Sustainability Awards – Yes
Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen
Publication (Outlet/Website): Trusted Clothes (Unpublished)
Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2016
I want to bring something to your attention. Something that came to mind for me from reading. I was reading about the United Nations. I was reading about the United Nations Chief Ban Ki-Moon. And he had pointed out the 10 champions and pioneers of social entrepreneurship for corporate sustainability. I thought, “Cool!”
These aligned or are meant to align with universal principles of human rights, environment, and anticorruption. These are common terms in the United Nations. These, I think, are important awards. I feel as though these get impetus to modern problems. Issues of sustainability. Concerns over climate change. Problems of corruption getting in the darn way of the processes.
We need changes and big ones. And we can scale to the big or small depending on the problem. The founder, Zubaida Bai, created a for-profit social venture called ‘Ayzh.’ It provides health and livelihood for impoverished women throughout the world. Neat, all of it around the UN Global Compact. Ten basic principles, and other stuff, about businesses being sustainable and socially responsible. Important stuff, right?
I want businesses in my society to reflect international standards. If they didn’t, how would that reflect on the country, on the corporation or business, and the citizens that permit it? It’s constitutional democracy with almost unprecedented freedoms and ability to organize socially. Why not organize, socialize, or corporatize (in Bai’s case)? We need to align corporate interests with international principles. Principles of human rights, environment, anticorruption, and labor.
There’s other precedents too. Things like the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals also known as the SDG (almost like a rap group).
All of this awarding and mentioning took place at the Global Compact Leaders Summit. Mr. Moon congratulated 10 major people, rightly. And so the emphasis of the event was on with a strengthening engagement for business and the sustainable development goals. These folks had a vision. They pursued, and accomplished that vision. And that’s not even the half of it, not even close. Because there’s projected to be trillions of dollars to be spent on infrastructure throughout the globe. That’s incredible! It’s an incomprehensible sum of money, especially to most people working regular jobs and not running international corporations or economic ‘powerhouse’ countries. Which means this is money influenced by the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals (meant for completion by 2030), I argue money being put to good use.
This would be invested in infrastructure to create a clean-energy, climate resilient, and sustainable set of economies. These awards got me thinking. What about ramping up the scale o this stuff or the small players? Most will never have international recognition. Some will have local recognition. Why not scale our efforts appropriately? Blogs, networks, companies, form committees or working groups to set up sets of awards in categories for sustainable fashion. These all geared towards small players, e.g. new businesses or new models or novel ideas for reduction of carbon output on your local fashion scene, yo.
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