne and Charmaine Gomes, “An assessment of fiscal and regulatory barriers to


Series – The Caribbean – No. 27, February 2014 and http://www.reegle.info/policy-and-regulatory-overviews/GY 72 Devon O. Niel Gardner, Dillon Alleyne and Charmaine Gomes, “An assessment of fiscal and regulatory barriers to


Series – The Caribbean – No. 27, February 2014 and http://www.reegle.info/policy-and-regulatory-overviews/GY


38

green business sectors, appropriate GoG institutions should collaborate to conduct

comprehensive skills needs assessments that inform the design of workforce

development programs to address the human resource gaps identified.

Improving data collection and analysis

Data collection and sharing can be improved. For example, private sector employment

data is not currently available in Guyana 73 and only basic firm-level data is collected

during the annual commercial registration process. There are also few structured data

and knowledge-sharing mechanisms in place between most ministries and government

agencies including social security-related data sharing. For instance, during the

commercial registration process only the name of the business and location are

currently collected and although the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is in the

process of developing a powerful new database of environmental information, it does

not appear that there is a data-sharing agreement in place between the MoB and EPA to

access this database.

Furthermore, firm-level energy and water consumption information collected from

Guyana Power and Light (GPL) or Guyana Water Inc. (GWI) respectively is not being

shared with the MoB. It will be difficult to establish energy consumption baselines by

subsector, sector or type of business if this information is not collected, aggregated and

analyzed (while maintaining company confidentiality).

It will be important that the Ministry of Business improves its capacity to collect,

interpret and act on appropriate green economy-related data at the firm and industry

level to help inform policy and program development and monitoring and evaluation

activities.

Regulatory Framework

Mechanisms for grid connection and access

A 2014 United Nations analysis highlighted, ““the absence of legislation and

mechanisms for grid connection and access” 74 as an important barrier to expanded use

of renewable energies, which was subsequently confirmed through consultations with

stakeholders. 75

Although the Draft National Energy Policy of Guyana from December 2016 states that it

is the GoG’s intention to “set policy guidelines for Public Utilities Commission to require

73 United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, “Economic Survey of Latin America and

the Caribbean ▪ 2017.” 74 Devon O. Niel Gardner, Dillon Alleyne and Charmaine Gomes, “An assessment of fiscal and regulatory barriers to


Series – The Caribbean – No. 27, February 2014. 75 It should also be noted that stakeholders reported that there is lack of regulations for cogeneration as well.


39

the GPL to develop and publish a feed-in tariff mechanism for grid tied distributed

renewable energy technologies and to develop and publish interconnection policy for

small scale and commercial scale distributed renewable energy systems,” 76 a feed-in

tariff mechanism and interconnection policy have still not been formally established.

Several stakeholders interviewed expressed optimism that the PUC will formalize a feed-

in tariff mechanism in the near future.

It is understood that establishing the appropriate mechanism for grid connection and

access falls outside the MoB’s areas of responsibility. Still, it is important to note that

the continued absence of a formal feed-in tariff mechanism and an interconnection

policy represent significant barriers to both, attracting investment into the renewable

energy sector and to increased adoption of certain renewable energies technologies

(for example, photovoltaic (PV) solar panel systems) by effectively constricting

commercial and consumer demand for renewable energies.

Performance based incentive system to promote resource efficiency

As described earlier, a number of different tax and duty emptions have been instituted

over the past years to aid in the promotion of a green economy. Yet, significant uptake

of energy efficient technologies amongst Guyanese businesses has still not taken place:

“[Despite] the advances made towards incentivizing the purchasing of

energy efficient technologies, as contained in the recent Customs and

Value added tax (VAT) Acts that provides waivers and exemptions for

“machinery and equipment for generating electricity from non traditional

sources such as solar, biomass and wind”…The incentives are targeted however at product purchases and have so far, failed to encourage sustainable application of energy efficient measures for the commercial and industrial sector through performance based incentives.” 77

(emphasis added)

Performance based incentives 78 have been used in other jurisdictions to complement

tax and duty emptions for product purchases and can help foster more widespread

adoption of green business practices to meet for example, energy performance targets:

76 Roland Clarke PhD, IDB Consultant, “Draft National Energy Policy of Guyana – Report 2 – Green Paper.” December

2016. 77 Devon O. Niel Gardner, Dillon Alleyne and Charmaine Gomes, “An assessment of fiscal and regulatory barriers to


Series – The Caribbean – No. 27, February 2014. 78 “Performance-based regulation specifies required outcomes or objectives, rather than the means by which they

must be achieved. Firms and individuals are able to choose the process by which they will comply with the law. This

allows them to identify processes that are more efficient and lower cost in relation to their circumstances, and also

promotes innovation and the adoption of new technology on a broader scale. The focus of regulation is shifted to

results or outputs, rather than inputs, and the degree of government intervention in markets is effectively reduced.

Adoption of performance-based regulation can also simplify and clarify regulations, since they can be written in terms

of underlying objectives, rather than requiring large amounts of detailed, prescriptive standards to be set out in

legislative terms. The use of performance-based regulation is rapidly developing in OECD countries. Its use has been


40

“Many EU and other OECD countries have addressed this challenge by

implementing information-based tools and regulatory and economic

incentives to encourage SMEs to improve their environmental

performance, to comply with regulatory requirements and adopt broader

green practices that are not mandated by the law (i.e. go beyond

compliance).” 79

Performance based incentives also align well with the EPA’s goal of encouraging and

motivating businesses to comply with environmental regulations because of commercial

benefits and the positive impact on Guyana rather than to avoid penalties. In addition,

performance based incentives can help mitigate perceived environmental enforcement

capacity deficiencies that were highlighted by EPA.

Given the business sector’s current operating environment, designing a system of

incentives (and potentially subsidies) will be important towards promoting the adoption

of renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies.

Green business certification and eco-labeling programs

Green certification programs that certify businesses’ green business practices and eco-

labeling programs for energy efficient products have been utilized in a number of other

jurisdictions. 80 In many cases, these types of programs have helped contribute to

increased demand for green business practices and influenced consumer demand. For

example, in some jurisdictions:

“A new group of environmentally responsible consumers has emerged.

They are the lead adopters and others are following. These consumers

take into account a variety of factors before they choose to support a

company by buying their product. They consider the impact of materials

and processes used to manufacture and package goods, how products

are distributed and disposed of, a company’s broader corporate

philosophy on the environment, and even a company’s support of public

environmental education programs. These factors, among many others,

are becoming increasingly important to consumers and consequently to

the companies themselves.” 81

These types of programs are currently not in place in Guyana representing missed

opportunities to both incentivize businesses to adopt green business practices and

increasing significantly in relation to health, safety, consumer protection and environmental regulation in particular.”

Source: https://www.oecd.org/gov/regulatory-policy/35260489.pdf 79 The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, “Environmental Policy Toolkit for Greening SMEs in

the EU Eastern Partnership countries - First edition.” 2015 80 For example see: https://greenbusinessca.org/ and https://www.sfdph.org/dph/EH/Green/default.asp 81 https://saylordotorg.github.io/text_the-sustainable-business-case-book/s05-05-the-business-case-for-

sustaina.html


41

generate consumer demand for greener products. There are a number of successful

programs in other countries that could be used as models for designing programs

appropriate for Guyana’s context.82

Physical Infrastructure

Electricity grid reconfiguration and capacity expansion

Irrespective of any advances that might be made in the areas of regulations, capacity

development and awareness building/messaging, the results of the research effort

confirm a key finding of a 2014 United Nations analysis that noted the, “lack of a long-

term strategy for [electricity] grid expansion that seeks to make timely and deliberate

technological enhancements to the existing grid so as to facilitate the systemic addition

of renewable energy.” 83 Many of the existing grid constraints were highlighted in the

2017 Energy Transition Roadmap for Guyana. A number of stakeholder interviews

expressed the view that it is imperative for the grid to be reconfigured and its capacity

expanded in order to have the absorptive capacity to integrate new sources of

renewable power. These findings are consistent with a finding documented in a recent

a Consolidated Report on Outcomes of the Expert Group Consultations that reviewed the

thematic group process to elaborate the GSDS, which found that the, “unreliability of

electricity supply provided through the national grid as a result of poor infrastructure

and inadequate technical/institutional capacity” as a main challenge to Guyana’s

transition towards renewable energy and greater energy independence.

There are a number of efforts under way to determine the most appropriate ways to

modernize the electricity grid. For example, the GoG recently formalized an agreement

with the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) for a loan of US$20 million towards the

Guyana Power and Light (GPL) Utility Upgrade Programme, which is expected to fund a

“comprehensive turnaround” of the company’s electricity distribution. 84 This is a

positive sign that the electricity grid issue is in the progress of being addressed.

82 See for example http://www.greenbizsbc.org/ and also the case studies in Annex 1 for largely government-driven

programs. There are also green business certification program models that are promoted by private sector

organizations, such as chambers of commerce. See for example: https://www.kona-kohala.com/kuleana-green-

business-program 83 Devon O. Niel Gardner, Dillon Alleyne and Charmaine Gomes, “An assessment of fiscal and regulatory barriers to


Series – The Caribbean – No. 27, February 2014. 84 “The Utility Upgrade Programme is part of GPL’s Development and Expansion for the period 2014 to 2021 which

aims to reduce the overall losses in the power system. The loan is expected to cover: the rehabilitation of 153 km of

GPL’s medium voltage and low voltage network and 6,941 smart meters, including the associated transformers,

service lines and distribution boxes; and the rehabilitation and extension of two 69/13.8KV substations at Kingston

and Vreed-en-hoop…[and] will also finance consultancy services for the preparation of designs and specifications for

the sub-stations and the site supervision for the works related to the Kingston and Vreed-en-hoop substations, as well

as support the existing project management unit by financing additional specialised engineers and technicians to

reinforce the existing team.” Source: https://www.kaieteurnewsonline.com/2018/09/09/gpl-upgrade-programme-

to-benefit-from-us20m-islamic-dev-bank-loan/


42

Still, it is important to emphasize that even though the electricity grid is not the

responsibility of the MoB, the current state of the electricity grid is a critical structural

issue that is likely to continue to inhibit significant adoption of renewable energy

technologies and investment into the renewables sector until it is modernized.

Access to Finance

Many energy efficiency and renewable technology products have high upfront costs. In

response, the GoG has exempted a number of products such as solar panels and solar

water heaters from import duties.85 Yet uptake of these products has been severely

limited because of the difficulties in securing financing from commercial banks to fund

their purchase. The Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry (GBTI) has offered a “green”

loan program since 2011 for products and projects that reduce energy consumption

and/or greenhouse gas emissions.86 But to date, very few Guyanese companies have

taken advantage of this program because the loan terms or collateral requirements are

still considered too stringent or due to the lack of mechanisms for grid connection and

access to facilitate interconnection with new sources of renewable power that would

make renewable energy products like solar panels more economically viable. And as

previously noted, access to technical support services in the form of energy audits and

more advanced technical support from BSOs is currently limited in Guyana.

Several private sector stakeholders expressed that if the GoG is serious about facilitating

the adoption of green business practices amongst existing Guyanese businesses, then it

will be necessary for the GoG to put resources towards this effort to address the

prevailing difficulties in accessing finance through commercial banks. For example:

“Many SMEs are willing to invest in more energy efficient and

environmentally friendly processes, but they require reliable partners in

financing their investments and the right regulatory framework.

However, they often face obstacles in getting access to finance, with

banks being reluctant to fund such investments and lacking the

specialised staff needed to evaluate SME projects.” 87

These findings are consistent with findings documented in a recent a Consolidated Report on Outcomes of the Expert Group Consultations that reviewed the thematic

group process to elaborate the GSDS, which found that the, “high upfront cost of

adoption of renewable energy technologies contributing to the slow transition to

renewables for both commercial and household use” is a main challenge to Guyana’s

transition towards renewable energy and greater energy independence. Making

85 It was also noted that the various policy and tax exemptions have not been adequately publicized so businesses

particularly small business are not always aware of how they can potentially benefit from these initiatives. 86 http://guyanachronicle.com/2011/01/04/gbti-launches-green-loans-scheme 87 The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), “Environmental Policy Toolkit for Greening

SMEs in the EU Eastern Partnership countries - First edition.” 2015


43

financing readily accessible at acceptable interest rates will be especially important for

small and medium enterprises in aiding in the transition process towards more eco-

friendly equipment and processes.

Similar to the physical infrastructure critical issue area outlined earlier, irrespective of

any advances that might be made in the areas of regulations, capacity development and

awareness building/messaging, the uptake of some renewable energy and energy

efficient technologies with high up front costs will be constrained until those issues that

are currently making it difficult for businesses to secure commercial bank financing to

fund the purchase of renewable energy and energy efficient equipment are addressed.

Investment and Market Demand

Traditionally, Guyana’s economy has been rather undiversified, primarily driven by a few

economic sectors. Consequently, the government has played a somewhat outsized role

in the national economy, with public investment representing 8.2% of GDP in 2015. 88

With respect to potential investment into green sectors, currently, apart from the GoG,

there are few large local actors or international actors with operations in the Guyanese

market to drive significant investment into green sectors. The prospect of a sizeable oil

and gas supply chain that is expected to grow imminently in Guyana could change this

dynamic.

