A3 Part a SAI Platform Regenerative Agriculture Working Group
This team’s pioneering efforts will be exposed and open to engagement for all SAI Platform members in 2024. Although I am yet to get fully up to speed with the work that they have done, their achievements inspire me!
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I love it! Agree with it 100%! 
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A3:
A good example of this is Changemaker Companies, a social innovation lab incepted by Ashoka. Together with our business partners and Ashoka Fellows, we are on a mission to create a business culture where creating positive societal impact through business and changemaking are the new norm. Our engagement model is based on partnerships: we connect businesses to selected leading social entrepreneurs in their fields of work to trigger innovation, reflection and employee engagement. We also connect partner companies who share their journeys towards sustainability and their “How To’s”. You can see an example of this through Making More Health, a platform to improve access to healthcare born from a partnership between Ashoka and Boehringer Ingelheim that has supported over 120 social entrepreneurs in the healthcare and environmental sectors.
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A3: Shared ImPACT – long term commitments and combined investment
At Fairtrade, we believe through long-term commitments and closer relationships between producers, traders, and retailers, the food trade system can be fair and sustainable. As part of our efforts to deepen the impact of our model, we have launched an initiative built on the foundation of partnership.
Our new Shared ImPACT model enables participating UK retailers to source additional Fairtrade banana, coffee, or cocoa volumes from certified Fairtrade producer groups, on top of their existing Fairtrade sourcing commitments using a focused and joint approach which has been assessed the CMA under its Green Agreements Guidance open-door policy to ‘unlikely to raise competition concerns.’ Through retailer collaboration, we believe Shared ImPACT can increase the amount of Fairtrade Premium for workers and farmers, advance sustainability goals, and share the burden of supply chain risk management.
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A3 b : IDH & LICOP Living Incomes Community of Practice and the work that has gone into “Handbook on Due Diligence for Enabling Living Income and Living Wages in Agriculture, Garment and Footwear Supply Chains.” Prepared by the Responsible Business Coalition of the OECD are potential breakthrough moments.
A3: Participatory Ownership.
My name is Tiara Letourneau, and I’m the CEO of Rewrite Capital Advisors. We advocate for employee ownership in Canada, and are connected to countries around the world who are working to implement legislation for equitable employee ownership too.
Businesses that transition to employee ownership build trust, collaboration, and create a sense of empowerment among employees. Instead of being an order-taker, employees realize their contribution matters, and so does that of everyone around them. Being co-owners fosters an environment where everyone values the contribution of the people around them, embraces differences, and works collaboratively towards better outcomes. It also builds wealth for the lowest income workers through the success of the company. It is literally using the engine of the business to reduce poverty.
The world of business still doesn’t know about it - and it’s a race to get the word out.
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A3 One way of many is to develop local partnerships. Both Waitrose in the UK and Eroski in the JLP has developed local suppliers. On the other hand, Equal Exchange has developed suppliers from coops in Central and South America, Africa, and Asia. So, there is no one way to develop partnerships.
A3:
The Power of Nutrition’s model is all about partnerships – we convene unlikely partners from a range of sectors, to scale and deepen impact. Partnerships like these however can often not prioritise the most important actor in development work – local communities.
A good example of how we’re prioritising a local approach is our Access Initiative in Ethiopia and Liberia. The Initiative works with any nutrition programme, and puts local communities at the heart of decision making for how they can be improved and made more effective. We’re using simple surveys to assess barriers to nutrition services and the data is being used to create community centred action plans to address these barriers. Product Access Initiative: Irish Aid and The Power of Nutrition partner to tackle Severe Wasting - The Power of Nutrition. Too often, programmes are developed with a focus on supply and without local knowledge in mind – the Access Initiative aims to reverse this.
With GAVI and Unilever we are focusing on multisectoral partnership across WASH+Nutrition+Immunization in Indonesia based on our existing partnership with Unilever and Cargill in India Gavi, Unilever Lifebuoy and The Power of Nutrition join forces in tripartite immunisation, handwashing and nutrition programme to tackle preventable diseases - The Power of Nutrition
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Q3. Partnerships with universities to expand research on the impact of DV globally and consequences related to development.
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Climate change effects on business (for example in the hospitality, construction, agriculture sector
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Recognizing What are the businesses that performs well and what we can learn from them ( for example here in Rwanda the youth have a hunger to succeed and they are becoming more and more entrepreneurial with that they need more guidance and resources to also make a long lasting impact.)
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Recognizing opportunities through inclusion. (youth , women)
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In regards to development organizations it can be done by ensuring that the whole team understand the topic on sustainability and climate change and why it is important not just to the organization but also individually.
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A3 c Connect Free-Thinkers with Structured-Implementers
Be open-minded to novel and agile partnerships – embrace the “Gig economy” to drive corporate agendas.
A3: PARTNERSHIP WITH RESEARCHERS AND DATA SPECIALISTS
When companies do not have the in-house knowledge on critical issues such as gender, climate change, and impact measurement, that can be a time to turn to partnerships to fill in the technical capability gaps.
