A building wave: The corporate-Indigenous partnerships doing things differently

A building wave

The corporate-Indigenous partnerships doing things differently

Anna Patton 3 December 2024

Big business has a dismal record when it comes to respect for Indigenous peoples and local communities. That’s starting to shift, as even the most profit-hungry CEOs grasp what those closest to the land have always known: that our futures are all interconnected. Are the efforts of trailblazers like Patagonia a sign of a new era for corporate-Indigenous relationships?

Big business and Indigenous communities have a fractious – and sometimes devastating – history. Suspicion lingers in many parts of the world.

“In the Americas, there is a default where Indigenous groups say, ‘We don’t want to work with companies. We assume you’re trying to steal our lands. We assume you’re trying to undervalue what we’re doing’,” says Dilafruz Khonikboyeva of US-based nonprofit Home Planet Fund, which funds local and Indigenous communities.

Although extremely diverse, Indigenous peoples around the world share a common experience: almost everywhere they have been excluded from mainstream social and economic development, while their knowledge and values are feared, ignored or derided. Yet these populations play an outsized role in environmental conservation, for example, protecting more than a third of the planet’s remaining intact forests. Some pay the ultimate price: half of the 200 environmental defenders killed in 2023 were Indigenous people or afrodescendants.

But things may be slowly changing. Partly, it’s pragmatism, as investors grasp the interconnection between people, nature and long-term sustainability. Funding is “shifting dramatically into nature-based solutions”, says Home Planet Fund’s Dahr Jamail – in other words, investing in those actions that use ecosystems and natural processes to solve environmental and social problems.

Read our Impact 101: What are nature-based solutions?

“There’s a huge upsurge in attention on Indigenous peoples, because they are the ones that were engaged in nature-based solutions before that term even existed. That is happening now, in a huge, huge way,” says Jamail, previously a climate journalist and the editor of a book on Indigenous perspectives of today’s crises.

Khonikboyeva, who is Indigenous Pamiri from Khorog, Tajikistan, says that sometimes the need to work with Indigenous peoples and local communities is seen as the morally right thing to do, even if it takes longer than modern or Western-world approaches. In reality, “frequently it is the most durable solution,” she says. Fund an international NGO to undertake climate or biodiversity work, and there’s always a risk that it comes to an end when funding dries up. “These people aren’t leaving. They are going to do the work, whether they have funding or not.”

There are other drivers for this reset. In Canada, hundreds of legal cases in recent years have affirmed First Nations rights, says Carol Anne Hilton, founder of the Vancouver-based Indigenomics Institute. Corporates and Indigenous groups are also partnering in new ways, creating “new seats at the economic table that have previously denied Indigenous participation”. There is even an addition to the now ubiquitous environmental, social and governance lens: “ESGI”, a term now commonly used in Canada, reflects the “strong, increasing recognition” that Indigenous rights span all aspects of responsible business, says Hilton, who is of Nuu chah nulth descent from the Hesquiaht Nation on Vancouver Island.

Read: How Indigenomics reframes economic and social value through an Indigenous lens

In many parts of the world, business interests continue to threaten people and nature. But some companies are taking a different approach. They are intentionally seeking out Indigenous-led suppliers, and helping them to improve their products or services. They are joining – and funding – efforts to make whole industries more sustainable, and ensuring younger generations are not driven away from their homeland. Some are even handing over money to Indigenous communities, simply so they can continue doing what they’ve always done.

For those businesses keen to be part of this movement, the time to act is now, Jamail says. “The faster they make that shift, the better off they’re going to be – getting in front of this wave as it continues to build, because it’s building big time right now.”

Women in the Solomon Islands work on a raised-bed gardening project, as part of efforts to adapt to rising sea levels. (Jason Gagame/Home Planet Fund)

Protestors at the COP25 climate talks in 2019 call for Indigenous rights and climate justice. (John Englart/Climate Action Network, used under CC BY-SA 2.0. Cropped from original)

Inuit hunters struggle to get their boats through difficult ice conditions, which have changed dramatically in recent years due to climate change. (Adam Sébire/Climate Visuals. CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

Dilafruz Khonikboyeva, who runs Home Planet Fund, is Indigenous Pamiri from Tajikistan and has a background in conflict and climate crisis response. (Home Planet Fund)

There are “new seats at the economic table that have previously denied Indigenous participation”, says Carol Anne Hilton, who is of Nuu chah nulth descent from the Hesquiaht Nation on Vancouver Island. (Indigenomics Institute)

Some high street and luxury brands support nomadic herders in Mongolia – helping communities while ensuring the long-term viability of their own business. (Sustainable Fibre Alliance)

Definitions: unsatisfactory, multiple, ‘problematic’

There is no universally agreed definition of ‘Indigenous’. United Nations bodies describe Indigenous peoples as those descending from populations which inhabited a geographic region at the time it was conquered or colonised, or when state boundaries were drawn by currently dominant cultures. Indigenous peoples can generally demonstrate a historical continuity with pre-invasion or pre-colonial societies, for example through their occupation of ancestral land, ancestry, language, or cultural beliefs and practices.

