Reflecting about incremental and systemic change, the importance of both of these changes and how to connect them to one another.
Recognising that the same methods and practices of our current system are not always going to be effective in the new system we’re hoping to build - we need to think creatively and design new was of working - as individuals, organisations, and society.
Lastly, also moving away from the perception that we can solve any of the issues ahead of us as individual entities (either as individuals, organisations, or even nations). Part of our challenge is to recognise that we’re all interconnected and interdependent, and as such, designing solutions will require increased and radical collaboration.
Hi everyone, my name is James Militzer, I’m the managing editor of NextBillion.net, a website that covers business in emerging markets, including social enterprise. Glad to be here for this conversation, thanks to BFP for organizing!
Broad consensus that more needs to be done on both climate mitigation and adaptation, especially in our food systems–but there are different visions of what that means. In meeting with leaders from food-and-beverage companies, for example, we hear a desire to quickly scale-up the approaches we know work in regenerative agriculture and at other points across the value chain. But other stakeholders emphasize the need for more research, data-gathering, and identification of new solutions.
In reality, we need to do all of this at the same time. The challenge is designing partnerships and initiatives that simultaneously deliver real-world impact at scale and meaningfully advance our understanding of climate change and its solutions.
How to embed climate consideration in nutrition, sanitation and agriculture projects with different theory of change, needs, geographies?
How to implement sustainability policy and plans with global team to bring behavior change to achieve net zero?
How to introduce digital tools and systems into field implementation with country teams
How to build scalable business models to bring smallholder farmers to access voluntary carbon markets to incentivize their regenarative agriculture practices
What are the right business model to scale renewable energy and plastic/ e-waste recycling enterprenuers?
Q1An effective, inclusive and accountable United Nations is indispensable to business. A successful SOTF outcome is in the private sector’s interest, no doubt about that. Yet so many challenges are stressing, straining and raising the uncomfortable and distracting question: Are multilateral institutions, notably the UN, fit for purpose in today’s and tomorrow’s world? And what do we need to do with governments, UN officials and other stakeholders to drive that positive and essential evolution? Those are not intended as rhetorical questions, they are bottom line.
The political polarization in so many spaces and associated mistrust is leading to perverse reactions. Emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence, supercomputing and carbon capture and storage, which can offer real impactive solutions when used appropriately, are being met with suspicion and overregulation.
Business, although recognized as a “major group” in the UN, and leaning in on so many fronts to find and deploy sustainability and drive shared prosperity, is in some settings regarded as predominantly unhelpful and with negative motives. At a moment when the UN should be crowding in business resources, capabilities, scaling potential and partnership, the signals continue to be mixed.
So the primary challenge we face is to get the UN to a more effective, inclusive and relevant operation, that draws on and engages all societal partners, not instead of governments, but alongside and as a resource to governments and the international community.
A1 (Part 2): Growing legislative requirements – HREDD, Deforestation, Sustainability Claims
In the past year we have seen a global rise in legislation requiring corporate social responsibility both for the protection of our environment and of people within businesses’ own operations and supply chains. At Fairtrade, we believe these new regulations can be groundbreaking in advancing human rights and fighting the adverse effects of climate change. But this is only if companies carry out their mandate fairly. Fairness does not come automatically, and we see this as a key challenge in the coming year.
As businesses work to build a deeper understanding of risks across their supply chains and set out strategies on how to address salient risks, its imperative to keep open dialogue with rightsholders, prioritize continuous improvement, and embed fair cost sharing. Otherwise, we risk leaving undue burden on vulnerable sourcing partners.
Fairtrade is committed to contributing to greater transparency and although not required by law, has published its first due diligence report. It is in close collaboration with producers and businesses that sustainability legislation will be effective.
A1: From my role as a climate advisor for a child-focused development organization (ChildFund), the key challenges we face for 2024 revolve around how the world is rapidly changing for children in the context of an increasingly warming world due to systems that for decades have advanced inequalities, injustices, and exploitation of human and natural resources. These structures facilitate colonialism, and extraction mindsets, and harm the most vulnerable: children. These systems have been built to value profits at any cost, rendering people and nature disposable, and will be difficult to address amid the current global economic crisis. Meanwhile, climate variability will impact not only the safety and security of children and youth but also their physical and mental health. Climate injustice will increasingly oppress the people who contribute to it the least and conflict over natural resources will continue to rise.
Thanks so much for sharing, Alison. I’ve saved your report. You can also check out information related to BRAC’s Adaptation Clinics which are addressing some of the challenges being faced by rural farmers here.
A1: This is Lorraine, the Founder and Executive Director of Na’amal.
The conflicts that are happening in the world- Gaza, Sudan and the wider Middle East, Ukraine, Myanmar- just to name a few (https://www.crisisgroup.org/global/10-conflicts-watch-2024) is perhaps the most significant challenge facing many of us in 2024.
2024 began with the cancellation of New Years celebrations in much of the Middle East. I am sure that like me, many of you get little sleep as we watch the devastation and quite honestly the genocide in Gaza. We are confronted by the fact that many “Western” governments, in their equivocal support for Israel, are now blatantly saying that brown and black lives matter less.
