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Every pundit and economic analyst is weighing in on what should be included in the next round of stimulus funding to address the economic concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic. So far, $3 trillion has been earmarked or disbursed and a similar amount is expected if there is a next round. Some proponents are now making the case that infrastructure investments should be part of upcoming stimulus packages.

These advocates point to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) as an example of where priorities should lie. That bill contained $90 billion in clean energy investment stimulus, and was the single largest energy bill in history, invigorating the renewable energy sector and paving the way for the explosion in electric vehicles.

A group of experts the World Resources Institute (WRI) recently convened said Congress should learn from ARRA, which leveraged private sector spending to increase jobs and make the country’s infrastructure more resilient to the effects of climate change. In the 11 intervening years since the legislation passed, climate change has devastated parts of the U.S., from a run of catastrophic hurricanes to extreme flooding to wildfires, so arguably, there is more pressure now to shore up energy, water and transportation with smart infrastructure investments.

The nation’s electricity grid is far too old and is under strain

According to Sue Tierney, Senior Advisor at the Analysis Group and former Assistant Secretary for Policy at the U.S. Department of Energy, one of the keys to building resilience is a better grid. In addition, Tierney insisted that investing in renewable energy can become a job multiplier. On that point, an April 2020 study from WRI found that annual investments from $12 billion to $16 billion in electric transmission through 2030 could result in $30 billion to $40 billion in annual economic activity. And during a decade when job creation will be a huge challenge, such investments could create between 150,000 and 200,000 full-time jobs each year.

Despite the improvements we can attribute to ARRA investments, the nation’s energy infrastructure still has a long way to go. The American Society of Civil Engineers’ (ASCE) 2017 Infrastructure Report Card gave it a D+ grade, and noted that the bulk of it was built during the 1950s and 1960s with a 50-year life expectancy. In addition to anticipated increased demand for electricity to power our air conditioning under higher temperatures and more intense droughts, our current energy mix is mostly natural gas and coal, both of which are highly-water intensive resources. This puts additional pressure on already stressed water infrastructure.

Michigan is Exhibit A of the need for more infrastructure investments

The failure of two dams in Michigan this week only serves to highlight the precarious position of America’s current water infrastructure. Response to the flooding caused by the dams’ failure is compromised due to this pandemic. This crisis in Michigan is a stark reminder of what we may be facing with above-normal hurricane season this year - one which has already seen its first named storm almost two weeks before the official start of the season on June 1st.

ASCE’s latest report gave the nation’s water infrastructure a D grade, citing its age in particular. Built mostly in the early part of the 20th century with a 100-year life expectancy, we have seen devastating results of its failure as it wears out, sorely tested by extreme flooding and drought. Water is a critical input for traditional electric generation, but energy is also essential for treating, moving and distributing water. Shoring up one sector’s infrastructure improves the resiliency of the other.

Considering infrastructure investments going forward

Joe Aldy, Public Policy Professor at Harvard’s Kennedy School for Government and special assistant to President Obama for energy and environment during the 2007-2009 recession, said it is important to consider where we are today versus where we were in 2009. An infrastructure stimulus requires a “thoughtful response,” he said. “It has to go beyond emissions to approach resilience and deal with the risk of climate change”.

Such an approach will require, as it did in 2009, significant engagement with the private sector. Failing infrastructure will threaten business operations across the country and create challenges for local, state, and regional governments. One long-lasting effect of this pandemic is the severe strain it is placing on the economy. Climate change will make that strain worse. There’s an opportunity now to alleviate one challenge by taking on the other with a solid, long-term plan for infrastructure investments across the U.S.

Image credit: David Mark/Pixabay

Cabin fever is hitting many of us big time, and this coming Memorial Day weekend will be triggering as we crave barbecues, hikes and camping as the weather warms and seek stimulation other than videoconference meetings. Some public spaces in states and counties are re-opening faster than others, and the reality is that many of us just want to get away from our living rooms, trade in sweatpants for hiking shorts and indulge in nature. Several outdoor groups and companies within the recreation industry, however, are insisting we tread carefully as we enjoy those parks and open spaces once again.

