The Global Exchange for Social Investment (GEXSI) is an international organisation that mediates social investments in low-income regions around the world, with the aim to alleviate poverty. GEXSI was originally launched at the World Economic Forum (Davos) in 2001, under the auspices of the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship. GEXSI’s mission to assist social endeavours to move from being charity dependent projects to viable businesses is reflected in a dual structure: a Charity under English law (www.gexsi.org) and a limited liability partnership (www.gexsi.com) that provides professional development investment services.

We view Jatropha as a unique opportunity for triple-bottom-line investing, and have facilitated pro-poor Jatropha investments in Africa, Asia, and Latin America since 2005. In May, 2008, GEXSI completed its first worldwide market study on Jatropha which comprises a survey of more than 200 projects worldwide. The organization is a founding member of the Jatropha Sustainability Alliance and participates in various international multi-stakeholder dialogues on Jatropha such as the Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels. GEXSI has build up partnerships with leading research institutions on Jatropha, and consults several Jatropha companies.

Speaker Profile
Andreas Renner heads The Global Exchange for Social Investment’s venture philanthropy unit, and is founder and managing partner of the organizations consultancy arm, GEXSI LLP. He holds a degree in international economics, and completed major PhD research on market-based approaches to sustainable development. Before joining GEXSI, Andreas worked for a German CSR consultancy firm based that advised multinational corporations stakeholder relations and conflict management. A major achievement at GEXSI is having built up GEXSI’s Jatropha deal-flow pipeline; Andreas is also co-founder of two Jatropha companies, and represents GEXSI in international Jatropha fora such as the Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels. Andreas is also a director at ercolith gmbh, a German start-up engineering company that develops and markets earthquake resistant, energy efficient construction systems.

Overview of the presentation
Advocated originally as a first-best option for sustainable development, biofuels today are perceived by many as a major threat to food security, just to mention one key issue. The argument that Jatropha may have a positive “food footprint” due to rehabilitation of unused land and the frequent use of intercropping is not part of the current debate. The same applies to other potential benefits of tree-born energy crops of the semi-arid tropics.

The presentation provides information on the latest Jatropha developments and sustainability issues, based on the Global Jatropha Study which GEXSI prepared on behalf of WWF and the Roundtable for Sustainable Development earlier this year.

These results further underline the importance to raise awareness of the sustainability potential of Jatropha, and to measure its impact on the environment as well as on food production. GEXSI will, on occasion of the JatrophaWorld Conference in Hamburg, present the most recent industry response to these challenges: The Jatropha Sustainability Alliance, which is currently being set-up by leading Jatropha companies.

JatrophaWorld 2008 Hamburg Speaker
Day 1 – Monday, October 20
15:00  THE JATROPHA SUSTAINABILITY ALLIANCE: GIVING JATROPHA A VOICE IN MEDIA; POLITICS AND EXPERT CIRCLES

JATROPHAWORLD 2008 is a showcase of all the latest trends and shifts occurring in the Jatropha value chain, bringing together on a single platform, the best expertise to discuss and analyze the present and future dynamics of Jatropha from a technological and socio-economic angle. To find more about JatrophaWorld in Hamburg from October 20 to 21, 2008, please visit http://www.futureenergyevents.com/jatropha/.