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While the human and environmental costs of climate change play out before our eyes — from a devastating wildfire season on the U.S. West Coast to severe storms brewing in the Atlantic — an alarming new report makes the future economic costs all the more clear. If climate change goes unchecked in a business-as-usual scenario, global GDP growth will fall by 10 percent by 2050, and the mean damage costs of climate change will reach $5.4 trillion annually by 2070. But if global temperature rise is capped at 2 degrees Celsius in alignment with the Paris climate agreement, GDP growth rates will remain unchanged and annual damage costs will fall by more than $3 trillion, according to research from CDP and University College London. 

Meeting the goals of the Paris agreement to prevent the worst impacts of climate change will require the work of both the public and private sectors. To date, nearly 1,000 companies are taking some science-based action. Among them, 467 companies have joined the Science-Based Target Initiative (SBTi), certifying their goals as being in line with the Paris agreement, a crucial first step to ensure that targets are measurable and effective. 

Going beyond direct emissions is crucial to tackle climate change

To make a real impact on mitigating climate change, companies must look beyond their operations and purchased electricity and begin to analyze their supply chain emissions, say groups such as SBTi. Scope 3 emissions refer to indirect upstream and downstream emissions that occur in the corporate value chain, excluding indirect emissions associated with power generation (Scope 2) and direct operational emissions (Scope 1). Setting a science-based Scope 3 target enables a company to identify where its biggest emissions originate and how best to tackle them. 

According to the CDP, the organization that tracks corporate action on climate and other environmental indicators, supply chain emissions are 5.5 times more than a company’s direct emissions. That means addressing those can go a long way to tackling overall emissions.

Different sectors in the Scope 3 sights

Every target will need to be based on the needs of each company. A thorough life cycle analysis (LCA) is a necessary first step to determine where in the supply chain is the greatest impact. Many companies are still in the early stages of developing science-based Scope 3 targets, but more and more are in the process.

For example, PepsiCo is one of a handful of beverage companies that report and set a target to reduce Scope 3 emissions by 20 percent by 2030, using a 2015 baseline. The target includes initiatives that address emissions by the farmers from which the company sources ingredients, as well as packaging, distribution and retail. In the retail sector, Target also has a science-based goal on the books, aiming to reduce Scope 3 emissions by 30 percent below 2017 levels by 2030, mainly through partnerships with suppliers of the goods that fill its shelves. 

As illustrated by these examples, the way a company achieves its Scope 3 target is largely determined by industry. For a company such as Kimberly-Clark that produces personal hygiene products, a significant component of the LCA will focus on forests, which are an essential part of the climate solution overall. 

Forests stabilize the global economy and must be managed sustainably to prevent further climate degradation — and they are both a cause of, and a solution for, greenhouse gas emissions: About 25 percent of global emissions come from land use, the second largest source after energy. 

But forests are also a solution. About a third of the emissions released from burning fossil fuels is absorbed every year by forests. Nearly 2 billion hectares of land across the globe has been degraded, equivalent to the land mass of the entire continent of South America. Opportunities exist to restore those lands, and paper companies can make a significant impact. 

Kimberly-Clark targets forest impacts as part of its Scope 3 goals 

Kimberly-Clark, maker of products including Cottonelle and Scott brand bath tissue, is working to account for forest-related emissions as part of its work in Scope 3. Though forest carbon and land use emissions are not yet part of the company's Scope 3 goal, which calls for a 20 percent reduction in value chain emissions by 2030, it intends to augment the target to include forest- and land-related emissions once its LCA is complete, David Chaffin, global responsible materials sourcing lead for Kimberly-Clark, told TriplePundit. 

Significantly, the company intends to directly address impacts by factoring in the forest carbon footprint in its supply chain rather than simply buying offsets, as evidenced by Kimberly-Clark’s existing goal of a 50 percent reduction in natural (Northern) forest fiber by 2025. By addressing how it sources raw materials from boreal and other high-carbon value forests, its target and future intentions carry more weight. 

In addition to being science-based, Scope 3 emissions targets are more effective if done in coordination with external stakeholders — from affected Indigenous communities to NGOs pushing for more stringent targets. Kimberly-Clark has both formal and informal relationships with Greenpeace and the World Wildlife Fund, for example. Acknowledging that fiber sourcing directly impacts forest-dependent communities — many of them Indigenous communities that will be disproportionately affected by climate change and biodiversity loss — the company also aims to work with partners to explore how it can better support these communities’ rights and well-being, Chaffin said. 

“Relationships are critical to ensure our targets are as ambitious as they can be and as scientifically credible and effective as they can be,” he told us. 

For Chaffin, this work is not only essential, but also personal. Spending his formative years visiting the Boundary Waters boreal forest of northern Minnesota left a lasting impact, leading to a career in forest ecology and conservation. He views Kimberly-Clark’s commitment to addressing its climate impacts on forests as a critical component of advancing science and understanding of forests as they relate to climate mitigation. 

“Forests have always been a major part of my personal life,” Chaffin said. “There’s no place I’d rather be than on a lake in a boreal forest. A lot of the work I’m doing is about how to reduce the impact on those ecosystems in particular.” 

