Measurable and
manageable sustainability
People 4 Earth
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People 4 Earth is a global nonprofit
organisation, founded in 2008,
with offices in the United States
and Europe. The Asian office will
open early 2010.
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The aim for a better, more sustainable world can be accelerated by an international approach. For that reason, People 4 Earth has created a worldwide digital platform where businesses, consumers, governments and nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) will work side by side to merge sustainable prosperity with sustainable welfare. The People 4 Earth comprehensive Sustainability Standard serves as an interconnecting global language in this process, making progress easily measurable and highlighting where to focus.
A common standard
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Fig The People 4 Earth Standard delivering product transparency throughout the supply chain |
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click to enlarge |
The call for sustainable products and services is getting louder and louder. Not just consumers, governments and NGOs, but also companies are getting concerned about the depletion of the Earth’s natural resources. The consumer expects sustainable products, and companies like to demonstrate their capabilities in this area, but a single, worldwide standard to measure and guarantee this is still lacking. People 4 Earth aims for a single, global standard which appreciates existing seals and bridges the interests between businesses, consumers, governments and NGOs.
The People 4 Earth global standard is community owned and engages all stakeholders on actions and solutions regarding sustainability issues. We view a better world as one where all people have access to basic needs like healthy food, water, sanitation, healthcare and fair wages. Together with other organisations, People 4 Earth will be instrumental in developing assistance programmes for small producers in developing countries, to help them produce sustainable products and services, whether or not linked to micro credit. Cooperation with other organisations and initiatives is of the utmost importance and the most effective way to realise common global and local goals.
It covers all aspects of sustainability and is suitable for all products and services. Transparent and simple for all stakeholders, it is open and reliable and based on existing international rules and agreements. Furthermore, it was built with input from stakeholders and experts and validated by an external Technical Committee.
Four pillars: twelve principles
The Sustainability Standard is built on four pillars and twelve principles: a comprehensive but simple way to evaluate and improve on sustainability, creating a global language. The four pillars are Pure, Fair, Life and Renew; from safeguarding worker and human rights, to promoting sound energy use and waste reduction, to ensuring clean air, water and soil. It is designed to be fully transparent and complement other existing product specific or single aspect standards already available in the market. As it covers and examines the total supply chain, it is suitable for all companies; big, medium and small, offering a global framework for all.
Making the sustainability of products transparent and simple will change consumer demand for sustainable products. This means delivering timely, trusted and digestible information at the moment of purchase.
In short People 4 Earth facilitates the transition towards a better world with:
1. An open-source platform to encourage new levels of multi stakeholder collaboration;
2. The Global Comprehensive Standard for sustainable products and product certification;
3. Supporting companies to design a new generation of sustainable products and services;
4. Trustworthy and digestible sustainability information for consumers to guide their product choices, also available at the moment of purchase; and,
5. Supporting governments to develop international guidance and regulations.
 People 4 Earth
W: www.people4earth.org
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