#unsustainabledevelopmentgoals

[phonemantra-blog]

The World Sustainable Travel & Hospitality Awards (WSTHA), a new initiative dedicated to celebrating responsible practices within the tourism industry, has unveiled the categories for its inaugural global program. This announcement marks a significant step forward in recognizing and amplifying the voices of individuals and organizations leading the charge in sustainable travel and hospitality. A Framework for Recognition: Reflecting Sustainability Goals The 21 categories announced by the WSTHA encompass a diverse range of areas within the travel and hospitality sector, all united by the overarching theme of sustainability. These categories were carefully chosen by an Advisory Board comprised of 11 renowned leaders in sustainable travel and tourism. This esteemed group ensured alignment with the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the net positive framework encompassing People, Planet, Place, Prosperity, and Partnerships. The categories delve into various aspects of sustainable practices, including: Conservation: Recognizing efforts to protect and preserve natural environments. Energy Efficiency: Highlighting advancements in reducing energy consumption within the industry. Community Engagement: Celebrating initiatives that foster positive relationships and empower local communities. Education and Leaders of Tomorrow: Promoting educational programs and individuals shaping the future of sustainable travel. This comprehensive approach ensures that the WSTHA recognizes a wide spectrum of contributions, fostering a more holistic understanding of sustainability within the travel and hospitality landscape. Belize: An Exemplary Host Destination Belize serves as the Official Host Destination for the inaugural WSTHA Gala Ceremony, scheduled for September 27, 2024. This selection reflects Belize's longstanding commitment to responsible tourism practices. The country has consistently prioritized initiatives that encourage visitors to engage with its rainforests, reefs, and unique culture sustainably. Examples of Belize's dedication to responsible tourism include: Community-based tourism clusters: These clusters empower local communities and ensure tourism benefits are shared equitably. Preserving the Belize Barrier Reef: Recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, this vital ecosystem receives ongoing protection efforts. Anthony Mahler, Minister of Tourism for Belize, emphasizes the collaborative spirit behind the category development: "The Advisory Board, WSTHA, and Belize have worked together to ensure the categories recognize individuals and organizations making significant strides in sustainable travel and tourism." A Collaborative Effort: Students, Industry Leaders, and Sustainability Advocates The WSTHA program benefits from the expertise and perspectives of diverse stakeholders. This includes: Students of sustainable business from the Nova School of Business and Economics in Lisbon: These students will play a vital role in analyzing and vetting entries, fostering a valuable learning experience while contributing meaningfully to the program. The Sustainable Hospitality Alliance: As a partner organization, the Alliance brings its expertise in net-positive hospitality to the table. An esteemed Advisory Board: Comprised of leading authorities, academics, and dignitaries, this board provides invaluable guidance and ensures the program's integrity. This collaborative approach ensures that the WSTHA program reflects the diverse voices and perspectives shaping the future of sustainable travel and hospitality. FAQs: Understanding the World Sustainable Travel & Hospitality Awards Q: When can I submit an entry for the WSTHA? A: Global entries for the WSTHA will be invited starting March 18, 2024. Q: Where can I find a full list of the WSTHA categories? A: The complete list of categories can be found on the WSTHA website https://sustainablehospitalityalliance.org/wta-partnership/. Q: What are the specific categories open to Belize-based individuals and organizations? A: Three categories are specifically designated for Belizean entries: Cultural Heritage, Marine Conservation, and Community Engagement.

[thxnews]

Prime Minister Highlights International Development Week

A Week of Reflection and Action

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has officially ushered in International Development Week, running from February 4 to 10, 2024. This annual observance serves as a critical moment for Canadians to reflect on the significant strides made toward fostering a sustainable, resilient, and equitable world. For over three decades, International Development Week has been a cornerstone in celebrating Canada's role and efforts in international development, spotlighting the crucial work of Canadian development workers, volunteers, and partners in supporting marginalized communities globally.  

Canada's Commitment to Global Development

In his statement, Trudeau underscored the importance of Canada's contribution to international development, particularly in areas such as food security, health services, education, and gender equality. Moreover, he highlighted Canada's ongoing efforts to combat climate change, promote inclusive communities, and strive towards a more prosperous world for all. As part of Canada's commitment to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, Trudeau announced a significant investment of $4.5 billion to support global communities, with a special focus on empowering women and girls.  

