John Dutton
Head of UpLink, World Economic Forum
Headlines are now dominated by net zero commitments and more inclusive supply chains as major companies step up and work towards much needed progress.
Businesses have an important role to play in building a more sustainable and inclusive future. But there are many entrepreneurs without the Fortune 100 budgets that have creative, out of the box solutions. Their ideas are key to shaping the next stage of our future.
The biodiversity crisis
For example, with scientists in agreement that a sixth mass extinction is now underway, a worldwide crash in biodiversity is one of the major pressing global issues we face today. Addressing challenges of this magnitude can seem almost impossible – which is why a pipeline for sourcing solutions, and speedily making them a reality, is more crucial than ever before.
The soon-to-be-launched mobile game Wildchain, which has been selected through the Forum’s open innovation platform – UpLink, is one Singaporean entrepreneur’s contribution to getting to grips with the biodiversity crisis in a new way. By allowing players to adopt, raise and protect digital animals that are counterparts of real-life ones, Wildchain not only serves to educate, but funnels 100% of any money spent within the game back into real-life conservation efforts.
Giving visibility to underrepresented areas
It’s time to give visibility to geographies, sectors and communities that have thus far been overlooked and under-represented by traditional accelerator programmes. Young change-makers, social innovators, thematic experts, investors and technology all have a role to play.
Another game changing solution is from Cubex Global – a digital marketplace which sells unused space in shipping containers. Some 100 million containers cross the ocean basically empty, producing 280 million tonnes of carbon emissions and costing $25 billion a year in lost revenue. This ocean-friendly model for shipping was founded by a young group from Pakistan and flagged during our Ocean Solutions Challenges.
It’s time to give visibility to geographies, sectors and communities that have thus far been overlooked and under-represented by traditional accelerator programmes.
Tackling deforestation
If we turn to forests, the world loses about 15 billion trees a year, about 10 million hectares, despite global reforestation efforts. But young entrepreneurs have started to make strides to conserve, restore and grow trees.
GainForest uses artificial intelligence to try to reverse deforestation. Private stakeholders can pledge money to indigenous communities and forest restoration projects through smart contracts. Instead of felling trees to make room for crops and cattle, the solution encourages local farmers to preserve and restore ecosystems.
Crowdsourced collaboration on problems of seemingly insurmountable scale could be game-changing, said UN Deputy Secretary General, Amina Mohammed: “The world has no shortage of creative ideas. However, we often lack the pathways that would enable youth innovation to be scaled up.”
Technology can help us call for solutions and entrepreneurs can help us deliver on their ideas to ensure our future is sustainable.