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Strengthening the ‘Environment’ Component of ESG: How Financial Institutions Can Bring Green Financing into the Mainstream in India
Environment, social and governance (ESG) reporting is a critical enabler for many companies that hope to leverage business for social good. But according to Aryasilpa Adhikari and Priyank Sharma at the Inclusive Finance India Initiative and Srishty Anand at Fair Finance India, though Indian financial institutions have shown an increased focus on the social and governance components of the ESG framework, the environment component has generally been less of a priority. They explore several ways India can change this dynamic and bring green finance into the mainstream.
- Categories
- Environment, Finance, Investing
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A Gender-Smart Renewable Energy Transition: Why Climate Change Solutions Can’t Overlook Inequality
The Sustainable Development Goals recognize gender equality (SDG 5) and affordable and clean energy (SDG 7) as imminent priorities. Yet Rachel Murphy at Deetken Impact argues that women have been left out of the clean energy conversation – and that the world is running out of time to meaningfully change course. She explains why no single SDG can be achieved without the integration of both a gender and climate perspective, and explores how can the energy industry can move toward greater inclusion and empowerment of women.
- Categories
- Energy, Environment, Impact Assessment
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The Low-Hanging Fruit of Energy Access: Unlocking the Potential of Energy Efficiency Solutions for African Businesses
You’ve likely heard plenty of discussion of the approximately 600 million people who lack basic access to electricity in sub-Saharan Africa. But Adam Fitzwilliam at Camco Clean Energy points out that it's not just individuals who are energy poor: The region's business sector also needs access to reliable, renewable electricity. He explains why focusing on energy efficiency is one of the most cost-effective ways to address energy demand in the commercial and industrial sector, and explores why these efforts haven’t taken off yet in most sub-Saharan African markets.
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- Energy, Environment, Finance
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Access Alone is Not Enough: Why a Holistic Approach is Necessary to Develop Lasting Energy Solutions
With about 800 million people lacking reliable electricity, energy access is one of the defining issues – and opportunities – of our time. According to Peter Weston at Energy 4 Impact and David Nicholson at Mercy Corps, that's what drove the recent merger of their two organizations. But as they explain, to unlock the full impact of energy access, it's important to ensure that people, businesses and communities can capitalize on it. They explore how a comprehensive market system approach can produce energy solutions that work for farmers, entrepreneurs and others.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Energy, Environment
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Rethinking the Role of Business in Conservation: Why Small Local Enterprises are Key to Biodiversity and Climate Action
Climate change mitigation and adaptation are a key focus of attention in the global development sector. But according to Julia Rohe-Frydrych and Luis Ebert at adelphi, these discussions tend to overlook the conservation of the planet’s biodiversity, and they often fail to envision a role for the private sector that goes beyond providing climate finance. They argue that climate change and biodiversity loss are two sides of the same coin, and explore the importance of empowering local businesses that profit from the protection or restoration of nature.
- Categories
- Environment, Impact Assessment
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Failing to Learn from Failure is Undermining Energy Access: Why the Lack of Transparent Discussion is Putting SDG7 at Risk
Despite the clear need for sustainable energy and clean cooking solutions, energy access projects frequently fail – and all too often, these failures go unreported. According to Iwona Bisaga at Modern Energy Cooking Services and Julia Tomei and Tash Perros at University College London, the lack of discussion of failures is holding back progress toward global energy access. They share insights from a new study that examines what failure means to different actors across the sector, assesses the different types of failures that occur, and explores why the topic is so rarely discussed.
- Categories
- Energy, Environment
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NextBillion’s 2022 Reader and Guest Writer Survey: Share Your Views and Help Shape Our Coverage
As an open forum for the development through enterprise sector, almost all of NextBillion's content is guest written. That's why it's important for us to check in periodically with our writers and readers, to get a better sense of how well our coverage is suiting your needs – and what we could do better. To that end, we've put together a brief, six-question survey, and we invite both writers and readers to share your views. Your input will be highly valuable as we work to highlight the businesses, innovations, debates and leaders that are shaping the sector.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Coronavirus, Education, Energy, Environment, Finance, Health Care, Impact Assessment, Investing, Social Enterprise, Technology, WASH
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Risky Business: How an Innovative Partnership is Addressing Growing Threats to the Coffee Supply Chain
For smallholder farmers, growing coffee has become a risky business. Plagued by low profitability and the effects of climate change, many struggle to earn a livable income. And with smallholders accounting for 80% of global coffee production, their struggles put the entire coffee industry at risk. Carolin Ehrensperger at Neumann Gruppe GmBH and Laura Harwig at Feed the Future Partnering for Innovation discuss a partnership that aims to build a sustainable coffee supply chain by providing farmers with critical opportunities and resources to grow and adapt.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Environment
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