In this article, Hina West, People and Planet First’s Global Impact Director writes about the challenges and weight of the climate crisis on those least responsible yet most affected by it. She further highlights the importance of shifting mindsets and thinking not only about sustainability but about active regeneration in terms of economic activities and business models. She also emphasises the need to embed purpose across all aspects of life and business to future-proof our wellbeing and the future of the planet.
Why growth for growth’s sake is not sustainable
As the global COP29 community gathers in Baku, Azerbaijan, we continue to hear about and see greater and greater impacts of climate change negatively affecting communities and their livelihoods, all around the world and in new and unexpected places. There is no way now of denying the disruption and devastation unfolding from the slow progress to address the fundamental root causes of our relationship with our planet, its climate and nature.
Our current system is broken and exacerbates the inequalities we face within our species. However, we need to ensure we live within our planetary boundaries, including its rising ‘fever’. We have inherited an economic structure that prioritises extraction, profit maximisation and continuous growth over human wellbeing and the survival of living systems on our planet. And I’m not saying all profit is “bad”, but it’s what you do with it that counts and how we perceive the economy’s relationship within society and the environment. Growth for growth’s sake is not sustainable and continues to stretch the economic gap between the rich and poor and we are all readily aware that the least responsible for climate change are those most affected. But for some reason this paradox is not fully considered when we are making decisions around how to address fundamental barriers to collective improvement. Those at the frontline of the climate crisis are those whose livelihoods often depend on a resilient natural environment and who are also those who illustrate some of the best innovations of harnessing nature-based solutions. Maximising nature-people-climate synergies for sustained human wellbeing, critically diversifying communities’ livelihoods and building resilience to future shocks and stresses are all important.
Attending the Climate Change Summit in Bucharest, Romania
Last month, I was fortunate to be invited to represent People and Planet First at the Climate Change Summit in Bucharest, Romania. Bringing an international and optimistic perspective to the fourth edition of a national focused arena sandwiched between New York Climate Week and the biodiversity and climate COPs. My interventions included ensuring marginalised voices, especially youth and Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IP & LCs), were integrated into decision making and acknowledging the inherent climate anxiety felt by many who are flip-flopping between hope and hopelessness for our future. I further spoke to people about ensuring we shift our thinking from sustainability to regeneration as just sustaining is no longer enough and embedding purpose in all aspects of your life to future-proof both our wellbeing and economic resilience are needed.
Hina at Climate Change Summit 2024 | Credit: Climate Change Summit
Rethinking our economic structures
Acknowledging these trends also makes clear business sense on multiple levels, with the next wave of consumers/buyers prioritising purpose in their decision making, elevating the power of purpose-driven purchasing, be it B2C, B2B or B2G. But for the big long-term win, assuming that purpose equals profit, is not enough. Fundamentally our whole relationship with commerce needs revolutionising, investing finance and energy into a purist view of purpose-driven companies drives monetary returns and actually ends up hindering our ability to drive real change. It doesn’t question or challenge underlying assumptions about finance and growth. People and Planet First focuses on verifying and uniting businesses that exist to solve societal and planetary issues along with self-sustaining business models first and foremost.
Globally, there are more than 10 million social enterprises putting purpose before profit and as a global collective we all are part of a global movement that is accelerating the transition to a new economic narrative where those least responsible for the planet’s degradation and consequential climate crisis, will be best supported to not only survive but thrive. The enterprises that are People and Planet First verified exist to solve social and environmental problems.They have self-sustaining revenue models, reinvest the majority of any surplus towards their purpose, avoid extractive finance and have a structure to protect their purpose over time. They are distributive and regenerative by design and are unlocking social and environmental solutions that are not easily possible within grant-dependent nonprofit structures or profit-maximising business structures. They reinvest in their communities and in the problems they are trying to solve. They scale by collaborating with others. They have to generate profits to be self-sustaining but financial growth is not the driver. Together, they are co-creating an economy that legitimately puts
Purchasing as a lever for positive change
Purchasing is one of the most significant leverage points in this transition. Choosing to purchase products and services from these enterprises often has direct social and environmental benefits from addressing homelessness, supporting refugees, empowering women and providing clean water to recovering plastic waste, accelerating the renewable energy transition and restoring ecosystems. It provides revenue that is reinvested to ensure authentic sustainability and expand impact. Corporate philanthropy gives around $20 billion annually to nonprofit organisations that rely on their good will, yet global purchasing is around $105 trillion per year. If we shifted even 1% of purchasing to enterprises that put people and planet first, it would shift a trillion dollars in social and environmental solutions, and significantly contribute to addressing the inequalities created in the climate crisis globally.
