PepsiCo, Frito-Lay, 2 Others Boost 3 SDGs Pertaining to Women and Inequality

PepsiCo and Plano-based Frito Lay are feeling the pain of women who have lost their jobs due to COVID-19.

It is estimated that millions of women have been forced to stay at home due to the pandemic.

PepsiCo and its Plano-based subsidiary Frito Lay have partnered with a number of Dallas nonprofits including CitySquare to eliminate social barriers and help southern Dallas women get back to work, reported The Dallas Morning News.

Despite generous hopes and plans, Fortune noted that “Recent projections based on economic scenarios modeled by McKinsey and Oxford Economics estimate that employment for women may not recover to pre-pandemic levels until 2024—two full years after a recovery for men.”

There is a real danger that female labor force participation could face its steepest sustained decline since World War II. Female workforce participation has already dropped to 57%—the lowest level since 1988, according to the National Women’s Law Center.

Fortune reported that the statistics show a harsher journey for women both during and through the recovery of the pandemic. McKinsey said as unemployment numbers were roughly equal between men and women in February 2020, unemployment for women peaked at 15.8% in April 2020, more than 2 percentage points above that for men. In September, when schools resumed, many of them with remote learning, 80% of the 1.1 million people who exited the workforce were women. In December, women accounted for all of the net job losses, while men achieved some job gains. Today, unemployment for women remains 1.9 percentage points above the pre-pandemic level.

Since the onset of the pandemic, 400,000 more women than men have left the workforce. The same is true for women of color; for example, Hispanic women face an unemployment rate of 6.5%, more than double that of Hispanic men.

“If these trends are left unaddressed, they will exacerbate existing inequalities and reverse decades of progress toward an inclusive economy for women and people of color,” Fortune observed.

In Dallas, the new coalition backed by PepsiCo and Frito-Lay hopes to reverse the pandemic’s unequal impact on working moms and put hundreds back into the workforce over the next three years.

PepsiCo and its Plano-based subsidiary Frito-Lay are partnering with nonprofits United Way of Metropolitan Dallas and CitySquare and Dallas College to train women in the skills necessary for jobs in hospitality, sales, marketing, manufacturing and logistics. They’ll also provide social services like housing assistance and child care.

The Dallas Morning News reported the program aims to train as many as 550 women in southern Dallas as part of the Southern Dallas Thrives initiative first announced in 2018. Dallas College will provide the education, CitySquare will provide social services and professional skills training and the PepsiCo Foundation contributed a $750,000 grant.

“More than a quarter of our 6,500 employees in Dallas-Fort Worth live in southern Dallas,” PepsiCo director of government affairs Rebecca Acuna was quoted as saying. “We see this investment as an investment in our community. We’ve also seen that when women thrive, families thrive. And when families thrive it means that North Texas succeeds.”

“We’re going to need to mobilize to get them back to work and ensure they have the social support necessary to work, and to reverse the devastating effects to their income that has been caused by this pandemic,” CitySquare CEO John Siburt said.

This benevolent effort by the business community is tied into three Sustainable Development Goals: #5—Gender Equality; #8—Decent Work and Economic Growth; and #10—Reduced Inequality.

If your business is open or on the verge of reopening, there’s an opportunity for you. Mainstream businesses of all sized as well as women-owned companies can get involved in this project of local levels. Collectively helping women in this dire situation – by outright hiring, training, social assistance with children – will result in many individual benefits.

You should also promote your companies locally through government officials and the media by pointing out that you are on the forefront of supporting the Sustainable Development Goals.

By the way, diversity and inclusion don’t happen by accident. It’s very deliberate. Monthly commemorations are opportunities to get topics in front of your customers, marketplace and audience. However, sustaining that level of engagement throughout the year is a matter of management’s commitment.

Nonprofits Offer Students Valuable Experience as Interns

Indeed, times are tough and Main Street businesses as well as corporate ones are feeling the pain of pandemic-related doldrums.

In the past, among other things, they served as a wellspring of exciting and worthwhile experiences for college students through internships. Today that source has been reduced to a trickle.

However, there is another segment of the business community that exists on a different plane that can also benefit students – nonprofits.