To that end, this Recreate Responsibly site launched with the goal to remind people that enjoying the great outdoors entails a different approach than it had just a few months ago.

This coalition, which includes REI, The North Face, the Outdoor Industry Association and the National Park Foundation offer the outdoor enthusiast in all of us a six-point plan about how to approach our next day trip or camping weekend.

Some of the advice is common sense, such as checking to make sure the place is open before you venture that way, though now things are a tad bit more complicated as many parks and recreation areas will cap how many visitors can enter at one time. Other advice is timeless, such as the “leave no trace” mantra we should all be respecting while we are out in nature, with the caveat that it’s a good idea to take that trash with you as services such as trash collection may not run as frequently.

Additional advice from the recreation industry reminds us that we’re in a different era now: That risky selfie we are tempted to take isn’t the best idea, as first responders such as healthcare professionals are stretched to the limit – the same goes for park rangers and search-and-rescue crews. Long road trips, such as a popular one through Yosemite National Park and across the Sierras to the Devils Postpile (shown above), should be eschewed in favor of more localized day trips, the groups suggest.

Photo: Risky selfies at dodgy locations should be avoided at this time, as one can read between the lines in this new Recreate Responsibly framework (Photo: Leon Kaye).

Much of this new set of directives takes its cue from a coalition in the state of Washington, in which various groups pulled together to offer the general public guidance on how public spaces are reopening and what visitors should expect in the coming months.

“When each person acts in a responsible way, it helps ensure we are able to promote safety and are able to continue welcoming people to our public lands," Washington state’s commissioner of public lands, Hillary Lanz, said in an emailed statement to TriplePundit. “In Washington state, our recreation community has come together in an extraordinary way to promote responsible recreation. I truly believe this work can serve as a model for the rest of the country and help keep all our communities safe while also allowing us all to enjoy the outdoors.”

The forces behind the Recreate Responsibility initiative are filling a void that many state and federal agencies can’t fill while employees are working remotely or as government budgets are axed. Popular sites such as recreation.gov offer little more direction than COVID-19 advisories as online chat and telephone support are suspended.           

“As our public lands and waters reopen, we’ll all benefit from clear, easy-to-follow guidance on how to recreate responsibly – whether you’re a seasoned outdoor enthusiast or a family heading to your local park,” said Eric Artz, president and CEO of REI.

Image credits: Leon Kaye

Solidarity is top of mind these days, a gentle reminder that, as the world struggles to respond to and rebound from the COVID-19 pandemic, we are all in this together. Our inherent interdependence has never been more apparent, transcending physical barriers  as we seek new ways to connect with each other and  stay healthy.  

This groundswell of solidarity has been gaining momentum throughout the global community in recent years. The adoption of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2015 established an historically ambitious blueprint to achieve a better, healthier and more sustainable future for all. In their universality, the SDGs highlight our interconnected nature and call for a multi-sectoral response that leaves no one behind. 


Humanity has responded accordingly. According to data compiled by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), nearly 4 in 10 citizens across 16 countries believe that all governments should fund the SDGs. Ninety percent think it is important for businesses to sign on to support the goals. 

Among shifting political agendas, the world has demanded even more of its citizens. Individuals and corporations alike have been called upon to address issues like climate change, promote inclusive economies and ensure access to healthcare for all. As communities have gathered to raise a unified voice for change, inspiring young activists like Greta Thunberg and Malala Yousafzai have challenged us to think differently about the future we are shaping for the next generation — one that includes more meaningful and transparent corporate engagement. 

A new era of corporate social responsibility

With communities and individuals taking stands, so are brands. Companies are increasingly evolving their traditional philanthropic efforts to more strategic investments and looking across the entirety of their value chains to leverage them for good. 

