Category: Environmental, Social, Governance

Last month, I had the privilege of representing NationSwell at a first-of-its-kind gathering in Washington, D.C., where 50 business leaders came together alongside Moms First to advocate for one of the most urgent issues facing our workforce today: child care. 

Together, we met with lawmakers from both sides of the aisle to make the business case for childcare, sharing stories and solutions from across the country. We rallied behind two critical bipartisan bills—the Child Care Availability and Affordability Act, and the Child Care Workforce Act—and left with a clear takeaway: there’s more common ground on this issue than most people realize.

Here are a few reflections I’ve brought back with me.

Allie Mahler and fellow childcare advocates in the U.S. House of Representatives

Child care is essential infrastructure 

Child care isn’t merely a family issue – it’s essential economic infrastructure. Every year, the U.S. economy loses $122 billion due to child care breakdowns and disruptions from absenteeism, turnover, and productivity gaps. 

As Reshma Saujani, Founder & CEO of Moms First put it, “Childcare is the linchpin of economic security.” For families, the cost of child care now exceeds rent in all 50 states, with Americans spending an average of 24% of their annual income on child care expenses. And for employers, inaction means losing critical talent – and having to compensate for turnover and hiring. 

Companies that have stepped up are already seeing measurable returns. Toyota found that even a 1% improvement in workforce retention covered the cost of its child care program. At UPS, a pilot program across 7 sites saw a 70% reduction in turnover and an elimination of 1500 absences by offering back up childcare through Patch Caregiving. The business case isn’t just theoretical—it’s already working.

Employers can’t do this alone

While many companies are stepping up, they can’t solve the child care crisis on their own – nor should we expect them to. Public-private partnerships, smart federal investment, and coordinated local and regional policy efforts are all essential. The private sector has a role to play, but it must be part of a larger ecosystem of support.

Vermont’s Act 76, passed in 2023, represents one of the most significant child care efforts in the United States, bringing together policy makers from across the aisle in addition to businesses, employees, and child care providers. The story behind this legislation illustrates how business leaders and government can effectively partner to address the child care crisis. The groundbreaking legislation created a sustainable public funding mechanism for childcare through a 0.44% payroll tax, expanded eligibility for the Child Care Financial Assistance Program (CCFAP), and introduced the Readiness Payment Program. This collaboration created a governance model with business representation, demonstrating how employer engagement in policy development produces solutions benefiting the entire economic ecosystem. 

At the federal level, we are calling on employers to share stories with their legislators to underscore the importance of investing in child care policy, like The Child Care Availability and Affordability Act, which would broaden the the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit (CDCTC) and Dependent Care Assistance Plans (DCAP) while increasing support for the Employer-Provided Child Care Tax Credit (often referenced as 45F).

There’s no one-size-fits-all solution 

The most effective care solutions are tailored to the needs of each workforce. Onsite care, flexible stipends, back-up care, partnerships with local providers—there are many models that work. The key is listening to your people to identify the underlying needs. Surveys are a starting point, but the most meaningful insights come from deeper conversations. For example, when UPS asked employees why they were missing shifts in a survey, they answered that it was due to illness. Deeper conversations revealed that these employees were staying home for child care challenges – a tangible issue that the company could help solve through a back-up care program. Leaders who take time to understand what employees really need build stronger programs and a more engaged workforce.

We’ve continued to see incredible solutions when it comes to taking care of employees and constituents from organizations like Mirza, Patch Caregiving, Upwards, Executives Partnering to Invest in Children (EPIC), TOOTRiS, Wellthy, Steamboat Resort, Park City’s Childcare Scholarship Program and so many more.

As Nando Cesarone, EVP & U.S. President at UPS says, “When you deliver for your people, they deliver for your customers.”

Awareness and access are key

Even in states with strong family leave policies, many employees don’t take advantage of these benefits simply because they’re unaware of what’s available or have difficulty navigating the process. Offering benefits isn’t enough—employers must take an active role in communicating clearly, simplifying the steps to access benefits, and fostering a culture where utilizing family benefits is normalized and supported. The ROI supports this investment – companies that invest in child care benefits can see an ROI from 90% up to 425% as evidenced by Moms First and BCG’s study The Employee Benefit That Pays for Itself. Implementing a ‘Care Concierge’ through an organization like Mirza or Wellthy, or an Employee Benefits Navigator through your HR team can make a big difference in supporting employees and ensuring they understand how to access and utilize existing benefits. 

