Sustainable Development Assignment: Developing Action Plan For Skyway Charity
Question
Task:
The sustainable development assignment consists of six set exercises that are built each week into the final report. Drawing specifically on the set assessment exercises for each week; create a personal action plan for your organization or community to deliver the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Critically analyze a specific issue from the session that you personally see as relevant for your organization or community in relation to that SDG topic
Answer
The aim of the current sustainable development assignment is to analyse specific sustainability issues relevant to the organisation I work for. The study would focus on the comprehensive use of the goals to help the organisation to commit to an explicit target. The Skyway charity is a Non-profit organisation in London, UK. This organisation works with the vulnerable people aged between 8 and 25 years in inner London while enabling them to achieve their personal goals by helping them comprehend their potential and to contribute to the community in a positive manner (Skyway Charity, 2021). There are less than 50 employees working within the organisation. Services offered by the organisation include online youth sessions, children’s life coaching and mental health support and so on. Working as a social media marketing manager, the SGD goals would be applied to ensure positive change within the organisation.
Week 1
SDG Goal 16: Peace Justice and Strong Institutions
Question 1
Issues relating to human rights emerging with the organisation are needed to be mitigated through the application of ethical business operations. Ethical issues mostly observed include payment gap and tackling ethical dilemma emerging within a work setting. As identified from the UN Sustainable Developmental Goals 16, some of the major targets include promotion of rule of law, ending abuse and exploitation, reduction in corruption and others. As mentioned by BBC (2021), the collection of moral principles that influence a person to make certain decisions on the basis of judging the impact on self and others can be called ethics. Philosophers have categorised ethics into three theories such as Meta ethics, applied ethics and normative ethics (Rao, 2014).
The incidents of abuse, underpayment, discrimination and others could impact on the reputation of the company and it creates barrier in making an organisation sustainable and progressive. For instance, child labour can be referred to as the grey area in spite of the application of laws and standard norms for guiding the conduct of the organisational members. This is a serious violence of the fundamental rights of the children which are needed to be addressed. Additionally, the incidents of child abuse are also rising in the context of different social settings. This is also creating a necessity for the organisations to maintain a standard protocol for prompting ethical behaviour within the organisation. There are various laws and regulations enforced by the local and federal governments to protect the human rights of the children in UK. The child labour exploitation incidents has grown to 63% and it is a severe issue that needs to be addressed by the charity organisations like Skyway charity (Independent, 2021). One of the major targets set in the SGD 16 is to ensure access of the public to protect their fundamental freedoms. Therefore, following the goal would help in providing adequate information to the target people so that the rights of the children can be protected.
Question 2
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Week 1: SGD 16 Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions |
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Target 11: “Ensure public access to information and protect fundamental freedoms, in accordance with national legislation and international agreements.” |
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Summary |
Depending on the target 11 under the SDG 16, community members associated with the organisation are being provided with access to information such as reporting breach of fundamental rights and relevant legislation. |
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What we could do |
Addressing this issue in future would require scalability and widespread information exchange between different social groups would require legitimate attention towards improvement of the capability of the organisation to promote their campaigns to a large number of people. In this context, the social media would be a helpful platform for connecting with different groups of people to enable them identifying the issues around relating to the breach of fundamental rights, abusing behaviour towards children and unethical exploitation of the children as well (Lashley, 2016). Specifically, the social media platform would be used to generate public awareness about the rights of the children through presenting different evidence based information which would help educating the target people so that they can be equipped for identifying the issue area, connecting with their local authorities and mitigate the issue successfully within the community as well. |
Week 2
SDG Goal 6: “Ensure access to water and sanitation for all”
Question 1
The SDG 6 developed by UN is based on the importance of accessing clean water for the wellbeing of both the human beings and the natural world as well. It can be considered as a responsibility of the organisation to perform ethically and meeting the social needs is closely associated with how the business is being operated and how the business is using natural resources such as water (Downe et al., 2016). As a social organisation, Skyway Charity has a responsibility to ensure the economic use of the natural resources as those are the valuable asset for development of the growing generation. Unclear water might become responsible for different types of health issues which would degrade the overall quality of life of the children under the organisation’s reach as well as children that are out of reach of the organisation. Additionally, community progress and improvement of the living conditions may be achieved effectively by allowing access to clean water which would protect them from infectious diseases and other issues. the issue is mainly observable in rural areas where the basic services like clean water supply is bounded due to remoteness and lack of capability of the local authorities as well. It could be identified that 19% of the people on earth do not have access to clean water and vulnerable to many life threatening diseases (World Health Organisation, 2021).
Therefore, taking responsibility from the end of the business organisations would be of utmost importance to ensure the water access to the people under service paradigm of Skyway. As mentioned by Sternberg (2009), the business responsibilities are influenced by some certain factors that directly or indirectly direct the organisation to make specific step towards formulating a plan or decision. The business, social norms and the role of the stakeholders are the three main factors that impact on the responsible decision making of the businesses. Therefore, the role of Skyway would be enhancing public awareness, collaborating with the businesses to develop standards and others.
