Sustainable Markets Initiative

Do you run – or do you know – an innovative #Energy start-up in #Africa? If so, don’t miss the deadline of 4 November to enter the SMI Africa Council's Energy Entrepreneurship Competition being run by one of our fantastic members, Octopus Energy Generation, as leader of the Council’s Energy Workstream. The aim of the competition is to accelerate the development and deployment of innovative energy solutions across Africa, and it is open to technologically advanced start-ups in Africa with a maximum age of five years and no more than 20 full-time employees. The closing date is 4 November 2024. Enter here https://lnkd.in/gegx2A-G Octopus Energy

#COP16Colombia - the first Biodiversity COP since 2022 and the launch of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework - kicks off in Cali, Colombia next week, and we're looking forward to being there. The Kunming-Montreal GBF sets out an ambitious pathway to reach the global vision of a world living in harmony with #Nature by 2050. This is echoed in Article 7 of the Sustainable Markets Initiative's Terra Carta mandate: ‘Nature, the true engine of our economy’.  At a Business Leaders Forum we're hosting on Tuesday 29 October in Cali, we’ll be showcasing how our members’ ambitious corporate Nature commitments are translating into tangible on-the-ground action and impact through innovative partnerships and collaboration. Our programme includes sessions on: - Mobilising private sector finance to restore and protect Nature - Building resilience through Nature-positive strategies in tourism and other real-economy sectors - #Oceans and coastal resilience - Embedding #Biodiversity into decision-making at every level - Mobilising #RegenerativeAgriculture in Nature positivity If you've not already signed up to join us, email COP16@sustainable-markets.org to explore how you can get involved.

What do #fashion and #space have in common? How about innovative design and engineering that will help shape the future of human missions in space? Congratulations to SMI member Prada Group who together with Axiom Space unveiled their remarkable spacesuit today at #IAC2024. This important achievement underscores the need for, and value of, industry collaboration to drive systems-level change. Learn more about our Fashion and Space Sustainability Industry Hubs at https://lnkd.in/e8m_ZbpA. #AstraCarta

Throughout October RE:TV is diving into the subject of regenerating oceans. In the video below, Marine Scientist Dr. Deborah Brosnan explains how nature-based solutions could hold the key to environmental and financial resilience for Small Island Developing States (SIDS). If #oceans and the #BlueEconomy are topics you’d like to explore more, email COP16@sustainable-markets.org to find out how you can get involved in the round table session on ‘Oceans, building coastal resilience and a Blue Economy’ that we’re hosting on 29 October at #COP16Colombia, the UN’s #biodiversity conference in Cali.

Together with partners from the University of Glasgow and Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, the Sustainable Markets Initiative Heath Systems Task Force is convening a flagship event at the World Health Summit in Berlin today on training medical students with the knowledge and skills to address the health impacts of climate change.   Register now to join us virtually for a discussion on this transformative opportunity and the importance of integrating climate and health teaching into medical education: https://lnkd.in/gVMVVYxr     #WHS2024

Our SMI Asset Manager and Asset Owner Task Force has today published a report to help asset owners and asset managers integrate climate risks and opportunities into their investment decisions. Developed by Task Force members Impax Asset Management and State Street, the report titled ‘The climate has changed: How CIOs are investing in a climate-resilient economy’ distils findings from a series of interviews with Chief Investment Officers from leading asset owners, with five recommendations emerging from those conversations. The full report is now available on our website https://lnkd.in/dz6FpzTu #assetmanager #assetowner #terracarta #CIO #climate #sustainableeconomy

And that’s a wrap for the SMI’s bumper programme of activity at #ClimateWeekNYC. The penultimate day kicked off early at the offices of PwC where a panel discussion led by Ronald O'Hanley, CEO of State Street, and Ian Simm, CEO of Impax Asset Management, explored how CIOs allocate capital to the transition. The conversation drew from a series of interviews with CIOs from leading asset owners which form part of a new report due out soon. Over at The Spiral in Hudson Yards, one of New York's most iconic landmarks, guests of our Sustainable Buildings Task Force - led by George Oliver, Chairman & CEO of Johnson Controls - enjoyed a tour of Pfizer’s cutting-edge office space. The building demonstrates how innovative technologies can drive significant cost and emission reductions through connected technologies and optimised energy usage. Attendees were also able to engage in a dynamic discussion about the transformative potential of #AI and the technology that is at the centre of #decarbonising buildings. At Bank of America, a G20 and COP30 Roundtable on scaling private sector capital had leaders discussing how to foster an enabling environment that crowds in private sector capital at scale to advance the new climate economy, particularly in EMDEs. It was then over to our anchor event of the week, the SMI Autumn CEO Summit – more on that soon. And to wrap up the programme, an energised group of early risers joined our ‘Seeing is believing’ Tour of the New York Stock Exchange. A huge thank you to all our members and everyone who participated in our discussions. We look forward to continued collaboration and action towards our shared goal of a sustainable transition. #itstime #terracarta