Your voice matters

Throughout the day, one theme kept coming up: elected officials are listening. Whether you’re a business leader, parent, or advocate, your story can shape policy. Don’t underestimate the impact of a conversation, a phone call, or a personal note to your representative. Check out this resource page from Moms First and First Five Action from The First Five Years Fund to make your voice heard.

Child care is critical to how we build a thriving, inclusive economy. That’s why NationSwell created The Case for Childcare Collaborative in partnership with The Annie E. Casey Foundation and the American Family Insurance Dreams Foundation, among many more collaborators. This platform gives employers the insights, tools, and real-world strategies to lead on this issue and, just as importantly, to partner with others. Because meaningful change doesn’t happen in isolation. It happens when business leaders, caregivers, advocates, and policymakers come together around a shared vision. The care crisis is solvable. When we act with urgency, compassion, and collective resolve, we build the future working families deserve.

Allie Mahler is VP of Strategy & Studio Partnerships at NationSwell and leads the Case for Childcare Collaborative. Connect with her on LinkedIn or reach out to learn more about our work.

Smoking has long been acknowledged to be dangerous — no parent would recommend their kids take it up if they want to live a long, healthy life. But few people realize that air pollution has now moved ahead of tobacco and poor diet as a risk of death. As technology advances and wildfires rage due to excess deforestation and increased planet temperatures, are we spending enough time thinking about how innovation like AI can be leveraged to prioritize clean air and other essential resources in our future? 

Coupa and NationSwell are launching the Equal Air Collaborative to bring together leaders from across sectors to champion solutions to combat air pollution, ensuring that everyone — whatever their background, and wherever they live — has access to clean air and essential natural resources; and we are looking for other innovators to join us.

Every year, air pollution contributes to more than 10 million deaths globally. 99% of us are exposed, but some people suffer the health consequences more than others due to over-exposure or vulnerability — for example, low income communities, indigenous communities, children and older adults all experience greater pollution damage to their lungs and overall health. 

Despite shifts toward more sustainable processes and electric vehicles, EPA figures show that the combined emissions from industry, electric power and transportation contribute 76% of carbon air pollution. Plus, the increase in wildfires due to excess deforestation and increased planet temperatures are creating untenable levels of smoke. This is a global issue, as air particles know no borders, and it is an issue that affects certain communities more than others: lower income families are more likely to live near highways and factories, exposing them to greater risk of illness. 

We need innovation to ensure everyone has access to clean air. Coupa is an AI native, industry leading total spend management platform for businesses large and small, who have been leaning in to address the clean air emergency. In addition to their net zero carbon and SBTi validated climate reduction goals, in 2022 Coupa launched the Equal Air Project in partnership with Earth Watch, Sustainable Silicon Valley, and Yale School of Public Health. Coupa volunteers placed specialized sensors across the San Francisco Bay Area to test and monitor air quality. Yale School of Public Health monitored and analyzed data across two months to better understand local level exposures. The results proved that the quality of the air we breathe differs dramatically by zip code. 

Why should businesses like Coupa address access to clean air? Because it makes business sense. Skilled, reliable talent is hard to find, but if employees breathe polluted air they are more likely to get sick and experience reduced cognitive performance. Globally, 1.2 billion workdays are lost due to air pollution, and it’s projected to reach 3.8 billion days by 2060. 

As billions of dollars are pumped into AI development, we should consider how these powerful new tools can be used to solve systemic issues, some of which most people are completely unaware of — so-called hidden pollutants. Car tires, for example, are a highly dangerous pollutant that are yet to be regulated by any government. 

AI and big data can help us create inventive new ways to monitor and understand the emissions that exist. For example, a Penn State-led research team used AI and mobility data to improve the accuracy of air pollution predictive models by an average of 17.5%., which allows for more targeted interventions and mitigation for vulnerable areas. This type of improved modelling could make a significant impact when used at scale in industries. Dr. Krystal Pollitt at the Yale School of Public Health has created a wristband that allows individuals to understand their exposure to environmental chemicals around them utilizing AI. 

However,  while AI and technology broadly can significantly increase monitoring and detection of air molecules, it can also have a negative impact on air quality if we don’t consider the full life cycle of its development: the rapid expansion of data centers and energy use are leading some to warn of an oncoming energy crisis in the US. China offers us an insight into what this means for the air we breathe — studies show that increases in electricity consumption in China are associated with decreases in the air quality index.  

