The Chinese government has issued new guidelines to help Chinese companies operate responsibly, sustainably and profitably abroad.

Frances Buckingham is featured in the Financial Times 2013 Responsible Business report in an article exploring how campaigners have turned to collaboration to shape business best practice.

Frances Buckingham responds to the Oxfam Behind the Brands work which reflects a new era in the relationship between companies and campaigners, “It’s not just naming and shaming – it’s a combination of praising and shaming.”

The article also reflects on how this by no means signals the end of corporate activism. NGOs such as Oxfam and Greenpeace are continuing to hold companies to account as “there’s a realisation that no one is moving fast enough and there’s a need to continue to push companies in the right direction”.

For more on multi-stakeholder collaboration download the GlobeScan / SustainAbility Survey on Collaborating for a Sustainable Future or read the article on How to Make Progress on Collaboration for Sustainability.

Read the full article on the Financial Times website.

The sixth Green Business Forum will share events and audiences with the Sustainability Consortium and Arizona State University in February.

The latest annual ranking of the global brands with the most environmental appeal is just out. Here's the inside story about who's on top, and why.

The latest annual ranking of the global brands with the most environmental appeal.

In his new book, Growing Food in a Hotter, Drier Land, author Gary Paul Nabhan draws on the knowledge and expertise of traditional and visionary desert farmers, compiling stories of resilience and adaptation that urge readers to plan for uncertainty, acquire knowledge, and take action. The following exchange between Nabhan and Chelsea Green Senior Editor Ben [...]

Plug in your company's numbers to find the potential savings of moving infrastructure and software offsite.

Twenty-three global hotel companies have developed a standard way to measure carbon emissions through the Hotel Carbon Measurement Initiative.

Youth-Led non-profit Teens Turning Green is set to launch its newest initiative, Freshman Green 15 (FG15), to college campuses nationwide for implementation during Orientation Week in the fall. This “go-green” campaign, focused on raising awareness about conscious living, mindful consumption, and the collective impact of individual actions, is challenging first year students to use this resource to build a foundation for conscious living.

“Freshman Green 15 is a starting point for developing life long habits from the moment students arrive on their new campuses. Through interdisciplinary collaboration, actionable information, and projects developed around sustainable practices, we hope to prompt students, faculty, and staff to find ways to sustain the planet, starting on their campuses,” says Judi Shils, Executive Director, Teens Turning Green.

FG15 was created as a yearlong program to provide student leaders, (RA’s, Eco Reps, Eco-Club Heads, etc.) with the necessary resources to integrate conscious thinking into daily life. The program launches with distribution of two comprehensive toolkits; one for mentors and the other for incoming students. Incorporating four major resources, “15 Tips to Green Your Life,” “15 Terms to Green your Vocab,” “15 Things to Take to College” and a Green Packing List, students will have the tools to live consciously. The program will encourage collaboration between student leaders, school personnel and incoming freshman to inspire sustainable choices for everyday decisions.

TTG is currently working with student leaders to pilot this program at schools including Columbia, Rice, Barnard, Johns Hopkins, NYU, University of Delaware, University of Southern Mississippi, Tulane, University of North Texas, among others. Eco Rep and student environmental advocate, Taylor Seidel, a rising senior at Columbia University, commented on the progress of their collaboration with TTG and the program, “Freshmen Green 15 (or in our case, Green 17), contains a wealth of green knowledge that will help us educate incoming students about the importance of sustainability at Columbia. It provides structure and an elaborate communications strategy that will enable us to disseminate this information without wasteful flyers and unnecessary handouts. FG15/Green 17 builds a foundation in sustainable living that will last throughout an academic career at Columbia, if not a lifetime.”

With 16 summer interns from universities across the country, and led by Executive Director, Judi Shils, and Program Director, Jonathan Foley, the TTG team has worked on perfecting this program for the past several months. “It has definitely been a work in progress,” says TTG Student Ambassador, Ashley Ugarte, a rising junior from Rice University and TTG’s Communications and Social Media Coordinator. “All of our hard work has truly paid off. It’s amazing what collaboration and dedication can accomplish in just a short time. Coincidentally, this is exactly the kind of mindset we hope students will adopt by using the FG15 resources. TTG’s mission to mobilize youth towards sustainable action begins by inspiring students to voice their dreams. FG15 is the foundation which we hope will open the eyes of students, mentors and faculty to an entirely new way of living.”

FG15 is the prelude to Teens Turning Green’s Third Annual Project Green Challenge 2013, a 30-day global call to action in October for high school and college students to transition from conventional to conscious living to sustain our planet. Click here to sign up!

About Teens Turning Green
Teens Turning Green is a student led movement devoted to education and advocacy around environmentally and socially responsible choices for individuals, schools, and communities. TTG seeks to engage youth in the transition from conventional to conscious, empowering the next generation and mobilizing action to sustain our earth. What began in California in 2005 now has a presence through a variety of eco-conscious programs at elementary, middle and high schools, universities, and student organizations across the United States, and around the world as well as a strong virtual platform and media presence. Chapters nationwide lead grassroots efforts that aim to raise awareness, encourage behavior change, and lobby for policy that will lessen local and global impact.

Partners
The Freshman Green 15 (FG15) program is made possible through partnership with like-minded champions of sustainability and the environment, including The Shaw Fund, Lisa & Douglas Goldman Fund, Whole Foods Market, Acure, Amy’s Kitchen, Aubrey Organics, Crofter’s Organic, Dr. Bronner’s, Desert Essence, Greenology, Guayaki Yerba Mate, JetBlue, Kimpton Hotels, Natracare, Numi, Ecojot, Eileen Fisher, Juice Beauty, Kejriwal, Navitas, R.W. Garcia, U Konserve, Swisspers Organic, and Vermont Soap.

For more information, to sign up and get involved, visit TeensTurningGreen.org, email info@teensturninggreen.org or call 415.289.1001. Begin your conventional to conscious journey, share your story with us and join us on Facebook and Twitter @TeensTurnGreen, #FG15. Visit our Pinterest Boards and join us on Instagram for more fun, creative and informative tips and resources on how to green your life.

The Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals Group (ZDHC Group) today released version two of the Joint Roadmap. The Roadmap defines the critical path for achieving a new standard of environmental performance for the global apparel and footwear industry. This initiative, the impact of which will reverberate well beyond the apparel and footwear industry, is led by members of the ZDHC Group – the adidas Group, C&A, Esprit, G‑Star Raw, H&M, Inditex, Jack Wolfskin, Levi Strauss & Co., Li Ning, M&S, New Balance Athletic Shoe, Inc., NIKE, Inc, PUMA SE – and a diverse group of stakeholders.

The Joint Roadmap, Version 2, presents the ZDHC Group's long term vision, interim 2015 milestones and 2020 goals. It builds on the previous Joint Roadmap document and sets out a new plan, incorporating and reflecting comments received from a wide range of stakeholders, including textile industry suppliers and associations, government agencies in Asia, Europe and the United States, non-governmental organisations, international development organisations and the chemical industry.