Go-Invest does promote renewable energy investment opportunities in Guyana. 89 But

the results of stakeholder interviews indicated that the organization does not have firm

targets to attract investment into green sectors and further, its efforts have been

hindered by the key enabling environment structural issues elaborated earlier in this

section. The lack of private domestic or foreign investment into green sectors in Guyana

can be largely attributed to: the electricity grid’s inadequate capacity and current

configuration, the lack of mechanisms for grid connection and access and the lack of

fiscal incentives for renewable energy projects. Consequently, as it stands currently, the

GoG is the main source of potential demand to generate favorable resource and market

conditions to drive more investment into green sectors.

In many instances of early stage market development, governments have played key

roles in catalyzing green sector growth through the provision of incentives, subsidies

and specialized policies.90 For example:

“In early stages of market development, the focus should be on

demonstrating early successes. Where markets have evolved beyond

88 Ministry of Business, “Ministry of Business Strategic Plan 2016-2020.” Final Report - September 26, 2016 89 http://www.ceintelligence.com/files/investment_opportunities/documents/Renewable-Guyana.pdf 90 See for example: https://www.thesolutionsjournal.com/article/how-germany-became-europes-green-leader-a-

look-at-four-decades-of-sustainable-policymaking/


44

initial stages, public funding should not be reduced but instead ‘move

gears’ and focus on strengthening the sector capacity as a whole rather

than supporting individual businesses.” 91

The GoG’s GY$1 billion annual program to improve the energy efficiency of government

departments through photovoltaic solar panel installations on government buildings is a

good first step.

However, in the absence of a dynamic green and sustainable investment climate in

Guyana, the GoG can appreciably help catalyze green sector investment and the

adoption of green business practices by:

• Significantly scaling up procurement policies that have green business practice

requirements;

• Incentivizing the emerging oil and gas sector to adopt green business practices;

and,

• Providing fiscal incentives to attract investment to finance renewable energy

projects.92 93

GoG actions of these types could help generate more favorable resource and market

conditions to attract investment into green sectors.

Mapping the Critical Enabling Environment Issues Identified

Mapping the critical issues identified on a continuum from initial market demand to

product purchase and aftermarket repair and maintenance reveals how a number of

these issues are interrelated and/or interdependent, as summarized in the following

diagram in Figure 3:

91 Global Off-Grid Lighting Association, “GOGLA Industry Opinion on the Role of Public Funding to Mobilise Investment

for Access to Energy.” Adopted at AGM, Amsterdam, June 16 2015 92 This finding is consistent with a finding documented in a recent Consolidated Report on Outcomes of the Expert Group Consultations, which reviewed the thematic group process to elaborate the GSDS, which found that, “improved

fiscal incentives regime for alternative energy development projects” is a priority action to enable green, inclusive,

high value-adding industrial development. 93 It is understood that a consultancy supported by the IDB to Review & Re-Design of Go-Invest´s Trade and

Investment Framework will be commencing shortly and that capacity building of Go-Invest’s staff’s knowledge of

targeted green sectors, investment profiles and associated incentives systems and financing options etc. will likely be

components of this organizational redesign and capacity development effort. See http://goinvest.gov.gy/wp-

content/uploads/EOI-Revised-Redesign-of-GoInvest-Trade-and-Investment-Framework-February-13-2018-

00000002.pdf


45

Figure 3: Interrelation and Interdependence of Key Enabling Environment Critical Issues


The issues highlighted in red are the bottlenecks most critical towards increased green

business adoption and attracting investment into green sectors. That is, it will be

imperative to prioritize and address these issues to realize the goals embedded in the

proposed Green Business Framework.

This diagram is not intended to be a comprehensive portrayal of the existing enabling

environment for facilitating companies’ increased adoption of green business practices

and to drive investment into green sectors. Rather, the aim of the diagram is to depict

some of the key dynamics that impact these two objectives, highlighting some of the

primary gaps identified, how a number of these issues are interrelated and/or

interdependent and potential priorities for resource allocation. The diagram also aims to

show that a holistic approach is called for to meet the objectives of the Green Business

Framework.

MarketDemand Informa/on Accessibility Absorp/ve

Capacity Affordability Reliability

Policy

CapacityBuilding

WorkforceDevelopment

Electricitygridcapacityandconfigura;on

•  Awarenessbuilding

•  Ar;cula;ngandmessagingthebusinesscaseforgreenbusinessprac;ceadop;on

Regula;ons•  Mechanismsforgridconnec;onandaccess(e.g.feed-intariff)

•  Energyefficiencystandards

•  Recyclingprograms

•  Greenbusinesscer;fica;on

•  Ecolabeling

•  Incen;ves•  DutyandVATexemp;ons

•  Taxcredits

Governmentprocurementpolicieswithgreenbusinessprac;cerequirements

Technicalcapacitydevelopment•  GEA•  PUC•  GPL•  GRA

Commercialbanks’technicalcapacitydevelopmenttoevaluate“green”projects

Accesstofinanceandgreenloanprograms

SMEscapacitytoadoptanddiffusetechnology

•  Servicesuppliers•  Ongoing

maintenanceandrepairworkforce

Workforceto:•  Installsolarpanels•  Performenergyaudits•  Provideenergyefficiency

advisoryservices

SMEcompliancewithbankrequirements

ResourcesforEPAenforcementofenvironmentalstandards


46

4. Framework for Driving Green Business Development in Guyana

Guyana is presently immersed in an extremely dynamic process in which various public

and private sector actors are adjusting simultaneously to both, the ongoing

transformation to a green economy and the realities associated with the anticipated

emergence of a sizeable oil and gas sector and its impact on the Guyanese economy. It

is evident that a number of government institutions and private sector actors are

making important strides towards realizing Guyana’s green agenda, placing the country

on a trajectory towards a greener economy. For example, the GoG is leading by

example with its GY$1 billion annual Renewable Energy Programme to improve the

energy efficiency of government departments through solar photovoltaic (PV) system

installations on government buildings. In 2017, the Renewable Energy Programme

resulted in the award of contracts for the installation of PV systems on the rooftops of

70 government buildings and a 400kW Solar PV Farm, totaling 1.36 megawatts (MW)

and a contract to replace inefficient lights and the installation of 10,427 light-emitting

diode (LED) lamps and 3,766 occupancy sensors at 46 government buildings, as well as

360 energy efficient outdoor lights. 94 And in general, as Guyana becomes more

technologically advanced, it will be easier for businesses to upgrade to more energy

efficient machinery and equipment.

Yet the results of the situational assessment examined in the previous section helped to

illuminate that there are several key structural issues that continue to impact the uptake

of green business practices and the investment climate for green sector investment.

For example, a broad array of information barriers and market failures are currently

discouraging many Guyanese companies from adopting more energy efficient practices,

irrespective of the prevailing high energy prices that companies are forced to absorb

into their cost structures. Most Guyanese companies lack the requisite information to

make the right choices on energy efficient products or services that are appropriate for

their business. Further the difficulty many enterprises experience accessing finance to

fund the purchase of energy efficient equipment and other technologies compounds the

slow uptake of green business practices and products. 95

Guyana is not alone in being confronted by significant challenges as the nation pursues

green development strategies. As described in the review of international case studies

in Annex 1, other countries from Tunisia and Ethiopia to Germany and Singapore, have

faced similar enabling conditions and challenges as they have embarked on green

economic agendas:

94 Guyana Energy Agency, “Milestones, Challenges, and 2018 budget presentation.” 95 https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/sustainability-and-resource-productivity/our-insights/promoting-

energy-efficiency-in-the-developing-world


47

Figure 4: International Case Study: Transitioning to Solar Water Heaters in Tunisia – Capital cost subsidies alone are not always sufficient in creating

long-term viable commercial markets

Sources: Chiara Trabacchi, Valerio Micale, Gianleo Frisari, “San Giorgio Group Case Study: Prosol Tunisia.“ Climate Policy Initiative,

June 2012. Clifford Polycarp, Louise Brown, Xing Fu-Bertaux, “Mobilizing Climate Investment: Annex 3 - Solar Water Heaters in

Tunisia.” World Resources Institute, 2014. Case Study 30: Tunisia – Solar Water Heating Equipment Finance Program found at

www.worldbank.org/energy/refine

Tunisia’s experience demonstrated that holistic approaches are often required to

incentivize the uptake of green technologies at scale:

“Financial incentives (in the form of a capital cost subsidy) alone are not

sufficient to create a viable [green] market on a long-term basis. Readiness

activities, including targeted awareness and communication campaigns,

capacity-building activities, and rigorous enforcement of quality standards, are

fundamental to success. Access to finance was also a critical barrier that needed

to be addressed.” 96

An, “absence of internal coordination mechanisms and collaborative culture” 97 has

been noted within the MoB, which was further corroborated during training sessions

conducted during this consultancy. To employ the type of holistic approach to

implementation that is typically required to incentivize the uptake of green technologies

at scale will signify establishing functional structured formats and tools for enhanced

intra-departmental collaboration and knowledge sharing within the MoB and inter-

96 Clifford Polycarp, Louise Brown, Xing Fu-Bertaux, “Mobilizing Climate Investment: Annex 3 - Solar Water Heaters in

Tunisia.” World Resources Institute. Found at:

https://www.wri.org/sites/default/files/wri_report_4c_mci_annex3_tunisia_v2_final.pdf 97 Ministry of Business, “Ministry of Business Strategic Plan 2016-2020.” Final Report - September 26, 2016

Challenge

• Solarwaterheaterprogramsinitiatedwherecapitalcostsubsidieswereofferedbutdidnotresultinsustainableuptakeofsolarwaterheaters.

• Theprogramsdidnotfosterthesupplysideofthemarket,e.g.installers,after-salesmaintenanceandaccreditationqualitycertificationprograms.

Solution

• 2005redesignedUS$2.2millionProsolfinancingscheme-commercialbankloanstowith20%subsidyoncapitalcostsofsolarwaterheaters.

• Programalsoincludedreadinessactivitiestofosterthedevelopmentofthesupplysideofthesolarwaterheatermarket,suchasawarenessbuildingcampaigns,targetedcapacitybuildingsupport,accreditationschemeforsuppliersandinstallersandwaterheatermodelsandstandardsenforcement

Results

• Morethan119,000solarwaterheatersystemsinstalled,representinga500%increaseinannualdeploymentcomparedtopreviousinitiatives.

• US$134millionoftotalpublicandprivateinvestmentwasmade.• Reducedgovernment’sfossil-fuelsubsidyspendingbyanestimatedUS$15.2million.


48

agency collaboration and knowledge sharing between the MoB and other government

ministries and agencies. 98

Proposed Policy Recommendations and Strategic Lines of

Action in Priority Enabling Environment Issue Areas

The Green Business Framework presented forthwith sets out to accelerate the greening

of Guyanese businesses and contribute to Guyana’s overarching national development

objectives as expressed in the GSDS. The Green Business Framework is tailored to

Guyana’s specific conditions and aims to provide a structure for policy development that

offers guidance on the design of policies, initiatives and to promote the adoption of

green business practices and encourage investment into a range of green sectors.

The results of the situational assessment helped to illuminate some of the key structural

issues impeding the uptake of green business practices and the investment climate for

green sector investment. The policy recommendations and strategic lines of action put

forward within the Green Business Framework are designed to address these key

structural issues and foster enabling conditions that make green activities more

attractive opportunities for both businesses and investors alike. The policy

recommendations and strategic lines of action are organized in six policy areas that

mirror the key enabling environment critical issue areas identified during the situational

analysis:

1) Promoting Awareness Building and Messaging

2) Enabling Capacity Development

3) Optimizing the Regulatory Framework

4) Enhancing Physical Infrastructure

5) Facilitating Access to Finance

6) Fostering Investment and Market Demand

Further, many of the proposed policy recommendations and strategic lines of actions

put forward in the Green Business Framework reinforce and complement a number of

the integrated objectives that have guided the GSDS. For example, the Green Business

Framework aims to synchronize at a minimum, with these key principles and objectives

of the GSDS:

• Green jobs and inclusive economic diversification;

• Sustainable management of natural resources;

• Transition to renewable energy;

98 For example, depending on the nature of the collaboration required, weekly, monthly or quarterly meetings could

be held between representatives of the different implementing MoB departments and/or GoG agencies, web-based

file and knowledge sharing resources, intra-departmental or inter-agency trainings and other structured formats or

tools that enhance inter-agency collaboration.


49

• Resilient infrastructure, green towns and urban public spaces;

• Healthy, educated and socially cohesive population;

• Good governance and strong institutions; and,

• Trade, investment and international cooperation.

This framework aims to provide the policy and institutional means to implement those

measures that encourage businesses to adopt broader green practices and facilitate

higher levels of green investment. It is also important to note that there are certain

elements of the proposed Green Business Framework to follow that do not fall within

the purview of the Ministry of Business and therefore, ultimate responsibility for

implementation will lie with other government agencies and ministries.

However, this framework aims to promote a holistic approach to implementation that

provides the policy and institutional means to implement those measures that

encourage businesses to adopt broader green practices and facilitate higher levels of

investment into green sectors. And although the Ministry of Business is not directly

responsible for some proposed priority actions, they are still included in this framework

because they are interdependent with other proposed priority actions and in some

cases, are critical prerequisites for businesses to adopt certain green business practices

or attract investment into green sectors at scale. It is recommended that the MoB

should work to ensure to the extent possible that those recommended actions that fall

outside of its remit remain priorities for the specific government agencies and ministries

that are ultimately responsible for implementing them.


