You may recall that Cargill, Inc. gave a gift to ONSC in June 2010 mentioned in this blog post: The Launch of the Mango Fleet. Cargill has continued to be a strong partner since that time and has recently agreed to support us significantly again in 2011. Read more about their commitment in this guest post by Stephanie Burroughs:
Let me give you a little background about Cargill. I think after knowing a bit more about the company, you’ll understand why we are so passionate about Ozark Natural Science Center!
Founded in 1865, our privately held company employs 131,000 people in 66 countries. Our corporate responsibility extends beyond our own operations to the wider communities in the 66 countries in which we live and work. At Cargill, we recognize the complex challenges facing our world. We also know that we can achieve progress on difficult issues by working together with our stakeholders. We collaborate with organizations around the world to improve the nutrition and health of those in our communities, provide access to education and encourage responsible stewardship of natural resources.
Resource stewardship is critical for Cargill. Fulfilling our purpose of nourishing people requires clean water, soil and air. As a global food and agriculture company, we are focused on a sustainable future that reduces demands on the environment as populations continue to grow. Our innovative approaches to conserve resources, use renewable raw materials and reduce impacts are helping to preserve and protect the environment, and delivering results for our customers, our employees, our communities and our planet.
We’ve set some lofty goals, such as our commitment to reduce absolute GHG emissions from our U.S. operations by joining the Chicago Climate Exchange. To fulfill these goals and to continue to strive for a more sustainable business, Cargill needs employees who think globally.
The education the kids of our area receive at ONSC is invaluable in developing the future generation of business leaders that balance economic prosperity with sustainability and care for the environment. We believe that ONSC plants the seed of that thinking with our area school children.
Additionally, another tenet of Cargill’s culture is community engagement. We know that our continued success depends on the growth and health of the communities in which we live and work. That is why we work with a diverse group of global, national, and local organizations to bring positive, measurable improvements to our communities. The impact of our fiscal giving is extended by the volunteer efforts of our employees worldwide. Our Ambassador program encourages employees to give of their time to volunteer organizations in their communities, and provides two hours of paid time per month to volunteer. We target our charitable giving to programs that provide long-term solutions, engage our employees and leverage their expertise.
Two of our three focus areas align perfectly with ONSC’s mission - the environment and education. We believe in ONSC’s commitment to the education of our children. Many employees have been chaperones on fifth grade trips, and have reported that they probably learned as much and had as much fun as the kids they supervised. These employees are wildly passionate about ONSC.
We truly believe that ONSC is shaping our future generation of leaders at a pivotal point in their lives, and look forward to continuing to find ways that we can work together to provide this access to education in stewardship of natural resources.
It’s been my personal pleasure to work with Beth and Jason to find innovative projects to help the cause, whether it be purchasing a fleet of canoes or helping establish the center’s first rain garden. All of us here at Cargill are passionate about ONSC! I would encourage other companies who have a similar passion and commitment to find ways to support this invaluable resource to our community!
0 comments:
Post a Comment