At Bain, we believe that transformative impact comes from innovative solutions and partnerships that drive lasting,
systemic change.
Our investments over the past 10 years
Our mission is to partner with the
most innovative and high-impact organizations to develop and scale transformative solutions to the
world’s most important challenges
Bold Commitment, Extraordinary Impact
Our 10-Year Social Impact Milestone
A decade of impact in five critical areas
1.1 billion
$
in pro bono consulting
400+
clients supported
1,000+
cases delivered
4,000+
Bainies involved
Over the past decade, our $1.1 billion commitment has focused on five critical areas: Food Systems & Nature, Climate & Energy Transition, Education, Racial Equity & Social Justice,
and Economic Development. Learn more about our focus areas below.
For the past decade, we’ve partnered with leading social pioneers to tackle global challenges
and build a more sustainable, equitable, and inclusive world. From advancing climate solutions
to expanding economic opportunity, our work has driven meaningful, enduring impact across
the globe. Through this work, we have helped shape systems, scale innovative solutions,
unite coalitions, and produce sector-shaping insights. Read select impact stories below.
Our impact
Economic
Development
We invest in efforts to ensure an equitable talent journey and an inclusive culture
Racial Equity
& Social Justice
We increase economic mobility by transforming education around the world
Education
Climate & Energy Transition
Food Systems
& Nature
We’ve partnered with The Nature Conservancy (TNC) to reinvent critical food supply chains. This work started in 2020
when we helped develop an innovative public-private partnership to support sustainable fishing, leading to the creation
of Pacific Island Tuna – a canned tuna company built on industry-leading environmental and labor practices. Building on
our success with tuna, we turned to shrimp – one of the least sustainable products in the seafood category – collaborating with Walmart and local producers in Ecuador to design carbon-reducing interventions like deforestation-free feed and new farm technologies. In Thailand, we worked with TNC and Thai Union Group to scale lower-carbon shrimp farming with interventions that could cut emissions by up to 45%. And beyond seafood, we partnered with TNC to develop an approach
to improve supply chain transparency and sustainability for Pará’s cattle industry – an effort that presents a
$1 billion opportunity for Brazil’s livestock production.
Farmer-allied enterprises are the linchpins for transforming African food systems. In 2019, Global Dairy Platform, Bain & Company,
and Land O’Lakes Venture37 launched Dairy Nourishes Africa (DNA), a distinctive, public-private partnership approach to dairy sector development through accelerating the growth of high-potential farmer-allied dairy processors, strengthening the capacity
of their smallholder farmer suppliers, generating greater demand for affordable nutrition, and enhancing the enabling policy environment. Over the past few years, our enterprise acceleration work—as part of the ongoing Tanzania Inclusive Producer-Processor Partnerships program—has helped select dairy processors grow their revenue by 15% to 50%; more than 100,000 smallholder farmers have been trained on sustainable intensification practices; and a social media awareness campaign reached over 4 million consumers. We are also supporting processors to grow their digital maturity to optimize farmer engagement, operations, and commercial effectiveness. DNA aims to serve as a demonstration model for building more resilient food systems in Africa and beyond.
Transforming East Africa’s Dairy Sector – Dairy Nourishes Africa
Reinventing food supply chains on land and sea – The Nature Conservancy
We build sustainable, inclusive, and healthy food systems that protect our planet
MethaneSAT is an earth-orbiting satellite that uses advanced spectroscopy and quantitative techniques to detect emissions
of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas. Unlike previous technologies, MethaneSAT is able to estimate flow rates and quantify smaller, diffuse emissions over areas other satellites cannot. This data can be used to drive action and accountability, helping industrials, government, and nongovernmental organizations track emissions quickly and accurately to accelerate progress toward climate goals. We worked with Environmental Defense Fund, a mission partner of MethaneSAT, to develop a strategy
for engaging commercial data users to help sustain the satellite’s long-term impact. We explored pathways that balance financial viability with MethaneSAT’s open-access, science-driven mission. Our work provided the organization with a balanced model, enabling it to continue its mission as a disruptive catalyst for cutting climate-warming emissions.
