Together for 2025

Impact
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Partnership working; especially co-ordinating & collaborating with folk who have lived experiences of the challenges being addressed.

And especially focused on working with community champions; system catalysts already doing great work or in the ideal position to have their efforts amplified & even scaled by the right kind of partner.

Additionally, don’t start with the problem, begin with appreciative inquiry: be determined to appreciate existing strengths to work with what’s already working well…

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Answer to Question 1:

Businesses should focus on supporting SMEs within their supply chains to integrate positive environmental practices and build their confidence and capability to meet sustainability standards that might otherwise be difficult for them to implement independently. Support to SMEs could include technical assistance to implement sustainable practices such as waste management or energy conservation, training on sustainability compliance, and securing eco-labels/certifications for their products or services. This could also have social and economic benefits, as it can enable SMEs to access other markets that focus on green and inclusive growth.

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A1 – Part 2: In addition to a living wage, companies can also focus on creating safe environments for their employees – decent wages AND decent spaces. For example, on our current evaluation of the Kenya Climate Innovation Center’s SWIFT program – an incubation and acceleration program for waste management companies in Kenya - in addition to asking about number of jobs created and wages with hours worked, we are asking participating companies about the breakdown of jobs by youth and gender; about the presence of sexual harassment policies and trainings; and about the availability, policy and use of personal protective equipment which is critical in the waste collection and management sector.

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  • Elevating the voice and engagement of local communities where companies work or source from
  • Include affected communities in determining their own future and livelihoods and providing the means to actively participate in decision making
  • Leverage local input and feedback to determine what actions will and will not work in improving the environmental and social situations in their communities
  • Pact is developing a groundbreaking initiative aimed at enhancing sustainable land-based supply chains. Our framework, which includes an innovative tool and process, is designed to: Foster collaboration between corporations and Indigenous peoples and affected local communities; Streamline ESG-related data management and processes for improved social and environmental performance.
    • Through our ESG Framework, we help companies build supply chain resilience, engage meaningfully with affected communities, and efficiently identify and manage risk factors and opportunities that foster shared value and long-term resilience.
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Our second question today:

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What are the most significant challenges the social impact community will likely face in 2025, and how could we approach them?

The biggest challenge is global economic uncertainty, which leads to funding constraints on the social impact community. With decreasing budgets for philanthropy, corporate social responsibility (CSR), and public sector funding, the funding that organisations receive might be reduced. This is particularly the case of un-earmarked donations and long-term funding.

To address this challenge, organisations need to diversify funding sources by seeking a mixture of high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs), corporate partnerships, foundations, and impact investors as well as innovative financing models like social bonds and pay-for-performance models.
The reality is that unrestricted funding is the north star for organisations. However, much advocacy is needed. Donors need to be educated about the importance of flexible funding in building long-term organisational capacity and resilience.

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• Conflict, climate disasters, food security issues (famine)
• New USG Admin will most likely pull large amounts of funding which support civic action movements, civil society remove, protection of human rights/dignity, social protections
• Backsliding by larger corporates and MNCs on ESG commitments (at least US-based ones) or greater instance of greenhushing whereby they continue with their ESG initiatives but do not declare/announce it externally such that others will not adopt sustainability measures and metrics.
• Confusion brought on by the dynamic nature of sustainability reporting, the multiple frameworks out there, the lack of standardized metrics, and the large number of data points that corporations must report on. But this should not result in decision paralysis by businesses, but rather start with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and their universal standards (broken down by sector and topic).

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b) Get involved in landscape level alliances that enable sustainable, climate-resilient agriculture and restore biodiversity.

Example
Practical Action is leading a consortium working in areas of high biodiversity in the Andes Amazon in Peru and Ecuador, which are also important coffee and cocoa growing regions, as well as home to many indigenous people who rely on agriculture. Partners are working with coffee, cocoa and indigenous famers to support moves to more regenerative and climate resilient farming practices supported both through strong markets with international buyers and carbon finance based on increased agroforestry and carbon sequestration.

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A1: What priorities or actions should businesses focus on in 2025 to maximize their social and environmental impact?

Keep focused on the long term and resist the tyranny of quarterly numbers and political crises du jour. No matter what happens commercially or politically, your north star needs to remain shared value. What’s good for people and planet ultimately are good for your business.

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Q1: 1. What priorities or actions should businesses focus on in 2025 to maximize their social and environmental impact? Paying a living wage, keeping and expanding on DEI and environmental commitments, and partnering with NGOs and the social sector.

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Collaboration is huge, and it’s critical to make sure we’re creating space for genuine collaboration with communities and producers. It’s very easy to have “collaboration” that doesn’t really open opportunities for last mile producers to influence outcomes. We certainly have some tools and resources we use for ensuring that we are adapting based on what we’re hearing, and I’d love to know if you have any specific approaches you use for that

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Claire, In response to your first point I have to say that I really celebrated the launch of the AIM Progress HREDD Toolkit (see this link Converged HREDD assessment tool - AIM-Progress to help guide that interdependent approach that you correctly call for.

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  1. What are the most significant challenges the social impact community will likely face in 2025, and how could we approach them?

ODA Reductions and Funding Constraints

Aid cuts remain a looming threat in the United States starting in 2025, while Official Development Assistance (ODA) reductions have already become a reality across Europe. The European Union has drawn significant attention with its plan to redirect funds away from the least-developed countries, resulting in a $2 billion reduction in its aid budget. Similarly, countries such as the United Kingdom, France, Sweden, the Netherlands, and Germany have implemented cuts, scaling back future aid commitments. These reductions create gaps in funding for critical programs, particularly in fragile and low-income regions.

