Basic principles of B4D
- B4D shall be imbued with mutual good for the parties for
the benefit of poor people.
- The partnership shall be in line with the collaborating country’s prioritisations. As with all aid, the national ownership is of central importance.
- Investments shall support sustained development and create better conditions for poor people.
- We prioritise collaboration with major companies as this has the greatest effect, but we are also open for small to medium-sized companies.
- We are also open to collaboration with companies from other countries.
- We set high standards on ensuring that companies take responsibility for social, financial and environmental effects. The companies must endeavour to comply with the 10 principles of Global Compacts and ILO’s fundamental conventions.
- We shall avoid acting in a manner likely to interfere with the market, but will not hesitate to act in a manner likely to develop the market.
- We encourage innovative solutions providing added value.
- We shall make it easier for companies and collaborating countries by co-ordinating with other providers and harmonising our systems and regulations.
- Our contributions shall be concentrated on the areas where each development SEK provides the greatest benefit and result.
Some examples of collaboration
In the project Better Cotton Initiative, the World Wide Fund for Nature and international voluntary organisations work in collaboration with major companies such as Adidas, H&M, Gap and IKEA. The aim is to modernise cotton cultivation, reducing the health and environmental impact and making cultivation more profitable. Sida provides financial support, commercial operators being responsible for the greater part of the budget.
A new cluster collaboration has been started with the Geological Survey of Sweden, SGU, as leading operator and Sida as financier. The aim is self-supporting operator cooperation between the Swedish mining industry and the mining sectors in South Africa, Botswana and Namibia providing both financial growth and improvement in human rights.
DemoMiljö (DemoEnvironment), which Sida started a couple of years ago, in 2009 granted support to fifteen companies for pilot projects in Europe, Asia and Africa. The project deals with for example, water and sanitation, waste management, air environment and renewable energy.