Using the latest science and a sophisticated LCA, he believes the company will break new ground. By creating methodologies specific to biogenic carbon science — in other words, analyzing the carbon stored in trees and the carbon paper products re-release into the atmosphere at end of life — “we can get as complete a picture as possible with different fiber and forest types,” he explained. The company’s LCA will run for six to eight months, and the results will inform a baseline for its forest target in early 2021. 

Such knowledge could serve to prove the critical role forests need to play over the next 10 years as part of the decarbonization of the global economy. Scope 1 and 2 emissions were the necessary first steps toward addressing corporate emissions. Scope 3 is where the rubber really hits the road.

This article series is sponsored by Kimberly-Clark and produced by the TriplePundit editorial team.

Image credit: Geran de Klerk/Unsplash

Many companies are at risk of missing their climate goals, and no, this sobering reality isn’t limited to energy companies -  the world’s leading animal protein producers are also falling short. The results have huge implications for the worldwide ESG (environmental, social and governance) movement.

Brands tout sustainability, but their suppliers aren’t helping

According to the Coller FAIRR Protein Producer Index, which bills itself as the only tool that assesses large animal protein companies based on ESG criteria, 60 of the world’s largest meat and dairy producers do not have targets in place to reduce their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

Further, 86 percent of these meat, fish and dairy suppliers have failed to set or failed to disclose their emission targets. In addition, a third of these companies have actually claimed their emissions will increase during 2020.

The result: global brands such as McDonald’s and Nestlé, which have pledged to take on substantial sustainability commitments, could fall short on their long-term ESG goals. In an era during which investors are focused on sustainability, these brands’ animal protein suppliers are putting their customers at financial, reputational and strategic risks due to their poor performance.

Stubborn fact: animal protein production has a massive impact on climate

FAIRR’s underlying message is that if these suppliers want to keep leading food company brands as customers, they need to take a long hard look at their operations.

“If global animal agriculture was a country it would be the second highest emitter of greenhouse gases,” said Jeremy Coller, Founder of the $25 trillion FAIRR network and CIO of Coller Capital, in a public statement. “FAIRR’S data shows three in four global meat and dairy giants are hiding the full extent of their climate emissions or failing to set comprehensive targets to reduce them. Factory farms are undermining both the climate ambitions of high-street brands and the viability of the Paris Agreement.”

The majority of the producers that the FAIRR report analyzed are headquartered in Asia, a region that is driving much of the world’s increased animal protein consumption.

“The Index demonstrates that investors must continue to push for sustainability improvements across the meat and dairy sector as a whole as it is far from optimal,” added Nina Roth, Director of Responsible Investment at BMO Global Asset Management. “In Asia in particular, the majority of industry suppliers are poorly managing risks related to climate change and are failing to prevent future zoonotic diseases like COVID-19. It is imperative that a shift take place to secure the on-going trust of global markets.”

Where do the meat and dairy industries go from here?

The FAIRR report is less about suggestions and solutions and more about how the meat, fish and dairy production sectors are falling short on a wide range of environmental and social factors. The data also serve as a reminder of how investors are evaluating companies in this industry.

Of most concern? The use of antibiotics, the stewardship of which investors gauge when determining how well meat and dairy companies can handle potential pandemic risks. But while FAIRR determined that 70 percent of these companies are ranked as high-risk on the antibiotics front, only one firm that researchers reviewed for this study has evaluated antimicrobial risks for its workforce.

Other risks read like a laundry list of factors that investors are increasingly reviewing when deciding whether companies are a fit for their portfolios: deforestation, waste management, water consumption, working conditions, animal welfare and food safety are challenges on which many of these companies have a lot of work to do, from the FAIRR report’s point of view.

“The COVID pandemic pushed an already under pressure meat and dairy industry to a tipping point, with many investors losing their appetite for the sector unless standards on sustainability are raised,” warned Coller.

Image credit: Sean McGee/Unsplash

There is a natural desire, born of uncertainty and anxiety, to see 2020 as an anomaly: a unique moment in time when an unprecedented global pandemic has forced us to radically alter our daily lives. What’s more, these events have opened another window into the disparities that exist in our communities — from access to health care and education, to racial injustice. 

As an organization whose mission is to change banking for good, Capital One is committed to harnessing our scale to invest in the communities we serve. In 2020, this has meant refocusing our efforts to address issues related to the pandemic — from establishing our remote workforce, to creating a microsite with financial tips and working one-on-one with our customers to find solutions to address the financial hardships they are experiencing as a result of this moment. 

This work has taught us valuable lessons — perhaps most importantly that these hardships, undeniably exacerbated by the pandemic, are not caused by it and will not end with it. As we work to recover from the devastation that has shaken communities across our country in so many ways, we are presented with a remarkable opportunity to rebuild better.  

