Briefing No. 14
WHAT WE'RE READING
On the Greenwood Place bedside table
"The Zen master would say if you want to change government, you have to aim at changing corporations, and if you want to change corporations, you first have to change the consumers. Whoa, wait a minute! The consumer? That's me. You mean I'm the one who has to change?”
In his engaging and readable memoir, Let My People Go Surfing: The Education of a Reluctant Businessman, Yvon Chouinard, Founder of Patagonia, talks about the outdoors and the journey he took to build one of the world’s most intentionally environmentally responsible companies.
GLOBAL HEALTH: INDIA CUT MALARIA IN HALF IN 2018
India reports an estimated 5.1 million malaria cases in 2018 compared to 9.6 million in 2017.
RENEWABLE ENERGY: HOW NORWAY IS INVESTING ITS MONEY
The stated aim of the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund is to ensure responsible long-term management of the revenue from Norway’s oil and gas resources in the North Sea so this wealth benefits both current and future generations.
Toward that end, Norwegian MPs have decided to divest the country’s $1 trillion sovereign wealth fund from oil and gas exploration firms and invest more in renewable energy.
WE CAN PREVENT CERVICAL CANCER. DO WE HAVE THE WILL?
In 2018, cervical cancer killed more than 311,000 women. We could save most of them with straightforward and affordable interventions.
WHAT DO 7 BILLION PEOPLE DO?
No business or government can have more customers than the world's population. So how do 7 billion people spend their time?
AUSTERITY, WELFARE CUTS & THE RIGHT TO FOOD
Greenwood Place advisory board member, and board member of Human Rights Watch, Catherine Zennström, shared HRW’s recent research report on food poverty in the UK.
As the 5th largest economy in the world with public spending at 39% of GDP, food poverty in the UK can be fixed, but it will require legislative changes to allow struggling low income families to meet their basic needs.
TWO THANK YOUS
Thank you to the Environmental Funders Network for inviting us to visit the Knepp Estate. If you didn’t read “Wilding” by Isabella Tree (see Briefing no. 11) we recommend both the book and a visit to Knepp, one of the UK’s largest wild land projects and a fascinating place.
And, a very big thank you to our clients and grantees for completing our “Two Years of Greenwood Place” survey. We’ve posted the results online here. Feel free to take a look. We are using your feedback to adapt and improve how we deliver our work and how we support you. Please feel free to check in with us on what we are working on.
EVENTS AT GREENWOOD PLACE
If you'd like to join us to talk investing for impact and climate resilient agriculture with Willy Foote, Founder & CEO of Root Capital in September, or if you would like to be part the January 2020 Greenwood Place Community trip to India, please let us know. We'd love to include you.