Question 2
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Week 2: SDG Goal 6: “Ensure access to water and sanitation for all” |
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Target 16: “Enhance the global partnership for sustainable development, complemented by multi-stakeholder partnerships that mobilize and share knowledge, expertise, technology and financial resources, to support the achievement of the sustainable development goals in all countries, in particular developing countries.” |
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Summary |
Depending on the target 16 under the SDG 6, partnering with different local organisations has been taken under consideration as a means of sharing expertise, concern and responsibilities to increase the ability to maintain the economy of using natural resources. |
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What we could do |
Charity organisations like Skyway has a responsibility towards enabling the community partners to take adequate actions against the environmental protection as this heavily influence the health of the children. Therefore, on the basis target 16 of goal 6 the organisation decides to collaborate with organisations with different objectives and expertise so that an accumulated set of skills and knowledge may be used to mitigate the problem under discussion (Parent and Deephouse, 2007). Business organisations would be provided with support and assistance in planning the use of natural resources for the business purpose. Additionally, the business organisations can also be encouraged to contribute to the arrangement along with the assistance with the local authority to bring adequate water access to the community. Particularly the business organisations would be approached for financial assistance as serving the community would be impossible without financial resources. |
Week 3
SDG Goal 13: “Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts”
Question 1
During the year 2019, the level of carbon emission has risen to a higher level than the previous years. The average global temperature has increased by 0.85°C between the year 1880 and 2012 (United Nations, 2021). This indicates towards derogatory environmental changes which can lead to several natural disasters such as Storm Desmond that took place in the year 2015 and affect the living conditions of the community people in future. Sustainable approach towards the reduction of carbon emission can be taken under consideration by Skyway to ensure a better physical world for the people targeted to be reached with charity services. The issues that are taking place as a result of global climate change can be addressed using mitigation, adaption and resilience methods. As Skyway is working with the community people and expect to promote the wellbeing of those people, increasing awareness, capacity development and education (Hamann et al., 2020). However, it would be important to consider that the distribution of wealth, access, risk and education are not the same in different areas in UK. Therefore, the strategies that would be taken to improve the condition can depend on the extent of research and evidence gathered about these elements to ensure that the planning developed are appropriate to the need of the target people.
This organisation has arranged a peer development program which aims at enabling the workers to support the delivery activities so that they can inspire the young children served under this charity organisation. The activities of the organisation relating to the mitigation of environmental impacts, cultivating adaptive strategies are directly related to the goal 13 which would help restoring the ability of the community members to create a better future for the children.
Question 2
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Week 3: SDG Goal 6: “Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts” |
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Target 3: “Improve education, awareness-raising and human and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction and early warning.” |
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Summary |
Depending on the target 16 under the SDG 6, it can be stated that the organisation has been implementing different strategies to make the local business authorities aware of the impact of their business activities on climate change which is eventually performed through collaborative sustainable decision making and others. |
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What we could do |
In order to mitigate this issue adequately in future approaching the business organisations only would not be helpful to change the behaviours of the community people contributing to the climate change (Barua et al., 2014). Therefore, the local community awareness would be enhanced with the help of education, where the target people of the organisation such as the children and youth would be equipped with knowledge about how the minimal issues at their community can be addressed. For instance, promoting understanding about the causes and consequences of climate change on earth and eventually on themselves and their future, tentative measures that they may required adapting to deal with the climate change issues. It can be started with using green energy for household works such as cooking, illuminating and others. Additionally, a youth community group can be developed to promote the effective waste management measures through which the issues can be handled at the first hand. |
Week 4
SDG Goal
Question 1
As per the tenets of Wen and Zhao (2020), it is the patterns of worldwide production and consumption which is the driving force behind the global economy. This is dependent on the utilisation of natural resources and the environment in ways that continue to be having a destructive impact on planets. It has been said that the problem of wastage of food is a global problem but with local solutions (de Witte, 2020). The problems with food wastage are multifarious and it implies that money is lost as food is not consumed but purchased and there is also an increment in the cost of recycling and disposal. Keeping businesses aside it is the households in the United Kingdom that are capable of generating 4.5 million tonnes of wasted food per annum adding to a financial loss of 700 GBP. It has been seen that if by 2030 per capita global food wastage is reduced by half then there will be e reduction of carbon footprint by 38 per cent that is equal to the total GHG emissions by the Japanese economy. That will also impact the problems of climate change.
According to the opinions of Pfante and Rosso (2020), climate change is a culmination of wasteful distribution of food along with their consumption patterns in countries of higher income such as the UK. Wastage of food implies that water and energy are also being wasted that had been utilised for it to harvest, grow, package or transport the same. If food material is wasted and turns to rot in bins or in landfills it can be producing methane which is a greenhouse gas that is more destructive than carbon dioxide (Schio, 2020). The grocers buy food that looks good but while maintaining a vegetable garden all of the produce shall be evenly utilised that is even the oddly shaped vegetables or carrots that are too small. The odd-looking vegetables can still be eaten and need not be wasted or dumped causing landfill pollution. Long routes of transportation ensure that the bulk of the vegetable rot till the time they reach the markets and are discarded.