Survival International, which campaigns for Indigenous and tribal peoples’ rights, says many existing definitions are problematic, and none is entirely satisfactory. “No categorisations of Indigenous peoples are absolute, except perhaps when it comes to the issue of control over their lands and lives,” the NGO points out. “For the most part, the term ‘Indigenous peoples’ is used today to describe a group which has had ultimate control of their lands and lives taken by later arrivals; they are subject to the domination of others.”

In numbers

There are an estimated 476m Indigenous people worldwide, representing 5,000 different cultures

Indigenous people and other rural communities inhabit 50% of the world's land mass, across all continents except Antarctica – and 40% of those landscapes are labelled protected or ecologically intact

They make up 9% of the global population – but account for about 19% of the extreme poor

Life expectancy among some Indigenous groups is up to 20 years lower than among non-Indigenous groups

Climate change is negatively affecting the livelihoods of an estimated 370m Indigenous people

Sources: ILO, World Resources Institute, Nature Sustainability, UN DESA, Nature Communications

Patagonia offshoot seeks ‘philanthropy unusual’

In 2022, outdoor clothing company and ethical business trailblazer Patagonia set aside US$20m to kickstart an independent nonprofit to fund local and Indigenous communities around the world. This was part of a broader shift – the decision by founder Yvon Chouinard to overhaul the company structure and make “planet Earth” its only shareholder.

Home Planet Fund launched in 2024. Inspired by Chouinard’s insistence on “business unusual”, this new nonprofit pursues “philanthropy unusual”, says executive director, Dilafruz Khonikboyeva: aiming to steer away from systems and structures that have previously failed, towards a “nimble-minded curiosity, a really heart-centred approach to philanthropy”.

Funding is distributed to Indigenous peoples and local communities in climate and biodiversity hotspots, enabling them to continue traditional practices that benefit the environment. A core principle is trust – the emphasis is on building strong relationships initially and then providing “no-strings” grants with little follow-up reporting required.

DEFINITION DEEP-DIVE:
Home Planet Fund works with those who define themselves as ‘Indigenous peoples and local communities’, a term used by many UN agencies. There is no agreed definition for this term, although typically it refers to ethnic groups who are descended from and identify with the original inhabitants of a given region, in contrast to groups that have settled, occupied or colonised the area more recently.

Khonikboyeva, who now lives in California, designed the new organisation. For her, the three essentials were a focus on underfunded peoples, geographies and interventions. One “really glaring” gap they identified, for example, was in the lack of funding for the world’s largest area of glaciers and permafrost outside the polar regions, in Central Asia. So Home Planet Fund supports regenerative farming in Tajikistan that helps protect these areas. It also supports pastoralists’ tenure rights in east Africa to save grasslands; partners with a women’s alliance in the Pacific islands that is responding to the climate crisis and natural disasters; and funds health and livelihoods in south east Alaska, home to the largest remaining temperate rainforest on Earth.

A key principle is the interconnection of people and nature – something often overlooked by funders who choose one or the other. Home Planet Fund money could, for example, go to a health clinic used by Indigenous populations. “By helping them, that’s also helping the land, and vice versa,” says communications manager Dahr Jamail.

Read: Nature-based solutions: the challenge of scaling green initiatives that address the world’s challenges

“We of course look at climate and nature, but we also look at human health and economic health, because this work has to be durable,” Khonikboyeva says. Her own family left Tajikistan during the civil war of the 1990s; today, many Pamiris are leaving for economic reasons. “They want to live in the same ways that their grandparents did, and we just don't have opportunities there. How do we create that opportunity while also helping the planet?”

Home Planet Fund prides itself on working in locations where other funders cannot or will not – something that can have a “massive, outsized impact”, Khonikboyeva says. One early initiative supports women farming regeneratively in Afghanistan, including reforesting depleted land with native fruiting trees that also provides an income and contributes to women’s autonomy. A “hyper-localised” approach, working with local partners in each village, ensures this work can continue safely (and within Taliban rules).

