Driving Inclusivity in African Agriculture
Concordia recently participated in the Inaugural International Congress for African Agribusiness and Trade (ICAAT) at Rutgers University, an event that brought together African agricultural and political leaders with bilateral and multilateral institutions, overseas development organizations, U.S. agribusiness, agricultural investors, technical and policy experts, and African civil society representatives. The conference highlighted the importance of aligning […]
Empowering Women in the Economy: Major Event for Business Leaders and Global Experts, London 6 Sept 2017
On Wednesday 6 September, business leaders and global experts will convene in London to discuss how the private sector can advance the 2017 recommendations of the UN High Level Panel on Women’s Economic Empowerment. Why does it matter, and what will it mean for women – and for business? CARE is really pleased to be […]
Embedding the Sustainable Development Goals into Business
The general consensus is that the only way to meet the scale of the ambition of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and to bridge the estimated funding gap of $2.5 trillion per year is to fully mobilise business investment, innovation and expertise. For companies, there are good reasons to engage with the SDGs. There are […]
Contributing to the SDGs through Advocacy Partnerships
The contribution of business to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is often viewed through the lens of core business, social investment, and public advocacy and policy engagement, a framework first introduced by Jane Nelson[1]. Whilst core business and social investment have received much attention over the years, there has been little focus on the positive […]
Working with the Private Sector to Further Global Health
Photo Credit: Cairdeas International Palliative Care Trust CEO, THET and Ian Walker, Director, Johnson & Johnson Global Community Impact “I was caring for an elderly man with cardiac failure. He had multiple pressure sores and dirty sheets. He was depressed. I dressed the pressure sores and showed the family how to do the same, in […]
Why Water Conservation Can Help Businesses Tap into Global Goals
Sustainable Development Goal 6 recognises the importance of access to clean and safe water. It’s an issue that’s particularly important in India, where long and short term factors have led to an increase in demand while supplies have been strained. Since the 1930s, water use in India has increased at a greater rate than its […]
Unlocking Private Sector Investment to Deliver the SDGs in Challenging Places
There is an estimated $2.5 trillion financing gap needed to deliver the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Should the gap not be filled, it is possible that we will fail in the attempt to realise the global ambition to “end poverty and hunger, and achieve sustainable development”. The debate around the most effective models for […]
The Power of Using Talent for Good
When considering the ways in which the private sector can advance global health and development and improve our world, a few obvious options come to mind. Funding is usually high on the list, as is research and development, but other interventions are in demand. Business acumen, supply chain knowledge and monitoring and evaluation expertise are […]
Respect for Human Rights: Creating a Holistic Framework for Business Contributions to the SDGs
This short framework for analysis and action offers a straightforward way for any company to work out how it should and can contribute to sustainable development. What’s the current problem with the way some organizations are talking about business contributions to sustainable development – and what’s a better path forward? 1. The problem: misunderstanding the […]
Partnerships and the Power of Relationships
In the same way, a certain bond arises between the core people involved in any effective cross-sector partnership.This analysis of a South African water partnership refers to the central importance of the “chemistry” of partnerships. According to the partnership’s manager Nick Tandi, “We need to get better at understanding this chemistry, and how to make […]
Meet the Shortlist: Unilever Global Development Award, supported by Business Fights Poverty
Adopted on 25 September 2015, 193 world leaders agreed to 17 Global Goals for Sustainable Development to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure prosperity for all. If these Goals are completed, it would mean an end to extreme poverty, inequality and climate change by 2030. Businesses are a key enabler of global sustainable development […]
In Defence of Aid
As Britain embarks on the process of leaving the European Union, and as we prepare to stand up as a “Global Britain”, we need to decide what it is we stand for. Our values will define and give weight to our leadership on the world stage. All of us, whether on the left or the […]
Creating Transparency Around Corporate Sustainability Tools
There are hundreds of tools out there that can help companies learn, manage or report about their impacts on sustainable development in general and the Sustainable Development Goals in particular. An international consortium of researchers, NGOs and rating agencies has now collected and categorized 226 tools – all claiming to help measure and manage corporate […]
Is Your Company Ready to Engage with the SDGs through Inclusive Business?
SDG engagement can take the form of a tested and decade-old concept: inclusive business. A new report helps companies assess how ready they are to incorporate it. These are unsettling times. The promise of globalisation is being increasingly eclipsed by political uncertainty and a rising tide of nationalism and protectionism. In listening to workers displaced […]
One for All, and All for One: Industry-Level Collaboration is Needed to Eradicate Forced Labour
According to the ILO, nearly 21 million people are subjected to forced labour around the world (an alternative estimate from the Walk Free Foundation, which is working with the ILO to release updated figures this year, puts the number more than twice as high). This activity generates $150 billion in illegal profits every year. 71% […]
How Can Companies Harness the SDGs to Strengthen Smallholder Supply Chains?
Contributing to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) represents a significant value creating opportunity for business. According to the Business and Sustainable Development Commission, achieving the SDGs will create up to US$12 trillion of market opportunities[1] for companies across the four economic systems studied in its landmark report Better Business, Better World (food and agriculture, cities, […]
Bridging Gaps: Cross-sector Collaboration is the Future of Sustainable Business
The world faces growing problems—natural resource scarcity and climate change, along with anti-trade and migration movements—that require more nimble policies, institutions and investments for sustainable development. Yet, current approaches are hobbled because they operate in silos across sectors. When stakeholders and policymakers operate in silos, maximizing one interest at the expense of everyone else’s, the […]
REGISTER NOW: Business Fights Poverty Oxford 2017, 10/11 July
Incentivizing Sustainable Fashion: Lessons from Social Entrepreneurs
An estimated 75 million people are now employed by the apparel industry. It’s a number that has almost quadrupled in the last 15 years. With this exponential growth, the not-so-hidden costs of fashion too have increased. But while critics say that changing company behavior simply isn’t profitable, social innovators are proving that there are imaginative […]
Corporate Leaders, Don’t Miss the Social Impact Wave!
For a big company, innovating is anticipating. It involves being able to spot weak signals, new ideas and models that will disrupt tomorrow’s markets. In only 10 years, changes in digital technology have deeply disrupted the rules of economic competition. In a faster and more interconnected world, companies that have been able to anticipate the […]