Summary

A green development strategy is a relatively new concept in Guyana. And although

there is extensive support across all sectors for pursuing the basic tenets of a green

development strategy, there remains some confusion about the different roles different

private and public sector actors are expected to assume and the specific actions that

different actors can consider taking.

With the submission of the final draft of the GSDS to Cabinet on October 31, 2018 more

details were presented regarding how Guyana’s green agenda will be rolled out, what

the phasing and sequence of activities will be and what specific roles different

stakeholders will play during the rollout going forward.

Still, for the MoB and other relevant GoG actors, it will be important that existing

awareness building programs evolve from more general aspirational messaging to a

series of specific messages that communicate the precise commercial, societal and

environmental benefits that can be realized through the adoption of specific green


50

business practices relative to the specific audience, stakeholder group, business or

industry segment. 99

“Despite numerous empirical studies which have demonstrated that improving

the environmental performance of a firm also improves its financial

performance, many SMEs still fear that improving their environmental

performance will cost money and that there will be a conflict between their

desire to protect the environment and the need to keep down costs and run a

successful business. The challenge is to convince SMEs that green practices

actually reduce costs and make for better business.” 100

“Packaging the information and formulating the right message is crucial for the

effectiveness of communication tools. Business benefits of improved

environmental performance (in terms of increased efficiency and

competitiveness) should be the main “selling point” of environmental outreach

to SMEs. In making the “business case”, it may be particularly useful to present

examples of other similar companies receiving commercial benefits as a result of

the environmental management improvements in question.” 101

And importantly, the GSDS reinforces the significance of building awareness and the

business case 102 for energy efficiency:

“Build local awareness and understanding and business cases for energy efficiency. It is important for the Guyanese public to understand the long-term

goal of energy efficiency, its benefits and the role of each stakeholder. The

Department of Energy and its line agencies as partners and leaders in this

national effort, will develop and make available to the public and to consumers,

information and other user tools e.g. web-based estimators that explain the

99 “The benefits of green growth are often complex, abstract and difficult to calculate or communicate. By contrast,

the related costs are often tangible and immediate…credible and trusted messengers compelling evidence-based

messages are needed to make the case for deviating from business as usual….the most effective communication

strategies demonstrate these benefits at the individual level, using metrics that are tangible and relevant to the daily

lives of the target audience – an approach that is more impactful than demonstrating impacts at the aggregate level .”

Source: The Green Growth Best Practices (GGBP) initiative, “Green Growth in Practice: Lessons from Country

Experiences.” First Edition, 2015 100 The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), “Environmental Policy Toolkit for Greening

SMEs in the EU Eastern Partnership countries - First edition.” 2015 101 The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), “Environmental Policy Toolkit for Greening

SMEs in the EU Eastern Partnership countries - First edition.” 2015 102 “Probably the biggest hurdle to successful green [business practice adoption] is the real or perceived increase

in…cost. In order to dispel this concern, clear cost-benefit analysis should be provided [and] a strong business case

has to be presented, discussed and reiterated [and government] should present long term impacts of inaction and

provide better alternatives.” Source: Autif Mohammed Sayyed, “A Contextual Approach to Green Building Regulation

in Developing Countries.” International Finance Corporation, Indonesia.


51

renewable energy transition, the benefits of energy efficiency, to encourage

enthusiasm and participation in corporate energy efficiency programmes.” 103

1.1 Policy objective

Build awareness about aspects of the Green State Development Strategy and larger

green agenda that are relevant to businesses and effectively communicate the value in

adopting green business practices.

a. Preliminary recommended actions to meet policy objective

• Create a network of public and private sector actors that can design and deliver a

dedicated awareness building program that creates awareness among

businesses regarding the importance of developing and implementing

sustainable business models and communicates the anticipated roles and

expectations of different economic actors depending on the specific audience,

stakeholder group or industry segment.

• Design and deliver effective messages that clearly communicate the business

case(s) for adopting green business practices, tailored to both, type of firm and

type of green business practice, drawing on local examples and case studies

where possible. 104 Then identify the appropriate communication channels to

best reach those target audiences, for example: radio, TV, print, social media,

informational seminars etc.

• As programs such as an eco-labeling program, green business certification

program etc. are potentially launched (See Subsection 3: Optimizing the

Regulatory Environment below for further elaboration), design and deliver

awareness building campaigns and communication strategies. For example, the

success of an eco-labeling program can rely heavily on the quality of any

accompanying communications strategy that is employed to increase demand

for certified products and services. • Design a dedicated “Green” section of the MoB website that provides business

advisory services regarding relevant elements of the green business framework

and associated programs. 105 106

103 “Green State Development Strategy: Vision 2040 - Diversified, Resilient, Low-carbon, People-centred.” Draft

shared for comment on October 4, 2018 104 “In making the ‘business case’, it may be particularly useful to present examples of other similar companies

receiving commercial benefits as a result of the environmental management improvements in question. Case studies

should preferably be local in order to increase the acceptance of their conclusions by small businesses.” Source: The

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), “Environmental Policy Toolkit for Greening SMEs

in the EU Eastern Partnership countries - First edition.” 2015 105 “The key feature of comprehensive information-based assistance programmes is that enterprises can get advice,

informational and methodological materials in one place. Over the last decade…there has been rapid proliferation of

government-sponsored business advisory websites, especially targeting SMEs. Government authorities like online

guidance tools because they offer regulatory consistency of advice, time and cost savings on face-to-face advice as

well as anonymity which facilitates communication with the regulated community.” Source: The Organisation for


52


Summary

Understanding of the energy efficiency resource and related technologies is necessary

to create a credible business case for energy efficiency. Yet as noted, technical capacity

limitation issues within key GoG agencies107 and the limited skilled green sector labor

pool108 in Guyana continue to represent barriers to investment into green sectors, and

to steering companies to increasingly adopt green business practices. Qualified

personnel in key GoG agencies will be required to collect and analyze data and manage

and coordinate specific aspects of the Green Business Framework implementation.

In addition, the GSDS highlights the importance of increased investments in quality

education systems as a means for improving the pool of skilled labor and noting that,

“education, including technical, vocational education and training (TVET) plays a

valuable role in preparing students for the labour market.” 109

“A shortage of ‘green’ skills and lack of management skills are often a challenge

for green businesses. Green entrepreneurs focus primarily on the environmental

problem they want to solve and often consider business management skills as

secondary. In addition, the green sector is rather new, and finding team

members with ‘green’ skills can be difficult. Having a team with strong execution

potential is key to investors’ decisions to invest or not.” 110

For example, the lack of private sector and BSO capacity to conduct energy assessments

and audits and aftermarket workforce to maintain and repair renewable energy and

energy efficient equipment were often cited as key constraints.

To create the optimal conditions to facilitate increased adoption of green business

practices and to attract increased investment into green sectors, investments in capacity

Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), “Environmental Policy Toolkit for Greening SMEs in the EU Eastern

Partnership countries - First edition.” 2015 106 In Ireland, “the…Green Business Initiative (www.greenbusiness.ie) launched in 2006 seeks primarily to enable

businesses to assess their own resource use efficiency, particularly with respect to waste and water, by using web-

based audit/assessment tools. The Green Business web pages also offer tips and case studies on how to save money

by reducing resource use.” Source: The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD),

“Environmental Policy Toolkit for Greening SMEs in the EU Eastern Partnership countries - First edition.” 2015 107 “Specialized staff are needed to conduct technical and market analysis, set standards and develop labels, develop

and execute communication campaigns, and oversee monitoring, certification and compliance.” Source: CLASP,

“Standards and Labels: Transforming the Market for Energy Efficient Appliances” Clean Energy Solutions Center

Webinar Series Presented by: James McMahon Robert Van Buskirk 108 For example, a labor pool adequately trained to conduct firm level energy efficiency audits and install and maintain

solar panels. 109 “Green State Development Strategy: Vision 2040 - Diversified, Resilient, Low-carbon, People-centred.” Draft

shared for comment on October 4, 2018 110 The GREEN-WIN Project, “Enabling Environments for Green SMEs: Recommendations for Action.” Policy Brief 2018


53

development will be required both within key GoG agencies and to develop a more

robust and skilled green sector labor pool.


Support the capacity development of key Government of Guyana agencies where

applicable to be able to better facilitate businesses’ increased adoption of green

business practices and increased investment into green sectors.


• Support appropriate government ministries and/or agencies where applicable in

the design and delivery of tailored capacity development and recruitment

programs for GEA, PUC, GPL and GRA such that staff acquire the requisite

technical expertise to stay informed and up to date about emerging energy

efficiency and renewable energy technologies and products/services to be able

to continually adapt their official activities to the rapidly evolving market

environment.111 112

• Improve the Ministry of Business’ capacity to collect, interpret and act on

appropriate green economy-related data at the firm and industry level to help

inform policy and program development and monitoring and evaluation

activities. For instance, the annual commercial registry process could be an

important opportunity to collect a variety of data at the firm level that could be

aggregated and analyzed in a variety of ways and for a variety of purposes. In

addition, the MoB can use the survey template to assess business utilization of

eco- machinery and business practices that was developed as part of this

consultancy to collect actionable data. Finally, there are a number of relevant

111 In particular, the anticipated critical role for GEA is highlighted in the GSDS, “the GEA would play an important

technical role in supporting the development and monitoring of comprehensive energy policy (renewable and non-

renewable), data collection, management and analysis for evidence-based planning purposes.” Source: Green State

Development Strategy: Vision 2040 - Diversified, Resilient, Low-carbon, People-centred.” Draft shared for comment

on October 4, 2018 112 Key capacity development needs were outlined in the Final Baseline Report (July 25, 2018). For example,

stakeholders interviewed reported that GEA currently lacks adequate technical capacity to understand and compare

different design proposals for PV installations. As a result a race to the bottom can occur as some bidding companies

will submit inferior designs to meet minimum requirements rather than the best technical solution. This can

negatively affect the image of the entire solar industry if the selected technical solution is not optimal. In addition,

several stakeholders interviewed asserted that PUC and GPL do not currently have access to workforce talent familiar

with the renewable energy and oil and gas industries’ requirements and relevant technologies that will be required to

design, regulate and manage the modernized grid envisioned for Guyana. Finally, stakeholders reported that the GRA

currently lacks the administrative capacity and technical expertise to properly evaluate new and different energy

efficient products to determine if they meet duty and tax exemption criteria. This can lead to lengthy delays in

customs, which in turn, has delayed some renewable energy installations, stunting the adoption of green business

practices and acts as a disincentive to investment in green sectors.


54

online training courses that the MoB could consider to develop staff capacity

levels. 113


Support appropriate government ministries and/or agencies in efforts to increase the

number of persons locally with the appropriate qualifications and skills to facilitate

increased adoption of green business practices and increased investment into green

sectors.


• Conduct green sector skills gaps assessments and design and implement

targeted workforce development programs that address identified human

resources gaps and create a local workforce and business support organizations

that can support the increased adoption of green business practices and

increased investment into green sectors.114


Summary

The fundamental importance of optimizing the regulatory environment cannot be

overstated in the effort to increase adoption of green business practices and investment

into green sectors:

“A key hindrance to private sector adoption of innovative eco-efficient technology is

uncertainty — both in terms of the viability of the technology itself, but also in terms

of market competitiveness. By setting medium to long-term targets, issuing

mandatory minimum performance standards and creating incentives for voluntary

high-performance standards, governments can decrease uncertainty about the

expectations for environmental performance, and encourage enterprises to adopt

113 For example, Coursera offers a number of relevant online training courses including: First Steps in Making the Business Case for Sustainability, Green Business Strategy, Sustainable Business Enterprises and Greening the Economy: Lessons from Scandinavia. (See: https://www.coursera.org/) The United Nations also offers a number of relevant

online training courses including: Unleashing the Power of the Private Sector in Implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, Renewable Energies for Sustainable Development Online Programme and Policy Coherence for Sustainable Development. (See: https://www.unssc.org/courses/unleashing-power-private-sector-implementing-

2030-agenda-sustainable-development-february/ and https://www.un.org/development/desa/capacity-

development/2017/07/05/renewable-energies-for-sustainable-development-online-programme/ and

https://www.unssc.org/courses/policy-coherence-sustainable-development/) 114 The International Labour Organization recently published a Skills for Green Jobs Study – Guyana providing valuable

context and important baseline data. See: Rawle Andrew Small and Ms Maria Witz, “Skills for Green Jobs Study -

Guyana.” International Labour Organization Office for the Caribbean - 2017


55

eco-efficient processes, including through investing in R&D and technological

innovations.” 115 116

As such, it will be important to introduce targeted policies, incentives and other

programs that are appropriate for Guyana’s context and that can help encourage action

within the private sector. The appropriate regulatory interventions can help to build

private sectors confidence in the regulatory environment while providing some level of

security that investing in green business practices and green sectors will result in the

anticipated commercial benefits. For example product standards and labels programs

and hybrid incentive systems that combine voluntary and obligatory compliance

measures have proven effective and helped mitigate enforcement capacity limitations in

a number of countries and could be adopted in Guyana.117

But it is also important to note that once regulations are in place, they will need to be

continuously monitored and assessed to measure impact both environmental and

business performance impacts, and then updated and/or revised as required.