Never has a moment accentuated the philosophy that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. As the country continues to navigate the myriad challenges brought forth by this pandemic, we continue to evaluate the role that we — and others — can take to rebuild in a way that keeps people safe and healthy and makes our systems more equitable for all. Here are a few of those lessons we’ve learned from the journey thus far:

Listen and engage the community you want to support: Black, Latino and Native Americans are more than 4.5 times more like to be hospitalized due to COVID-19 compared to white Americans, and they lost their jobs at twice the rate of white Americans in the early months of the pandemic. We cannot take a one-size-fits-all approach to recovery from the pandemic. Although we know more must be done to address issues affecting Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC), we can’t simply assume that we have the answers. This is why we work directly with BIPOC organizations like the Black Economic Alliance and the National Urban League to provide support to communities that have faced an outsized impact by the pandemic.

Address tangible concerns: To create change, the communities we want to support must have a seat at the table to ensure the challenges we address and the solutions we offer are the priority. For example, in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, with thousands of restaurants closing and significant unemployment, Erik Bruner-Yang and his initiative, The Power of 10, aimed to transform the restaurant industry to support independently-owned restaurants and uplift communities. Capital One proudly teamed up with The Power of 10, which continues to mobilize resilient restaurateurs, reemploy their staff, support local vendors and serve local neighborhoods. To date, The Power of 10 has delivered over 170,000 meals to frontline healthcare workers, older adults and other people in need. 

Continue to evolve: The experience with the pandemic resulted in a significant demand for flexibility and adaptation.  The needs of our customers and community partners have changed over recent months, and we anticipate this need for flexibility and an openness to evolve and adapt how we tackle challenges over the short and long-term. We announced a series of grants focused on supporting partners who are pivoting their support model to the community in light of COVID-19. This includes partners such as the Greater New Orleans Foundation, leading the repositioning of the post-COVID New Orleans workforce by creating new career pathways and support for displaced hospitality workers, and the Better Housing Coalition in Richmond, Virginia, providing digital access to low-income seniors for digital education and telehealth needs.

The last few months have taught us that although we have faced unprecedented hardship, we must continue to stay resilient by working together to find solutions that are not only innovative, but also   responsive to the evolving needs of our communities. This approach will not only support our personal well-being, but also serve as guiding principles to ensure our nation’s collective recovery is truly equitable, inclusive and empowering for all.

This article series is sponsored by Capital One and produced by the TriplePundit editorial team.

Image credit: Chris Montgomery/Unsplash

(Image: Louisville, Kentucky, scored a spot on CDP's list thanks to broad-sweeping climate action and resilience plans.)

Today CDP released its latest list of “A cities” — cities around the world that are leaders in environmental action. To make the grade, a city must have, among other things, conducted a city-wide emissions inventory, set an emissions reduction target, published a climate action plan, and completed a climate adaptation plan to achieve their goals. Twenty-five of the 88 cities on this year’s list are in the U.S., showing that cities across the country are making ambitious plans to tackle climate change in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic and in opposition to climate policies at the federal level.

A new entrant this year — Louisville, Kentucky — may not be what most people would point to as a sustainability leader, but the city's ambitious climate plans earned it a spot on the list. It’s a critical step to adapt to and mitigate the effects of climate change already being felt in the city.

Louisville and climate change

A study by the Georgia Institute of Technology found that Louisville was the fastest warming urban heat island in the U.S. Several factors have contributed to that, including its geographical location (it sits in the Ohio River Valley, which traps heat and pollutants), increased asphalt cover as the city grows, and reduced tree canopy. Climate models of Kentucky note that its future will be hotter and wetter. 

The city has experienced extensive flooding in recent years, including in 2018, which saw record-breaking rainfall. In between flood events, longer droughts plague the city, increasing demands for water from the Ohio, Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers. Floods and droughts also increase pressure on already-stressed water infrastructure and will likely increase treatment costs for drinking water. 

Heat is compounding the pressure. Historically, Louisville averages six days per year of a heat index over 100 degrees Fahrenheit. That number is projected to increase to 45 days by 2050 and 76 days by 2100. Further, models predict about 10 days of heat indices of over 127 degrees by the end of the century.

Louisville’s plan earns it a spot on the CDP list

Louisville released its Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Plan in April 2020, with a goal to reduce carbon emissions by 80 percent by 2050. About 54 percent of the city’s emissions come from residential and commercial buildings, so a cornerstone of the plan includes new building codes and increased energy efficiency as well as initiatives like solar power systems, all of which are money- and water-savers, as well as job creators. Clean energy is especially critical in a coal-powered state like Kentucky since coal is both a high carbon emitter and a thirsty energy resource. 

The urban heat island effect has intensified in Louisville because of the dramatic decrease in the urban tree canopy. The city’s tree canopy fell from 40 percent in 2004 to 27 percent in 2019. The Sustain Louisville plan includes tree canopy restoration, which is one of the reasons it scored so high with CDP. “By working toward its goal of increasing the city’s tree canopy to 45 percent, the city is not only tackling the effects of climate change, but it is also supporting the health and well-being of local communities," said Katie Walsh, head of cities, states and regions for CDP North America. "Mounting evidence [shows] the link between vulnerability to COVID-19, air quality, and the inequity in tree canopy in historically marginalized communities and communities of color.”