“To achieve the goal of systemic change and commercialisation of new, preferred alternative chemistries, we will need to transform the industry’s manufacturing inputs and processes. This requires full collaboration amongst thousands of organisations,” said Jessica Wollmuth, ZDHC Programme Manager. She added that “good progress has been achieved thus far, and the Joint Roadmap, Version 2, lays a firm foundation for creating an apparel and footwear industry that delivers high quality products using safe chemistries.”

ZDHC Group achievements in the past year include having:

• Completed chemical use and management surveys, and wastewater testing for approximately 150 analytes at 20 facilities in Bangladesh, China, India, Taiwan and Vietnam
• Completed a chemical inventory that is the most complete, publicly available compilation of information on chemicals used in the textile industry
• Developed training materials in English and Chinese
• Developed and delivered training to suppliers
• Engaged with more than 350 potential stakeholders
• Completed system mapping, critical to the understanding of the interconnected issues, leverage points and stakeholders involved.
• Agreed to timelines for the phase out of C8 chemistry by no later than January 1, 2015
• Worked with suppliers to address the most pressing chemicals of concern, starting with APEOS, and will continue to do so in 2013
• Worked to identify safer chemistries and mechanisms to incentivise chemical suppliers to invest in these alternatives

“Building on the knowledge gained during the first full year of implementation, the Joint Roadmap, Version 2 provides an overview of the guiding principles and long-term vision of the ZDHC group, and defines key activities that will catalyse industry change,” said Wollmuth. By implementing tasks in seven workstreams defined in the Roadmap, specifically Chemical Hazard Assessment, Prioritisation and Action, Training, Right to Know, Assessment and Auditing, Management Systems Approach, Structure and Documentation, Stakeholder Partnering and Chemicals Management Best Practices Pilot. The ZDHC Group will develop and promote industry best practices to deliver a safer and cleaner environment. “Our goal is ambitious, and the ZDHC Group and partners are fully committed to working together to achieve it,” said Wollmuth.

Notes to Editor
In 2011, the Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals (ZDHC) Programme formed to catalyse positive change in the discharge of hazardous chemicals across the product life cycle. Our coalition now includes brand members adidas Group, C&A, Esprit, G-Star Raw, H&M, Inditex, Jack Wolfskin, Levi Strauss & Co., Li Ning, M&S, New Balance Athletic Shoe, Inc., NIKE, Inc., and PUMA SE, a growing number of associate members, and a diverse group of stakeholders we engage with regularly. Given the challenge of driving industry change, we will only succeed in achieving the vision and goals of the ZDHC Joint Roadmap if we work together. This is the true purpose of the ZDHC collaboration.

The ZDHC Group will be publishing the results of the Benchmarking Project in June 2013.

For more information on the ZDHC programme, please visit: www.roadmaptozero.com.

On the eve of the inaugural Global Investor Forum on Climate Change on June 13-14 in Hong Kong, a total of 22 American investment firms with approximately $240 billion in assets under management, led by the California State Teachers' Retirement System (CalSTRS) and the Oregon State Treasurer’s office, have signed the Climate Declaration, calling on U.S. policymakers to seize the American economic opportunity of addressing climate change.

These financial leaders join more than 150 other American businesses, including industry icons General Motors Co., Intel and Nike and more than 100 ski areas, in asserting, “Tackling climate change is one of America’s greatest economic opportunities of the 21st century … There must be a coordinated effort to combat climate change—with America taking the lead here at home.”

“As the global economy moves toward a low-carbon future, governments that act aggressively to enact strong, long-term climate and energy policies will reap the biggest rewards,” said Jack Ehnes, chief executive officer of CalSTRS, the world’s largest educator-only pension fund serving 862,000 beneficiaries with a portfolio valued at $167 billion. “In order to tackle the global climate crisis, we must realize the strength of our combined efforts. That is why CalSTRS signed the Climate Declaration. U.S. policy leaders need to step up on this issue and embrace climate change policies as an economic opportunity.”

Investors have been an important force in supporting policy changes related to clean energy and efficiency. Last year, investors managing $800 billion in assets called on Congress to renew the Production Tax Credit for renewable energy, which was ultimately extended for another year. Investors have also been outspoken proponents of state Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPSs) that more than two-dozen states have enacted to boost sourcing of wind, solar and other renewable energy. RPSs have catalyzed billions of dollars of investment, thousands of new projects and hundreds of thousands of good-paying jobs, including 30,000 new jobs in 2012 alone.

“Being smarter when it comes to climate change is the right thing to do for all of our families, and it also will translate into economic and investment opportunities,” said Oregon State Treasurer Ted Wheeler, who has previously called for better disclosure of climate-related opportunities and risks. “I am proud to stand with Oregon’s largest employers and premier ski destinations to recognize that a cleaner future will also be a more profitable one.”

Today’s announcement comes on the eve of the first Global Investor Forum on Climate Change, sponsored by Ceres’ Investor Network on Climate Risk (INCR) along with the Asia Investor Group on Climate Change, the EU-based Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change and the Investor Group on Climate Change, which represents Australian and New Zealand investors.

The two-day event will bring together investors and financial institutions from both developed and emerging markets for the first time to discuss the challenges presented by a changing climate, as well as the imperative to scale up investment in low-carbon infrastructure and business. Al Gore, co-founder and chairman of Generation Investment Management, and Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations, will address the assembly via video.

“Without the participation of the financial community, we won’t get low-carbon solutions to the scale needed to address climate change, nor will the U.S. capture the full economic benefits of building a global clean energy economy,” said Anne L. Kelly, director of Business for Innovative Climate and Energy Policy (BICEP), a Ceres-led business network that helped launch the Climate Declaration in April. “We are pleased to see strong support from the investor community on climate change policy, and it couldn’t have come at a better time. We urge the investors meeting at this week’s event to take the challenge of tackling climate change seriously.”

In addition to CalSTRS and the Oregon Office of the State Treasurer, Climate Declaration investor signatories include: Boardwalk Capital Management; Boston Common Asset Management, LLC; Calvert Asset Management Company, Inc.; Chrysalix; Domini Social Investments LLC; ESG Integrated Solutions; First Affirmative Financial Network, LLC; Friends Fiduciary Corporation; Green Century Capital Management; Leadership Council of the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary; Mercy Investment Services, Inc.; Pax World Management Corp.; Portfolio 21 Investments; Sisters of St. Dominic (Caldwell, NJ); The Christopher Reynolds Foundation; The Sustainability Group at Loring, Wolcott and Coolidge; Tri-State Coalition for Responsible Investment; Trillium Asset Management; Walden Asset Management; and Zevin Asset Management.

Over the course of an ongoing campaign organized by Ceres and BICEP, other leading businesses and investors, as well as individuals, are encouraged to sign the Declaration and join the call to action. For more information about the Climate Declaration, please visit www.climatedeclaration.us.

