The 2021 THRIVE | Bayer Sustainability Challenge

The THRIVE | Bayer Sustainability Challenge, which took place over ten months, culminated on Thursday September 9th, 2021 as ten finalists from start-ups and scale-ups across the globe pitched their solutions to a live audience and esteemed panel of leaders across the agrifood industry. These ten innovators were chosen out of the 268 applications received from 57 countries for a chance to compete for the THRIVE | Bayer Sustainable Startup Award, Sustainable Scaleup Award, and the People's Choice Award.

This virtual event, led by THRIVE Founder and CEO John Hartnett, successfully combined Bayer Crop Sciences’ sustainability commitments and THRIVE’s Global Initiative focus on the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals to promote innovations that can address pressing challenges in the global agrifood chain.

Panel members included Bayer Head of Global Public Affairs for Science & Sustainability Sara Boettiger, U.S. Department of State Ambassador Marcia Bernicat, and Food and Agriculture Deputy Director-General Beth Bechdol. The panel explored many topics including the reduction of field greenhouse gas emissions and food waste, the environmental impact of crop protection, and the empowerment of smallholder farmers to access sustainable agricultural solutions. They also discussed the importance of innovation, entrepreneurship, and being open to new ideas as it can help promote vital conversation, education, collaboration, and policy in the agtech industry.

After listening to the ten international finalists pitch their solutions, the judging panel made the difficult decision of presenting the three awards. 

The 2021 People’s Choice Award is voted on by agrifood leaders and peers—determining their “favorite company.” This award was presented to AgroCognitive, a Venezulan company working on an AI precision farming universal platform. 

The 2021 Sustainable Startup Award was granted to Haystack Ag, an American company promoting high-accuracy, cost-effective soil carbon measurement. As the selected winner of this award, Haystack is set to receive investment, placement in THRIVE’s accelerator program, and access to Bayer’s research and development team.

Lastly, the 2021 Sustainable Scaleup Award was presented to MagGrow, an Irish-based company that is improving the effectiveness of pesticide sprays and reducing water usage. As the winner of this award, MagGrow will go on to explore a proof-of-concept pilot project with Bayer. The scaleup will receive automatic nomination for THRIVE’s Top 50 listing, which annually ranks agtech and foodtech companies who are pushing the boundaries of innovation and technology. MagGrow will also receive access to the Leaps by Bayer investment team, who invests in paradigm-shifting advances in the life sciences and collaborates with the world’s brightest minds in biotech and agriculture to solve the industry’s most pressing problems.

Missed the event? No need to worry. Watch the recorded livestream of the THRIVE | Bayer Sustainability Challenge here!

Airbnb to Provide 20,000 Refugees with Free Housing

Property rental company, Airbnb, and its charitable arm, Airbnb.org, have announced their intention to provide 20,000 Afghan refugees across the globe with free, temporary housing. Airbnb has maintained a multi-year partnership with the International Rescue Committee (IRC) and has historically worked with HIAS and the Church World Service to aid refugees. At the time of Airbnb’s August 24 announcement, the company had already provided emergency funding to the IRC to support up to 1,000 Afghan refugees and worked with other, unspecified, partners to place an additional 165 Afghan refugees in safe housing.

Airbnb’s refugee housing effort will be entirely funded by Airbnb, CEO Brian Chesky, and donations through Airbnb.org’s Refugee Fund, a $25 million fund that was established prior to World Refugee Day this past June. Airbnb co-founder, Joe Gebbia, referred to the company’s decision as an “easy call” and the company is urging other global businesses to join Airbnb in providing Afghan refugees with immediate aid. Gebbia also emphasized that Airbnb is utilizing the expertise of the IRC, Church World Service, and HIAS to ensure that the provided housing is truly safe and accessible.

While Airbnb has not specified the length of the temporary housing, the company has released that individual hosts have offered both short- and long-term stays. Currently, the company is allowing anyone, not just current hosts, to sign up to host refugees at a free or discounted rate in order to maximize placement possibilities. This is a broad expansion of a program already run by Airbnb that has provided approximately 25,000 refugees with temporary housing across the past four years.

To become a host or donate to the Airbnb Refugee Fund, click here.

To read Airbnb’s official announcement, click here.

UN General Assembly to Begin 76th Session

The 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) will run from September 14 to September 30 of this year. High-level General Debate will begin on September 21.

The provisional agenda, released on July 16, indicates that the session will begin with a discussion of sustainable development, in accordance with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) established for 2030. With 2030 being less than a decade away, the discussion and active implementation of the SDGs is growing increasingly important. As per the agenda, the discussion of sustainable development will include questions on macroeconomic policy, resolutions for the advancement of women, and the introduction as “space as a driver of sustainable development.”

In addition to discussing sustainable development, UNGA will also cover the maintenance of international peace, development of Africa, promotion of human rights, coordination of humanitarian assistance, promotion of justice, disarmament, crime prevention, and administrative matters in the 16-day session. Several important elections will take place during the session, such as the election of non-permanent members of the Security Council, members of the Economic and Social Council, and a member of the International Court of Justice.

In acknowledgement of rapid developments in science and technology, a non-negligible amount of time will be spent discussing space. Space appears not only in the section on sustainable development, but also in the sections of international peace and disarmament.

While not included in the initial provisional agenda, proposed supplementary items for the agenda include justice for survivors of sexual violence, granting the International Solar Alliance observer status in the UNGA, and electing members to the Permanent Forum of People of African Descent.

Numerous events have been scheduled alongside the 76th session, all of which will transpire virtually due to COVID-19 precautions. Some major events include the Sustainable Development Impact Summit hosted by the World Economic Forum from September 20-23 and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development’s Civil Society Forum from September 22-24. Both of these events will focus on how to achieve the SDGs by 2030.  Another SDG based event will be held virtually on September 20 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. EST, when the UN Secretary-General convenes the second SDG Moment of the Decade of Action. This event is meant to underscore the necessity and the urgency of the SDGs and will be open to the public.

To read more about what resolutions the UNGA will be discussing this session, click here.

To watch the SDG Moment on UN WebTV, click here.