Solving Poverty — ESGs Beyond Covid
By: Lorraine Lorimer
Tags: Water, Sdg, Sustainable Development, Esg, Ecosystem

ESG (Environment, Social and Governance) covers a vast area. Depending on the sector, milestones differ and finding a solid foundation can feel like trying to touch the bottom of the ocean after a wave surge. Through the wave of ambiguity are solid foundations to pull us through to meet 2030s Sustainable Development Goals, such as solving poverty. Suppliers innovating with willing end-users to help understand resource regulations and the supply chain. Biodiversity recovering threatened ecosystems. Industry or entrepreneurs leading skills to market. All this takes collaboration, and we can make it happen.

With Covid still looming, developed economies may be gasping for their next pint at the pub while emerging economies may be doing the same, but also grasping with infrastructure and supply challenges. What links both developed and emerging markets are low-income households who have had a rise in:

Domestic violence.

A struggle to pay for food.

No access to education because of the internet and technology.

Together recovery is a multi-lateral and collaborative approach. The World Bank’s lesson from the 2008–09 crisis is that no country can recover alone. International cooperation and coordination will enhance fiscal credibility.

The future is there to be made by all of us collectively and there are fair and more equitable ways for us all to live together. Yulia Mahr

Is GDP, GDP?

For ‘No Poverty’ or ‘Zero Hunger’ to be achieved we need to account for Goal 2.3.1, the ‘volume of production per labour unit by classes of farming/pastoral/forestry enterprise size’. Internationally, 87% of the 570 million farms are small scale farmers who report their crop production and not their labour.

Unless something is missing, efficient farming productivity (13% of farms) is the baseline for GDP in the agricultural sector. Therefore, the correct food cost is a shortfall of 87% and is invisible in GDP productivity reporting. If this is correct, could GDP be adjusted for an equal measure? How does GDP grow if its foundation is not being reported or measured? A staggering 11 countries report their small-scale farmer’s crop productivity. The remaining countries report the (small-scale) farmer’s income and not hours of labour.

In 38 countries, the efficient farming methods of large-scale farmers have more than double the income of small-scale farmers, whose labour input may take significantly longer. If this correct, the poverty cycle will not break unless the labour hours are baselined and measured equally.

Alleviating poverty is possible. A system could be in place by this time next year. Accounting for small-scale farmers is important with the growing demand for more sustainable and biodiverse farming. By creating a baseline, we can start to measure productivity for GDP reporting. Our invisible hands now have phones. Phone distribution increased this year to 1.7 million small-scale farmers in Kenya, Nigeria and Pakistan due to generous donations. Phones can create visibility with data reporting. Will Ruddick of Grassroots Economics in Kenya says reporting the specifics of labour is possible with app development and training. If participation goes hand in hand with monetisation, we may have our poverty solution.

Energy — Sparking Growth

The USA’s most significant emitter is the transport sector. Significant changes are underway with electric vehicles and batteries, aviation fuel, transport logistics and fleets, shipping design and power, public transport as well as urban planning, reports Greenbiz. Energy was the largest emitter in 2018, and a national approach supported by regional grids may be the most affordable green solution. Industrial CO2 also made it into the top three polluters of the country

Carbon capture projects are creating circular CO2 solutions and are an alternative to reduce emissions. The benefits However, nature-based solutions of reforestation, soil-sequestration and carbon reduction, are more affordable, reports Amory Lovins of the Rocky Mountain Institute on CNBC. To make low carbon energy technology more accessible to the economy, The Low-Carbon Resources Initiative (LCRI) launches their roadmap on 31 December 2020.

Further afield AUDA-NEPAD and US-Aid have partnered for solar energy projects in Namibia and Botswana this year. An exciting opportunity for future investment capital is US-Aid’s exploration into renewable energy pilots in the Sahel region and beyond.

One of the highest emitters, Europe, is actively reducing gas, biomass, fossil fuel use and increasing renewables, heat pumps and sustainable biogas to reach net-zero emissions .