More information on the Global Investor Forum on Climate Change is available at investorforumonclimate.com.

About Ceres
Ceres is a nonprofit organization mobilizing business leadership on climate change and other sustainability challenges. Ceres also directs the Investor Network on Climate Risk (INCR), a network of 100 institutional investors with collective assets totaling more than $11 trillion. For more information, visit www.ceres.org.

About BICEP
BICEP (Business for Innovative Climate & Energy Policy), a project of Ceres, is an advocacy coalition of businesses committed to working with policy makers to pass meaningful energy and climate legislation enabling a rapid transition to a low-carbon, 21st century economy – an economy that will create new jobs and stimulate economic growth while stabilizing our planet’s fragile climate. BICEP is a project of Ceres. For more information and a list of member companies visit: www.ceres.org/bicep.

About CalSTRS
The California State Teachers’ Retirement System, with a portfolio valued at $167.2 billion as of April 30, 2013, is the largest educator-only pension fund in the world. CalSTRS administers a hybrid retirement system, consisting of traditional defined benefit, cash balance and voluntary defined contribution plans. CalSTRS also provides disability and survivor benefits. For 100 years, CalSTRS has served California's public school educators and their families, who today number 862,000 from the state’s 1,600 school districts, county offices of education and community college districts.

About the Oregon State Treasurer
The Oregon State Treasury protects public assets and manages a portfolio valued at $82.4 billion as of April 30, 2013. State investment policies are overseen by the Oregon Investment Council, of which the Treasurer is a member. The Treasurer also promotes public outreach and education to help Oregonians learn strategies to save money, invest for college and make smart financial choices.

69 second graders at Gompers Elementary School gathered in the school’s all purpose room this morning to accept the unexpected generosity of their new friends from Bob Evans Restaurant. First Bob Evans volunteers began the unusual day by serving the students a complimentary healthy breakfast. Following their multigrain pancakes and fruit, the second graders were told they would each be the recipients of free books from First Book also courtesy of Bob Evans’ and their EducationAd advertising through CBS EcoMedia.

Thus kicked off the reading party held with the Gompers students as special guests representing students across the Detroit public school system who will be receiving the free 2,500 books being distributed thanks to Bob Evans financial support. The reading party was hosted by Aaron Heddy, General Manager, Bob Evans Restaurant #87, and Principal Bobbie Posey Milner, Gompers Elementary School who were joined by Teresa Pipia of First Book and Paul Polizzotto, President and Founder, CBS EcoMedia Inc. Special guests also attending included Gompers’ Assistant principal, Robert Walker, Gompers Elementary School administration officials, community members and local elected/school board officials.

Following brief remarks a reading of “The Stories Julian Tells,” “Frog and Toad All Year,” “Days With Frog and Toad,” “Arthur's Camp Out,” “Oh, the Things you can Do that are Good for You?,” “The Berestain Bears Go To Camp” and “The Berenstain Bears and the Bully,” by volunteer readers from Bob Evans Restaurants, WWJ CBS Detroit and CBS EcoMedia were performed for the second grade audience.

“Being able to put new books into kid’s hands in time for summer break is critical, and we’re grateful to Bob Evans for making it possible,” said Teresa Pipia, Vice-President of Strategic Alliances for First Book. “The loss of reading skill over the summer hits kids from low-income families especially hard; these books will make a real difference.”

In addition to the books distributed at the reading party $1,000 in additional Bob Evans EducationAd funding is also going to Gompers for the school’s purchase of more books from First Book in support of its summer reading programs.

Bob Evans Restaurants contributed more than $500,000 in local donations last year and is planning on doing even more in the next 12 months. Brian Carney, Regional Coach for Bob Evans, explains that “Bob Evans has a long history of being involved in our local communities and the Detroit area is no exception. Through the First Book partnership, we plan on feeding the minds of hungry children. This goes hand in hand with what we do every day which is feeding their bodies and keeping kids strong and happy. We’re excited to work alongside our heroes, who are the teachers at Gompers Elementary School. And we can’t wait to read to the kids and give them their First Books!”

“Gompers Elementary Middle School is delighted to welcome Bob Evans to our school to kick off our summer reading incentive. We know that reading well is essential to everything we do in life,” said Gompers’ Assistant principal, Robert Walker. “Bob Evans volunteers are here to inspire our students to become better readers, to spark their imaginations through the adventure of reading, and to motivate them to become life-long learners. We thank Bob Evans, along with First Book and CBS EcoMedia, for giving our students new books to encourage them to continue reading during these summer months.”

“We’ve had a fantastic time here at the First Book reading party for the second graders at Gompers Elementary School,” said Paul Polizzotto, President and Founder of CBS EcoMedia Inc. “When you have the privilege as we did today to read to the kids of Detroit and see their faces light up with interest and enthusiasm then you witness the power of books on young impressionable minds. Bob Evans Restaurants made that possible for 69 second graders here at this school and all across Detroit with their EducationAd advertising and the funding it generated. I’m so grateful that they got the chance to be here today to meet the kids and read to them and see for themselves the great difference they’ll be making. And we couldn’t have started the day any better than eating breakfast with the kids courtesy of Bob Evans extra generosity.”

About Bob Evans Farms, Inc.
Bob Evans Farms, Inc. owns and operates full-service restaurants under the Bob Evans Restaurants brand name. At the end of the third fiscal quarter (January 25, 2013), Bob Evans Restaurants owned and operated 565 family restaurants in 19 states, primarily in the Midwest, mid-Atlantic and Southeast regions of the United States. Bob Evans Farms, Inc., through its BEF Foods segment, is also a leading producer and distributor of refrigerated side dishes, pork sausage and a variety of complementary convenience food items under the Bob Evans and Owens brand names. Note that effective on February 16, 2013, Mimi’s Café is no longer owned by Bob Evans Farms, Inc. For more information about Bob Evans Farms, Inc., visit www.bobevans.com.

About First Book
First Book is a nonprofit social enterprise that distributed more than 100 million books and educational resources to programs and schools serving children from low-income families throughout the United States and Canada. By making new, high-quality books available on an ongoing basis, First Book is transforming the lives of children in need and elevating the quality of education. For more information, please visit them online or follow their latest news on Facebook and Twitter.

About CBS EcoMedia, Inc.
At EcoMedia, we're propelled by the desire to create positive social change; that's been our mission since we founded the company in 2002. In 2008, after successfully partnering with CBS on a wide range of environmental projects, EcoMedia became the newest addition to the CBS Corporation portfolio, exponentially scaling our reach across television, radio, interactive, publishing and outdoor media.

