Over the past 21 years, Unilever U.S. and Enactus have formed an incredible partnership in an effort to positively impact lives and create a brighter future for all. The strong beliefs shared by Unilever and Enactus, a community of student, academic and business leaders committed to using the power of entrepreneurial action to transform lives and shape a better, more sustainable world, have inspired thousands of young people to help create a better world.
The Unilever Enactus chapter recently won the Community Impact Award and was picked from over 100 applicants by Diversity Best Practices, an organization of corporate employee groups working in the space of Diversity & Inclusion. Groups nominated for this award had to demonstrate a clear contribution to the community and an improvement to its well-being.
Unilever Enactus won the award for the group’s efforts toward achieving Sustainable Development Goal #2: Zero Hunger, one of several goals Unilever has committed to helping achieve. Unilever Enactus works with Enactus students and alumni to take action and help drive Unilever’s commitments to achieving the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goal. One of the main ways Unilever Enactus does this is through the “Unilever Bright Future Project Grant.”
Here is more about the program….
- NEED: Upwards of 15% of Americans, including 16 million children, live in food insecure households where a lack of money and/or resources means there is not consistent access to quality food and nutrition.
- STRATEGY: Of the three big goals outlined in the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan, one in particular is focused on addressing this issue: by 2020 we will help more than a billion people take action to improve their health and well-being.
- ACTION: Worked with a team of Unilever employees, with strong support from senior leadership, to develop the Unilever Bright Future Project Accelerator (UBFPA), a grant competition that empowers students to take sustainable, entrepreneurial actions in their communities. Grant winners implement innovative projects that apply sustainable solutions towards achieving food security in the United States in alignment with Global Goal 2: Zero Hunger. This includes our winning project, Mobile Fresh by La Sierra University, which was a city bus turned into a grocery store full of nutritious foods for competitive prices combined with a robust neighborhood education program.
- RESULTS: Since 2013, over 50 Enactus college teams have applied for the UBFPA each year. The applications are narrowed down to the Top 20 who all receive a mentor from Unilever to help guide them in their efforts to reach their goal over a six-month time frame. To date, the projects have collectively impacted over 75,000 people across the United States, empowering them to live healthier and more nutritious lives.
Learn more about the great work of Enactus.