Louisville also released a resilience plan called Prepare Louisville, with particular emphasis on protecting vulnerable populations. Addressing longtime environmental justice concerns is one piece of tackling racial justice overall, something particularly salient in the hometown of Breonna Taylor. Residents in some predominantly African-American and low-income neighborhoods have life expectancies 10 to 12 years shorter than whiter, more affluent areas. The group of neighborhoods in West Louisville in the industrial area known as Rubbertown, for example, has long suffered poor air quality impacts. 

The resilience plan includes efforts to improve stormwater management, reduce impervious cover (important for flood control), and reduce development in flood-prone areas. But it also includes measures to address historical inequities with initiatives such as improved access to energy-efficiency upgrades, creating more green space, and partnering with local nonprofits for more equitable solutions. 

Green in a coal state

The CDP list of cities is an important indicator for not only showcasing the cities with ambitious plans, but also creating a database of initiatives that other cities looking to create their own plans can use as a resource. Louisville’s addition to the list proves that more aggressive climate action and resilience plans are possible in states that have historically relied on coal as both a power source and an economic driver. As renewable energy overtakes coal in cost effectiveness, investors and companies will be increasingly drawn to cities that provide a safe bet. 

The emissions reductions and equity goals in Louisville’s plans are a good start to a bright future for the city and its residents. Both the public and private sectors will need to be inclusive and diverse in their decision making and implementation to ensure success. With any luck, the momentum for justice that built this summer will translate into cleaner air and water for every resident of the city. 

Image credit: Karthik R/Unsplash

A new presidential administration can mean fresh priorities, redefined global relationships, and a new direction for federal policy. That will certainly be the case with President-elect Joe Biden, who is poised to bring a fresh take on global and domestic issues such as climate action, renewable energy and immigration.

A second chance for COP26

Citizens and allies alike are hungering for the country to reenter the world stage as a leader in the fight against climate change. “Biden’s victory massively enlarges the envelope of the possible for COP26 in Glasgow. The world’s biggest economy is back,” Peter Betts, an associate fellow at the international affairs think tank Chatham House, told Carbon Brief. 

It was a day after the election that the United States officially withdrew from the Paris Agreement, a process that President Donald Trump’s team initiated a year earlier. Despite the president’s fervency on the matter, this withdrawal doesn’t exactly align with the outlook of the nation. Most Americans value global cooperation in reestablishing a healthy climate. In a 2017 study from Yale, almost 70 percent of registered voters said the U.S. should participate in the Paris Agreement. 

Biden plans to rejoin the Agreement on day one of his presidency, as outlined in his “Plan for a Clean Energy Revolution and Environmental Justice,” what many see as the most ambitious climate action plan ever embraced by a United States executive branch. Among Biden’s other action items are achieving net-zero emissions by 2050 and developing regional climate resilience plans.

World leaders embrace a more hands-on United States headed by Biden

Under a Trump presidency, Americans and non-Americans alike have expected a hands-off approach to climate change, coupled with isolationist tendencies. Global leaders have expressed enthusiasm at the prospect of renewed cooperation and leadership from the U.S. on environmental issues. 

“I think now with President Biden in the White House in Washington, we have the real prospect of American global leadership in tackling climate change,” Britain’s prime minister, Boris Johnson, told the Associated Press. 

What exactly would be expected of the new president? In a recent press call, environmental think tank World Resources Institute detailed the values of President-elect Biden’s climate plan and some of the missing details necessary for successful climate action and energy transition. 

The tedium of climate action necessary for 2021

The devil is in the details in regaining footing on climate action. For Biden, this means fleshing out his climate plan. One example of a helpful detail, WRI says, would be establishing a 2030 emissions target. The Institute recommends cutting total greenhouse gas emissions by 45 to 50 percent, which its leaders say would be both manageable and impactful. 

Another urgent piece of the puzzle, Helen Mountford, vice president of climate and economics for the WRI, said, will be submitting an updated national commitment well before the COP26 climate conference scheduled for November 2021. Not only would spelling out a national commitment benefit the international community, but it would also inform and guide all the actions the U.S. takes toward its long-term goals, Mountford said.

Also important to note, Mountford added, is how the field has changed since the Barack Obama administration, for which Biden acted as vice president. Some countries have stepped up significantly while the U.S. pressed the snooze button these past four years. This fall, China, by far the largest carbon polluter in the world (almost twice as polluting as the U.S., second on the list), announced a target to zero its emissions before 2060. Japan, South Korea and South Africa are all aiming for 2050. That’s not to mention the corporations and investors that are shifting toward renewability and a circular economy.

A Biden presidency should respect the progress nations have made and step up to this higher plate, Mountford said. To keep the momentum going, she recommends the administration increase financial support to developing countries seeking a low-carbon economic transition. 

Most influential to a green economy, Dan Lashof, director of WRI United States said, will be taking very specific restorative actions quickly. Some of these steps — which Lashof also outlines in a 10-point plan — include rebuilding the capacity of federal environmental agencies, using executive authority to move forward with emissions rollbacks, creating a clean car standard, and building on a pattern of bipartisan legislation already rolling through Congress. 