It has become clear that corporate responsibility is no longer a choice. In an evolving, more interconnected, globalized and informed world, companies aren’t beholden exclusively to their shareholders, but rather to their stakeholders — including citizens, consumers and employees — in a modern reimagination of stakeholder capitalism. 

Now, as communities around the world find themselves under lockdown, with health systems and economies struggling to withstand the pressures of the novel coronavirus, a modern sense of responsibility and solidarity is paramount. Brands across sectors are leveraging their reach and credibility to share important messages and provide hope to a society in need. Whether it’s retooling supply chains to produce face masks or an offer for free internet access to level the playing field for home schooling, a new era of corporate responsibility is upon us. And in an April user survey conducted by Twitter, 77 percent of respondents said they feel more positively about brands making an effort to support society during the pandemic. 

In a recent article, the Harvard Business Review notes that companies will be remembered for decades by their response to COVID-19. As some choose to turn inward, those that take care of their employees, customers and communities will rise above the rest. A recent poll demonstrates that the pharmaceutical industry is enjoying a particular boost in reputation due to its COVID-19 response. 

Solidarity on the frontlines

From the beginning of this pandemic, the healthcare industry has been working around the clock in hospitals and research labs. Like a modern-day Space Race, we see an unprecedented sprint for a cure led by the pharmaceutical and life sciences industry. According to publicly available data, to date, more than 130 vaccine candidates are in development, and over 200 therapeutics are under consideration. This is all in large thanks to new public-private partnerships like the COVID-19 Therapeutics Accelerator, the National Institute of Health’s Accelerating COVID-19 Therapeutic Interventions and Vaccines, and the World Health Organization’s Solidarity Trial.

COVID-19 has also highlighted broken systems and lifted the veil on longstanding inequities in communities around the world, even in industrialized and seemingly well-prepared nations like the U.S. As the world approaches 5 million COVID-19-related cases, and more than 325,00  deaths, we know that the disproportionate burden of the pandemic is falling on already vulnerable communities, with long-term implications that will further perpetuate social disparities. 

As we emerge from COVID-19 into a world forever changed, let’s look beyond immediate recovery and instead consider the long-term, systemic changes required to build systems anchored in equity and rights. 

The future of public-private partnerships 

A revitalized sense of global cooperation and a renewed social contract will be critical to facilitating bold new ways of working together across sectors and industries. The ingenuity of the private sector has enabled us to pivot and adapt in ways never imagined so that we could respond to COVID-19. This generous spirit of corporate citizenship must now sustain us in meeting critical gaps and ensuring continuity of services — healthcare or otherwise. 

Through the development of sustainable, innovative and inclusive solutions, the private sector can play a critical role in addressing the very disparities COVID-19 has exposed. And in a time when the value of multilateralism and international institutions is questioned, multinational companies will be crucial to shoring up the systems required to ensure we are never again caught unprepared when a pandemic comes knocking. 

For all its complexities, COVID-19 has also nudged many of us into a simpler time, replacing layers of noise with quiet moments of connection with loved ones. As the pandemic recalibrates our value systems and highlights the importance of solidarity, I hope it also encourages us to reconsider our modes of collaboration so that we can one day look back on this time as a great renaissance of corporate responsibility. If you ask me, our future depends on it. 

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

Image credit: Hadynyah/E+ via Getty Images 

Here’s a reality check on how people approach financial decisions during a crisis: The evidence suggests most of us are actually more careful when chaos surrounds us. Some of this behavior lies in the fundamentals of human psychology. Other aspects are just obvious, as in the fact many of us are stuck at home, rarely go out if ever and, therefore, we have more time on our hands. So here’s a word of caution for anyone sitting in a C-suite (or is now doing so virtually from home) who thinks his or her company can let some things slide due to this pandemic: Investors are still monitoring companies, perhaps even more closely now than they had before. In turn, consumers are tracking their investments the way hawks swirl airborne while they watch their prey. Furthermore, asset managers that give the short shrift to the social impacts of their investments will only hurt their companies in the long run. This stubborn reality applies to huge global problems such as human rights.

