Building Movements of MSMEs within India’s Transition to an Inclusive Green Economy

The report details a three-day event focused on 'Local Green Enterprises' (LGEs)—MSMEs that prioritize nature, resource efficiency, and social justice. It examines global green economy trends, applies Gandhian philosophy to local development, and identifies sector-specific roadblocks in India. The document concludes with the 'Delhi Declaration,' which calls for the Government of India to improve public procurement, provide affordable credit, and recognize Triple Bottom Line (TBL) impacts for LGEs.

• Local Green Enterprises (LGEs) are defined as environmentally conscious MSMEs that base their business models on "valuing nature, resource efficiency and social justice" and are viewed as "critical enablers of green and inclusive economy at the grassroots."
• Global trends show a shift toward 'zero carbon' norms in countries such as the UK, EU, Bhutan, Costa Rica, Denmark, Fiji, Finland, France, Iceland, Japan, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland, and Uruguay. However, financial flows to the 'brown' economy still dominate, with $5.2 trillion spent on fossil fuel subsidies in 2017, representing 6.5% of global GDP.
• In India, LGEs face significant financial barriers; only 12-16% of enterprises have access to formal finance, while 67% of finance for small businesses comes from informal sources like money lenders, friends, and family.
• Sector-specific challenges for Indian LGEs include the need for waste-based construction materials and lower GST rates in construction; decentralised solar incentives in energy; access to insurance and impact investors in tourism; and the formalisation of the informal sector for Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) management.
• The report advocates for a 'Scaling-Out' rather than 'Scaling-Up' approach to avoid contradictions between sustainability and an obsession with scale, drawing on Gandhian principles of self-reliance and 'Village Swaraj'.
• The Delhi Declaration urges the Government of India to streamline public procurement by removing "structural bottlenecks" and to design financial instruments that facilitate "affordable credit to small green businesses" through mechanisms like blended finance.

APA

Green Economy Coalition (2020). Building Movements of MSMEs within India’s Transition to an Inclusive Green Economy. https://www.greeneconomycoalition.org/assets/reports/Delhi-GM-2020/GEC-Global-Meeting-2020-New-Delhi-Final-Event-Report.pdf

Chicago

Green Economy Coalition. Building Movements of MSMEs within India’s Transition to an Inclusive Green Economy. 2020. https://www.greeneconomycoalition.org/assets/reports/Delhi-GM-2020/GEC-Global-Meeting-2020-New-Delhi-Final-Event-Report.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Green Economy Coalition |title=Building Movements of MSMEs within India’s Transition to an Inclusive Green Economy |date=2020 |url=https://www.greeneconomycoalition.org/assets/reports/Delhi-GM-2020/GEC-Global-Meeting-2020-New-Delhi-Final-Event-Report.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{greeneconomycoalition2020building, author = {{Green Economy Coalition}}, title = {{Building Movements of MSMEs within India’s Transition to an Inclusive Green Economy}}, institution = {Green Economy Coalition}, year = {2020}, url = {https://www.greeneconomycoalition.org/assets/reports/Delhi-GM-2020/GEC-Global-Meeting-2020-New-Delhi-Final-Event-Report.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }