Food, Relationships, Giving, Systems and Decathlon

Snacking, Sustainable Agriculture and Startups

Are 玛氏食品 bars the world’s newest hero in the fight for sustainable agriculture? Mars Snacking, famous for chocolate treats, has teamed up with Unreasonable Group – a business dedicated to connecting impactful growth-stage companies with investors, mentors, and partners to profitably solve global issues – to launch Unreasonable Food . This ambitious initiative aims to refine global food systems to be more regenerative, equitable, and inclusive, addressing the pressing challenges of sustainability in agriculture.

Over 25% of global GHG emissions are linked to food production, processing, and packaging. @Unreasonable Food plans to end this. By leveraging Mars Snacking’s vast resources and household name, alongside Unreasonable’s entrepreneurial network across various food solution companies, this partnership is uniquely positioned to drive significant social and environmental change.

The collaboration will focus on several transformative areas: advancing regenerative and biodynamic agriculture, improving food supply chain transparency, and developing sustainable packaging solutions. These efforts aim not only to reduce the carbon footprint associated with food production but also to enhance the livelihoods of farmers globally. Examples of companies that could benefit from this initiative include Air Protein , which uses new technology to convert elements in the air into protein, and LandScan , providing soil and crop insights that allow for precision agriculture optimising inputs while maximizing yields and reducing impacts on local soil health and global climate.

This isn’t Unreasonable Group’s only collaboration. Pearson and Accenture have teamed up to create Unreasonable FUTURE , aiming to align cutting-edge technologies with the future of inclusive work and social equity. They will create an ecosystem of investors, policymakers, executives, entrepreneurs and thought leaders to ensure breakthroughs in the digital era and job transformation don’t leave anyone behind.

These initiatives provide an exciting example of how large corporations can use their resources and influence to tackle a wide range of global challenges.

2. Get (it) together

This week we wanted to draw attention to an important event being held by the good people at the Relationship Project, which, as regular Friday 5 readers will know, seeks to build a better society through fostering better relationships. And anyone working in the sustainability world will recognise the importance of relationships – sustainable change requires building strong and resilient relationships that generate collaborative solutions that will move us forward.

The Relationship Project team are turning their attention to “changing our permissions ”. ??

These permissions referred to are for those non-existent conventions, conventions which are barriers to building relationships, such as “don’t talk to strangers”. While there is no “real rule” about not doing this, we still feel we need permission to do so. Permissions can be as simple as snow. When it snows in the UK, rules relax, and anyone can talk to anyone. The same principle applies in a workplace or community context. How often are you held back from helping someone through fear of the first step, putting forward an idea at work because you don’t have an “in” to a conversation? We are limited by “rules” which maybe it’s time that we challenged, to ultimately create a more empathetic, innovative society.

?If you are interested in learning more, moving the conversation forward and exploring real, hidden and imagined rules, and finding out how to change your permissions to create better and more meaningful relationships, the upcoming Relationship Project event on?12th July at The Button Factory Birmingham is for you. To find out more and RSVP, go the event link here .

3. Cash for Change

Finding the best way to lift people out of poverty is the subject of enormous debate, both within the development community and more broadly. Academics, economists, sociologists and historians all come at this from different perspectives (often within as well as between disciplines) and proffer possible solutions, often including complex programmes and approaches.

However, one simple answer is gaining an increasing amount of attention: cash.

In the Netherlands, the city of Arnhem is cancelling the debts of some of the poorest families in the country to break the cycle of poverty and give people a fresh start. The pilot programme seeks to replace the current model, which costs the government billions more than the initial debt in accrued health and welfare costs, while also failing to effectively help those in need. The new approach offers instant relief with no repayment obligations, giving families an opportunity to take hold of their lives.

Sending money directly to those in need is not a new concept. GiveDirectly is a non-profit organisation that lets donors send money directly to the world’s poorest households. Their research, which pulls evidence from 165 studies, shows that cash transfers are associated with reductions in monetary poverty. With corporate partners including Canva and 谷歌 , GiveDirectly offers businesses an opportunity to get involved and give back. Recipients have been shown to use the cash they receive on medicine, school fees, water, vehicles, and even to launch their own businesses which generate income.

Cash allows individuals to invest in what they need, instead of relying on others to choose for them. We are looking forward to seeing more direct giving models changing the way we think about debt and poverty, offering those in need the agency to take hold of their finances. So, if you or your business is looking to amplify the impact of your donations, it might be worth considering cash transfers.

4. Connecting the dots

A new report published in The Lancet Planetary Health has found that intergovernmental panels are failing to consider the interactions between climate, biodiversity and infectious disease, and that failure to address these global connections is a major contributor to our failure to stay on track with global targets like the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s). In our journey towards a sustainable future, it's often the case that individual issues are tackled in isolation, due to the complexity of each challenge. However, the report emphasizes the need to move beyond siloed approaches and address the complex web of challenges facing our planet.

From climate change and biodiversity loss to spread of disease and social inequalities, these issues are deeply intertwined. The Lancet report emphasises that by failing to consider the interactions between climate, biodiversity and infectious disease we are failing to fully address the key issues affecting each. This is demonstrated in a recent study that did consider all three issues, and found that biodiversity loss is the biggest driver of infectious disease outbreaks, followed by climate change. By embracing the interconnectedness of these challenges, we can navigate the complexity of sustainability issues more effectively, by allowing us to identify leverage points, anticipate unintended consequences, and develop holistic solutions that address root causes rather than symptoms.

However, combining strategies for action can be challenging. While it's crucial to understand the interconnected nature of these challenges, it's equally important to consider each aspect individually. Embracing a systems thinking approach requires careful consideration and collaboration across sectors and disciplines. We must recognize the unique dynamics of each issue while acknowledging their collective impact, both at a policy level but also in terms of business response. Let's commit to seeing the bigger picture and working together towards a more sustainable world.

The Goods: Decathlon

Remember that old set of weights in your garage, the run-down tent, or that dusty tennis racket lying around? Decathlon's expanded buy-back program is here to take those off your hands!

Whatever old sports equipment you have at home in storage, you are not alone.

? Decathlon ’s research unveiled that nearly a third of British households stash away unused sports equipment, gathering dust and serving no purpose. But their new and improved buy-back system is here to change that. The scheme that previously only covered own-brand bicycles now includes various sports categories such as fitness equipment, racket sports, water sports items like kayaks and paddleboards, and camping gear.

?Accessible both in-store and online, this initiative encourages customers to bring neglected equipment to the nearest Decathlon outlet, trading it in for store credit. And your old items won’t meet their end there. Instead, Decathlon will refurbish and resell them at a lower cost as part of their second-life programme. Win-win for both you and them, right? In this era of the circular economy, there's no need to own everything we use, which is why Decathlon provides a rental service for their sports equipment too.

So if hockey is no longer your thing, but you’re keen to try roller blading, dig out your hockey stick and get it over to Decathlon to trade it in it for a refurbished pair of roller skates, and play your part in a more circular future.