What is Social Impact?

A quick note before we jump in:

You may have noticed that there has been a brief hiatus for the past couple of weeks. I've been carefully reviewing your feedback and working hard to make this newsletter the best it can be for our community. I value the time it takes to read this and will continue to use it as effectively as I can.

As a result, you'll notice a few changes in this edition:

1. A refined focus on the UN Sustainable Development Goals — credited as the definition of “Social Impact”

2. Migrated from Substack over to Beehiiv

3. A new series highlighting companies in the social impact space; check out the introduction here

Thank you for your feedback and continued support.

My intent with starting this newsletter was to be as effective as possible in building a community and knowledge source around social impact and its intersection with product development and entrepreneurship. Over the past three weeks, I have been able to understand the “Social Impact” ecosystem at a deeper level – working to integrate those learnings into SIP. Thank you to everyone who gave me feedback throughout this process.

Since starting this journey, I have been asked one question above the rest: what is “Social Impact”? I grapple with this seemingly straightforward question as well. Although there is no hard and fast definition for it, many trace its roots to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The SDGs, adopted by the United Nations in 2015, are most commonly referred to as the foundation of “Social Impact”. Anyone who is interested in investing, building, or simply just learning more about this space will be learning about and working on a problem in one of these 17 goals.

Below are each of the 17 SDGs, their descriptions, and some recent events worth knowing for each.

Current Events:

• Global decline in poverty: The Migration Policy Institute, a nonpartisan think tank focused on the movement of people worldwide, reports a “historic decline” in poverty levels in the US across the board, most notably amongst children dropping from 12.1M in 2009 to 3.5M in 2021, citing stronger social policies. Read more here.

• UN introduces Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI): The UN released a new measurement of poverty called the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) in October 2022. This flagship UN poverty study found that 72 countries have “significantly reduced poverty” in recent years. Read more here.

2. Zero Hunger: End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture.

Current Events:

• Community eligibility policy boosts free meals: The Food Research & Action Center found that the use of a community eligibility policy — allowing schools with high poverty rates to provide free meals without collecting household applications — created a 20.8 percent increase in adoption from the previous year. This growth allowed 19.9 million children, an increase of 22.5 percent, to benefit from community eligibility nationwide. Read more here.

• Food insecurity and malnutrition rise in Africa: The WFP found food insecurity and malnutrition to be at a 10-year high in West and Central Africa. Sources for this crisis include regional conflict, climate change, COVID-19, and higher food prices. Read more here.

3. Good Health and Well-being: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages.

 Current Events:

• COVID-19 no longer a global emergency: COVID-19 was identified as a primary threat to this goal. This past month, it was finally declared not a global health emergency by both the WHO and the US government. Read more here.

• Maternal mortality progress falls short: A new report by WHO finds that although maternal mortality rates have decreased in previous years, the trend is well off target for the SDG’s set goal for 2030. Reportedly, a woman still dies “every two minutes” during or from childbirth. Read more here.

4. Quality Education: Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.

Current Events:

• AI in education: equalizer with risks: The US Department of Education has been active in evaluating and understanding the role that AI can play in our education system. It finds AI as a potential equalizer for education, while also posing a potential threat to trust and safety that underlines our education system. Read more here.

• Book bans ignite heated controversy nationwide: Book bans across the US have continued to spark heated discussion and controversy. In Georgia, the act is said to have created a “hostile environment.” These bans have targeted content related to gender identity and critical race theory, among others. Read more here.

5. Gender Equality: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.

Current Events:

• Gender equality delayed for three centuries: According to a recent statement by the UN Secretary-General, instead of being achieved by 2030, it is projected that gender equality will take another three centuries to become a reality. Read more here.

• Israel and Japan rank lowest in gender equality: In a recent review of the 38 OECD countries, a gender equality index placed Israel and Japan at the bottom. Read more here and here.

6. Clean Water and Sanitation: Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all.

Current Events:

• SCOTUS ruling endangers wetland protections: The SCOTUS recently issued a ruling about the EPA’s ability to protect wetlands, threatening decades of protections enabled by the industry. Read more here.

• First UN Water Conference focuses on SDG 6: This year, the first ever UN Water Conference was held. Read more here.

7. Affordable and Clean Energy: Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for all.

Current Events:

• Solar energy investment surpasses fossil fuel investment: In a recent statement from the International Energy Agency, investment into solar energy globally is expected to exceed investment into fossil fuels for the first time ever this year. Read more here.

• USDA invests $11B in rural clean energy: The US Department of Agriculture has recently announced an investment of ~$11B towards supporting affordable clean energy in rural areas across the country. This funding will be utilized by “rural electric cooperatives, renewable energy companies, and electric utilities.” Read more here.

