Business fights Poverty

Climate Series

11-19 NOVEMBER 2025

BRAZIL | Online

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH

Content Contributors

YOUR WINDOW INTO COP30,
WHEREVER YOU ARE.

As world leaders gathered for the COP30 Climate Summit in Belém, Brazil, Business Fights Poverty and Fundação Dom Cabral (FDC) explored how businesses can put people at the centre of climate action.

DAILY PERSPECTIVES

Meet our on-the-ground team, sharing stories, insights, and perspectives from across Brazil and the heart of COP30.

Reports from a Boat on the Amazon

Vanja Abdallah Ferreira
Project Director for Corporate Education, FDC

Travelling along the Amazon from Manaus to Belém aboard the Banzeiro of Hope, Vanja has offered leadership training for forest communities and is sharing their perspectives on climate change. Her reports spotlight local leadership, resilience, and the lessons emerging from the heart of the forest.

Updates from a Road Trip Across the Heart of Brazil

Paulo Guerra
Program Director for Public Institutions, FDC

As part of a motorhome expedition from Belo Horizonte to Belém, Paulo has met communities along the way to hear how climate change is shaping their daily lives. His journey has captured stories of adaptation, innovation, and connection across Brazil’s diverse regions.

Insights from Inside the COP30 Blue Zone

Heiko Hosomi Spitzeck
Director, Sustainability Research Center, FDC

Heiko joined us live from the Blue Zone at COP30, where he presented his research on how professionals within organisations are driving the transition to a low-carbon economy. He interviewed companies that are embedding sustainability into their core business strategies and leading change from within.

Perspectives from the COP30 Green Zone

Jamie Coats
Guest Professor, FDC; Member, Business Fights Poverty Global Expert Network

Jamie reports from the Green Zone at COP30, where he took part in business-focused events exploring the connections between climate change and multi-dimensional poverty. He shared insights and conversations with companies and NGO partners working to ensure that climate solutions are people-centered.

LIVE PANEL DISCUSSION

Watch our live panel discussion to hear from leading experts, practitioners, and peers.

Carolina Zuluaga
Manager, Research and Knowledge, Center for Inclusive Growth, Mastercard

Heiko Hosomi Spitzeck
Director, Sustainability Research Center, FDC

Monique Ntumngia
Senior Project & Portfolio Lead, Green Girls Organisation

Marlena Babicka
Head of Sustainability & ESG, Avon

Jamie Coats
Guest Professor, FDC; Member, Business Fights Poverty Global Expert Network

Katie Hyson
Director, Thought Leadership, Business Fights Poverty (Moderator)

Watch the Highlights

About the Event

LOCATION: Online, with limited places in Belém and Belo Horizonte.

As COP30 and our Climate Series draw to a close, Business Fights Poverty and Fundação Dom Cabral (FDC) hosted a live conversation connecting insights from Belém with reflections from across our global community.

This hybrid session brought together voices from business, academia, and civil society to explore how we can put people at the centre of climate action. We shared lessons from the week, surfaced examples of inclusive leadership, and identified shared priorities for climate strategies that benefit both people and the planet.

SERIES RESOURCES

NEW REPORT: Climate Resilience for Micro-Retailers

Micro-retailers are the backbone of Southeast Asia’s economies — yet they are on the frontlines of climate disruption. This new report, supported by Mastercard Strive, explores how digital financial services can help micro-retailers fortify, navigate and recover from climate shocks, unlocking greater stability, resilience and long-term opportunity. Drawing on research and practitioner insights, it highlights emerging innovations, practical frameworks, and a call to action for financial service providers to embed climate resilience at the heart of inclusive finance. Download the report to learn more.

