Generations of business have been driven by one bottom line: profit. Cash at any cost, be it man or nature. Based in Bahrain, 3BL, or Triple Bottom Line, Associates has deemed this to be an unsustainable business model. 3BL advises for many to consider another business model that takes into account three bottom lines: people, place and profit.
3BL Associates refer to itself as “Bahrain’s first social impact and sustainability consultancy and think-do-tank.” It works with innovative companies that seek to grow harmoniously with the people within the MENA region. The idea of a triple bottom line was coined by academic John Elkington, who proposed “that business goals are inextricably linked to the societies and environment in which they operate, and that business practices utilized to achieve short-term economic gain but fail to consider social and environmental impacts are ultimately unsustainable.”
Established in 2010, 3BL now teaches these business principles to businesses large and small looking to “do well, do good.” They offer services such as sustainability audit and needs analysis, benchmarking and research as well as smart partnering. 3BL advocates for Corporate Social Responsibility.
Maintaining good CSR is growing a company while keeping in mind the social equity: Is it good for the people of the area or are you abusing the locals? Good CSR takes into account environmental sustainability: Does this company deplete the natural resources of the area or does it replenish them after use? This capitalization of sustainability is “an opportunity to generate social, environmental and economic prosperity, in tandem.”
3BL Associates took its business agenda to the next level when it published its own findings on Bahrain sustainability in a report entitled Bahrain Responsible Business Survey. In the survey the respondents were asked a variety of questions, in efforts to determine their perceptions of healthy CSR and what the role the government should be in keeping companies accountable.
It was found that 87 percent of respondents understood CSR to be “community engagement.” It was found that CSR tactics such as community engagement, employee wellness, transparency, corporate governance, health, gender equality and diversity were practiced already, but only in about one-third of the respondent’s organizations. The study also found that only 55 percent of respondents cared whether their organizations were working environmentally responsibly. Only 26 percent of the organizations in Bahrain currently meet these standards.
3BL Associates co-founder and managing director Leena Al Olaimy said, “CSR and sustainability have far more value than just “doing good,” and have the potential to simultaneously contribute to national socio-economic development, and to raise Bahrain’s rankings on a number of indices such as the Global Competitiveness Index.”
The report, compiled by Al Olaimy and her associates, also revealed popular sentiments when it found that 80 percent thought the government should regulate CSR practices. In addition, 95 percent felt there should be government incentives for those organizations implementing CSR, while 83 percent felt there should be some kind of government subsidy for the programs.
3BL Associates has only been in business for four years, but has already gained the trust of its people. Khamis Al Muqla, honorary chairman of 3BL Associates, further noted, “The intersection of social and environmental issues in business has become an international topic of concern for corporations and countries alike.”
– Frederick Wood II
Sources: 3BL, AME Info, CSR Middle East
Photo: Flickr
Caterpillar Foundation Donations
Founded in 1952, Caterpillar Foundation dedicates itself to transforming lives within the international communities where Caterpillar works. It has been the champion for programs that support education, environment and emergency relief.
The program has donated over 550 million dollars to organizations that put poverty onto the path of prosperity “by investing in those proven to yield the best results – women and girls.” Last year the foundation committed itself to a three year 29.2 million dollar commitment. Partnering with Opportunity International the joint venture looks to service 16.7 million people across Asia, Africa and Latin America.
The Caterpillar Foundation’s commitments will be leveraged through Opportunity International via microfinance loans, savings and financial training. Due to Caterpillar’s strong commitment to women and girls, most of the money will be financed to women, or groups of women, looking to form working relationships.
As of August 2014, Caterpillar Foundation announced the allocation of an additional 11 million dollars to help with Africa’s water and energy needs. Five million dollars have been distributed to help programs that address public policy needs and lack of access to energy. Five million dollars will be used to extend an already existing water line in Tanzania and Ethiopia. The last million will help teach women and girls about the dangers of traditional cookstoves and the benefits of adopting clean cooking solutions.
Most recently Caterpillar has committed itself to another generous contribution of 2.5 million dollars to The Poverty Project. This nonprofit organization has received wide acclaim since the implementation of its new strategy unveiled in 2012. Global Citizen is an online platform that serves as the basis for all the work performed by the registered Global Citizens. There are more than 250,000 global citizens that have partaken in 1.75 million actions that have contributed to more than 35 campaign victories and announcements.
The Poverty Project has since released a new strategy as of January 1 of this year. The strategy focuses on ending extreme poverty by 2030. With its announcement of a new vision, The Poverty Project has also put forth a new theory of change and an updated framework. These proposals are all designed to create a movement of unstoppable Global Citizens.
