In 2017, EO pledged its support of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs)—17 goals to wipe out poverty, fight inequality and tackle climate change by 2030. To inspire EO members to focus on sustainability and societal impact, EO hosts a quarterly Impact Day. The next EO Impact Day is Wednesday, 15 December 2021.

Pajani Singah, president of EO London, embraces the UN SDGs by fighting climate change. He was recently honoured for his actions: Pajani is co-founder of Amazonia Impact Ventures (AIV), which was selected by the World Economic Forum (WEF) as a winner of the Tropical Forest Commodities Challenge. The recognition was given for AIV’s innovative approach using finance to tackle deforestation in the Amazon rainforest.

Addressing deforestation in the Amazon

The Amazon rainforest absorbs two billion tons of carbon per year. At its current rate of deforestation, over 25 percent of the biome will disappear by 2030. Urgent action is needed to stop such rampant deforestation. Work by the voluntary sector alone will not be enough; businesses must get involved, too. Recent years have seen promising work in the sustainable investment space, but greenwashing remains all too common.

Amazonia Impact Ventures (AIV) invests private capital in projects that reduce deforestation, regenerate biodiversity and restore degraded land to mitigate climate change. The organization works with smallholder farmers’ organizations to reduce commodity-driven deforestation. Their work helps indigenous peoples and local communities protect and regenerate the Amazon rainforest.