Essentially, these institutions – sometimes also called community groups, humanitarian or religious organizations, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) – are businesses though their missions are different. They don’t exist to make a buck but rather to make a difference in society. However, in order to be successful in what they do, they must not only be driven by their missions but they must also pay attention to their bottom lines, cash flow, sponsorships and donations.

Nonprofits are the backbone of democratic societies and we, in the United States, are fortunate to have a myriad of civic-based organizations that make sure that our collective eye is also kept on higher goals. Incidentally, these groups, or NGOs, are held in high regard by the United Nations, which has designated them as the fourth leg in its administrative “stool.” I recall when I was a staff member of the UN Department of Public Information / Non-Governmental Organizations section there were scores of student-interns of large and small humanitarian and community groups plying the hallways of its New York headquarters, fulfilling tasks for their employers.

Consequently, students should not overlook nonprofits when applying for internships.

The February 28 edition of the New York Post wrote about the myriad internships and other advantages offered for students by NGOs. One of the youths written about was a business student at Ramapo College of New Jersey, which hosts the New Jersey Small Business Development Center (NJSBDC), headed by Regional Director Vincent J. Vicari. As an educational institution, it is a nonprofit. If you haven’t come across this institution in your entrepreneurial careers, this center and others like it across New Jersey and the United States are the preeminent sources of free, hands-on help for small business owners. For students, they also offer valuable internships.

Jakub Zak, 19, of Wallington, NJ, a finance student as Ramapo, devoted 10 weeks to a remote internship with the NJSBDC office in northern Bergen County. Zak reviewed financials, budgeting and forecasting, working closely with the NJSBDC business consultant.

“Every time I made a business plan for a client, I was able to develop my analytical skills,” Zak was quoted as saying by the New York Post. “When I first entered college, I wouldn’t envision doing all of my work on a computer. I always envisioned shaking hands. It’s been a success, because of the people I work with, they’re class acts, open to communications. We can call, text, e-mail — there’s a nice bond.”

Zak sustained his internship throughout the school year, while maintaining a 3.88 GPA, and will continue throughout the summer. The educational, business and professional experiences are awesome with the NJSBDC at Ramapo because of the wide range of real businesses that are counseled by Vicari and his team.

“I have good grades to feel a sense of accomplishment, but [this] sense of accomplishment is different because you actually help a business. You see the open sign on the door — you’re authentically helping someone,” said Zak.

Regardless of the business climate on Main Street, life goes on and so do commerce and trade. In tough times they must be helped so they can reach safe waters. Vicari said, “Business doesn’t stop. In order to jump on that moving train, students are perfectly poised to be passengers, and they’ve jumped on with a vengeance. I’m so proud of what these students have achieved.”

Last summer, 24 interns worked for the center, and Vicari anticipates expanding the program this summer. Positions will post on the career management platform Handshake in May. “There’s no shortage of clients,” said Vicari. “There’s an opportunity to coordinate public services to help our economy recover.”

The NJSBDC at Ramapo College offers double-edged services to the Garden State’s economy. On the one side, there are the obvious small businesses, startups and entrepreneurs that need advice, guidance and help in launching their commercial projects in any economic climate. Their need is greater today due to the unexpected calamity caused by COVID-19 and Vicari is prepared to step up to the plate and help them overcome difficulties. He is known in the business community for his hands-on approach to solving his clients’ difficulties. In order for small businesses to hurdle over today’s crisis, he helps locate government funding sources, walks them through the application process, and finally even helps them hang the “Open for Business” sign on their doors.

On the other edge is the Ramapo center’s help for students – tomorrow’s entrepreneurs and business owners. With Vicari and Ramapo they get a useful taste of what they can expect on Main Street. Undeniably a win-win scenario for New Jersey.

Vicari was recognized for his dedicated service with the prestigious ICON award by NJBIZ. Ed Petkus, dean of Ramapo College’s Anisfield School of Business, had said, “This recognition is extremely well-deserved. Vince has been working tirelessly during the pandemic, assisting small businesses in their efforts to weather the crisis.”

Vicari’s service was also acknowledged with appropriate proclamations by State lawmakers.

