Scientists, celebrities, MPs and youth leaders from Fridays for Future have joined forces in an open letter urging world leaders to negotiate a radical shift to a plant-based food system to prevent planetary tipping points. The Plant Based Treaty initiative has been proposed to be taken into consideration calling for an end to animal agricultural expansion.

The Plant Based Treaty

The initiative has been backed by Nobel Laureates, Roger D. Kornberg (2006 prize in Chemistry), Eric S. Maskin (2007 prize in Economic Sciences) and Sidney Altman (1989 prize in Chemistry) who urge world leaders to negotiate a fair transition to a plant-based food system.

Ahead of COP26, 18 MPs signed an Early Day Motion supporting the Plant Based Treaty initiative and encouraged the government to put food systems at the heart of combating the climate crisis by promoting a transition to healthier and more sustainable plant-based diets. Emma Lewell Buck, Caroline Lucas, and John McDonnell are among those who signed the motion.

Plant-based food

The climate summit in Glasgow came to an end on Saturday last week with a new deal after two exhausting weeks of deliberations. Plant-based solutions were left out of methane and deforestation pledges at COP26, raising concerns among activists.

Leading climate scientists supporting the Plant Based Treaty, William J. Ripple (PhD. Distinguished Professor of Ecology, Oregon State University), Peter Carter (Climate Emergency Institute, IPCC expert reviewer) and Danny Harvey (IPCC Lead Author on the 4th and 5th Assessment Reports, Working Group III) joined over 40 scientists in the open letter calling for governments to address animal agriculture “before we irreversibly surpass planetary tipping points.”

COP26 needs to get serious about livestock impacts to climate. I just signed the Plant Based Treaty with the goal of curbing animal agriculture to help us avoid a climate catastrophe. Scientists can sign at

Dr. William J. Ripple (@WilliamJRipple) November 9, 2021

“A shift to plant-based diets is a key climate change mitigation tool and has been widely supported by a range of academic and scientific institutions as an essential step in lessening the climate crisis”, said the scientists.

Celebrities and activists about the initiative

Paul McCartney and his daughters Mary and Stella McCartney along with actors Joaquin Phoenix, Peter Egen, Jerome Flynn, Evanna Lynch, and Rooney Mara, and Ela Gandhi (Mahatma Gandhi’s granddaughter) were among the people who also urged COP26 to adopt the Plant-Based Treaty to avoid climate catastrophe.

High profile environmental activist George Monbiot has also endorsed the treaty. He said that he is backing the Plant Based Treaty, which promotes a transition towards more sustainable meals.

“We must all do our part to protect the planet – and cutting out meat, eggs, and dairy is one of the easiest and most effective ways to help. Animal agriculture is responsible for sky-high carbon emissions as well as the suffering of billions of animals each year”, said the activist.

Britain’s top human rights barrister Michael Mansfield QC commented as well. Earlier this year he launched a legal challenge over factory farming due to pandemics and climate concerns.

“I think when we look at the damage eating meat is doing to the planet it is not preposterous to think that one day it will become illegal. The damage wrought by meat and dairy needs addressing with urgency; the solutions are outlined in the Plant Based Treaty, which I endorse.”

Plant Based Treaty global campaign coordinator Anita Krajnc said that the climate crisis is a code red for humanity.

“We urge Egypt to ensure animal agriculture is off the menu and on the agenda at COP27 by organising a food systems summit to negotiate nature-friendly plant-based solutions.”

Volvo investigated how passengers feel about travelling on a self-driving bus and how they believe it will affect the future of commuting. The research is the first to be done with a 12-metre bus for city traffic.

Self-Driving Buses

Together with Västtrafik and Chalmers University of Technology, Volvo Buses conducted two scientific studies on user experience. One of the newly published studies investigated how bus drivers respond to the idea of a self-driving vehicles. In the other study, the focus is instead on passengers.

“In order for us to be able to take advantage of the benefits of autonomous buses in the future, passenger acceptance is absolutely crucial.” Said Joakim Jonsson, Project Manager Autonomous Research Projects at Volvo Buses.

He also said, “As far as we know, no similar research has been done with full-length buses, which makes this study extra exciting,”

The study was conducted with a self-driving electric bus on a test track and in a confined area. Twenty-two passengers of all ages who use public transportation were allowed to see how the bus handled nine different traffic conditions. They drove on roads with roundabouts and picked up people at a stop, and drove in tight spaces with passing cyclists, pedestrians, and cars.