Through our patent-pending EcoAd, WellnessAd and EducationAd programs, an innovative twist on traditional advertising, advertisers are able to support much-needed local projects which in turn creates jobs, saves taxpayer money and improves the quality of life in communities nationwide. In the process, we’re fundamentally altering the advertising landscape, elevating the ordinary, traditional commercial – and media, in general – into a catalyst for tangible, quantifiable social change. Please visit ecomediacbs.com to learn more.

By participating in EcoMedia’s EcoAd, WellnessAd and EducationAd advertising programs, EcoMedia’s advertisers agree to provide funding for projects we believe will have a beneficial effect upon the environment, health and/or education within local communities. EcoMedia’s advertising programs are not certification programs nor are the EcoAd, WellnessAd or EducationAd logos seals of approval. EcoMedia does not in any way certify, endorse or make any representations about EcoMedia program advertisers, their products or services.

Pharmacy on a Bicycle demonstrates how, even in the most of dire circumstances, entrepreneurs can develop cost-effective, sustainable, innovative solutions that have the potential for replication and scale. Not only are the examples inspiring and instructive, but the IMPACTS framework (Bing and Epstein’s framework) has applications that extend well beyond global health.  —Professor J. Gregory Dees, cofounder, Center for the Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship, Duke University

Millions of people are dying from diseases that we can easily and inexpensively prevent, diagnose, and treat. Why? Because even though we know exactly what people need, we just can’t get it to them. They are dying not because we can’t solve a medical problem but because we can’t solve a business logistics problem.

Pharmacy on a Bicycle introduces a unique model for better global health. It saves more lives while saving money by using innovation, entrepreneurship and building on existing infrastructures.  Authors Eric G. Bing and Marc Epstein come at the global health care crisis from two very different backgrounds—Epstein is a business school professor, Bing is a physician with an MBA. Combining Eric’s extensive work in global health with Marc’s work in designing and implementing solutions to challenges faced by business and nonprofit organizations has produced a powerful guide to action grounded in the best academic research and managerial practices.

The authors provide over 100 examples from organizations that are already using innovative business solutions to deliver and scale health care to the poor in more than 35 countries throughout Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Some of these best practices include: 

• Improving access to health services in rural communities by using an army of micro-entrepreneurial health workers based in and trusted by these communities.  The health workers make a small profit to support their families while providing needed health products and services
• Dramatically lowering costs of complex procedures, including open heart surgery and cataract surgery, by using factory-like processes to increase efficiency
• Increasing the use of simple, yet life-saving solutions, such as insecticide treated bed nets, by making them culturally appropriate and acceptable
• Improving the quality of health services through the use of simple checklists to ensure consistency and completion of all tasks

Mark Kramer, Senior Fellow Harvard University, says about the book, “…governments, companies, and NGOs must embrace a new paradigm to convert medical discoveries into real-world solutions. Bing and Epstein’s elegant framework for action provides clear guidance and a multitude of compelling examples to demonstrate that the power to save lives is already in our hands.”

Co-published by the Bush Institute and Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Pharmacy on a Bicycle brings life-saving innovation to health care through the increased use of business and entrepreneurial practices and supports the institute’s global health initiative, which is built on the belief that every life is precious.

About the Authors

Eric G. Bing, MD, PhD, MBA, is a senior fellow and director for global health at the George W. Bush Institute and a professor at Southern Methodist University. He has developed health programs throughout Africa and the Caribbean for more than two decades..

Marc J. Epstein is distinguished research professor of management at Jones Graduate School of Business at Rice University. He has been a professor at Stanford, Harvard, and INSEAD. He leads a yearly trip to Africa to train students in poverty work.

Publication date: May 2013, $29.95, hardcover, 240 pages, 6⅛" x 9¼", ISBN 978-1-60994-789-7

More Praise for Pharmacy on a Bicycle

“In this compelling, practical, and very human book, Bing and Epstein offer real-life solutions to ending millions of preventable deaths around the world. By integrating tools from public health, medicine, and business, they have created an approach—IMPACTS—that has potential for saving millions of lives, not only in low- and middle-income countries, but in resource-poor, hard-to-reach settings within wealthier nations.”

—Helene D. Gayle, MD, MPH, President and CEO, CARE USA

“Powerful medicine for a world that is ailing from growing health disparities and a must-read for anyone providing care for—or caring about—the world’s most vulnerable people. Short on abstraction and long on practical solutions, this is an inspiring call to action that awakens the entrepreneur in all of us.”

—Julie Gerberding, MD, MPH, President, Merck Vaccines, and former Director, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

“This is what needs to be done in order to save lives! The creativity and originality of this book provide the impetus to bridge the final mile in global health. Bing and Epstein exemplify cost-effective and successful innovative solutions—a must-have for all working in global health.”

—Christine Kaseba-Sata, obstetrician and gynecologist and First Lady of the Republic of Zambia

“Pharmacy on a Bicycle demonstrates how, even in the most dire circumstances, entrepreneurs can develop cost-effective, sustainable, innovative solutions that have the potential for replication and scale. Not only are the examples inspiring and instructive, but the IMPACTS framework has applications that extend well beyond global health.”

—Professor J. Gregory Dees, cofounder, Center for the Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship, Duke University

“This book provides workable answers for applying tested entrepreneurial techniques to the unique challenges of the very poor. Among the fertile minds of its readers, it will inspire new solutions from many successful examples. This book will save lives!”

—Marc J. Shapiro, Chair of the Board of Trustees, Baylor College of Medicine, and former Vice Chair, JPMorgan Chase & Co.

“By engaging emerging leaders with diverse skills and backgrounds, Bing and Epstein recognize how we can solve the problems we face in global health now. They demonstrate how partnership is fundamental to improving health access for all—an essential read for tomorrow’s leaders in global health!”

—Barbara Bush, CEO and cofounder, Global Health Corps

“So many of the solutions to the world’s most tragic health-care problems are simple and inexpensive—if we can get them to the people who need them most. Bing and Epstein show how that can be done by unleashing the entrepreneurial spirit of the world’s poor.”

—Sir Fazle Hasan Abed, KCMG, founder and Chairperson, BRAC

“Bing and Epstein show how people from around the world are creating successful innovative, ‘outside the box’ solutions to take health services the last mile. Stakeholders across the public, private, and nonprofit sectors will find the lessons shared in this book highly useful.”

—Dr. Agnes Binagwaho, Minister of Health, Republic of Rwanda

“Bing and Epstein tackle the most important problem vexing global development: how do we spread what we know works to places and people who need it? This book offers powerful frameworks and examples that spark practical insights into what it will take to truly solve many of our most challenging problems.”

—Jeff Bradach, cofounder and Managing Partner, The Bridgespan Group

“Drs. Bing and Epstein remind us that many of the deaths and much of the disease among mothers and children can be halted through simple and low-cost solutions. They combine their medical knowledge with cutting-edge business school methodologies to identify and summarize the opportunity for innovative solutions to combat disease and poverty. It’s a must-read for people who care deeply about the world’s poorest people.”