Compounding this challenge, donor-imposed overhead caps continue to strain NGOs and social impact enterprises, limiting their operational flexibility and capacity for impact. These constraints make it difficult to cover essential costs, including program management, monitoring, and staff development—undermining long-term sustainability.

Businesses, however, are well-positioned to help bridge this funding gap through strategic partnerships and innovative financing models. Collaborative initiatives, such as the Resilience Fund co-created with Business Fights Poverty, demonstrate the power of pooling resources to enhance impact and improve financial resilience. Businesses, corporate partners, and impact investors can further strengthen global development efforts by leveraging philanthropy-focused strategies, accelerating funding timelines through fast-track mechanisms, and deploying pre-designed interventions to ensure resources reach communities quickly and effectively.

Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Amid ongoing debates, it is critical for businesses to uphold their commitments to diversity, equity, and inclusion. Inclusive initiatives are not only key drivers of social impact but also essential for economic and business success. Research consistently shows that diverse teams and inclusive strategies foster innovation, enhance markets, and improve overall financial performance. Moreover, advancing gender equity and inclusion has far-reaching benefits, driving economic growth and strengthening global supply chains.

Businesses have a unique opportunity—and responsibility—to sustain progress in this area. Now is not the time to scale back; instead, it is the time to double down on inclusive practices that enable broader participation in the economy and create equitable opportunities for all. By maintaining a focus on inclusion, businesses position themselves to thrive in a competitive global market while contributing meaningfully to a more equitable and prosperous future.

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What are the most significant challenges the social impact community will likely face in 2025, and how could we approach them?

External political context may lead to some companies turning away from taking serious action for people and planet and a reduction in the ‘norms’ that this is a part of business responsibility.

Alliances that involve a range of partners will be even more important and our best chance of systems level transformation. One of the most influential that Practical Action has been involved in is a decade long collaboration through the Zurich Flood Resilience Alliance. The combined influence of the Alliance’ members community programmes and NGO and corporate networks and advocacy have beneficially impacted 3.14 million people vulnerable to flooding and influenced an additional USD1.26 billion of funding towards building flood resilience.

The Alliance has now become the Climate Resilience Alliance taking the learning on addressing flooding to other climate impacts including heat and wildfires. Together we will address system-level barriers that constrain resilience-building, to deliver impact at scale and unlock new pathways to transformative change

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2025 and the next few years is a complex year that will need intentional and compassionate leadership currently the world seem to be devoid. However as an SDG2030 advocate for the UN, I am hopeful, here are the next suggestions for an equitable and fair planet.

To maximize their social and environmental impact, businesses should focus

  1. Integrating the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into their core strategy, ensuring that their operations and supply chains align with the goals of reducing poverty, inequality, and environmental degradation.

  2. Investing in climate resilience and adaptation, prioritizing renewable energy, sustainable infrastructure, and climate-smart agriculture to mitigate the impacts of climate change. (NC is one of the states that is agro business driven and we have the capacity to do so)

  3. Promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion, fostering inclusive workplaces, supply chains, and communities that value and empower marginalized groups. ( I have been a DEI site manager for IBM and this pains me to see that there is no intentionality behind it.)

4.Embracing circular economy practices, designing products and services that minimize waste, and promote sustainable consumption patterns.
5 Strengthening partnerships and collaborations, working with governments, NGOs, and communities to leverage resources, expertise, and knowledge to drive systemic change.

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I really like the examples you’ve shared Judith! We’re often looking for examples of community co-design and ownership which deliver multiple outcomes across environmental, social and economic areas. These sound like excellent initiatives - are they all projects you’re involved in?

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That’s terrific! What we find is that businesses have an important impact on displaced communities with these intentional actions but also benefit from them, which also then supports positive narrative and policy changes as well.

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Answer to Question 2:

The social impact community must grapple with how to leverage AI for greater efficiency, scale and impact; whilst also ensuring that they don’t exacerbate the existing digital divide for groups who are less digitally included, such as women. Gender gaps are also higher among those who are the most underserved, including those with low literacy, low incomes, who live in a rural area or who have a disability (About us - Women in the Digital Economy Fund).

These challenges can be addressed by building a deeper understanding of these challenges, and designing targeted interventions that are developed in collaboration with affected communities.

The Cherie Blair Foundation for Women is shortly launching a report on the challenges that women face engaging online. In March, for International Women’s Day, we will release our 2024 annual report with partners Intuit and World Bank’s Women, Business and the Law team, which highlights key considerations for the social impact community in closing the gender digital divide. Key insights include:
• Women have identified online safety as one of the key barriers to digital inclusion.
• Experiences with technology facilitated gender-based violence are extremely common while doing business online.
• A considerable amount of women feel uncomfortable interacting with male customers or suppliers due to safety concerns.
• Women adjust their online behaviour and usage of online tools to protect their safety at the expense of market share and market access.

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What are the most significant challenges the social impact community will likely face in 2025, and how could we approach them?

The biggest challenge is global economic uncertainty, which leads to funding constraints on the social impact community. With decreasing budgets for philanthropy, corporate social responsibility (CSR), and public sector funding, the funding that organisations receive might be reduced. This is particularly the case of un-earmarked donations and long-term funding.

To address this challenge, organisations need to diversify funding sources by seeking a mixture of high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs), corporate partnerships, foundations, and impact investors as well as innovative financing models like social bonds and pay-for-performance models.
The reality is that unrestricted funding is the north star for organisations. However, much advocacy is needed. Donors need to be educated about the importance of flexible funding in building long-term organisational capacity and resilience.

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Climate change and how it will affect the rural and most vulnerable communities