At COP28, the Breakthrough Agenda partnered with the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) to strengthen public-private cooperation toward the adoption of clean technologies in priority sectors: power, hydrogen, transport, steel, cement, and buildings. WBCSD is providing insights to governments on what leading businesses see as the most urgent sector barriers, the actions businesses are taking, and what they require from international policymakers to accelerate investments in the clean energy transition. To support this, we coauthored the Business Breakthrough Barometer, providing a first-of-its-kind pulse check on opportunities and challenges, channeling the voice of more than 250 executives on the policies and market incentives needed to scale the deployment and adoption of clean technologies.
Accelerating to net zero – World Business Council for Sustainable Development
Fueling the future of methane emissions tracking – MethaneSAT
We accelerate the energy transition and build towards a more sustainable future
New York City Public Schools (NYCPS) serves 1.1 million students, most of whom are students of color and from low-income backgrounds. With only 1 in 10 NYCPS freshmen securing a living-wage job within a year of entering the workforce, the city set out to transform the high school–to-career experience. We partnered with NYCPS to design and launch Future Ready NYC, a career-connected learning initiative that integrates real-world career pathways into high school education. Our work helped NYCPS secure $52 million, scaling the program to 130 schools and 15,000 students in just two years. By 2030, Future Ready NYC will ensure that all NYC public high school students have foundational skills and experiences necessary for college, career, and beyond.
We partnered with UK teachers to create Teaching with ChatGPT, a practical guide designed to help educators use AI to enhance learning and streamline lesson planning. Built by teachers for teachers, with Bain’s support, this free guide shows how ChatGPT
can support key classroom tasks—from brainstorming activities to generating personalized questions to test students’ understanding, adapting materials for diverse needs, and more. A study with the Education Endowment Foundation confirmed
the impact: Teachers using ChatGPT with our guide reduced lesson planning time by 31%, saving more than 25 minutes a week without compromising quality.
Empowering UK teachers with AI – Teaching with ChatGPT
Preparing 1 million students for the workforce with career-connected learning – New York City Public Schools
We increase economic mobility by transforming education around the world
While degrees can be valuable, requiring them for every role can limit access to family-sustaining jobs and makes it harder for companies to find talent. We’ve partnered with OneTen since its inception to drive the skills-first hiring movement, shaping its strategy and scaling its impact. Today, OneTen is a coalition of more than 50 Fortune 1000 companies working to hire and advance talented individuals without four-year degrees into family-sustaining jobs. By embracing skills-first hiring, companies are tapping into a broader, highly skilled talent pool. So far, OneTen has helped connect more than 100,000 people to family-sustaining jobs.
Strengthening the healthcare workforce is a key part of our health equity commitment. The healthcare industry faces critical talent shortages, while the US education system isn’t preparing all students for good jobs. Few solutions address these challenges. Bloomberg Philanthropies engaged us to help design an innovative model, identifying in-demand healthcare roles and partnering with leading health systems to build talent pipelines. We worked closely with 10 health systems across urban and rural communities, helping them partner with schools to launch healthcare pathways for students. These partnerships secured $250 million from Bloomberg Philanthropies, launching thousands of students into healthcare careers and creating a model for other industries.
Partnering with 10 health systems and schools to strengthen the workforce – Bloomberg Philanthropies
Unlocking the opportunities for more than 100,000 careers with skills-first hiring – OneTen
We address structural racism and other systems of oppression
UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, supports more than 122.6 million forcibly displaced people across more than 130 countries.
Since 2016, we’ve helped scale its impact, enhancing fund-raising, transforming operations, and strengthening private sector engagement. One of our most impactful contributions has been the refinement of UNHCR’s fund-raising strategy across more
than 10 markets, redefining donor segments and engagement models. This drove significant private sector funding growth and accelerated progress toward the UNHCR fund-raising ambition. We also supported UNHCR’s largest-ever tech transformation, improving efficiency and coordination globally. Today, we’re proud to be a global private sector partner of UNHCR.