Following the test, participants were interviewed by Chalmers researchers and asked to complete a questionnaire. According to the results, most participants believed it was a very positive experience, and the bus ran safely, smoothly, and comfortably. Those who were initially uncomfortable with not having a driver behind the wheel adapted quickly to it.

“When the participants saw how the bus regulated speed and acted in relation to other road users, they thought it was just like a trip with a regular bus,” said Joakim Jonsson.

Many passengers saw several potential benefits to having autonomous buses in public transport, including better comfort and increased safety. But they did not think that their own commuting would be affected if all standard buses were replaced exclusively by self-driving vehicles.

“In the study, it became very clear that it is not whether the bus is driven by a person or if its autonomous that determines how commuters view public transport. The most important thing is that you can get from one place to another as smoothly as possible,” said Mikael Johansson. He researches user understanding of self-driving vehicles at Chalmers’ Design & Human Factors department.

Participants believe that self-driving technology could develop new services that would improve public transport, such as more flexible stops and greater accessibility in sparsely populated areas.

“These answers show how important it is not to look at autonomous technology as an end, but as something that can enable other services that commuters need,” says Mikael Johansson.

For Volvo Buses, the passenger study provides important insights into the autonomous journey.“This kind of research in passenger acceptance is vital even though it´s long before it becomes a reality. We believe the first real-life application of autonomous technology will be in the form of autonomous driver support systems or in confined areas,” says Joakim Jonsson.

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A record level of online sales by Irish retailers is expected this Christmas, as Meta publishes new research that shows Irish shoppers are using social media to inform purchasing decisions and to communicate with Irish SMEs they want to buy from.

The Ipsos/MRBI research found that nearly half of the people surveyed (49%) have purchased a product after seeing it on a Meta app like Facebook or Instagram.

Social media is also an important tool for customer communication by small businesses, with 48% of people saying they have used Meta apps to communicate with Irish SMEs.

A change in habits due to Covid-19 has also clearly influenced retail trends, with 42% of people saying that they have used Meta apps to browse products more since the start of Covid-19.

These trends are supported by the CSO’s recent data showing that 31% of enterprises have increased their use of social media due to the pandemic2, and data from Wolfgang Digital also shows that e-commerce revenue in Ireland rose by 159% in 20203.

Many small businesses were forced to pivot online at the outset of the pandemic, and have thrived because of the support received online.

This year, as restrictions on physical shopping have eased, a desire to support local Irish businesses remains across the country with hashtags that promote local businesses (such as #buylocal, #supportsmallbusiness, and #buyirish) used more than 115,000 times on Instagram in the 3 months.

More than 280,000 people in Ireland are members of active groups on Facebook that support local businesses.

Meta has launched its #DeserveToBeFound campaign to showcase the very best Irish businesses that use social media to connect with consumers as they gear up for the Christmas shopping season.

The campaign is supported by a series of videos by broadcaster Blathnaid Treacy, businesswoman Lisa Jordan and content creator Ciara O’Doherty who visited local business owners to find out more about how they use social media to grow sales.

Dynamic Irish entrepreneurs featured in the video series include: Brian Tyrell, owner of Bear Creation (a custom wood furniture studio based in Co. Wicklow); Aisling Kearney Burke, founder of Paintclub, (an online art training and events company from Co. Galway); and Vicki O’Callaghan and Michelle O’Riordan, co-founders of Baby Boo (a sustainable baby clothing maker from Cork).

Oliver Sewell, Director of Business, Ireland and UK at Meta, said: “Covid dramatically accelerated the shift to online retail, with e-commerce revenue surging in 2020. This Christmas, we expect to see record levels of online sales, providing small Irish businesses with a significant opportunity for growth.

“People can now shop online, from anywhere at any time, and support their favourite Irish business. Every small business starts with an idea, and we believe good ideas deserve to be found.”

Duncan Graham, Managing Director of Retail Excellence, said: “It is no secret that the retail industry in Ireland has just emerged from the most difficult period in its history, and the effects of the pandemic will be evident for some time. Retail staff are still in short supply and retailers have significant legacy debt, issues which have been exacerbated by the sharp rise in shipping costs and general global supply chain problems.”

Aisling Kearney Burke, owner of Paintclub, said: “To have my business highlighted as part of this campaign is a standout opportunity for me. Over the last 18 months, while we faced uncertainty and a number of challenges, the tools offered by Instagram and Facebook proved invaluable to me. Direct messaging in particular helped us to connect easily with our customers, helping them to get to know and understand our business and ultimately building trust.”