How Can We Put People at the Heart of Climate Action: Reflections from Belém and Beyond This Insights Paper explores how climate action becomes effective only when rooted in people’s lived realities. Drawing on the Live Panel Discussion from Belém, Belo Horizonte and our global online community during COP30, it highlights how extreme weather, unstable planting seasons and unsafe household energy are reshaping daily life across regions. The discussion shows why aligning climate action with local context, long-term economic viability and inclusive leadership is essential. The paper sets out five insights: focusing climate strategies on real vulnerability rather than abstract risk; translating sustainability goals into commercial incentives; redesigning partnerships to be genuinely locally led; strengthening cross-sector collaboration to rebuild
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This article explores how climate change deepens multidimensional poverty and why environmental justice must be central to policy and business. It calls for joint, intersectoral solutions to tackle overlapping vulnerabilities and highlights the role of the private sector in driving social and environmental resilience.
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In this COP30 follow-up conversation, Jamie Coates, CEO of Wise Responder, guest professor at Fundação Dom Cabral (FDC), and the Business Fights Poverty representative at COP30, speaks with Vicky Sins from the World Benchmarking Alliance (WBA) about what COP30 revealed for corporate climate accountability. Vicky believes that we must move beyond big promises. Companies need credible, integrated transition plans backed by investments, with people and nature at the centre. Part of the Business Fights Poverty Climate Series 2025.
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Fabio Marques, from Fundação Dom Cabral, outlines three essential pathways for businesses to strengthen their role in climate mitigation and adaptation during COP30. Part of the Business Fights Poverty Climate Series 2025.
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On the final day of COP30 in Belém, Flavia & Raquel from Fundação Dom Cabral reflect on why young people must not only talk about climate action but actively shape it. Part of the Business Fights Poverty Climate Series 2025.
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Extreme heat is the deadliest US climate threat, costing thousands of lives and hundreds of billions of dollars annually. A new white paper, Heat Resilience: An Opportunity for Cross-Sector Action in the United States, outlines a shared agenda, sector guidance, and policy and finance levers to drive coordinated, community-centered resilience across business, government and healthcare.
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As COP30 draws to a close in Belém, ​​Heiko Spitzeck, Director, Sustainability Research Center, Fundação Dom Cabral, shares a personal reflection highlighting both the urgency and the hope emerging from a week of negotiations, side events and on-the-ground solutions. Part of the Business Fights Poverty Climate Series 2025.
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As world leaders endorse the Belém Declaration on people-centred climate action, one truth is clear: farmer resilience must move from rhetoric to investment. This article explores why smallholder farmers receive less than 1% of climate finance, and how local agricultural enterprises offer the fastest, most scalable route to climate-resilient supply chains and global food security.
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This highlight video captures some of the insights from our COP30 panel discussion, where leaders from business, development, and community organisations explored how to shift from CSR optics to genuine, long-term shared value. Watch full video here. Panel: Carolina Zuluaga, Manager, Research and Knowledge, Center for Inclusive Growth, Mastercard Marlena Babicka, Head of Sustainability and ESG, Avon Monique Ntumngia, Senior Project & Portfolio Lead, Green Girls Organisation  ​​Heiko Spitzeck, Director, Sustainability Research Center, Fundação Dom Cabral  Jamie Coats, Visiting Professor, Fundação Dom Cabral and CEO Wise Responder    Moderator: Katie Hyson, Director, Thought Leadership, Business Fights Poverty We’d also like to thank the following members of our community for opening the Table Discussions during the breakouts: Casey Harrison, CSO, Nuru International Laura Hawkesford, Co-Director, The Partnership Collective Wangiwe Joanna Kambuzi, Managing Director, Emerge Livelihoods Ekanath Khatiwada, Development Professional, Global Expert Network Member, Business Fights Poverty Jennifer Owens, CMO, Jennworks Steph Shankland, Economist, Global Expert Network Member, Business Fights Poverty Martina Swart, Independent NED and Global Expert Network Member, Business Fights Poverty   Part of the Business Fights Poverty Climate Series 2025.
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David Nicholson, a leading figure in global climate action, speaking to us directly from the UN Climate COP in Belém, Brazil. As Mercy Corps’ first-ever Chief Climate Officer, appointed in 2022, Nicholson has been at the forefront of embedding bold, science-driven climate strategy into one of the world’s largest humanitarian organisations – expect to hear his thoughts on climate resilience, adaptation and business action.