Cost-effective solutions

Investing in Indigenous-led, traditional practices has another advantage: it’s highly cost-effective, advocates say, unlike many high-tech solutions. “What we’re doing is peanuts by comparison – we can get [a lot] done with very little, just by supporting what people have always done,” says Jamail.

Still, Patagonia has only funded Home Planet Fund’s initial costs, so the nonprofit is fundraising to expand its work. An unofficial target is $100m (it does not disclose how much has been secured so far).

Home Planet Fund and Patagonia are legally separate entities. However, for the past two years the nonprofit has been headquartered at the company base in Ventura, California. The company’s former vice-president of environmental activism, as well as its creative director Claire Chouinard – the daughter of founder Yvon – have served as advisors. “There’s a lot of pride from the employees. People are really excited,” says Khonikboyeva.

The hope is that other funders will also get excited. Supporting Indigenous practices is “literally one of the most effective ways” to address the climate crisis, says Jamail. “This is serious mitigation.”

Khonikboyeva recognises that not all businesses can take the risk that Patagonia has, but she hopes its approach and the work of Home Planet Fund are setting a powerful example.

“We’re not trying to shame anyone. We’re trying to say, look, this is possible,” she says. “It’s possible to do it securely. It’s possible to get impact, and possible to do it at scale.”

Yvon Chouinard, founder of outdoor clothing brand Patagonia, made “planet Earth” the company's only shareholder in 2022. (Patagonia)

Shaelene Moler, a Tlingit woman from south east Alaska, tends a Tlingit potato garden, part of a Native-led food growing movement across the region. (Julie Ellison/Home Planet Fund)

The fund's partners in the south Pacific work towards climate mitigation and adaptation strategies. (Jason Chute/Home Planet Fund)

Maasai women are involved in several projects in east Africa focusing on land tenure and grassland protection. (Laissa Malih/Home Planet Fund)

Funding is distributed to Indigenous peoples and local communities in climate and biodiversity hotspots, including south east Alaska. (Julie Ellison/Home Planet Fund)

Cashmere with care: Sustainable Fibre Alliance

Una Jones recalls her homeland with a smile. “When you get there, you feel the land is alive,” she says. “The sound, the smell – it’s just something really wonderful.”

Jones is from Mongolia, where nearly one third of the population are nomadic herders, reliant on goats, sheep, camels, yaks and horses. For millennia, these people lived in harmony with the land – but in recent decades that has changed. When Jones returned to her home province, following her studies in the UK, she was shocked to see perennial grasses disappearing, the rivers shrinking. The land had become barren. “I thought, somebody will do something about it, surely.” But it wasn’t so simple. In the abrupt shift from communism to a market economy in the early 1990s, there were few structures for sound environmental management. Mass deforestation was now visible. Herders, “barely scratching survival”, had little choice but to increase their livestock, causing further overgrazing.

The landscape in Mongolia is hugely diverse: there is desert, forest, grassland, wetlands and steppes. Herders know how to manage this sustainably, says Jones, whose grandparents were also herders. There is no “big book” to guide them: the knowledge comes from folklore and wisdom passed down through generations. When young people leave these rural areas – because making a living has become too difficult – that wisdom gets lost.

DEFINITION DEEP-DIVE:
Mongolian herders are a nomadic people with a rich cultural heritage passed from one generation to the next. Inner Mongolia (an autonomous region of northern China) – which is more settled, with Western-style farming systems – is connected to this cultural heritage and Indigenous wisdom, but inhabitants do not often follow the nomadic practices still seen in Mongolia today.

In 2015, Jones, by then living in the UK, set up the Sustainable Fibre Alliance (SFA), a nonprofit that aims to ensure long-term viability of the cashmere sector. Around a third of the world’s cashmere comes from Mongolia, and up to 90% of Mongolian herders’ income is dependent on this product. But production can be problematic – it can cause degradation of land and plant life; collecting the fibre from the goats, often done with a metal comb with sharp teeth, can be painful and prolonged. Through its industry standards for producers and processors – working in China as well as Mongolia – the SFA aims to minimise the environmental impact of cashmere, safeguard livelihoods, and ensure animal welfare. The SFA says that its certified herders, who also get training and support, benefit from better market access and prices for their fibre; herder cooperatives have also been able to access green loans.

It takes plenty of “hand-holding” over two or three years until a herder is ready to be certified, not least because they migrate several times each year. Jones describes the SFA’s approach as one of continuous engagement. “A standards institution that has a ‘yes’ or ‘no’, or black or white, will not suit Indigenous herders and communities. Herding and land management and land use change takes time,” she says.

