Joyce Cacho, PhD, CDI.D, CFA-NY

Unlocking the Power of DAFs for Food and Agriculture Impact A Donor-Advised Fund (DAF) is no longer just a tool for the wealthy. Many organizations offer DAFs with low minimum initial contributions, sometimes as little as $5,000 or less. Anyone can engage in strategic philanthropy and support innovative for-profit companies tackling social and environmental challenges through a DAF. These funds allow you to make charitable contributions, receive an immediate tax deduction, and recommend grants to causes you care about. DAF sponsors offer impact investing options, enabling donors to recommend investing their DAF assets in companies or funds that generate both financial returns and positive social impact. Your charitable dollars can support mission-driven businesses developing solutions in areas like renewable energy, affordable healthcare, or sustainable agriculture. Here is an exciting opportunity at impact investing and sustainable agriculture intersection. Traditional farming faces unprecedented challenges: • Severe water scarcity in major growing regions • Accelerating soil erosion • Fragile, lengthy supply chains • Growing climate risks Enter Elevate Farms, which is revolutionizing agriculture through vertical farming innovation. What catches my attention as an impact investor: 1. Democratizing Access: Their technology produces leafy greens at market prices ($2.29/lb delivered), making healthy food accessible to all—not just premium consumers. 2. Resource Efficiency: Their advanced photobiology expertise minimizes energy and labor costs, the two biggest hurdles in vertical farming. 3. Location Independence: Their systems work in standard industrial buildings anywhere globally, eliminating reliance on specific climate conditions or water availability. 4. Scalable Impact: Their hub-and-spoke model enables strategic global expansion across the US, Europe, and the Middle East. Here's where DAFs come in as the perfect impact investing vehicle: • Zero Risk Profile: Since funds are already donated, DAF capital can support higher-risk, early-stage innovations that traditional portfolios might avoid. • Perpetual Impact: Returns flow back into the DAF for reinvestment in future impact ventures, creating a sustainable cycle of positive change. • Strategic Alignment: Investments can directly support solutions to critical global challenges such as food security, climate resilience, and agricultural sustainability. DAFs are perfect investment vehicles for supporting transformative solutions that combine meaningful social/environmental impact with sustainable business models. For donors looking to maximize their DAF's impact: Consider how direct investments in agricultural innovation could help build a more sustainable, equitable food system while potentially growing your charitable capital for future giving. #ImpactInvesting #SustainableAgriculture #DAF #FoodSecurity #ClimateAction #SocialImpact #VerticalFarming #Innovation #Philanthropy

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Ara Partners was delighted to join the coalition of investors advancing the gold standard in measuring #decarbonization. The latest guidance on estimating #GHGemissions reduction impact is the result of consensus-driven collaboration - 22 months of work, involving 31 Content Working Group Members, 36 focus group participants, and external reviewers. Congratulations to the Project Frame core team and Prime Coalition on the release! Looking forward to the next year of collaboration at the Methodology Working Group with 2150, AENU, Allianz Global Investors, APG, Azolla Ventures, Boston Consulting Group (BCG), Bridges, Carbon 13, Carbon Equity, Ceres, Inc., Clean Energy Ventures, Climate Dividends, Climate Investments, Driftwood Climate, Energy Impact Partners, Emerald Technology Ventures, Energy Environment Investments, EQT Group, Future Energy Ventures, Galvanize Climate Solutions, Generate Capital, Generation Investment Management, Helios LLP, JTNL Advisory, Just Climate, Lightrock, MoreScope, PGGM, Planet A, Prime Coalition, Siemens-Energy, Power Sustainable, The Roda Group, TowerBrook Capital Partners L.P., Trill Impact, Venture Climate Alliance, Vidia Equity, WBCSD – World Business Council for Sustainable Development, World Fund, and Zero Carbon Capital.

