Financing to Support New UN Global Development Agenda
As global leaders gathered in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in July for the Third Financing for Development Conference (FfD3) to discuss a new financing framework for sustainable development, it was natural for Citi to have a seat at the table. As a leading global financial institution, Citi has provided capital to governments, corporations and development organizations […]
Education to Children in Crisis and Conflict Zones
When catastrophe strikes, our first response is to send water, shelter, food and health workers. However, most catastrophes — be they conflicts, health crises or natural disasters — have devastating effects that last much longer than the initial onset. According to the UN, it takes an average of 17 years for families to return home […]
Welcome to GoodCo
Author, “Welcome to GoodCo” and Chair of Trustees, Fair For You 60 of the world’s biggest 100 economic entities are companies, only 40 are countries. This and related facts are often cited in order to attack globalisation, tirade against capitalism generally or illustrate just how hopeless everything is. Despite coming from the left of politics […]
Improving Market Access for the Poor
What is the development issue? More than 80% of Malawi’s 17 million people live in rural areas, and agricultural labourers make up 90% of the total labour force1. Despite the fact that Malawi’s economy is based on agriculture, the country depends primarily on one major export crop – tobacco – which accounts for more than […]
Empowering Women Through Access to Water
By Hanneke Willenborg, VP Global Dishwash, Unilever Access to clean water is both a lifeline and an opportunity. As more and more communities around the world face water scarcity, the burden of collecting water increasingly falls on the shoulders of women and girls. It’s estimated that globally women spend 200 million hours every single day […]
‘100 Under $100′ Tools for Women’s Empowerment
In her new book ‘100 Under $100’, Betsy Teutsch rounds up a hundred innovative yet affordable tools and practices that can make a huge difference in the lives of poor women in low-income countries. Agroforestry is among these innovations. Many of the tools featured, like childhood immunization, handwashing, and clean birth kits—are lifesaving. Others, like […]
South African Students Stand Up For Quality Education
What if the most inspired and best-informed agents of change for “broken” school systems weren’t lawyers or politicians, but students themselves? For a network of activists in South Africa, students are just that. Equal Education is a youth-led movement battling “class- and race-linked inequalities” in South Africa’s school system. The young people in the program, […]
Helping Indian Smallholder Farmers Through Partnerships
Imagine you’re a farmer in rural India. You work on less than an acre of land, and your soil lacks the nutrients needed to grow a successful crop. Water is scarce outside of the monsoon season, when torrential rainfall can damage crops and wash away valuable soil and nutrients. You don’t have regular access to […]
Making Hunger History
Hunger has plagued humanity since the dawn of recorded history. It has featured in every era and every civilization. It has brought empires to ruin, and societies to their knees. In this second decade of the 21st century, we have the expertise, the technology, and the resources to feed every person, in every country. Yet […]
Chicago Council Global Food Security Symposium
Too often, the challenges surrounding food security are tackled by different groups of experts in siloes. As a result, they can seem insurmountable, but in practice, real world solutions are possible. Forums like the Chicago Council Global Food Security Symposium are important catalysts – helping to integrate debate, break down these siloes and canvas holistic […]
Innovations in Maternal and Newborn Healthcare
In a recent breakfast meeting held in Kenya by the Innovation Challenge Fund for the private sector, the technical partner of the Fund, Population Council, revealed a startling fact: Up to 287,000 women die around the globe each year during pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period – largely due to access to skilled routine and […]
The Next Step for Sustainable Supply Chains
Supply chains are complicated and none more so than those of a retailer like M&S with our thousands of food, home, clothing and beauty products. Beyond our product suppliers are many processors, traders, ingredient manufacturers, wholesalers and farmers who we need to support our sustainability ambitions. Certification has been the traditional approach to managing these […]
What will the Modern Slavery Act Achieve?
This March saw the passing of the Modern Slavery Act in UK parliament. It includes a transparency in supply chains clause requiring large companies to publish an annual public statement on modern slavery. This should detail evidence of what actions they have taken to eliminate the risk and presence of in their business or supply […]
Doing Good for Children is Good for Business
Lack of access to basic services such as water and sanitation, education and healthcare today prevent millions of children from surviving and realising their full potential. Combating the enormous threat these inequities pose to the wellbeing of children all over the world is a huge task and one that needs innovative ideas and solutions from […]
To Change the World We Must Change Ourselves
The Mediterranean sea has become a graveyard for Africa’s youth. Every day, we see images of what would appear to be a continent racked by conflict and poverty, and people risking – often losing – their lives in an attempt to flee . Yet Africa has 11 of the 20 fastest growing economies in the […]
How Good ESG Standards Boost Business Competitiveness
Madagascar Lychee Export (MLE) is a lychee export station based in the port of Toamasina, Madagascar. The company buys fruits from collectors and local producers, and then processes, packages, and exports the fruit to European markets. Prior to 2010, MLE was a small, family-run business operating in a changing industry with rising standards and demands. […]
From Responsible Investment Standards to Implementation
Over the past ten years, environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues have moved from the fringe to the centre stage – both amongst emerging market focused private equity investors and amongst businesses themselves. These issues have emerged as a material concern as result of various factors – including the need to manage reputational risks associated […]
The Co-operative Fairbourne Springs
The Co-operative is the only retailer to launch an own-brand ethical bottled water, in partnership with The One Foundation, raising funds for clean water and sanitation projects across sub-Saharan Africa. Social impacts Over 750 water pumps were installed or rehabilitated across 11 different sub-Saharan countries. Improved sanitation and adoption of good hygiene practices reduced the […]
Access to Sustainable Technology Through Microfinance
Pollinate Energy improved the lives of India’s urban poor by providing access to sustainable technology through microfinance, using a network of local distributors, termed ‘Pollinators’. Social impacts Children were able to study at night and adults able to do household work later, saving the daylight hours for productive income-generating work. Customers improved their health by […]
New Approaches to a Global Water Challenge
By Sue Adkins, International Director, Business in the Community PepsiCo works with partners to provide under-served communities with access to clean, safe water, and advocates for new approaches to global water challenges. Social impacts PepsiCo’s partnerships provided safe water access to more than 5.6 million people in developing communities worldwide. The partnerships produced innovative, replicable […]