Business backing

Sustainable Fibre Alliance has had pro bono support from global law firm Hogan Lovells for trademark registration, contracting and compliance, including in Afghanistan, where it is providing early-stage support to cashmere herders.

Many more businesses support its work. Around 60 companies worldwide – cashmere specialists, designers such as Burberry and Ralph Lauren, and high street brands like C&A, Marks & Spencer and John Lewis – have committed to promoting SFA standards and encouraging responsible production. Their fees fund its work to train producers and processors in more sustainable practices.

Some of these businesses also fund initiatives to build resilience among Mongolians. American clothing brand J Crew backed a project that has helped 1,000 herder women to earn more income, through better processing and post-harvest management techniques. Scottish cashmere brand Johnstons of Elgin supports Kharaatsai (‘Young Swallows’), which helps Mongolians aged 14-18 and living in rural or urban areas to learn about biodiversity, weather patterns, soil health and more, combining modern sustainability techniques with traditional skills.

Kelly Hardy, a partner at Hogan Lovells who has advised SFA, says: “There is no question that sustainability affects value. Fashion brands have incorporated sustainability considerations into due diligence when considering acquisitions, considering the impact on group reporting, consistency with internal goals and principles, and potential impact on brand image.” Meanwhile, she adds, consumers want authenticity and a story: “sustainability can be an important part of brand identity”.

Despite this Jones believes most businesses have a long way to go in making the connection between local populations and their own bottom line.

Extreme cold and drought in Mongolia this year killed a staggering 7.1m livestock – one-tenth of the entire livestock population. This weather phenomenon, known as dzud, happens regularly, but is becoming more severe and more frequent due to climate change. “Many businesses are buying big premises and investing in better facilities,” Jones says. Despite the clear risk for their own supply chains, many don’t consider support for Indigenous communities and natural resources within their long-term strategies. More understanding, investing in early-warning systems, and support to local populations will all be necessary, she suggests.

Mongolia's landscape is hugely diverse, with grassland, wetlands, steppes and desert. (Ianffier/Freepik)

Una Jones, who grew up in Mongolia, set up Sustainable Fibre Alliance to ensure that nomadic herders there could continue to make a decent living. (Sustainable Fibre Alliance)

Around a third of the world’s cashmere comes from Mongolia, and up to 90% of Mongolian herders’ income is dependent on this product. (Sustainable Fibre Alliance)

Cashmere wool is sought-after around the world, but it has often been produced in unsustainable, harmful ways. (Freepik)

Sustainable Fibre Alliance helps herder women to earn more income, through better processing and post-harvest management techniques – supported by corporate funders. (Sustainable Fibre Alliance)

Certified herders benefit from better market access and prices for their fibre. But the process takes time and a lot of “hand-holding”. (Sustainable Fibre Alliance)

Mongolian high school students learn about traditional and modern methods, in a programme supported by a Scottish cashmere brand. (Sustainable Fibre Alliance)

E-waste no more with WV Technologies

In the mid-2010s, nearly half of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth were not fully engaged in employment, education or training – compared with one-fifth of young Australians overall.

Entrepreneur Kurt Gruber, who is of Anēwan ancestry, wanted to use business to redress that imbalance. But it was no easy feat. “I wanted to help and employ Indigenous guys, but found that they needed way more help than just the job,” he says.

He teamed up with school friend Jamie Miller, who worked in the IT asset disposition industry, to design a sustainable business that would create jobs for disadvantaged young Aboriginal people while providing the holistic support they needed to succeed.

DEFINITION DEEP-DIVE:

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are the first peoples of Australia; current research shows they have lived there for more than 60,000 years. As of 2021, they made up 3.8% (nearly 1m people) of the total Australian population.

The Torres Strait region, with over 200 islands, is located between the tip of Cape York in northern Australia and Papua New Guinea. Aboriginal peoples come from all areas of mainland Australia, including Tasmania and other islands. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples live in urban, regional and remote areas and are present in all communities, not necessarily on their traditional lands or islands.

‘Indigenous Australian’ is a very general term that covers both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, which are themselves umbrella terms encompassing a wide range of nations, each with their own culture, language, beliefs and practices. Many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people consider the term ‘Indigenous’ too generic and a term that can refer to Indigenous peoples anywhere in the world.

Sources: The Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies; Australian Bureau of Statistics

In 2015, after consultations with Aboriginal communities, they created WV Technologies: a social enterprise offering IT recycling and data decommissioning services that trains and employs underprivileged Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth, while reducing e-waste. Alongside, Gruber and Miller founded the Worldview Foundation, a charity that provides the young people with the wraparound support they need to overcome disadvantage – teaching them to cook or drive, or helping them to manage a drug addiction.