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Tegus, the leading provider of primary business and market intelligence for key decision makers, today announced the establishment of its EMEA HQ in Waterford City and the creation of up to 100 jobs over the next two years.

Co-Founded in San Francisco by twin brothers Michael and Thomas Elnick, Tegus conducts and collects research and data to produce the largest and most comprehensive primary information platform enabling clients to discover answers to the most challenging questions they face today, faster and more efficiently than anywhere else.

Headquartered in Chicago since 2018, Tegus now serves more than 1,000 customers worldwide, including investment firms, corporations, and consultancies.

The EMEA team will enable Tegus to further build-out its global content and data sets by supporting more local customers and covering a growing number of international companies on its platform.

The Tegus product has already seen high demand from customers internationally and having a committed EMEA HQ will provide an even stronger customer experience as the business grows.

Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Leo Varadkar TD said “I’m really happy Tegus has chosen Waterford for its new EMEA HQ. This will result in the creation of up to 100 new jobs in the city. This is great news for the South-East and a real boost for Waterford City and once again demonstrates we have the skills and talent available in all parts of the country to attract foreign direct investment.”

Tegus will be located in state-of-the-art office space in Boxworks while it identifies a permanent office space in Waterford City, attracting talent from the city, county and the wider region of the South East.

“We are seeing more and more institutional investors and corporations incorporating qualitative and primary research into their processes to make better and faster decisions”, said Thomas Elnick, Founder and Co-CEO of Tegus.

“As we expand internationally, we are relentlessly focused on delivering an incredible user experience and product for our customers. Ireland provides us with the perfect entry point to EMEA to support our growing global customer base and align our team with our customers’ success.”

David Cashman, Vice President of EMEA at Tegus highlights, “Our people are our greatest asset, always. Personally, I know Waterford boasts great talent, now we can offer global level tech jobs to the amazing local talent. We look forward to building the Tegus brand in Waterford as one of the premier tech companies to build and grow your career.”

Tegus have begun hiring for roles across the areas of Business Development, Customer Success, Operations, Sales, and People Management. Those who are looking to make an impact, grow your career, and love, where you work are invited to explore the opportunities on www.tegus.co/careers

Digital banking platform provider, Layer has, announced the launch of its digital banking services with Al Baraka Islamic Bank in Bahrain, to help fuel digital transformation and provide greater access to a wider range of financial services for its customers. Layer is a digital transformation platform that enables large financial institutions to rapidly revolutionise their customer and back-office digital experiences.

This new partnership will see the Dublin-based company add an additional 80,000 users to its platform. Through this latest collaboration with Layer, Al Baraka aims to meet customers’ evolving banking needs by providing them with easy access to seamless banking transactions and a range of products and services without the need to visit the branch.

Within a week of its initial launch, the Al Baraka app became the most downloaded app in the Bahrain Apple App store (Bahrain Apple app store, October 28th). As the four-phase rollout continues, the app will include digital customer onboarding, easy and fast transfer and payment services, as well as cards and accounts management. In addition, Layer and Al Baraka’s digital app will also include quality of life features such as homepage customisation, multiple account login, payment shortcuts, and many other features.

Layer’s proprietary platform sits on top of traditional core systems to enable banks to offer customers a blend of traditional and neobank capabilities. Al Baraka has implemented those services available on the Layer platform to provide end-to-end digitalisation of its banking services, delivered through a newly built mobile app and website.

Layer’s ambition is to accelerate financial inclusion and digital transformation processes across the world through similar client relationships. The digital banking platform now delivers banking services to over 25 million consumers through its existing clients.

Smartphone usage among consumers in the Middle East has been growing steadily. The number of smartphone users in the region almost doubled, from 86 million in 2014 to an estimated 174 million in 2019. Despite this significant growth, further research reveals that up to 48% of Arab youth had never engaged in digital banking.

Speaking about the significance of the partnership, Roy Zakka, Founder and CEO of Layer commented: “This is an exciting and ambitious partnership in spirit and scale. We are delighted to work with Al Baraka to accelerate the arrival of digital banking services across Bahrain and the wider Middle East.

“Through integration of the Layer digital banking platform, we are helping to position Al Baraka as a digital-first leader, providing seamless, instant access to digital banking features such as payments and transfers, card and account management, and other financial services – while also helping to attract new customers and to change what is possible with personal banking.”

