The Boon and Bane of Index-Based Weather Insurance
After the enthusiasm on microcredit has somewhat faded over the past few years, the next microfinance revolution in the form of index-based microinsurance is well underway. In this blogpost we will take a closer look at the index-based approach to insurance and highlight some of its advantages as well as some of its challenges. Insuring […]
Innovative Insurance Models for Risk Reducing Behaviour
Source: CCAFS and CGIAR Losses and damages of weather-related disasters are increasing In the face of climate change, BoP communities in many developing countries are becoming increasingly vulnerable to the risks posed by extreme weather and climatic events. Climate change-related impacts affect agricultural productivity, weaken water and food security, increase the incidences of diseases, and […]
Making Smallholder Farmers Climate Proof
Training of smallholder farmers by BASF in India (Credit: BASF) An estimated 1.5 billion people directly depend on agriculture for their income with smallholder farmers responsible for almost 80% of all food consumed in the developing world. Agriculture is the biggest industry sector in the world – and one that is highly sensitive to changing […]
Responsibility Does Not Stop at Company Gates
adelphi has been working with private sector actors on climate change adaptation around the world for more than 5 years now. In our projects, which we conduct for various partners, we often observe advances in the field of adaptation that are surprising to development practitioners. For example, for the Private Sector Adaptation to Climate Change […]
Market of Climate Resilience: Protection & Conservation
Members of the Wansari Fishermen’s Association in Indonesia use enviornmentally friendly bamboo pens for crab cultivation in the mangroves (Credit: Kampoeng Kepiting) The tourism sector grows fast, especially in developing countries Tourism is one of the fastest growing industries worldwide. In 2012 alone, 1 billion tourists travelled across borders compared to 25 million in 1950. […]
Market of Climate Resilience: Protection & Conservation
Members of the Wansari Fishermen’s Association in Indonesia use enviornmentally friendly bamboo pens for crab cultivation in the mangroves (Credit: Kampoeng Kepiting) The tourism sector grows fast, especially in developing countries Tourism is one of the fastest growing industries worldwide. In 2012 alone, 1 billion tourists travelled across borders compared to 25 million in 1950. […]
Increasing Climate Resilience of BoP Communities
Since Monday, November 30th, 2015, representatives from over 190 countries gather at the 21st United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris (COP 21) with the imposing goal of developing a legally binding and universal agreement on climate to succeed the Kyoto Protocol. While the agreement to limiting the global temperature increase to less than 2°C […]
The Cross Section of Climate and Food Security
As the U.N. climate talks are underway in Paris, the global spotlight is on how business can offer solutions for addressing climate change. With this in mind, the fertilizer industry is strongly committed to continue reducing its greenhouse gas emissions. Fertilizer related GHG emissions can be substantially mitigated as a result of enhancing crop intensity […]
Local Content Regulations: Lessons Learned
Local content regulations are likely to remain firmly in place across the continent, as governments struggle to find an answer to their demographic challenges. Year-by-year, Africa’s oil producing club is becoming less exclusive, as discoveries in the Gulf of Guinea, the Horn of Africa and the Indian Ocean excite investors. However, in development circles these […]
Unlocking Social Impact with the Power of Creativity
Q&A with Tamara Christensen, Design Thinking Expert The Social Innovation Summit convenes leading thinkers and doers in the social impact space. Their last convening took place on November 18th and 19th in Silicon Valley, California. We stopped Tamara Christensen at a recent event to ask her how she helps brands, businesses and nonprofits get creative […]
Five Steps to Family-friendly Holidays
Unicef UK Whether it’s keeping cranky toddlers busy or trying to impress moody teens, sometimes travelling with children can be tough. That’s why an increasing number of companies are offering child-friendly holidays – where kids’ pools, outdoor activities and baby-sitting services offer beleaguered parents the hope of a hassle-free stay. But if we look outside […]
Learning in Sustainable Development Partnerships
There’s no doubt that the development journey that led to the announcement of the Sustainable Development Goals last month in New York was more inclusive and as a result a good number of companies are seeing the opportunities for engagement – in business development terms as much as to meet public relations, CSR or Shared […]
Collaborating on the SDGs: Start Here
With the jetlag from New York just starting to subside, I’d love to share my thoughts on some of the exciting things to emerge from the recent UN General Assembly at which the world’s leaders signed up to a new global development agenda, the Sustainable Development Goals. Getting to this stage has been a long […]
The Most Valuable Organization: A Changemaker Company
In 2014, I argued that the social intrapreneur was a company’s most valuable employee. Social intrapreneurs embodied the spirit of “doing good, doing well” and demonstrated a unique ability to serve corporate bottom lines in a way that simultaneously produced positive impact for society. So how has the “most valuable employee” fared in 2015? It […]
A Global Plan for People, Planet, Prosperity and Peace
Over the past 15 years, the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) have provided a vital framework and focal point for driving progress against poverty and other development challenges faced by the world’s most vulnerable. World leaders are now coming together again to formally adopt the 2030 Agenda, including a new set of Sustainable Development […]
Moving Beyond Aid to Eradicate Extreme Poverty
With the agreement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the world has a unique opportunity to set future development policy for a generation. These goals will stimulate action over the next fifteen years in areas of critical importance for humanity and the planet, and ensure that no one is left behind. This is no longer […]
Business is Ready to Play its Part to Achieve the SDGs
As world leaders come together at the United Nations for the SDG Summit, they will announce their commitment to the new Global Goals for Sustainable Development and set out their ambition for a more peaceful and prosperous world. This is a defining moment for the world community, as we transition from the Millennium Development Goals […]
SDGs Demand Fundamental Shift in Business-NGO Relations
The great and the good of the international development community has descended on New York for the United Nations General Assembly. You might ask, what’s new? It’s an annual pilgrimage after all. Same time. Same place. And mostly the same people. This year is a little different, however. It’s time to say farewell to the […]
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 […]
Rise of the B Corps, and the Revolution they Represent
There is a tangible excitement in the air this week as the international community gathers in New York to usher in the new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – the ambitious new vision for ending poverty and protecting our planet. Beyond the audacious scope of the Goals, something else is happening that is perhaps even more […]