Blog

• A Candid Conversation on Living Income

  We often under-estimate the power of in-person meetings to make things happen. After two years of pandemic precautions and virtual meetings, I had the opportunity for in-person engagement with stakeholders…

  A Candid Conversation on Living Income

• Making Progress in Nicaragua: Interview with the Global Manager of Aldea Global

  Aldea Global is an association of smallholder farmers with over 13,000 members, including  6,200 coffee farmers, based in Nicaragua that exports fair trade and organic coffee to Asia, Europe and…

  Making Progress in Nicaragua: Interview with the Global Manager of Aldea Global

• How Collective Action Can Transform Landscapes To Forest Positive 

  As the world marks Earth Day, the Forest Positive Coalition and IDH -The Sustainable Trade Initiative, share five elements of success for landscape-level programs working to restore and protect forests. 

  How Collective Action Can Transform Landscapes To Forest Positive 

• Individual action and collaboration critical to closing living income gaps

  Poverty has been a reality in supply chains for generations. An inadequate portion of the value generated by global commodities makes its way to the smallholder farmers producing cacao, coffee,…

  Individual action and collaboration critical to closing living income gaps

• How can data-sharing partnerships enhance access to finance for smallholder farmers?

  Access to finance is a key challenge holding back smallholder farmers. This finance gap represents a business opportunity ripe for innovation. Data-sharing partnerships hold the potential for improving access to…

  How can data-sharing partnerships enhance access to finance for smallholder farmers?

• Turning Europe’s good intentions into effective action to stop deforestation

  It is said that the road to hell is paved with good intentions and the same is true when it comes to international efforts to halt deforestation. This week, the IPCC released its Sixth Assessment Report, once again highlighting the key role of forest protection in mitigating climate change and adapting to its impacts. Despite decades of such advice and well-meaning policy, we’re still losing our remaining forests at an alarming rate.

  Turning Europe’s good intentions into effective action to stop deforestation

• Fear or Pragmatism: How Will Global Commodity Markets Respond?

  The 6th IPCC report shows that while financial flows are not enough to limit warming to below 2°C (3.6°F) by 2030, there is sufficient global capital and liquidity to close…

  Fear or Pragmatism: How Will Global Commodity Markets Respond?

• “Trees Bring Oxygen, Shade and Rain”

  In Côte d’Ivoire, traditional cocoa farming involved cutting down trees to increase sunlight. This not only accelerates climate change, but also negatively impacts cocoa yields. Shade management is better for cocoa tree life expectancy, quality of beans and soil health. A highly biodiverse cocoa farm has been shown to be drought, disease, and pest resilient.

  “Trees Bring Oxygen, Shade and Rain”

• Sowing Peace in a Divided World

  We are living a new reality. Last week, as I returned from my first visit to the African continent since the beginning of the pandemic, I arrived in what felt…

  Sowing Peace in a Divided World

• Better Business through Gender Transformative Approaches

  By Jamie Anderson, Cesar Maita Azpiri Gender transformative approaches are good for business. How can companies accelerate their adoption? Insights…

  Better Business through Gender Transformative Approaches

• How Private Sector Development Strategies contribute to closing living income gaps

  Authored by Iris van der Velden, IDH Director of Learning and Innovation, with insight from IDH Roadmap on Living Income and Farmfit Intelligence center. Taking action to close…

  How Private Sector Development Strategies contribute to closing living income gaps

• This is what IDH calls progress

  Where others see things falling apart, I see the way being cleared to rebuild our systems in a new and healthy way. We need leaders who have the courage to step out of the rigid belief system of what business should be.

  This is what IDH calls progress

• Different Paths, Common Goal: Living Wages are Possible

  This article was first published on Sustainable Brands   Key insights from IDH shows how companies and coalitions are making real progress on living wages  …

  Different Paths, Common Goal: Living Wages are Possible

• The palm oil challenge: How India can push for sustainable edible oils 

  In recent decades, palm oil and soy have grown to dominate the global production mix and global consumption of edible oils by volume.  India - the world’s largest importer of vegetable oils - has a unique opportunity and agency to address the environmental impact of vegetable oil consumption.

  The palm oil challenge: How India can push for sustainable edible oils