To that end, the Investor Alliance for Human Rights recently launched a toolkit with which asset owners and managers can assess how their investments could pose social risks on communities worldwide. Such a framework is even more necessary during this current crisis, as it’s been clear that we now face wider economic and social inequalities in wealthy and poorer nations alike.

Think of this overriding framework as a checklist that varies based on the role one has in the investment world. At the institutional level, for example, this framework reminds asset owners and managers of basic yet very important questions: Is your firm’s human rights policy commitment clear? What about the company's human rights governance statement? Have you done thorough due diligence so problems don’t fester? Are grievance mechanisms in place? Are the appropriate disclosures complete? The Alliance provides tools that can help those tasked with monitoring investors’ social impact and compliance, as well as examples to ensure these policies, commitments and statements are effective.

Considering the missteps that have sidetracked many companies, including those that have assumed their social responsibility commitments were effective, reviewing a firm’s human rights policies (and of course, following them) are more critical now than they were just a few months ago.

“In this global crisis, we see why investment-as-usual must change. An essential step in this process is recognizing that institutional investors, even minority shareholders, have a responsibility to address the risks to people present in their investment value chains. To do this, investors should know the human rights risks connected to their investment portfolios and show how they are taking action to manage those risks in line with globally agreed upon standards,” said Paloma Muñoz Quick, director of the Investor Alliance for Human Rights, in a public statement.

The Alliance’s toolkit is far more than something to be bookmarked. It’s also a reminder for institutional investors to brush up on ethical business standards including those within the U.N. Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and the OECD’s Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises.

True, more investment professionals are integrating ESG (environmental, social and governance) factors into their decisions as to how they allocate their funds, but many of them are still overlooking ESG criteria. And even if institutional investors can prove they are evaluating ESG concerns, too many of them are still overlooking the “S” in ESG. So, at a time when the novel coronavirus is often piling on its worst impact on society's most vulnerable, these human rights challenges should be top of mind now more than ever, whether they be labor rights, discrimination in any form, or child exploitation.

“Make no mistake: People are paying close attention to how companies respond — and how they treat their stakeholders when it matters most,” TriplePundit’s senior editor, Mary Mazzoni, wrote during the onset of this pandemic. That is definitely the case with the global financial industry, too.

Image credit: Tim Mossholder/Unsplash

The United States renewables sector has continued to grow this year, even during the COVID-19 pandemic and despite not receiving aid from the federal coronavirus stimulus package.

Renewable power is forecast to hold a 21 percent share of U.S. electricity use in 2020, up from 18 percent in 2019. And it’s overtaking coal. Last year, renewables became cheaper to produce in most regions of the country. This year, nationwide renewable power is projected to surpass coal power production for the first time.

Innovation in the renewables sector currently on pause

The long-term view of renewables is looking bright, but in the meantime, much innovation and development has been put on the back burner. Already more than 40 percent of wind and solar equipment that would have been commissioned from April to the end of 2020 has been delayed, as Logan Goldie-Scot, head of clean power research at BloombergNEF recently told Yale Environment 360.

Pausing innovation and construction doesn’t bode well for renewable energy’s future growth. When activity comes back online, the systems supporting clean energy should be fine-tuned and oiled to support needed progress. During this hiatus, it’s important to take a careful look at policy frameworks and funding solutions.

A study published in Nature in February could help researchers elevate renewable energy policy and funding. The study identifies the challenges of evaluating energy innovation policies and public subsidy programs and offers solutions.

Could public funds for renewables R&D be better spent?

“It’s critical to ensure that the public resources spent on supporting innovation are not wasted. We need to design policies and support programs based on evidence of what mechanisms actually work,” Professor Jacquelyn Pless of MIT’s Sloan School of Management and leader of the research said in a press release, “This requires identifying the barriers to clean energy innovation as well as the policies and interventions for overcoming them.”

