Solve pollution. Save lives. Protect the planet.

By combining the expertise of the public and private sectors and civil society, we are working toward a lead-free future for all children. 

Launched in 2020, the Protecting Every Child’s Potential initiative (PECP) is a public private partnership that works to raise awareness of the impact of lead exposure on children’s long-term health and development and mobilize action to abolish dangerous practices that cause harmful lead exposure.

Around 1 in 3 children – up to 800 million globally – have blood lead levels indicative of lead poisoning. Informal and substandard recycling of lead-acid batteries is a leading contributor to exposure in areas where children play, live and go to school in low and middle-income countries.

With the scope and scale of this crisis in mind, Pure Earth, UNICEF, and the Clarios Foundation partnered to form the Protecting Every Child’s Potential initiative. We believe that children deserve a future free from lead exposure. By combining the expertise of the public and private sectors and civil society, we are working toward that reality. PECP supports large-scale efforts to reduce lead poisoning in seven countries, including Bangladesh, Georgia, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Mexico, and the Philippines.

PECP draws on the three founding organizations’ complementary expertise:

  1. The rehabilitation of contaminated sites,
  2. the safe manufacturing and responsible recycling of lead acid batteries,
  3. and the promotion of children’s health and rights.

 

“I have been a great believer in public private partnerships. It’s something that I learned when I was in office and I know that it makes all the difference if you can get the private sector and the public sector working together to solve a problem, and we have this magic trio on this.”
— Madeleine Albright, speaking at the PECP launch, Oct. 2020.

“The good news is lead-contaminated sites can be remediated and restored. People can be educated about the dangers of lead and empowered to protect themselves and their children. The return on the investment is enormous: improved health, increased productivity, higher IQs, less violence, and brighter futures for millions of children across the planet.”
— Richard Fuller, CEO and Founder of Pure Earth.

Protecting Every Child’s Potential: Growth and Progress

Today, PECP supports large-scale efforts to reduce lead poisoning in seven countries, including Bangladesh, Georgia, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Mexico, and the Philippines. The rapid growth of PECP is a sign that our call to action in 2020, made following the release of the Toxic Truth report, is being heard.

What started with $15M in seed grants to support work in five countries –Bangladesh, Georgia, Ghana, Indonesia, and Mexico– has grown with $8.2M in new funding from from GiveWell, the Effective Altruism Global Health and Development Fund, and Open Philanthropy. PECP has expanded to support work in the Philippines and India and to conduct Blood Lead Level surveys in the Philippines, India and Bangladesh. In addition, Pure Earth has begun conducting Rapid Marketplace Screenings in 25 countries to identify lead-containing products and prioritize countries for future interventions.

New partners are joining PECP and growing our capabilities and expertise, including the Global Alliance on Health and Pollution (GAHP), and Vital Strategies. In June 2022, the International Lead Association, Association of Battery Recyclers, EUROBAT, and Battery Council International joined the Protecting Every Child’s Potential. The four associations have pledged to help advance PECP’s mission to ensure a future free from childhood lead exposure in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) where capacities, including regulatory, are often absent. In addition to other forms of assistance, the associations will provide pro-bono technical support remotely and, on the ground, to help LMIC regulators and facilities adopt global best practices. This is an activity that ILA and BCI have supported for many years with successful projects delivered in Africa, Central America and Asia.

Learn more about current PECP activities and projects to reduce lead exposure in the 2022 Progress Report. 

Our Guiding Principles

At the heart of everything we do lie nine agreed-upon beliefs that provide the ‘why’ of our partnership. Each one works toward the protection of children through issue advocacy, education and collaboration.

Learn More

October 2020 Press Release: Pure Earth, Clarios Foundation and UNICEF launch Protecting Every Child’s Potential: A Future Free from Lead Exposure

Our Partners

Project Donors

Promoting awareness and galvanizing action.
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Implementation Partners

Helping directly reach those children most in need.

Technical Partners