Support the establishment of a consistent and comprehensive regulatory framework

that defines the appropriate mechanisms for optimal electricity grid connection and

access that will allow for more widespread adoption of green business practices.


• Support GPL in the execution of a study to review regulatory framework to

determine the appropriate net-metering/net-billing/feed-in mechanism for

Guyana’s electricity grid.


Design elements of a regulatory framework that effectively promote resource efficiency

and drive the increased adoption of resource efficient technologies amongst businesses.

115 Ian Barnes, Hala Razian, Zul!ya Suleimenova, “Greening of Economic Growth Series: Overview of Green Business:

Enabling Policies and Private Sector Examples.” United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the

Pacific, 2015 116 Rawle Andrew Small and Ms Maria Witz, “Skills for Green Jobs Study.” International Labour Organization Office for

the Caribbean - 2017 117 See Annex 1 for a review of select international case studies


56


• Design and implement an eco-labeling program that establishes credible

standards that determine those products or services that are classified as

“green” starting with energy efficiency products and services. 118

• Design and implement a green business certification program that certifies that

specific businesses meet certain green business practice criteria.

• Support the design and implementation of performance-based incentive systems

for businesses that promote resource efficiency and drive adoption of resource

efficient technologies. This could involve the roll out of a program that

subsidizes a share of consultancy costs for firm-level energy efficiency

assessments/audits that identify resource efficiency and other environmentally

oriented priority measures specific to individual firms. 119 120

• Once levels of acceptance within the business community have been achieved by

focusing on businesses’ most immediate challenges, consider expanding focus to

design and implement new recycling and waste management programs where

the commercial benefits might not seem as immediate or tangible as for

example, energy efficiency measures.

118 As described in the latest draft of the GSDS, “Minimum energy performance standards, labels and certification for

use of high-energy efficiency equipment and appliances will be mandatory by 2030. Minimum energy performance

standards, labels and certificates are required to phase out inefficient products from the marketplace e.g. air

conditioners, refrigerators, motors, lighting. The goal is zero net energy consumption in buildings. Standards and

codes should become mandatory by 2030, allowing a sufficient and realistic period of adjustment for commercial and

industrial enterprises. Such programmes need to be complemented by monitoring systems, indicators and a database

that track and measure compliance and progress to facilitate reporting at national levels on the country’s Nationally

Determined Contributions under the Paris Agreement.” Source: Green State Development Strategy: Vision 2040 -

Diversified, Resilient, Low-carbon, People-centred.” Draft shared for comment on October 4, 2018 119 “Hands-on, direct resource efficiency support programmes seek to bridge the gap between providing general

knowledge and applying it to specific circumstances of individual businesses by assisting companies to identify both

opportunities and means for implementing resource efficiency measures, as well as their potential costs and

benefits.” Source: The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OPED), “Environmental Policy

Toolkit for Greening SMEs in the EU Eastern Partnership countries - First edition.” 2015 120 “Grants may be offered by public agencies for the purchase of environmental technologies…but more often they

subsidize a share of consultancy costs for the identification and implementation of resource efficiency and other

environmentally oriented measures. Sometimes the government reimburses SMEs the full cost of an initial

environmental audit. For example, Enterprise Ireland…provides grants to SMEs as a percentage (up to 50%) of

consultancy costs for the identification and implementation of resource efficiency and other environmentally

oriented measures (as long as they go beyond compliance with legal requirements)…Grants are associated with

compliance audits, which also serve as a compliance assistance tool.” Source: The Organisation for Economic Co-

operation and Development (OPED), “Environmental Policy Toolkit for Greening SMEs in the EU Eastern Partnership

countries - First edition.” 2015


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Summary

As noted, despite any advances that might be made in the areas of regulations, capacity

development and awareness building/messaging, certain physical infrastructure

enhancements will still be critical such as ensuring that the electricity grid is

reconfigured and its capacity expanded in order to have the absorptive capacity to

integrate new sources of renewable power.

It is understood that enhancements to physical infrastructure is not normally a central

focal area within the MoB’s purview. Still, as many elements of the Green Business

Framework rely on an electricity grid that can readily support integration of new sources

of renewable power from a variety of sources coordination amongst a number of

agencies will be required to make necessary physical infrastructure enhancements.

The GSDS has also highlighted the electricity grid as a critical priority:

“The immediate focus is on fortifying the national electricity grid. Given its

instability and unreliability, the first investment priority is to efficiently and

effectively stabilize the grid in order to transmit and distribute a more reliable

supply of energy.” 121

The Recently formalized agreement with the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) for the

Guyana Power and Light (GPL) Utility Upgrade Programme, which is a positive sign that

the electricity grid issue is in the progress of being addressed.


Support appropriate government ministries and/or agencies where applicable in all

efforts to appropriately reconfigure and expand the capacity of the electricity grid such

that it has the absorptive capacity to effectively integrate new sources of renewable

power and permits increased amounts of renewable energy sources used in the energy

mix.


shared for comment on October 4, 2018


58


Support GPL where applicable in the execution of a grid integration and production cost

analyses study determine the appropriate approach for reconfiguring and expanding the

capacity of the electricity grid.122


Ensure that the appropriate National Quality Infrastructure testing and inspection

facilities are in place to permit appropriate testing, inspection and evaluation of

products against energy efficiency and any other green standards.


Support the execution of a study to assess the Guyana National Bureau of Standards’

existing testing and inspection infrastructure and capabilities and prioritize testing and

inspection equipment that the SNBS should acquire such that products can be

appropriately tested, inspected and evaluated of against energy efficiency and any other

green standards. 123


Summary

Access to finance remains a key determinant of enterprise-level competitiveness and

suboptimal access to finance in Guyana remains one of the most significant constraints

to increased adoption of green business practices, particularly for small and medium

sized enterprises (SMEs).

“Access to financing can be difficult due to the relative immaturity of the eco-

innovation market, problems in accurately pricing the risk of investments or a

mismatch with the typical investment criteria used by venture capital and

institutional investors.” 124

As previously highlighted, many energy efficient products and services are characterized

by high upfront costs. Further, many Guyanese SMEs experience difficulties complying

with commercial banks’ lending requirements and even if they can, high interest rates

122 As outlined in the latest draft of the GSDS, “In the medium term, the studies will like yield a range of measures to

promote and enable smart grid development.” Source: Green State Development Strategy: Vision 2040 - Diversified,

Resilient, Low-carbon, People-centred.” Draft shared for comment on October 4, 2018 123 It is understood that this type of study could potentially be supported under the IDB’s GY-L1059 : Enhancing the

National Quality Infrastructure for Economic Diversification and Trade Promotion program. 124 “Enabling Environments for Green SMEs: Recommendations for Action.” The GREEN-WIN Project, Policy Brief

2018


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inhibit many businesses from arranging financing to fund the purchase of green business

products or services.

As such, the provision of financing instruments readily at acceptable interest rates will

be particularly critical in facilitating the transition towards more eco-friendly equipment

and processes amongst Guyanese companies. It is important to note that existing and

planned Inter-American Development Bank programs have the potential to be leveraged

towards this end. For example a Secure Transaction System, a legal framework

supporting a secured transactions framework which allows borrowers to pledge

movable property as security for a loan is being established under the ongoing

Implementation of a Secured Transaction Regime and Green Business Framework in Guyana program. And the EcoMicro - IPED Green Finance for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency for MSMEs program is aimed at financing Renewable Energy/Energy

Efficient (RE/EE) technologies for MSMEs that complement, reduce the usage of, or

substitute unreliable supplies of energy and displace energy from fossil fuels.125


Support appropriate government ministries or agencies in activities that make financing

more readily accessible for businesses to address the high upfront costs of resource-

efficient technology adoption and facilitate the transition process towards more eco-

friendly equipment and processes.


• Design and implement a Government-sponsored green financing program that

could include grants, low-interest loans, tax incentives, direct subsidies, technical

assistance etc. for businesses and consumers willing to go beyond compliance

and invest in green technologies and business practices. This program could

build off of the MoB’s current program through the Small Business Bureau (SBB)

that offers loans to small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs) and works with private

sector creditors to expand the options SMEs have for posting collateral.

• Collaborate with and support commercial banks to design, implement and

promote both existing (for example, GBTI Green Loan program) and new, private

sector-funded green financing schemes and financial products targeted at both

businesses and individual consumers.

125 https://www.iadb.org/en/project/0?projectNumber=ATN/CO-16195-GY and

https://www.iadb.org/fr/project/GY-T1150


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Summary

As noted, apart from the GoG, there are presently few large Guyanese actors or

international actors with operations in the Guyanese market that can help drive

significant investment into green sectors. A growing oil and gas sector can both

potentially become another important source of demand and Guyana may become a

much more attractive investment destination. Thus, it will be important for Go-Invest to

incorporate sustainable development and green business practices in its investment

promotion strategy and activities. But currently, the GoG is the main source of demand

that can generate favorable resource and market conditions to drive more investment

into green sectors.

In this context, government green procurement policies can profoundly influence

private sector demand for similar products and services and thus, governments can

leverage their purchasing power to promote green business practice adoption and

induce investment into green sectors: 126

“By exploiting the power and scale of government purchasing, the state can lead

markets in ways which are quicker and more certain than relying on market

mechanisms.” 127

To further catalyze the market for green business products and services, government

procurement policies can be complemented by additional measures that incentivize

both domestic and foreign investment into the financing of renewable energy and other

green sector projects.


Support the introduction of environmental standards in government procurement

policies aimed at creating more domestic market demand for green products and

services that maximize resource efficiency and foster the development of local green

industries.

126 “The European Union, for example, justifies its environmental procurement policy not only on the basis of

leveraging government demand to ‘create or enlarge markets for environmentally friendly products and services’ but

also on the basis of stimulating ‘the use of green standards in private procurement’.” Source: Timothy Simcoe a,

Michael W. Toffel, “Government green procurement spillovers: Evidence from municipal building policies in

California.” Journal of Environmental Economics and Management 68 (2014) 411–434, 17 September 2014 127 The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), “Green Growth and Developing Countries:

A Summary for Policy Makers.” June 2012


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• Scale up and expand the scope of the existing GoG Energy Efficiency in

Procurement Policy and related programs. The policy’s goal is “to ensure that

the annual operating energy costs of electrical appliances must be included as

part of the evaluation in the procurement process.” 128 The existing policy,

“applies to all public procurement of electrical appliances, IT equipment-

computers, server, imaging equipment, Lighting (indoor and outdoor), Air

conditioning cooling and heating equipment (refrigerator, water heater).” 129

o Scale up and expand the scope of the existing GoG GY$1 billion annual

Renewable Energy Programme that awards contracts for the installation

of solar photovoltaic (PV) systems on the rooftops of government

buildings to improve energy efficiency.

o Scale up and expand the scope of the existing GoG Energy Efficiency

Program that replaces inefficient lights and installs energy efficient

lighting options and accompanying occupancy sensors on government

buildings, as well as some outdoor locations.

o Add environmental considerations to price and performance criteria used

to make all public purchasing decisions across all appropriate

government agencies. 130


Support and drive activities that encourage and incentivize the attraction of investment

into green sectors and foster the development of local green industries.


• Based on the results of feasibility studies envisioned under the GSDS to

determine the cost potential of different renewable sources of energy for the

varied categories of end users across the country, 131 support the design and

128 https://gea.gov.gy/downloads/taking-account-of-energy-efficiency-in-procurement.pdf 129 https://gea.gov.gy/downloads/taking-account-of-energy-efficiency-in-procurement.pdf 130 “Governments can exert its own supply chain pressure through its procurement policies. Green public

procurement can play a significant role in creating demand for green products and services and boosting the market

where private consumer demand for them is insufficient. By using their purchasing power to choose goods and

services with lower environmental impact, public authorities can help to drive down the costs of such purchases and

make them more affordable generally.” Source: The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

(OECD), “Environmental Policy Toolkit for Greening SMEs in the EU Eastern Partnership countries - First edition.” 2015 131 As outlined in the latest draft of the GSDS, “A range of other feasibility studies will be required to determine the

cost potential of different renewable sources of energy for the varied categories of end users across the country.

These should consider the broader power system needs in terms of grid development, flexible mechanisms and

storage needs for the different renewable energy technologies. Analyses of grid integration and production will

provide recommendations for an appropriate technical and commercial framework for higher levels of renewable

energy penetration. Private sector participation and involvement is a priority for the development and installation of

utility scale solar, hydro and wind farms.” Source: Green State Development Strategy: Vision 2040 - Diversified,

Resilient, Low-carbon, People-centred.” Draft shared for comment on October 4, 2018


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implementation of a fiscal incentive regime that makes the climate more

conducive for investment by incentivizing investment into the financing of

renewable energy and other green sector projects

• Create targets for Go-Invest to attract investment into green sectors and provide

Go-Invest with the necessary resources to be in a position to better achieve

those targets. 132

• To complement the Local Content Policy Framework under development,

support the design and implementation of an incentive regime to incentivize the

emerging oil and gas sector to adopt green business practices as production and

support service operations are opened up in Guyana (for example, green

building, energy efficient practices etc.).

