The Sustainability Learning Forum

A Far-reaching Approach to Raising Labor Practices in Agriculture

Miguel Coleta
Philip Morris International

When Human Rights Watch unveiled their research in 2009 on child labor and other labor issues related to tobacco-growing in Kazakhstan, it prompted Philip Morris International (PMI) to rethink the way it was addressing these issues. Although the company already had efforts in place, clearly they were insufficient to gain visibility into these issues and address child labor. This prompted PMI to seek the advice of Verité (a leading NGO in supply chain responsibility) and to adopt a new approach aimed at systematically addressing child labor, resulting in the launch of PMI’s global Agricultural Labor Practices (ALP) program in 2011. more[...]

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Smartening Up Tomorrow’s Agriculture

Tobias Menne
Bayer Group

Food security ranks among the pressing challenges of a steadily increasing global population. Yet, there is not enough land left on Earth for further agricultural development. Creating an environment that promotes sustainable agriculture is critical to Bayer in providing enough food for ourselves and also our livestock well into the future. Bayer is contributing to counter these challenges, among other things, with the innovative approach of Digital Farming. This business model is part of Bayer’s contribution to support UN Sustainable Development Goal 2: “End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture” and emphasizes our commitment to the UN Global Compact. more[...]

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Resource Efficiency

Resource efficiency means using the Earth's limited resources in a sustainable manner while minimising impacts on the environment. It allows us to create more with less and to deliver greater value with less input. more[...]

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Agricultural Water Management Articles

Recently published articles from Agricultural Water Management. more[...] login_required

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UN Global Compact launches Food and Agriculture Business Principles

The UN Global Compact unveiled a set of six principles that food and agriculture businesses worldwide can adopt to meet food security challenges more effectively and sustainably. more[...] login_required

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The Global Organic Covenant

Markus Arbenz, IFOAM e.V.

The food crisis of 2008 and the burgeoning issue of climate change have given rise to a new discourse on agriculture, wherein its role in both creating and addressing global threats is being explored. The practice of agriculture and agribusiness has significant impacts on climate disruption; food insecurity; poverty and social inequity; loss of biodiversity; and the degradation of quality water supplies, soil, and air. more[...] login_required

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Arbenz, Markus

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Reducing Carbon Emissions in Everyday Life

Dr. Nicola Schuldt-Baumgart, ISOE - Institute for Social-Ecological Research
Dr. Immanuel Stieß, ISOE - Institute for Social-Ecological Research

When it comes to protecting the climate, the focus is usually on business and industry. Less well-known is the fact that more than half of the total annual carbon footprint per person (11 tons) is the direct or indirect product of private households. more[...]

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Horsing around with our food

Prof. Dirk Matten, Hewlett-Packard

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Fisheries and the Right to Food

Dr. Olivier De Schutter, UN

In the present report, the Special Rapporteur identifies the challenges facing global fisheries and examines how the individuals most vulnerable to negative impacts (the residents of developing coastal and island countries, (specially lowincome food-deficit countries) can be supported to ensure the progressive realization of the right to food, noting that pursuing a human rights approach is critical to achieving sustainable development in the fisheries sector. more[...] login_required

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Africa Can Feed Itself, Earn Billions, and Avoid Food Crises by Unblocking Regional Food Trade

World Bank

A new World Bank report says that Africa’s farmers can potentially grow enough food to feed the continent and avert future food crises if countries remove cross-border restrictions on the food trade within the region. According to the Bank, the continent would also generate an extra US$20 billion in yearly earnings if African leaders can agree to dismantle trade barriers that blunt more regional dynamism. The report was released on the eve of an African Union (AU) ministerial summit in Addis Ababa on agriculture and trade. more[...]

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FAO releases first status report on urban gardening in Africa

Food and Agriculture Organization

Africa's urban population is growing faster than that of any other region, but many of its cities are not keeping pace with the increasing demand for food that comes with that growth. A new FAO publication says policymakers need to act now to ensure that African cities will be "green" enough to meet their nutrition and income needs in a sustainable way. more[...] login_required

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Food Security for Africa: an urgent global Challenge

Albert Sasson, European Commission

On September 14, 2010, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) published its estimates concerning the number of people suffering from hunger in 2010: 925 million. This figure was below the 1,020 billion in 2009, but it was higher than the number reached before the 2008 global food crisis. The 2010 figure corresponded to 13.5% of the world population, while the 2015 objective (millennium development goal (MDG) number 1) was 8%. The FAO concluded that we were still far from achieving MDG 1, that is, halving the number of hungry people worldwide by 2015. more[...] login_required

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Global Food Price Volatility and Spikes: An Overview of Costs, Causes, and Solutions

Prof. Joachim von Braun, Center for Development Research

Since the 2007-08 food crisis, many thoughtful analyses have addressed the causes and impacts of high and volatile international food prices and proposed solutions to the crisis. These studies have covered global as well as local food price dynamics and policy reactions. The food price problem is, however, far-reaching, and its impacts are wide and interrelated. more[...] login_required

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Food Security Remains a Top Priority for African Development

African Development Bank (AfDB)

Food security remains an important development issue for Africa, with many countries facing high food costs and periodic food shortages due to climate change, humanitarian crises, conflict, displaced populations, poor agricultural practices and a high dependency on imported food stuffs. For this reason, food security remains a top priority on the continent’s development agenda, as outlined in the quarterly Africa Food Security Brief published recently by the Chief Economist Complex of the African Development Bank. more[...] login_required

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