Lashof also recommends that Biden add four tools to his belt — setting standards for pollution, investing in jobs and sustainable infrastructure, rectifying pollution burdens falling on people of color, and pricing carbon pollution. He emphasized that the president-elect has no time to waste — Biden must prioritize the environment on day one, as he has promised to do.

Creating a green economy boosts the economy

Simply withdrawing from the Paris Agreement could have economic consequences for the U.S., this despite President Trump claiming he would save American jobs by exiting. Economists have cited the rising costs of climate-related disasters and the falling costs of renewable energy and meeting the demands of the Agreement. 

Likewise, reentering the Paris Agreement has the potential to jump start the economy at a time of lasting economic hardship. The United Nations Foundation cites $26 trillion in global economic benefits through 2030 by transitioning to a low-carbon economy and potentially 24 million jobs created worldwide. 

Biden’s plan, motivation and direction are promising for global interests, as well as domestic desires and economic needs. Time will tell how the new president executes his aspirations. 

Image credit: Markus Spiske/Unsplash

Part progress and part panic, the first three quarters of 2020 brought on the compounding effects of the novel coronavirus pandemic combined with the increasingly urgent state of the global climate emergency. Among other things, this year has been a lesson in interdependence. The reduction of corporate, travel, and social action culminated in signs of environmental reprieve, and people around the globe caught their first breath of real fresh air, their first un-polluted ride on the freeway, or their first glimpse at a star-studded, bright night sky.

But experts are urging the public to understand those signs as temporary and to contemplate the ways in which a warming planet creates the conditions that promote a viral outbreak. Seasons are lengthening, and the geographic range of transmission follows suit. 

As business owners, investors, and consumers alike reconsider their routines and rebuild their new normal from the bottom up, now is an opportune time to set a positive chain reaction in motion. If our collective COVID-19 management involves taking on more environmental responsibility — whether in a portfolio, a building design or a simple commute — the chances of a repeat outbreak are mitigated, and the global devastation of the coronavirus pandemic might at least begin a process of meaningful, lasting change.

Changes in consumer behavior: Reward across the board

Better acquainted than ever with the fragility of public health and safety, and the ways in which the actions of today feed the outcomes of tomorrow, consumers are shifting their behavior in decisive and tangible ways. First, transparency has become a non-negotiable. From the brands with which they place their dollar to the buildings they call home, consumers are increasingly basing their purchase decisions on sustainability solutions.

The change is especially apparent in the real estate market. Employers and residential tenants are requesting Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmarks (GRESBs), a sustainability assessment for real estate, and landlords across multiple sectors are noting an increase in inquiries regarding the Well Building Standards. Further, investors that sculpt their portfolios around the GRESB standards are seeing outsized returns in the market.

In fact, clean investing is garnering exceptional returns across nearly all market sectors. An analysis conducted by Morningstar on the first quarter of 2020 demonstrated that clean investing and investments tied to environmental, social and governance (ESG) metrics were outperforming their industry peers by staggering margins. Sustainable equity funds were over-represented in the top quartiles of their respective categories, and 66 percent of sustainable funds ranked in the top half of their sector regarding return on investment. 

Change can be seen in spades across market sectors. Building owners are conducting audits and engineering clean solutions to existing energy leaks. Investors are looking ahead, sculpting their portfolios to represent environmental initiatives and reducing their carbon footprint. Consumer awareness is at an all-time high and, most importantly, capital reward is aligning with the ethical right choice.

The human side of sustainability

It can’t be neglected that the global public has undergone a public health crisis. Many people remain in the wake of loss, grief and economic insecurity. People have taken a step back from the bustle of daily living, and reconsidered the parts in their routines that cost them mental energy, compared to the aspects of their day that provide them with meaning. When it comes to mental health support and sustainable corporate practices, expectations have risen, and rightfully so. Gone are the days of viewing mental health as renewable energy.

Again, this mass-scale shift in behavior and expectation is providing opportunity for investors, building owners and employers. Corporate offices that incorporate green space, advanced fitness facilities and dedicated meditation space are seeing an uptick in demand. Philanthropic brands that emphasize fair-labor and employee-first company cultures are increasingly occupying the attention of consumers. For investors that are focused on both the ethics and the returns of their portfolios, the human side of sustainability can’t be overlooked.

The COVID-19 pandemic is an inflection point for new practices. Despite widespread despair and disruption, some changes have been made for the better. Due to shifts in consumer priorities, environmentally responsible portfolios are seeing huge economic reinforcements. As a moment of opportunity and a matter of life or death, the time for change in the market is most certainly now.

Image credit: Chuttersnap/Unsplash 

(Image: People wear masks at a Kenyan market in April. Raw commodities and produce are the top exports of Africa, and the continent tends to import most of its finished food products. With both imports and exports slowing amidst the coronavirus pandemic, intentional intervention is needed to soften the economic blow.)  

Alain Saraka co-authored this piece. 

The full impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Africa’s populations and economies has yet to be ascertained. But as the effects unfold, governments, civil society and the private sector can cushion the blow, if they act decisively. Timely deployments of public and private capital into sustainable and long-term investment projects can boost industrialization efforts, generate employment and mitigate the most deadly effect of the virus: poverty.