The UK (non-EU, Jan 2020) is not joining the EU with a planned nuclear phase-out. Instead, one planned nuclear site is in the pipeline and another completing within the next five years.

Funding for wind projects in the Middle East and North Africa is by auction. Morocco and Jordan have agreed to a wind bilateral IPP (Independent Power Producer) project. Solar continues to grow in the region, and auctions are planned for the UAE and Saudi Arabia who are committing to nearly 4GW. Hydropower projects are planned but are not a significant power source.

Governance

Government Technology

Citizens trust NGOs more than their government in Africa reports the 2019 Global Corruption Barometer (GCB) . Majority of citizens have little or no trust in their governments in Asia, the Middle East and North Africa; Latin America and the Caribbean. The World Bank’s GovTech replaces human engagement which lowers transaction costs. Technology provides efficient services and information for better policy-making decisions.

Blockchain and Economics

Blockchain technology may provide the insight needed to build back better in a way that traditional bonds may not. Community blockchain in the form of token payment is complementary with the tradition of bartering and an enabler out of poverty. Labour tokens empower bartering for good quality food, services, water, health and education. Grassroots Economics Foundation, which runs the system, produces evidence-based solutions from its bartering data to better serve their community needs from government services.

Supply Chains — the links that bind

Supply chains have been affected by international governments and borders during the Covid crisis. Covid has highlighted gaps in the supply chains but created an opportunity for collaboration between academics, producers and corporates for sustainability, resilience and agility. Technology is changing efficiency and scenarios to improve the entire supply chain to create transparency.

On a macro-scale technology creates supply chain efficiency and government transparency of its natural resources. The World Resources Institute is backing training run by The International Wood Products Association to innovate with end-users of wood products and create an understanding of forestry regulations and supply chain mapping to market.

On a micro-level technology can register land tenure, community agriculture efficiency, reforestation and infrastructure. A super scale to drive forward fast change is already underway with coordination and collaboration across countries and industries.

Social

Education

During Covid, pupils in emerging markets used the radio, phones, and TV for their education, The Global Schools Forum reported.

Young pupils rely on family only for support, not for their education. Parents in developed countries may have preferred this approach and the gaps in independent learning and skills may create areas of opportunity.

Industry Skills Demand Collaboration

Government efforts to boost productivity, close the skills gap and reduce poverty is most needed in the Middle East, Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean, Central Asia and Europe.

Asian and African universities need to collaborate with government and corporates to help students with internet access, education funding and skill development. Africa has a 12% average Higher Education attendance rate and needs innovation to increase participation, says Professor Petersen of the University of the Free State, South Africa. Dr Grace Mwaura of The African Academy of Sciences emphasized that post graduate’s skills should match open job opportunities.

In the US, Fortune’s ‘CEO Initiative 2019: Fortune CEOs Want To Make Business Work for Everyone’ voiced the high demand for cohesive action between government and industry to develop the skill and culture gaps expected for their organisations to remain competitive.

The UK government recently launched free courses (with partners) to build employable skills for the job market.

Equality

Gender

Gender Pay reports the corporate sector’s gender pay differences. This year’s Global Gender Gap Report has seen a pay gap close in 101 countries with an improvement in the education and healthcare sectors.

Diversity on Board

Ursula Burns in her conversation with Alan Murray and Ellen McGirt, drives through the archaic business structure and the need for a Black Lives Matter remould. Talent bouncing into invisible diversity, gender pay gap and core corporate walls may prefer change and take advantage of (UK) government funding to go it alone to deliver their solutions to the market.

Environment

Ecosystems

Over the last year, the Forest Landscape Restoration (FLR) has been working with communities in tropics. The tropics are of interest because they hold the largest carbon sinks. Thailand and Peru have been successful with their restoration projects.

The FLR introduced empowerment and extractive practices to six Brazilian forest extraction communities. Training women and including the communities in high level management forest resources has been successful. The second biggest tropical area with high carbon sink capacity is the Congo. The Association Technique Internationale des Bois Tropicaux (ATIBT) appears to be battling against companies in the area who have little regard for sustainability.

Reforestation