Since 2011, Bain & Company has been a strategic partner to Endeavor, the leading global community of, by, and for high-impact entrepreneurs—those who dream bigger, scale faster, and pay it forward. Over the years, we have supported Endeavor’s journey to grow its reach from 11 markets to 45 and helped shape Endeavor’s repeatable model from selection to entrepreneur experience to strengthening financial sustainability. More than 30 Bain partners, 45 case teams, 50 externs, and many others have supported this work. Among our most significant contributions has been helping Endeavor refine its strategic approach to identifying and supporting outliers—companies demonstrating exceptional growth in revenue and job creation, whose founders have the greatest potential to move the needle of economies. Our enduring partnership will continue to help Endeavor deliver on its mission of building entrepreneurial ecosystems worldwide.
Powering high-impact entrepreneurship in 40+ markets – Endeavor
Accelerating support for millions of refugees amid rising displacement – UNHCR
We unlock economic opportunities and build resilience of underserved communities worldwide
Food Systems
& Nature
Climate & Energy Transition
Education
Racial Equity
& Social Justice
Economic Development
BACK
Some of the many organizations we partner with:
Some of the many organizations we partner with:
Some of the many organizations we partner with:
Some of the many organizations we partner with:
Some of the many organizations we partner with:
We build sustainable, inclusive, and healthy food systems that protect our planet
We accelerate the energy transition and build towards a more sustainable future
We address structural
racism and other
systems of oppression
We unlock economic opportunities and build resilience of underserved communities worldwide
Our focus areas
Racial Equity
& Social
Justice
Education
Climate
& Energy
Transition
Food
Systems
& Nature
Economic
Development
Our focus areas
Conservation and natural climate solutions
Sustainable
commodities
Resilient local
food systems
Agenda setting and raising corporate ambition
We develop market-oriented,
nature-based solutions for climate mitigation through forest, wetland, and ocean ecosystem conservation
We design and scale innovative, multistakeholder collaborations
for sourcing high-impact food commodities that enhance supply resilience and environmental outcomes
We demonstrate new approaches to building more inclusive, sustainable, profitable, and healthy food systems in Africa (and beyond) through public-private partnerships and value chain alliances anchored
by farmer-allied enterprises
We help set the global agenda
for food and nature through breakthrough insights and mobilizing corporate coalitions that can accelerate the sustainability transition
Smallholder farmer livelihoods
Financial
inclusion
Social-first
impact investing
High-impact
entrepreneurship
Humanitarian
support
We support market integration and capacity building of smallholder farmers
We empower underserved communities by expanding their access
to financing and
payments
We support innovative social enterprises that deliver critical, affordable services to the poor
We grow vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystems
We build better
futures for vulnerable communities worldwide
Early childhood development
Human
capital
Education
technology
Career connected learning
Great
schools
We improve chances for future success for high-risk children and families
We help recruit, train, develop, and support highly effective teachers and school leaders
We create, scale, and support high-quality instructional tools, leveraging technology to improve student outcomes
We help students and employers succeed in a rapidly changing economy
We develop and scale great schools in underserved communities
Women's leadership
Civil
rights
Health
equity
Racial
wealth gap
We empower women
to achieve equality
We work to eliminate systemic disenfranchisement
We work to eliminate disparities in health outcomes
We drive opportunities to build generational wealth and close the racial wealth gap
Industrial transformation
Clean
fuels
Power
systems
We remove bottlenecks to improve uptake
of lower-carbon inputs and technologies
in industry, buildings, and transport
We develop and scale emerging clean fuels
and low-carbon technologies (e.g., hydrogen; biofuels; e-fuels; and carbon capture, utilization, and storage) via market mechanisms and value chain collaborations
We modernize and expand access to clean power, focusing on electricity generation, transmission, and grid infrastructure
Our mission is to partner with the most innovative and
high-impact organizations to develop and scale transformative solutions to the world’s most important challenges
1.1 billion
$
Over the past 10 years, we have successfully invested
in pro bono consulting to help leading social pioneers— nonprofits and public-sector organizations—tackle the world’s most pressing challenges, from climate action to economic inclusion. By applying our expertise in strategy, operations, innovation, and beyond, we’ve helped these organizations scale their impact and change countless lives. This report reflects on our journey and the impact we have made with our clients. But our work is far from over. Now we are renewing our commitment to accelerate progress toward a more sustainable, equitable, and inclusive future by committing to an additional
2 billion
$
in pro bono consulting by 2035.
Food Systems
& Nature
Climate & Energy Transition
Education
Racial Equity
& Social Justice
Economic Development
BACK