A1:
There are many challenges today that concern me:
I am concerned about the rise of the far right across Europe in particular and what this means for equality and diversity initiatives, programmes on violence against women, LGBTI+ rights, growing levels of racism, anti-semitism, sexism, poverty and insecurity, etc.
Aside from this, the main focus of my work is on how we can get companies and employers to take the issues of violence and harassment seriously and particularly to address some of the significant challenges that arise from digitalisation.
Hi all. I’m Kindra Halvorson with TechnoServe. I’ve been working for 20 years on private sector solutions to social challenges with a particular focus on food systems for the last two years.
trying to understand whether our business model is fit for the current context and the future we’re facing
Transforming Stakeholder Interest to Commitment, and Commitment to Action
As the economic situation continues to be uncertain and geopolitical instability creates multiple waves of concern, the willingness to commit to concrete action is becoming increasingly difficult.
A1 Proforest works with companies, governments and communities on the transition to responsible production and sourcing of agricultural commodities.
A key challenge we see is building broad-based sectoral transformation through collaboration. We continue to work with companies who are taking responsibility for their own supply chains, but we need to build a sense of responsibility to transform entire sectors (e.g. sugar or soy sector). And this needs to include large and small companies, but that also means having the right mechanisms, incentives etc. There is a risk that regulation (e.g. EUDR) and come climate approaches push companies back to focusing on ‘cleaning’ only their own supply chains. We know that is not enough.
I’m interested in how we can develop more knowledge about how we can engage around women’s / gendered effects of climate change, and the gendered effects of climate induced migration.
Hi Ashley
I agree we have just listened to women in cotton communities (in India, Bangladesh and Pakistan) about the impact of climate change. We are seeing considerable impacts. Here is our report
A1 - A host of challenges:
• Rapid rise in cost of living for employees requiring adjustments in the living wage. The impact of inflation tends to be highest for those with the lowest incomes. Increased living wage leading to some employers backing away from living wage commitments.
• Lack of affordable housing affecting labour supply.
• Connecting with diverse populations for employment.
• Demonstrating the benefits of inclusive business practices in a tightening economy.
• Ending of pandemic related social benefits for businesses and workers causing stress on both.
• Growing social and economic inequality eroding trust and social cohesion.
• Social and economic stress producing mental and physical health effects for workers, consumers and communities. Lingering effect of pandemic.
• Global political and economic uncertainty and growing populist movements that threaten progress on ESG and other aspects of an inclusive business agenda.
• Growing backlash against inclusive strategies (DEI, ESG …) fueled by disinformation.
A1: For me, the best challenge is also the biggest opportunity: to find ways for people who disagree with each other on social and political issues to find common ground, not in terms of compromise per se, but in terms of the underlying values of being human.
A1 Another key challenge is to make sure solutions are locally relevant, but also locally owned and driven. A lot of global food systems thinking is being driven by the Global North, and we need everyone, also for the huge finance and investment required, but there must be a transition of ownership if we are going to be able to accelerate action and scale. What we have seen over almost 25 years working on the ground (we have built teams and expertise in Latin America, Africa and Southeast Asia, as well as Europe) is progress is faster and more sustainable when actions are locally driven. The Africa Sustainable Commodities Initiative (ASCI) is a good example of this.
A1 (Part 1): Climate Change and The Need for Adaptation
We see a growing recognition that our current economic system must adapt to protect our planet – especially if we still want to see our favourite foods on the selves such as chocolate, coffee, and bananas (Endangered Aisle, 2023).
However, the solutions we bring to the table must be made in collaboration with the people who grow our food. Millions of producers worldwide are on the frontline of the climate emergency. They are among those who have contributed the least to the climate crisis, but are feeling its worst effects – including ever-growing threats to their livelihoods. At Fairtrade, we continue to stress that adaption cannot be required without the necessary support such as ensuring funding reaches the world’s poorest farmers and paying a fair price to meet the costs associated with climate resilient farming.
A1: Helping investors and their stakeholders understand how capital markets can be reformed (and the incentive to do so) to reduce contributions to inequality. This is the essence of what predistribution means – fixing the cycles of production and wealth creation in the first place so that workers and communities don’t have to be dependent on redistribution and debt.
Hi Everyone. My name is Rudo Makoni and I serve as an economic inclusion researcher for the Canadian Poverty Institute and project coordinator for the Fair Access to Insurance Roundtable and the New Economy Roundtablehttps://www.povertyinstitute.ca/new-economy-roundtable
I’m an eminent economist with a passion for unraveling the intricate workings of economic systems. She holds both a Master of Science and a Bachelor of Science in Economics from the University of Zimbabwe
A1:
Resourcing gap between what is needed and what is available.
Overstretch ODA budgets – a small pot of money that is being asked to do more
Debt pushing a growing number of LMIC economies into crisis
The climate emergency and the proximity of major tipping points
Cracks in the multilateral system look set to worsen and increasing geopolitical tensions
From a Climate Change perspective 2024 will be challenging in terms of taking the outcomes of COP28 forward, particularly from ensuring that the next set of NDCs really do deliver on a 1.5 pathway. That is going to require a host of inputs from Stakeholders across the board - including Business.
Hi everyone. I am Alok Ranjan, Director of Programmes & Investments at The Power of Nutrition.
Answer to Q1.
Such stark challenges force the sector to work in new ways. Our mandate to maximise resources in nutrition remains the same, but we’re looking at new ways to scale impact.
A1:
Britain today is a deeply unfair society, where the social contract of the mid-20th century has broken down:
Unfairness is not only morally wrong; it is also undermining economic growth, damaging our democracy and society, and contributing to environmental destruction. Research from both the IMF and the OECD shows that increasing income inequality has a negative impact on economic growth (as well as reducing social mobility).
A huge part of the stakeholder engagement and collaboration needed is this human element.
We also believe that we need to be multi commodity - as we see cotton grown in the same areas as sugar, soya, wheat etc