As AI becomes an evermore integrated presence in every aspect of our lives and particularly in the business sector, it’s essential for members of the business community to consider how their AI-powered products and services influence the air being breathed in and out every day by their employees, partners, and customers. 

Equal Air Collaborative held a conversation on The Bottom Line: Collective Action for Clean Air on Wednesday, April 24th to learn more and discuss solutions for a more responsible path forward.

Wristband photos from Dr. Krystal Pollitt at the Yale School of Public Health

Niagara Cares is Planting 125,000 Trees for a Greener Future

In today’s rapidly evolving corporate landscape, sustainability is not just a buzzword—it’s a critical component of responsible business practices.

As part of a series of ambitious initiatives for 2024, Niagara Cares, the philanthropic division of Niagara Bottling, is planting 125,000 trees across the United States and Mexico.

Ann Canela, Director of Corporate Giving at Niagara Bottling, encapsulates the mission: “Making a positive difference in our communities has been our priority for over 60 years. We are grateful for our partnerships and honored to support our communities by creating greener and healthier environments.”

Trees offer a multitude of benefits that span environmental, social, and economic realms. Environmentally, they improve air quality, conserve water, and support biodiversity. Socially, trees enhance community well-being by providing green spaces for recreation, promoting mental health, and offering educational opportunities. Economically, they contribute to energy savings and increase property values. Overall, trees are vital to creating healthier, more resilient, and vibrant communities.

Canela furthered: “We understand the profound impact our actions today will have on future generations, and we believe that businesses have a crucial role to play in fostering a sustainable future. The initiative to plant 125,000 trees is driven by Niagara’s dedication to environmental conservation and community well-being.”

In conjunction with incredible nonprofit partners such as Arbor Day Foundation and the National Forest Foundation, they are planting these trees torestore degraded areas and improve communities. The trees also contribute significantly to our efforts to restore 130 million gallons of water to the Colorado River and revitalize 7 miles along the Rio Grande.

Trees provide innumerable benefits, which include:

Environmental Benefits

1. Carbon Sequestration: Trees are nature’s powerhouse in the fight against climate change, absorbing carbon dioxide (CO₂) from the atmosphere. On average, a single tree can absorb about 48 pounds of CO₂ annually. By planting 125,000 trees, we will help remove approximately 6 million pounds of CO₂ from the atmosphere each year.
2. Air Quality Improvement: Trees act as natural air purifiers, trapping dust, pollen, and other pollutants. They also release oxygen, essential for all life. Improved air quality leads to healthier communities and a more vibrant, productive workforce.
3. Water Conservation: Trees play a crucial role in conserving water by reducing runoff and erosion. Their root systems enhance soil structure, allowing water to infiltrate and recharge groundwater supplies. This is particularly vital in urban areas where impermeable surfaces dominate.
4. Biodiversity Support: Trees provide habitat and nourishment for a wide range of wildlife, supporting biodiversity. This, in turn, helps maintain balanced ecosystems that are resilient to environmental changes.

Social Benefits

1. Community Well-being: Green spaces with trees offer recreational opportunities and enhance the aesthetic appeal of neighborhoods. They provide a natural setting for physical activities, relaxation, and social interactions, contributing to the overall well-being of communities.
2. Mental Health: Studies have shown that exposure to green spaces can reduce stress, anxiety, and depression. Trees and nature have a calming effect, promoting mental health and well-being.
3. Educational Opportunities: Tree-planting initiatives can serve as educational platforms, raising awareness about environmental issues and fostering a sense of responsibility among participants, especially the younger generation.

Economic Benefits

1. Energy Savings: Strategically planted trees can reduce energy costs by providing shade in the summer and windbreaks in the winter. This can lead to significant savings on heating and cooling expenses for businesses and homes alike.
2. Property Value: Properties with well-maintained trees and green spaces tend to have higher market values. This can be a boon for real estate investments and community development projects.

The team at Niagara is currently filming a documentary with Good News Network, which will showcase their efforts in restoration.

“We invite our partners, Team Members, and stakeholders to join us in this endeavor and follow our progress, as we work together to create a greener, healthier, and more sustainable world,” said Canela.

Niagara Bottling is a sponsor of the NationSwell Summit 2024. Learn more about the event here.