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Matthew Spencer, Global Director of Landscapes at IDH – The Sustainable Trade Initiative, sits down for a timely conversation recorded live from COP 2025 in Belém, Brazil. With climate risks intensifying and global supply chains under unprecedented pressure, Matthew explores why landscape-level collaboration is emerging as one of the most effective solutions for protecting the world’s most vulnerable ecosystems — while strengthening livelihoods for millions of smallholder farmers.
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Jamie Coats, CEO of Wise Responder, guest professor at Fundação Dom Cabral (FDC), and the Business Fights Poverty representative at COP30, shares key insights from COP30, highlighting the importance of global collaboration, the inclusion of indigenous voices, and scientific research on the Amazon’s impact on climate and agriculture. He emphasises the need for integrated social and environmental data to create sustainable solutions for people and the planet. Part of the Business Fights Poverty Climate Series 2025.
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Heiko Spitzeck, Director, Sustainability Research Center, Fundação Dom Cabral, reports live from the COP30 Blue Zone, offering coverage and insights of the climate negotiations for Business Fights Poverty. Part of the Business Fights Poverty Climate Series 2025.
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Heiko Spitzeck, Director, Sustainability Research Center, Fundação Dom Cabral, interviews Joshua Wickerham, Senior Advisor, Outreach and Engagement, ISEAL. They share key insights from COP, highlighting the importance of credible sustainability standards and frameworks in combating greenwashing and enabling real environmental impact across industries. The discussion covers sector-specific progress, moving stories of climate activism, and the hope inspired by global collaboration and youth engagement. Part of the Business Fights Poverty Climate Series 2025.
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Jamie Coats, CEO of Wise Responder, guest professor at Fundação Dom Cabral (FDC), and the Business Fights Poverty representative at COP30, interviews Eduardo Figueiredo, Senior Vice President of Sustainability, Norsk Hydro Brazil Ltd. This interview explores the mining industry’s critical need to rebuild trust with society and stakeholders. Emphasis is placed on reliability, regulatory compliance, and effective messaging as keys to sustainable business and positive social impact. Part of the Business Fights Poverty Climate Series 2025.
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Jamie Coats, CEO of Wise Responder, guest professor at Fundação Dom Cabral (FDC), and the Business Fights Poverty representative at COP30, interviews Kyle Sweeney, Manager of Climate Resilience, Root Capital, during COP 30. They discuss how their mission is to empower smallholder farmers worldwide through climate resilience financing, integrating social and climate justice. Insights from COP 30 reveal the importance of access, agency, and inclusion to build resilience and drive investment where it matters most. Part of the Business Fights Poverty Climate Series 2025.
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Heiko Spitzeck, Director, Sustainability Research Center, Fundação Dom Cabral, interviews Simon Henzell-Thomas, Head of Climate, Nature & (Acting) Head of Human Rights & Social Impact, IKEA, during COP 30. They discuss how business growth and bold climate action can go hand in hand. The company’s investments in energy efficiency and renewables benefit both the environment and its bottom line, setting a model for other businesses to follow. Part of the Business Fights Poverty Climate Series 2025.
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Jamie Coats, CEO of Wise Responder, guest professor at Fundação Dom Cabral (FDC), and the Business Fights Poverty representative at COP30, interviews Roberto Rossi to discuss Schneider Electric’s leadership in energy management and automation, emphasising their long-term commitment to sustainability, decarbonisation, and social inclusion in Brazil. The conversation highlighted the company’s focus on providing access to energy and education for vulnerable communities, especially in remote areas such as the Amazon, as well as its transparent reporting and collaborative approach at COP30. Part of the Business Fights Poverty Climate Series 2025.
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Wangiwe Joanna Kambuzi, Founder, Emerge Livelihoods contributed to our COP30 conversation from Malawi, highlighting how local entrepreneurs are driving climate solutions across Malawi and Southern Africa. She warns that communities already have solutions, but lack access to information, investment and enabling environments. She calls on global actors to listen more closely to local innovators, align policies, and channel resources into early-stage, community-rooted climate enterprises. Part of the Business Fights Poverty Climate Series 2025.