132 It is understood that an Export and Investment Strategy and Implementation Plan for Go-Invest effort will be

commencing shortly supported by the IDB and that green sector investment targets and plans and capacity building

to achieve those targets will likely be a component of this strategy and implementation plan. See:

http://goinvest.gov.gy/wp-content/uploads/EOI-Revised-Design-and-Implementation-of-a-Export-and-Investment-

Strategy-for-Go-Invest-Feb-13-2018-00000002.pdf


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5. Putting the Green Business Framework into Practice

Coordinating Decisions and Activities with Other Government

Agencies and Private Sector Organizations

The previous section outlined potential areas for intervention to help address the key

structural issues impacting the uptake of green business practices and the investment

climate for green sector investment. And yet considering the sheer number and variety

of ongoing and interconnected GoG efforts, programs and policies that have direct or

indirect impacts on facilitating increased adoption of green business practices and

investment into green sectors, inter-institutional coordination of green business

initiatives will be crucial.133

“Prior to the use of any specific policy instruments, it is essential that there be

governance structures and enabling conditions in place that give a jurisdiction

the institutional capacity to carry out successful Green Industry policy-making. In

some cases, these require reform of governance structures or the creation of

new bodies or committees to oversee the policy-making process. Without strong

and robust governance structures in place, attempts at creating enabling

conditions and instituting effective Green Industry policy will likely miss their

mark. With effective governance structures and enabling conditions in place,

various types of instruments can be employed by policy-makers’ to implement

their vision.” 134

The critical enabling issue areas of focus and recommended actions to meet policy

objectives under the Green Business Framework encompass a broad range of issues and

objectives. Moreover in some cases the success of one activity can be interdependent

with that of one or more other parallel activities. For example, some of the activities

proposed fall squarely within the MoB’s areas of responsibility and thus, will require

that MoB and its staff take active and driving roles towards their implementation.

However, other recommended activities and priority actions will need to be largely

driven by other GoG Ministries and agencies with MoB providing more of a supporting

and advisory role.

Given the multidimensional nature of the Green Business Framework and the

complexities involved with implementation, the governance structure should be driven

133 This finding is consistent with a finding documented in a recent Consolidated Report on Outcomes of the Expert Group Consultations, which reviewed the thematic group process to elaborate the GSDS, which found that,

“insufficient coordination between government agencies, particularly those within the same sector” is a main

challenge to ensure the enabling conditions to bolster investment in and management of green growth processes. 134 United Nations Industrial Development Organization, “UNIDO Green Industry Initiative for Sustainable Industrial

Development.” October 2011


64

by the overarching approach proposed in the GSDS as institutional coordination will be

imperative going forward to ensure the marshaling and effective deployment of

resources to timely implement priority actions.

Initial Roadmap for Implementing the Framework

As outlined throughout this document, there are certain issues that are critical

prerequisite and should be priorities, but fall outside the remit of MoB. The framework

takes these into consideration, but as Table 5 below outlines, it is proposed that initially,

the primary focus should be on early actions required to promote the uptake of green

business practices that are largely not dependent on prerequisite actions of other

ministries or government agencies. These include awareness and internal capacity

building activities and designing, implementing and evaluating pilot programs and case

studies during the first year of implementation, with the bulk of the proposed

implementation activities to take place in second of third years once higher levels of

competencies and installed capacity are in place. Importantly, this approach to

implementation is consistent with the approach advocated for in the GSDS:

“To implement the [GSDS} strategic lines of action must be phased, appreciating

their interdependencies and the capacity they require. In the short term, action

will focus on key changes to current practices, preparatory activities such as

feasibility studies and building capacity, across both the public and private

sector, undertaking labour and skills reviews with assistance from development

partners. In the longer term, action will focus on large-scale infrastructure

projects, building new institutions and public services, and strengthening

emerging skills and industries.” 135


shared for comment on October 4, 2018


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Table 5: Proposed Implementation Timeline

Strategic Lines of Action

Proposed Priority Actions

Short Term (Year 1) Medium Term (Year 2-3) Long Term (Year 3+) 1. Promoting Awareness Building and Messaging

• Create awareness building program • Design/deliver messaging that

communicates business case(s) for adopting green business practices.

• Design dedicated “Green” section of the MoB website

• Deliver awareness building campaigns and communication strategies as eco-labeling, green business certification program etc. are launched


• Design/deliver tailored capacity development programs for GoG agencies


• Conduct green sector skills gaps assessments

• Implement targeted workforce development programs that address human resources gaps


• Execute study to determine the appropriate net-metering/net-billing/feed-in mechanism for electricity grid

• Design and implement eco-labeling program • Design and implement green business certification

program • Support design and implementation of performance

based incentive systems that promote resource efficiency

• Consider the design and implementation of new recycling and waste management programs



• Support execution of study to assess Guyana National Bureau of Standards’ existing testing and inspection infrastructure and capabilities

• Implement feasible measures to support the modernization of the national grid.

• Continually procure requisite National Quality Infrastructure (testing and inspection)




• Support commercial banks to design, implement and promote private sector-funded green financing schemes


• Create targets for Go-Invest to attract investment into green sectors and provide Go-Invest with the necessary resources to be in a position to better achieve those targets.

• Scale up/expand GoG Renewable Energy Programme (solar photovoltaic systems)


• Support design and implementation of a fiscal incentive regime that incentivizes investment into renewable energy and other green sector projects.

• Support design and implementation of incentive regime to incentivize the oil and gas sector to adopt green business practices

• Add environmental considerations to all public purchasing decisions across all appropriate agencies.


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Further, as the Proposed Implementation Matrix in Table 4 below suggests, some of the proposed priority actions fall within the MoB’s remit and as such, the MoB should be the lead implementation agency. However, others do not, and yet, are still critically important towards the overarching successful implementation of the Green Business Framework. It is suggested that the MOB be the lead coordinating agency to implement the framework. And in those instances where other government agencies and ministries will be ultimately responsible for the implementation of specific priority actions, the MOB should provide support, guidance and expertise as appropriate. (See Table 6 below)

Table 6: Proposed Implementation Matrix

Strategic Lines of Action Proposed Priority Action Proposed Lead Agency (ies)

Proposed Cooperating Agency (ies)


• Create awareness building program MoB GEA, GPL, GWI

• Design/deliver messaging that communicates business case(s) for adopting green business practices. MoB GEA

• Design dedicated “Green” section of the MoB website MoB GEA

• Deliver awareness building campaigns and communication strategies as eco-labeling, green business certification program etc. are launched

MoB GEA, GPL, GWI

2. improving Capacity Development and Absorptive Capacity

• Design/deliver tailored capacity development programs for GoG agencies MoB GRA, GEA, GPL, PUC


MoB GEA, EPA, GPL, GWI, GRA

• Conduct green sector skills gaps assessments MoB Ministry of Education

• Implement targeted workforce development programs that address human resources gaps MoB Ministry of Education


• Execute study to determine the appropriate net-metering/net-billing/feed-in mechanism for electricity grid

GPL PUC, GEA, MoB

• Design and implement eco-labeling program MoB GEA, GRA

• Design and implement green business certification program

MoB GEA

• Support design and implementation of performance based incentive systems that promote resource efficiency

MoB GEA, GRA

• Consider the design and implementation of new recycling and waste management programs Ministry of Communities

MoB, EPA



GPL GEA, MoB


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• Support execution of study to assess Guyana National Bureau of Standards’ existing testing and inspection infrastructure and capabilities

MoB GEA, GRA

• Implement feasible measures to support the modernization of the national grid GPL PUC, GEA, MoB

• Continually procure requisite National Quality Infrastructure (testing and inspection) MoB GEA, GRA



MoB GEA, GRA


MoB GEA, GRA

• Support commercial banks to design, implement and promote private sector-funded green financing schemes

MoB GEA, GRA


• Create targets for Go-Invest to attract investment into green sectors and provide Go-Invest with the necessary resources to be in a position to better achieve those targets.

MoB GEA

• Scale up/expand GoG Renewable Energy Programme (solar photovoltaic systems) GEA MoB, GPL


GEA MoB, GPL

• Support design and implementation of a fiscal incentive regime that incentivizes investment into renewable energy and other green sector projects.

MoB

• Support design and implementation of incentive regime to incentivize the oil and gas sector to adopt green business practices

MoB GEA, EPA

• Add environmental considerations to all public purchasing decisions across all appropriate agencies. MoB GEA

Implementing a framework of this nature with an aim to incentivize the uptake of green technologies at scale requires a holistic implementation approach. With respect to proposed MoB department roles and responsibilities as outlined in Table 7 below, it is anticipated that the Business Strategy and Policy Unit, Department of Commerce, Department of Industry, Guyana National Bureau of Standards, Small Business Bureau and Go-Invest will assume key leadership roles during the first year of implementation with the Guyana Tourism Authority and Competition and Consumer Affairs Commission having lesser, but still critical implementation roles. However as was previously noted, an, “absence of internal coordination mechanisms and collaborative culture” within the MoB has been reported. 136 As such, institutional strengthening of the MoB will be a recurring theme in advance of, and throughout the implementation process. MoB will need to improve its collaborative culture and related capacities to implement the proposed priority actions. The Business Strategy and Policy Unit with its focus on, “jump start[ing] policy-making aimed at short-term results, to foster inter-government cooperation

136 Ministry of Business, “Ministry of Business Strategic Plan 2016-2020.” Final Report - September 26, 2016


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and collaboration,” signifies that this unit of the MoB will have an especially important role in early implementation through efforts to create enhanced conditions for intra-departmental collaboration and establishing functional structured formats and tools for knowledge sharing and coordination.

Table 7: Anticipated Roles and Responsibilities of MoB Departments in First Year of Implementation Strategic Lines of

Action Short Term Priority

Actions (Year 1) MoB

Department Alignment with Department Key Activities


Create awareness building program

Dept. of Commerce

Develop of a framework to attract sustainable investment to the country and create awareness in the business community of the importance of implementing green business models

BPSU Produce economic research that guides policy, program and project development and informs the private sector on investment decisions

CCAC Implement the consumer education program and develop effective public relation policies on consumer issues

Design/deliver messaging that communicates business case(s) for adopting green business practices.

Dept. of Commerce



Dept. of Industry

Develop a concept for the utilization of industrial estates as an effective tool for industrial development and monitor its implementation once approved

GTA Partnerships and alignment with private sector

Design dedicated “Green” section of the MoB website

BPSU Identify and facilitate the implementation of reforms that address performance in the Doing Business Index and other broader challenges of the business environment


Design/deliver tailored capacity development programs for GoG agencies

N/A Will need to be driven by other Ministries, with MoB support where appropriate

Improve the MoB’s capacity to collect green economy-related data

BPSU Identify and facilitate the implementation of reforms that address performance in the Doing Business Index and other broader challenges of the business environment Produce economic research that guides policy, program and project development and informs the private sector on investment decisions

Dept. of Commerce


Dept. of Industry

Conduct and update value chain analyses in prioritized manufacturing sectors in order to recommend policies and actions that will enhance sector competitiveness

GTA Strengthen data collection and aggregation

Conduct green sector skills BPSU Produce economic research that guides policy, program and project development and informs the


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gaps assessments private sector on investment decisions

Dept. of Industry



Execute study to determine the appropriate net-metering/net-billing/feed-in mechanism for electricity grid



Support execution of electricity grid integration/production cost analyses study


Support execution of study to assess Guyana National Bureau of Standards’ existing testing and inspection infrastructure and capabilities


GNBS Provide industrial metrology services to companies and laboratories by calibrating scales, masses, measures, measuring cylinders, calipers, pressure gauges, moisture meters, etc. (Laboratories Services)


Improve awareness program to promote existing GBTI Green Loan program

SBB

Give general business advice and guidance, assist with business plans, prepare financials for loan applications, and review proposals and submissions for credit (Advisory Support)



Create targets for Go-Invest to attract investment into green sectors and provide Go-Invest with the necessary resources to be in a position to better achieve those targets.

Go-Invest Develop and implement a National Investment Promotion Strategy, which will provide priorities to target investors, an investment narrative, key events and branding

Dept. of Industry




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Proposed Approach to Program Design In terms of putting the Green Business Framework into practice, it is important to keep in mind that the transition to green business practices is likely to be a gradual and incremental process and therefore, a long-term view will be required. Many institutional capabilities and structures are just emerging and in their infancy stages, while some priority areas fall outside the MoB’s responsibility areas requiring other Ministries to take direct actions. As such, it is recommended that when designing specific programs to further the objectives promoted in the Green Business Framework, it will be important to focus on near-term, “low-hanging-fruit”-type interventions that can demonstrate success and tangible results and build momentum within the business community towards broader acceptance of green business practice adoption. With this approach to program design in mind, it is recommended to design pilot projects with these three key features:

1. Programmatic activities that are not significantly interdependent with prerequisite actions that would need to be taken by other Ministries or government agencies.

2. Focus on businesses’ most immediate and pressing needs first, such as energy cost savings through adoption of relatively simple and cheaper energy efficiency technologies; and,

3. Design and employ relatively small-scale, pilot initiatives focused on very specific industry subsectors or segments that have been vetted and are more likely to participate and thereby generate actionable data and demonstrate tangible results that can be used to fine-tune and adjust program design as required to further pilot success and up-scaling.