The study authors identify several key challenges researchers currently face in evaluating the effectiveness of policies and funding. They include time delays between funding and development; the lack of any standard metrics in measuring innovation within the clean energy sector; and little cohesion between various clean energy policies and programs.

Governments and agencies can overcome each of these challenges by being more deliberate in data collection and tracking, in a way, mimicking “the nature of an experiment,” Pless writes.

One strategy the paper identifies is simply noting which grant applicants are successful and non-successful. This can help researchers assess the difference between funded and non-funded firms over the short- and long-term and keep track of what technologies and solutions the innovations end up supporting.

Adding some randomization to policy and program design (where factors would have been assigned arbitrarily) can also help researchers assess outcomes more confidently. One example study the authors give is funding requirements like collaboration with companies, national laboratories or universities. In this example, randomization would help determine whether collaboration has an effect on commercialization, Pless said.

Pless and colleagues also emphasize that a one-size-fits-all approach isn’t ideal for renewable energy innovation. What works for one organization may not work for another.

Diversifying policies and programs does not, however, preclude collaboration. “All of these solutions fall under the umbrella of multiple stakeholders working together, as access to data is critical for researchers to adequately answer these questions,” Pless said in the press release.

“Overcoming these challenges could lead to a significant increase in the evidence base of policies that can successfully drive innovation in the energy sector,” she said.

A healthy renewables sector could be an engine for economic recovery

Not only can a healthy, growing and innovative clean energy sector diminish the U.S.’s greenhouse gas emissions; it could also employ some of the 26 million people who have lost jobs during the nation-wide lock-down.

Will renewable energy’s momentum last?

Research does show that demand for wind, solar and hydroelectric energy will increase this year, especially as renewable sources have lower fuel costs for generating electricity than fossil fuels. Continuing to grow and expand will require innovation, though. When researchers and engineers get back to work, they will need effective funding and supportive policies. That’s where this framework from Nature comes in.

Image credit: Ricardo Esquivel/Pexels

Signs of a business consensus on a green COVID-19 recovery are continuing to grow. In the latest development, the We Mean Business group of 155 leading global corporations has joined with the UN Global Compact and the Science Based Targets initiative to advocate for economic recovery plans based on climate science. The effort is significant because it is the largest UN-backed initiative of its kind to date.

Rallying public sentiment in support of climate action

In addition to highlighting the green profile of the 155 participating companies, the We Mean Business initiative cements a growing network of organizations that have been coordinating businesses leaders on climate action.

The Science Based Targets initiative lists almost 900 participating companies. The We Mean Business coalition includes the nonprofit research organization BSR along with BSR’s 250 corporate members and other partners. Add the green investor group Ceres and its network of 175 institutional investors (among other Ceres networks groups). Finally, enter The Climate Group, which has enlisted scores of leading companies in its roster of renewable energy, energy efficiency and clean technology initiatives.

Other influential organizations that are part of the We Mean Business coalition are The B Team, The Prince of Wales’s Corporate Leaders Group and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development.

Together, the 155 corporations that make up the We Mean Business coalition claim more than $2.4 trillion in market capitalization. Among them are several brands familiar to U.S. consumers including Adobe, H&M, Intuit, Nestlé, Mars and Unilever. That is significant because these well-known brand names provide a pathway for mainstreaming climate action into public consciousness.

In addition, the group employs a total of 5 million workers worldwide. As brand ambassadors and voters, these employees represent another potential avenue of persuasion.

Supporting the science of climate action

In addition to the bottom line factor, another key aspect of the We Mean Business effort is its solid support for climate science, as articulated by the Science Based Targets initiative.

The one-two punch of bottom line motivation and scientific evidence forms an unequivocal rebuke to the decades of effort that fossil fuel stakeholders have poured into blocking climate action.

In a joint letter released by SBTi, the 155 participating companies make the case that the twin crises of COVID-19 and climate change must be addressed together.

