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Resolution Studio Initiative · ESG Forum Ethiopia

Sustainability was here before

Before the frameworks, there were practices. Before the terminology, there were responsibilities.

01 · The Idea

Older than the acronym.

Environmental stewardship, cooperation, resource sharing and collective responsibility have long lived in Ethiopian communities, organised through shared rules.

They are not ESG standards, and not every tradition was sustainable. But they give the questions ESG asks a local root.

Three practices and the questions ESG asksChurch forests connect to Environmental responsibility, edir to Social responsibility, and the Gada system to Governance. The three dimensions overlap around long-term trust.Church forestsEdirGadaEnvironmentalSocialGovernancelong-termtrust
  1. Church forestsWoodland kept around Orthodox churches, often the last native forest in a landscape.E
  2. EdirCommunity associations that support members through funerals and hardship.S
  3. GadaThe Oromo system of rotating, accountable leadership, recognised by UNESCO.G
ESGtrust

02 · The Connection

A global language.A local reality.

Ethiopia’s opening economy, growing cities, changing climate and new capital market raise expectations of responsibility. International principles become meaningful when they meet local realities and real institutional decisions. Choose a dimension to explore.

Climate resilience, natural resources, and responsible resource use.

  • Climate and natural resources

    Farming, water and energy depend on healthy land; national policy has framed this since the Climate Resilient Green Economy strategy (2011).

  • Global supply chains

    Coffee, Ethiopia’s best-known export, is among the goods covered by the EU’s deforestation-free supply chain rules.

Frameworks IFRS S2 · Sustainable Development Goals

Workers, communities, inclusion, and shared prosperity.

  • Workers and communities

    As industry and services grow, safe, fair work and good relations with neighbouring communities shape how a company is judged.

  • Cities and development

    Fast-growing towns change how land, housing and transport are planned, and who benefits.

Frameworks ILO labour standards · IFC Performance Standards

Transparency, accountability, and responsible institutional decisions.

  • Reporting and transparency

    The Financial Reporting Proclamation (No. 847/2014) moved institutions to international reporting standards, overseen by the Accounting and Auditing Board.

  • Finance and investment

    The Ethiopian Securities Exchange opened on 10 January 2025; investors bring questions about risk and disclosure with them.

Frameworks GRI Standards · IFRS S1

A conceptual map, not a dataset: it shows where each dimension meets Ethiopian practice. Frameworks differ in status, from voluntary reporting standards to conditions of investment and international conventions.

03 · The Creative Response

Making sustainabilitya shared conversation.

Sustainability is often discussed through policies, standards, targets, and reports. But making it part of everyday practice requires something more: understanding, participation, and trust. That is where communication and creativity become essential.

Resolution Studio initiated the ESG Forum to bring research, storytelling, design, partnerships, and dialogue into the sustainability conversation. Not to replace technical expertise, but to connect it with the people and institutions whose decisions shape real change.

  1. Research

    How is ESG understood in Ethiopia, and which practices already speak to it?

  2. Strategy
    ESG is not new to us; it’s rooted in us.
  3. Storytelling
    A still from the studio’s film: a forest waterfall seen from above.
  4. Identity
  5. Partnerships

    DevelopmentFinanceTelecomsHospitalityInsurance

  6. Experience
    The forum entrance: tall E, S and G panels beside the partners board.

and then, knowledge sharing

04 · The Expression

Rooted in Us.

On 18 February 2026, Resolution Studio brought together close to 100 participants at the Ethiopian Science Museum in Addis Ababa.

Co-hosted by GIZ and supported by partners across development, finance, telecommunications, hospitality, and insurance, the inaugural forum created a space for sustainability conversations grounded in Ethiopia’s realities.

Date
18 February 2026
Venue
Ethiopian Science Museum
Organizer
Resolution Studio
Co-host
GIZ
Participants
Close to 100
The forum from above: white canopies over the museum’s garden amphitheatre, the Addis Ababa skyline beyond.
A speaker at the glass lectern in front of the Welthungerhilfe backdrop.
A participant in glasses in conversation during a break, the exhibition behind her.
The panel on stage under the white canopy, the audience in the foreground.
Guests at the refreshments table on the terrace beside the museum’s curved glass façade.
A visitor photographing the exhibition boards along the museum’s glass wall.

Partners

Co-host

  • GIZ

Exclusive Root Partner

  • WHH Ethiopia

Financial Sector Sponsor

  • Awash Bank

Seed Partners

  • Safaricom Ethiopia
  • Kuriftu Resorts
  • Qeyé

Growth Partners

  • Awash Insurance
  • Hibret Insurance

The Continuation

The conversation doesn’tend in the room.

The inaugural ESG Forum established a foundation for continued dialogue, knowledge sharing, and collaboration.

Through its ESG Insights Brief and the ambition for further roundtables and partnerships, Resolution Studio is working to keep sustainability conversations connected to practical opportunities for action.

Cover of the ESG Insights Brief.
ESG Insights Brief

Rooted in us. Built to grow

Initiative
ESG Forum Ethiopia
First gathering
Rooted in Us · 18 February 2026 · Ethiopian Science Museum, Addis Ababa
Organizer and creative lead
Resolution Studio
Co-host
GIZ
Project type
Resolution Studio Initiative

Our role

Initiative Development · Sustainability Strategy · Research · Brand Identity · Creative Direction · Communication Strategy · Partnership Development · Event Experience · Content Production

Resolution Studio works at the intersection of people, ideas, and systems.We believe meaningful change happens when strategy, communication, creativity, technology, and collaboration work together.

Let’s turn ideas into action.

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