Global Partnerships
ICA and its members take action to create global and societal change.
The International Copper Association forms strategic, public-private partnerships to create positive impacts on society’s sustainable development goals. These partnerships allow ICA’s geographic presence to expand to underserved, developing geographies. The primary focus of this effort is on SDG7 (Affordable and Clean Energy), referred to as the golden thread linking together all 17 SDGs.
Types of Partnerships
Partners include:
Government and regulatory agencies in: Africa, Asia, Australia, Canada, China, the European Union and the United States of America.
Intergovernmental organizations (IGOs): Common Fund for Commodities (CFC), Global Environment Facility (GEF), Green Climate Fund (GCF), Sustainable Energy for All (SE4ALL), International Energy Agency (IEA), UN Development Programme (UNDP), UN Environment Programme (UNEP), UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and the World Bank.
Industry associations: International Cablemakers Federation (ICF), International Copper Study Group (ICSG), International Wrought Copper Council (IWCC) and the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM).
Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs): Alliance to Save Energy (ASE), Carbon Trust, International Institute for Energy Conservation (IIEC), Business Council for Sustainable Energy and the UN Foundation.
The Foundation of a Lasting Bond
ICA’s partnership with the United Nations spans more than 25 years.
Many of these initiatives focus on capacity building, increasing clean energy financing, and providing access to sustainable and reliable infrastructure. ICA’s global partnerships provide technical expertise and guidance to local technicians, manufacturers, market leaders and policymakers worldwide.
United For Efficiency
ICA’s leading initiative, United for Efficiency (U4E), is a UN Environment Programme (UNEP)-led public-private partnership. U4E supports developing countries and emerging economies to enable adoption of energy-efficient appliances and equipment. U4E focuses on five products responsible for more than half of the world’s electricity consumption and supports the implementation of Minimum Energy Performance Standards (MEPS). These efforts help reduce both consumer costs and carbon emissions. U4E projects operate in more than 20 countries across Africa, Asia and Latin America.
Recent ICA-Founded Partnerships
CORE operates at the nexus of energy access and energy efficiency. CORE bridges the access gap, bringing decentralized renewable energy technologies to rural communities and ensuring a skilled local workforce is trained to maintain them. Since its launch at COP26, CORE has implemented more than 12 projects in its first year and trained more than 1000 people.
Launched in 2022 as an international public-private partnership, GEAR initiative brings together world leaders in energy efficiency to increase the productivity of power grids in Africa, accelerating economic and social development. GEAR’s founding partners include Sustainable Energy for All (SE4ALL), the International Energy Agency (IEA), UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and the African Forum for Utility Regulators (AFUR).
MEGA unites key stakeholders to help transform the market for energy-efficient electric motors. By advocating for MEPS, consumer education, circular practices around motor repair and reuse, replacement of inefficient electric motors, and access to energy-efficient manufacturing technologies, MEGA’s members are working to reduce global electricity demand by up to 24 percent through energy-efficient motors.
ME, formerly the 3% club, brings together the international finance and energy-efficiency communities to enable solutions for global emissions reduction. While energy efficiency is essential to delivering 40 percent of the Paris Agreement goals, it remains vastly underfunded. ME bridges the gap between finance and implementation.
CORE operates at the nexus of energy access and energy efficiency. CORE bridges the access gap, bringing decentralized renewable energy technologies to rural communities and ensuring a skilled local workforce is trained to maintain them. Since its launch at COP26, CORE has implemented more than 12 projects in its first year and trained more than 1000 people.
Launched in 2022 as an international public-private partnership, GEAR initiative brings together world leaders in energy efficiency to increase the productivity of power grids in Africa, accelerating economic and social development. GEAR’s founding partners include Sustainable Energy for All (SE4ALL), the International Energy Agency (IEA), UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and the African Forum for Utility Regulators (AFUR).
MEGA unites key stakeholders to help transform the market for energy-efficient electric motors. By advocating for MEPS, consumer education, circular practices around motor repair and reuse, replacement of inefficient electric motors, and access to energy-efficient manufacturing technologies, MEGA’s members are working to reduce global electricity demand by up to 24 percent through energy-efficient motors.
ME, formerly the 3% club, brings together the international finance and energy-efficiency communities to enable solutions for global emissions reduction. While energy efficiency is essential to delivering 40 percent of the Paris Agreement goals, it remains vastly underfunded. ME bridges the gap between finance and implementation.
