Responding to COVID-19
Covid-19 is a crisis of enormous proportions. It is threatening lives and livelihoods across the globe, particularly among those who are the most vulnerable. It is putting untold pressure on families, communities, companies and supply chains, national economies, as well as to systems that many have come to take for granted.
Our immediate priority with the onset of the COVID crisis was to help resolve the short-term disruption for our partners and the communities they serve. For this, we boosted our emergency fund to €3.5m to ensure support reaches those who need it, which also helped to unlock an additional €4m from other funders, including government. Additionally, we also introduced greater flexibility to existing grants, and we offered access to other non-financial assistance that they might need.
We also see this crisis as an unprecedented opportunity for a global reset. That is why we are supporting many of our partners – old and new - to promote those policies and incentives that enable an inclusive recovery. Given the dual underlying crises of inequality and climate change, we are at an important crossroads as countries look to invest in “building back better”. There is now a window of opportunity to reimagine our societies and economies. That is why we are continuing our work exploring new economic models and to looking at how industries can accelerate the transition to a low carbon society.
At Laudes Foundation, we envision global markets that value all people and respect nature. An economy in which industries uplift all who participate in them, and regenerate and restore nature as a fundamental part of what they do. We aim to take long-term perspectives and generate lasting value, and our method is resolutely practical. We seek to understand the workings and dynamics of the underlying systems and practices in the industries that we have chosen to focus on, like retail and built environment, as well as finance and capital markets. We engage with industry leaders, thought leaders and academics, civil society organisations, regulators and governments to understand what “good” looks like across the spectrum of new economic thinking, discover the pathways to get there, and help drive progress towards it.
So, as we look to the future, we are focused on both the medium and long-term impacts of the Covid-19 crisis. In addition to exposing vulnerabilities in the economic system, Covid-19 has exacerbated the inequality that has contributed towards them and has heavily impacted vulnerable workers, families and communities without social protection. This crisis is reinforcing the need to build a new, fairer, and more resilient economic system. One that addresses these inequalities in a way that helps people flourish and is sustainable for generations to come.
As part of the Brenninkmeijer family enterprise, the work of the Laudes Foundation builds on six generations of entrepreneurship and philanthropy, and stands next to the COFRA businesses and the family’s other private philanthropic activities , including Porticus.
