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Food & WaterLatest News

eJaby Launches in the UAE, Addressing Overstock and Sustainability

by rachel
written by rachel

In an effort to tackle overstock and support sustainability changes in dynamic markets, eJaby, a commerce marketplace, has launched in the UAE. The eJaby platform connects customers directly with quality overstock products, creating a win-win scenario for conscious consumers, suppliers and the planet, by tackling food and other limited-lifespan product waste.

eJaby utilises advanced technology to connect suppliers with customers who value quality products at exceptional value, including food, beverages and non-food products. By focusing on overstock items – products that are past the product of their shelf life but still meet rigorous quality standards – eJaby provides customers with products that support sustainability efforts. This approach aligns with international sustainability goals, including the UAE’s target to reduce food loss and waste by 50 per cent by 2030.

“The cost of food waste, related to food service and retail combined, tops at around $23 billion annually in the region alone”, said Maxim Haartsen, Co-Founder of eJaby. “By providing an alternative online sales channel for suppliers, we ensure a smart shopping experience, adhering to a positive lifestyle where customers appreciate both quality and value.”

Sustainability at the Core

The company says it is deeply committed to sustainability, incorporating eco-friendly practices throughout its operations. The platform supports the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 12 (Responsible Production and Consumption) and SDG 13 (Climate Action), by minimising the environmental impact of food waste and promoting responsible consumption.

“We see eJay as more than just a marketplace”, said Menna Shahin, Co-Founder of eJaby. “We want out eJaby community to join us in reducing CO2 and making a positive impact on the environment. Every other played through eJaby contributes to reducing waste and building a healthier planet. It’s a movement towards a more sustainable and efficient system.”

Expanding Research and Impact

The recent eJaby launch in the UAE marks the platforms expansion into the MENA region, with plans to enter the Saudi Arabian market by early 2025. The company’s growth reflects a broader trend towards sustainability in the region, positioning eJaby at the forefront of this critical movement.

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EnvironmentSocialSpecial Reports

PwC: Global Youth Outlook | Report

by Madaline Dunn
written by Madaline Dunn

PwC has launched its second Global Youth Outlook, having engaged 2,200 children and young adults from diverse global regions to learn about their perspectives on the significance and future of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The report’s regional findings are based on approximately 810 children and young adults between the ages of 10 and 30 from eight countries in the region.

The report found that:

  • Nearly 34 per cent of Middle East respondents are extremely or very familiar with the SDGs, compared to 23 per cent globally,
  • Regional respondents rank Clean Water and Sanitation (SDG 6) among their highest priorities,
  • This prioritisation is followed by Quality Education (SDG 4) and Good Health and Wellbeing (SDG 3),
  • Regional respondents also prioritise Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure (SDG 9) and Peace and Justice (SDG 16) more than the global average, according to PwC.
  • Sixty-five per cent of regional respondents place “considerable faith” in governments as positive changemakers,
  • However, only 45 per cent of youth consider non-government and international organisations to be driving enough change.
  • Youth in the Middle East are also reported to be more active participants in SDG initiatives they consider meaningful compared with their global peers.
  • The “action gap” – the difference between the importance placed on SDGs and youth’s actual engagement – is narrower in the region.

Read more about the Global Youth Outlook report here.

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EnvironmentOpinionPolicy & Finance

Rebooting the Sustainable Development Goals

by Madaline Dunn
written by Madaline Dunn

It is a truism in the business world that vision without execution is a hallucination, and execution without vision is futile. The same principle applies to global policy: ambitions without solutions are just hopes, while solutions without ambition lead to stagnation.

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for 2030 are a case in point. These 17 objectives and 169 underlying targets were unanimously adopted by all United Nations member states in 2015. They constitute an ambitious agenda to address global challenges like poverty, health, gender equality, labor, education, and climate change.

With six years remaining until the 2030 deadline, the world is far from achieving most of these goals. Despite significant improvements in some areas – such as a million more children reaching their fifth birthday each year – progress has been too slow in many others.

