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 […]
Corruption and climate vulnerability – A devastating relationship
Released last month, Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) for 2020 was analysed with a particular focus on corruption and its effect on the COVID-19 pandemic. Our research shows that corruption undermines public health systems and democratic institutions, damaging governments’ ability to respond effectively and democratically to public health crises like COVID-19. The acute crisis of COVID-19 has made it […]
Tackling global warming through the promotion of clean cooking energy in Ghana
Globally, over 1.1 billion people live without access to electricity and almost 3 billion people lack clean cooking facilities (SNV, 2022). The world’s poor are continuously affected by the low availability of sustainable and reliable energy, with increasing difficulty in remote areas. Modern energy services are crucial to human well-being as well as to countries’ […]
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 […]
Empowering women and inspiring youth: Reflections from Stephanie Lamma Ewi
A new wave of corporate sustainability is approaching; one in which conventional corporate ‘sustainability’ strategies are set to be replaced by new levels of ambition centred around creating a ‘just and regenerative’ future. Guided by a new north star – an economy that sustains the wellbeing of all and the capacity of our natural world […]
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 […]
Scaling Up Impact With Carbon Finance
In partnership with Relief International and Sustainable Development and Relief Associates (SUDRA), ClimateCare developed Gyapa – a Gold Standard project which supports health and livelihoods for families in Ghana by providing clean cookstoves. One of the largest and longest running cookstove projects in the world, more than 20,000 stoves are produced in local factories each […]
Engaging community voices: Reflections from Archana Soreng
Differing worldviews, indigenous people and the front lines of community climate action: A new wave of corporate sustainability is approaching; one in which conventional corporate ‘sustainability’ strategies are set to be replaced by new levels of ambition centred around creating a ‘just and regenerative’ future. Guided by a new north star – an economy that […]
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 – […]
Rethinking Fundraising
On the 10th of January 2022, UNICEF Italy launched BZR, a virtual marketplace where everyone can buy second-hand and new clothes from a selection of Italian fashion companies and influencers. The launch of BZR is part of Next Generation, an internal programme that UNICEF Italy started in 2019 as a laboratory for new disruptive solutions […]
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. […]
How businesses and young people can collaborate to be a force for development
Clean water and sanitation for all is a critical Sustainable Development Goal which has only become more significant in the global pandemic. In rural Tanzania the spread of water-borne diseases affects everyday lives, so when Raleigh International young people teamed up with Reckitt employees, they found an impactful way to combat this problem through designing […]
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 […]
We can’t win the race to zero without financing a just rural transition
During COP26 banks and asset managers representing USD $130 trillion – 40% of the world’s financial assets – pledged to align with net zero carbon emissions by mid-century, and to provide 2030 interim goals, by joining the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ). That is, as the Washington Post put it, “eye-popping”. But as […]