Na’amal (www.naamal.org), the organisation that I founded, focuses on providing access to digital livelihoods and online work to displaced people and underrepresented communities. For our work to have impact, certain conditions are necessary. The most important of these is stability, security and long term perspective among participants, that they are able to sustain a stable life. In the current global context, where conflicts are only intensifying, placing people in situations that they are not able to even contemplate a job, the work that Na’amal does is not possible.
What this means for our work is that perhaps we need to begin advocating for systemic and political changes instead of frankly the band-aid solutions that many development programmes currently offer.
A1 Part 2: So, in short: 4 key challenges for ChildFund are 1: Climate variability and its effects on children and youth safety, 2: Climate injustice, 3: Improving ecosystems and upholding child rights together. 4: Children’s mental health and wellbeing due to the climate uncertain future.
A1. Really focusing on the challenges at global and local levels. Economic and Social Instability globally - really impacting safety, cost of living, inflation, supply chains as well as voice and agency. ( In no particular order). Also aware that elections will be taking place through 2024 across the world.
Also really aware of social norms
2. Social Norms, bias and social norms are continuing to hold Women (Entrepreneurs) back
Women entrepreneurs continue to tell us they have directly experienced gender stereotypes. In our 2022 annual survey over half of the women entrepreneurs surveyed (56%) said that social approval or disapproval of different careers played a role in their choice of career.
70% surveyed said that gender stereotypes have negatively affected their work as an entrepreneur. And more than six in ten believe gender stereotypes impact their business growth and almost half say they affect profitability
A1: I focus on agricultural partnerships at Save the Children. 70% of child labor occurs in agricultural settings worldwide. Climate change is exacerbating that problem - a recent International Labor Organisation report highlights this issue.
Other concerns: impact on children of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza; pushback against ESG by some U.S. elected officials
Just to build on this, from @janepillinger - Political instability this year is definitely a big challenge, alongside the potential vacuum in moral leadership. In many of the big issues, the global north needs to focus on action and implementation, after so many commitments have been made, to show real practical action and investment (huge amount of financing is needed on climate, nature and people), while also ensuring the Global South can take ownership of solutions.
A1. The BodaBoda Safety Association of Kenya (B.A.K) is a dynamic organization with 1.4 million registered members, predominantly comprising 1.2 million individuals aged 18-35. Functioning as a collective of small business owners, B.A.K is actively addressing critical challenges in Kenya. First and foremost, the association is championing the fight against climate change by promoting the widespread adoption of electric vehicles within its membership. This initiative aligns with global sustainability goals and contributes to environmental conservation. Additionally, B.A.K is dedicated to tackling the issue of unemployment by fostering job creation opportunities within the booming BodaBoda sector. Moreover, the association is empowering its members economically by facilitating access to credit facilities, thus enhancing their financial mobility and furthering their entrepreneurial endeavors. Through these multifaceted efforts, B.A.K is making significant strides in promoting sustainability, employment, and economic prosperity among its diverse and burgeoning membership base
A1 (Part 3): Cost of living crisis and inflation – the producer perspective
The post-pandemic cost of living crisis looks as if there is no end in sight and with growing conflict, including the war in Gaza and Ukraine, at Fairtrade we are deeply concerned about the impact of inflation on producers and farmers. In 2024, wages are failing to keep up with inflation leaving both workers and producers with an uncertain future.
Bringing this challenge to life, recent Fairtrade data shows the cost of growing and exporting bananas has risen significantly since 2021, with fertilisers up by 70 percent, fuel up by 39 percent, and pallets and plastic packaging up by more than 20 percent. The cost-of-living crisis is not solely affecting countries like the UK and the US and we must create solutions that address adverse impacts worldwide. As an absolute minimum, this means ensuring wages stay in pace with inflation.
Hi! A lot of these issues resonate for what we’re looking at, at BRAC. In particular, I’d be curious to see what you’ve learned related to helping smallholder farmers access voluntary carbon markets.
Hi all. Harriet Gardner, joining from Tides in the US. Working with companies on their grantmaking, social impact strategy, and connecting to grassroots organizations to shift power.
In answer to what are the key challenges you are facing for 2024?
Consequential elections in several parts of the world this year are pulling on attention and resources and in some places heightening polarization around key issues.
Escalating conflict in the middle east presents urgent humanitarian need, longer term migration and displacement and polarization
Economic turbulence and uncertainty.
All of the above risk a corporate - and other funder - retreat from critical issues that we are all working to address - poverty, racial justice, climate action at a time when we need greater commitment, investment, innovation and learning/sharing.
As a society, we face several challenges in 2024. How will individuals, businesses and governments respond to 1.) recent disturbing trends in climate change (e.g. 2023 was the hottest year in recorded history) ; 2.) youth unemployment and/or the lack of high-quality jobs in the context of widespread AI adoption and 3.) the largest increase in refugees since the founding of UNHCR.
A1: Simon Stumpf here, Planet & Climate co-lead for Ashoka. We at Ashoka believe that a key challenge WE ALL FACE in 2024 is the increasing need for everyone to prioritize and practice changemaking skills, such as empathy, teamwork, and leadership. With the increasing impact of climate change, threats to democracy, and AI and other technological advancements, it’s crucial for people to navigate challenges with changemaker energy and view them as opportunities for positive change. Our shared goal must be to ensure that individuals, whether at home, in the workplace, or in leadership roles, actively engage in changemaking rather than being immobilized by the complex issues of our time.