Vicari is known for his business acumen, and exemplary, strong and dedicated efforts in assisting small business owners and entrepreneurs. He has helped restaurants, machine fabricators, dog training schools, and other businesses succeed. Regardless of temporary financial troubles or the aftermath of natural calamities or today’s misfortunes, he provides quality, hands-on support for business clients, delivers specialized assistance to them, and ultimately leads small business owners to the path of profitability. His door is never closed to any businessman and woman who needs his help, guidance and advice. Visit him at his website https://www.sbdcbergen.com/.

 

 

COVID-19 Is Still Present but Business Hopes are Vying for Growth

You may not believe it, but there is hope for business growth in 2021.

The United Nations, for one, is projecting stronger growth than expected this year as businesses in the United States are jockeying for better bottom lines and more openings rather than closings.

The global economy is expected to grow by 4.7% this year, faster than predicted in September (4.3%), thanks in part to a stronger recovery in the United States, where progress in distributing vaccines and a fresh fiscal stimulus of $1.9 trillion are expected to boost consumer spending, says a new report by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). 

Not to be overly pessimistic but rather realistic, the UN agency that deals with trade, investment and development issues, pointed out that this growth rate will nonetheless leave the global economy over $10 trillion short of where it could have been by the end of 2021 if it had stayed on the pre-pandemic trend and with persistent worries about the reality behind the rhetoric of a more resilient future.

The report issued March 18 cautioned that what the global economy doesn’t need right now is “A misguided return to austerity after a deep and destructive recession.” This is the main risk to its global outlook, UNCTAD said.

The report said outdated economic dogmas, weak multilateral cooperation and a widespread reluctance to tackle the problems of inequality, indebtedness and insufficient investment – all worsening thanks to COVID-19. It suggests that, without a change of course, the new normal for many will be an unbalanced recovery, vulnerability to further shocks and persistent economic insecurity.

The global recovery that began in the third quarter of 2020 is expected to continue through 2021, albeit with a good deal of unevenness and unpredictability, reflecting epidemiological, policy and coordination uncertainties.

But even barring an immediate return of austerity, the report noted, it will take more than one year for output and employment to return to their pre-COVID-19 levels in most countries with employment, income inequality and public welfare over the medium term depending on the evolution of policy responses. However, the report warned that COVID-19, which claimed 2.7 million lives around the world and afflicted 124.6 million, will likely have lasting economic, as well as health consequences, which will require continued government support.

The $1.9 trillion stimulus package in the U.S. is grounds for encouragement, the United Nations said. However, while the package contains large cash transfers, there is much less direct spending on consumption and investment, which would offer the safest route to aggregate demand expansion and a green transition. This makes the full effect of the package uncertain.

More troubling, according to the report, is that other advanced countries are lagging far behind. There are also signs that the new U.S. administration is extending its efforts to the multilateral level, endorsing a $500 billion issuance of new special drawing rights to support global liquidity at the upcoming G20 meeting, previously blocked by the Trump administration.

This is a welcome move but, according to UNCTAD, the scale of the debt threat, particularly for developing countries, cannot be reduced without debt forgiveness and the adoption of a functioning debt workout mechanism.

How does this play on Main Street, USA? According to CNBC, for the first time in years, retailers across the country are planning to open more stores than they are closing. Are these two forecasts connected? Don’t know but they sound good as they’ve been issued at the same time.

The network reported that retailers such as Ulta Beauty, Sephora, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Five Below and TJ Maxx are rebounding from the pandemic and looking to expand. Many businesses also see an opportunity to sign shorter leases, which can allow them to experiment with different formats.

Year to date, retailers in the US have announced 3,199 store openings and 2,548 closures, according to a tracking by Coresight Research.

Even iconic Toys R Us, the toy chain that filed for bankruptcy in 2017 and ultimately liquidated, has a new owner that is looking to open stores ahead of the 2021 holidays. Nothing like retail excitement on the street spurs consumer enthusiasm to buy.

CNBC also reported that many of the companies that have planned for openings this year are focused on value. They range from Dollar General and Dollar Tree to off-price retailers Burlington and Ross Stores and the discount grocers Aldi and Lidl. However, specialty retailers are in the mix, including L Brands’ Bath & Body Works and Gap’s Old Navy. In other words, shell-shocked consumers aren’t ready to shop at upscale stores but discounters have their attention.