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Business Fights Poverty explores how companies can link social and environmental impact to drive a fairer, more resilient future. Using insights from the 5 Bridges to 2045 framework and Natura’s pioneering Integrated Profit & Loss (iP&L) model, this article shows how valuing natural, social, and human capital can transform decision-making, performance, and long-term sustainability.
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Hear from Social Impact Pioneers: Anna Kilpatrick, Chief Strategy and Impact Officer at PUR, whose agroforestry projects help global companies decarbonise agricultural supply chains while improving smallholder incomes. Ann Vaughan, Associate Vice President for Resilient Futures at CARE, leading work to unlock climate finance that reaches 25 million people, especially women and girls. Olaf Westermann, Senior Technical Advisor on Climate Change and Agriculture at CRS, connecting conservation, livelihoods, and equity in nature-based carbon projects worldwide. And Lilian Gwazayo, Field Advisor, & Environmental Scientist, CARE, Malawi.
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Jamie Coats, CEO of Wise Responder, guest professor at Fundação Dom Cabral (FDC), and the Business Fights Poverty representative at COP30, interviews Flavia Constant, Director, Private Social Investment at Vale, to discuss how one of Brazil’s largest companies is taking responsibility for ending poverty in its areas of influence. Flavia explains why Vale is committed to tackling poverty as a multidimensional phenomenon, using the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) to guide action and measure impact. Part of the Business Fights Poverty Climate Series 2025.
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Jamie Coats, CEO of Wise Responder, guest professor at Fundação Dom Cabral (FDC), and the Business Fights Poverty representative at COP30, interviews Thiago Chang, Operations Director, Strategic Initiatives at TechnoServe. They explore what it really takes to scale regenerative agriculture for smallholder farmers. TechnoServe has long focused on regenerating soils, water and biodiversity as part of improving livelihoods. Part of the Business Fights Poverty Climate Series 2025.
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Jamie Coats, CEO of Wise Responder, guest professor at Fundação Dom Cabral (FDC), and the Business Fights Poverty representative at COP30, interviews Malu Paiva, Sustainability, Communication and Brand Executive Vice-President at Suzano. They explore what it really means to move beyond pilots and into implementation at scale. As the world’s largest pulp and cellulose producer, Suzano positions itself as a key supplier of renewable raw materials helping the global transition from fossil-based to greener economies. Malu explains why COP30 is an “Implementation COP”. Part of the Business Fights Poverty Climate Series 2025.
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As climate risks intensify across global agriculture, Bonsucro and partners are expanding the Climate Resilience Platform (CRP) to equip farmers with actionable, science-based tools. Through open-access collaboration with CGIAR, Better Cotton, and leading research organisations, the initiative empowers producers to anticipate climate impacts, strengthen livelihoods, and accelerate resilient, sustainable supply chains across the world.
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IDH shares its top 10 lessons from convening landscape initiatives for the last 10 years. The results across a range of landscapes show that greater impact can be achieved together. The cost and risk sharing that landscape approaches allow makes them more relevant to agri-food businesses as physical supply risks from extreme weather increase.
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Jamie Coats, CEO of Wise Responder, guest professor at Fundação Dom Cabral (FDC), and the Business Fights Poverty representative at COP30, walks us through the COP30 Green Zone, showcasing the energy, innovation and cross-sector collaboration driving climate action in Brazil. Part of the Business Fights Poverty Climate Series 2025.
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This year’s COP30 conference is shining a light on the importance of the Amazon rainforest. Evidence from Peru highlights the critical role that economic opportunity must play in Amazon conservation–and how investment can help to unlock them.
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Filmed at COP30, Jamie Coats, CEO of Wise Responder, guest professor at Fundação Dom Cabral (FDC), and the Business Fights Poverty representative at COP30, interviews Natalia Fernandes Carr from Cooxupé. This interview spotlights how a large coffee cooperative built on 96.7% smallholder members is scaling climate and social impact across 50+ business units in Minas Gerais and São Paulo. Part of the Business Fights Poverty Climate Series 2025.
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Filmed at COP30, Jamie Coats, CEO of Wise Responder, guest professor at Fundação Dom Cabral (FDC), and the Business Fights Poverty representative at COP30, interviews Angela Pinhati and Geraldo Aleandro from Natura. This conversation shows how a business-embedded model delivers climate and social impact: 19 community oil factories in the Amazon, income up to +60% for partner families, 3.5 million beauty consultants advancing inclusion, 100% recycled-PET packaging via 50+ cooperatives, and carbon-neutral operations since 2007. Part of the Business Fights Poverty Climate Series 2025.