While financing gaps are rightly often cited as a key factor, the biggest obstacle to achieving the SDGs is the lack of systematic approaches to creating scalable solutions. Slow and steady gains can lead to significant advances over time, but if progress becomes too slow, the sense of achievement and hope for the future can dissipate.

Achieving systemic gains requires boldness. In 2015, the SDGs were launched with a call for transformation. But calling for transformative solutions is easier than developing them. Although markets are powerful drivers of innovation, we need solutions capable of tackling broader public interests. Progress often requires new forms of collaboration between public, private, scientific, and civil-society institutions, or even the creation of new ones. But many organizations have difficulties updating their goals or building partnership strategies. Siloed professional communities are difficult to unite, leaving vested interests and the forces of inertia to crowd out innovation. Consequently, partnership remains more an aspirational value than a skills-based discipline, and policy debates often prioritize ideology over practical solutions.

Against this backdrop, achieving the SDGs by 2030 requires new approaches that are audacious enough to inspire but also practical enough to be viable – concepts that capture the imagination while steering implementation debates toward tangible results. This could mean anything from a new global fund designed to ensure that digital cash transfers reach the world’s poorest communities, or an “interspecies money” mechanism that leverages artificial intelligence to provide animals with a say on how digital currencies can be spent on their own protection. It could also mean developing a public data tool to help investors identify and avoid companies that use forced labor.

New technologies, institutions, and approaches all have the capacity to mobilize energy and expertise to achieve common, quantifiable objectives. Crucially, the fresh approaches we have in mind must convince people to abandon current practices and pool their creativity and resources toward a greater goal.

But big ideas rarely emerge on their own. Our respective professional experiences and collaborative efforts have taught us that innovative SDG solutions must be encouraged, cultivated, and supported. As co-chairs of 17 Rooms, a partnership between the Brookings Institution and The Rockefeller Foundation, we have worked with several dozen groups of extraordinary professionals around the world on initiatives related to all 17 goals. Having watched them experiment with various approaches, we have learned a few lessons about how to drive positive change.

First, venues for cross-sector cooperation on sustainable development remain too rare. We have been struck by the sense of novelty leaders from all sectors frequently express when encouraged to craft bold actions together to achieve even individual SDG targets.

Second, how ideas are shaped matters. To create platforms for the best ideas to emerge, the world needs tools, processes, and systems that can bring together diverse views, and yet the lack of available tools for developing multi-stakeholder solutions is startling.

Third, the development and adoption of big ideas should be interlinked. Too often, experts devise new solutions without understanding the realities faced by those who would be responsible for implementing them. Conversely, policymakers often fail to seek out innovative ideas and are rarely held accountable for not doing so.

A fourth lesson concerns the need to determine early on who will pay and how. Regrettably, the SDGs were launched without sufficient agreement on funding, making even small amounts of money difficult to secure. Without adequate financing, big ideas will remain just that – ideas.

Fifth, there is no substitute for leadership. Institutions and systems are crucial for large-scale deployment, but the passion and dedication of individuals championing big ideas are much more important than a perfect strategy or project. Since roadblocks are inevitable in an age of technological disruption, policy entrepreneurs must be as agile as their counterparts in the business world in navigating constantly shifting terrain.

To be sure, some people may argue that the current geopolitical climate is too challenging to pursue big ideas or develop systematic approaches to achieving the SDGs. We disagree. If anything, today’s heightened tensions underscore the need to chart a better path forward. When the world seems stuck or off course, policy tweaks are unlikely to have a significant impact. New ideas, on the other hand, can foster a sense of opportunity and combat despair.

Lastly, private-sector and civil-society leaders are just as vital to generating big ideas as public officials. Big ideas can drive change at every level, from local councils to international forums. But achieving the SDGs requires new platforms that can foster innovation across sectors and empower relevant actors to advance solutions independently.

At 17 Rooms, we have learned from our successes and missed opportunities. With six years remaining until the 2030 deadline to achieve the SDGs, we are actively seeking big ideas. We hope others will adopt a similar approach and help all of us build platforms to facilitate innovative solutions.