As the results of the 2014 IDB enterprise survey indicated, some of the most serious obstacles constraining Guyanese business competitiveness are electricity, access to, and cost of, finance, and inadequately educated workforce. 137 It is recommended to focus on these immediate challenges first, and once a degree of traction and acceptance has been achieved, move on to activities such as waste management and recycling that could be equally beneficial commercially and environmentally, but where the commercial benefits might not seem as immediate or tangible. In addition, when designing relatively small-scale, pilot initiatives, it is recommended that any pilot initiatives draw from the priority actions outlined in Table 2 in a holistic manner such that the various dimensions of an immediate challenge confronting a targeted industry subsector or segment are addressed simultaneously. For example, drawing from the lessons learned from international case studies in Annex 1

137 Sukrishnalall Pasha, Elton Bollers and Mark Wenner, “Constraints Affecting Guyana’s Private Sector: Survey Results.” Inter-American Development Bank, Policy Brief NºDB-PB-273, 2014


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demonstrate some specific program features that can help in creating long-term viable commercial markets for green products and technologies:

• Free technical assistance to SMEs in the form of firm-level energy audits can create enhanced awareness and encourage SMEs’ initial engagement in adopting green business practices,

• Developing financing facilities that either, invest directly in local SMEs and individual consumers or, incentivizes local commercial financial institutions to invest in SMEs.

• More flexible, hybrid approaches to fostering the adoption of green business practices that combine voluntary performance standards with phased-in, mandatory compliance measures can have positive impacts on green business practice uptake.

• Capital cost subsidies alone and can be complemented by utilizing a holistic approach that also incorporates activities such as awareness building, capacity development and workforce development into program design.

Thus for example, if the goal of a pilot project is to encourage adoption of energy efficient technologies within a specific industry subsector or segment, a design approach might be to combine a tailored communication strategy that defines appropriate business case(s) with corresponding capacity building programs, subsidized technical assistance, a hybrid financial incentive scheme to induce adoption and compliance, a credit facility to facilitate access to finance and a government green procurement program to create more overarching demand for the products of focus. This type of integrated pilot program approach and design can attempt to address the various dimensions of an immediate business challenge concurrently. For example, elements of a potential approach to a rapid readiness assessment and pilot project design and launch might include some or all of the following elements:

1. Conduct rapid assessment to identify industry sub-sector(s)/segment(s) with most immediate potential for increased green business practice adoption. Collect data through:

a. Existing data sources (e.g. GEA, EPA, GPL etc.)138 and existing studies b. Key informant interviews with relevant actors (especially private sector) c. Enterprise survey to assess existing firm-level resource usage/efficiency

and openness to increased green business practice adoption 2. Prioritize industry sub-sector(s)/segment(s) for pilot project with most

immediate potential for increased green business practice adoption. 3. Identify key components of program, for example:

a. Which specific green business practices to focus on, for example:

138 The initiative underway to have Bartica transition to a model green town could also be a useful source of data and point of reference to inform program design.


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i. Improved energy efficiency (for instance, LED lighting, occupancy sensors, energy efficient air conditioning etc.)

ii. Use of renewable energy sources (for instance, solar PV, solar water heaters etc.)

iii. Reducing water use iv. Reducing waste or enhanced waste management practices v. Recycling vi. Applying green technology in manufacturing processes

vii. Green building (adopt energy-efficient designs for buildings) b. Corresponding incentives (as required) c. Corresponding credit facilities/financing instruments (as required) d. Corresponding capacity building/training (as required)

4. Formalize partnerships with other GoG agencies (for example, GEA for energy audits, EPA for environmental compliance information etc.)

5. Based on scope of pilot project, collect any additional data required for business case(s) and develop business cases(s)

6. Design communication strategy(ies) tailored to prioritized industry sub-sector(s)/segment(s)

7. Execute pilot project a. Outreach to companies in prioritized industry sub-sector(s)/segment(s) b. Secure company participation in the pilot project c. Execute green business practice adoption activities d. Monitor and evaluate progress/results e. Make program adjustments as required

Holistic, multifaceted and integrated pilot projects designed to focus on businesses’ most immediate and pressing needs that are drawn from international cases studies and best practices and yet, tailored to Guyana’s specific context, will be key success factors.

Next Steps The proposed Green Business Framework provides guidance on potential measures to facilitate green sector investment and increased adoption of green business practices amongst existing Guyanese companies. To create the type of business enabling environment that will help drive the green development agenda of Guyana the Green Business Framework requires simultaneous advances on a number of fronts. Some issues like reconfiguring and enhancing the capacity of the electricity grid are more medium term objectives in nature. But initial steps to advance this issue such as performing grid integration and production cost analyses to determine the appropriate net-metering/net-billing/feed-in mechanism for the grid can and should take place immediately.


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As such, a rapid mobilization and coordination around priority actions is called for to accelerate the creation of the preconditions required to attract greater amounts of investment into green sectors and significantly scale up the uptake of green business practices amongst existing Guyanese companies, because, “if the right mix of fiscal measures, laws, norms, international frameworks, knowhow and infrastructure is in place, then the green economy should emerge as a result of general economic activity.” 139 By addressing these critical issues and implementation challenges in a holistic and logically sequenced manner, important steps will be made towards harmonizing the somewhat separate and siloed business support programs into an integrated business support system. An integrated business support system will more effectively facilitate the adoption of green business practices and attract investment into green sectors on a much broader and more sustained scale, creating new job opportunities and enhancing low-carbon efforts, climate flexibility and sustainable consumption and production patterns that are all key elements of Guyana’s overarching national development objectives as articulated in the Guyana Green State Development Strategy.

139 United Nations Economic Commission for Africa. “Enabling measures for an inclusive green economy in Africa.” November 2016


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6. Annexes

Annex 1: Review of Select International Case Studies and Best Practices This effort helped highlight the key enabling environment barriers that are restricting both, Guyanese companies from increasingly adopting green business practices and more significant investment into green sectors. Subsequently, international best practices and case studies were explored to identify those programs, policies and measures most applicable to Guyana’s context and that could help create the type of business enabling environment that will help drive the green development agenda of Guyana. Given Guyana’s specific current and projected economic context and the comprehensive and ambitious nature of the country’s green development agenda, it proved difficult to identify international case studies that perfectly matched Guyana’s context. That said, each case study elaborated here offers useful lessons learned that are applicable to Guyana’s context and objectives and can be considered for both policy development and program design.

Figure 5: Select International Case Studies


One key takeaway from the international case studies reviewed is that that often, capital cost subsidies alone, are not always sufficient in creating long-term viable commercial markets for green products and services. Therefore, holistic, multifaceted approaches that simultaneously address the various dimensions of a challenge

Haiti–TreatingWasteasaResource

Germany–SMEEnergyAuditandAdvisoryServices

Singapore–FosteringGreenBuildingPractices

Tunisia–TransitioningtoSolarWaterHeaters Ethiopia–AccesstoFinanceInitiative

forOff-GridLightingProducts


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restricting private sector adoption of a green business practice have proven to be more successful.

Access to Finance Initiative for Off-Grid Lighting Products in Ethiopia Challenge 140 Off-grid energy efficient lighting products are increasingly becoming important tools for bringing energy access to locations not reached by a nation’s electricity grid. In Ethiopia access to foreign exchange represented a major bottleneck for SMEs and individual consumers to purchase and import off-grid lighting products. Solution In response to this situation, in 2013 the Government of Ethiopia established a US$20 million financing facility administered by Development Bank of Ethiopia. In addition, a Collateral Support Facility was also established that would provide up to 50 percent of the required collateral for companies participating in the program. By providing financing and collateral support facilities, the program aimed to provide private sector companies with the foreign exchange-derived working capital to import qualifying solar products that meet Lighting Global Quality Standards. Concurrently, microfinance organizations could access this line of credit for individual consumer-level loans. Results As a result of this initiative:

• Over 850,000 quality-verified solar lighting products imported during the first 18 months;

• Default rates on loans 0%; • 1 million Ethiopians gained access to more modern energy services; and, • Because of the initiative’s success, the financing facility funding limit was

subsequently doubled to US$40 million. During this second round of the facility, as of June 2017, eight private sector enterprises and eleven microfinance institutions had been approved for loans.

This initiative illustrates the important role that national development banks or similar institutions can play in facilitating access to finance by developing financing facilities that either, invest directly in local SMEs and individual consumers or, incentivizes local commercial financial institutions to invest.

140 Case study sources: Global Off-Grid Lighting Association, “Providing Energy Access through Off-Grid Solar: Guidance for Governments,” and https://www.lightingafrica.org/country/ethiopia/


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Energy Efficient Product Uptake and Clean Technology Industry Development through Energy Audit and Advisory Services in Germany Challenge141 142 As eco-consciousness has continued to become more mainstream throughout German society, many German SMEs registered their interest in adopting more green business practices to both positively impact the environment and their businesses’ bottom lines. However many SMEs lacked the know-how to assess their businesses from an energy-efficiency perspective and identify the appropriate energy efficient equipment or services that could result in cost savings for their businesses. As a result, demand lagged amongst German SMEs for energy audit and advisory services. Solution To help to address these know-how deficits amongst SMEs, in 2008, the Government of Germany in partnership with the KfW promotional bank initiated a program to promote energy efficiency in small and medium enterprises. As part of the program, a fund was created that provided grants for SMEs for up to 80 % of independent energy auditing and advisory services and also made low-interest financing available to SMEs for investments to replace equipment that leads to a certain energy savings.143 The purpose of the audits is to identify energy saving potentials in SMEs by qualified and independent consultants. The funding for this energy efficiency program has steadily increased over time, for example growing from approximately €100m in 2011 and 2012 to €300m in 2015. Results As a result of this initiative, a 2010 evaluation of the program demonstrated:

• €480 million in investments in energy efficiency; • €80 million of energy cost savings; • Measures implemented resulted in 1.4 TWh energy savings per year; and, • 470,000 tons CO2 reduction.

141 Case study sources: Eurochambres - The European Association of Chambers of Commerce and Industry, “Energy Efficiency in SMEs: Success Factors and Obstacles.” Barbara Schlomann and Wolfgang Eichhammer, “Energy Efficiency Policies and Measures in Germany - ODYSSEE- MURE 2010 - Monitoring of EU and national energy efficiency targets.” Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research ISI, November 2012. 142 Eurochambres - The European Association of Chambers of Commerce and Industry, “Energy Efficiency in SMEs: Success Factors and Obstacles.” 143 “Replacement investments lead to an energy saving of a minimum of 20% compared to the average consumption of the last three years and new investments cause energy savings at least of 15% compared to the [issuing] branch average.” Source: Barbara Schlomann and Wolfgang Eichhammer, “Energy Efficiency Policies and Measures in Germany - ODYSSEE- MURE 2010 - Monitoring of EU and national energy efficiency targets.” Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research ISI, November 2012.


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Further, the demand created by this program has impacted the capacity of Germany’s business development services as a sophisticated local industry of energy consultants has developed. The low threshold for SME participation facilitated by the high level of program funding and the high quality of the energy audits were cited as key factors for the program’s success:

“In countries such as Austria, Belgium or Germany, where companies receive public funding for energy audits or make use of energy consultants, the percentage of those having taken such a service is considerably higher than in those countries where such schemes are not offered.” 144

The success of this program helps demonstrate how direct subsidies and free technical assistance to SMEs can create enhanced awareness and encourage SMEs’ initial engagement in adopting green business practices.

Fostering Green Building Practices in Singapore Challenge 145 With limited indigenous energy sources, Singapore relies on energy imports for its energy use and traditionally, the building sector has been a major source of energy consumption:

“The building, industry and transportation sectors account for most of the final energy consumption of a country. Buildings characteristically consume energy for lighting, equipment and appliances. Offices use computers, copiers and water coolers while homes across the globe increasingly use appliances such as air-conditioners, refrigerators and washing machines.” 146

Consequently, Singapore’s Building and Construction Authority (BCA) consequently set a national target of greening at least 80 percent of the country’s buildings by 2030. And when considering options to incentivize green building practices, many green building codes are either completely prescriptive or involve combining prescriptive and performance compliance. The strictly prescriptive approach is generally easier to

144 Eurochambres - The European Association of Chambers of Commerce and Industry, “Energy Efficiency in SMEs: Success Factors and Obstacles.” 145 Case study sources: Autif Mohammed Sayyed, “A Contextual Approach to Green Building Regulation in Developing Countries.” International Finance Corporation, Indonesia. Ms Neerada Poduval, “The BCA Green Mark Scheme: A Driver for Energy-Efficiency Labelling in Singapore.” BCA Centre for Sustainable Buildings. Center for Clean Air Policy, “Singapore: Improving Building Efficiency with the Green Mark Scheme.” Found at: http://ccap.org/assets/CCAP-Booklet_Singapore.pdf 146 Ms Neerada Poduval, “The BCA Green Mark Scheme: A Driver for Energy-Efficiency Labelling in Singapore.” BCA Centre for Sustainable Buildings.


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enforce and evaluate. But it does not provide for as much flexibility as a hybrid approach that combines prescriptive and performance compliance, which has often shown to engender more private sector participation.147 Solution To meet the country’s ambitious green building target, the Singapore Government elected to establish the Green Mark Scheme as a hybrid approach to fostering green building practices that combines voluntary standards with mandatory building codes. The scheme’s green building rating system evaluates new and existing, residential and non-residential buildings for their environmental impact and performance and establishes a rating system with four distinct certification levels: Certified, Gold, GoldPlus and Platinum ratings.