Day 2 of the SMI’s programme of activity at #ClimateWeekNYC offered insight and inspiration. 👩💼 To start the day, we convened leading women CEOs to discuss the role of women in driving sustainability transition in global organisations. 🚢 This was swiftly followed by a gathering of leaders from across the #shipping industry. Shipping emits over a billion tonnes of greenhouse gases annually - that’s 3% of the world’s emissions – and the session focused on how to leverage the SMI’s convening power to drive systemic change. 🚛 In partnership with WBCSD – World Business Council for Sustainable Development, we were delighted to host a Collective for Clean Transport Finance. The session explored emerging investment opportunities in green road freight corridors in elected geographies and the blueprint they provide for national-level deployment. 🤝 SMI Member DLA Piper hosted two further SMI events – one to launch our new SMI North America Hub, a significant step towards fostering sustainable markets and driving economic transformation in Canada, the United States and Mexico – and a meeting of energy CEOs for an engaging discussion on advancing sustainable #energy solutions. ♻️ At our Circularity Open House in the afternoon, members of the SMI’s #Circularity Task Force introduced guests to the industry, sharing their stories and competitive business value gains in creating supply chains that recover or recycle resources used to create diverse products. 🌌 The day ended on a literal high, with a reception hosted by Lloyd's and Boston Consulting Group (BCG) at Hudson Yards where the twinkling New York skyline was the perfect backdrop to photographer Max Alexander’s ‘Our Fragile Space’ exhibition. The exhibition – which will soon travel to the UN – looks at #space sustainability and what action is being taken to protect this fragile environment and the night sky. #itstime #terracarta #astracarta

Day 1 of the SMI’s programme of activity at #ClimateWeekNYC was a story in two parts – #Africa and #Energy. We’ve already shared highlights from the fantastic series of events focused on Africa, now let’s turn to energy. Together with EY and Bank of America, we hosted 40+ leaders in an interactive workshop on Voluntary Carbon Markets which focused on the actions needed to scale a more robust and credible voluntary carbon market. Transparency, robustness and clear regulatory standards were identified as critical to generate the demand signals buyers need to be confident in making voluntary #carbonmarkets part of their sustainability strategy. Later in the day, the focus turned to #interconnectors and the private-public collaboration that will be required to meet the massive need for new transmission lines to handle the renewable power buildout on the journey to net zero. At a roundtable conversation hosted in partnership with Zhero and moderated by Breakthrough Energy , leaders discussed lessons learned through past projects, the role of public-private partnerships in accelerating investment, the emerging significance of offshore solutions in areas such as the Mediterranean, and market and policy signals required to accelerate developments. With a global grids target expected to be announced at #COP29, there is much to look forward to in this space. #terracarta #itstime #energygrids Karen Fang, Amy Brachio, Chan Boodhai, Martin Berg, Brennan Spellacy, Alessandra Pasini, Maria Robinson, Miguel Angel Prado Balboa, Michael Skelly, Christina Hayes, Campbell Howe' Shashank Sane, Chandrasekar Govindarajalu, Atul Arya, Jeff Dennis

Today at #ClimateWeekNYC the SMI and AECOM have launched a groundbreaking #AI tool designed to protect #nature during infrastructure development. With infrastructure development set to surge, driven by population and economic growth, the Nature Risk Tool will combat a reality that infrastructure development often leads to habitat loss, biodiversity decline, pollution, and increased greenhouse gas emissions. Powered by AECOM, and using datasets from the Taskforce for Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD), the SMI Nature Risk Tool enables infrastructure investors and promoters to analyse any piece of land globally (at a scale of metres), providing expert-reviewed descriptions of the location’s habitat and biomes early in the site selection process. Read more at https://lnkd.in/emFCtCXG