“In the face of these inter-connected crises, we cannot afford to tackle one or the other. Human health depends on planetary health,” they write.

The participating companies also emphasize that they are leading by example. All have set corporate emission reduction targets through the Science Based Targets initiative. Now they are asking governments to follow their lead and adopt science-based targets for a COVID-19 recovery.

They point out that they have been “prioritizing green jobs and sustainable growth, protecting nature and people, and delivering on the 2030 Agenda and the Paris Agreement,” by divesting from fossil fuels and investing in innovative low carbon solutions.

The challenge now is speed and scale. For that, they write, “we look to policy-makers to give businesses the confidence and clarity they need to take ambitious climate action.”

Bottom line momentum builds for a sustainable COVID-19 recovery

According to the UN, the We Mean Business joint letter is the “largest ever UN-backed CEO-led climate advocacy effort” to date.

It is far from the only one. On May 13, 330 U.S. businesses organized through Ceres to participate in a virtual day of action, in which they lobbied Congress for a green COVID-19 recovery.

The list of participants included scores of familiar consumer brands in the U.S., from Ben & Jerry’s and Clif Bar to Dow, IKEA and Tiffany & Co.

A number of U.S. states have also begun taking steps to support green jobs in anticipation of a sustainable COVID-19 recovery.

In addition, a public-private initiative for a green COVID-19 recovery in Europe has launched under the new European Alliance for Green Recovery.

In a previous era, recovering from a global economic collapse would necessarily involve an increase in greenhouse gas emissions. Today that connection no longer holds force. Businesses have more sustainable alternatives at hand as they work to foster a COVID-19 recovery plan for sustainable growth, and business leaders are more determined than ever to leave the past behind.

Image credit: Leyre Labarga/Unsplash

It took insurer Nationwide just two months of seeing the benefits of remote work for its 27,000 employees to decide to make an arrangement forced by a global pandemic permanent. Now it plans to shrink from 20 physical offices pre-crisis to just four. Twitter, meanwhile, has told its employees that they can work from home “forever,” if they want to. As more companies and employees discover the environmental and social benefits of remote work, physical offices may be a lot emptier but productivity and other benchmarks of a successful workplace won’t suffer, say remote work proponents.

For long-time remote workers like myself, it’s “welcome to the party,” and “what took you so long?” According to Gallup, the share of workers reporting that their employers were offering remote-work or flex-time options rose from 39 percent in mid-March to 57 percent in a poll conducted March 30 to April 2. The percentage of working Americans who say they’ve worked from home due to the novel coronavirus doubled from 31 percent to 62 percent over the same period.

So long, gridlock

It’s doubtful that anyone misses their morning commute and the gridlock of rush hour. The photos of empty streets in New York City and other large cities are eerie, yes, but the lack of traffic has meant clearer skies and cleaner air, according to satellite imagery showing drastically reduced emissions of nitrous oxide, a major component of smog. According to Census Bureau data, Americans on average spent 225 hours a year commuting in 2018, which studies have linked to high blood pressure and other negative health consequences.

Those former commuters are now much happier workers, according to a joint CNBC/Change Research survey that found that 47 percent of those surveyed who were working from home during the pandemic said the time they have been spending the time they save on their commute to sleep more, focus on various hobbies and get more work done. The latter point was a key factor for Nationwide’s CEO Kirt Walker, who told Fortune that his newly virtual workforce is as productive as ever: "We've tracked all of our key performance indicators, and there has been no change."

Tech firms lead the way

Twitter is not alone among the tech giants in keeping workers home for a while, as the Washington Post has reported. Google and Facebook have told employees that many workers can do their job remotely should plan to do so until 2021. Amazon has said its headquarters employees will stay home at least until October. Microsoft has told its staff that working from home remains optional through October for most employees.