NationSwell has spent nearly a year facilitating  the ‘Putting Place-Based Impact Into Practice’ Collaborative: an initiative focused on uncovering opportunities for more funders to implement  place-based philanthropic strategies that ensure that growth and development in different geographies across the U.S. is community-centered, enriching for local and new residents, and equitable for all. 

To understand the significance of place-based strategies and why buy-in across the public and private sectors is essential to their success, we spoke with two of our Collaborative experts: Tomi Hiers, Vice President of the Center for Civic Sites and Community Change at the Annie E. Casey Foundation (Casey), and Tony Pipa, Senior Fellow, Global Economy and Development, Center for Sustainable Development at the Brookings Institution.

Here’s what they had to say:

NationSwell: Tell us a little about the work you do as it relates to place-based impact. What’s unique about the work you’re leading? What are the strategies, approaches, or models you use to reach your goals? Tomi, let’s start with you.

Hiers: Casey’s place-based work — that we call community change work — supports local efforts to improve communities where young people and their families live, work and play, in the Foundation’s hometowns of Baltimore and Atlanta, as well as strategic initiatives in targeted cities across the country. Our work continues to be undergirded by the belief that strong communities are possible when young people have the family connections, relationships, communities and educational and employment opportunities they need to thrive.

Our current approach has evolved, informed by lessons from earlier place-based initiatives. Take our first attempt at large-scale community change, New Futures. This five-year effort launched in 1988, and aimed to improve opportunities for kids living in low-income neighborhoods and at-risk of dropping out of high school. It taught us some key lessons for this type of work. What really stuck with me was that addressing issues narrowly defined by institutions does not change individual lives. Plus, not every community is ready to take on comprehensive change; and you have to make space for mid-course corrections.

Making Connections (1999) was another example. It was a really ambitious 10-year community change initiative launched in ten sites across the country, aimed at improving the lives of children using a comprehensive approach towards strengthening families. We learned many things — critically, the importance of integrating services for children and parents; recognizing unique challenges each community faces; understanding complexities of managing and measuring community change; setting realistic goals and defining effective ways to harness and learn from data.

NationSwell: Amazing — thank you for such a comprehensive overview and insights. Tony, you are focused on rural communities. Tell us more about your approach.

Pipa: I lead two different initiatives around place-based impact: 

Firstly, I work with local government officials and leaders of local institutions in cities, globally, that use the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a policy framework. The SDGs require a data and goal-driven discipline, where targets are set with transparent, concrete metrics and an end date; this can mobilize collective action and widespread participation and partnerships. Since they are a global framework, it also allows local residents to see the solutions they pursue in their own community as a contribution to progress at a global scale. 

Secondly, I focus on improving the effectiveness of federal policy to support and improve economic opportunities and resilience in rural places that have been left behind in the U.S, and are exceptionally diverse, racially, geographically, and economically. These small towns have limited governance capacity – volunteer elected officials, thinly staffed city halls, limited ecosystem of nonprofit and public institutions, and people involved in place-based strategies may already hold multiple positions in the community. However, people from different socio-economic backgrounds are more closely integrated in rural communities, and the lack of bureaucracy means progress can happen more immediately with the right people and resources. 

NationSwell: This work requires such human empathy with the communities you serve. I’d love to know more about your personal journeys into this work. Was there a moment in your personal life or in your professional journey that led you here?

Hiers: My mom was a longtime union member and organizer (I call her Norma Rae!), so I have always focused on finding ways to “make things better” for others. I almost followed in her footsteps to become an organizer, but instead began my career in the Baltimore Mayor’s Office, coordinating a community violence prevention program which sought to not only reduce crime, but reduce the “fear of crime.” The voices of the people who lived in the communities where the work took place were integral in setting priorities, developing strategy and getting the work done. 

I am fortunate to have been taught to not only understand and respect the expertise that exists in communities, but the magic that can happen when community leaders and those who oversee agencies and institutions work together, crafting holistic solutions to tackle problems. Deep collaboration has been a constant throughout my career and it remains important.

Pipa: The primary objective underlying my professional career has been to address the root causes of poverty and open up opportunities for people who are marginalized in their efforts to fulfill their potential, whether because of their race or where they live. My very first job was as the first executive director and employee of a local Habitat for Humanity affiliate, and it showed me how the community itself – the physical place and its local history, institutions, culture, level of political power and investment – was central in defining the realm of possibility available to the people living there. 