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Recently, the U.S. Government announced the publication of a Joint Statement of Policy and new Principles for Responsible Participation in Voluntary Carbon Markets (VCMs). These principles aim to ensure that carbon markets drive meaningful climate action while promoting economic opportunity. Voluntary Carbon Markets (VCMs) have the potential to drive significant progress in combating climate change. However, they face challenges in ensuring the integrity and credibility of carbon credits. Recent observations have revealed discrepancies in the reliability of crediting methodologies, raising concerns about transparency and accountability in the market. The new Principles will effectively address these challenges while ensuring the high integrity of the Voluntary Carbon Market. These principles aim to establish robust standards for carbon credit supply and demand, improve market functioning, and ensure fair treatment of all participants. Here's the video clip of the announcement of the new principles by Janet L. Yellen, U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, sourced from the U.S. Department of the Treasury. https://lnkd.in/dpb8TQtT WOCE - World of Circular Economy, Amrut Nature Solutions Private Limited, GHG Reductions Technologies Pvt. Ltd. #EKIEnergyServices #EKIEnergy #EKI #Enking #EnkingInternational #VoluntaryCarbonMarket #VCM #CarbonMarkets #Decarbonisation #HighIntegrity

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Root Capital is proud to be a founding member of the CASH Coalition, which works to make regenerative agriculture and climate action profitable for smallholder farmers. We've learned so much about carbon markets and new climate solutions from our partners, and now we're pleased to share some of our learning with others! Check out the details below 👀 🌍📚 CASH Coalition is thrilled to have launched a Learning and Resources page, a dynamic resource hub and archive of knowledge for advancing regenerative agriculture, enhancing access to climate finance, and scaling climate action by and for smallholder farmers in the Global South. This curated collection of resources, case studies, and insights emerges from CASH’s commitment to peer-to-peer learning and knowledge exchange to equip practitioners, partners, and policymakers with actionable, relevant tools to empower farmers and local communities. 🛠️ Dive into the platform to explore: 💡Strategies for scaling regenerative practices 💡Innovative financing mechanisms that advance smallholders’ access to climate finance 💡Lessons learned from on-the-ground experiences By facilitating dialogue and collaboration, this initiative strengthens our shared mission to catalyze transformative change through regenerative agriculture, climate resilience and climate action. 🌱 Visit the page: CASH Learning Page https://lnkd.in/e97Sj4gg After each peer-to-peer learning session, the page will be updated, so check back for more knowledge and resources. #RegenerativeAgriculture #ClimateAction #CASHCoalition #PeerToPeerLearning

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Abaxx Exchange and Clearinghouse’s Head of Environmental Markets, Alasdair Were, attended yesterday's announcement on High Integrity Voluntary Carbon Markets by key U.S. officials, including Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, Agriculture Secretary Thomas Vilsack, and Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm. As stated in the landmark announcement, high-integrity voluntary #carboncredit markets (VCMs) have the potential to support #decarbonization efforts within the United States and around the world by accelerating net emissions reductions while reducing their cost. They can achieve this by unlocking investment capital and demand for real, additional, lasting, and independently verified #emissionsreductions and removals. These markets can also provide a myriad of co-benefits by supporting economic development, sustaining livelihoods of local communities, and conserving land and water resources and #biodiversity. 🔗 https://lnkd.in/eVuJQaJa As the voluntary #carbonmarkets continue to evolve, the demand for more oversight and verification of quality offsets continues to grow. Our two initial carbon futures contracts are designed to recognize improving standards of quality in the voluntary carbon market and the advancing stages of Paris Agreement’s #Article6 market development. We are proud to contribute to these crucial discussions and to the advancement of smarter #carbon markets. To hear more from Alasdair, listen to his recent conversation with David Greely on SmarterMarkets™ Carbon Frontiers, linked below or accessible from all major #podcast platforms. 🔗 https://lnkd.in/ebynxxqG