—Peter Hotez, MD, PhD, Dean, National School of Tropical Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, and President, Sabin Vaccine Institute

“If you ever wondered why easily preventable and curable diseases cripple human potential across the developing world, this book has answers. Bing and Epstein are on a mission to make sure that access to basic health care is never a barrier for anyone to reach his or her full potential. This book will leave you with the hope that seemingly insurmountable development challenges can be transformed into solvable problems when creative partnerships are formed across sectors and mutual accountability is established.”

—Ambassador Sally Cowal, Senior Vice President and Chief Liaison Officer, PSI

“Pharmacy on a Bicycle is about saving lives—simply, effectively, and inexpensively. Through their focus on innovative and entrepreneurial solutions, Bing and Epstein show how to take health care the last mile—to a place that’s accessible, in a way that’s acceptable, and at a cost that’s affordable. Chock full of successful examples of ways this is already happening, it will leave you inspired and filled with hope!”

—Rich Stearns, President, World Vision USA

“While so much of the focus on health is a debate about the science, Pharmacy on a Bicycle is a timely reminder that simple, cost-effective solutions exist and can be scaled to provide access to quality care. A practical guide to successful program delivery—showing how millions of lives can be saved globally.”

—Paul Bernstein, CEO, Pershing Square Foundation

“This is the first book I know of that goes beyond inspiring stories of social entrepreneurs to provide a comprehensive and practical guide to the entrepreneurial process itself. Every policy maker and aspiring social entrepreneur will benefit from the practical steps to successful entrepreneurship articulated in this book.”

—Kirk O. Hanson, University Professor and Executive Director, Markkula Center for Applied Ethics, Santa Clara University

“We firmly believe that the world can dissociate health care from affluence. Change in policies is all we need to turn this dream into reality. Pharmacy on a Bicycle has many valuable propositions to make it happen.”

—Dr. Devi Shetty, Chairman, Narayana Hrudayalaya Group of Hospitals, Bangalore, India

“Bing and Epstein have written an eminently readable and absorbing book that will be essential for any organization interested in empowering underserved populations to improve their health and well-being. Bravo!”

—Stanley S. Litow, Vice President of Corporate Citizenship and Corporate Affairs, IBM, and President, IBM International Foundation

Suggested questions for: Pharmacy on a Bicycle

 By Eric G. Bing and Marc J. Epstein

What is Pharmacy on a Bicycle about?
Pharmacy on a bicycle is about how to save lives by bringing quality care to patients in ways that are acceptable and at prices that are affordable.  If patient can’t reach the pharmacy, then bring the pharmacy to patient.  Put the Pharmacy on a Bicycle. 

Why aren’t people getting the care they need?
Millions of people are dying of diseases we know how to easily prevent, diagnose and treat.  We haven’t solved the challenge of increasing access, quality, and use while simultaneously reducing cost.  This is a not a medical challenge, it’s a business challenge.  In Pharmacy on a Bicycle, we show innovative and entrepreneurial individuals, organizations and governments can be more effective solving these business challenges and outline the steps to solve these challenges.   This will not only help people in developing countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America, but right here at home in the US. 

Are you saying this is all about business to solve these problems?
It is important to continue to make advances in medicine to find better treatment and cures for diseases.   But, most people are dying from diseases that we already know how to prevent and easily treat – from malaria and diarrhea to even cervical cancer.  In fact, we can diagnose early stages of cervical cancer with just a few drops of vinegar.  And if they have it, move them on for simple treatment before it progresses to cancer.  Nearly half a million women each year are diagnosed with cervical cancer and nearly all of them are in developing countries.  

Isn’t it impossible to simultaneously increase health care access, quality and use while reducing costs?
Actually it is not. It is quite possible to increase health care access, quality and use while reducing costs per patient.  And there are many great organizations that are already doing it.  They are using innovative approaches to enable entrepreneurs to deliver health products and services that help the entrepreneur make a small profit while saving lives. Most of these entrepreneurs are women so this has the added benefit of improving the lives of those who are often most in need.

Can you give me some examples?
Sure.  There are lots of them.  The Rwandan government partners with communities, NGOs and international agencies to distribute low costs but effective health services in the villages and towns where people live.  They have 45,000 volunteer community health workers that are linked to health facilities.  Maternal and child deaths have both dropped about 60% over the past decades.  Many other countries from Ethiopia to Nepal are seeing similar progress.  

Living Goods, an NGO based in Uganda uses micro-entrepreneurs that go door to door like Avon ladies, selling health care products to prevent or treat the most common infectious disease and provide other supplies that people need for cough and cold, wound care as well as other things that people want and need like phone chargers, water filters, solar lamps and clean burning cooking stoves.  Vision Springs uses a similar model to distribute glasses.

What are the biggest challenges in global health today?
The biggest challenges in global health are not medical, they are business challenges.  For most of the diseases people face, we know how to prevent and treat them.  What we fail to do is to get simple basic care to people, where they need it, in a way that they will use it and at a price that is affordable.  In Pharmacy on a Bicycle, we show innovative and entrepreneurial individuals, organizations and governments can be more effective solving these business challenges and outline the steps to solve these challenges.  

So, how can we solve these challenges in global health?
The solutions requires innovation and entrepreneurship, building upon existing infrastructure, being more efficient and effective, partnering, creating demand and education, tasks shifting, having clear targets and accountability, and scaling what works.  And when it’s done, it works. 

Why are so many children dying in developing nations?
Actually, childhood deaths have decreased by 40% in the world in the past 20 years.   Much of this success is due to more business-like approaches towards preventing child deaths.  However we need to scale up what works and do even more.  

What about AIDS?  Why are so many people still dying of AIDS? 
The approach that has been taken to combat AIDS has very much followed the pattern that we present in the book to increase care quality, access and use while decreasing costs.  This started with PEPFAR, the President’s Emergency Program for AIDS Relief a decade ago under George W. Bush and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.  In the past decade there has been a 23-fold increase in the number of people on antiretroviral medications and the costs of these medications have decreased by 96%.  New infections are down 15%.  We are beginning to win at this battle, but to succeed, we must continue to use this process that works, that we describe in Pharmacy on a Bicycle.

In Pharmacy on a Bicycle, you talk about heart surgery that is 95% cheaper, but 100% as effective as what we can get in the US.  How is that possible? 
The hospital, Narayana Hrudayalaya, is in a poor area of Bangalore India.  It  has increased access and use of quality cardiac care, while dramatically reducing costs by following the key elements discussed in Pharmacy on a Bicycle.  In about the past decade it has performed 50,000 cardiac surgeries.  It is able to charge prices that are up to 95% cheaper than in the US and even up to 70% cheaper than other places in India. It supports over 100 other center in India and 50 more in Africa – all for free.  And it makes a profit!  It does this by being innovative and entrepreneurial, efficient and effective, conducting outreach and creating demand for services, stimulating mutually beneficial partnership, shifting tasks to lower skilled and priced providers and settings, creating clear targets and scaling up services.  It’s in the process of building a hospital in the Cayman Islands, just a 50 minute plane ride from Miami.  

