The future is green - but if South Africa is to realise the green dream it needs to be backed up with funded commercial solutions.

Says Adam Gunn, partner at Warburton Gunn Attorneys, specialists in sustainability issues: “Many an entrepreneur has seen a great green innovation laid waste because early stage funding could not be obtained. Try taking an early stage green project to conventional banks for funding.

“Which is why we’re really excited about the partnership between the Development Bank of Southern Africa (“DBSA”) and the Department of Environmental Affairs (“DEA”) whereby R800 million has been allocated to support projects with environmental credentials that otherwise would not see the light of day.”

Applications for the Green Fund opened on 21 September 2012 and will be accepted until 24 October 2012.
The Green Fund has opened three “Funding Windows”, explains Gunn.

First Floor Window: Green Cities and Towns. Focus areas include: sustainable transport, waste management and recycling, small scale renewable energy, water management, energy efficiency and demand side management, green buildings and ecosystem services.

Second Floor Window: Low Carbon Economy. Focus areas include: Energy efficiency, renewable energy excluding Independent Power Producers, rural energy, biofuels, sustainable transport and cleaner industrial production.
Penthouse Window: Environmental and Natural Resource Management. Focus areas include: ecosystem services projects, biodiversity businesses including farming, land use management models and rural adaptation projects and plans.

All applications must meet minimum project criteria which include:
- Relevance to the funding window and focus area applied under;
- Innovation - the project must be new and unique in the green economy space;
- Additionality - the project would not have happened without the Green Fund support; and
- Ability to scale-up and or/replicate.

The Green Fund applies both to projects at an early or conceptual stage and to projects further down the development life cycle- at project implementation phase. Applicants are also encouraged to identify what type of funding they are applying for ie: recoverable, non-recoverable or recoverable with interest. Applications are open to NGO’s, research institutions, municipalities and the private sector. In the case of private sector applications in the Green Cities and Towns window, written support from the Municipal Manager is required.

For further information, go to www.warburtons.co.za.
The RFP forms can be found on the SA Green Fund website, www.sagreenfund.org.za or the Department of Environmental Affairs website, www.environment.gov.za
or from the Department’s Information Centre which is situated on the 1st floor, Fedsure Forum Building, corner Lilian Ngoyi (previously Van Der Walt) and Pretorius Streets, Pretoria.