Commenting on the bank’s new partnership with Layer, Hamad Abdulla Al Oqab, Chief Executive Officer of Al Baraka Islamic Bank, said: “We are proud to work with Layer to launch our new suite of digital banking services, and our new smart banking experience in support of our continuous efforts to meet the growing digital needs of our customers.

“We are also confident that the newly launched digital banking services through different touch points will place us at the forefront of the banking digitalization wave and thrive in a digital era. At Al Baraka Islamic Bank, we strive to become a digital-driven bank that provides an effective digital experience to all stakeholders (internal and external) that will substantially support the business growth, cost reduction, and operational efficiency.”

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Corporate social responsibility (CSR) leads the way to bridge the gap between companies and the public. CSR, when done right, aims to contribute societally through volunteering or being charitable across company practice.

May 2021 was the second-busiest CSR recruitment drive on record. The findings come from a new report by global recruiter Robert Walters. The report ‘Environment Social and Governance: Mindset over Must’ analyses key labour trends related to the environment, social affairs, and corporate control.

Robert Walters defines CSR roles by the following job responsibilities, as displayed in job adverts:

Developing policies relating to a company’s ethical, sustainable, and environmental responsibilities

Ensuring a company has a positive impact on local communities and the environment

Raising public awareness of a company’s social responsibility commitments through marketing and communications

Conducting research into best practice

Writing and actioning a company’s social responsibility and sustainability strategy

Creating meaningful partnerships with clients, employees, suppliers, charities, and other groups

Ensuring that a company’s policies meet legal and commercial needs

Organising meaningful events for employees and their teams

Encouraging links between the company and educational or charitable groups

Leading in Recruitment

The sector-leading in recruiting sustainability experts are the Consumer Goods & Services industry. The sector accounts for 23% of all CSR-professional vacancies, a fall from 25% in 2019.

Other industries which have maintained their recruitment drive and high vacancies include;

Real Estate & Construction- 19%,

Professional Services-13%

Technology, Media & Telecoms (TMT)- 11%

Financial Services – 8% of CSR-vacancies this year respectively.

Perhaps what is most surprising to see is that the Energy & Utilities sector advertised 9% of all CSR-related jobs, followed by 5% from the Public Sector and 2% from Healthcare.

CSR recruitment may be less representative in such sectors, but hiring for this role has increased from near 0% within Public Sector and Energy & Utilities.

Corporate Social Responsibility Findings

74% increase in CSR jobs since 2020, and 54% increase since 2019

28% of CSR vacancies are for senior roles – up from 7%

Half of FTSE link pay and bonus to ESG goals

A quarter of CSR hires from the consumer goods industry

40% of all CSR-roles is advertised within London

400% increase in Midlands and 150% increase in North West of CSR-roles

No. of remote CSR roles doubles in the last year

“Right now, businesses are under more scrutiny than ever” as said by Chris Poole, Managing Director of Robert Walters UK.

He further said “As governments strive to achieve environmental targets, and the choice widens for customers on socially conscious products- ESG will increasingly become more critical for survival, and not just for investment.”

Last week at COP26, 60 of the FTSE100 (Financial Times Stock Exchange 100 Index) companies signed up to a pledge to stop their contribution to climate change by 2050. In addition, nearly half of the FTSE100 companies already link executive and bonus pay to environmental, social and governance (ESG) measures – with this expected to rise in the coming years.

LONDON LEADING THE WAY

When breaking down the figures by region, London continues to dominate on the hiring front representing 40% of all CSR-related vacancies this year, followed by the North West (9%) and The Midlands (9%).

But other regions are making gains on London, wherein the number of CSR-related roles has decreased by 45% in the past year. Job vacancies have increased exponentially in other areas of the UK, including in The Midlands (+400%), North West (+150%), Scotland (+100%), and South West (+33%).

IRELAND LAGS BEHIND

In Ireland, 90% of companies consider ESG in their operational decision-making process, whilst 93% have a dedicated sustainability lead within the firm – of which 66% are at the executi...

Staff shortages in the retail and hospitality sectors could dampen the Christmas cheer of shoppers and party-goers according to new data published today by jobs site Indeed.

Christmas jobs boom due to tight labour market

In the latest edition of its monthly Job Search Survey, Indeed found that whilst postings for seasonal Christmas roles are just 2% lower than the pre-pandemic levels seen in 2019, the number of people searching for seasonal jobs is down 24%.

