Sustainable BusinessRecent posts
Artificial Intelligence for Health Care: Diagnosing Tropical Diseases in Remote Amazon Regions
Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming the global health landscape, particularly in remote Amazon regions, where a new technology can diagnose cutaneous leishmaniasis using a cellphone without requiring an internet connection.
Reimagining the Future of Finance in Latin America and the Caribbean
At the FinnLAC Forum 2025 in Miami, the IDB Group hosted over 500 industry leaders and experts to help redefine the future of finance in Latin America and the Caribbean. The event focused on improving the ability of individuals and companies to better manage their finances, withstand economic shocks, and invest in their long-term prosperity. By highlighting innovations that broaden access, strengthen resilience, and promote overall financial health, the forum set the stage for more sustainable financial systems across the region.
Fixing the Broken Rung: How Data Can Help Advance Women’s Careers in Latin America and the Caribbean
In Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), the greatest disruption in women’s career progression occurs during the transition into managerial roles. A collaboration between IDB Invest and LinkedIn, within the framework of the Development Data Partnership, uses large-scale labor-market data to identify where women’s participation declines and what barriers exist across sectors and career stages.
What is the Value of Nature?
An apple at a supermarket: $0.50. 1,000 gallons of tap water in New York City: $4.95. Annual value of pollination to agriculture: $200 billion. Cost savings from good land management in New York City's watershed: $8 billion. Total value of benefits from nature: priceless? Robert Costanza, a leading environmental economist, just published the article: "Changes in the Global Value of Ecosystem Services," where he estimated the total value of these benefits at $145 trillion per year. That’s about twice as much as the total output of the global economy. Some of the value that nature provides has an obvious cost. Other values don't directly affect your wallet and are less visible. But just because we don't pay for some of nature's benefits doesn't mean they have less value.
Is Sustainability a Business Opportunity?
Today, forward-thinking companies understand the “why” behind investing in sustainability. Simply put, it makes business sense. However many companies, large and small, are still looking for the “how to”.
WANTED: Innovative companies for a $760 billion market
It has been more than ten years since we first read about the base of the pyramid (BOP) and the large and virtually untapped market represented by this socio-economic segment. People at the BOP in Latin America and the Caribbean live on less than $10 a day, but they have benefited from the region’s economic growth between 2000 and 2010 and their incomes have been growing ever since. Latin America’s BOP now encompasses 406 million people and represents a market of $760 billion. A market segment that awaits for innovative companies.
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.
