Partnership for Clean Fuels and Vehicles: Evaluation of the Design and Implementation of the Lead Campaign

In 2002, the Partnership for Clean Fuels and Vehicles (hereafter referred to as PCFV or the Partnership) was launched at the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in Johannesburg, South Africa. This voluntary, global, public-private partnership promotes the reduction of air pollution from vehicles in developing and transitional countries through three campaigns: (1) the Lead Campaign, aimed at eliminating lead in fuel; (2) the Sulfur Campaign, aimed at reducing levels of sulfur in diesel and gasoline; and (3) the Clean Vehicles Campaign, aimed at promoting the adoption of cleaner vehicle technologies. 

Since 2002, nearly all of the 100-plus countries using leaded fuel at that time have since eliminated lead from their fuel supplies. PCFV’s Lead Campaign is considered by many to have catalyzed the phase out of leaded fuel in many of these countries over the past nine years, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa, where phase out rapidly and completely occurred between 2002 and January 1, 2006. The six countries that have yet to eliminate lead from fuel are expected to do so within the next few years. 

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA), one of the founding partners of the PCFV, initiated this third-party evaluation to identify and examine lessons from the PCFV’s Lead Campaign that may be transferable to other existing or future international partnerships. The evaluation focused on the Lead Campaign’s startup and design, implementation, and overarching lessons that could inform other partnership efforts. The evaluation did not identify the benefits of eliminating lead from fuel or the role (influence) of PCFV in the elimination of leaded fuel, as these have been studied previously. With the intent of building on past efforts, and in light of PCFV’s strong reputation, this evaluation assumes as a starting point that the Lead Campaign has been effective. The evaluation methods consisted of a qualitative analysis of information on PCFV, results of 41 formal interviews, and review of literature on voluntary partnerships.