Deloitte, Salesforce and World Economic Forum (WEF) have
launched the Yes San Francisco (Yes SF), Urban Sustainability Challenge —
the first location-based edition of WEF’s UpLink
Challenge created in direct response to
the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal
11 of making cities more
inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable. The Challenge is a unique call to
action for entrepreneurs to submit sustainable solutions that contribute to the
city’s needs and to have the opportunity to receive funding and support.
Yes SF engages local organizations — including those with significant presence
in the city and those who are interested in establishing some part of their
operations in the city in the future — to bring specialized expertise to help
create equal access to opportunity and a more sustainable future. Collaborators
in this effort include Citi — which will leverage the Citi Impact
Fund
to help UpLink engage a network of investors who can provide strategic guidance
and the potential for funding to support the growth and scale of these ventures
— and the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce Foundation, which will bring an
ecosystem of local stakeholders to advocate and support the progress of the
Challenge. The mission of the Challenge is aligned with Deloitte’s social
impact
strategy,
and the company’s ongoing efforts to help drive equity in places with the
greatest need.
“The Challenge provides an opportunity to help support the San Francisco
community in addressing some of its biggest challenges,” said Kwasi
Mitchell, chief purpose and DEI
officer at Deloitte. “This type of effort is foundational to our organization’s
purpose and commitment to social impact in the communities where we live and
work. We hope it will help catalyze systemic change by creating a more
sustainable and equitable future for this city.”
Submissions to support sustainable urban transformation in downtown San
Francisco will be accepted through the UpLink platform via
https://bit.ly/45wDULo
from June 9 to July 14, 2023. Proposals must demonstrate potential to
positively impact the community through sustainable solutions that revitalize
spaces across the city. Challenge innovations may include solutions such as:
-
The SB Resilience Summit
Join us for the inaugural SB Resilience Summit (October 17) at SB’24 San Diego — where business leaders preparing their organizations for adaptation and resilience in a tumultuous world will share insights on proactive measures organizations can take now to navigate uncertainty, mitigate risk, ensure continuity and future-proof their businesses.
Redesigned indoor and outdoor spaces that bring residents, visitors and new
businesses to the area while utilizing sustainable materials that minimize
the city’s carbon footprint.
-
Reimagined ideas for urban food production to provide healthy, reliable
nutrition to the community.
-
Innovative approaches to water conservation and reuse that stimulate
equitable job creation.
“At Salesforce, we believe that collective action is essential to address the
complex challenges facing our communities,” said Suzanne
DiBianca, EVP and chief impact
officer at Salesforce. “That’s why we’re proud to support the Yes San Francisco,
Urban Sustainability Challenge — which will harness new innovations from
ecopreneurs. By working
together, we can bring the power of technology to create a more equitable,
sustainable and vibrant San Francisco for all.”
San Francisco is known globally as a birthplace of innovation; but like many
cities, it was hit hard by the pandemic and is still recovering economically.
The Yes SF Challenge will bring together entrepreneurs, nonprofits and
public-sector stakeholders, communities and for-profit companies to spark change
and help revitalize a more sustainable San Francisco. The focus on urban
transformation aims to further position San Francisco as a leading city where
people can sustainably live and work, becoming a model for resilient and
inclusive cities of the future.
WEF launched the UpLink open innovation platform at Davos in 2020, with the
assistance of Salesforce and Deloitte, to bring together entrepreneurs and
experts to source ideas and innovations in support of the UN Sustainable
Development Goals. The platform facilitates connections for entrepreneurs to
grow and scale their businesses with the aim of creating a world where anyone
with impactful ideas is empowered to address the world’s most pressing
challenges. UpLink has now run more than 43 challenges and identified over 350
entrepreneurs with innovative solutions across critical SDG areas including
health, food, freshwater, ocean, plastics, education, climate and more.
Entrepreneurs selected for the Yes SF, Urban Sustainability Challenge will be
announced in September.
“UpLink helps scale world-class innovations that are crucial to achieving the
United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals,” said Olivier
Schwab, managing director at the World
Economic Forum. “The Yes SF, Urban Sustainability Challenge offers a unique
opportunity to connect local solutions to the resources, expertise and funding
they need to scale and to create transformational change for the city and its
inhabitants.”
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Sustainable Brands Staff
Published Jun 9, 2023 11am EDT / 8am PDT / 4pm BST / 5pm CEST