Greater Investment Imperative as Climate Disasters Become More Frequent
Pakistan’s catastrophic floods have so far caused at least 1,134 deaths, submerged a third of the country and upended the lives of 1.2million people (according to news reports). This is the human cost of the climate crisis and our thoughts are with those affected by the disaster. (Fairtrade statement on Pakistan floods – Fairtrade Foundation) […]
Real-time information for famers enables climate change adaption
How does Lentera use data to enable farmers to adapt to climate change? We use satellite and weather data to provide farmers with crop specific advice with regards to fertilizers, pests and diseases, and water management of their farms. This helps farmers adapt their agronomy practices in line with changing climate patterns. We also use […]
Levelling the playing field – Developing market systems that support regenerative agriculture
Market systems have driven the development of an industrial agricultural system that has excessively low unit costs, at the expense of environment and people. For transformation to happen, we need market systems to drive agriculture that is regenerative. How does regenerative agriculture differ to ‘conventional’ agriculture’? Regenerative agriculture aims to optimise production whilst looking after […]
How important is protecting the environment to you?
Most of you would probably answer that environmental protection is very important. Now, consider the following question: What actions do you take for protecting the environment? Discussions on how to address climate change often present disparate views. On the one hand, some argue that actions at the individual level – such as reducing the use […]
New research finds solutions to farmer resilience amid global crises
This year’s Business Fights Poverty Global Summit is warning of the tsunami of poverty created by COVID-19, climate change and conflict that our community is striving to resist. For the people working in global supply chains, in agriculture, fashion, extractive industries in low-income countries, and who often experience entrenched social inequality, crisis is all too […]
Making community and collaboration the route to climate justice
Eight of the ten most severe global risks identified over the next ten years are related to environmental and societal risks, according to the World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Report 2022. Of these, the five environmental related risks are climate action failure, extreme weather events, biodiversity loss, environmental damage and natural resource crises (which include […]
Boosting young Kenyan farmers’ incomes through climate-smart agriculture
A six-year partnership between Farm Africa and the supermarket Aldi UK has enabled hundreds of young farmers in western Kenya to develop thriving horticulture businesses and build their resilience to climate change. The Growing Futures project was first launched in 2016, when Aldi UK teamed up with Farm Africa to launch a three-year initiative enabling young farmers in the northern Rift […]
Honduran coffee farmers hope for a brighter future
Anyone working in coffee will know that Honduras is an important origin. Honduran coffee has been a good news story, it is an important export, and it is well regarded worldwide for its flavoursome speciality beans, but it is under threat from climate change. According to the World Bank, Honduras remains one of the poorest […]
Driving Social Entrepreneurship and Nature Conservation in Mexico
The Copalita-Zimatán-Huatulco watershed in the state of Oaxaca, Mexico is home to one third of the country’s biodiversity and equally rich in culture. Zapotec indigenous communities have lived in the upper and middle parts of the watershed for centuries, since pre-Hispanic times. As in many rural areas, women in the Copalita watershed play a key […]
COP15: Businesses Commit to Helping Grow a World Wonder
Business Fights Poverty joined with the UNCCD (United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification) in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire this week to launch the Great Green Wall (GGW) Sourcing Challenge. The Challenge aims to bring together companies and other partners to help unlock the potential of the Sahel, the semi-arid region stretching across Africa just south of […]
Facing The Poverty Tsunami: How Business Can Support the Lives, Livelihoods and Access to Learning of the Most Vulnerable People and Communities
The Poverty Tsunami: COVID, Conflict and Climate Change COVID, conflict and climate change are among a confluence of challenges driving a tsunami of poverty that is already crashing into the lives of vulnerable people and communities around the world. The COVID-19 pandemic and the measures to contain its spread led to 97 million more people […]
The Road to COP27: Putting People at the Heart of Climate Action
In the coming days, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), will publish its next milestone report; this one focusing on the mitigation of climate change, including an assessment of technologies to remove CO2 from the atmosphere. Their last report, published in February, focused on the impacts of climate change. Beyond the science and the […]
Women as drivers of climate resilience
Mars, like many companies, has long-standing commitments to support climate action (SDG 13) and gender equality (SDG 5). But we haven’t always looked at the intersections between these two areas. As we progress our Net Zero Commitment and our Cocoa for Generations plan, it is becoming clear that the two issues are inextricably linked. Women […]
Gender Equity: The Foundation for a Resilient Future
The theme of this year’s International Women’s Day, on 8 March, is “Gender equality today for a sustainable tomorrow”. This reflects the fact that women are disproportionately impacted by climate change, while also having less access to the opportunities that a transition to a greener future can bring. More women live in extreme poverty – […]
Looking ahead to 2022: climate justice, food systems and the private sector
Accelerating climate justice Maria Claudia, our Business Development Officer in the Peru office took part in the Climate Justice series event at COP 26 as a panellist with others from Facebook, HBL Habib Bank and BioMec where they discussed and shared questions with young innovators at the forefront of creating our green inclusive future. Overall, […]
No more promises without plans. It’s time for a new corporate climate leadership.
Over the past 12 months, I have struggled with two competing thoughts: First, in almost 25 years working on climate change, I can honestly say that the emergence of corporate climate leadership is one of the more optimistic trends I have encountered. Ten years ago most companies were either hostile to or agnostic about emissions […]
What If we created our own celebration days?
Francçois Taddei, co-founder of the Learning Planet Institute, writes about the importance of celebration to foster collaboration and co-creation among engaged actors, including the business community, to transform education for the future of the planet, and extends an invitation to join us at the #LearningPlanet Festival from the 22nd to the 29th of January 2022. […]
Bold Ambitions for Climate Action
Sustainability systems are paving the way with climate-relevant production standards. Many in the ISEAL community are stepping up their climate action with bold ambitions and innovative tools to support businesses, governments and civil society to mitigate and adapt to climate change. The climate emergency is upon us. Urgent action is needed if we are to […]
The GSMA Innovation Fund for Climate Resilience and Adaptation
The GSMA, the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) have announced the launch of the GSMA Innovation Fund for Climate Resilience and Adaptation. The objective of this new Fund is to help accelerate the testing, adoption and scalability of digital innovations that enable the world’s most […]
Embracing the ‘next edge’ of business ambition beyond net zero
As we digest the agreements reached at COP26, many of us will wonder ‘what’s next?’. Lots of delivery and accountability of course. But also, we’ll need a bigger stretch, not just to avoid catastrophe but to truly build a more hopeful future. And this, in turn, will require a different way of working, living, and […]