Burlington Stores, for one, is planning 75 net new stores for this year. The off-price retailer’s plans include opening about 100 new locations, while closing or relocating 25.

It seems that country is turning a corner at least with business attitudes. Consumers may not be ready to swarm back but they can be coaxed back to your store. The rollout of the COVID vaccine keeps ramping up, stimulus checks are landing in many Americans’ bank accounts, and companies are by and large predicting a strong rebound of the consumer. The National Retail Federation is forecasting retail sales in the US could grow anywhere between 6.5% and 8.2% this year, with the economy accelerating at its fastest clip in two decades.

All told, after the pandemic turned many American Main Streets into scenes of post-war devastation, this is encouraging news but nonetheless be careful as you hang the “Open” sign on your door. Share your ideas for opening with your neighborhood and marketplace as well as your trading partners. Share good ideas and best practices. As they say, a rising tide lifts all boats.

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Discount Supermarket Aldi Goes ‘All in’ for Sustainability

Without a doubt, sustainability is the buzzword of choice nowadays and smart businesses are jumping on the bandwagon in very serious ways.

According to the trade press, reduction of emissions and waste as well as responsible sourcing are leading these notable efforts.

Supermarket News reported last week that Aldi, the discount grocer with 2,000 locations across America and 57 in New Jersey, “has enacted a new sustainability charter to lower emission of greenhouse gases, cut food and operational waste, improve packaging and source responsibly — while maintaining accessible and affordable food and grocery options for customers — through 2030.”

That combination will be a win-win for consumers who have been demonstrating with their wallets their partiality for sustainability.

Aldi plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 26% by 2025 by continuing to transition to solar and wind energy sourcing and bolstering its renewable infrastructure to reduce reliance on gray power grids. The Batavia, IL, supermarket today has solar panels at 111 stores and 12 distribution centers across the country and aims to add solar energy to warehouses in Alabama and Kansas and to about 60 stores by the end of 2022.

The supermarket said it has been recognized by the Environmental Protection Agency as a “green” power leader, and it now buys enough renewable energy each year to support its more than 2,000 stores in 37 states, 25 warehouses and offices. The power is being sourced via Green-e, and the company receives renewable energy certificates to validate its clean energy investment.

Also to help lower emissions, Aldi U.S. warehouses and almost 400 stores use natural refrigerants that reduce the environmental impact by up to 4,000 times versus common refrigerants. Plans call for a continued shift to natural refrigerants at all stores, the company said, adding that in 2020 it earned more EPA GreenChill store certifications than any supermarket chain previously, all at the platinum level.

Aldi US CEO Jason Hart observed in a statement on the new sustainability charter, “Aldi has a responsibility to protect the environment, and we know it’s an important priority for our customers. We are committed to evaluating and implementing sustainable business practices while always offering the highest-quality products at prices that can’t be beat.”

Indeed, not all grocers are as big as Aldi but certainly there are beneficial, proactive, sustainable business-building steps that smaller grocery chains can enact. They will benefit your community, customers, trading partners and your business.

New Program to Hasten Business Action on UN Sustainable Development Goals

A new program focused on accelerating business performance on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has begun engaging more than 600 companies in 65 countries with a combined annual revenue of $1 trillion, according to the United Nations.

First announced last year by UN Secretary-General António Guterres at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, SDG Ambition Accelerator is an initiative that challenges and supports participating companies of the UN Global Compact in setting ambitious corporate sustainability targets and accelerating the integration of the SDGs into core business management.

The SDG Ambition Accelerator Program is a six-month learning journey for corporate executives being delivered through UN Global Compact Networks based in 30 countries. More than 1,150 representatives from participating companies, employing 7.9 million people, will join to assess current performance, risk areas, and new opportunities across their business. This will help companies take more ambitious business actions toward achieving the SDGs by 2030.  Outcomes from the first round of the Accelerator will be presented at the annual UN Global Compact Leaders Summit on June 15-16.

