Reduced Inequalities

Reduce inequality within and among countries.

Too much of the world’s wealth is held by a very small group of people. This often leads to financial and social discrimination. In order for nations to flourish, equality and prosperity must be available to everyone - regardless of gender, race, religious beliefs or economic status. When every individual is self sufficient, the entire world prospers.

Business Avenger: Unilever

"Unilever has been a purpose-driven company from its origins. Today, our purpose is simple but clear – to make sustainable living commonplace. We believe that business growth should not be at the expense of people and the planet. That’s why we’re changing the way we do business, and why we want to change the way business is done.

We are proud to support the Business Avengers campaign representing SDG 10, Reduced Inequalities. The gap between the haves and the have-nots is already too great – and, in many places, it is growing, as wealth and opportunity are shared inequitably. This is simply not fair or sustainable. The system has to change. A sustainable business is an inclusive business. We work with small scale retailers and young entrepreneurs helping them to grow their businesses and join our value chain. We’re proud to support SDG 10 to reduce economic inequality because a sustainable world is everyone’s business."

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Get to grips with the Guiding principles on Business and Human Rights to ensure they are being implemented across your operations.

Case Studies

Unilever: Mr Green Africa

Waste management is a huge issue in Africa and Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, is no exception. The city produces around 2,400 tonnes a day, of which roughly 60% is collected and only around 10% recycled. The rest is dumped illegally or burned.

But there’s a group of people who have spotted an opportunity: to collect waste and sell it on. They aren’t employed by anyone. These are marginalised people who are simply trying to scrape together a living to survive. As such, they are routinely exploited by traders who pay them a pittance or don’t buy from them at all.

That’s what Unilever are trying to address through their partnership with Mr Green Africa, who “see these waste pickers as invisible heroes. They are the ones creating the most value in the whole waste-recycling chain. They are also making a positive contribution to society and the environment.” Unilever have a long-standing partnership with Mr Green Africa to formalise waste pickers and allow them to gain a fair wage for their work. In 2019 they supported the business to scale up with an investment to help increase processing capacity and produce higher value recycled products in larger volumes while providing employment and fair pay for workers.

Find out more here.

Microsoft and UNHCR partnership

Refugees are one of the most digitally excluded populations in the world, from the digital world most of us take for granted. The greatest way to empower underdeveloped and at-risk communities is through giving individuals the fundamental opportunities to reach their full potential. That is the goal of UNHCR and Microsoft’s strategic partnership that harnesses their combined expertise, resources and advocacy to empower young refugees, and youth from the surrounding communities, with future ready skills to help them achieve more.

Through the Connected Education program, Microsoft and UNHCR are working together to create a future where young refugees, especially young girls, have access to digital inclusion, including computer science, certified training and livelihood opportunities. The program aims to reach 25,000 refugee and host community youth with digital skills and computer science trainings by the end of 2020 in Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya with an emphasis on including 50% young women. From there, the goal is to establish a model to scale to two additional countries to reach 100,000 refugee and displaced youth.

Find out more here and here.

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The Global Goals Business Avengers