The anticipated decline in African GDP — the first recession in 25 years — is due primarily to restrictions and delays in international trade resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. The importance of cross-border trade to Africa cannot be understated, as evidenced by the impressive and continent-wide political will behind the launch of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), a free trade pact between Africa's 55 countries. The extent of Africa’s exposure to global trade is worth restating: The continent’s food import bill is well above US$35 billion and is slated to reach US$110 billion by 2025. According to statistics from the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO), Togo’s consumer goods import bill in 2019 alone was US$704 million, of which almost 56 percent was spent on food imports.

Meanwhile, raw primary commodities account for over 70 percent of Africa’s exports. That figure is even higher in the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) region, a coalition of seven West African nations that includes Togo, Mali and Senegal. As a result, the pandemic has had the double impact of raising import costs on finished products while lowering the flow of exports of raw commodities. Knock-on effects of these trade impacts are only now coming to light, most notably on food security. Reactionary protectionist policies seeking to prevent staple exports — policies employed both openly and surreptitiously by governments from Europe and Asia to South America and Africa — only made things worse.

According to the World Bank, agricultural production in Africa could contract between 2.6 and 7 percent if trade blockages persist. Clearly, a reduction in agricultural activity and output would worsen the downward spiral in sub-Saharan Africa, where some 60 percent of the workforce is directly involved in the industry.

What is the answer to a primary commodity export-dependent Africa at risk due to reductions in raw agricultural produce demand, protectionism and general de-globalization? Of course, intra-African trade and the AfCFTA. However, for intra-African trade to be the panacea we all wish it to be, Africa’s infrastructure deficit and rate of industrialization must accelerate dramatically. Togo has long had a blooming trade industry focused on the capital city of Lomé, and the government has made the development of industrial infrastructure a core tenet of its 2018-2022 National Development Plan.

In August 2020, the government announced the launch of construction on the Adétikopé Industrial Platform (PIA), which will host processing and manufacturing companies from the food and beverage to the pharmaceuticals and clothing industries. Projects like the PIA, a public-private partnership between Arise Integrated Industrial Platforms (Arise IIP) and the Togolese Republic, can simultaneously tackle food insecurity by raising local production capacity and balance the trade deficit by exporting processed and finished goods.

There has been a steady drumbeat for industrial, power and transport infrastructure investment in Africa for years, but time is of the essence. All it takes is an innovative government keen on attracting nimble capital from agile investors like Arise IIP. Private investments into African agriculture infrastructure such as this one will not only create much-needed direct and indirect employment today, but also represents perhaps the surest long-term returns in a volatile global economic context. Nothing is more certain over the next decade than the powerful potential of African youth and agriculture.

Alain Saraka is the Chief Strategy Officer at ARISE IIP, a pan-African infrastructure developer that conceives, finances, builds and operates $2 billion of transport infrastructure and industrial zones across 5 West and Central African countries.

Image credit: World Bank Photo Collection/Flickr

(Image: Mobile-powered healthcare access enterprise Living Goods is just one organization to benefit from Cisco's unique social investment model.)

Worldwide, 650 million people still live in extreme poverty. More than 1.5 billion people lack access to banking and financial services, and 617 million youth lack basic mathematics and literacy skills.

Cisco is one company working to improve access to technology-enabled solutions that can address some of these gaps and power an equitable and inclusive future. 

“We want to create a world where there is equal access to opportunity,” said Mary de Wysocki, senior director of corporate social responsibility at Cisco . “We know that technology can create opportunities and new ways of learning, break down barriers, and even generate brand new industries.”

But at the same time, she added: “We’re very mindful of the fact that not everyone today has equal access to digital connectivity. We need to be thoughtful about how we innovate and how and where we make investments. Because if we’re not mindful, that can create an even greater digital divide.”

Inclusivity in the areas of education, economic empowerment, and critical human needs such as food and housing is central to Cisco’s purpose as a company. Fundamental to how Cisco fulfills this purpose is a unique social investment model pioneered more than 20 years ago and anchored in the company’s 2016 commitment to positively impact 1 billion people through its social impact grants and signature corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs by 2025. Last year, Cisco reported solid progress toward that goal, having already impacted 469 million people.

While Cisco’s longstanding commitment to corporate social responsibility guides its approach, the commitment is also driven by employee expectation, de Wysocki said. “Quite frankly, it’s not just a responsibility, but it’s also what we hear from our employees: They want to work for a company that has a purpose, that can provide even more meaning to their job or their role.”

Recent research on purpose confirms the increasing importance of corporate introspection, with the coronavirus pandemic prompting people to pay even closer attention to how companies treat their stakeholders and if action lives up to lofty commitments.

An innovative model for social investment

Cisco’s four-phase social investment model focuses on helping nonprofits serve communities better, specifically by scaling early-phase, technology solutions with the potential to drive inclusivity and empowerment for all. 

Investors often look to support entrepreneurs and nonprofits with later-phase solutions, because these are lower risk, de Wysocki explained, so Cisco’s approach reaches innovators who are often overlooked. “We felt there was an opportunity to be a seed engine, to come in at the early stages and support these solutions all the way through the cycle of innovation — from blueprint, to validation, to scaling and replicating their solution, and to show demonstrated social impact,” she said. 

