New 2030 Impact Goals Announced by Better Cotton
Better Cotton has revealed its latest 2030 Strategy with four Impact Targets that will focus on enhancing Soil Health, Women's Empowerment, Sustainable Livelihoods, and Pesticides.
These objectives are part of a comprehensive plan to drive positive change in vital areas at the field level. The organisation aims to achieve ambitious targets with a focus on achieving measurable outcomes.
The latest Impact Targets announced by Better Cotton are in addition to the first commitment of its 2030 Strategy, which focuses on Climate Change Mitigation. The organisation aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50% per tonne of Better Cotton lint produced by 2030. These goals are part of the comprehensive plan to drive positive change at the field level and promote measurable outcomes.
According to the Synthesis Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), every increase in global warming leads to a significant rise in climate hazards. This results in more severe heatwaves, heavier rainfall, and other weather extremes, which pose a greater risk to human health and ecosystems. The report highlights the urgent need to address climate change to mitigate the escalating risks.
Hoesung Lee, the chair of the IPCC, emphasised that integrating effective and fair climate action into mainstream practices would not only minimise losses and damages to the environment and humanity but also deliver broader advantages. This approach will lead to multiple benefits beyond climate change mitigation and adaptation, underscoring the importance of immediate and sustained action to address the issue.
Cotton is a significant renewable resource worldwide, with an annual production of over 22 million tonnes in diverse landscapes. The cotton sector's advancement has the potential to reduce poverty and promote sustainability and equality.
To achieve these objectives, Better Cotton collaborated with prominent civil society organisations and industry experts to develop four Impact Targets, including Sustainable Livelihoods, Soil Health, Women's Empowerment, and Pesticides.
The targets aim to increase the net income and resilience of two million cotton farmers and workers sustainably, ensure the improved health of soil for all Better Cotton farmers, empower one million women in cotton through programmes and resources that promote equal farm decision-making, build climate resilience, or support improved livelihoods, and reduce the use and risk of synthetic pesticides applied by Better Cotton farmers and workers by at least 50%. The organisation aims to promote measurable outcomes with a focus on driving positive change at the field level.
Better Cotton and its field-level partners trained 2.9 million farmers in 26 countries on more sustainable farming practices in the 2020–21 cotton season.
The organisation strives for continuous improvement at the field level, seeking to promote sustainable cotton farming practices that protect and restore the environment and enable cotton farming communities to thrive.
The newly announced Impact Targets will enhance the organisation's efforts to deliver sustainable and lasting economic, environmental, and social benefits to cotton-growing communities. The targets will create a focal point and leverage funding, knowledge partners, and other resources to drive positive change at scale, reinforcing the organisation's commitment to promoting measurable outcomes.
Climate change affects everyone, but it disproportionately impacts women, children, low-income households, and small-scale producers. Better Cotton's 2030 Strategy aims to drive positive change at the field level beyond compliance with the Better Cotton Standard (Principles & Criteria).
The strategy is aligned with the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals and builds on the outcomes of COP27 to achieve action-based climate mitigation objectives for cotton farming communities.
The organisation's newly announced commitments, including the four Impact Targets, are part of its ten-year plan to promote measurable impact and address the challenges faced by vulnerable groups, including women, children, and low-income households.
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Source: Better Cotton