Postings of available roles and searches for jobs are a useful indicator of supply and demand for labour in any particular job category, and the disconnect indicates that employers who are looking to scale up for the Christmas season may struggle to fill the desired extra shifts or extended hours to make the most of Christmas trading.

The labour market squeeze is consistent with the survey’s broader finding that the urgency to seek a new role is limited amongst workers in the Irish labour market at present. October’s results showed that 52% of respondents were not open to searching for a new job right now, whilst 27% were just passively searching.

The percentage of respondents actively and urgently hunting for a new job in October was just 8%, only marginally higher than the level 3 months ago (7%).

Some households may be enjoying a financial cushion built up during Covid that is allowing them to be more selective about the search for a new role.

CSO data published earlier this month showed that Irish household savings rose by €31bn last year to an all-time high of €313bn, in part due to reduced consumer spending during the pandemic. The gradual erosion of these funds as normal life returns could force some people to start searching more intently in the coming months.

Savings running low was referenced by 9% of respondents as a potential trigger for more active job seeking, but waiting until there are more job opportunities (30%) or after taking time off (20%) were cited by more people as a reason.

The level of Irish job postings on Indeed continues to surge ahead of its pre-pandemic baseline, up 49% at 5 November 2021, compared to 1 February 2020 (Fig 2), showing the acute demand for staff.

The tightening of the labour market in recent months has also been accompanied by upward wage pressure, with the CSO reporting a 3.9% increase in labour costs in its most recent quarterly update.

Commenting on the survey, Jack Kennedy, Economist at Indeed said:

“The tight labour market was already evident, and now we’re seeing that it may have an impact on the usual seasonal surge in recruitment around Christmas. Our data indicates that whilst there are plenty of businesses searching for people to fill extra shifts there hasn’t been a commensurate rise in people interested in those opportunities.

With the rate of inflation now running at over 5%, as workers encounter higher prices for food, energy and other essentials combined with the supply and demand imbalance for workers, we have a cocktail of circumstances that will almost certainly put workers in a good position to seek pay increases next year.”

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Find out all the details about the smart tech boom and how it is affecting your home and city. Title image credit here. Guest post by Veselina Dzhingarova.

First, there was the smartphone, now the smartphone is a jumping off point for a wide range of smart technological advancements that can be found all over. Soon, even your city will become smart with smart tech being implemented in cities around the world in an effort to make everyday life easier, more advanced, and energy efficient. Read on for all the details of smart tech that you might have already seen around Ireland.

The cashless society is coming

It seems that solid hard cash has been shunned over the past few years – and it makes sense. With the arrival of contactless payment methods, less and less cash is being withdrawn. Increasing numbers of stores prefer electronic payment instead of cash payments.

We were already spending half our paychecks online without cash. Why would we handle germ-infested notes and coins when contactless payment methods and smart cards allow us to tap with a bank card or phone? No PIN required makes the process a lot faster, making the queues go in faster, making your shopping experience smoother.

There is also your travel experience to think of. Railway stations are being fitted with smart card readers for travel cards, and buses are also embracing the smart card payment. Even airport security has gone smart, with passport gates that check your ID with a reader and a camera.

Smart cards aren’t just affecting payment methods. They’re also being embraced as a form of security, replacing keys in places of work and you will likely have seen them in hotels and spas. Because they contain all your data, and can be changed to open whatever they need to quickly, they are being used as keycards to hotel rooms, as well as offering exclusive access to mini-bars, safes, access to facilities etc

Control everything with your phone

Your phone has turned into a modern magic wand over the years. Gone are the says when all you could do was make phone calls or send texts. With a modern smartphone in your hand you can search and find your favourite mobile slots, adjust the heating in your home remotely via an app, make video calls to almost anywhere in the world and watch silly cats do their thing on YouTube – all at the same time if that is your thing.

Smart technology’s main advantage is that it can all be controlled by the device you always have in your hand anyway. Entire “smart houses” are wired up so that you can control your lighting, heating, appliances, entertainment, security and more with a ‘tap of an app’ on a smartphone.

Already, you can be on your commute from work and decide that the heating better get started now so that you can come home to a cosy house, or you can turn off the oven from your office now that the chicken is finally done. Answer the postman with your package through your home security system which has a camera that feeds into your phone, or unlock the door to let in your children who forgot their keys. Smart technology is the next step in everyday advancement, making a lot of small changes that will make you feel like you’re living in an episode of The Jetsons.