This commentary draws on insights generated through the 17 Rooms Initiative, convened by the Center for Sustainable Development at Brookings and The Rockefeller Foundation.

By John W. McArthur, Senior Fellow and Director of the Center for Sustainable Development at the Brookings Institution and Zia Khan, Senior Vice President for Innovation at The Rockefeller Foundation.

© Project Syndicate 1995–2024

For more op-eds, head here.

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Innovation & EducationLatest News

Mastercard Challenge on Financial Inclusion for the SDGs Launched

by Madaline Dunn
written by Madaline Dunn

Mastercard, in partnership with the Ministry of Sustainable Development of Bahrain, has launched the Mastercard Challenge on Financial Inclusion for the SDGs under the theme ‘Solving for the Future’.

Run in collaboration with The BENEFIT Company, The Labour Fund (Tamkeen) and StartUp Bahrain, the competition is open to undergraduate and postgraduate university students in Bahrain to propose ideas and data-driven solutions to accelerate progress on the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through financial inclusion as a key enabler. 

The SDGs were adopted by all United Nations members in 2015, comprising 17 goals and 169 targets covering everything from poverty and hunger to education and clean energy.

However, according to the Sustainable Development Solutions Network’s (SDSN) recent Sustainable Development Report, the world is off-track from achieving the goals and SDSN shared that it is clear they will now not be achieved in the original timeframe. 

Participants will reportedly explore real-life challenges facing the SDGs from a multi-disciplinary perspective in sectors that include education, healthcare, climate, the environment, tourism, and business, gaining insight into the role of financial inclusion and data from the financial services industry.

HE Noor bint Ali Alkhulaif, Minister of Sustainable Development and Chief Executive of the Bahrain Economic Development Board, said: “Given the role of financial inclusion as an enabler of several SDGs, the Mastercard Challenge seeks to encourage Bahrain’s youth to develop new solutions which can unlock its full potential by creating more economic opportunities, enabling economic diversification, and boosting sustainable growth.”

The organisers shared the challenge winners will receive complimentary enrollment in Mastercard Academy for one year, a visit to the Mastercard EEMEA HQ, and a paid internship at BENEFIT to develop and scale their solutions.

Winners will also gain access to technical expertise, mentorship, and training from Mastercard and BENEFIT, including:

  • An AI masterclass,
  • Ten mentoring sessions, and
  • Three online sessions with Mastercard’s experts.

Her Excellency Maha Abdulhameed Mofeez at Tamkeen added: “We believe in the capabilities of Bahraini youth and their potential to drive impactful change in the Kingdom. We are excited to collaborate with the Ministry of Sustainable Development, Mastercard, and BENEFIT to offer this unique opportunity to Bahraini students to tackle a pressing topic through innovation and gain access to expert knowledge and a valuable platform to showcase their solutions.

“Supporting the Mastercard Challenge is aligned with our commitment to enabling Bahraini talent to pursue an entrepreneurial path through training, mentorship, and access to funding.”

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DevelopingEnvironment

World Remains Off-Track on SDGs, SDSN Report Finds

by Madaline Dunn
written by Madaline Dunn

This week, the UN’s Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) released its Sustainable Development Report, assessing the state of global progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). 

Adopted back in 2015, the 2030 goals, much like the goals of the Paris Agreement, signed the same year, are woefully off-track.

The SDGs contain 17 goals and 169 targets covering everything from hunger and poverty to renewable energy. However, none of the goals are on track to be achieved by 2030, and just 16 per cent of the targets are on track to be met globally, while 84 per cent show either limited progress or reversal. 

The report states that it is now clear that the SDGs will not be achieved in the original timeframe. 

According to the report, this dismal performance has been influenced by a number of factors, including global crises, like the COVID-19 pandemic and international and civil conflicts, a lack of Global Financial Architecture (GFA) reform, and uneven global cooperation. 

ESG Mena takes a deeper look at the report’s findings and its recommendations for the path ahead. 

World Stagnates on SDG Progress

As the world approaches the halfway point to the 2030 target, the SDSN report outlines that SDG progress has been stagnant since 2020. 

