To celebrate our 90th birthday, and help us look ahead to the next 90 years, we asked leading sustainability, purpose and business influencers to share their thoughts on how companies with purpose will be successful in the future.
I feel privileged to be young in 2020. To be living in a magical age of technology and connectivity that brings people together from all corners of the world. To be working in a business that has a voice and action plans to address important issues affecting our world – from climate change to mental resilience, inclusion and the plastics crisis.
Being young is a gift – and one that we don’t get to keep for long. That’s why I’m determined to use my energy, spirit and vigour to live my purpose, step into the world and make a difference.
I’m trying to do that here in Kenya by launching and leading a programme to educate and encourage people across Nairobi, our capital city, to see the value in collecting and recycling the litter that plagues our streets. We’ve called it U-Turn.
People tend to throw their plastic waste aside, without a thought for the environment. They’re just used to seeing it discarded. But by teaching children to dispose of it in the right way, and by forging partnerships with local scavengers and recycling groups, we are turning that rubbish into something useful. We’re contributing to the circular economy, reducing plastic waste and showing future generations how we can care for our planet.
Thanks to support from Unilever’s Brighter Future Fund, we’ve been able to reach 190 schools across Nairobi with the message. We’ve got a blueprint for making positive change, and I believe this programme has huge potential. I’d love to reach every child in Kenya – in fact every child in East Africa! – and get this important lesson out there.