Creating a cleaner tomorrow

All these smarter technologies have an underlying purpose beyond just making everyday life easier: making the world cleaner. Everything from contactless payment to your smart thermostat is designed to cut down usage by making them easier to control. They are all designed with energy saving-solutions, such as energy saving LED lights in your home. And now that smart apartments are starting to become the norm, governments are working on “smart cities”, such as Dublin, which offers a public Trello card to allow you to see all the innovative plans to make Dublin a smart city.

Smart city strategies include features like intelligent street lighting which will use less energy and less light pollution, but also detect air pollution and emit wi-fi....

A virtual event about quantum computing in Ireland is taking place next Thursday, November 18. The members of Quantum Computing in Ireland (QColr) will be joined by experts from Mastercard Labs, equal1.labs, Science Foundation Ireland, and more.

Quantum Computing

Panellists will include:

Dr Steve Flinter, VP AI & Machine Learning, Mastercard Labs. Jason Lynch, COO, equal1.labs. Dr Martin Mevissen, Senior Manager – AI & Quantum, IBM Research Europe – Dublin. Prof. Mauro Paternostro, Queen’s University Belfast. Dr Ciaran Seoighe, Deputy Director-General, Science Foundation Ireland. Prof. Jiri Vala, Maynooth University

The consortium of seven got started in October 2020 supported by the Disruptive Technology Innovation Fund. The academic and industry partners are collaborating on a software platform based on Qiskit, an open-source software development kit for working with quantum computers.

The new platform will integrate different quantum bit technologies created in Ireland and is expected to unlock their industrial potential.

The panellists will explore quantum computing technology and what efforts have been made in laying the groundwork for an Irish quantum computing ecosystem during the one-hour virtual session.

They will also deliver an update on quantum computing software developments that will be presented at the 2nd European Conference on Quantum Technologies later this month.

The conversation will proceed with the importance these technologies have in the future of Irish science and a five-year strategy of Science Foundation Ireland will be presented.

Details for the event are expected to follow soon.

Riot Games announced the 30 recipients of their $10,000 community grants, including one in Ireland as a part of Progress Days inspired by Riot’s new TV series, Arcane League of Legends.

Riot Games offers community grant

Throughout the month of November, Riot is uniting its games and products for a global event called RiotX Arcane to bring together players and fans for the launch of the company’s first television series. As a part of the celebration, Riot is honouring the incredible work that these nonprofits are doing all around the world in hopes of inspiring progress.

Over the summer, Riot invited players from around the world to become a ‘force for good’ and nominate a nonprofit and/or a cause area that was important to them.

Along with the nomination, players were asked to share a testimonial to explain why this cause was meaningful to them and how it was impacting their local community.

Over 19,000 submissions came in from players around the globe and Riot’s social impact team, with the help of their partners ImpactAssets and GlobalGiving, vetted and chose 30 nonprofits to receive $10,000 donations.

These high-impact nonprofits support a wide range of countries and cause areas, including an organisation from New Zealand that supports community wellbeing and a nonprofit from Brazil that advocates for the rights of people with intellectual disabilities.

“Throughout Riot’s history we’ve seen time and again players come together as one collective community to support the smaller communities they are a part of,” said Jeffrey Burrell, Director of Social Impact.

“I want to give the credit where it’s truly due and that’s to the players. It’s really special when we put out a call like this to players and get such an overwhelming response. We couldn’t do this work without them.”

The Riot Games Social Impact Fund is Riot’s nonprofit engine for our collective efforts for global social impact. Through the Social Impact Fund, in partnership with ImpactAssets and managed by GlobalGiving, Riot was able to distribute these grants to over 18 countries around the world.

By being able to involve hyper-local NGOs serving local community needs, Riot is able to directly support the causes and interests of their community of players on what matters most to them.

The $300,000 in community grants adds to another successful year of social impact. Earlier this year, Riot launched the charitable skin “Elderwood Ornn” and mobilised players to achieve real impact in their own communities while participating in a global event that raised over $7 million for the Social Impact Fund.

Also this year, VALORANT held its first in-game fundraiser with a Give Back Bundle which raised over $5.5 million. 50% of the proceeds from weapon skins and 100% from accessories in the Give Back Bundle went towards Riot’s Social Impact Fund to be distributed to various nonprofits. In total, players have raised over $12 million through Riot’s in-game fundraisers for 2021.