How to pledge

Companies are invited to make a financial commitment in at least one of the 10 high-impact intervention areas based on the new evidence¹ and in at least one of the priority countries or regions. The company also has to name the partners it will work with to achieve the action: these could include one of the implementing organisations² , or another international or regional organisation, or the local, regional or national government, or another civil society organisation (CSO). Finally, the Pledge requires companies to comply with host state laws and regulations, and commit to internationally accepted principles, including but not limited to the Principles for Responsible Investment in Agriculture and Food Systems of the Committee on World Food Security (CFS-RAI), the International Code of Marketing of Breast Milk Substitutes, the Principles of the UN Global Compact, and the UN Guiding Principles for Business and Human Rights. See “Who can sign the pledge?” for further information.

A company pledge is a non-binding statement of the company’s proposed investment plans, as detailed in the online form (available here). It is not intended to create any legally enforceable rights or obligations of the company or its affiliates. The signing of this pledge shall not be deemed to establish either party as the agent of the other party or create a legal partnership or joint venture between the parties.

The signing of this pledge and pledge approval does not guarantee a partnership with the selected implementing organisation and does not constitute any form of endorsement or due diligence clearance by the partner organisations.³ The partnership is activated – and can possibly be promoted if agreed by both parties – only once a formal binding partnership agreement is signed and in accordance with that partnership agreement.

¹ The evidence comes from a series of new reports, including: Center for Development Research (ZEF)–FAO– IISD–International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)–Cornell (2020), State of Food Insecurity in the World (SOFI) (2021), Program of Accompanying Research for Agricultural Innovation (PARI) (2020), and Ceres2030 (2020). In the simplest terms, evidence refers to science-based information about what works and what does not work.

² Implementing organisations are: the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) (Hand-in-Hand initiative); Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN); Grow Africa; Grow Asia; International Fund For Agricultural Development (IFAD); One Acre Fund; World Economic Forum (WEF) (Food Action Alliance); and the World Food Programme (WFP).

³ The partner organisations are FAO, GAIN, Grow Africa, Grow Asia, IISD, WBA, WBCSD, WFP

Aligning a company’s or investment fund’s investments with new evidence and commitments requires them to either change existing investments, practices, or operations or make new financial investments in a portfolio of interventions.

The table below shows the area for investment, types of investment needed, and examples of company actions that would be considered “aligned investments.” Investments work better using a portfolio of interventions that interact dynamically and achieve multiple objectives rather than looking for a single intervention.

The process to define the list of aligned investments is iterative. The company or investment fund can propose other examples, but they must be aligned to at least one of the three areas for investment, the 10 types of investments needed, and the principle of investing in a portfolio of interventions to achieve multiple outcomes.

There are four types of financial commitments: (1) core business investments, (2) subsidized contributions, (3) cash contributions, and (4) in-kind contributions.

Core business investments. This is where the greatest quantity of investment is expected to come from. It can take multiple forms and involves direct investments in operations and projects that are aligned to at least one of the 10 investment areas and in at least one or more of the priority countries. For example, spending USD 50 million to build a factory to produce complementary foods in one of the priority countries could be counted toward the pledge.

Subsidised contributions. They can take the form of a sale of goods or services to the targeted beneficiaries at a subsidized rate, for example, selling drip irrigation systems or solar panels at a subsidized rate lower than the company’s standard market price. It can also take the form of higher purchasing prices or better packages for smallholders, for example a contract farming scheme that also offers health care coverage or pays a 20% price premium.

Cash contributions. They can take place through the company’s charitable activities, and/or environmental, social, and governance (ESG) activities, and can be transferred to a third party or a fund.

In-kind contributions. They can occur through hiring/assigning employees to implement the intervention (or the provision of goods and services produced by the companies) and are not limited to food companies. All companies in the world contribute to food systems, from airlines to IT services, and are thus eligible to make a pledge. These contributions can also take the form of granting access to knowledge and financial capital. Companies can provide access to patents, IP rights, or databases, and financial firms can provide access to credit, finance, or insurance.

The company must specify which organisation they wish to work with to implement their pledge and is free to choose their own implementing organisation.

Any contribution to or cooperation with our implementing organisations shall require signature of a written binding agreement. The signing of such an agreement shall be conditional upon the formalisation of all relevant conditions and the successful completion by the company of any due diligence requirements.

Implementing organisations reserve the right to decide not to partner with a company at any point, including if the company fails to comply with the governing principles of the pledge. The company shall maintain the confidentiality of any information it receives from an implementing organisation that has been designated as confidential and it shall use information received in respect of this pledge only for purposes of the pledge and not for any private or commercial gain.

Companies that do not select one of our recommended implementing organisations or partners must ensure that their implementing partners are working closely with the government or one of our organisations to ensure country ownership and alignment with national priorities.

They conditions for the pledge are the following:

• The company must make a financial commitment, including a monetary value, in at least one of the 10 high-impact intervention areas based on the new evidence⁴. Companies should be committed to align their investments and business operations more clearly and strongly with SDG2 Zero Hunger and contribute to efforts to end hunger by 2030.
• The company must make the investment in at least one of the priority countries or regions or a financial commitment for global research and development (R&D) (See list of priority countries above).
• The company must name the partners it will work with to achieve the action: these could include one of the implementing organisations⁵, or another international or regional organisation, or the local, regional or national government, or another civil society organisation (CSO). Companies should be committed to fulfil their pledge by partnering with governments, donors and global institutions to make evidence-based investments that contribute to food systems transformation in that country through tangible contributions to specific projects.
• The company that signs the Zero Hunger Private Sector Pledge agrees, through the signing of the pledge document, to comply with applicable laws, rules and regulations, including those applicable in the country(ies) they pledge to support and all other countries where they are based and operating, if any.
• The company agrees, through the signing of the pledge document, to commit to uphold internationally accepted principles, including but not limited to the Principles for Responsible Investment in Agriculture and Food Systems of the Committee on World Food Security (CFS-RAI), the International Code of Marketing of Breast Milk Substitutes, the Principles of the UN Global Compact, and the UN Guiding Principles for Business and Human Rights.
• They should be able to report on resources allocation, progress, impact and challenges in the context of the agreed collaboration.

⁴ The evidence comes from a series of new reports, including: Center for Development Research (ZEF)–FAO–IISD–International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)–Cornell (2020), State of Food Insecurity in the World (SOFI) (2021), Program of Accompanying Research for Agricultural Innovation (PARI) (2020), and Ceres2030 (2020). In the simplest terms, evidence refers to science-based information about what works and what does not work.

⁵ Implementing organisations are: the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) (Hand-in-Hand initiative); Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN); Grow Africa; Grow Asia; International Fund For Agricultural Development (IFAD); One Acre Fund; World Economic Forum (WEF) (Food Action Alliance); and the World Food Programme (WFP).

Country ownership and links to national priorities and needs represent the recipe for success of the Pledge. The main mechanism for ensuring this is through implementation with the identified organisation or partner and in collaboration with existing platforms, coalitions and initiatives. Further work will be done on the mechanisms for delivery that can facilitate and support better public–private alignment to achieve impact. This will include effective coordination with international organisations (African Development Bank [AfDB], African Union Commission [AUC], FAO, IFAD, International Monetary Fund [IMF], World Bank, and WFP) as well as country-level consultation and implementation which is fundamental to delivery. This will be tailored to national circumstances, led by governments.