“Participation in the Green Mark Scheme is voluntary for existing buildings in the private sector. However, a 2008 regulation requires all new buildings and all existing buildings undergoing major retrofitting to meet at least the minimum Green Mark standards, which are 28 percent higher than 2005 building codes. The public sector is held to higher requirements. All new public buildings must achieve Platinum rating, and all existing buildings with a minimum air conditioned floor area must achieve Gold Plus rating by 2020. Achievement of higher Green Mark ratings is also a land sales condition in key growth areas.” 148

Simultaneously the program earmarked US$102 million of cash incentives and US$46 million for green building research and development in an effort to reduce the costs for private sector building owners and developers. Results In May 2012, 16% of Singapore’s total building stock earned a green designation with approximately 10 percent of those achieving a Platinum rating:

147 Autif Mohammed Sayyed, “A Contextual Approach to Green Building Regulation in Developing Countries.” International Finance Corporation, Indonesia. 148 Center for Clean Air Policy, “Singapore: Improving Building Efficiency with the Green Mark Scheme.” Found at: http://ccap.org/assets/CCAP-Booklet_Singapore.pdf


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Figure 6: Progress Made Toward 80% Green Buildings Target (2005-2012)

Source: Center for Clean Air Policy, “Singapore: Improving Building Efficiency with the Green Mark Scheme.” Found at: http://ccap.org/assets/CCAP-Booklet_Singapore.pdf In addition, the results of a recent study indicated that:

• Green buildings saved approximately 10 percent in operating expenses; • Green commercial buildings increased in market value by about two percent; • The average savings from 23 buildings (comprising office, retail, hotel, and

mixed-used developments) sampled after retrofitting was about 17 per cent of the total building’s energy consumption, compared to before retrofitting; and

• In 2011, the World Green Building Council Government Leadership Awards recognized Singapore’s Building and Construction Authority with a Regional Leadership Award for its exceptional Green Building Master Plan, including the flagship Green Mark Scheme.

The success of this program helps demonstrate that a strong regulatory framework involving energy-efficiency labels and market incentives can have important impacts on the adoption of green building practices.


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Transitioning to Solar Water Heaters in Tunisia Challenge 149 Although fossil fuels have historically been subsidized in Tunisia, in an effort to lower demand for fossil fuels, the Tunisian government initiated a number of programs to promote the use of solar water heaters throughout the 1980s and 1990s. Although solar water heater uptake increased with the installation of 50,000 square meters of new solar thermal panels, ultimately these efforts did not have the desired impact due to issues with the quality and maintenance of the equipment. This was driven primarily by the programs’ inability to adequately foster the supply side of the solar water heater market, namely an absence of trained installers, after-sales maintenance providers and relevant accreditation and quality certification programs. Solution In 2005 the Tunisian Government Minister initiated the “Program Solaire” (Prosol). The US$2.2 million Prosol financing scheme provided loans from commercial banks to residential consumers through accredited system suppliers. In the first two years, the program afforded 20 percent subsidies on capital costs of solar water heaters and a temporary interest rate subsidy, which was then to be gradually phased out over 18 months.

But importantly, learning from the shortcomings of previous programs, the program also was designed to fund readiness activities to foster the development of the supply side of the solar water heater market including:

• Awareness-raising campaigns targeting consumers to address concerns about solar water heaters, and to commercial banks to provide information about renewable energy investments and associated market potentials.

• A capacity-building strategy to strengthen the knowledge and expertise of Tunisian financial institutions and technology providers.

• An accreditation scheme for supplying, installing and maintaining solar water heaters, as well as monitoring procedures to ensure the quality and reliability of systems, which are important factors in stimulating and sustaining demand.

• Workforce development program to enable the development of an appropriately skilled aftermarket workforce.

149 Case study sources: Chiara Trabacchi, Valerio Micale, Gianleo Frisari, “San Giorgio Group Case Study: Prosol Tunisia.“ Climate Policy Initiative, June 2012. Clifford Polycarp, Louise Brown, Xing Fu-Bertaux, “Mobilizing Climate Investment: Annex 3 - Solar Water Heaters in Tunisia.” World Resources Institute, 2014. Case Study 30: Tunisia – Solar Water Heating Equipment Finance Program found at www.worldbank.org/energy/refine


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Results As a result of this initiative:

• More than 119,000 solar water heater systems were installed in Tunisia By 2010, which represented a 500% increase in annual deployment when compared to previous initiatives.

• Between 2005 and 2010 an estimated US$134 million of total public and private investment was made under the program;

• The shift in consumer demand under the program reduced the government’s fossil-fuel subsidy spending by an estimated US$15.2 million.

The Prosol program demonstrated that in some financial and fiscal support programs, capital cost subsidies are not always sufficient in creating long-term viable commercial markets. Often there are important interdependencies and awareness building campaigns, targeted capacity building support and standards enforcement are equally important success factors. The success of the Prosol program showed the efficacy of well-designed, holistic programs and that, “targeting public resources to directly support renewable energy investments can effectively shift demand away from fossil fuels, even where fossil fuel subsidies are in place.” 150

Treating Waste as a Resource in Haiti Challenge 151 According to the Water Project, each day more than 100 million plastic bottles are used worldwide, but only one out of five are recycled. 152 In this context, the devastating 2010 earthquake that struck Haiti crippled the country’s existing infrastructure, including an already-fragile sewage system. With limited access to clean water, Haitians rely on bottled water. About 9 million pounds of plastic waste is generated each month in Port-au-Prince alone and most of that is in the form of plastic bottles. However, because adequate disposal methods are not in place, plastic bottles are discarded on the street or in the canals and shoreline, causing serious environmental problems.

150 Chiara Trabacchi, Valerio Micale, Gianleo Frisari, “San Giorgio Group Case Study: Prosol Tunisia.“ Climate Policy Initiative, June 2012 151 Case study sources: https://threadinternational.com/ and https://www.lifegate.com/businesses/news/timberland-plastic-recycling-shoes and https://www.npr.org/2017/12/15/569516174/haitians-are-turning-plastic-waste-into-valuable-fabric and https://www.environmentalleader.com/projects_of_year/timberland/ and https://www.globalcitizen.org/fr/content/creating-a-positive-impact-in-haiti-one-original-h/ and https://www.fastcompany.com/3065999/thread-is-using-recycling-from-haiti-to-eliminate-new-plastic-from-your-clothes and https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2014/11/the-company-that-turns-plastic-bottles-into-fabricand-jobs/382473/ 152 https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/creating-a-positive-impact-in-haiti-one-original-h/


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Solution United States-based social enterprise Thread International153 developed an innovative market-driven business model to address the plastic bottle waste problem in Haiti while also creating much needed income generation and employment opportunities. Thread International developed commercial partnerships with clothing and other manufacturers interested in creating sustainable products from recycled materials. For example, Hewlett-Packard (HP) partnered with Thread International on a program to turn plastic bottles collected in Haiti into recycled plastic that is used to produce HP ink cartridges. And footwear and apparel manufacturer Timberland formed a separate partnership with Thread International and planned to launch a special collection of shoes and bags in Spring 2017 made with fabric sourced from recycled plastic fiber collected in Haiti. With customers and market demand secure, Thread International partnered with a network of plastic-collection centers in Haiti. Over 1,300 Haitians then collect plastic bottles and bring them to a collection center where they earn cash for the bottles they collect. These centers give plastic waste to Haiti Recycling and Eccsa Haiti, which washes, sorts and grounds-up the plastic bottles and treats the material to turn it into plastic fiber. At this point, companies like Timberland buy the recycled fiber and use it to produce its new collection. Or alternatively, the ground-up fiber is sent to factories in North Carolina and Mexico, where they are turned into various fabrics and sold on to other end customers that will use it to create products from the recycled materials.

Results As a result of this initiative:

• Approximately 300 recycling jobs have been created on the island; and, • In 2015, 440,000 pounds of plastic were sent to the U.S.154

In addition, for the Timberland X Thread collection made with fabric sourced from recycled plastic fiber collected in Haiti, Timberland purchased 76,528 yards recycled fabric, which, compared to products made with 100% conventional cotton, had the following impacts: 155

• 765,280 bottles recycled; • 30,521,203 gallons of water saved; • 15,305 pounds of pesticide saved; • 77 income opportunities created in Haiti; • $2,295 in revenue for bottle collectors and collection centers; and, • $14,540 in revenue for recyclers.

153 https://threadinternational.com/ 154 https://www.fastcompany.com/3065999/thread-is-using-recycling-from-haiti-to-eliminate-new-plastic-from-your-clothes 155 https://www.environmentalleader.com/projects_of_year/timberland/


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This initiative has confirmed that, “waste is a resource, not something to be thrown away” 156 and demonstrates that there is a market for sustainable products produced from recycled materials. In addition to commercial and environmental benefits, this initiative has also had important social impacts. For example,

“Rosette Altidor, who lost her husband during the 2010 earthquake, the recycling program has created a business opportunity that allows her to support her family. Now a collection center owner, Altidor has said, ‘The work that [Thread and] HP are doing helps me get my children to school, and helps me pay for my home. It motivates me to motivate others to collect plastic as well. Everyone can benefit from clean-up work in Haiti.’” 157

During stakeholder interviews conducted during this consultancy, an executive from Guyana bottling manufacturer Clear Waters suggested the company would be interested in a similar plastic water bottle recycling initiative as it could help the company lower operating costs while also having important environmental impacts. Thus, for Guyana market demand to drive this type of initiative could potentially be found much closer to home than in this Haitian case study.

Key Lessons Learned for Guyana from International Case Studies

Table 8: Summary of Key Lessons Learned International

Case Study Lessons Learned

Access to Finance in Ethiopia

• Access to foreign exchange issues made It difficult for SMEs and individual consumers to purchase and import off-grid lighting products.

• In response to this situation, in 2013 the Government of Ethiopia established a US$20 million financing facility administered by Development Bank of Ethiopia. In addition, a Collateral Support Facility was also established that would provide up to 50 percent of the required collateral for companies participating in the program.

• Financing and collateral support facilities were established to provide private sector companies with the foreign exchange-derived working capital to import qualifying solar products that meet Lighting Global Quality Standards. Concurrently, microfinance organizations could access this line of credit for individual consumer-level loans.

• The success of this initiative demonstrates that national development banks or similar institutions can play roles in facilitating access to finance by developing financing facilities that either, invest directly in local SMEs and individual consumers or, incentivizes local commercial financial institutions to invest.

Energy Audit and Advisory Services in Germany

• Many German SMEs lacked the know-how to assess their businesses from an energy-efficiency perspective and identify the appropriate energy efficient equipment or services that could result in cost savings for their businesses.

• As a result, demand lagged amongst German SMEs for energy audit and advisory services. • Grants were provided to SMEs for up to 80 % of independent energy auditing and

advisory services and low-interest financing was also made available to SMEs for investments to replace equipment that leads to a certain energy savings.

156 https://www.npr.org/2017/12/15/569516174/haitians-are-turning-plastic-waste-into-valuable-fabric 157 https://www.globalcitizen.org/fr/content/creating-a-positive-impact-in-haiti-one-original-h/


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• The success of this program helps demonstrate how direct subsidies and free technical assistance to SMEs can create enhanced awareness and encourage SMEs’ initial engagement in adopting green business practices.

Green Building Practices in Singapore

• Many green building codes are either completely prescriptive or involve combining prescriptive and performance compliance.

• The strictly prescriptive approach is generally easier to enforce and evaluate. • However more flexible, hybrid approaches that combine prescriptive and performance

compliance has often shown to engender more private sector participation. • Singapore employs a hybrid approach to fostering green building practices that combines

voluntary performance standards with mandatory building codes and established a rating system with four distinct certification levels.

• The voluntary standards proved attractive to the private sector and the certification system incentivized private sector actors to steadily increase their adoption of green building practices.

Solar Water Heaters in Tunisia

• Financial incentives such as capital cost subsidies alone are not always sufficient in creating long-term viable commercial markets for green products and technologies.

• The long-term sustainability of the solar water heater initiative was enhanced by utilizing a holistic approach that complemented the capital cost subsidies with:

o Awareness-raising campaigns targeting consumers to address concerns about solar water heaters, and to commercial banks to provide information about renewable energy investments and associated market potentials.

o A capacity-building strategy to strengthen the knowledge and expertise of Tunisian financial institutions and technology providers.

o An accreditation scheme for supplying, installing and maintaining solar water heaters, as well as monitoring procedures to ensure the quality and reliability of systems, which are important factors in stimulating and sustaining demand.

o Workforce development program to enable the development of an appropriately skilled aftermarket workforce.

Waste Management in Haiti

• This initiative has confirmed that, “waste is a resource, not something to be thrown away” and demonstrates that there is a market for sustainable products produced from recycled materials.

• In addition to commercial and environmental benefits, this initiative has also had important social impacts.

• An executive from Guyana bottling manufacturer Clear Waters suggested the company would be interested in a similar plastic water bottle recycling initiative as it could help the company lower operating costs while also having an important environmental impact. Thus, market demand to drive this type of initiative could potentially be found domestically within Guyana.



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Annex 2: Legislative Changes Enacted to Promote Green Development

Table 9: Legislative Changes Enacted to Promote Green Development

Product ACT SECTION DESCRIPTION CUSTOMS DUTY VALUE-ADDED

TAX

EXCISE TAX

Equipment for

Generating Energy

Customs Act Cap. 82:01 Value-Added Tax Act Cap 81:05

Item 49 (a) of the First Schedule Part III B (ii) to the Act. Paragraph 12 of Schedule II to the VAT Act.