The Role of Canadians in International Development

Furthermore, the Prime Minister emphasized the role of every Canadian in contributing to international development. He encouraged Canadians to engage in local community activities, learn more about the nation's efforts in this field, and join the conversation on social media using the hashtags #IDW2024 and #GoForTheGoals. This engagement not only celebrates the hard work of development workers but also fosters a collective pursuit of positive change.   The Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, today issued the following statement: “Today marks the start of International Development Week – a time to reflect on the progress we have made and the work ahead to build a sustainable, resilient, and equitable world.   “A Canadian tradition for over 30 years, International Development Week celebrates international development efforts at home and around the world. From food security and health services to education and gender equality, Canadian development workers, volunteers, and partners are critical in supporting marginalized communities. These are Canadians from across the country who hold an extraordinary belief in a better world – and International Development Week invites all of us to celebrate and join in on this pursuit of positive change.   “Canada’s work to advance climate action, create inclusive communities, and build a more prosperous world for everyone remains critical. Canada is an important contributor to the United Nations, and as part of our commitment to advancing the UN Sustainable Development Goals, we are delivering on our promise to increase development aid. This year, we are committing $4.5 billion to ensure that communities across the globe, particularly women and girls, have a fair chance to reach their full potential. And as part of our Feminist International Assistance Policy, we have increased our investments to an average of $1.4 billion per year on global health, half of which will be dedicated to comprehensive sexual and reproductive health programs.   “Throughout this International Development Week, I encourage Canadians to learn more about Canada’s international development efforts, participate in local community activities, and join the conversation on social media by using the hashtags #IDW2024 and #GoForTheGoals. Let us thank the incredible work of international development workers, and work together to build a safer, more secure future for everyone.”   Sources: THX News & The Canadian Government. Read the full article

[crimsonheight]

#civilisation #dominantculture #changemymind #yourcultureisthematrix #theworldisfineyourculturesucks #badcopingmechanisms #unsustainabledevelopmentgoals #traumamemes #traumaresponse https://www.instagram.com/p/CT7QYcnLQnI/?utm_medium=tumblr

[solitudegrowth]

🔥 Do you Agree with Bill Gates? 🤔 - 🔥 For the same reason that we have no choice but to take the risk. - 🔥 The risk comes from us. We put ourselves in the position of having to control the process. - 🔥 When your employees and customers begin to make decisions about your product or service, you will have a strong opportunity to reduce your costs, make more money, and be more successful. - 🔥 A strategy of prevention will help your company avoid many of these risks. - ❤️ LIKE - - - HASHTAGS #billgatesquotes, #billgatesisevil, #wealthypeople, #unsustainabledevelopmentgoals, #unsustainable, #riskmanagement, #risktakers, #wolverineedit, #businessblogger, #pathwayofsolitude, #newdelhiindia🇮🇳, #businessgrowth, #businesshero, #entrepreuners, (at New Delhi) https://www.instagram.com/p/CkNHdWNtgg3/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[braveandfearlessbrand]

I’m SO excited and proud about our partnership with @buy1give1 business for good + @braveandfearlessbrand Unlike other giving program B1G1 pass 100% of our givings to our nominated projects that support the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. We have chosen 4 projects that really resonate with us. So now everytime you shop with us we can all contribute to making a true difference in the world. So now: *When we sell a Brave & Fearless “handmade in Australia product” we give 1 day of nourishing food to a child in India. *When we sell a product from our “Zero Waste range” we plant a tree to nurture the environment and help save an orangutang in Borneo. *When we sell a “B & F T-shirt” we provide 1 km of travel to bring home a trafficked girl *When we sell any product on the site we provide 2 days of eduction to a disadvantaged child in Indonesia. We are currently having a 25% off sale with the code “loveasale” so now you can grab some cool for your little ones & matching ones for you and help us make a true IMPACT in the world. Couldn’t love this more! Thank you for helping us make the world a better place. www.braveandfearless.com 🖤🌍💙 . . . . . . #b1g1 #changetheworld #givingimpacts #braveandfearless #braveandfearlessbrand #sale #eofysale #eofy #kidsthreads #kidsfashion #kidsfashiondesigner #kidsclothing #kidsclothingboutique #unsustainabledevelopmentgoals #rocknrollkids #kidsrocknroll #edgythreads #kidssale #matchyourmini #matchingyourmini https://www.instagram.com/p/CQ0ekF_scn3/?utm_medium=tumblr

[projectgreenschools-blog]

The UN Sustainable Development Goals

[societyprofits-blog]

#SocietyProfits from social enterprises like @rebelnell Supporting women in #Detroit and helping society to achieve the #unsustainabledevelopmentgoals (at Rebel Nell) https://www.instagram.com/p/B2muCgEFd6l/?igshid=znkur3ifqety

[tularue11]

