Blogs Navigation
Sustainable BusinessRecent posts
Listen, Manage, Learn: This Is How We Address Your Concerns at IDB Invest
The Management Grievance Mechanism serves individuals, communities, and groups seeking to voice their concerns on environmental or social issues related to projects financed or under consideration.
Aristotle’s Wisdom and Synergies at IDB Group
The philosophical maxim about the whole and the parts is the perfect metaphor for illustrating how we work together to multiply the impact of our institutional efforts to build a better world.
Are Financial Institutions Ready to Face Climate Risks? This Is What We Found Out
An IDB Invest survey shows they require guidance and a solid legal framework to navigate a complex landscape. Experts recommend focusing on three pillars: governance and culture, implementation and engagement, and transition planning.
Surprising ways that biodiversity is linked to sustainable development
On the International Day for Biological Diversity, it’s a good time to reflect on the ways that biodiversity contributes to sustainable development. In an age of smartphones and super computers, it’s easy to overlook how dependent we are on the simple technologies of nature.
Changes at the base of the pyramid will transform markets in Latin America and the Caribbean
By Lourdes Gallardo, Senior Specialist, Opportunities for the Majority at the Inter-American Development Bank From 2000 to 2010, Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) enjoyed a remarkable wave of sustained economic growth which helped improve the incomes and welfare of millions of people living at the base of the pyramid (BoP). According to the World Bank, nearly 70 million people increased their purchasing power significantly and 50 million Latin Americans escaped poverty over the decade. This sea change dramatically altered their aspirations, priorities, and interactions with their societies.
Expo Milano 2015 – an unlikely place for sustainable business?
While critics call it a bloated global extravaganza for its escalating public expenditure, the 2015 Expo in Milan, Italy, also brings opportunities for sustainable business globally. This year’s topic of the World Fair - Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life – seeks to highlight solutions to one of the greatest development challenges the world faces today. There are still 805 million people suffering from hunger and malnourishment globally, while at the same time an incredible 2.1 billion people are obese or overweight, an increase of 28 percent in adults and 47 percent in children since 1980. In addition, about 1.3 billion tons of food is wasted every year, causing economic losses of about $750 billion.
To Connect or Not to Connect? Shifting Energy Industry Forges Unlikely Partnerships
On the big island in Hawaii, the sun shines 168 days of the year. In Honolulu, it jumps to 271 days of sunshine. That’s the perfect market to launch a new partnership between solar panel supplier SolarCity and electric carmaker Tesla Motors.
What happens when low-income people's disposable income increases?
The base of the pyramid as we knew it ten years ago has changed tremendously. Latin America and the Caribbean’s economic growth between 2000 and 2010 benefited many in the region, from top to bottom. Millions of people emerged from poverty, and the segment of those living on $4-10 a day grew considerably. More than 400 million people in Latin America live at the base of the pyramid (BOP) today. They represent a $760 billion market annually. The Inter-American Development Bank's BASE III Forum will be this year's opportunity to discuss how to tap into this unexplored market and have an impact on low-income people's lives. It will take place in Mexico City on June 29-July 1.
The First Commandment of Social Impact Generation
By Pablo Antón Díaz, Opportunities for the Majority The first commandment for companies and organizations that aim at generating social impact is adopting mechanisms to measure it. Every line is the perfect length if you don’t measure it, and this same rule applies to impact investing. Narratives on a handful of beneficiaries can be useful and serve as great instruments for attracting new investors, but the only sure way of knowing whether your efforts are indeed being relevant in the lives of people is through systematic measurement.