Machinery and equipment for obtaining, generating, and utilizing energy from renewable energy sources, including solar panels, solar lamps, deep-cycle batteries, solar generators, solar water heaters, solar cookers, direct current (DC) solar refrigerators, direct current (DC) solar air-conditioners, wind turbines, water turbines, and power inverters; and energy efficient lighting, including compact fluorescent lamps and light emitting diode (LED) lamps.”

Exempt 0%

Exempt 0%

Not excisable

Water Treatment Plant Customs Act Cap 82:01

Item 12 of the First Schedule Part III B (i) to the Act

Items for use in the construction of water treatment and water recycling facilities, as determined by the Commissioner-General.

Exempt 0%

14%

Not excisable

Charging Stations Customs Act Cap 82:01


Machinery and equipment to set up charging stations for electric vehicles, as determined by the Commissioner-General.

Exempt 0%

14%

Not excisable

Greenhouses Customs Act Cap 82:01


Greenhouse including their components and parts for use in the agriculture sector, as determined by the Commissioner-General.

Exempt 0%

14%

Not excisable

Waste Disposal &

recycling Facilities

Customs Act Cap 82:01


Items for construction of waste disposal facilities and recycling facilities for items such as plastic, as determined by the Commissioner-General.

Exempt 0%

14%

Not excisable

Liquefied Petroleum

Gas



Machinery and equipment, determined by the Commissioner-General, to set up refilling stations for vehicles principally designed to accommodate Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG).

Exempt 0%

14%

Not excisable

Eight Years Restriction

on Motor Vehicles


Item 12 (a) of the Second Schedule Part II to the Act

Motor vehicles including motor cars, vans, sport utility vehicles, pick-ups, buses and other similar vehicles that are eight years old and over from date of manufacture to date of importation.

Restricted Restricted Restricted

E Expanded Polystyrene

f food service products

Restricted Item


Item 13 (a) of the Second Schedule Part II to the Act

Expanded polystyrene food service products used in the packaging of beverage, food and food products except expanded polystyrene containers used for packaging frozen fish and seafood.

Restricted Restricted Not excisable

Used Tyres


Item 14 (a-c) of the Second Schedule Part II to the Act

14 (a) Used tyres for motor vehicles including motor cars, vans, sport utility vehicles, pick-ups, buses and other similar vehicles. (b) The restrictions in paragraph (a) excludes heavy duty vehicles including trucks, lorries, vehicles used in the agricultural and industrial sector and special purpose vehicles.

Restricted Restricted Not excisable


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(c) Vehicles referred to in paragraph (a) shall be fitted with new tyres, including spare tyres, prior to clearance and release of such vehicles in a manner to be determined by the Commissioner – General.

Environmental Levy Customs Act Cap 82:01

Item 7A (1) of the Principal Act

Notwithstanding anything in this Act or in any other written Law, there shall be raised, levied and collected a levy in this section referred to as an environmental levy, at the rate of ten dollars on every non-returnable unit of metal, plastic or glass container of any alcoholic or non-alcoholic beverage or water, whether imported, locally manufactured or produced in Guyana.

$10 per unit

Electronic Filing Income Tax Act Cap 81:01

Section 2 In the administration of this Act, the Commissioner-General may authorise the use of electronic technology and may for this purpose –

(a) Require electronic documents and electronic signatures; (b) Establish hardware and software system; (c) Provide for any matter in relation to information and communication

technology.

Relief for Hybrid &

Electric Vehicles

Excise Tax Act Cap 82:03

Table A – 15 Hybrid and electric motor vehicles are exempt from the payment of excise tax. This exemption does not apply to hybrid vehicles:

(a) exceeding four years old from the date of manufacture to the date of importation; and

(b) with an engine capacity exceeding 2000cc.

45%

14%

Exempt 0%

Relief for garbage

trucks


Table A – 16 Vehicles principally designed for the collection and transportation of garbage are exempt from the payment of excise tax.

Dutiable based on HS Codes

14%

Exempt 0%

Relief for bio-fuel Excise Tax Act Cap 82:03

Table A – 17 Bio-fuel including bio-gas and bio-diesel is exempt from the payment of excise tax. Dutiable based on HS Codes

14%

Exempt 0%

Liquefied Petroleum

Gas Cars


Table A – 19 Vehicles principally designed to accommodate liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) with an engine capacity not exceeding 2000 cc, and not exceeding four years from the date of manufacture to the date of importation, are exempt from the payment of excise tax.

45%

14%

Exempt 0%

Food Containers VAT Act Cap 81:05

Paragraph 4 (d) of Schedule 1 to the VAT Act

All bio-degradable containers used in the packaging of food and beverages. Dutiable based on HS Codes

Zero-rated 0%

Not excisable

Renewable energy VAT Act Cap 81:05

Paragraph Section 7 (i) of Schedule 11 to the VAT Act

Machinery, equipment or components used in the generation of renewable energy in the agriculture sector using agricultural by-products.

Dutiable based on HS Codes

Exempt 0%

Not excisable

Source: Guyana Revenue Authority


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Annex 3: Summary of Documents and Sources Reviewed

Documents and Studies

Autif Mohammed Sayyed, “A Contextual Approach to Green Building Regulation in Developing

Countries.” International Finance Corporation, Indonesia.

Barbara Schlomann and Wolfgang Eichhammer, “Energy Efficiency Policies and Measures in

Germany - ODYSSEE- MURE 2010 - Monitoring of EU and national energy efficiency targets.”

Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research ISI, November 2012.

Brugman SAS, “Guyana’s Power Generation System Expansion Study - Final Report.” Inter-

American Development Bank, June 2016

Case Study 30: Tunisia – Solar Water Heating Equipment Finance Program found at

www.worldbank.org/energy/refine

Center for Clean Air Policy, “Singapore: Improving Building Efficiency with the Green Mark

Scheme.” Found at: http://ccap.org/assets/CCAP-Booklet_Singapore.pdf

Chiara Trabacchi, Valerio Micale, Gianleo Frisari, “San Giorgio Group Case Study: Prosol Tunisia.“

Climate Policy Initiative, June 2012.

CLASP, “Standards and Labels: Transforming the Market for Energy Efficient Appliances” Clean

Energy Solutions Center Webinar Series Presented by: James McMahon Robert Van Buskirk

Clifford Polycarp, Louise Brown, Xing Fu-Bertaux, “Mobilizing Climate Investment: Annex 3 -

Solar Water Heaters in Tunisia.” World Resources Institute, 2014. Compete Caribbean Program, “Private Sector Assessment of Guyana.” © 2014 Inter-American

Development Bank

Devon O. Niel Gardner, Dillon Alleyne and Charmaine Gomes, “An assessment of fiscal and

regulatory barriers to deployment of energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies in

Guyana.” ECLAC – Studies and Perspectives Series – The Caribbean – No. 27, February 2014

Ecorys, “Study on Incentives Driving Improvement of Environmental Performance of

Companies.” European Commission - DG Environment, Under FWC ENTR/29/PP/2010FC Lot 1,

May 8, 2012

Eduardo Afanador, Alberto Brugman, Andres Brugman, Jose Manuel Mejia, Nicholas Neal,

Humberto Rodriguez and David Vargas. Maps built by Mark Kelton, “Guyana’s Power Generation

System Expansion Study - Final Report.” Inter-American Development Bank, June 2016

Environmental Protection Agency Guyana, “State of the Environment Report – 2016.”

Eurochambres - The European Association of Chambers of Commerce and Industry, “Energy

Efficiency in SMEs: Success Factors and Obstacles.”

Global Off-Grid Lighting Association, “GOGLA Industry Opinion on the Role of Public Funding to

Mobilise Investment for Access to Energy.” Adopted at AGM, Amsterdam, June 16 2015

Global Off-Grid Lighting Association, “Providing Energy Access through Off-Grid Solar: Guidance

for Governments.”

Government of Guyana and Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre, “Transitioning To

National Energy Security: Bartica As A Model Green Town.” September 15, 2016

Green for All Cap Green Business Content, “The Green Business Plan Guide.”

Guyana Energy Agency, “Guyana Energy Agency Strategic Plan 2016-2020.”

Guyana Energy Agency, “Milestones, Challenges, and 2018 budget presentation.”


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Guyana Power and Light Incorporated, “National Grid Code.”

Ian Barnes, Hala Razian, Zul!ya Suleimenova, “Greening of Economic Growth Series: Overview of

Green Business: Enabling Policies and Private Sector Examples.” United Nations Economic and

Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, 2015

Ministry of Business, “Ministry of Business Strategic Plan 2016-2020.” Final Report - September

26, 2016

Ministry of Business, “2015-2020 Strategic Action Plan.” October 2015

Ministry of Business, The Guyana Office for Investment, “Renewable Energy – Opportunities in

Guyana.” Found at:

http://www.ceintelligence.com/files/investment_opportunities/documents/Renewable-

Guyana.pdf

Ministry of Business, Department of Tourism, “Draft National Tourism Policy.” August 2017

Ministry of Natural Resources, “Making the Most of Our Oil and Natural Gas - Maximising

Benefits and Value Retention from Guyana’s Petroleum Resources Through�Capacity

Development, Local Content and Value Addition - A Policy Framework.” Draft, September 2017

Ministry of the Presidency, “Consolidated Report on Outcomes of the Expert Group

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91

Annex 4: Summary of Key Informant Interviews

Date Name Title Organization May 14,

2018

Lowell Porter

Chief Executive Officer Small Business Bureau,


Paul Rampersaud Investment Officer Go-Invest, Ministry of

Business

Samora Watkins Investment Officer Go-invest, Ministry of

Business

Sharon Alexander

Director Department of Industry,


Ramrattie Kearan` Head of Standardization Guyana National Bureau of

Standards, MoB

Sandra Britton Renewable Energy Officer Department of Environment

May 15,

2018

Eric Phillips Special Assistant Ministry of Legal Affairs

Rawle Lucas Ministerial Advisor Ministry of Legal Affairs

Abigail Welch Economist/FSO Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Nelson Modeste Chief Planning Officer Ministry of Finance

Gayle –Primo Best

Deputy Chief Executive

Officer

Guyana Energy Agency

Brian Mullis Director Guyana Tourism Authority

May 16,

2018

Michael Welch Head of Division Unit Guyana Livestock

Development Authority

(M.O.A)

Clement Duncan

Chairman Guyana Manufacturing and

Service Association

Wyette Amsterdam President Non Traditional Agricultural

Exporter Association

Raymond Trotz Secretary Guyana Agro –Processor

Association

Subhas Paryag Chairman Guyana Agro-Processor

Association

Richard Rambarran Executive Director Guyana Georgetown

Chamber of Commerce

Devon A Seeram

Economist/Manager Private Sector Commission

Treina Butts

Executive Director Tourism and Hospitality

Association of Guyana

Deonarine

Ramsaroop

President Forest Producers Association

John Willems Trustee Forest Producer Association

A.Gittens President Forest Producer Association

May 17,

2018

Karen Roopchand D.C.P.O Ministry of Communities

Matin Pertab Economist Ministry of Communities


92

Colin Westmoreland

Engineer - Renewable Roraima Consultancy

Incorporation

Carwyn Holland

President Guyana Association of

Municipalities

Michael Golcul Consultant Roraima Consultancy

Incorporation

Gavin Lowe Senior manager, tax advisor ,

service division

Guyana Revenue Authority

Seyoresa Azemi Operations Manager Meeco Group of Companies

Aundrea Cambridge

General Manager Standby Power Engineering

Company

Eusi Royers Chief Engineer Caribbean Wind and Sun

Ravel Seer Sales and Marketing

Manager

Clear Waters

Sharon Baksh Director Technical Services Demerara Distillers Limited

May 18,

2018

Leroy Adonis Junior Manager Guyana Bank of Trade and

Industry

Tonia Griffith Assistant Manager Guyana Bank of Trade and

Industry

Roma Singh Marketing Specialist Republic Bank Guyana

Limited

Gifford Marshall

Mayor of Bartica Guyana Association of

Municipalities

David Fernandez

Senior Renewable Engineer

Consultant

Global Green Growth

Institute

Janelle Christian Head of OCC Office of Climate Change

Patricia Bacchus Chief Executive Officer Caribbean Containers

Albert Gordon Chief Executive Officer Guyana Power and Light

Laurian Bancroft Corporate Secretary Guyana Power and Light

June 11,

2018

Veetal Rajkumar Head of Policy and Planning

Coordination Unit

Ministry of Natural

Resources

Candacie Thompson Head of education and

communication Programme

Environmental Protection

Agency

Aminah Damon Legal Officer

Environmental Protection

Agency

William Woolford Consultant for GDMA Guyana Gold and Diamond

Miners Association

Deirdre Shurland Senior Specialist /Project

Manager

UN Environment,

GSDS Coordinating Office

Andrew Rawle Small Consultant UNIDO

October 22,

2018

Dr. Mahender Sharma

Chief Executive Officer

Guyana Energy Agency

Albert Gordon Chief Executive Officer Guyana Power and Light

Laurian Bancroft Corporate Secretary Guyana Power and Light

Deirdre Shurland Senior Specialist /Project

Manager

UN Environment,

GSDS Coordinating Office