TERR4 Debuts on Brazilian Stock Exchange with UN Alert about the Importance of Investing in the Planet’s Future

TERR4 is the latest debut at the B3, the Brazilian stock exchange, as part of a campaign to encourage new signatories to the UN Global Compact. In a symbolic act, the exchange was witness to the world's most urgent IPO on the morning of April 26th at 8:30 a.m. at the B3 headquarters, in a ceremony attended by representatives of major businesses, NGOs, and ESG influencers. 

The initiative was inspired by the publication of indicators by the Global Footprint Network and the WWF which sounded the alarm about global exhaustion – today, an estimated 1.7 Earths would be necessary to meet the needs of the total population. The last Earth Overshoot Day - the day on which humanity's use of natural resources outstrips the planet's ability to regenerate them - fell on July 28th, 2022. In accordance with recent trends, it's expected that the date will fall even earlier in 2023. To shed light on these and other alarming numbers about the state of our planet, the UN Global Compact in Brazil transformed the planet into the "publicly traded company" TERR4, seeking to encourage more and more companies to sign on to the commitments set out in 2000 by the United Nations.

A few key data announced during the ceremony include the 540,000 viruses circulating in nature today that science has yet to study; that 12 million more people have fallen into extreme poverty in Latin America and the Caribbean; 2 billion don't have access to potable water; 3 billion don't have access to basic sanitation; 828 million go hungry every day; 2.4 billion women are deprived of the economic rights enjoyed by men; and over the course of their lives, one in three women - some 736 million - are subjected to physical or sexual violence by a partner or sexual violence by a non-partner. 

TERR4: The Company

A longstanding firm, peerless in its sector, with 8 billion consumers, TERR4 is currently seeing the worst results in its history. In this context, social inequality is translated into an unequal distribution of dividends, while deforestation, water pollution and a loss of biodiversity become "poor asset management." The good news is that the company still has massive potential to turn things around, and that's why everyone interested in the company's survival should invest in it. When it comes to other companies, one of the ways they can do that is by committing to the UN Global Compact. 

The initiative includes everything an honest-to-goodness company has, from an institutional website to an annual report. On the website, people can watch the symbolic value of the company's stocks fluctuate in real time. The stock mechanism monitors multiple news sources in Brazil and abroad; and at each piece of news about climate change, inequality or other socio-environmental issues, the price varies. When news is negative, the price goes down. When the news is positive, it goes up. This is a didactic tool for showing just how much our actions affect the planet. 

Like any publicly traded company, TERR4 is also looking for shareholders and investors. In this case, investing in TERR4 means signing on to the Global Compact, which already has 1,900 signatory companies in Brazil and 18,000 worldwide. Companies can register on the TERR4 website or via the Global Compact.

"As humans, we have a crucial role to play when it comes to our planet. The TERR4 initiative is a way of communicating just how dire the situation is. We need to invest in Earth, and we need to invest now. The private sector has come to the understanding that engaging with this agenda is fundamental, but 2030 is right around  the corner and meeting the SDGs is a priority and a responsibility for all stakeholders. That's why this IPO for the Earth is hugely symbolic for the UN Global Compact and its partners on this journey. We can't leave anyone behind," says Carlo Pereira, the CEO of the UN Global Compact in Brazil. 

“The B3 was the first stock exchange in the world to join the Global Compact, in 2005, and one of the pillars of our sustainability strategy is to encourage best ESG practices in the market. By hosting TERR4's 'initial offering,' the Brazilian stock exchange is reaffirming its commitment to the principles of the Global Compact and reinforcing the call for more and more companies to be a part of this push and invest in the future of our planet," says Ana Buchaim, the vice-president of people, marketing, communications, sustainability, and private social investment at B3.

The goal of this call to action is to encourage more companies to sign on to the Global Compact, a UN initiative to advocate for the adoption of corporate social responsibility and sustainability policies, based on the Ten Principles in the areas of Human Rights, Labor, Environment, and Anti-Corruption. The move is a reflection of the planet's decline, especially when it comes to the environment, which worsened 6.6% during the pandemic, threatening multiple of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). According to the latest edition of the Spotlight Report from the Civil Society Working Group for the 2030 Agenda, five of the 13 goals under SDG 15, related to promoting sustainable use of ecosystems on land and reducing biodiversity loss, worsened. When it comes to SDG 13, meanwhile, which has to do with fighting climate change, all indicators are backsliding. 

TERR4 Launch Campaign 

Created by AlmapBBDO, the strategy goes far beyond the company's launch to include a film, ads, external media and activation via digital influencers, providing a poignant reframing of a company that's on the brink of bankruptcy, but has the potential to turn things around, with positive impacts in the medium and long term. In the words of Marco 'Pernil' Giannelli, the chief creative officer at AlmapBBDO, it's important to remember that, unlike a company going under, TERR4 stands in for our home and all the natural resources we need to prolong the existence of this and future generations. "The idea of doing an IPO for planet Earth is to bring a new urgency to the need to do something for the planet. We want to remind 'investors' that, if the company's cash flow doesn't improve, we'll lose the resources that humanity needs. And having organizations commit to the Global Compact is the only way that we'll able to improve the numbers for the place where we all live, day after day."