For example, partnerships with researchers and data specialists can help companies find innovative solutions to the most pressing challenges – there is so much unused data that companies are sitting on with no resources to learn in real-time. So many of the solutions are already out there, especially around climate adaptation and mitigation through indigenous communities, but we are ignoring them because there is no time to learn and reflect. Partnerships can help with these challenges.
A3. Mixed bag of needs and best practice to have most (sustainable) impacts. Multi- Sector Partnerships with Multi Year Agreements for more strategic ambition and impact. We’ve seen success when we recognise the expertise that others bring to enable inclusive innovations, designs and delivery. Critical to keep local needs and voices active throughout the partnership lifecycle too!
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A 2 : Also a shift towards sustainable, climate resilient, healthy diets would help reduce health and climate change costs by up to US$ 1.3 trillion, while supporting food security in the face of climate change. The I-CAN initiative of GAIN and partners lays an action path for effecting this critical shift. I-CAN initiative report is here - Initiative on climate action and nutrition (I-CAN)
A3: Partnerships
Specifically focusing on food and agriculture companies - do more at the local level where they source commodities, such as continuing and expanding their work with farming cooperatives (not all crops lend themselves to this, but many do)/ Partner with anti-trafficking and migrant support groups to advocate against highly problematic child labor policies here in the U.S., where ten states have already or are proposing to weaken child labor protections in agriculture (horrifying but true). Glad to say some companies are starting to do this and it will make a difference - local/state governments will pay attention to big employers.
Create a sense of partnership among employees by informing and connecting them to good work the company is already doing to promote ESG. Companies need to keep a hybrid and multi-generation workforce motivated and feeling a sense of purpose, and there is also a multiplier effect when employees become informed advocates for change.
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In regards to business inclusivity through decent work, below is an article I wrote that I find insightful.
The Economic Impact of Decent Work: A Holistic Approach to Human Welfare, Disposable Income, and Mental Health
In recent years, the notion of “decent work” has gained eminence in discussions surrounding labor and economic policy. A fulfilling career includes more than just having a job; it also includes opportunity for personal growth, safe working conditions, fair remuneration, and job security. This piece explores philosophical economic impact of decent work on human welfare, disposable income, and mental health.
Not only is decent work a matter of economic necessity, but it is also an inherent human right (SDG 8). Workers’ general welfare considerably increases when they have access to equitable employment opportunities. Quality employment ensures access to essential needs such as housing, healthcare, and education, creating a foundation for a dignified life. Moreover, decent work promotes a sense of purpose and fulfillment, contributing to overall life satisfaction. Empirical evidence consistently posits that individuals engaged in meaningful and decent work experience a higher quality of life, reinforcing the idea that work is not just a means of survival but a source of personal and societal well-being.
Decent work is intricately linked to disposable income, which is the money available to an individual or household after deducting taxes and pensions etc. Fair wages and job security provided by decent work contribute to a stable and predictable income stream, allowing individuals to plan, invest in education, and participate in the economy as consumers. As disposable income rises, so does economic prosperity at both the individual and societal levels. Increased consumer spending stimulates economic growth, creating a positive cycle that benefits businesses, communities, and governments alike. Thus, decent work serves as a stimulant for a healthy and sustainable economy.
Arguably one of the most significant aspects of this discussion is the connection between decent work and mental health. Meaningful employment is a powerful determinant of mental well-being. Decent work gives people a feeling of accomplishment, purpose, and social connection, all of which are essential for ensuring mental health. However, low wages, insecure employment, and unstable conditions can exacerbate anxiety and stress.
In a nutshell, the economic effect of decent work extends far beyond the traditional measures of employment and income. It is a linchpin for human welfare, disposable income, and mental health. Governments, businesses, and individuals must recognize the reciprocal connection between decent work and economic prosperity, striving to create environments that prioritize the well-being of the workforce.
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Would love to connect; have sent a LI invite; A World in Crisis: Why Corporations Must Champion Peacebuilding — ConnexUs
A3.
We know now that unless we act together and break any structural or perceived silos, a sustaianble, gender-equal, climate-resilient world will be impossible. There have been several examples of where business has come in and deepened impact, the off gird, renewable energy growth and access transformation being one. At SHF, we are keen to apply similar market-based approaches to sanitation, hygiene and menstrual health so with the public sector working to create a suitable enabling environment, the private sector bringing in the expertise, technology, and supply chains and funds like SHF incentivizing and driving this public-private collaboration through innovative financing, we can deleiver life-changing access to sanitation, hygiene and menstrual health for all. Consult this article on menstrual health and the market potential it holds - Investment in Menstrual Health, a win-win-win for women, economies and the environment | SHFund. Coming together to scale up solutions that could meet the needs of almost a quarter of the world’s population - even today 1 in 4 women and girls worldwide struggles to manage their menstruation safely and with dignity - does seem to be a powerful way to deepen impact through effective public and private partnerships.
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A3: Over 2 billion people work in smallholder agriculture—2/3 of the global poor. Achieving impact at the necessary scale is going to require signficantly more partnerships. Partnerships with others to replicate our model of credit-and-capacity building for agricultural businesses. Partnerships with capital mobilizers to increase investment in rural communities. And (most critically) partnership with agricultural businesses as proven distribution models, local leaders, and generators of sustainable change.
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Rob - loving all of your suggestions here and earlier!