Zero Hunger Private Sector Pledge – Q&A

The Zero Hunger Private Sector Pledge is an initiative launched ahead of the September 2021 UN Food Systems Summit to mobilize private sector investment to end global hunger by 2030. It requires companies to make financial commitments in specific high-impact intervention areas and priority countries, with progress monitored by the World Benchmarking Alliance.

• The pledge was established to address rising global hunger, which affected up to 811 million people (one in ten of the global population) according to the SOFI 2021 report. It aims to fill a funding gap identified by the Ceres2030 report, which stated that an additional USD 33 billion in annual spending is required to reduce the number of hungry people to under 170 million by 2030.
• To participate, companies must fulfill four requirements: make a financial commitment in at least one of 10 high-impact intervention areas and one priority country or region; name their implementing partners; comply with host state laws and international principles (such as the UN Global Compact and the UN Guiding Principles for Business and Human Rights); and agree to public progress tracking by the World Benchmarking Alliance.
• Financial commitments can take the form of cash, in-kind contributions, subsidized contributions, or core business investments. These must target three key areas from the Ceres2030 report: empowering the excluded, investing in food producers, and reducing losses and supporting SMEs. Specific interventions include supporting climate-resilient crops, scaling up social protection, and reducing post-harvest losses for fruits and vegetables.
• As of 20 September 2021, 42 companies had pledged over USD 345 million across 34 countries. The initiative includes a bi-annual Pledging & Reporting Conference for showcasing results and is scheduled to sunset in 2030.

APA

International Institute for Sustainable Development (n.d.). Zero Hunger Private Sector Pledge – Q&A. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2021-09/zero-hunger-private-sector-pledge-qa_1.pdf

Chicago

International Institute for Sustainable Development. Zero Hunger Private Sector Pledge – Q&A. n.d. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2021-09/zero-hunger-private-sector-pledge-qa_1.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=International Institute for Sustainable Development |title=Zero Hunger Private Sector Pledge – Q&A |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2021-09/zero-hunger-private-sector-pledge-qa_1.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{internationalinstituteforsustainabledevelopmentndzero, author = {{International Institute for Sustainable Development}}, title = {{Zero Hunger Private Sector Pledge – Q\&A}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2021-09/zero-hunger-private-sector-pledge-qa_1.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }