The Green Economy Coalition (GEC) collaborated with its Caribbean partner, the Caribbean Natural Resources Institute CANARI), to host its 2017 Global Summit in November of this year. There was a focus on progress and lessons from seven national/regional GEC hubs in the global south. The hubs are collaborating on implementation of a project; Creating enabling policy conditions for the transformation towards an inclusive green economy. The project is being funded by the European Union. Specific attention will be paid to the role of green enterprises in driving the transition to an inclusive green economy. The overall goal of the meeting was to build understanding and commitment to transforming policy and practice supporting local green enterprises as a pathway to an inclusive green economy. The development and promulgation of the Santa Cruz Declaration was a major high point of the Summit. The Santa Cruz Declaration on Local Green Enterprise I. We the undersigned are a group of manufacturers, producers, business owners, entrepreneurs, innovators, local communities, and the agencies that support them from Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Haiti, India, Jamaica, Mongolia, Peru, Saint Lucia, Senegal, South Africa, Trinidad and Tobago and Uganda. II. Gathered in Santa Cruz, Trinidad and Tobago on 3 November 2017, we have come together in recognition that local green enterprises stand at the frontline of the transition to inclusive, green and resilient economies and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. We are here to demonstrate and build support from our respective countries, regions and 9 Delegates at the meeting spheres of influence for local green enterprises to lead, shape and accelerate the transition. III. Every community on the planet faces, to a greater or lesser extent, a common set of intertwined socioeconomic challenges. Vulnerabilities to climate and natural disasters, collapsing biodiversity, unequal and stagnant economic development, and exclusionary governance. IV. Micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) account for 95% of the world’s private enterprises, and provide 60% of private sector employment. We are the engines of prosperity, job creation and innovation. We deliver economic, social and environmental benefits to our communities and countries. We are the economies of today and tomorrow. V. Learning how to build greener, fairer and more resilient economies is the biggest challenge of our times, but it cannot be achieved without empowering SMEs as innovative local actors to deliver social and environmental transformation. VI. We stand together in solidarity. We invite fellow business people, governments, civil society, academia and local communities to partner with us. We offer the opportunity to:
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