Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL) Africa

🎄 Season's Greetings from all of us at Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL) Africa! To our dedicated staff, faculty, alumni and network, may this festive season offer you a well-deserved rest. We hope you return in the new year feeling re-energised, inspired, and ready to take on the exciting opportunities ahead. 🥂Here's to a remarkable 2025 filled with growth, success, and collaboration!

2024 has been quite the year. And so, we're looking back at the work CISL has achieved to advance thinking and accelerate action to address sustainability challenges in these turbulent times. Take a read of some of our highlights (#CISLWrapped, if you will) 👇 Next year needs to see momentum build at even greater speed to transform markets and economies to deliver for people, nature and climate. We're looking forward to collaborating with stakeholders, startups, businesses, global state and non-state actors, our growing Network and many more to create a cleaner, fairer, and more prosperous future for all in 2025 and beyond. 👉Read our full Annual Review here: https://lnkd.in/gX958cUX

🌍 2024 has been a transformative year for the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL) and the broader sustainability movement. 🚀 We are excited to launch our 2024 Annual Review, highlighting our impactful initiatives aimed at fostering a sustainable economy. 🌡️ This year, global temperatures have reached unprecedented levels, exceeding the 1.5-degree threshold, leading to significant challenges for communities worldwide. ❓ These developments have prompted critical reflections within the sustainability sector. At Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL) Africa, we acknowledge that traditional approaches are insufficient and have embraced innovative strategies to drive meaningful change. 📖 The Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL) annual report showcases collaborations with businesses, financial institutions, and governments. Together, we've worked to design new systems, build resilient markets, and develop solutions that harmonize sustainability with economic competitiveness. 🔎 Looking ahead, genuine leadership will demand transparency about the difficult decisions and transformative actions required. Our focus remains on accelerating tangible changes to reshape economies and markets across the continent. 💚 We are committed to partnering with stakeholders throughout Africa and our global network to create a cleaner, greener, fairer, and more prosperous future for all. Read the full CISL Annual Review 2024 here: https://lnkd.in/gX958cUX

🏝️The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (#UNCCD) has just concluded its 16th meeting of parties in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (COP16). Countries gathered to address the issue of desertification and land degradation due to drought. While less well-known than the COPs on climate and biodiversity, its work is increasingly vital. As the UNCCD reported during the event, the world is getting drier and drylands now cover 40% of the earth's land. Going beyond temporary drought, this is land where the climate has become permanently drier. Drought and water scarcity have a huge economic cost (over $300bn/year according to a UN report) and soil health is one of the key indicators of the health of nature so its unsurprising that the private sector are showing an increased interest, with a greater business presence in Riyadh than any previous UNCCD COP. The three UN conventions – biodiversity, climate change and desertification – were all agreed at the Earth Summit in Rio in 1992. Described by some as the 'Land COP', the desertification COP is an essential third part of the global environmental discussion - with desertification and land degradation being driven by climate change and having an impact on biodiversity and ecosystems. However there is a clear need for more alignment between the three conventions. But after this year’s biodiversity summit ended without a formal conclusion and the climate one with minimal progress, any hope for further progress at this COP is of great with interest. Global efforts to address the climate and nature crisis are currently falling far short. Despite this, the convention ended without an agreement from countries to respond to drought, with a new regime expected to be discussed at #COP17 in Mongolia in 2 years time. CISL’s new nature-positive campaign argues that we need to put nature at the heart of the economy to address the causes of nature degradation, climate change and desertification. Without more progress to change the way our markets and economies are organised we will fail to make progress. Find out more about our work to shift the dial on nature 👉https://lnkd.in/e3Gayk-j #NaturePositive #RestoringNature #ReimaginingGrowth #LandCOP