A History of Success
Celebrating more than 25 years of successful public-private partnerships
2023
2023: MEGA founded to bring efficiency to industrial motors worldwide
Electric motors and motor-driven systems consume over 50 percent of the world’s electricity, and the electricity consumption from motors is expected to increase by 40 percent by 2040. MEGA collaborates to implement successful energy-efficiency practices and provide access to energy-efficient electric motors around the world to reduce global electricity consumption by up to 24 percent.
2022
2022 — Present: Mission Efficiency Energy Efficiency Marketplace created to close the energy efficiency funding gap
In partnership with SE4ALL and the UN Copenhagen Climate Centre (UNCCC), the ME Marketplace, launched at COP27, brings together international investors with the energy-efficiency community. The ME Financing Charette was initially convened by ICA in June 2022.
2022 — Present: GEAR founded to bring energy efficiency to African power grids
Africa’s electricity demand is expected to quadruple by 2040. GEAR enables a safe, reliable and efficient energy supply to help sustain Africa’s development.
2021
2021 – Present: CORE launched to bring off-grid energy access to rural communities
CORE, launched at COP26, ensures efficient energy access for rural and peri-urban communities. In its first year, the initiative launched 12 projects, training more than 1500 people across 10 countries. CORE was jointly founded by ICA and the Alliance for Rural Electrification (ARE) in partnership with the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), SE4ALL, UNEP and UNIDO.
2014
2014 – Present: U4E founded, bringing MEPS to 20 countries and addressing the 5 applications responsible for more than half of the world’s energy consumption
U4E has helped initiate MEPS in more than 20 countries, creating the only MEPS in Africa. Through its integrated policy approach, U4E develops markets for energy-efficient appliances and applications—including lighting, transformers, motors, distribution transformers, air conditioning and refrigeration—in developing and emerging economies.
2014 – 2018: The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Standards Harmonization Initiative on Energy Efficiency (SHINE) promotes regional cooperation through energy standards harmonization in Asia
ASEAN SHINE, a continuation of the Asian Energy Manager Accreditation Scheme (AEMAS) partnership, led 10 ASEAN countries to harmonize their energy-efficiency standards to meet International Organization for Standardization (ISO) guidelines for air conditioners and trained more than 3,000 salespeople in energy efficiency.
2011
2011: MOU with SE4ALL
In 2011, ICA signed its first memorandum of understanding (MOU) with SE4ALL, leading to a long and fruitful relationship that has enabled ever-increasing partnership broadly around SDG7.
2011 – 2015: China School Education Program supports environmental education for more than 10 million children
In partnership with the China Children Press and Publication Group, the program used creative projects to educate Chinese school children on environmental consciousness, energy savings and electrical safety, with 80 percent of participants seeing an increase in academic performance. The program reached over 10 million children in China.
2010
2010 – 2014: Energy Management Gold Standard certifies energy auditors in ASEAN nations
Endorsed by 10 ASEAN Ministries of Energy, the standard provided training and certification for more than 100 energy auditors who implemented energy-saving measures at major global operations, such as Texas Instruments.
2009
2009 – Present: Asia Power Quality Initiative pioneers power quality standards
The initiative trained thousands of electric system designers on power quality. The efforts led to the development and adoption of numerous power quality standards in China.
2006
2006: The Enabling Technology Center promotes the use of energy-efficient materials in new technologies
ICA, the Common Fund for Commodities (CFC) and the International Copper Study Group (ICSG) developed the “Transfer of Technology for High Pressure Copper Die-Casting in India” project. This led to the establishment of the Non-Ferrous Materials Technology Development Center (NFTDC) in Hyderabad, India, and the building of an “Enabling Technology Center” (ETC). This project provides an example of how ICA-UN programs helped advance a copper-intensive solution.
2005
2005 – 2012: AEMAS trains more than 5,000
The scheme trained and certified more than 5,000 energy managers, including the training of 300 new instructors to continue the progress. The scheme was endorsed by 10 ASEAN Ministries of Energy.
1998
1998: ICA and UN Energy Efficiency Project
The “Copper Energy Efficiency Project,” developed with the CFC, was established by the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). This partnership began with projects on energy efficiency in China and India on motors, distribution transformers, and ballasts. The partnership expanded to include regional workshops in Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America.