In particular, SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), SDG 14 (Life Below Water), SDG 15 (Life on Land), and SDG 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions) are areas for concern.

The SDGs for which the highest country proportion of regression is observed are obesity rate (under SDG 2), press freedom (under SDG 16), the Red List Index—a global biodiversity indicator (under SDG 15), sustainable nitrogen management (under SDG 2), and life expectancy at birth (under SDG 3).

However, targets related to food and land systems were also spotlighted for being “particularly” off-track. 

Big Disparities Between Countries

While the situation remains grim globally, the report found that there’s a big disparity between countries in terms of progress. 

As has been the ongoing trend, European countries topped the Index, with Nordic countries in particular seeing the most progress. Finland led, with Sweden and Denmark ranking behind in second and third place.

Comparatively, the report noted that the poorest and most vulnerable countries are not catching up with the world average score. The gap between the world average SDG Index score and that of “poor countries” and SIDS is now, in fact, larger in 2023 than it was in 2015. 

Indeed, Yemen, Somalia, Chad, the Central African Republic, and South Sudan all rank at the bottom of this year’s SDG Index. 

Demonstrating the sheer scale of the gap, Finland scored 86.4, performing well on a number of SDGs, particularly SDG 1 and 7, while South Sudan scored 40.1, with major challenges in many areas, including hunger, health, and clean and affordable energy, with poverty only getting worse. 

BRICS and BRICS+ countries, meanwhile, were found to be making “significant progress,” and since 2015, their average SDG progress has outpaced the world average. 

Regionally in the MENA, a number of countries ranked in the 60s and 70s, with Tunisia at 60th, with an overall score of 72.5, Morocco 69th, scoring 70.9, UAE 70th with a score of 70.5, and Egypt 83rd with a score of 69.1.

Qatar and Saudi Arabia came in at 102nd and 103rd, respectively, both scoring 64.9. 

Investment Lacking, Multilateralism “More Important Than Ever”

The report highlighted that sustainable development remains a long-term investment challenge and emphasised that reforming GFA is now “more urgent than ever.”

Indeed, the report noted that low-income countries (LICs) and lower-middle-income countries (LMICs) urgently need to gain access to affordable long-term capital so that they can invest at scale to achieve their sustainable development objectives. 

This, it says, requires new institutions, new forms of global financing (including global taxation), and new priorities for global financing.

It also spotlighted the importance of global cooperation and multilateralism, with peoples and nations more interconnected than ever and global challenges unable to be solved by one nation alone. 

“The world requires many essential public goods that far transcend the nation-state,” the report stated and highlighted the role of regional groupings in bolstering ecosystem protection and decarbonising regional energy systems.

When assessing where countries ranked on multilateralism, it found the five countries most committed to UN-based multilateralism are Barbados (1), Antigua and Barbuda (2), Uruguay (3), Mauritius (4), and the Maldives (5).

By contrast, the United States (193), Somalia (192), South Sudan (191), Israel (190), and the Democratic Republic of Korea (189) ranked the lowest on the UN-Mi.

Pathways to Get SDGs on Track 

With time quickly running out to achieve the SDGs, the report made a number of recommendations aimed at getting the world on track, from food systems to financing. 

On the former, the report presented new Food, Agriculture, Biodiversity, Land-Use, and Energy (FABLE) pathways, including the recommendation to limit animal-based protein consumption and increase the share of proteins derived from plants. 

The report also highlighted the importance of investing in fostering productivity, particularly for products and areas with high demand growth, as well as regulations and incentives to prevent the conversion of forest and other biodiversity-rich areas to agricultural land. 

The need for inclusive, robust, and transparent monitoring systems to halt deforestation was also underlined. 

The report also put forward five strategies to reform GFA, including increasing the scale of financing from official sources, including bilateral Official Development Assistance (ODA) and multilateral financial institutions (MFIs), including multilateral development banks (MDBs).

In addition to this, it spotlighted the need to increase the scale and performance of mission-oriented and fit-for-purpose national development banks, with global taxation on carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, air and sea travel, and financial transactions, and “other international goods and “bads.””