I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to have attended University of Cambridge, Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL) Business & Sustainability Programme this week. I have gained invaluable insights into the complex challenges and opportunities in sustainability, leadership, and climate action. Through engaging with leading experts, practitioners, and fellow changemakers from around the world, I’ve deepened my understanding of how we can drive meaningful change across industries and communities. The programme has equipped me with new frameworks and strategies to integrate sustainability into Britvic plc and continue pushing for a more sustainable future. Key takeaways for me include: 🔹 A deeper understanding of the systems thinking required to address climate change and other global challenges. 🔹 The importance of collaborative leadership and how to work across sectors to create lasting impact. 🔹 The need for innovative solutions that balance environmental, social, and economic considerations. 🔹 The power of networking and partnerships in scaling sustainability efforts globally. Thank you to CISL and my fellow participants for such a transformative experience. Looking forward to staying connected with this amazing community of sustainability leaders! #Sustainability #Leadership #CISL #ClimateAction #SystemsThinking #ProfessionalGrowth #SustainableDevelopment #Impact #Collaboration #LearningJourney

🌍✨ Canopy: Proud Earthshot Prize Nominators! ✨🌍 At Canopy (Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL), we firmly believe that entrepreneurs and innovators are key to tackling our planet’s toughest challenges. That’s why we’re so proud to play a role as official nominators for the prestigious The Earthshot Prize. 🏆🌱 This year, we had the honour of attending #EarthshotPrizeCapeTown for the #2024 Awards, where our nominated innovators included: 🌟 Earth Blox 🌟 Plastic-i 🌟 Envopap 🌟 Gentian Canopy team member Jie Zhou and Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL) Africa colleague Sibusiso Nkomo were on the ground in Cape Town supporting these groundbreaking nominees! ✨ 🚨 Now, we’re thrilled to announce our nominations for #EarthshotPrize2025 🚀 : 💧 @AquaPoro revolutionising water access for communities facing the global water crisis with innovative atmospheric water harvesting systems that produce clean drinking water from dry air. The compact Droplet system serves families, while the larger Stream system supports humanitarian and community-scale needs. Founded by Kyle E. Cordova 🌍 Captain Fanplastic Tackling plastic pollution at its root, Captain Fanplastic uses storytelling, gamification, and education to empower young people to adopt sustainable practices. Active in 11 countries, it’s building environmental stewardship on a global scale. Founded by Ruben Hazelzet ♻️ Neutreeno helps businesses tackle Scope 3 emissions by offering advanced tools to decarbonise supply chains up to 50 times faster than traditional methods, driving the global shift to a low-carbon economy. Founded by Spencer Brennan ☀️ NoorNation delivers LifeBox decentralised clean energy and water solutions with solar-powered units that desalinate water and generate electricity for thousands of households. Already active in Egypt and expanding to Tanzania, it’s transforming lives across Africa. Founded by Mohamed M. Khaled We are inspired by their bold vision and innovative solutions to protect and restore our planet. 💡🌍 🤞 Best of luck to these #amazing #innovators, we can’t wait to follow your journey. Fingers crossed for big wins ahead! 🍀🌟 Finally, a huge thank you to Caroline S. Asante Zoë Loughlin and Jie Zhou for working on these nominations. #Dreamteam #InnovationForThePlanet #EarthshotPrize #SustainabilitySolutions

🌍 Leaders today face the challenge of building competitive and resilient economies that respond to shifting geopolitical forces, addressing issues such as cost of living and national security as well as responding to the urgent climate and nature crises. 📈 This challenge requires rethinking current economic paradigms and traditional growth models often undermine the very natural and social ecosystems on which economies depend. 🚀 Today we are pleased to launch the second edition of our Competitive Sustainability Index, with our partner, Breakthrough Energy which presents a credible approach to reconciling sustainability with competitiveness for the EU. 🇪🇺 EU competitiveness is now a top priority on the EU’s Strategic Agenda, with recent reports from Letta, Draghi, and Ninistö emphasising the urgency of balancing decarbonisation, economic resilience, and climate risk management, while upholding democratic values and universal human rights. 🧭 The CSI assesses the EU's competitive performance in transitioning to a clean, just, and competitively sustainable economy. It serves as a strategic compass, to help the EU define its forward-looking vision for competitiveness, implement an ambitious Prosperity Plan and Clean Industrial Deal, and address challenges facing European countries, businesses, and society. 🔎 The CSI has been extended to provide insights into the EU’s competitive performance against global partners and rivals, including the US and China. It spans a two-year period when the EU navigated multiple crises: emerging from the Covid pandemic, addressing the energy market shocks caused by the war in Ukraine, heightened inflation, and responding to the competitive challenges posed by the US Inflation Reduction Act. Explore the Competitive Sustainability Index and how Europe can lead the way toward a cleaner, fairer, and more competitive future 👉https://lnkd.in/e5Efy8ng Explore CISL’s Business Leadership campaign which brings both competitiveness and sustainability into a new frame of Competitive Sustainability - calling for business leadership that builds and advocates for structural market changes - so that sustainability is rewarded and unsustainable activity becomes commercially unviable 👉 https://lnkd.in/e4vCevvu #BusinessLeadership #CompetitiveSustainability #ChangingTheStory #EUIndustrialStrategy #EUCompetitiveSustainability Corporate Leaders Groups Authors: Martin Porter, David Cembrero Contributors: Peter Sweatman, Jeremy Tamanini, Michaela Saisana, Cornelia-Madalina S., Robin Lechtenfeld, Heather Grabbe, Suzana Carp, Peter Handley, Lindsay Hooper, Ursula Woodburn, Eliot Whittington Breakthrough Energy , European Climate Foundation