About the UN Global Compact

As a special initiative of the UN Secretary-General, the United Nations Global Compact is a call to companies everywhere – large and small – to align their operations and strategies with Ten Principles in the areas of human rights, labor, environment and anti-corruption. The purpose is to accelerate and scale the global collective impact of business by upholding the Ten Principles and delivering the Sustainable Development Goals through accountable companies and ecosystems that enable change. With more than 12,000 companies and 3,000 non-business signatories based in over 160 countries, and 69 Local Networks, the UN Global Compact is the world’s largest corporate sustainability initiative — one Global Compact uniting business for a better world.

The SDG Ambition Accelerator challenges and supports companies to:

• Strategically prioritize sustainability issues where they can have the greatest impact through their operations, products and services, and across the value chain;

• Set ambitious goals and identify critical pathways to achieve them;

• Integrate SDG-related business goals and outcomes into core business management processes; and

• Design technology systems to track progress on the goals across business units or functions

The SDGs hold great possibilities for all businesses. As I have written before, according to official predictions, businesses that participate in the Sustainable Development Goals – the goals that pertain to the ecology as well as human being – stand to experience an unbelievable windfall. The SDGs have the potential to unleash innovation, economic growth and development at an unprecedented scale and could be worth at least $12 trillion a year in market opportunities and generate up to 380 million new jobs by 2030.

CEOs observed:

Sanda Ojiambo, CEO & Executive Director of UN Global Compact, said: “By engaging hundreds of companies of all sizes and sectors from around the world, the UN Global Compact SDG Ambition Accelerator is working to mobilize a truly global movement of responsible enterprises to accelerate progress towards embedding sustainability into core business strategies and operations—not only for the benefit of society but for their own benefit as well.”

Julie Sweet, CEO of Accenture, said: “As we face the urgent challenges of rebuilding the global economy and tackling climate change, this is the moment for every business to take bold action and become a sustainable business with their customers and across their enterprises and supply chains. The SDG Ambition Accelerator will help companies embed sustainability into their core at greater speed and scale to make meaningful, measurable progress toward achieving the SDGs.”

Christian Klein, CEO of SAP, said: “In the future, profitability and sustainability will go hand in hand with the latter becoming a dimension of corporate decision making just like cost or growth. By combining our areas of expertise, we help businesses around the world to establish the foundational infrastructure they need to measure and actively steer their progress towards achieving the SDGs.”

Chairman and CEO of 3M, Michael Roman, said: “The COVID-19 pandemic has deeply impacted all of our lives and underscored the critical role that science and the business community have in solving global challenges. 3M is pleased to partner with the United Nations and other leading organizations to build a collaborative approach to improving lives around the world. We hope the SDG Ambition Accelerator will inspire other companies to join us in working to make this a Decade of Action.”

The SDG campaign is worthy of investigation by all businesses – even small businesses. It could help your companies, communities and marketplaces even if your participation isn’t 100%. More information on the SDG Ambition Accelerator can be found here: https://unglobalcompact.org/take-action/sdg-ambition

Lakeland Bank Expert Leads PPP Loan Session Today

The Statewide Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of New Jersey has let us and others know that one of its partners, Lakeland Bank, will hold tomorrow an online session about the new, updated PPP loan requirements and applications.

In case you missed it, the Hispanic chamber and Lakeland noted that with the recent changes, the PPP loan may now be an opportunity or an even better opportunity than before. Sole proprietors or single-employee businesses may be eligible for more funds. Restrictions on who can apply have been lifted or eased. Forgiveness rules have been changed.
Participants of Lakeland’s session can learn about the updates and ask questions of an expert. Daniel Leary, senior vice-president, business banking manager based out of Lakeland Bank’s headquarters in Oak Ridge, NJ, will lead the session. With more than 20 years of banking experience, he has amassed a wealth of expertise in the areas of Small Business Lending, Business Banking, Cash Management, and Financial Services. In his current role, Dan Leary an elite team of Business Banking Officers. This team of experienced professionals is dedicated to partnering with business owners to provide guidance, offer solutions, and ultimately help grow their business.

The session will be held Thursday, March 4, 12:00 noon to 1:00 PM.

Click here to access the registration form: https://score.tfaforms.net/17?EventID=a105a000006v1AH