And it’s not just the tech industry. About 74 percent of CFOs surveyed recently by Gartner expect some of their employees who were forced to work from home because of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic to continue working remotely after the pandemic ends. Even NFL coaches and front-office executives whose grueling hours have meant sleeping in their offices are raving about the perks of working remotely this spring as they prepared for the draft and upcoming season. And for people with disabilities, who have long fought for their ability to perform certain jobs remotely, the awakening by the business world to the possibilities of remote work is welcome news.

Some analysts think that remote work will flourish long after the coronavirus pandemic subsides. Use of remote work tools like Zoom, Microsoft Teams and Slack are skyrocketing as they have made collaboration easy and effective. Employers like Nationwide have seen the opportunity in being able to reduce overhead costs for expensive office leases with more employees working from home.

Former Google CEO sees need for more office space

But there are some naysayers to the remote work boom who say, “Hold on a second.” Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt predicts that companies will need more office space after the pandemic, not less. In remarks on "Face the Nation" recently, Schmidt said he thought the desire for social distancing within offices would place a premium on office space. “We're going to have to think about hub-and-spoke systems where local people don't travel so far because they don't want to be in public transit for so long. So we're going to have to really rethink how businesses operate. They need their employees back."

Schmidt said he envisions employers having to devise flexible arrangements, with those who prefer to go to the office, others staying at home, and another group choosing a local or near-their-town working environment. Nationwide’s Walker acknowledged, in fact, that the company will end up with a hybrid model since about 25 percent of its workforce says they want to come back.

But a trend has been set in motion, with Mondelez announcing earlier this month it doesn’t need all its global offices and Barclays CEO Jes Staley saying crowded corporate offices with thousands of employees  “may be a thing of the past.”

Remote work not an equal-opportunity employer

But it’s important to note that remote work isn’t an option for everyone. Two-thirds of U.S. jobs cannot plausibly be performed at home, according to a recent study by the University of Chicago. While a majority of jobs in finance, corporate management, and professional and scientific services can be done at home, very few jobs in agriculture, hotels, retail or restaurants can be done remotely. These industries employ many of the workers deemed “essential” during the global health crisis.

With the serious health threats of a pandemic hanging in the balance, that makes some workers very fortunate—and others not so lucky. They may be forced back to work under uncertain circumstances out of fear of losing their jobs. Many states have characterized a refusal to return to work over concerns about the virus as "voluntary quits" that will halt their unemployment benefits. For many, a face-to-face economy is going to continue to be their reality. In fact, remote work has been found to worsen inequality by mostly helping high-income earners.

If companies are to avoid this kind of two-tiered economy, with remote work available to some but not others, it’s worth having a conversation about how the private and public sectors can work together to reduce inequalities so that more workers in the age of COVID-19 can reap the benefits of remote work.

Image credit: Unsplash

It’s one thing for a company to pivot rapidly during this crisis, give out grants to nonprofits and small businesses, or create a community for stakeholders to pay it forward. It's another to manage all of these response mechanisms at once, and that's what the online marketplace trailblazer eBay has done over the past several weeks.

Like many companies within and beyond the tech sector, eBay was forced to adapt quickly as the novel coronavirus wreaked havoc across society and threw business plans into disarray. But so far, the outlook for the San Jose-based company is bright. Based on its last quarterly results, the Silicon Valley giant has held its own. Revenues dipped a few percentage points compared to the prior year, but not surprisingly, the number of users increased.

Meanwhile, eBay has shown its chops as a strong corporate citizen, and no, we’re not only talking about the company clamping down on price gouging as the COVID-19 pandemic began to reveal its ugly side.

As with many companies, eBay has donated an eight-figure sum in its efforts to contribute to the global COVID-19 relief effort. The total amount increased to $15 million this week with the company’s most recent announcement that would donate an additional $10 million to help with responding to this pandemic in the U.S. and overseas. Nonprofits that are now in a stronger position to help those who need it most include Kiva, Start Small Think Big and the World Health Organization. “With eBay's support, [we] will be able to ensure that small businesses, who are so often left behind, have critical access to the services they need the most now,” said Jennifer DaSilva, executive director of the entrepreneurship empowerment nonprofit Start Small Think Big, in a public statement.

