d-getty
Categories
Media release

Media release

Absa And Daily Maverick Launch Partnership To Tackle Climate Crisis

10 June 2021

Absa announced the launch of a partnership with Daily Maverick to make the risks of the global climate crisis a bigger focus of everyday life – with practical approaches on how to address them.

Spurred by the threat of Day Zero – when it was forecast Cape Town would run out of potable water – Daily Maverick decided to tackle the climate crisis head-on. What was originally intended to be an intermittent series called Our Burning Planet has become a fully-fledged unit in the Daily Maverick editorial team, concentrating on the catastrophes that happen when bad governance and climate change collide.

From travelling to rural areas to see how weather changes have transformed food production and livelihoods, to speaking to scientists and uncovering corrupt business deals that threaten healthy ecosystems, the path was clear: help South Africans understand that we are in a climate crisis, how it affects them and how we can address the key risks for the region.

Already achieving massive impact with its investigations and reporting, the Daily Maverick team has received support from Absa, who have helped fund independent research into the key climate risks for the SADC region in 2020. The relationship with Absa has grown into greater support of the Our Burning Planet effort through an annual sponsorship and grant funding.

The response to the climate crisis is everyone’s responsibility and Daily Maverick is stepping up its response with impactful investigative journalism. Partnering with corporate South Africa is essential in supporting these initiatives that stand to make a real difference to the future of the country – and planet – for us all.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has reminded us that global challenges require global coordination and brave action.  At Absa we recognise Africa’s vulnerability to climate change, and together with like-minded media partners such as Daily Maverick and their team of dedicated journalists, we hope to stimulate public debate, shift policy and contribute to creating sustainable and value-creating solutions to some of Africa’s greatest environmental challenges,” says David Wingfield, Head of Brand at Absa Group. “We are really proud to be a media sponsor of Our Burning Planet project, to bring readers the hard-hitting, impactful journalism that Daily Maverick is known for.”

“We’re excited that our vision for reporting on the climate crisis aligns with Absa’s strategic focus. We’ll be able to invest more into our already impactful editorial efforts and help showcase Absa’s support for the cause,” says Daily Maverick CEO Styli Charalambous. Of highest priority for the Daily Maverick team is getting as many South Africans as possible to fully participate in efforts to slow down and minimise the impact of climate change. “The journalism we produce will be freely available for other publishers to use because this is bigger than any one organisation’s ambition in the space,” Charalambous adds.

The partnership with Absa is built on, and with, Daily Maverick’s well-established reputation for journalism of the highest quality that maintains editorial integrity and independence in conducting all investigations. “Editorial independence is sacrosanct in all that Daily Maverick does. We are proud to enter into a relationship with a company that recognises the value of a free and independent press and one that supports our editorial vision,” says Daily Maverick Managing Editor Jillian Green.

To stay up to date with the latest investigations, reporting and developments around the crisis, readers are invited to subscribe to the Our Burning Planet newsletter, and encouraged to be part of the conversation that shapes the future of climate crisis response in the Southern African region.

10 June 2021

Absa announced the launch of a partnership with Daily Maverick to make the risks of the global climate crisis a bigger focus of everyday life – with practical approaches on how to address them.

Spurred by the threat of Day Zero – when it was forecast Cape Town would run out of potable water – Daily Maverick decided to tackle the climate crisis head-on. What was originally intended to be an intermittent series called Our Burning Planet has become a fully-fledged unit in the Daily Maverick editorial team, concentrating on the catastrophes that happen when bad governance and climate change collide.

From travelling to rural areas to see how weather changes have transformed food production and livelihoods, to speaking to scientists and uncovering corrupt business deals that threaten healthy ecosystems, the path was clear: help South Africans understand that we are in a climate crisis, how it affects them and how we can address the key risks for the region.

Already achieving massive impact with its investigations and reporting, the Daily Maverick team has received support from Absa, who have helped fund independent research into the key climate risks for the SADC region in 2020. The relationship with Absa has grown into greater support of the Our Burning Planet effort through an annual sponsorship and grant funding.

The response to the climate crisis is everyone’s responsibility and Daily Maverick is stepping up its response with impactful investigative journalism. Partnering with corporate South Africa is essential in supporting these initiatives that stand to make a real difference to the future of the country – and planet – for us all.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has reminded us that global challenges require global coordination and brave action.  At Absa we recognise Africa’s vulnerability to climate change, and together with like-minded media partners such as Daily Maverick and their team of dedicated journalists, we hope to stimulate public debate, shift policy and contribute to creating sustainable and value-creating solutions to some of Africa’s greatest environmental challenges,” says David Wingfield, Head of Brand at Absa Group. “We are really proud to be a media sponsor of Our Burning Planet project, to bring readers the hard-hitting, impactful journalism that Daily Maverick is known for.”

“We’re excited that our vision for reporting on the climate crisis aligns with Absa’s strategic focus. We’ll be able to invest more into our already impactful editorial efforts and help showcase Absa’s support for the cause,” says Daily Maverick CEO Styli Charalambous. Of highest priority for the Daily Maverick team is getting as many South Africans as possible to fully participate in efforts to slow down and minimise the impact of climate change. “The journalism we produce will be freely available for other publishers to use because this is bigger than any one organisation’s ambition in the space,” Charalambous adds.

The partnership with Absa is built on, and with, Daily Maverick’s well-established reputation for journalism of the highest quality that maintains editorial integrity and independence in conducting all investigations. “Editorial independence is sacrosanct in all that Daily Maverick does. We are proud to enter into a relationship with a company that recognises the value of a free and independent press and one that supports our editorial vision,” says Daily Maverick Managing Editor Jillian Green.

To stay up to date with the latest investigations, reporting and developments around the crisis, readers are invited to subscribe to the Our Burning Planet newsletter, and encouraged to be part of the conversation that shapes the future of climate crisis response in the Southern African region.