Ten years ago, at the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD) in New York, 5 enterprises received the first SEED Awards. They were chosen, from a pool of over 260 entries from 66 countries, for their potential to advance sustainable development in their communities and contribute to the UN's Millennium Development Goals. At the Ceremony, Klaus Toepfer, Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) at the time said: “The time for talking is over; the time for action is now. If we are to deliver sustainable development, achieve the Millennium Development Goals by 2015 and overcome poverty, we need partnerships”.

’Action’ has been the keyword since then. Over the last ten years, SEED has recognised more than 200 SEED Winners spread over 40 countries and helped them scale-up through tailored capacity building, involving over 550 communities, non-governmental organisations, businesses and public authorities. These social and green enterprises are living proof that entrepreneurial partnerships between various stakeholders can create innovative and novel solutions for delivering sustainable development at the grassroots.