Entrepreneurship and the Green Economy

Ambassador Betty E. King opened the U.S. Mission's Earth Day Panel remarking that innovation and entrepreneurship are critical to economic growth and to the transition to a green economy. Katherine Milligan of the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship presented the concept of social entrepreneurship and how its network of entrepreneurs operate in the green economy. Milligan moderated a Skype discussion with Recycla in Chile and Waste Concern in Bangladesh, companies focused on recycling and waste management, with ecological-minded and forward-looking business models. The U.S. Mission also hosted a panel with representatives from the World Economic Forum, the United Nations Environment Programme, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and Bamboo Finance. The panelists discussed the challenges to and opportunities arising from transitioning to a green economy with a particular focus on finance, policy and private sector involvement.