This dynamic and effective strategy is what caught the eye of the Caterpillar Foundation. Since the three main goals of this foundation are education, environment and emergency relief, the money given to The Global Poverty Project has all been earmarked for specific projects.
The Global Poverty Project has determined that universal sanitation brought into impoverished areas will increase the chances for women to receive an education, get a job or run a small business. This is where the bulk of the money will go. It will also be used to put restrooms inside homes and provide them with running water. The remainder of the money will be used to help educate the 31 million girls who currently do not attend school around the world.
– Frederick Wood II
Sources: Peoria Public Radio, Caterpillar, Global Poverty, Peoria Public Radio 2
Photo: Urban Times
Domestic Violence on a Global Scale
October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, 25 percent of women and 8 percent of men have been raped and/or physically assaulted by a spouse, friend or acquaintance. This means that “each year about 1.3 million women and 835,000 men are physically assaulted by an intimate partner.”This issue is severely under-recognized. The National Association of Social Workers does its part to both prevent and find solutions for domestic violence.
Social workers are directly involved with victims, whether it be through counseling individuals, aiding in the judicial process or finding new homes for those abused. The issue of domestic violence exists outside of the U.S. There are countless foundations all over the world aimed at providing a support system to those affected by domestic violence. For example, the Global Foundation to Eliminate Global Violence (GFEGV) is a nonprofit aimed to both eliminate domestic violence and to support those who have already been claimed as a sufferer. Trying to escape the throngs of violence can be the hardest part for most victims, who may either rely on their abuser for financial stability or may have emotional ties to them. Having the courage to escape can often result in not only loneliness, but also poverty. According to the GFEGV’s website, the annual cost of health-related domestic violence issues in the U.K. is $23 billion. In the U.K., one in four women will be abused, while men have a one in six risk.World Bank data reports that “women aged 15-44 are more at risk from rape and domestic violence than from cancer, car accidents, war and malaria.”Here are some quick facts from the U.N.’s UNITE website about domestic violence:
The dowry-related murders mentioned above involve the murdering of a new wife, or wife-to-be, if she fails to meet the dowry requirements of her husband’s family. It is a practice that occurs in various cultures worldwide.
Donating money to organizations and becoming educated is important to improving and ultimately eliminating domestic violence worldwide.
– Kathleen Lee
Sources: National Association of Social Workers, EDV, UNiTE
Photo: Trade Arabia
IBM’s Solar Sunflower Unveiled
IBM has worked with Swiss company Airlight Energy to create an advanced solar electricity generator called the High Concentration PhotoVoltaic Thermal (HCPVT) system. The prototype was officially unveiled in Zurich in September 2014.
The system looks like a solar sunflower, shooting 33 feet into the air and topped off with a massive dish consisting of 36 wafer-thin aluminum mirrors and a lattice of tubes carrying coolant throughout the device. What is especially notable about the system is that not only can it produce electricity, but it can also desalinate water for sanitation and drinking purposes.
Featuring an advanced sun tracking system that angles the dish to optimize its solar capacity and an effective hot-water cooling system, the device can convert up to 80 percent of the sun’s radiation into electricity. Each chip produces up to 57 watts and each generator about 12 kilowatts of electricity, up to 20 kilowatts on a sunny day; enough energy to supply numerous homes. In comparison, typical flat panel photovoltaic solar systems, also known as solar panels, have conversion efficiency ratings of only 15 to 20 percent.
Currently approximately 1.3 billion people lack access to electricity and while 2.5 billion people have no access to proper sanitation. What is even more alarming is that the number of people who lack access to proper sanitation is estimated to increase by nine percent each year.
IBM’s solar sunflower can combat both issues by making electricity while also providing clean, drinkable water. The cooling system is particularly useful for the desalination of water. The device utilizes hot water in combination with the desalinators to boil salt water and distill the liquid into potable water. As such, an installation featuring several generators is estimated to be able to provide enough desalinated water to supply an entire town.
Areas of interest for the device include southern Europe, Africa, the Middle East, the Southwestern part of North America, South America, Japan and Australia. In addition, the system could be used at remote hospitals and medical facilities, and even for commercial purposes such as for hotels, holiday resorts and shopping centers.
Designed to keeps costs low, manufacturing costs will be a third of the cost for similar current solar converters and, because many of the materials will be sourced locally, the device can provide work for local communities. The device is projected to be released by 2017. IBM has announced that it will install the first two devices for free in 2016 and has asked for towns around the globe to submit their names for consideration.