Reposted from @photographerswithoutborders - Indonesia is home to a wide variety of species, particularly to the critically endangered yet majestic orangutans, tigers and elephants. In 2018, PWB School travelled to Sumatra in partnership with the Sumatran Wildlife Sanctuary. Our next PWB School Sumatra trip will take place from June 15 - 29. Visit the link in our bio to learn more! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Proceeds from this month's Printshop will help the sanctuary to preserve even more of the pristine rainforest. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Visit photographerswithoutborders.org/shop to shop our prints and support wildlife conservation. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Photographer: @_davecoulson ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ NGO: @swsanctuary⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ .⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ .⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ #PWB #storytelling #sumatrawildlifesanctuary #PWBschool #sumatra #conservation #morethanphotographers #indonesia #endangeredspecies #travelphotography #elephant #seethroughanewlens #education #photography #travelabroad #photojournalism #ethicalstorytelling #ungoals #unitednations #unsustainabledevelopmentgoals #sustainability - #regrann https://www.instagram.com/p/BseIZjHAJdG/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=80yfhrd2oo4m

[backroomstewdios]

Lynn-Broadview Collaborative

[neusustainabledevelopment-blog]

An Introduction to the Circular Economy

By Kristen Esser, Environmental Science ‘18

The Sustainable Development Goals proposed by the United Nations are a set of 17 goals that the world needs to achieve to continue developing in a world where limitations are continually being met and exceeded. Goal 12, Responsible Consumption and Production, paves a feasible goal to hit with current technology. Responsible Consumption and Production is centered around resource and energy efficiency, aiming to more and better while using less. This includes increasing economic activities through reduced resource use, reducing degradation and pollution along the whole life-cycle of a product, and increasing the quality of life while using less1. 

It sounds like a dream scenario, doesn’t it? So how can we as a global community achieve this feat?

The answer lies in change. Currently, economic output usually take precedent over environmental stewardship, meaning the products the world produces are made for as cheaply as possible as quickly as possible. This is made possible by reliance on large quantities of cheap and easily accessible materials and energy, leading to a ‘take, make, and dispose’ economic model2. As the world catapults past thresholds of pollution and greenhouse gases concentrations, as well as dwindling resources and cheap fossil fuels, it’s obvious that this linear economic model will not sustain our growing global population forever. Luckily, there is an alternative to this seemingly doomed scenario.

Linear economic model (Source)

It’s called the circular economy. In a circular economy, value is placed on products and the materials they contain. A circular economy involves minimizing waste through reusing, repairing, refurbishing, and recycling existing materials and products. The prime benefits from moving to a more circular economy include reduced pressure on the environment, security of raw materials supply, and increased competitiveness, innovation, and growth of industry and jobs3. Although the benefits are promising, many manufacturers do not have incentive to change their current patterns. The current process of manufacturing makes a product for as cheaply as possible, maximizing profits. Many manufacturers and supply chain managers also do not know where to start changing their process. 

Circular Economy (Source) 

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation outlines four building blocks to the circular economy. 

The first building block is circular design. Circular design involves facilitating product reuse, recycling, and waste reduction. Changing linear design requires advanced skills in material selection, standardizing components, reduced planned obsolesce, and separation and reuse of products and materials. Useful application of wastes and by-products is another important component of circular design.

The second building block of the circular economy is the creation of new business models. With a shift towards a new, more systematic way of thinking about the economy comes a shift in business models. Existing companies can play a huge role in this shift by devoting their resources and capital towards business models that emphasize reduction of resource use, reduction of waste, and innovation of current products to better fit a circular approach. With success, more companies will be more willing to invest in these methods, driving the change towards a circular economy.

The third building block deals with reverse cycles. This enables the previous two building blocks by emphasizing the need for cost-efficient, better-quality systems that focus on the final return of materials and products to the environment or industrial production system. Benefits of increased reverse cycles of materials and products include a decrease of waste and leakage of materials out of the system into landfills where their usefulness is limited.

The final building block of a circular economy is enablers and favorable system conditions. This is the physical shifting of focus and practice to a circular way of thinking. This is where policy makers, educational institutions, and the everyday person can contribute. Examples of creating a favorable system and enabling a circular economy are varied, from collaboration to redefining incentives to providing a set of binding international environmental standards for business practice. Financial backing for manufacturers to scale up their businesses is another important component, and could also be used as an incentive towards shifting priorities of other organizations.4

The circular economy in detail (Source)

There are also great hurdles to adopting a circular economy. The chief of these problems is consumer ignorance and behavior. Since most of the world has developed using a linear economic model, implementing a more circular economy may be a challenge if consumers are not educated on the impact the products they buy have on the environment. Another barrier is that current manufacturers and supply chains have no incentive to design their systems as circular, as the focus of success is chiefly on profit rather than whole-lifecycle sustainability. Changing these attitudes will be difficult, but can be achieved through greater education of the limits of our planets and the feasibility of a transition to the circular economy. The last big hurdle is the ever-present question of ‘Who is going to fund this initiative?’ This is a difficult question to answer, but I believe the answer lies in a variety of sources, from governmental funding, private investment, and crowd-funding among others.

