How solar-powered tablets are educating rural communities about COVID-19
“We use solar-powered tablets to conduct community education campaigns on financial education, contraception and HIV, health, vaccinations, civic education, and now to inform communities about measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19,” says Dayn Amade, founder of the Tablet Comunitário/Community Tablet. In the wake of the outbreak of the novel corona virus and realizing the need to […]
How impact investing can boost rural economies during and after the COVID-19 pandemic
About two-thirds of the 600 million people living in extreme poverty around the world live in rural areas, and the COVID-19 crisis is exacerbating every challenge they face. Rural communities often lack access to proper infrastructure, health care, markets, education and finance. As the world goes digital in the face of the pandemic, people without […]
Informal women workers organize and learn to safely recycle e-waste in Manila
As the world continues to produce, buy, and discard newer and more advanced electronic devices and appliances, countries are also facing the growing problem of what do with the waste generated when these products are discarded. If not properly processed, this e-waste (also known as waste electrical and electronic equipment or WEEE), poses a serious […]
Building a commercial buffalo dairy in Laos: five minutes with entrepreneur Susie Martin
Q 1. What is your inclusive business model? Laos Buffalo Dairy is a commercial buffalo dairy in the heart of Laos. Our production facility makes yogurt, cheese and ice cream for sale on local and overseas markets. Locally, we distribute to highend hotels and restaurants and have a shopfront for tourists looking to visit and […]
Investing in inclusion delivers green and fair outcomes
Far from the COVID-19 global headlines, a movement is underway in Peru. An alliance of local green enterprises is leading the charge to Buy Local – and it is proving key for supporting small businesses through and beyond the pandemic. With close to 90% of employment in the country in small businesses, the role that […]
Four lessons for businesses wanting to build more equitable supply chains through sustainable sourcing
Approximately 78 percent of the world’s poor, or 800 million people , live in rural areas and rely on agriculture for a living. Most of those smallholder farmers are operating at extremely low levels of productivity and are excluded from formal markets. Meanwhile, there is a growing demand for locally-sourced food, particularly in growing urban hubs […]
VIDEO: How can companies ensure they have a positive relationship with the world around them?
Cristianne Close is Global Practice Leader, Markets, at WWF, where she works with business to benefit nature and people. Previously, she was Founder and Director at Fundacion Choco Empreende, and held manager roles at Arcos Dorados and Syngenta. WHAT THIS SESSION COVERS The aim of this session is to help business professionals understand what is […]
If it is broke, do fix it Rebuilding better agriculture and food systems – and what business can do to help
In various places and to varying degrees, September has been a month of return – to socialising, to school, to the office and maybe, if we just squint hard enough, to some version of normal. Let’s hope we don’t also return to our old thinking around livelihoods, agriculture and business’ role in both. From Europe […]
Upcoming Online Event: Tackling Poverty in Global Value Chains
As part of Business Fights Poverty NYC Online 2020, Business Fights Poverty and Mars are convening a webinar and online peer discussion to explore the role of industry-led collaborative initiatives in addressing poverty in supply chains. The webinar will take place on Thursday, 24 September at 8.30 – 9.30am EDT / 1.30 – 2.30pm BST, followed by 30 minutes […]
Upcoming Online Event: Nature and Its Value to International Supply Chains
As part of Business Fights Poverty NYC Online 2020, Business Fights Poverty and Standard Chartered are convening a webinar and online peer discussion to explore how we can account for, invest in and enhance the value of nature present in supply chains. This article delves into nature’s benefits to international supply chains, and examines one initiative that is […]
Don’t simply restart the engine; building back better means re-tooling
Covid-19 vs climate change The parallels between the Coronavirus response and how we should collaboratively tackle the climate crisis should not be overlooked. Tackling either problem will change our lifestyle in a number of ways, and we will all have to make short term adaptations for a much longer-term gain. I believe that the pandemic […]
Air Quality: A breath of fresh air
Air pollution is the world’s fourth biggest killer Man-made air pollution is a global phenomenon – and a global killer. The WHO estimates poor air quality is responsible for 4.2 million premature deaths a year, as well as contributing to a wide range of health concerns. The World Bank ranked air pollution as the fourth-highest […]
Strange Bedfellows or Logical Partners? Collaboration Between the Agriculture and Mining Sectors to ‘Build Forward Better’
The COVID-19 pandemic has held a mirror up to us all, exposing inequalities and vulnerabilities throughout society. With this in mind, last week’s panel discussion focused on the critical importance of cross-sector collaboration in order to build forward better towards a greener, more equal, and more resilient future post-COVID-19. Not least, this pandemic is shining […]
Evaluation gaps, challenges and implications: Responsible business initiatives for sustainable supply chains?
Internally, many companies are already innovating on sustainability to a greater or lesser degree. Some make strategic changes with respect to sustainability performance, but the competitive pressures of globalized value chains remain very strong. Hence, becoming more responsible is not a straightforward task for brands and retailers, especially those in mainstream and/or highly competitive markets, […]
The data revolution must accelerate food sustainability
The current pandemic has exposed how vulnerable global supply chains are to disruption. These technologies not only have the potential to push entire food supply chains—all the way from farmer to consumer—toward greater sustainability, they can also help improve resilience to future shocks. Here’s how: At the source: data-based farming If we want to continue […]
The Cost of Cash to Ghana’s Cocoa Sector
Although he was initially skeptical about the new system, Samuel has been won over. He likes the convenience: “Mobile money is more manageable. My children are spread around at different schools. When they call and need money, because I have it on my phone, I can immediately forward it to them.” He also likes the […]
Fairtrade and the COVID-19 response – lessons for business and the food system
The rapid spread of COVID-19 and the resulting global restrictions, challenged everyone involved in the production of food all over the world. Fairtrade is no exception, working as we do with over 1.6 million farmers and workers supplying the UK’s supermarkets. Produce from Africa, Asia, and South America makes up 10 to 15 per cent […]
How to Safeguard the Livelihoods of Women Farmers and Entrepreneurs during the COVID-19 Pandemic
In just a few months, the COVID-19 pandemic has transformed our world, creating an array of new challenges on every continent while reminding us of persistent inequalities. In many places, the pandemic threatens to reverse recent gains made to advance women’s economic empowerment. To understand why, meet Olivia Massarula. Olivia owns a small grocery shop […]
Youth Perspectives on Our Future Economy
Demand for a new and sustainable economic model is reaching a new peak. As 2020 dawned, even committed advocates of globalised capitalism (like the IMF and World Economic Forum) have called for a rethink, in recognition of the looming threat of climate change and unconscionable levels of global inequality. In recent months, the world has […]
Three ways sustainable supply chains can help build better business in a COVID-19 world
The COVID-19 pandemic has shaken the world in profound and unexpected ways. More than six million people have fallen ill from the virus and nearly four hundred thousand have died from it. The livelihoods of millions of farmers and workers have suffered, normal business has been disrupted, and the impacts continue to rise as the virus shifts to new regions. The jury is still out on how severe and lasting the economic damage will be, or whether the pandemic will spur urgently needed action on climate change, rising inequality and sustainable development. One thing we […]