How are mobile phones changing health care?
Almost 90% of the world’s population, even in developing countries, has access to mobile phones.  Mobile phones may help us create leap frog advances in health in developing countries.   We can do simple things like send text message reminders to patients.  You can shift care to lower skilled community providers because more experienced back up support is just a phone call or text message away.   The phones make it easier for data collection to evaluate system improvements in real time. 

What are you doing to change global health care as the Bush Institute’s Director for Global Health?
The Bush Institute believes there is no higher priority than saving lives.  The Bush Institute believes in moving thought into action.  This book, Pharmacy on A Bicycle, outlines the key ways that we can increase access, use and reduce costs of quality care.  We also have an initiative called the Pink Ribbon Red Ribbon, a public private partnership where many of these key elements are now being applied to cervical and breast cancer. 

We are currently dealing with heated health care debates here in the US.   Can the solutions that you cover in the book be applied here at home?
Absolutely.  The key elements presented in Pharmacy on a Bicycle to improve access and use of quality care, while reducing cost can be applied right here at home.  We merely present it in the context of developing countries because many more lives are needlessly lost there and many good examples of its application already exist there. 

Why did you write this book?
Quite simply, we wrote this book to save lives.  We believe that by following the elements in the book we can get good care to those who need it more in ways that they will use it and at a price that they can afford. 

We are one world.  Their health is our health.  That’s global health. 

BASF today joined industry leaders from across Canada at the second annual Sustainable Chemistry Summit in Montreal, Quebec. The summit, organized by GreenCentre Canada, runs for three days and brings together more than 150 attendees from across the chemistry industry.  

Charlene Wall-Warren, Sustainability Leader for BASF in North America, will participate in the panel session titled “Industry Discovery: What companies are looking for,” and will discuss how BASF is using chemistry and innovation to address the current and future demands of the world’s growing population.

“It is estimated that by 2050 more than nine billion people will live on this planet,” said Warren. “With this growth comes enormous global challenges. Combining sustainability and innovation, companies such as BASF are well positioned to deliver solutions to meet these challenges and as a result meet the needs of future generations.”

Using BASF’s battery materials business as a case study, Warren will discuss the company’s investment in lithium ion battery materials as a means of driving progress for sustainable, accessible electro-mobility.

The 2013 Sustainable Chemistry Summit, presented by GreenCentre Canada focuses on finding ways to connect discoveries with the industries that need them. The intensive three-day conference provides a venue for groups to meet, learn and address the global challenges of sustainability and climate change.

BASF - The Chemical Company

BASF Canada, located in Mississauga, Ontario is a subsidiary of BASF SE, and an affiliate of BASF Corporation. BASF Corporation, headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, is the North American affiliate of BASF SE, Ludwigshafen, Germany. BASF has more than 16,600 employees in North America, and had sales of $18.5 billion in 2012. For more information about BASF’s North American operations, visit www.basf.us. To find out more about BASF’s activities in Canada visit www.basf.ca or follow us on twitter: www.twitter.com/basfcanada.

BASF is the world’s leading chemical company: The Chemical Company. Its portfolio ranges from chemicals, plastics, performance products and crop protection products to oil and gas. We combine economic success with environmental protection and social responsibility. Through science and innovation, we enable our customers in nearly every industry to meet the current and future needs of society. Our products and solutions contribute to conserving resources, ensuring nutrition and improving quality of life. We have summed up this contribution in our corporate purpose: We create chemistry for a sustainable future. BASF posted sales of €78.7 billion in 2012 and had more than 113,000 employees as of the end of the year. Further information on BASF is available on the Internet at www.basf.com.

The Asian Forum on Corporate Social Responsibility (AFCSR) is the largest annual conference on corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the region. It was launched in 2002 by the AIM-Ramon V. del Rosario, Sr. Center for Corporate Social Responsibility, one of the first research centers in Asia concentrating on corporate responsibility issues.

The AFCSR is composed of about 30 sessions, attended by 300 to 500 delegates, and supported by 50-plus partners and sponsors. The conference features the integration of:

1. plenary sessions addressed by keynote speakers;
2. breakout sessions focusing on specific dynamics, learnings, and best practices of companies;
3. an expo showcasing specific company CSR programs, and
4. optional field visits to innovative CSR program sites in and around the city.

Following 11 successful conference runs in six of Southeast Asia’s major cities—Manila, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, Ho Chi Minh City and Singapore—the AFCSR continues to be at the forefront of CSR development in Asia.

This 2013, Bali in Indonesia will host the 12th AFCSR on September 23 & 24, Monday & Tuesday at the Grand Hyatt - Nusa Dua with the theme, CSR and the Challenge of Inclusive Growth: The Role of Social Innovation in Creating Lasting Impact.

(Marketwired) - Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) will hold its first Investor Day at Cisco Live 2013 on Tuesday, June 25 and Wednesday, June 26, 2013, in Orlando, Florida. Investor Day complements our annual Financial Analyst Conference, which takes place in the winter, by providing a deeper dive into Cisco's business and technology. Investor Day at Cisco Live 2013 is designed to give investors and analysts an opportunity to experience Cisco Live, while also providing discussions and engagements on our strategy, technology, and business.

For the latest event information and detailed agenda, visit the Investor Day at Cisco Live 2013 website and check back regularly at www.ciscolive.com/us/investorday.

Webcast replays of the sessions will be available on June 27, 2013 at investor.cisco.com.

About Cisco
Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) is the worldwide leader in IT that helps companies seize the opportunities of tomorrow by proving that amazing things can happen when you connect the previously unconnected. For ongoing news, please go to thenetwork.cisco.com.

Cisco and the Cisco logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Cisco and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and other countries. A listing of Cisco's trademarks can be found at www.cisco.com/go/trademarks. Third-party trademarks mentioned are the property of their respective owners. The use of the word partner does not imply a partnership relationship between Cisco and any other company.

RSS Feed for Cisco: newsroom.cisco.com/rss-feeds.

The Aspen Institute announced today the first 12-member class of the New Voices Fellowship, a groundbreaking new program designed to amplify expert voices from the developing world in the global development discussion. The 2013-2014 fellows come from 10 countries in Africa: Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Nigeria, Somalia and Tanzania.

They include the founder of an organization which promotes African-focused children’s literature; a Somali civil war refugee turned youth leader; a primary care expert from Ethiopia; a Cameroonian activist campaigning for women’s rights; a Malawian health systems expert helping to implement Swaziland’s universal HIV treatment program; the Ghanaian CEO of a technology company addressing social issues in West Africa; a physician working on preventing mother-to-child transmission of HIV in Tanzania; a nonprofit leader from Mali spearheading efforts to boost small-scale farmer income; two activists from Nairobi’s Kibera and Korogocho slums; a doctor and helicopter pilot from Nigeria; and an expert from the Democratic Republic of Congo on health care in Africa’s most remote regions.