These social investments are focused in areas where Cisco believes its technology and people can make the biggest impact: education, economic empowerment, and critical human needs such as food, water, housing and disaster response. With that scope as a framework, the model follows these four phases:

1. Identify innovative technology solutions that address issues in Cisco’s areas of focus
2. Develop a framework for action, then test or pilot a solution and assess the results
3. Scale the successful implementation and replicate it to fit similar situations
4. Operate and maintain the initiative to the point where it can sustain itself

From blueprint, to impact, to independence 

One example of a nonprofit that fits Cisco’s approach is Living Goods, which uses a mobile platform to deliver on-call, affordable healthcare to families in Kenya and Uganda while also providing income for some 10,000 Community Health Workers.

According to Cisco, which funded the development of the mobile platform, Living Goods today serves 8.8 million people and has reduced the mortality rate for children under age 5 by 27 percent (based on a randomized controlled trial in Uganda). The organization has been acknowledged for building an innovative double-bottom line model, empowering local health workers to earn an income while dramatically improving the health and well-being of people living in poverty. COVID-19 assessments are now built into Living Good’s existing app, supporting governments with prevention, monitoring and response.

“We try to help the organizations we work with to understand how their solution would resonate elsewhere in the world and help them identify a path toward financial sustainability,” de Wysocki said. “That is so critical in this nonprofit space. So often you see nonprofits get a funder for a couple of years and then the partnership may not continue. Then so much time is spent trying to find the next funder, and the focus and priorities may have to shift if the funder wants something different. They can end up shifting their original vision. With our focus on impact measurement, our intention is to help these organizations truly define their value framework [and] tell their story about the impact they are having in the world.”

In keeping with its investment model, Cisco maintained a relationship with Living Goods from its initial seed funding in 2012 until today. Following another round of grant support from Cisco in 2013 and 2014 to refine the mobile platform, Living Goods now uses the platform in every aspect of its business. The two organizations are now in the midst of a multi-year partnership designed to enable Living Goods to leverage digitization more deeply and serve more people with better products, services and health outcomes. 

Supporting equal access to the digital economy 

Another long-term partner working closely with Cisco is MIND Research Institute, a nonprofit social impact organization specializing in neuroscience and education research. Its mission is to mathematically equip all students to solve the world’s most challenging problems. It is the creator of ST Math, a visual instructional program that leverages the brain's innate spatial-temporal reasoning ability to solve mathematical problems. Educators across the U.S. use this program with students in pre-kindergarten through 8th grade.

That equitable access leads to equitable opportunities for growth is a key tenet of the program. Some 70 percent of students using ST Math are traditionally underserved, and two-thirds of MIND’s partner schools serve low-income students. Studies have shown a much lower level of proficiency in math among African-American and Hispanic students, evidence of the systemic gaps in service faced by students of color which result in digital divides, said MIND Research Institute CEO Brett Woudenberg. Groups including the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) warn that these achievement gaps will only widen due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

In response, the MIND Research Institute has moved quickly to offer free math education to students living at home, and over 1 million students have taken advantage of the no-cost access to ST Math since school closures began in mid-March, Woudenberg said.

Along with the solid foundation in math, MIND’s aim is to prepare students to become part of the technology workforce of the future. Cisco has been a capacity-building partner for MIND for over a decade, helping it reach 1.2 million students with ST Math.

The uneven path to the science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) workforce has resulted in a lack of diversity in that workforce. Despite making up 11 percent of the total U. S. workforce, only 9 percent of the STEM workforce is Black. And while 16 percent of the workforce is Hispanic, only 7 percent of STEM workers are. Women are also underrepresented when it comes to computer and engineering jobs: Despite comprising half of the workforce, women hold only 14 percent of computer-related jobs and 14 percent of engineering jobs. Yet computer-related jobs have grown over 330 percent since 1990.

Cisco’s focus on impact measurement has also proved valuable. “Because of Cisco’s investment, MIND now has a ‘best in class’ ability to access and analyze data about how the program is being used and how it is making a difference for students every day,” Woudenberg said. “In addition, Cisco continues to enable MIND colleagues to work and collaborate remotely through its teleconferencing infrastructure, which proved to be critical during this pandemic.”

Encouraging the next generation of entrepreneurs

The future of the workplace is an ever-present theme in how Cisco approaches social investment, particularly in enabling the necessary digital skills for young people to thrive in a connected world. The World Economic Forum estimates that by 2022, 75 million jobs may be displaced by shifting labor between humans and machines, while 133 million new roles may emerge.

A particular focus is on investing in young social entrepreneurs through the Cisco Global Problem Solver Challenge, which aims to recognize new business ideas that leverage technology for social impact. It awarded $350,000 in prizes in 2020, with the grand prize going to Savanna Circuit Tech, a solar chilling transit system to help dairy businesses and cooperatives in sub-Saharan Africa cut post-harvest losses.