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We have seen a flurry of regulatory activity on the part of U.S. Agencies lately, including the Environmental Protection Agency (tailpipe emissions, coal power plants) and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (transmission infrastructure planning). All of which stand to deliver strong environmental benefits. For context, under the Congressional Review Act, Congress has 60 legislative days to review and potentially cancel a newly promulgated federal regulation. That short time window takes all its relevance with the approach of US elections. In the background, two critical cases are being heard at the U.S. Supreme Court involving another Agency this time the National Marine Fisheries Service. How is this related? They may result in a significant weakening of the Chevron doctrine, a cornerstone of administrative law guiding judicial deference to regulatory agencies' interpretations of statutes. Who ends bearing the cost for observers on herring fishing boats suddenly takes a critical importance…! https://lnkd.in/gfZuHkXw

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Several #climate technologies have passed or are near economic tipping points. Climate techs can rapidly outcompete traditional systems once they pass a minimum bar of competitiveness. Doing so is essential to scale them at speed. Fully deploying just 15 technologies by 2035 could facilitate enough emission reductions to cover around 70% of the 1.5oC carbon budget. Coordinated action is essential to ensure they can scale in time to deliver meaningful climate impact. Find out more in the report by William Nicolle, Tasos Zavitsanakis and Richard Mylles for the UBS Sustainability and Impact Institute: https://lnkd.in/ezXYN3uv #shareUBS #GreenHockeySticks #transition #technology #TheInstitute

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A fairly simple, partly personal post today. Many thanks to Louie Woodall for first class editing. At its core, the linked article focuses on labor productivity in the context of climate change. My core argument is that marginal effects of temperature increases are likely to decline, in temperate regions, as warming progresses. As such, the process is nonlinear but the bend will be toward economic moderation. I draw on some of my experiences as a student menial worker in Australia to help the story along. I use this as a cudgel to whack the "futuriskas" - people who say thar the past is not prologue and that empirical study of climate risk is therefore irrelevant. I firmly believe - nay I know - that understanding real life data is the only way to understand climate risk. The futuriskas like to assume, without evidence, that climate effects will be highly nonlinear and always detrimental to economic outcomes. Or perhaps they won't be. #climaterisk https://lnkd.in/e6mFDPDH

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I have yet to meet energy transition, net zero, and climate change people who understand math and science. 1. The works need 700 exajoules of non-carbon energy by 2050. Solar and wind cannot scale that high, nor would that much land be available. It will require all the nuclear that can be built, along with hydro. No one of your group seems to understand that number, how large a number of energy that is. Each exajoules represents either 174 million barrels of oil, or 34.12 million tons of coal. 2. I see no plan that provides non carbon energy to industrial, energy intensive processes, like making iron, steel, cement, and fertilizer, without which 4 billion people would not have enough food. All those processes are done with fossil fuels. Other than SMRs, I see no answer to provide energy for these industrial processes. 3. I don’t think you folks have an answer on how to convert 4 TW of coal plants, unless you plan on nuclear power. Nothing else has the scale, that does not need backup power. Green hydrogen is too expensive, by 5x. 4. Also, what will be the source of energy for 120,000 large ships, critical to international trade, that use diesel or heavy fuel oil? And what about the energy for jet airliners, 25,000 that need a new source of energy. 5. And what about 50 million diesel farm tractors that provide food? What about 100 million irrigation pumps? These are run by diesel. And what about large combines, harvesters. 6. Fossil fuels will still be needed for asphalt, forblubricants,and backup power to solar and wind. And you will need 150 million tons or copper, the equivalent of 7 years of mining. 7. I see no solutions to these questions, as if a positive attitude is enough. Sorry, it is not. I don’t think clean energy, net zero, nor climate activists, have any real solutions to these big problems.