8. Decent Work and Economic Growth: Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment, and decent work for all.

Current Events:

• WEF Growth Summit explores AI's impact: Earlier this month, the World Economic Forum held its 2023 Growth Summit, where they discussed the future of growth and the impact of AI on economic development. Read more here.

• US debt ceiling deal gets Senatel approval: The US debt ceiling deal, which had the world waiting in anticipation for its completion has now received Congressional approval. It heads to the White House for President Biden’s signature. Read more here.

9. Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure: Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization, and foster innovation.

Current Events:

• Nvidia CEO keynote sparks stock frenzy: A recent keynote by Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang revealed many cutting-edge innovations being developed by the company. Its stock subsequently went into a frenzy. Read more here.

• EV adoption requires innovation and infrastructure: In order to bring more mass adoption of EVs, both innovation and infrastructure are needed. However, prioritizing one over another could pose strategic advantages. Read more here.

10. Reduced Inequalities: Reduce inequality within and among countries.

Current Events:

• African trade plan promotes growth, poverty reduction: The African Continental Free Trade Area is a plan set to accelerate economic growth between many African countries. UN Chief Guterres emphasized its ability to enable poverty reduction, innovation, and improvements in human conditions. Read more here.

• COVID-19 exacerbates global inequality: A recent report by the Brookings Institute finds “contemporary global inequalities…close to the peak levels observed in the early 20th century.” Many attribute these reversals in inequality to the effects of COVID-19. Read more here.

11. Sustainable Cities and Communities: Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable.

Current Events:

• OECD introduces user-friendly environmental performance tool: The OECD recently released a new format for “a tool to evaluate environmental performance in countries” called Environment at a Glance Indicators. This new web-based tool has a greater emphasis on usability for understanding data and graphics. Read more here.

• Green housing transition risks gentrification: The transition to green housing and green cities is important, but we must be careful not to increase gentrification along the way. A recent article from Bloomberg finds this as a very real risk going forward. Read more here.

12. Responsible Consumption and Production: Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns.

Current Events:

• Ultra-processed foods pose risks: Ultra-processed foods have continued to dominate the American diet. A recent article by NPR highlights the risks of such eating habits — low fiber and excess sugar, salt, and fat in diets. Read more here.

• World Bank briefing links food insecurity to inflation: The World Bank released its latest briefing on food insecurity. In it, we see inflation as a major contributing factor. Read more here.

13. Climate Action: Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts.

Current Events:

• Pink hydrogen's future depends on White House: Pink hydrogen, a type of hydrogen produced from nuclear energy, hinges on decisions from the White House concerning tax credits. Read more here.

• Climate lawsuits impact share prices of polluters: A recent study has found that climate lawsuits successfully bring share prices down for big polluters. This puts climate litigation as a powerful tool for climate change. Read more here.

14. Life Below Water: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas, and marine resources for sustainable development.

Current Events:

• Water level rise restores Australian region: A recent rise in water levels has restored a region in southern Australia that hasn’t been seen in over half a century. This provides an interesting case study for regional restoration. Read more here.

• Colorado River usage broken down by NY Times: The Colorado River Basin has gotten increased attention in recent years as water usage continues to concern officials. A recent article by the NY Times breaks the water usage down. Read more here.

15. Life on Land: Protect, restore, and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and biodiversity loss.

Current Events:

• Mediterranean forest desertification predicted by scientists: Desertification of Mediterranean forests is likely in the near future, according to scientists studying natural vegetation cycles at Heidelberg University in Germany. Read more here.

• Alarming global wildlife loss: A recent study out of the Queen’s University Belfast finds the loss of global wildlife “significantly more alarming” than what had previously been considered to be the rate of biodiversity loss. It contributes to both climate change and the abuse of our natural habitats. Read more here.

16. Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions: Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable, and inclusive institutions at all levels.

Current Events:

• Urban governance crucial when addressing climate change: A study out of the University of Waterloo finds urban governance to be especially important in climate change, pointing out the need to change policy and be considerate of vulnerable populations as climate change worsens. Read more here.

• Amazon employees protest for zero emissions: Workers in a climate activism group at Amazon called the Amazon Employees for Climate Justice walked out in protest demanding a stronger commitment to zero emissions from the company. Read more here.

17. Partnerships to Achieve the Goal: Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development.

Current Events:

• G7 leaders reaffirm SDG commitment: Despite numerous indicators that the world is not on track to achieve the SDG’s goals by 2030, G7 leaders met earlier this month to reaffirm their commitment to the goals. Read more here.

• G7 references IEA roadmap in commitment: The commitment was made referencing a recent roadmap published by the International Energy Agency. Read more here.