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Paulo Guerra, Program Director for Public Institutions at Fundação Dom Cabral (FDC), travels on a motorhome with colleagues from Instituto Bem Ambiental (IBAM), crossing four biomes and nine cities to reach COP30. The video gives an overview of what Paulo explores in his article. You can read the full article here, offering business and city leaders practical lessons for climate action and resilient development. Part of the Business Fights Poverty Climate Series 2025.
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Vanja Ferreira, Head of New Business at Fundação Dom Cabral (FDC), travels on a riverboat en route to COP30. The video gives an overview of what Vanja explores in her article. You can read the full article here to learn how business leaders can draw practical, investable lessons from the Amazon. Part of the Business Fights Poverty Climate Series 2025.
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Filmed at COP30 in Belém, this video features Antônio Claret, Director of Research at Wise Responder, and Jamie Coats, CEO of Wise Responder, guest professor at Fundação Dom Cabral (FDC), and the Business Fights Poverty representative at COP30. They discuss insights from day 1 speeches held in the Green Zone. Part of the Business Fights Poverty Climate Series 2025, this conversation highlights how businesses can help deliver inclusive climate solutions that leave no one behind.
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This article follows a 2,700-kilometre motorhome journey to COP30, where Fundação Dom Cabral and partners used the road as a living climate laboratory. Crossing four biomes and nine cities, the team gathered real-world evidence on resilience, local innovation, and community risks, offering business and city leaders practical lessons for climate action and resilient development.
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Written from a riverboat en route to COP30, this unique article explores how business leaders can draw practical, investable lessons from the Amazon. It urges companies to link emissions goals with local livelihoods, co-create with communities, and view nature as infrastructure. A powerful reminder that regeneration must be built from the ground up.
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As world leaders gather at COP, Amanda Smith, Global Head of Social at Diageo, shares insights into Diageo and CARE’s shared ambition to build resilient supply chains by tackling gender inequality and climate vulnerability together.
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As COP30 unfolds in Brazil, the world faces a pivotal moment. We have missed the 1.5°C target, and while the race to decarbonise is intensifying, emissions cuts alone will not create resilient economies or equitable livelihoods. The Partnership Collective argues that to truly move beyond net zero, we must redesign the systems that connect people, nature, and business so that all can thrive.
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How can businesses meet growing demands for credible climate action? As COP30 nears, this article explores how robust sustainability systems—like those championed by ISEAL—are helping companies navigate Scope 3 emissions, build trust, and drive just transitions. Learn how standards, traceability, and inclusive frameworks are shaping a resilient and transparent global climate response.
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As climate change intensifies, Shared Interest supports farmers in East Africa with fair finance and training to build local resilience. From vegetable producers in Rwanda to coffee growers in Uganda, the focus is on community-led adaptation and climate-smart farming. Putting people at the centre of climate action is key to sustainable, inclusive progress.
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The human toll of climate impacts presents specific challenges for women workers and their communities, especially in climate-vulnerable countries. Climate action and investments must not only focus on mitigation but also address the unique impacts on women and the connection between workplace and community across issues like women’s health, violence, migration, forced labor, among others. 
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Agroecology is a powerful pathway to climate-resilient, sustainable food systems. Brenda Huerta of Fairtrade International explores how soil health, biodiversity, and farmer agency are interconnected, highlighting successful examples from banana cooperatives in Latin America. As COP30 approaches, she calls for bold investment in agroecology as a foundation for social justice, environmental regeneration, and resilient livelihoods.
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How can we unlock climate finance for the world’s most fragile regions? Nuru is showing the way with a model that supports professional cooperatives to lead nature-based solutions. Backed by blended finance and delivering over 80% of carbon revenues to local communities, Nuru’s “resilience corridors” offer a blueprint for stability, sustainability, and shared prosperity.
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