Although this post has only gone into the very basics of the circular economy, one of the greatest aspects of a circular economy is that its general form can be applied to a variety of different industries and systems. The unifying themes of reduction of resource use, recycle of used materials, and reduction of waste can be applied to many systems of our current economy, from the agricultural sector to international trade to manufacturing our favorite smartphones 5. With our current technology and knowledge, it is possible to start the shift today. A circular economy will make achievement of the other goals in the Sustainable Development Goals significantly easier and more effective. Change is a necessity if we want to live within our planet’s limitations, and the circular economy is an integral part of achieving the goal of sustainable living. 

Sources (please explore if you’re interested, they’re really informative!):

1. http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-consumption-production/

2. https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/circular-economy/overview/concept

3. http://www.europarl.europa.eu/thinktank/infographics/circulareconomy/public/index.html

4. https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/circular-economy/building-blocks

5. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCRKvDyyHmI

[thxnews]

Canada's Dedication to United Nations Day

The Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, today issued the following statement on United Nations Day:

“In the aftermath of the Second World War, the international community recognized that true peace depends on dialogue, negotiation, and co-operation. On this day in 1945, the United Nations (UN) was born from a mutual commitment to create a better future for everyone, and it continues to serve as the bedrock of the rules-based international order. As we mark United Nations Day, we reaffirm our dedication to upholding the ideals of peace, prosperity, and the rule of law that the UN stands for, and we reiterate the importance of the UN as a pillar of stability in an increasingly unstable world. “As a founding member of the UN, our steadfast commitment to its objectives has helped forge our national identity. Over 125,000 Canadians have participated in close to a hundred peacekeeping efforts around the world. Today, we continue to play a leadership role in important UN initiatives, such as the Vancouver Principles, which focus on preventing the recruitment and use of child soldiers in places where peacekeeping missions operate, and the Elsie Initiative, which promotes women’s meaningful participation in peace operations. “Canada is taking concrete action to advance the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and as a Co-chair of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Advocates Group, I will continue to promote a more peaceful, just, and inclusive future. Last month, while at the UN General Assembly in New York City, I announced over $125 million to support projects in line with the SDGs, as well as $78 million in support for key UN programs, such as the UNDP, UNICEF, UN Women, and the UNFPA. In April 2024, Canada will also welcome the world to Ottawa, Ontario, where it will host the fourth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee, under the UNEP, to develop a new global agreement on plastic pollution and create a greener, cleaner planet. “The UN is a forum to discuss and debate the most pressing global issues. Its institutions and programs play a critical role in helping vulnerable populations. Canada is committed to working with its UN partners to protect human rights, advance gender equality, strengthen the rule of law, address food insecurity in emerging economies and developing nations, and help those who need it most. “On this United Nations Day, we recommit ourselves to the principles enshrined in the UN’s founding charter – the ‘equal rights of men and women and of nations large and small’. On behalf of the Government of Canada, I invite Canadians to learn more about the UN’s mission and to recognize the importance of working together to build a better world for everyone.”   Sources: THX News & The Canadian Government. Read the full article

[giving-hope-to-a-child]

Three of our students at the Vartiker School ready to start a new semester! The School has been in our program since 2016 and shown greate progress. It is 50/50 girl’s and boy’ that benefits from our grants. #liberia #westafrica #educationmatters #africanportrait #unsustainabledevelopmentgoals #solidarity #equality #equalopportunity (ved Liberia, West Africa) https://www.instagram.com/p/CDKHm5nn7an/?igshid=1hzqd5ypzmug9

[societyprofits-blog]

#SocietyProfits from social enterprises like @solarkioskofficial providing renewable energy solutions. #unsustainabledevelopmentgoals https://www.instagram.com/p/B2PJm3YFLkm/?igshid=ztwc8n06gcth

[societyprofits-blog]

#SocietyProfits from companies like Plum Health DPC in Detroit that offer affordable primary healthcare to all. #SocEnt #Detroit #SocialImpact #UNSustainableDevelopmentGoals Find out how to get involved in #SocialImpactProcurement at SocietyProfitsUS.com https://www.instagram.com/p/B1Ho5IHB1cC/?igshid=1e51l55edldm3

[backroomstewdios]

#5 of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals-Susan Denk Founder/Owner of White Crane Construction

[backroomstewdios]

#5 of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals-Kateri Ruiz Founder of MAIA