EDITORIAL

5 years ago, in the summer of 2019, we launched Ksapa. 5 years that have gone by in the blink of an eye ... but so packed that it feels like 15!

Not just for the Ksapa team, but for the field of sustainability, which has become much more democratic. 5 years ago, for example, the European Sustainable Finance Plan - which gave rise to the CSRD, the green taxonomy and the SFDR - was still at the intention stage. The central banks had just set up the NGFS. The integration of ESG risks into investment decisions was still far from being the norm. Even if the European Green Deal is now in the spotlight, it has to be said that the development of a sustainable regulatory framework has moved into another dimension.

But despite these developments, there is no automatic link between the disclosure of ESG information or the announcement of trajectories, as at the recent Climate Week in New York, and the implementation of action plans. And yet, during this period, the evidence of climate change disruption and the widening of social inequalities, particularly in the wake of Covid-19, have left their mark on people's minds... The just transition is still a wishful aspiration that has yet to be put into practice and made credible.

For our part, during these 5 years, we have deployed our objectives as a mission-driven company to promote the just transition in 3 dimensions, striving to bring about new models with multi-dimensional socio-economic and environmental impacts:

•  Sustainability consulting: with more than 70 consulting clients with major industrial companies, financial institutions, governments, and development institutions on subjects such as human rights, sustainability regulations, climate, sustainable and impact finance, sustainability strategies and responsible sourcing.
• Innovative solutions for transforming value chains: with the SUTTI solution, we develop and manage programs to transform agricultural value chains. Bringing together manufacturers, financiers, governments, NGOs and researchers, the programs we deploy for the benefit of tens of thousands of smallholder farmers combine technical assistance, low-tech digitalisation and impact finance in several countries in Asia and Africa.
• Advocacy & participation in public discourse: whether on our website - where you will find over 500 free open-source blog articles and publications on sustainability, value chains, social inclusion, environmental transition or impact finance - on social media, or by participating in various webinars, publications, workshops and conferences, we share our experience, expertise and thoughts, and we launch collaborative initiatives.

5 years ... that's also the time left for the end of the 15 years set in 2015 for the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals Agenda, when it is clear that a majority of them will not be achieved and so much remains to be done. The question of the collective targets we will need to set for the 2030 decade, and of their framework, will have to be raised soon … Even if the major geopolitical risks we are facing are likely to make their implementation particularly uncertain - and at the very least less of a priority than in a more peaceful context.

In the meantime, we have 5 years left to accelerate the social and environmental transformation of our models. All the Ksapa teams and our customers and partners are ready to devote all our efforts to this. Let's get to it!
 

Raphaël Hara, Managing Director