– William Ying
Sources: IBM, The Guardian, Forbes, Computerworld NewScientist
Photo: Flickr
3BL Associates: Sustaining People, Places and Profits
Generations of business have been driven by one bottom line: profit. Cash at any cost, be it man or nature. Based in Bahrain, 3BL, or Triple Bottom Line, Associates has deemed this to be an unsustainable business model. 3BL advises for many to consider another business model that takes into account three bottom lines: people, place and profit.
3BL Associates refer to itself as “Bahrain’s first social impact and sustainability consultancy and think-do-tank.” It works with innovative companies that seek to grow harmoniously with the people within the MENA region. The idea of a triple bottom line was coined by academic John Elkington, who proposed “that business goals are inextricably linked to the societies and environment in which they operate, and that business practices utilized to achieve short-term economic gain but fail to consider social and environmental impacts are ultimately unsustainable.”
Established in 2010, 3BL now teaches these business principles to businesses large and small looking to “do well, do good.” They offer services such as sustainability audit and needs analysis, benchmarking and research as well as smart partnering. 3BL advocates for Corporate Social Responsibility.
Maintaining good CSR is growing a company while keeping in mind the social equity: Is it good for the people of the area or are you abusing the locals? Good CSR takes into account environmental sustainability: Does this company deplete the natural resources of the area or does it replenish them after use? This capitalization of sustainability is “an opportunity to generate social, environmental and economic prosperity, in tandem.”
3BL Associates took its business agenda to the next level when it published its own findings on Bahrain sustainability in a report entitled Bahrain Responsible Business Survey. In the survey the respondents were asked a variety of questions, in efforts to determine their perceptions of healthy CSR and what the role the government should be in keeping companies accountable.
It was found that 87 percent of respondents understood CSR to be “community engagement.” It was found that CSR tactics such as community engagement, employee wellness, transparency, corporate governance, health, gender equality and diversity were practiced already, but only in about one-third of the respondent’s organizations. The study also found that only 55 percent of respondents cared whether their organizations were working environmentally responsibly. Only 26 percent of the organizations in Bahrain currently meet these standards.
3BL Associates co-founder and managing director Leena Al Olaimy said, “CSR and sustainability have far more value than just “doing good,” and have the potential to simultaneously contribute to national socio-economic development, and to raise Bahrain’s rankings on a number of indices such as the Global Competitiveness Index.”
The report, compiled by Al Olaimy and her associates, also revealed popular sentiments when it found that 80 percent thought the government should regulate CSR practices. In addition, 95 percent felt there should be government incentives for those organizations implementing CSR, while 83 percent felt there should be some kind of government subsidy for the programs.
3BL Associates has only been in business for four years, but has already gained the trust of its people. Khamis Al Muqla, honorary chairman of 3BL Associates, further noted, “The intersection of social and environmental issues in business has become an international topic of concern for corporations and countries alike.”
– Frederick Wood II
Sources: 3BL, AME Info, CSR Middle East
Photo: Flickr
Romanian Roma Children
Often referred to as travellers or gypsies, the Romani or Roma, people constitute one of the largest minority groups in Romania. However, they are not welcomed. Originating from India, Roma people are vastly discriminated against and face a multitude of disadvantages in education, health, living conditions and job opportunities.
Approximately 90 percent of Roma people live below the poverty line, while almost 33 percent are unemployed. Unfortunately, there has been a purposeful exclusion of the Roma population from mainstream society.
Roma children continually face violations of their basic human rights all across Europe. Additionally, a Roma child is three times more likely to be born into poverty than all other Romanian children.
Health issues that often occur from poor nutrition in early childhood have been exacerbated by the lack of access to treatment and medical clinics. Marginalization and extreme poverty have also hindered the children’s ability to gain equal access to services, including schooling.
Families are not only unable to send children to school due to financial reasons, but also because parents cannot afford clothes or school supplies. There is also growing concern for the stigma and violence the Roma children may endure. For the small percentage of Roma children that do attend school, they face extreme prejudice and segregation. Much of the disapproval stems from the perception that all Roma people are thieves and crooks.
Children and young people make up a large portion of the Roma population, yet their voices are rarely heard. Many European governments overlook the existing policies and legislation that exist to protect minority populations, further reducing their participation in society.
While the Roma in Romania experience discrimination from the people around them, the Roma children bear the greatest burden.
– Leeda Jewayni
Sources: Roma Children, CNN, World Bank
Photo: Caritas
Global Citizen Festival Raises Awareness
In many ways, Global Citizen reflects the mission of The Borgen Project by uniting American citizens in the fight to end global poverty. Global citizen is a website and mobile application that was developed to help the general population find ways to tackle extreme poverty. It is a tool to draw attention to the suffering of the 1.2 billion people in the world who live on less than $1 per day and to act upon this injustice.