As someone who grew up in a rural town of about 2,000 in central Pennsylvania, I have an intrinsic appreciation of how my place molded me – my values, my dreams, my aspirations. While “identity” is a word oft-used to describe our politics today, we generally think about it in relation to a person, forgetting that communities have identities too – and that the future prospects of a place are closely linked to its identity. 

NationSwell: We’ve been hearing about the idea of “thinking globally and acting locally” in some form since 1915, when Patrick Geddes wrote Cities in Evolution. But from your perspective what’s behind the recent surge of interest in place-based impact?

Pipa: Inequality has surged in the last several decades, with growing awareness of the extent to which wealth and income have aggregated at the very top of the socio-economic scale. Yet that surge in inequality is not confined to individuals – our country has also experienced rapid and significant geographic inequality. A small cohort of “superstar” cities have primarily driven economic growth in the U.S. since the mid-2000s, leaving behind many other communities, especially places in the middle of the country and rural areas. Even before the pandemic struck in early 2020, employment and labor rate participation in rural areas had not recovered to levels experienced before the Great Recession of 2008. Recognizing that places have been left out and left behind has captured the country’s attention, with renewed interest in undertaking strategies and approaches that can more evenly distribute prosperity, economic security, and resilience across the country at the macro level and across different communities and neighborhoods at the micro level. 

Hiers: I have always believed that people with lived experience should be involved in defining the issues that impact them and developing the necessary solutions. That thinking has become more widely accepted, post 2020, in my opinion. Increasingly, there are expectations that advisory boards and committees include impacted populations or that there will be mechanisms for the “voices” of those who are impacted to be a part of the processes of finding solutions.

Lessons that Casey learned through its earliest community change work, include the belief that resident involvement and leadership can mean the difference between short-lived and lasting change in a community and that residents should be actively involved in shaping their neighborhood’s future. In Baltimore, the Workforce Development Board — charged with guiding the expenditure of federal workforce funds — now not only has a committee focused on youth workforce needs, but that committee actually includes young people and meets during times that are convenient for them.  

NationSwell: What do you think is most promising about place-based strategies and their ability to support thriving communities?

Pipa: Change must be owned and led by the people who live in a community for it to be successful and sustained. From my perspective, place-based strategies force us to rebuild our democratic muscle – ie, they help communities create governance models, collaboration, partnerships, and even interpersonal relationships that are literally democracy in action, with people coming together to create solutions to the problems their communities face or to expand opportunities for their collective future. From an informal coalition of farmers in rural Michigan who jointly negotiated a revenue-sharing lease for a major clean energy project, to an initiative where the leaders of fifteen jurisdictions worked together to create shared priorities on managing the growth brought by a major industrial development in central Ohio, I have been amazed to witness the diversity of cooperation reflected in different place-based strategies, and it offers optimism for our future as a country. 

Hiers: I think the practice of joining existing work happening in communities, rather than starting from scratch, is very promising. As a national funder, Casey appreciates and takes advantage of opportunities to join, support and strengthen existing community-based initiatives, bringing not only our investments but also what we have learned over the years to those efforts. 

NationSwell: What are some of the biggest challenges — systemic or otherwise — in the space for you, and for your peer leaders?

Hiers:  Single or even clusters of neighborhoods are not the unit of scale that is necessary for long-term change. So, leaders must think simultaneously about short-term outcomes and the on-ramp to long-term outcomes. In other words, we should think about the path toward making things better not just for the kids in one school, but the kids in the entire school district.

Pipa: In an increasingly polarized political environment, divisions and differences in communities have become sharper and sometimes even threatening. This makes it challenging to build the trust and relationships that can enable place-based partnerships to succeed. It can even make it hard for people to believe in the possibility of coming together for collaborative action, dampening that all-important currency: a sense of hope.

Also, for place-based partnerships, depth of impact may be as important or as consequential as breadth of impact. This may require a shift in language or mindset for some philanthropies, and require time and a willingness to change. 

NationSwell: Thank you for sharing your experience on this issue. To finish, is there a call to action you have for others who are interested in putting place-based strategies into practice?

Hiers: First, think about how the program or innovation will gain traction to positively impact more people over time. Working with systems, agencies and institutions matters: programmatic interventions are not a permanent solution for deeply entrenched issues that typically reside in public agencies. 

