Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) Business Forum
April 16-20, 2018 in London, United Kingdom

HGG Executive Director Celeste Connors, Global Island Partnership (GLISPA) Executive Director Kate Brown, and London-based communications fellow and Kamehameha Schools graduate Kiara Kealoha attended the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) Business Forum from April 16-20. HGG Executive Director chaired an Island Leaders Roundtable with island heads of state at the CHOGM Business Forum, and highlighted the role of public private partnerships in building resilience, addressing climate change, and investing in sustainability outcomes in a series of panel discussions.

 

HGG Executive Director Celeste Connors with Fiji Prime Minister

HGG Executive Director Celeste Connors with Prince of Wales

(Left to Right) Kristian Teleki, Sustainable Ocean Initiatie at World Resources Institute; Kiara Kealoha, HGG; Kate Brown, Global Island Partnership; Peter Thomson, United Nations Special Envoy for Oceans; Celeste Connors, HGG

Fiji launches first international green bond at London Stock Exchange

Fiji Prime Minister launches first international green bond

As part of the 2018 Legislative Session, Hawai‘i Green Growth is partnering with Hawai‘i Pacific University faculty and students to provide info-sharing on member identified legislative sustainability priorities. HGG Policy and Legislation Working Group members are championing a variety of topics ranging from wastewater, invasive species, waste reduction, carbon and climate change to wildfire and natural resource management, sustainability coordination, and affordable housing. HPU students are utilizing this list of priorities as a real-time learning opportunity on the legislative process, working on bill tracking and policy research. A legislative update on identified partner 2018 sustainability priorities is available here, and will continue to be updated with the HPU class throughout the session.

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were identified as the overarching 2018 legislative priority for Hawai‘i Green Growth, serving as an integrated framework to reinforce diverse environmental, social, and economic priorities. The global goals provide a blueprint for a balanced earth, and exemplify the Mālama Ethic conveyed in Kenny Brown’s 1973 speech. HGG supports the locally and culturally appropriate implementation of the global goals through the Aloha+ Challenge, Sustainable Hawai‘i Initiative, and existing efforts. This builds on the recent adoption of the Paris Agreement and the inspiring Worldwide Voyage of Hōkūle‘a. The Senate 2018 Majority Package focused on the UN Sustainable Development Goals has attracted international attention, and works to provide a coherent framework for legislation.

He Lono Moku: State of the Environment 2017 Report Released

The Hawai‘i Environmental Funders Group (EFG) released the second edition of He Lono Moku: State of the Environment 2017 report outlining progress on Hawai‘i's sustainability goals. Each year, He Lono Moku focuses on three priority areas that are critical to Hawaiʻi's sustainability, building on data from the Aloha+ Challenge Dashboard. The Aloha+ Dashboard actively and continually tracks progress toward the state’s six integrated sustainability goals for 2030: clean energy, local food, natural resource management, solid waste, smart sustainable communities and green education and workforce.

This year, He Lono Moku focuses on Hawai‘i priority areas of local food, invasive species, green business and green workforce. The report highlights on-the-ground efforts taken in achieving the Aloha+ Challenge goals of doubling local food production and increasing local green jobs and education. The report also focuses on progress made on the Hawai‘i Interagency Biosecurity Plan, created by the Governor’s Sustainable Hawai‘i Initiative and aligned with the Aloha+ Challenge natural resource management goal.

Bright spots noted in the report include the expansion of the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, the Hawai‘i-hosted International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) World Conservation Congress, Hōkūle‘a’s three-year voyage to spread the message of Mālama Honua (caring for Island Earth), the new Honolulu Office of Climate Change, Sustainability, and Resiliency, and Hawai‘i’s signing of legislation that aligns with the Paris Agreement.

EFG released the inaugural He Lono Moku report in advance of the 2016 IUCN World Conservation Congress, and focused on freshwater security, renewable energy, and community-based marine management. Learn More at http://hawaii-environment.com/

SBF members discuss sustainable pathways to economic prosperity at the 2017 VERGE Summit. Panelists left to right: Alan Oshima (Hawaiian Electric Company), George Szigeti (Hawai‘i Tourism Authority), Mark Dunkerley (Hawaiian Airlines), and moderator Celeste Connors (Hawai‘i Green Growth)

The Sustainability Business Forum (SBF) brings together top-level executives representing a broad sector of Hawaiʻi businesses committed to achieve economic prosperity, environmental stewardship and community resilience. Facilitated by Hawai‘i Green Growth and advised by an expert Working Group of government and environmental leaders, SBF collaborates on concrete initiatives to increase livability and climate resilience in Hawai‘i. In 2016, the SBF developed specific recommendations for targets and indicators with other diverse partners to track progress on the Aloha+ Challenge 2030 Smart Sustainable Communities goal.

Currently, SBF is working with partners and technical experts to develop a carbon mitigation initiative, including opportunities for Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) and ecotourism, to identify successful approaches to incentivize restoration and conservation. SBF members are exploring Business Blueprints for Action that will help local business leaders collaborate on projects that build resilience, reduce risk and create investment opportunities.

Joint Initiatives on Carbon Offsets and Payment for Ecosystem Services
The Hawai‘i-hosted IUCN World Conservation Congress used third party resources to estimate the amount of carbon emissions associated with the 2016 conference in Hawaiʻi. Committed to making the event 100% climate neutral, the IUCN purchased carbon credits from Cordillera Azul National Park Project in Peru (10,172 tons), the Bundled Grid Connected Wind power project from Tamilnadu, India (5,000 tons) and the Wind Energy Project in Maharashtra by M/s Shah Promoters & Developers (18,328 tons). Hawaiʻi did not have any carbon offset programs to meet the IUCN's needs.

Inspired by high-level dialogues at IUCN World Conservation Congress, SBF members agreed to focus on market-based mechanisms in Hawai‘i, including a carbon offset initiative and Payment for Ecosystems Services. To inform joint action, SBF commissioned a legal and policy analysis, provided by Conservation International, for a landscape assessment on a market-based mechanism that will incentivize restoration and conservation of Hawai‘i’s globally important ecosystems and its environmental services. Released in November during the COP23, the report is now available and will support Hawai‘i next steps on a carbon offset initiative. Following the legal and policy analysis, SBF will pursue an Economic Analysis to evaluate possible mechanisms and revenue streams that could fund reforestation and restoration efforts in public and private lands in Hawai‘i. The group is currently examining possible pilot projects in with state, private, and community partners.

Hawai‘i Green Growth is coordinating the SBF, as well as a Working Group of public, private, and civil society partners, to support collaboration and joint implementation of a Hawai‘i-based carbon offset initiative.

Sustainability Business Forum Reports

• Carbon Market and Payment for Ecosystems Services Report
• 2016 Annual Report on Smart Sustainable Communities

 

SBF Events & Highlights: Sustainability Business Forum Members at 2017 VERGE