ECOLOGIA’s Work:
Bridging the Global-Local Gap
ECOLOGIA’s programs bring international perspectives and resources to local sustainable development projects, and bring locally based ‘on the ground’ experience back to the world of international decision making.
Our programs combine a practical focus on local projects with direct involvement in international policy-making arenas. We believe that local leaders create the best, most sustainable long-term solutions to problems, and that this local experience should shape the development of national and international decisions.
ECOLOGIA works by creating direct people-to-people connections. By linking individuals to one another, we foster the emergence of a global civil society — a worldwide network of individuals and organizations sharing common interests, information and resources.
With staff, colleagues, and partners around the globe, ECOLOGIA is building global connections to create civil society and support sustainable development initiatives.
"Building Global Connections
to Create Civil Society
and Support Environmental, Social and Economic Sustainability"
|
|
ECOLOGIA works with innovative leaders in dynamic, fluid situations - often before trends are dominant or even clear to others.
ISO 26000 - Global Guidance for Social Responsibility
Copenhagen, May 2010: The ISO Working Group on Social Responsibility has finalized its international guidance standard for all organizations, on how to improve their environmental, economic and social impacts through implementing "social responsibility". Notable at the Copenhagen Plenary was the active participation of key delegations which had voted "no" on the previous draft: India, China, and the Gulf States among them.The very hopeful feeling is that we have taken a giant step forward in global governance, by voicing and listening to different perspectives.
For more information, see "ECOLOGIA Works on the ISO Global Social Responsibility Standard".
ECOLOGIA's "Sustainable Fibers" Project
Herders shear fine quality cashmere from purebred Alashan goats in China's Inner Mongolia. This is the first step in the long journey of the global cashmere supply chain. In the past several decades, unsustainable expansion of herds has led to over-grazing,desertification and environmental degradation in the region.
ECOLOGIA is working in cooperation with goat and camel herders' cooperatives and factories in Inner Mongolia, China to: - support herders' efforts to create environmentally and economically sustainable sources of income,
- promote restoration of desert and grasslands ecosystems damaged by decades of overgrazing, and
- create a global supply chain for sustainably raised and fairly traded cashmere and camel products.
Our work on this project is supported by the Ford Foundation.
Analysis by Randy Kritkausky - Caravans of Hope: Camels, Tea and Entrepreneurs on the Silk Road in the 21st Century
Photo Essay: Working toward a sustainable camel and cashmere fiber supply chain
SURE- SUpport for Responsible Enterprises
An ECOLOGIA Sustainability Initiative
ECOLOGIA seeks to provide recognition for businesses that are rising stars in the universe of social and environmental responsibility, and by doing so, to offer recognition and support to businesses at the early stages of their emergence into regional or international markets, when such support is most needed.
On Earth Day, April 22, 2010, ECOLOGIA launched SURE, with its recognition of The Alashan Cashmere and Camel regional branding initiative in Inner Mongolia. Emerging Inner Mongolian herder cooperatives, regional Cashmere and Camel Associations, and established fiber processors/manufacturers are working together. They are addressing issues of desertification, poverty alleviation, environmental health, biodiversity, and cultural preservation.
For more information on SURE, click here.
For an overview of ECOLOGIA's programs in China, click here
|