What’s interesting about eBay’s actions during this pandemic, however, is how it has built up a strong legacy of goodwill, which dates back to the early days of the dot-com era. The company quickly became a revelation for consumers who started to use the platform as a means to sell their unwanted stuff. Fast forward almost a quarter century after its founding, and we can see that sense of community still at a strong trajectory. In early April, for example, eBay kicked off Up & Running, a program it designed to help local businesses develop an online presence, and committed up to $100 million in support to assist small companies across North America.

Many of these small business owners are now paying it forward, whether they were longtime eBay resellers or given a lift through eBay’s latest initiatives. Many stories have unfolded, whether they involve donating laptops to students in need or providing meals to kids who suddenly lost access to nutrition programs due to school closures.

The recipe for eBay’s success is formulaic and can be adapted by other companies in different industries: The tech giant made it clear it would work with its resellers to ease financial pain, it took steps so it would be seamless for sellers to join its global response to COVID-19, and as it helped to launch new businesses, it positioned itself as a partner, not an adversary. As such, the Guardian newspaper recently described eBay as enjoying a “lockdown renaissance.” The company’s corporate citizenship streak, however, is unleashed, and in quite a good way.

Image credit: eBay Media Relations

Here’s a day companies could grant their employees a few hours of no-strings-attached paid leave. Be sure to calendar this Friday, May 22: More than 400 NGOs are calling for a Day of Solidarity to highlight bolder community action for those who have been overlooked as the COVID-19 crisis takes its toll. There won’t be local rallies to attend, but there’s plenty of digital action on the agenda.

Organizations mobilizing for this coming Friday include Action for Sustainable Development, Global Citizen, Oxfam and Save the Children.

While the narrative we hear from government officials is often, “the virus doesn’t discriminate,” the evidence suggests the elderly, the working poor, those with underlying health problems, people of color, and women and girls are among the groups at highest risk from suffering from the novel coronavirus – whether they suffer the social and economic impacts or, in the worst case, death.  

The long-term effects will be with society for years, as media reports have suggested half a billion people could fall into poverty due to this crisis.

To that end, the NGOs backing Friday’s Day of Solidarity said in a public statement: “We are strongly committed to ensuring that civil society organizations and volunteers play a critical role in supporting community action and ensuring that those who are most often marginalized are not left behind through this challenging time… but we expect world leaders to ensure key measures are addressed to build a fairer future.”

In the corporate world, while there are some business leaders who have stepped it up during this pandemic, so far,  the global business community has been better at communicating a response to this crisis than actually executing action to address it.

True, there have been many successful one-off responses to the pandemic, but critics can point to three problems as to why not everyone is agrees the overall corporate response has been effective. The mass layoffs and furloughs say enough, and many companies have either been slow to enact or pushed back against additional pay and protections for essential workers. Finally, evidence suggests that while many working-class and middle-class people are facing financial ruin, the wealthiest at a macro level have become richer during this crisis.

Hence these NGOs are calling on the public to help them take on the COVID-19 crisis. Whether people submit their own ideas, spread the word via social media, write to leaders or sign an online statement, these organizations are calling for a full slate of actions. They include building a fair recovery that ensures universal access to healthcare; eliminating inequality; securing human rights; rebuilding economies; addressing threats to biodiversity and tackling climate change.

This same group also has a 12-point plan that includes efforts it wants to see the United Nations, governments and donor agencies carry forward during this crisis.

One way in which companies could help with this initiative is to give employees some leeway this Friday so they can put their digital might into pushing for more global action to ensure government, the private sector and civil society unite to take on this pandemic. As we’ve seen here in the U.S., a loosely centralize effort has resulted in over 1.5 million cases of COVID-19 and 90,000 deaths. The entire world can do better, and a huge digital effort this Friday could certainly help to raise awareness and push people to expect more from their leaders.

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