A Global Citizen is one who “identifies with being part of an emerging world community and whose actions contribute to building this community’s values and practices”. It is up to the citizens of the globe to request change for the most vulnerable populations. The systems that perpetuate a cycle of poverty must be brought to light.
Although Global Citizen does not ask for donations or charity, they work to learn more about pertinent issues that relate to extreme poverty and ways we can overcome them. Initiated by the Global Poverty Project, the Global Citizen Festival kicked-off this past September in New York City for its third annual gathering.
Accompanying United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi were stars such as Jay Z, No Doubt, Sting, Foo Fighters, John Legend, the Roots and many more. Almost 60,000 people joined the celebration of global unity and aspiration to address the world’s most urgent problems. Tickets were free for all audience members, who assisted or volunteered in some way to help spread awareness about global poverty.
This year’s Global Citizen Festival efforts were aimed in improving access to education, vaccination and sanitation. Although not an official event for the U.N. General Assembly, the Global Citizen Festival has assembled a host of world leaders who have voiced their commitment to focus and address the issues of extreme poverty, climate change and sustainable development.
With less than 465 days to achieve all eight of the Millennium Development Goals, Ki-moon reassured the crowd that “a better world was around the corner.”
– Leeda Jewayni
Sources: United Nations, Global Citizen, MSNBC, Kosmos JournalE
Photo: MSNBC
Astellas Pharma Donates $2 Million
About 75 percent of women with obstetric fistula have gone through labor that has lasted three days or more. Obstetric fistula affects mostly the poorest women who live in the poorest countries of the world because they do not have access to proper medical help. When a woman’s labor is obstructed she most likely could have intense pain for days before she actually has the baby.
So what exactly is an obstetric fistula?
“The soft tissues between the baby’s head and the pelvic bone are compressed and do not receive adequate blood flow … Her baby likely dies and she is often left with obstetric fistula, a small hole created by constant pressure from the fetus, which renders her incontinent.”
An estimated one million women get obstetric fistula and only 20,000 of those get treated a year. The surgery that these women would need takes under an hour and costs around $450. The need is there for these women to receive medical help and that is why Astellas Pharma EMEA decided to dedicate $2 million to help the cause.
Over the course of three years, Astellas will be partnered with the Fistula Foundation and put that $2 million to work. This is believed to be the largest and most focused effort ever against fistula according to Kate Grant, CEO of the Fistula Foundation.
The money will allow 1,200 women to get surgery in Kenya for this life-changing condition. As part of Astellas heritage, one of the key things that this organization wants to bring to communities is hope.
“Astellas knows the difference good medicines make to peoples’ lives. That‘s why we focus on providing treatments that are a genuine advance on the current standards of care – particularly in disease areas where options are limited.”
Here in the United States, the obstetric fistula was a common term that most people knew about, until the early 20th century. Since the U.S. has the resources for great medical care, there are procedures like a cesarean section, that we can use to prevent fistula. Kenya doesn’t have what the U.S. does, so companies like Fistula Foundation and Astellas are doing something about it.
– Brooke Smith
Sources: ONE, Astellas, Fistula Foundaiton
Photo: Flickr
Crime in Mexico Affects the U.S.
On October 1, one of the biggest names of drug trafficking in Mexico was captured. His name Hector Beltran Leyva. Leyva is one of the sole survivors of his gang of brothers; the others either dead or locked up. He was 49 at the day of capture.
For the country of Mexico, this represents a great feat in both ending drug connections and allowing for an intensified concentration on the economic system.
Unfortunately, gang related issues have not stopped at drug distribution. On September 28, gang-related violence resulted in the deaths of 11 men. This area of Northern Mexico is deemed a rival area for drug smuggling and thus one of the most dangerous areas of the country.
According to Reuters, since 2007 gang violence has taken the lives of over 90,000 people. Despite this alarming number, rates over the past year and a half have declined since president Enrique Pena Nieto took office.
The gang involvement affects much more than the lives of Mexicans. As Mexico’s neighbor to the north, the United States is hit hard by Mexico’s drug cartel. This drug war directly affects the U.S., who is the primary recipient of so many of these illegal drugs, including cocaine, methamphetamines and heroin.
A Huffington Post article from April of 2013 pinpoints the extent of the drug cartel’s influence in the U.S. No longer have the drugs been found primarily in areas like New Mexico and Texas, states bordering Mexico, but the cartel has embedded itself into lands as deep into the country as Chicago.