As interest in and impact of the prize grows, Cisco is expanding it to offer a total prize pool of $1 million this year, with the grand prize winner receiving $250,000. (You can read more about the Challenge, and some of the impressive and inspiring winners, in a future part of this series.)

“We need more jobs around the world, so it is super critical to think about these young people and encourage them to think about being entrepreneurs and to leverage technology for solutions,” de Wysocki said. “As technology innovations continue to create new business models, we envision a world where everyone can have opportunities so they can compete in the digital economy.”

This article series is sponsored by Cisco and produced by the TriplePundit editorial team.

Images courtesy of Living Goods and the MIND Research Institute 

When historians one day look at 2020, it will likely be as defined by a long-needed reckoning around racial and social justice as it is by the coronavirus pandemic. The highly publicized murders of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd sparked a global conversation about race relations and criminal justice reform. 

In the months since, tens of thousands of people have taken to the streets in protests demanding systemic reform that addresses the countless ways Black men and women are demeaned, diminished and put in danger every day. The reinvigoration of the Black Lives Matter movement has since translated into millions of dollars in donations to social justice groups, major cities pledging to change how they fund police departments, and a record number of Black, justice-oriented candidates running for political office in the fall election cycle. 

Months ago, any sort of silver lining result seemed painfully far away for Noel Abdur Rahim, an assurance partner at PwC’s Atlanta office. In the days following Floyd’s murder, Rahim continued to log into her Zoom calls and answer her emails, but she felt distant from her coworkers and increasingly unseen in her virtual workplace. 

"I was feeling somewhat alone, even though I was talking to colleagues every day on video chat,” Rahim remembers. “I felt like I was hiding my true feelings.” 

In response, the six-year PwC veteran penned an email to her colleagues, praising the supportive work environment she enjoyed during her tenure but wondering why — unlike other times when something good or bad happened to someone on the team — no one was checking in on their Black colleagues or offering support. She linked to a viral article by Refinery29 managing editor Danielle Cadet entitled Your Black Colleagues May Look Like They’re Okay — Chances Are They’re Not. 

“The premise of the note was that it may look like your Black colleagues are okay, but deep down inside, they’re not — and you shouldn’t be either,” Rahim tells TriplePundit. She went on to talk about the love she felt for her son, Ibby, who one day would go from being “a sweet Black boy to a feared Black man.” 

“I wanted to make sure people understood in a relatable way, and that’s why I brought up Ibby and the fear I have of raising him as a Black boy, who one day would be a man, in America,” she explains. 

"The email wasn’t meant to shame anyone,” she’s quick to note, “but as a general reminder that we all can be doing something to help the people around us feel comfortable, feel supported and feel welcomed.” 

The note struck a chord with a number of colleagues, particularly Tim Whitson, a self-described “old white guy” and a partner in the audits department at the Atlanta office. “I never really had a concern for my son and my daughter when they leave the house. When she said that, it hit home for me,” Whitson says. “I realized I have to stop being a passive supporter of my Black friends and colleagues, and I spent a little time thinking about: What could I do? What could be an idea that would take away the excuses from white people?” 

A moment of honesty gives way for a wave of support for social justice 

Whitson approached Rahim, and the two devised a plan to launch a fundraiser for social justice organizations and communities in need. The fittingly named campaign, “Ibby’s World,” collected donations from PwC colleagues for two Atlanta-based organizations — the Future Foundation and the Southern Center for Human Rights — as well as the Community Building Initiative in Charlotte. 

Established in 2001, the Future Foundation seeks to be a “second family” for low-income kids by providing an after-school program and other enrichment opportunities. As involuntary remote learning became the new reality amidst the coronavirus pandemic, threatening to expand the gap between wealthier and poorer students, the Foundation created a fund to ensure low-income communities have access to technology and learning resources.

The Southern Center for Human Rights is an advocacy group for social justice in the South that fights for social and criminal justice reform. The Community Building Initiative is out to fight bias, remove barriers to opportunity, and build equity and justice in the Charlotte area. 

“They have similar missions but go about it in different ways,” Rahim says. “I’m really passionate about the proceeds going directly to communities in need.” 

As they called on their colleagues for donations, Rahim and Whiston also distributed wristbands bearing the name Ibby’s World as a reminder of what’s at stake for communities across the country if social justice conversations fizzle out. 

“I was visiting a fellow partner who is very passionate about Ibby’s World, and he started distributing the wristbands to all of his family and friends,” Rahim says. "As soon as I walked into the house, his sister raised up her arm to show off her band and said, ‘I’ve been telling everybody about the idea, and it’s really generated some conversations.’ To me, that’s exactly what this is all about.” 

"The fundraising is phenomenal,” she goes on, "but it’s more important to couple that with conversations and to understand that we all — as a community, as a country — can do more in everything we do to make the world a better place.” 

Ibby’s World has since garnered more than $31,000 in donations. It’s a testament to what can happen when colleagues are seen, heard and supported in their workplaces — and when teams band together in support of a common cause. “I would say the firm is better for the impact that Noel had,” Whitson says. “She’s woken some of us up.” 

Image credits: Clay Banks and James Eades via Unsplash