People ask us all the time why Fairfax County needs a food bank. Just do the math. In 2015, Fairfax County had a median family income of $129,538 a year. The average housing rental cost was $1687 a month. The poverty level for a family of four is now $24,600 a year. And, of course, the national minimum wage is still $7.25 an hour.
Every day, millions of Americans have to sacrifice food, education, and healthcare because the cost of housing is so high. The numbers are grim: only one out of every four households who needs housing assistance gets it; more than one in four renters pays more than half of their income on housing costs; and nationwide waiting lists for affordable housing are years long. Many lists aren’t even open to new applicants because the backlog is so enormous.
At the beginning of every school year, many eager children sit in the front of the classroom armed with No. 2 pencils, wide-ruled paper and all of the other supplies needed for success. Some students never have to worry about not having access to the materials needed for class. However, that is not the case for many children around the U.S.
Mary-Ann Etiebet, Executive Director of Merck for Mothers, writes about the importance of providing maternity care to refugee women, highlighting MfM partner Doctors of the World’s research, program, and advocacy efforts to ensure more equitable access to care.
Today nearly 1.3 billion people — almost 1 of every 5 persons on the planet — lack access to modern energy. Almost all live in poverty in rural sub-Saharan Africa and developing Asia, unconnected to utility networks. Many companies offer stand-alone solar powered systems and mini-grid solutions, but the target communities often cannot afford the purchase price and lack the know-how to operate the systems. There are elements of a successful, sustainable approach to rural electrification projects, with examples of innovative business models and a case study of Schneider Electric’s Access to Energy program.
At Essity we believe that the work aimed at fulfilling the SDGs will make the world a little better at the same time as they create good business opportunities for companies around the world. Our focus is in the fields of health, hygiene and sanitation, where we have outstanding expertise. We at Essity are determined to do what we can to contribute to achieving the 17 SDGs.
Disrupting food sounds almost ominous. The purists among us likely do not feel there’s much of a need to innovate their favourite steak or to reinvent the way we eat in pubs, restaurants or canteens. But the food industry is a sector in need of a sea change. This has a lot to do with the way food is produced – the question being whether the industry can adapt to meet the needs of a constantly growing global population in a sustainable fashion.
It all started in 2004 with a nature habitat initiative at GM’s Lansing Delta Township site in Michigan. With help from numerous NGOs, community and supplier partners over the next couple of years, the LDT site established a wildlife habitat. The project included more than 20 acres of diverse woodlands, 40 acres of restored prairie, and 15 acres of wetlands. It was the first GM site to earn Wildlife Habitat Council certification in 2006.
Leaders from business, civil society, Government and the United Nations convened today in Bonn to discuss an accelerated pathway forward towards implementing the Paris Climate Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at the COP 23/CMP 13: High-Level Meeting of Caring for Climate.
In this episode of the Champions for Social Good podcast, we talk with Aria Finger, CEO of DoSomething.org, a “tech-company” style nonprofit that reaches 5.5 million teens and young adults ages 13-25 in every part of the United States and 130+ countries around the world. With over 300 campaigns for young people to join, DoSomething.org focuses on authenticity to get young adults involved with social good.
AEG embraces its responsibility to enrich the lives of people in the communities around the world where we do business, and to use business to create...
The SCS Kingfisher certification mark is showing up on an increasing number of products around the world. It differentiates companies that are making...