As demand for sustainable alternatives grows, the foodtech sector is shifting to balance decarbonization with evolving consumer tastes. Companies such as Voyage Foods and Atomo Coffee have gained traction with their bean-free cocoa and coffee products as both crops face mounting threats. In a Food Dive op-ed, Kelly Belcher, Head of Climate Tech at J.P. Morgan highlights what we can learn from these companies’ strategies and how to drive growth in this dynamic sector: https://bit.ly/41svm8V

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Sustainability is at the heart of everything we do, and regenerative agriculture is just one part of our daily practice when it comes to land. Our farmland management team is laser-focused on soil health and productivity because we know that it leads to optimized farm production—as well as other important outcomes, like nurturing biodiversity and sequestering carbon. Our latest thought leadership piece examines the critical role of regenerative agriculture when feeding a growing population in a world of increasingly scarce natural resources. Read this paper to learn from our agriculture experts about the compelling economic and environmental benefits available for investors. https://lnkd.in/egsK2JJy #RegenerativeAgriculture #SustainableInvesting #Manulifeinvestmentmanagement

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The Glass-Steagall legislation, passed in 1933, was effective wasn't it? It did give the U.S. 50 years without a banking crisis. But could a different set of regulations have achieved the same outcome with a higher rate of economic growth? We'll never know. One of the problems we have when judging the quality of bank regulation is that we only observe failures. The level of success is always debatable. Bank regulators claim they are making progress in building resilience, but there's really no way to demonstrate this absent a crisis. In the attached piece I explore this issues and suggest that the best we can hope for is that sound principles of public policy are consistently employed. #climaterisk

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One of the key elements to accelerating the transition is organizing new constituencies invested in the net-zero economy. The launch of the U.S. Green Bank 50 is therefore a major milestone in making the transition durable, effective, and organized!

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I had the pleasure to speak about the critical demand for accelerating climate finance at the Bretton Woods Committee today alongside partners from CFA Institute, McKinsey Global Institute, and the Toronto Centre. My remarks focused on recent IFC - International Finance Corporation research that shows the need for further private sector investments to achieve our climate goals. For emerging markets alone, annual investment in clean energy will need to more than triple to $2.2-2.8 trillion per year by the early 2030s. IFC stands ready to support the private sector in achieving these goals. With a record $14.4 billion in climate finance in FY23, including $6.8 billion mobilized from our partners, IFC has the track record and expertise to create bankable climate projects, de-risk investments, and crowd in private investors at scale. Read more from our report “Scaling Up Private Sector Finance for Clean Energy in Emerging and Developing Economies” https://lnkd.in/gP5ZnMVW

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If you care about climate, this is a critical issue. If you care about water, soil, or biodiversity, this is a critical issue. If you care about human or animal wellbeing, this is a critical issue If you care about economic stability, this is a critical issue. If you care about market concentration and investment risk, this is a critical issue. Finally, if you care about food, this is a critical issue. Adasina Social Capital

One Step Closer (OSC) just published a paper to explore and underline the critical role that Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) companies play in expanding the regenerative agriculture market. My quote in the report: "CPG brands, farmers, and investors need to align to build a market for a regenerative, equitable, and climate-resilient food systems. Together, we can create markets that nourish communities, improve soils, and increase biodiversity." Rex Raimond Co Founder & Director Transformational Investing in Food Systems (TIFS) Transformational Investing in Food Systems Tim Crosby David Bennell Laura Thompson Tina Owens Global Alliance for the Future of Food Funders for Regenerative Agriculture

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Greater support is needed from international financial institutions to allow producers to embrace regenerative farming and restore degraded pasture. In Chapter 3 of Cerrado Perspectives, TFA interviewed Reina Berlien, Head of ESG for Brandywine Global Investment Management, to understand better the role of international institutional investors. Read the issue: https://lnkd.in/g4CXsB4J #Cerrado #SouthAmerica #Deforestation #Conversion #Agriculture #SustainableFinance #Finance #Investment #ESGs

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It is hard to imagine a more volatile time in agriculture than during the past six years. The roller coaster ride continues however, with farmers and ranchers continuing to face high input and energy costs, elevated interest rates and rising labor costs — all against the backdrop of lower grain prices. Will the ag economy stabilize over the next 12 to 18 months? While no one has a crystal ball to know how things will shake out, navigating through volatility begins with understanding the nature and magnitude of key threats and then implementing appropriate strategies to manage risk. Please read our latest thinking on these matters in an article published in CHS Inc. Magazine. #CHSIncEmployee https://lnkd.in/eJrpFy4e

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