I had the pleasure of joining the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL) Business Sustainability Program this week. The amazing faculty members first took us on a controlled descent. Although we all know them, we tend to push the inconvenient facts to the back of our heads, and it's good to be reminded from time to time: The depletion of our natural resources has accelerated over the past decades at an unprecedented speed. Not only are we failing miserably at combating climate change (1.5°C pathway, anyone?), but we are reaching more and more potential tipping points and see our devastating impact on the complex ecosystem of our natural world - loss of soil, mass extinction of species and the fueling of disease outbreaks are just some uncomfortable byproducts of our short term thinking. Wet wetter, dry drier, hot hotter and cold colder all right outside of our windows, happening in real time. But despite all this, we face a hard backlash - instead of saving the earth, concepts like sustainability and ESG turned into scorched earth. Sobering? Yes. But the program also inspired new hope. With a group of incredibly bright and outspoken leaders from various backgrounds - from armed forces, over banking and finance, consulting, consumer to pharma, retail and tech - we have discussed alternative models and shared experiences and advice from our own organisations. We met fascinating entrepreneurs that use emerging technologies to deliver a sustainable world. Learned what it takes for us as business leaders to not only advocate, but campaign for change and contribute to what we need to achieve together. My key takeaway? Be bigger, bolder, braver and ask for more 💚 As a young company, we know very well at SMG Swiss Marketplace Group that we are only at the beginning of our sustainability journey. We are not only connecting millions of people to make efficient and informed decisions, but committed to encourage sustainable choices while doing so. You can find this commitment in our Sustainability Manifesto - stay tuned for more! https://lnkd.in/e9EPHCGx Shoutout to our amazing Sustainability Team around Macarena Ballesteros Entrala, who is setting things in motion now that will have a longlasting, positive impact well beyond our organisation. #sustainability #leadership #learning #getstuffdone

💥We are delighted to announce that CISL’s new self-paced #OnlineCourse, Renewable Energy Foundations for Business is now open for bookings through University of Cambridge Online! 💡This course has been designed to provide a critical introduction to the transition to renewable energy and its opportunities, so you leave with the knowledge, skills and confidence to proactively contribute to it and change the system. 👨🏽💻 You can start studying at any time and have access to the course for 12 months. 🎤 “If we focus on how to get things done rather than on why they can’t be done, I believe we stand a chance of moving away from fossil fuels for good”, shares Dr Jan Rosenow, course lead and energy analyst and scholar. To understand why Jan is an energy transition optimist, take a look at his blog and book your place on the course. 👉https://ow.ly/hzTQ50UkPQN

Am very excited to be part of the Faculty that will support #BSPAfrica in March 2025 ! Having worked with #BSPAsia , I cannot wait to share - and discover- more of how Asian and African businesses are truly the #forceforgood in driving the leadership we need for a sustainable future. Am looking forward to seeing you there! https://lnkd.in/eKPY9QD2 Nasser Diallo Victoria Puxley Mike Etuhoko, P.Eng., MBA, GCB.D, CCB.D Carolynn Chalmers Carol Kondo (she,her,hers) Jasandra Nyker Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL) Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership: Education (CISL)