IlluMyFi

Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Facebook Messenger Email This year in 2024, all 270plus Fellows from across the Western Hemisphere, along with their Fellowship Placement Organizations and their Cohort Ambassadors, will work on inspiring projects that will contribute to the social and economic prosperity within the United States and across 37 countries in the region. Sludtera Inc. would like to congratulate the two St. Lucians who will be representing their companies, and St. Lucia; Miranda George Arthur and Anja Rose Fernand. Miranda Nacia George Arthur Miranda works in the technology and education sector as the Creative and Technology Director of Techtronknights. For business professionals, students, and teachers seeking assistance and training in fields related to information technology that desire to be treated as willing students rather than as customers. Techtronknights is an information technology company that adapts and makes use of all its resources to help each student grow, establishing rapport and trust with them. Students see Techtronknights employees as problem-solvers who are there to educate and encourage them. Miranda aims to fully digitize operations and provide a multi-resource digital platform in the short term and ultimately to team up with various non-profit organizations to create opportunities for technology students in Saint Lucia. Anja Rose Fernand Anja works in the agriculture and animal care sector as the Founder and President of Food Harmony Incorporated. For health-conscious female professionals aged between thirty and sixty-five, farmers that want to purchase planting material for commercial cultivation, and young people aged between eight and thirty seeking farm-based mentoring and employability education. Food Harmony Incorporated is a food production company that grows nutritious fruits on its organic/regenerative farms and sells them fresh or preserved as frozen fruits, dried fruits, and healthy vegan baked goods to busy professionals, providing them with consistent, healthy, and delicious ingredients and snacks throughout the year, even during off-seasons. Both Anja and Miranda will travel to the United States for a six-week Fellowship which is fully-funded by the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational & Cultural Affairs. SLUDTERA Inc. is a business development consulting firm which sources, connects, and empowers youth, MSMEs and the unemployed, through education, training, and entrepreneurship, while YLAI is a U.S. Department of State's flagship program for emerging entrepreneurs and business leaders from Latin America, the Caribbean, and Canada. Designed to promote mutual understanding and build a network of young business and social entrepreneurs, the programme brings young leaders to the U.S. for entrepreneurial leadership training and fellowships with U.S. companies and social enterprises. The YLAI Program is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State with funding provided by the U.S. Government and supported in its implementation by IREX. Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Facebook Messenger Email

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13.01.24 03:42

by thevoiceslu.com

Navigating the Sustainability Revolution: The Power of SDG Impact Standards in B...

Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Facebook Messenger Email Dr Axel Kravatzky is the managing partner of TT-based Syntegra-360 Ltd, vice-chair of ISO/TC309 Governance of Organizations and president of EUROCHAMTT. He enables companies to flourish, helping them increase the sustainable value they generate through integrated governance, certified management systems, and transformational leadership. The United Nations' Agenda 2030, adopted in 2015, with its ambitious set of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and 169 targets, was agreed to by all governments. Across the Caribbean and other parts of the world, transformation is underway. In 2023, we have reached the halfway mark and can look back at what we have achieved. The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) reports that the situation in the Caribbean is not too dissimilar from that of the rest of the world: 23% of our goals are reported to be on track after 50% of our allocated time has passed. In some areas, we have even moved away from the target. The disconnect between aspirations and commitment, from action and achievement, has become apparent. The Current Challenges in Achieving Sustainability The traditional "business as usual" model is ineffective in addressing our current sustainability crises. Despite widespread acknowledgement of the need for change, progress in achieving the SDGs is far too slow. Some have put their hope in the new global consensus Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) frameworks - within the Caribbean, mainly the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) standards published this year because they will likely be adopted within the Caribbean in the coming years. However, these ESG frameworks, while valuable in promoting awareness and transparency, predominantly focus on how sustainability issues impact the company rather than how the company impacts sustainability issues. Even those that incorporate double materiality - considering outcomes for people and the planet as well as the financial impact on the firm, as is the case with the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) - focus primarily on reporting and not decision-making processes that prioritize well-being and real impact. A telling indicator of this discrepancy is the rise in ESG-branded funds, which has not corresponded with equivalent progress in achieving the SDGs. This situation suggests a decoupling of investment growth from actual sustainable development, highlighting the shortcomings of current approaches. The Need for a Transformative Pivot in Business Sustainability To address these shortcomings, there is a pressing need for businesses to pivot towards a new vision of sustainability. This transformation involves shifting: From profit-only focus to financial and non-financial value creation From short term to long-term decision making From sustainability as an add-on to a core feature of how all business gets done From shareholder-only value to multistakeholder val...