Additionally, since these enterprises tend to collaborate with and source from others with shared values, purchasing also has systemic effects. Each purchase channels funds into the emerging new economy where it continues to circulate. It supports the development of new value chains, creates opportunities for new initiatives, strengthens support networks and builds a community committed to collective action. Research shows that when you spend $1 with one of these enterprises you create $4.25 in local impact and benefit. If you spent that same dollar with a big corporation you would create $0.70 of local benefit.
The power of purpose-driven enterprises
Within the growing number of People and Planet First verified enterprises there are a growing number of distinct examples offering tangible solutions to the climate and environmental crisis. They’re recycling, upcycling and repurposing; they’re campaigning for greener policies, influencing other businesses’ behaviour. And they’re transforming the power balance, giving communities the tools they need to protect their livelihoods from climate devastation; being part of the solution and not part of the problem and taking others along with them.The unifying of this growing movement does offer hope that there are increasingly more people recognising that business as usual will just not work anymore.
Such as WeWilder which, whilst I was in Romania, had the privilege to be able to visit firsthand and see People and Planet First in action. Personally, this was very inspiring full-circle experience as during my time at WWF, where I led the Nature Pays programme, I supported the conceptualisation of this inspirational social enterprise from afar, and seeing it fully succeeding in harmony with nature with my own eyes confirmed that this is a viable business model and is the right path to keep following. WeWilder is a flagship social enterprise in the foothills of the Țarcu mountains led by the Armeniș community in partnership with WWF-Romania. It is an ecotourism hub that brings people closer to wild nature in a rewilding landscape with over 200 free-roaming bison. Through capturing the learnings of the implementation of this IP & LC-led conservation community enterprise, it assists the replication of similar self-sustaining purpose-led business models nationally and globally and also supports the capturing of evidence to inform policy influencing at local, national and global levels. Changing hearts and minds one at a time to the possibility of a more balanced existence. Contributing a viable climate grassroots solution, whilst ensuring sustainability for the livelihoods of many in this beautiful part of rural Romania.
At WeWilder | Credit: Hina West
You can see many more examples of successfully verified People and Planet First enterprises in the online Directory, with many prioritising and not only successfully harnessing the economic potential of the environment and nature, but reducing the inherent inequalities of society, including climate justice.
Although the scale of the problem and the barriers to change can at times feel overwhelming,we have the power to adapt together. And I don’t just mean CSR tick boxes or focusing on how to exploit the environmental agenda for business efficiencies but reworking our whole business approach. We need to be honest about the limitations of the current business structure in addressing our full needs. Along with the exponential rising social procurement requirements of big business; actively seeking verifiable purpose-driven suppliers, these shifts in business dynamics can be harnessed to contribute positively towards mitigating and adapting to climate change and create a trickle-effect for those most impacted. But we must do business differently if we are serious about safeguarding our future wellbeing and home and I hope you will join us on this transformative journey as the current challenges we face are too big for one organisation to address alone.
Written by Hina West
People and Planet First is a verification and a global collective that is accelerating the transition to an economy that puts people and the planet first. A collaborative approach with network partners across the globe is taken to verify enterprises in multiple countries. Learn more on how to get People and Planet First verified and join the global #PeopleAndPlanetFirstWeek campaign on social media, where verified enterprises worldwide will be spotlighted.