Reform is also needed in the private capital markets and their regulation, it noted, including the system of credit ratings, in support of larger private flows of capital to low-income countries (LICs) and lower-middle-income countries (LMICs). 

Finally, it recommended restructuring existing debts, including debt-for-SDG swaps, debt-for-nature swaps, lower interest rates, and longer maturities that align with the time horizon to achieve sustainable development.

Elsewhere, the report underscored the key role of the private sector as a driver for sustainable development. 

“Profits must be the reward for contributions to the common good, not private gains achieved at the public’s expense,” it stated.

UN System Must Be “Upgraded”

However, alongside these measures, the report more broadly called for the UN system to be “upgraded.” 

Indeed, in the report’s opening chapter, endorsed by over 100 global scientists and practitioners, authors advocated for the UN to be “strengthened and empowered” to underpin the new “multi-polar world.”

“Reforms include new UN bodies, such as a UN Parliament, new forms of global financing, and new strategies to ensure observance of international law and peace among the major powers. 

Ultimately, the UN Charter itself will need to be revised and updated to reflect our 21st century needs and realities,” the report read. 

Commenting on the findings, Professor Jeffrey D. Sachs, President of the SDSN and a lead author of the report, said: “Midway between the founding of the UN in 1945 and the year 2100, we cannot rely on business as usual. The world faces great global challenges, including dire ecological crises, widening inequalities, disruptive and potentially hazardous technologies, and deadly conflicts, we are at a crossroads.”

“Ahead of the UN’s Summit of the Future, the international community must take stock of the vital accomplishments and the limitations of the United Nations system and work toward upgrading multilateralism for the decades ahead,” added Professor Sachs.

The UN Summit of the Future will be hosted in September and, according to the UN, aims to reinvigorate multilateralism, boost the implementation of existing commitments, and explore solutions to emerging challenges.

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EnvironmentLatest News

UAE SDGs National Committee, MoEI Organise SDG Workshops

by Madaline Dunn
written by Madaline Dunn

The UAE National Committee on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) recently organised a series of meetings and workshops on SDGs in cooperation with the United Nations Human Settlements Programme and the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure (MoEI).

The workshops aimed to build the capabilities of national agencies and technical expertise on reporting sustainable development goals and also evaluate progress on the 2030 global agenda based on the UAE SDGs National Data Plan, according to WAM.

The workshops conducted technical meetings between experts from custodian international agencies and representatives of relevant UAE government agencies to discuss indicators and methodologies for calculating data.

They also highlighted the importance of building technical capabilities and competencies to collect and update data on the platforms of international organisations responsible for the SDGs.

Dr. Fernanda Lonardoni, Head of the UN-Habitat Country Programme, said that the SDG 11 Workshop Series provides an opportunity for the UAE to “align with global standards and methodologies.”

“By utilising data, national leaders can more effectively identify urban policy and infrastructure gaps and develop clear pathways to achieve the SDGs in cities and communities,” said Dr. Lonardoni.

Sheikh Nasser Al Qasemi, Assistant Undersecretary for Regulation of Infrastructure and Transport Sector at MoEI, said that achieving SDG11 is a joint responsibility that requires a “clear approach” and “active involvement” of all stakeholders to overcome the challenges faced by cities.

“We can achieve this goal by setting the proper governance framework and harnessing the capabilities of the government, the business sector, and civil society.”

He added that international cooperation is “key” to achieving the SDGs.

The workshop was attended by senior officials from the ministry and representatives from UN-Habitat. Representatives from organisations dedicated to achieving the SDGs also participated.

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EnvironmentLivingSpecial Reports

Arcadis: Sustainable Cities Index 2024

by Madaline Dunn
written by Madaline Dunn

Arcadis has published its Sustainable Cities Index 2024, which assesses the global landscape across four pillars of sustainability:

  • Planet,
  • People,
  • Profit, and
  • Progress.

The fourth pillar, added this year, demonstrates the impact of sustainability interventions over the last decade.