Second, make space at the table for everyone, including community residents and young people. Resident involvement and leadership can mean the difference between short-lived and lasting change. 

Third, join existing efforts, versus starting from scratch. Finally, tell stories and don’t be afraid to share lessons, even the bad ones. Understanding what did not work is just as important as understanding what worked.

Pipa: 1. Set a diverse table and be intentional about building relationships and trust. I recently talked with a place-based collaborative redressing local health disparities that over its couple-decade existence has started every meeting with a meal. 

2. Listen, then lead from behind. Let communities fashion their own agenda based on their own unique history, political dynamics, and set of partners and relationships – and then support that. 

3. Challenge yourself to recognize that depth of impact may sometimes be what the situation calls for.

4. Provide a platform for stories from the very beginning. The stories a community tells about itself are a key part of a community’s identity – support and reinforce this, and above all, don’t forget it!

Amid extreme and unprecedented worldwide pressures, global hunger and food insecurity remain at an all-time high. According to a United Nations report, up to 783 million people faced serious hunger in 2022, and 2.4 billion lacked access to adequate food to feed themselves or their families.

In celebration of World Food Day this week, NationSwell is profiling some of the social impact and sustainability leaders in its community whose standard-setting initiatives are advancing global food security in innovative, scalable, and measurable ways. 

For this installment, NationSwell interviewed Meghann Glavin, director of Global Responsibility at Starbucks Coffee Company, on the programs she and her team are leading to address hunger in communities across the world. Here’s what she had to say.

Anthony Smith, Editor at Large, NationSwell: What are some of the initiatives you and your team are leading at Starbucks to help advance food security?

Meghann Glavin, director of Global Responsibility, Starbucks Coffee Company: In 2016, inspired by our partners who advocated for a program, we launched the Starbucks FoodShare donation program in partnership with Feeding America, Second Harvest Canada and other hunger-relief organizations. Since then, we have invested more than $60 million into hunger relief and donated the equivalent of 50 million meals. 

We are especially proud that, for the majority of our stores, we rescue our own food – leveraging our broad logistics network to backhaul and consolidate food from thousands of stores every night. This takes unnecessary trucks off the road and removes the logistics burden from food banks and agencies who can then focus on serving communities and clients.  

Smith, NationSwell: What impact have these initiatives — and others like them at Starbucks — had on hunger?

Glavin, Starbucks: I shared the scale of impact from FoodShare on our communities – and we are also proud that as part of our commitment to the planet, the more than 60 million pounds of food we have donated have also diverted more than 120 million pounds of CO2 equivalent from waste streams.  

Beyond FoodShare, we are also proud of the work we have done with Feeding America through our Equitable Food Access Grants. Over the last 3 years, we have invested more than $5M into this innovative grant program, which has resulted in the distribution of 7 million pounds of food, serviced more than 1 million individuals, including 280,000 children, and engaged more than 3,000 neighbors and 400 community partner organizations.  

And, I’m most inspired by the stories about the thousands of people who make this program happen every day – our partners who pack food daily and volunteer at hunger relief organizations regularly connecting with their communities, delivery truck drivers who make the program possible, and the creative chefs at food banks and agencies who are repurposing Starbucks food items to make amazing meals for their clients. Read more about the individuals directly engaged in the FoodShare program. 

Smith, NationSwell: Why is this issue important to your organization, and why does this issue matter to you personally?

Glavin, Starbucks: According to Feeding America, more than 34 million people, including 9 million children, are food insecure in the United States alone, which means it is in every community we serve. From our first store in Pike Place Market – which works closely with the Pike Place Market Food Bank – we have always been about so much more than great coffee. Our mission is deeply rooted in community. 

We believe it is our role and responsibility to help strengthen the communities we serve and give back more than we take from the planet. Our partners (employees) see hunger in their communities and their care and concern drives and sustains this work.   

Smith, NationSwell Do you have a call to action to other sustainability or impact leads at other organizations large and small? Do you have a call to action to the general public?

Glavin, Starbucks: In addition to food insecurity, food waste is a major issue for climate change. According to WWF, we could reduce human caused greenhouse gas emissions by 6-8% if we stop wasting food. We have proven through this work that we can get food to those who need it and divert it from landfill, all inspired by our partners, our customers and communities. There are systems in place to make this possible, and we encourage others to join us and other leading companies.