These Fellows will undertake a program of intensive media training and mentorship to help them reach a broader global audience through both traditional and new media and speaking engagements.

“All too frequently, the most powerful leaders and practitioners in the developing world do not have access to global communications platforms to tell their stories in their own words,” said Peggy Clark, executive director of Aspen Global Health and Development, and also vice president of policy programs at the Aspen Institute. “The New Voices Fellows will give us insights into the most critical programs, solutions and innovations based on their own experiences and research.”

Supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the New Voices Fellowship was established in 2013 to bring the essential perspectives of committed development champions from Africa and other parts of the developing world into the global development debate.

The 2013-2014 New Voices Fellows are:

- Regina Agyare
CEO, Soronko Solutions, GHANA
Agyare’s work focuses on developing and promoting unique technology solutions to address social issues in Ghana and other parts of West Africa.

- Deborah Ahenkorah
Co-Founder and Executive Director, Golden Baobab, GHANA
A commitment to education and a passion for reading led Ahenkorah to establish the Golden Baobab Prize, which is aimed at encouraging the production of quality African children’s literature and promoting literacy.

- Mohamed Ali, J.D.
Founder, Iftiin Foundation, SOMALIA
A one-time refugee from Somalia’s long civil war, Ali now works through the Iftiin Foundation to encourage entrepreneurship among Somali youth and tighten ties with the Somali diaspora.

- Kassahun Desalegn, M.D.
Clinical Director, Gondar University Hospital, ETHIOPIA
Desalegn, the only dermatologist in an area of northern Ethiopia that is home to six million people, is focused on strengthening primary health care in developing countries.

- Yvonne Leina Fomuso
Founder and Coordinator, Gender Danger, CAMEROON
One of the world’s best known activists campaigning against the controversial traditional practice of breast ironing, Fomuso hopes to create a media training center for women.

- Jeffrey Misomali
Program Manager, Clinton Health Access Initiative, MALAWI
Misomali, a citizen of Malawi, has helped Swaziland lay the groundwork to become one of the first African countries with universal HIV treatment – a massive logistical challenge that represents the next phase of Africa’s AIDS response.

- Mary Mwanyika-Sando, M.D.
Maternal and Child Health Coordinator, Management and Development for Health, TANZANIA
Mwanyika-Sando, a medical doctor, has worked on efforts to scale up prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV in Tanzania and to start eligible HIV-positive pregnant women on antiretroviral drugs earlier.

- Salif Romano Niang
Co-founder and Chief Impact Officer, Malo Traders LLC, MALI
Niang put a U.S. academic career on hold to return to his native Mali and launch Malo Traders, an organization designed to combat extreme poverty and malnutrition by increasing the incomes of smallholder farmers and providing affordable fortified rice to consumers.

- Kennedy Odede
President and CEO, Shining Hope for Communities, KENYA
Odede, who grew up in Nairobi’s Kibera slum and went on to study at Wesleyan University, has become one of Africa’s best-known community organizers and has used his NGO to launch projects that range from a tuition-free school to eco-friendly toilets.

- Ola Orekunrin, M.D.
Managing Director, Flying Doctors Nigeria LTD, NIGERIA
Orekunrin is both a medical doctor and a helicopter pilot who set up Nigeria’s first air ambulance service. She now hopes to help improve paramedic training across West Africa.

- Jane Otai
Senior Program Advisor, Jhpiego, KENYA
Otai has worked to spread the news about family planning, prenatal care and HIV counseling in Nairobi’s Korogocho slum, using her own story as an example of what women can achieve when provided with family planning options.

- Jacques Sebisaho
Founder, Amani Global Works, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO
Sebisaho grew up on Idjwi island in Lake Kivu between the DRC and Rwanda, and since earning his medical degree has worked to improve healthcare there – and demonstrate that innovative healthcare results can be achieved in Africa’s remotest regions.

“I’m thrilled that we have such a strong and exciting group for the first New Voices class,” said Andrew Quinn, director of the Fellowship at Aspen. “These are people who have their sleeves rolled up and are working to make things better on the ground. They have a lot to tell the rest of us about what should come next in development.”

In addition to personal coaching on creating a dynamic platform to get their messages across, Fellows will receive introductions to select media outlets, serve as sources for journalists, and speak at high-profile conferences throughout the Fellowship period. The group will hold its first workshop in Johannesburg in June, with another group meeting later in the year.

Application to the Fellowship is by nomination only, and nominations will open in October 2013 for the next class. The 2014-15 New Voices Fellows will be announced in early 2014.

For more about the New Voices Fellowship and further information about this year’s Fellows, please visit www.aspennewvoices.org or email us at aspennewvoices@aspeninst.org. Follow all the Fellows on Twitter at @aspennewvoices.

The Aspen Institute is an educational and policy studies organization based in Washington, D.C. Its mission is to foster leadership based on enduring values and to provide a nonpartisan venue for dealing with critical issues. The Institute is based in Washington, D.C.; Aspen, Colorado; and on the Wye River on Maryland's Eastern Shore. It also has offices in New York City and an international network of partners. For more information, visit: www.aspeninstitute.org.

At a time when the need is greatest and the resources are scarcest, leaders of social programs want to be able to accomplish even more and demonstrate the results. With that in mind, evidence-based practice is high on the leadership agenda.

Using Evidence to Improve Social Program Effectiveness, one of the newest Executive Education program at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, addresses the challenge that managers face in identifying useful strategies, will enable participants to better able to discover, assess and present different types of evidence that will increase the effectiveness of the social programs that your organization undertakes, and support your efforts to obtain and/or sustain funding.

Led by renowned Harvard faculty, this one-week program brings together a diverse group of accomplished peers, including leaders in government, corporate and nonprofit organizations from around the world to consider a wide range of types of evaluation methods. Applications are now being accepted.

2012 participants discuss their experience in the program.

You can learn more about the program and apply online at www.hks.harvard.edu/ee/ue.

The American Sustainable Business Council (ASBC), whose members represent 165,000 U.S. businesses, sent a letter to President Obama today urging him to seize the opportunity to close overseas corporate tax loopholes at the upcoming international G8 meeting. International tax issues are expected to be a key focus of the meeting – unless blocked by the United States.

A recent letter from the US Chamber of Commerce and other business lobby groups pushed the President to block the reform efforts to protect the loopholes for the few U.S. multinational companies who use them. G8 host British Prime Minister David Cameron has proposed taking up international tax rules reform at the meeting. In the United States, Apple CEO Tim Cook was recently brought before a Senate committee to explain his company’s tax avoidance activities.   

The ASBC letter pointed out that, “When companies play one country’s tax laws against another, and have developed a system in which their international subsidiaries hold billions of dollars of profits untaxed in any nation, this is a problem for all nations.”