In fact, one of Mexico’s leading drug lords was named Public Enemy No.1. In Chicago, this name was given only once, to the infamous Al Capone. This modern-day Mexican drug lord has never even visited Chicago, yet his presence has clearly been felt.
Despite the disheartening facts and figures, Mexico needs to continue to capitalize on triumphs like Leyva’s arrest. Arresting those highest in power on the cartel ladder is the only way crime can truly be eradicated in certain areas of Mexico. And with a fall in drug production and distribution, the U.S. will also see major improvements to safety and declining crime rates.
– Kathleen Lee
Sources: New York Times, Reuters, Reuters 2, Huffington Post CNN
Photo: Flickr
Family Planning in Pakistan
As the sixth most populous country in the world, Pakistan has an estimated population of 173 million people, with almost 55 percent being of childbearing age. Currently, the country has the highest total fertility rate in South Asia, which many attribute to the large amount of child marriages.
More than half of the women get married by the age of twenty, while almost 15 percent are married by the age of fifteen. Since females tend to marry young, contraceptive prevalence has remained at a mere 30 percent due to a lack of reproductive education and the fact that young girls are easily manipulated by their husbands to not use contraceptives. Lack of health education, lack of access to health facilities and lack of funding all lead to lower use of contraceptives.
A majority of Pakistan’s population is Muslim, and the influence of religion is prevalent in all aspects of life, including family planning. Women have a great fear of social disapproval by religious leaders and family members that would come from the use contraceptives.
With the Government of Pakistan only spending around 2 percent of its budget for education and health services, problems arise regarding access to health facilities and family planning services. The lack of funding has resulted in a very low contraceptive prevalence rate, leading to almost 25 percent of pregnancies being unintended. These higher rates of unwanted pregnancies contribute to unsafe abortions and higher maternal mortality rates.
A deficit in family planning services could potentially hinder Pakistan’s ability to reach several millennium development goals, including improving maternal health, empowering women and combating diseases like HIV/AIDS.
Poverty also plays a key role in determining the size of the family, with roughly 22 percent of citizens living below the poverty line. Many believe that having more children will generate a greater source of income for the family since those children can be put to work, but having more mouths to feed can also perpetuate the cycle of poverty.
In order to address the issues of family planning and maternal health, it is important for the government to address the root causes of the problem. There is significantly less access to healthcare in the rural parts of Pakistan, so there needs to be a push to improve infrastructure and establish health clinics closer to these parts of the country. Health and sex education is also essential in order to stop the country from overpopulating.
Unfortunately, the poor suffer disproportionately when accessing health care in underdeveloped countries. Poverty is associated with an increase in many of the medical risk factors associated with pregnancy outcomes. Success depends on gaining a local understanding of the dimensions of access to health care services, along with sustained efforts by national governments and the international community to improve family planning services for the poor.
– Leeda Jewayni
Sources: USAID, GHSP, JPMA
Photo: Flickr
BeadforLife Empowers Women with Business Ed.
In 2004, BeadforLife was formed to provide women the opportunity to grow by giving them the tools to launch their own businesses. In the past 10 years, members of the beading program have initiated over 2,200 micro-businesses that operate on a very small scale.
Women who are part of the beading program have one task: rolling beads. By doing this, it gives the women a consistent source of income so they are no longer living on less than a dollar a day. The beading program is 18 months long, and every year, about three to four new groups are made. Each group consists of 40 to 60 women that go through three months of training on how to bead recycled paper into jewelry.
In addition to the training that the women get for beading, they also receive training in areas like business so that they will gain the skills needed to launch their own businesses one day. So far, statistical data has proven this method to be successful.
On average, while enrolled in the beading program, women’s income increases to seven to ten times their previous income. For these women, earning a steady income means more than just having money. An income means that they can eat healthier, get the right health care, put their kids in schools and also improve the living conditions for their family.
As part of the program, women must save some of their money so it can go toward a business of their own one day. This is a requirement, because it ensures that most of the women will continue to make money after the program. The promise of a stable future, makes the longevity of the program more effective. There are common businesses that women tend to open and those are: poultry rearing, restaurants, retail stores, vegetable stands, tailoring and renting rooms in their own homes.
BeadforLife has helped thousands of women get their families out of poverty. The organization reaches more than 1.2 million people and has raised millions to fight poverty. Due to the growth and success of the organization, it has expanded its line of products. In Northern Uganda the branch of the program buys Shea nuts. Currently, BeadforLife is partnered with over 760 women to buy Shea nuts during harvest. Products made from the women in this program are available for purchase on the organization’s website.
– Brooke Smith
Sources: BeadForLife, ONE
Photo: Flickr