New partnerships to build an inclusive and carbon-positive economy

In recent months Laudes Foundation has signed grants with seven new and existing partners, investing in building organisational strengths to further their vital work in areas spanning gender rights to circular economy policy. Supporting these initiatives is key to our mission to drive business and markets to mitigate climate change and eliminate inequality.   

Funding a circular economy  

The latest organisation to be integrated into our finance and capital markets work, is Europe’s largest network of environmental NGOs, the European Environmental Bureau (EEB). Its vision for “a better future where people and nature thrive together” is closely aligned with our own transformational agenda to support the transition to an inclusive economy that values people and nature.  

We are partnering with the EEB for the next two years to deliver an advocacy agenda for a circular economy that is working in parallel with the European Commission's Circular Economy Action Plan, released in March 2020. The grant awarded to the EEB will support its aim to achieve smart, action-oriented policy outcomes for a circular economy that makes a positive difference in both the textile and built environment sectors. 

Safeguarding Gender, Equity and Inclusion (GEI) during the Covid-19 crisis 

Women are among the most impacted by the economic fallout of the current health crisis. To continue our inclusive response to the pandemic, we’ve partnered with organisations supporting immediate and long-term women-focused recovery efforts. 

With this grant from Laudes Foundation, the Global Fund for Women will partner with national and regional feminist funds in Brazil, Mexico and across Asia. It will enhance on-the-ground coordination, provide opportunities for shared learning and improve organisational infrastructure over the next year. 

As we seek to protect the security of partners working in sensitive civic and political environments, we’ve also partner with Rede de Desenvolvimento Humano (Redeh) to strengthen its actions with Articulação de Mulheres Brasileiras (Brazilian Womens Network) to face the impacts of the pandemic and expand its organisational capacity over the next 12 months.  

The Center for Women's Global Leadership  received a grant for its action research to develop policy measures targeting businesses and employer-employee relationships to ensure equity justice, and in particular to address gender inequality and workplace violence, and the need for investment in the care economy, in the context of Covid-19.   

From farm to factory, working with grassroots workers

Supporting workers and producers is core to our mission to combat inequality by rebalancing labour power for sustainable and inclusive growth.   

Laudes Foundation continues its support of Diaconia to further develop the semi-arid region in northeastern Brazil. Building on our work with cotton farmers in phase one, this bridge grant will help the transition to a more holistic approach for the region, bringing 1,200 hectares of land under organic cultivation and increasing the farming communities’ access to better markets. The initiative aims to create and leverage a network of stakeholders and donors to work together on a shared agenda.  

With a rich 180-year heritage, Laudes continues its Anti-Slavery International has been instrumental in addressing the root causes of slavery and in developing several major laws against exploitative EU practices. It will use this grant from Laudes to continue its critical advocacy work calling on European decisionmakers to reduce forced and child labour in global supply chains 

Keeping the focus on supply chains, we have a new grant with Solidar Suisse and partners to support evidence-based bargaining to improve working conditions in garment factories in Cambodia.  While data on conditions has been published by the ILO in Cambodia since 2014, a two-year pilot found low awareness of the data among trade union leaders.  Today, as a result of the pilot, 47 factory unions have accessed the data and received training to use it. This second grant will advocate for public data that covers a fuller range of worker issues to be disclosed in more accessible formats, with support unions to institutionalise skills to use data in negotiations.   

By working with these new partners and their networks, Laudes Foundation is helping build and sustain momentum in addressing the root causes of inequality and climate change, accelerating the movement towards impactful, real-economy outcomes to benefit our environment, society and business. We look forward to collaborating with our partners and learning with them in the months ahead.