The letter concludes, “We hope we can count on you to support efforts to close down the world’s tax havens at the upcoming G-8 meeting and to insure that in this country we work toward revenue-positive corporate tax reform that demands that all businesses pay their fair share so that we have adequate revenue to invest in America’s infrastructure, schools and small businesses, allowing all of our businesses to thrive and to be competitive in the 21st century global economy.”

National, scientific polling of small business owners finds that 91% of business owners think it is a problem when multinational corporations used accounting loopholes to shift their U.S. profits to offshore subsidiaries to avoid paying taxes. And, 85% of small business owners (including two-thirds of Republican small business owners) oppose a shift to a territorial tax system, such as advocated by the US Chamber and its allies.

The full text of the letter may be found here: http://asbcouncil.org/sites/default/files/library/docs/asbc_letter_to_president_obama_on_g8final.pdf

The American Sustainable Business Council and its member organizations represent more than 165,000 businesses nationwide, and more than 300,000 entrepreneurs, executives, managers, and investors. The council includes chambers of commerce, trade associations, and groups representing small business, investors, microenterprise, social enterprise, green and sustainable business, local living economy, and women and minority business leaders. ASBC informs and engages policy makers and the public about the need and opportunities for building a vibrant and sustainable economy. www.asbcouncil.org

 CarMax, Inc. (NYSE: KMX), the nation’s largest retailer of used cars, announced today the launch of a $4.1 million national partnership between The CarMax Foundation and KaBOOM!. Through this partnership, The Foundation and KaBOOM! will build 30 playgrounds across the United States by the end of 2015, benefitting 100,000 children. KaBOOM! is the national nonprofit organization dedicated to giving kids the childhood they deserve by bringing play to those who need it most. To celebrate the official coast-to-coast launch of the partnership, more than 400 volunteers simultaneously built two new playgrounds today in Richmond, Va. and Los Angeles, Calif.

Only one in five children live within walking distance of a park or playground,* and children ages eight to 12 spend an average of 7.5 hours a day in front of a screen.** This play deficit is having profound consequences for kids physically, socially and cognitively. The new partnership supports the KaBOOM! vision of a great place to play within walking distance of every child in America.

The partnership is a three-year commitment with three distinct impact areas. First, the 30 nationwide community-built playgrounds will be designed by children and built by volunteers from local partners and thousands of CarMax associates. Second, The Foundation is donating 11 Imagination Playgrounds to select partner organizations. This breakthrough playspace concept includes innovative, reconfigurable loose-parts for children to design their own playground. The third component of the partnership includes a collaboration to identify and eradicate “Play Deserts” – areas that have lots of kids but not enough places to play – through crowd-sourced data from the KaBOOM! Map of Play.

This year, the Foundation is celebrating its 10-year anniversary with a new focus on children’s healthy living. This focus has been directed by associates, who have expressed a desire to help today’s youth address the important issues of obesity and lack of physical activity. In addition, the partnership is launching during CarMax Cares Month, the annual height of associate volunteerism.

“CarMax has a strong culture of integrity, teamwork and taking care of each other. It’s our culture of caring for others that has drawn our associates to the issue of children’s healthy living,” said Lynn Mussatt, president of The CarMax Foundation and CarMax’s vice president of business operations. “Our associates across the country will impact countless families by helping get kids moving and playing.”

Today’s coast-to-coast playground builds are just the start. In the next year, The Foundation and KaBOOM! nationwide tour will include playground builds in the following cities: Richmond, Va.; Los Angeles, Calif.; Baltimore, Md.; Chicago, Ill.; Kansas City, Kan.; Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; Phoenix, Ariz.; Dallas, Texas; and Atlanta, Ga. The Foundation and KaBOOM! are actively seeking nonprofit partners for these builds. For more information on being a partner, please visit the KaBOOM! website.

“Associates who volunteered at past KaBOOM! and Foundation builds in Los Angeles and Nashville left the experience energized and inspired,” said Damon Devins, CarMax location general manager in Buena Park, Calif., and KaBOOM! volunteer. “The true reward for all of us involved will be seeing children playing on these playgrounds for years to come.”

Research shows that children who participate in regular physical activity and play are healthier, feel more connected to their community, foster positive attitudes toward diversity, build confidence and perform better in the classroom.

“Play is disappearing across the country, but partnerships like this one with The CarMax Foundation will help give kids the childhood they deserve,” said Darell Hammond, Founder and CEO of KaBOOM!. “Kids need to play actively every day – at home, in schools and in communities. We are grateful to The CarMax Foundation and their commitment to play for children of all ages.”

About The CarMax Foundation
The CarMax Foundation is designed to enrich the communities where our associates live and work by providing volunteers, matching gifts and grants to qualifying nonprofit organizations across the country. Since 2003, The Foundation has donated more than $15 million to nonprofits with programs focusing on education, youth leadership, wellness and children’s healthy living. Funding programs are made available through a portion of CarMax, Inc.’s pre-tax profits. The Foundation matches associates’ and their families’ donated time and personal monetary commitments up to $10,000 per associate each year. In the past year alone, associates have participated in more than 600 volunteer team builder projects across a variety of nonprofit organizations. For more information on The CarMax Foundation, visit www.carmaxcares.com.

CarMax, a member of the FORTUNE 500 and the S&P 500, and one of the FORTUNE 2013 “100 Best Companies to Work For,” is the nation’s largest retailer of used cars. Headquartered in Richmond, Va., CarMax currently operates 121 used car superstores in 61 markets. The CarMax consumer offer is structured around four customer benefits: low, no-haggle prices; a broad selection; high quality vehicles; and customer-friendly service. During the 12 months that ended February 28, 2013, the company retailed 447,728 used cars and sold 324,779 wholesale vehicles at its in-store auctions. Twitter: @CarMax, @CarMaxCares

About KaBOOM!
KaBOOM! is the national non-profit dedicated to giving kids the childhood they deserve by bringing play to those who need it most. Children today spend less time playing outdoors than any previous generation, a fact that is having disastrous consequences on their health, achievement levels, and overall well-being. Social entrepreneur Darell Hammond founded non-profit KaBOOM! in 1996 in Washington, D.C. with a vision of creating a great place to play within walking distance of every child in America because children need to play actively every day at home, in school and in their communities. Since then, KaBOOM! has mapped over 90,000 places to play, built more than 2,300 playgrounds, and successfully advocated for play policies in hundreds of cities across the country. KaBOOM! also provides communities with online tools to self-organize and take action to support play on both a local and national level. Hammond chronicles the founding of the organization and the importance of the cause of play in his The New York Times Best Seller KaBOOM!: A Movement to Save Play, now out in paperback. The book details how businesses and communities can work together to save play for children across the country. All author proceeds support KaBOOM!. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., KaBOOM! also has an office in San Mateo, Calif. For more information, visit www.kaboom.org or follow on Twitter @kaboom.

* Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
** Kaiser Family Foundation