Its sixth edition comes nearly 2,000 days until the 2030 deadline for achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

The assessment spans 67 different metrics, with data points including air pollution, waste management, and investment in low-carbon infrastructure (including renewable energy and sustainable transport), as well as factors such as economic performance, social equity, and resilience to natural disasters.

Overall, Amsterdam topped the 2024 Sustainable Cities Index, followed by Rotterdam, Copenhagen, Frankfurt and Munich.

Karachi came in at last place, after Johannesburg, Nairobi, and Cape Town, while Cairo came in at 94th.

It was shared that overall high performance in the Planet pillar was associated with overall success.

Eight of the top ten cities for Planet also appear in the overall top 10, for example.

It was also found that high performance on the Profit metric does not necessarily come at the expense of environmental sustainability, with Amsterdam also ranking at the top of the Profit pillar.

North American cities dominate the Profit pillar, with San Francisco, Dallas, Chicago, Houston, New York, and Seattle all appearing in the top ten for Profit.

European cities were spotlighted for making significant strides with regard to progress.

Meanwhile, the report noted that the dominance of Asian cities such as Jakarta, Wuhan, and Shanghai at the top of the Progress pillar shows that, in cities with limited prior sustainable infrastructure or practices, early steps can have an “enormous impact” in generating momentum.

Read the full report here.

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Innovation & EducationLatest News

AYCCC Launches ‘The Open-source Hub’ Sustainability Platform

by Madaline Dunn
written by Madaline Dunn

The Arab Youth Council for Climate Change (AYCCC), a program by the Arab Youth Center, has announced the launch of “Open-source Hub: Sustainability as a Second Language,” a new sustainability platform designed to facilitate the delivery of educational resources.

The platform is a flagship deliverable of its partnership with HSBC and Posterity Institute to provide easily accessible and curated open educational resources focused on sustainability.

It is designed for professors in higher education institutions in the region to host materials to facilitate the integration of the Sustainability Development Goals (SDGs) into the classroom.

Dr. Yasar Jarrar, Managing Director of Posterity Institute, said the hub is a “significant milestone” to catalyse the sustainability movement among Arab youth. 

“This platform will support in equipping the next generation with the knowledge and skills needed to address the pressing challenges posed by climate change in the Arab World and beyond.”

Available free of charge and in both Arabic and English, the sustainability platform offers eight comprehensive modules covering all 17 SDGs and a wide range of topics within sustainability and climate change.

Course modules include: 

  • Introduction to sustainability, 
  • Global response to global challenges, 
  • The role of the private sector, 
  • Energy, 
  • Circular economies,  
  • Food and water security, 
  • Net-positive and 
  • Leveraging technology for good.

The Council has been working on the platform for the past two years in collaboration with its partners and hosted its soft launch at the 2024 World Future Energy Summit (WFES) at ADNEC.

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EnvironmentGovernanceLatest News

Kibsons becomes member of United Nations Global Compact

by Madaline Dunn
written by Madaline Dunn

UAE e-commerce grocery retailer Kibsons has announced its official membership in the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) initiative, a voluntary leadership platform for the development, implementation, and disclosure of responsible business practices.

The UNGC, launched in 2000, aims to drive change across the corporate landscape, calling on companies to align their operations and strategies with ten universally accepted principles in the areas of human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption. It also urges companies to take action to support UN goals and issues embodied in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

It is the largest corporate sustainability initiative in the world, with more than 15,000 companies and 3,000 non-business signatories based in over 160 countries and more than 70 local networks.

In line with its membership, Kibsons will participate in the SDG Ambition Accelerator program from February to May 2024, which is aimed at setting corporate targets that accelerate alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals.

Further, Kibsons employees will have unlimited access to the UN Global Compact Academy through its membership, with the company also submitting its annual Communication on Progress (COP) to the UNGC, with the aim of providing transparency and accountability regarding its sustainability efforts and progress achieved.

Halima Jumani, Director, Kibsons, commented: “We are incredibly excited to join the United Nations Global Compact and align our business practices with universal sustainability principles. Through our membership, we are committed to making a positive impact on the planet and people, and we look forward to sharing our journey with our customers and stakeholders.”

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