Climate Change and Biodiversity: The Inextricable Link
The world is heating up, habitats are being lost, and species are facing extinction. These are all facets of the same problem, unsustainable development. Fritz Schumacher, our founder, talked about this in his book, Small is Beautiful: “An attitude to life which seeks fulfilment in the single-minded pursuit of wealth—in short materialism—does not fit into […]
5 Insights to Guide the Business Fights Poverty Community into 2025
Together for 2025 Community Forum After a politically turbulent 2024 when many internal strategic decisions were put on hold, 2025 promises to be the year of ‘getting on with the job’. Mandatory sustainability reporting begins in earnest in 2025, and there are only five years until the world is meant to meet the 2030 Sustainable […]
Harnessing the Power of Local Networks for Climate Preparedness
As climate-related emergencies intensify, local networks of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and businesses are emerging as key players in disaster risk management. By catalysing early action and anticipatory measures, these networks play an essential and complementary role to governments in fostering more resilient communities. Examples from El Salvador, Madagascar, Peru, and the Philippines showcase that stronger […]
Agribusiness and Market Systems for Climate Justice
More than 500 million smallholders form the backbone of global food systems, particularly in rural areas of developing countries. Here, agriculture is often the main source of employment and economic activity. With these regions also facing the brunt of climate impacts, investing in climate resilience is not just urgent—it is vital to sustain livelihoods, reduce […]
Empowering Young Green and Social Entrepreneurs: A Call to Collective Action
The challenges of our time—climate change, inequality, and environmental degradation—demand urgent and innovative solutions. Traditional profit-driven business models have often contributed to these crises, but business itself holds the potential for transformation. By redefining success to prioritize environmental stewardship, economic inclusion, and social well-being, businesses can be the driving force for achieving the Sustainable Development […]
Farmers Hold the Key to Climate Action: It’s Time to Listen
For Benjamín Alas, climate change is not a distant threat – it’s a daily reality. While leaders from government, the private sector, and civil society gathered at the COP29 climate conference in Baku, Azerbaijan, to discuss strategies for promoting regenerative agriculture, Benjamín was busy putting these vital practices into action. As we participated in panels […]
Women’s Health and Reproductive Rights: Smart Climate Action and Good Business
Fire, heat, flooding and drought are a recipe for climate disaster for workers. Companies urgently need to not only mitigate their causes but must also invest in resilience – especially in the health and well-being of women workers in corporate supply chains. Women’s health is material to human rights, productivity, and climate resilience. Women represent […]
Why is Doing Business Differently Critical to Combatting Climate Injustice?
Why growth for growth’s sake is not sustainable As the global COP29 community gathers in Baku, Azerbaijan, we continue to hear about and see greater and greater impacts of climate change negatively affecting communities and their livelihoods, all around the world and in new and unexpected places. There is no way now of denying the […]
How Early Climate Action Cuts Costs, Saves Lives and Builds Resilience
Around the world, 3.6 billion people are climate-vulnerable, with the majority being women. As the climate crisis intensifies, it is no longer a question of if but when these communities will experience a climate emergency. Last year, USD $223.7 billion was globally given as aid, an amount comparable to the annual GDP of New Zealand, […]
How We Can Support More of the World’s Smallholders to Farm Sustainably
Growing the Movement for Change For smallholder farmers battling soils degraded by chemical fertilisers, pesticides and intensive farming, regenerative agriculture offers a solution that can improve soil health, increase resilience to climate change, and address rural poverty. In partnership with the IKEA Foundation, Hand in Hand worked with almost 2,000 Kenyan smallholders to transition their […]
Working with Farmers to Respond to the Climate Crisis
Working with farmers to respond to the climate crisis: 5 key learnings for climate mitigation and adaptation programmes in supply chains “There has been of late long dry spells which have affected my coffee farm, hence I have been using a lot of money to buy inputs,” Naftery Kinyua, a coffee farmer from Kenya told […]
Extreme Heat, Workers’ Rights and the Power of Collaborative Action
Whilst the great and the good of climate policy meet in Baku, Azerbaijan for COP29, and as LinkedIn and Twitter feeds begin to overflow with a frenetic hubbub of updates, insights and arguments, breathe deeply and take a few minutes to immerse yourself in a different reality. A reality that at first glance may seem […]
Women-led Climate Solutions for Resilient Communities
“My message to the world: I want to tell people to stop wasting resources and I would like to find an opportunity to teach them the importance of managing resources such as water. In as much as men and women are all affected by the drought, women are more affected. … If [my child] comes […]
Investing in Better Housing can Build the Resilience of 40% of the World’s Population
Global investment is falling well short of the needs of those living in vulnerable housing. Current estimates predict an annual need of $3 to 4 trillion globally to achieve adequate housing for all, which will be particularly important for the 1 billion people living in informal housing. Those living in informal housing – that is, […]
Strengthening Gender Equity in the Voluntary Carbon Market
Integrating gender equity into the Voluntary Carbon Market (VCM) is essential for achieving environmental and social sustainability. At the heart of this discussion is the question: How can carbon credit quality be improved, whilst also driving benefit for the planet and the people most affected by climate change? Integrating gender equity into carbon credit initiatives […]
Empowering the Next Generation: The Future of Youth Entrepreneurship
At Youth Business International (YBI), the only organisation dedicated to youth entrepreneurship on a global scale, we believe that young entrepreneurs are not just the leaders of tomorrow, they’re the changemakers of today. In our rapidly evolving world, young people are stepping up as innovators, driving social change, and forging paths in entrepreneurship like never […]
How Businesses Can Meet EU Deforestation Regulation: Innovative Solutions for Supply Chain Transparency
Trade in commodities linked with deforestation poses significant environmental and social challenges. According to The Accountability Framework initiative (AFi) and CDP 2024 report Time for Transparency, land clearance for agriculture accounts for over 10 percent of human-caused greenhouse gas emissions and is linked to at least a third of global biodiversity loss. When forests are cleared, […]
From Carbon to Cash: The Climate Innovations Raising Smallholder Farmers’ Incomes
There are an estimated 600 million smallholder farmers around the world who are working to produce one-third of our global food supply. As climate challenges increase, these farmers are disproportionately affected by changing weather and rising temperatures that lead to increased droughts, erosion, pests, and disease. The stakes are high – both for keeping people […]
Off-Grid Success: Solar Chilling Fuels Produce Supply For Women Farmers In Malawi
Lack of refrigeration and access to markets means Malawian farmers lose up to half of their produce to post-harvest loss – this was one of the main factors driving the Renewable Energy for Agriculture project run by Practical Action and our partners in northern Malawi. The work has levelled the playing field for rural women […]
Connecting Mexican Farmers and Buyers Through Regenerative Practices
From Small Farms to Formal Markets: Connecting Mexican Farmers and Buyers Through Regenerative Practices Agriculture is a lifeline for over 8 million farmers in Mexico, with smallholders representing a significant portion of the farming landscape in the country. Small farms account for 57% of crop farms, 78% of cattle farms, 89% of pig farms, and […]