No Planet B!
November has been an action-packed month! Not all positive, though. The month has unfortunately renewed its association with terror – the Paris attacks on the 13th, were frighteningly similar to the horror Mumbai experienced in November 26, 2008.
Meanwhile, Paris continues to dominate headlines, this time because of the COP21 Climate Change Summit. Thousands of environmental activists have rallied in Paris, London, Sydney and elsewhere to draw attention to this cause. In Paris, Pope Francis and U.N. Secretary General Ban ki Moon donated their shoes to an art installation protesting the shutdown of environmental rallies! Bill Gates has tapped into the momentum of the summit to announce his Breakthrough Energy Coalition on the side-lines of the summit. The Coalition, structured as a venture capital fund for start-ups conducting research for clean energy solutions and technology, is backed by the world’s leading billionaires, including India’s Ratan Tata and Mukesh Ambani. Can this market approach save the environment? We’ll have to wait and watch.
Where do you stand on climate change – a cause that is hugely popular yet polarising in nature? Environmentalists point to the effects of climate change (changing weather, accelerated sea levels, melting ice caps) and call for massive action to reduce the human footprint on earth. Meanwhile sceptics argue against the notion of climate change itself, arguing that human footprint does not play a significant role.
We’ve had our hands full this November! Our NGO Pop-Up at Cricket Club of India kept us busy before Diwali. With sales worth Rs4.5 lakhs on one day, it was a great event for NGOs and buyers too. Meanwhile, we’ve also stepped up work on the BSE-CII CSR portal Sammaan. HelpYourNGO has brought in more than 200 NGOs from across India onto the CSR platform, and listed 200 deserving projects. We can’t wait for the site to become accessible to corporates who will be able to view a range of projects suited for CSR funding.
The end of the year is near! Have you started thinking about your New Year Resolutions? We haven’t yet, but we will be looking back at 2015 and making some predictions about the state of philanthropy for 2016 next month. Watch this space for more!
