Today at the World Economic Forum (WEF) Sustainable Development Impact Summit, Hewlett Packard Enterprise and WEF committed to help solve world hunger by 2030 through the innovative application of technology. HPE and WEF are calling on public and private organizations to join them in an open collaboration to find solutions that will eliminate food insecurity; and sustainably, nutritiously and inclusively feed a growing population.
The mission to solve world hunger by 2030 is the first of several global challenges to be addressed under Tech Impact 2030 — an open collaboration bringing together industry, technology, academia and government leaders to power meaningful societal change by the year 2030.
“HPE believes that technology has the ability to power real societal improvements if applied innovatively and adopted universally,” said Antonio Neri, President and CEO of HPE. “To spark progress, we need a new approach, one that will translate bold ideas into practical solutions. That’s why we are partnering with WEF to bring together the right minds, resources and focus to achieve real-world change, now.”
Tech Impact 2030
Tech Impact 2030 marks a first-of-its-kind collaboration for WEF as it seeks to support complex and systemic global challenges. By drawing on WEF’s diverse suite of partners and experience in addressing global challenges, along with HPE’s technology and industry expertise, Tech Impact 2030 aims to break down silos and find new ways to apply technological innovations toward achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
“Open collaboration is the fastest way to inspire true innovation and implement change,” said Dominic Waughray, Head of the World Economic Forum Centre for Global Public Goods. “The introduction of Tech Impact 2030 demonstrates what can be achieved when we apply the convening power of WEF to operationalize the technology vision of an action-oriented partner like HPE.”
Over the next several months, HPE and WEF will introduce additional challenges in key industries, including financial services, healthcare, transportation and manufacturing. Each challenge will target a social, economic or environmental problem that could be tackled by convening experts and applying existing technologies in disruptive ways. HPE and WEF intend to bring these leaders together to scope, frame and deliver concrete outcomes.
Solving world hunger by 2030
The United Nations reports that nearly 800 million people worldwide are undernourished and forecasts the world’s population will grow to 8.5 billion by 2030. Looking beyond 2030, WEF estimates that the global population will grow to 9.8 billion people by 2050, requiring a staggering 70 percent more food than is consumed today. HPE and WEF are on a mission to provide tools, technology and foresight to help address this impending reality.
Through Tech Impact 2030, HPE and WEF aim to accelerate the transformation of global food systems through the innovative application of technology. Building on the work of WEF’s food system initiative, the work will focus on improving yield, productivity and sustainability across the entire agricultural ecosystem — from fields and factories to grocery stores and the dinner table.
During the SD Impact Summit, HPE and WEF will kick off a series of working sessions under Tech Impact 2030, convening leaders to set an actionable roadmap, during which attendees, HPE and WEF will contribute ideas, commit to forward progress and agree upon 24-month “sprints” — progressive milestones toward the goal of solving world hunger.
As a first step, HPE and WEF are collaborating with Purdue University’s College of Agriculture, a leader in enhancing food security and optimizing agtech around the world. Purdue is working closely with HPE to implement disruptive technologies, such as IoT sensors and autonomous tractors, to make digital and precision agriculture possible.
Join Tech Impact 2030
Organizations interested in signing on to Tech Impact 2030 can learn more at https://news.hpe.com/tech-impact-2030/ or reach out to [email protected].
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Published Sep 24, 2018 3pm EDT / 12pm PDT / 8pm BST / 9pm CEST