Last year, WV Technologies recycled more than 1,000 tonnes of e-waste and supported 45 Indigenous young people; in the same year it was named one of Australia’s leading suppliers in the Indigenous business field.

Aligning values

WV Technologies’ clients include the Australian government – it has been accredited to work with “top secret” information – and big corporates, such as EY and BAE Systems. But the co-founders say they are discerning about who they work with, because government incentives for big businesses to work with Aboriginal-focused suppliers mean they may do it for the wrong reasons.

“There are some that just want to tick boxes, and some where it actually is part of their culture – you can tell that they’re passionate about it,” says Miller. WV Technologies therefore picks and chooses corporate clients that are “actually authentic, because they’re the ones that we have the most success with, but also they’re the ones that align with our values more”, he adds.

Some due diligence is also advisable on the other side. If corporates want to support Aboriginal businesses in their supply chains, they need to understand that just spending money isn’t enough, it’s about what that money achieves. He advises companies to visit potential suppliers to “understand how many actual Aboriginal hours are being worked in the organisation – is it making a positive impact to that community, or is it just a shell company?”

Indigenous businesses also need a product and service that is just as good as their competitors. Corporate partners can help with this: the best ones often provide an advocate or a coach to support social enterprise suppliers to better understand and “navigate” the buyer’s processes and requirements, says Gruber.

The co-founders would love to see their model go global. With only 10% to 20% of the world’s e-waste being recycled, there is a “big opportunity for social enterprise to expand and help clean up the environment and stop wasting precious resources [and] with our model, to change lives in doing it”, Gruber says.

Miller says the concept could be vastly scaled up with a clear, standardised framework to measure and compare social impact, which corporates could use in their targets or ESG strategies. “I think it would transform social enterprise and transform the way business is done,” he says. “People would actually see the overall benefit, because right now a lot of the targets focus on the dollars spent.”

Case study written by Laura Joffre

Jamie Miller and Kurt Gruber co-founded a social enterprise in 2015 to address high unemployment levels among young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. (WV Technologies)

The social enterprise offers recycling and data decommissioning services; it trains and employs young people, while reducing e-waste. (WV Technologies)

Just 10% to 20% of the world’s e-waste is currently recycled. (WV Technologies)

WV Technologies recycled more than 1,000 tonnes of e-waste and supported 45 Indigenous young people last year. (WV Technologies)

Six tips for companies seeking Indigenous partners

Do your homework

Business leaders will need to “understand the history of the Indigenous relationship and be comfortable about talking about the effects of colonialism or privilege or any of those aspects,” says Carol Anne Hilton of the Indigenomics Institute. Then, ensure that the resulting relationship is valued “not just in key departments of the company, but across the entire company”.

If you seek advice, ensure you’re ready to listen to it

In Canada, many companies have created ‘reconciliation action plans’, which guide their work to support Indigenous communities. Occasionally that has backfired, explains Hilton: when the national rail company consulted a group of Indigenous advisors on their plan, they ended up quitting en masse because they felt they were not being listened to or taken seriously.

Choose carefully who you work with

To reach local and Indigenous communities, you need to work with the right intermediaries – people who truly understand that context, and are identified by the local communities themselves, says Dilafruz Khonikboyeva of Home Planet Fund. That means understanding what is at play not just in that continent or country – even “village by village”, things can be very different.

When seeking suppliers, don’t assume an “Indigenous business” label is all you need

Kurt Gruber at WV Technologies in Australia advises companies to visit potential suppliers and ask questions about their actual impact. It can be easy to claim the Indigenous business label without hiring or benefiting many people from this community.

Extend your timelines

Build in plenty of time to build trust, advises Khonikboyeva. That can feel unfamiliar, particularly to Europeans or North Americans used to a more transactional approach to business, but it’s essential. “You can never over-communicate. That building initially is so important, because if you don’t have a foundation, when something does go wrong or when a timeline doesn’t work, you don’t want it all to crumble.”

Respect ancient cultures

Involving local communities in global efforts to tackle climate change must be done sensitively, says Una Jones of Sustainable Fibre Alliance. “We can’t be dragging their hair backwards in that process, we need to respect, we need to be mindful of their cultures.”

Top picture: Jason Chute/Home Planet Fund. Chapter heading pictures: Bethany Goodrich/Home Planet Fund; Sustainable Fibre Alliance; Freepik.

Words by Anna Patton and Laura Joffre. Design by Fanny Blanquier.

This immersive feature was produced by Pioneers Post in partnership with Hogan Lovells and HL BaSE, the firm’s impact economy practice.

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