Question 2
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Week 4: SDG Goal 12: “SDG 12 Responsible Consumption and Production” |
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Target 3: “The target is to ensure by 2030 that people have awareness and information regarding sustainable development along with lifestyles that are coordinated with nature.” |
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Summary |
SkyWay Charity has already held many sessions in 2020 in regards to ways regarding sustainable development that are ecologically viable. |
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What we could do |
They can invite conservationists to speak at their local forum about the benefits of having a local back garden and how it is the best utilisation of space. A few of the facts and figures that should be focussed on is the utilisation of local produce so that food that is imported is less (Indicators.report, 2021). The problem with food imports is that every year about one-third of the billion tonnes of food, that is, worth 1 trillion dollars that is roughly 7,17,93,50,00,000 GBP rots in bins due to delays in transportation and improper harvesting practices. The dependence on transport can be lowered by making the best use of fruits and vegetable that are locally harvested and produced in small vegetable patches (undp.org, 2021). They should also deliver sessions on the use of community services such as gardening which trains the delinquent youth who seek charity for rehabilitation. |
Week 5
SDG Goal 4: “Quality Education”
Question 1
Quality Education is the SDG goal that the organisation Skyway Charity is focusing on. There is an effort on the part of Skyway Charity to channelise the skills they have and helping them to gain qualifications through vocational training and alternative education programmes. Through alternative education and training programmes like mechanics, literacy, beauty industry training, there is an attempt at supporting the disadvantaged young people to create their own business. The focus is on aiding the vulnerable and disadvantaged people between the ages of 8 to 25 years from deprived London neighbourhoods (SKYWAY. 2021). Skyway is keen to ensure that the there is end to end support given to these transitioning youths. By involving them in job clubs and experience earning apprenticeship opportunities in organisations, effort is being taken to channelise their energy away anti-social activities towards a more balanced emotional and financial future. There is tremendous focus on mental and physical health awareness through the Skyway Charity programmes and there are training imparted on learning life skills.
In the opinion of Boeren, (2019), SDG4 of the United Nations that is associated with “2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”, give a lot of importance to educating the disadvantaged youth in order to give them opportunities to come at par with the privileged lot. However, there are many issues that are associated with evaluation of this quality education. According to the opinion of Unterhalter, (2019), there has been a lot of improvement associated with removing the narrow concepts of primary education and including vocational as well as skill based training to give better opportunities for sustainable developmental focus. There has been a deliberate push with the help of charity organisations like Skyway to ensure that the education is an outcome based effort and not just a window dressing in the path to gain inclusive and equality promoting education.
Question 2
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Week 5: SDG Goal 4: “Quality Education” |
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Target 4.6: “By 2030, ensure that all youth and a substantial proportion of adults, both men and women, achieve literacy and numeracy” |
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Summary |
The focus on vocational training and placing youths in a position where they are employable is the main focus. The transition programme of the charity is involved in arranging job clubs and experience earning apprenticeship opportunities in organisations for such trained youths, in an effort to channelise their energy to a sustainable brighter future. |
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What we could do |
Better contribution can be achieved through the Donut Economics model, which focuses on building the social foundation by building the basis of education and income that will eventually lead to awareness related to health and social equity. Skyway Charity is working the correct path but it is important that there is effort taken by them not only to increase their area of operation beyond London neighbourhoods. There is the need to ensure other than the age group of 8 to 25 years the programme of imparting vocational training can also be extended to women who are socially down trodden. This will have a double impact in the form of uplifting their condition along with giving a better life to their children, so the benefit will span more than 2 generations thus having a wider reach. This training will also aid in achieving another SDG of ensuring gender equality through providing economic independence to women. |
Week 6
SDG Goal 17: “Revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development”
Question 1
Sustainable developmental goal 17 is about creating “partnership for the goals”. Only through cross- sector and cross-country collaboration among corporations and charities it is possible to ensure that any form of sustainable developmental goals that are targeted can be achieved. Through partnerships across global organisations only will it be possible to ensure that more financial resources are available wherever needed. Educational and vocational training programmes are provided by Skyway Charity; however on collaboration with multiple educational institutes it is possible to impact the life of the target segment with the state of the art technology oriented study.
In the opinion of Stott and Murphy, (2020), transformational collaboration with universities and industry leading organisation can aid in ensuring wider access for the youth that are focused upon by Skyway for education and training. The concept is associated with integrative growth as is possible through collaborative apprentice training with multinationals for the pupils of Skyway. In the opinion of Melo, (2018), through PPP( public private partnership) collaborative efforts it is possible to gain a lot of grounds in education and training, through raising of better funds than is possible for individual charities. Involving various stakeholders group will only ensure that there is a sustainable development possible that can lead to a long term benefit (MacDonald et al., 2018). In the case of Skywalk it is essential that they have to make collaborations with other vocational training institutes to ensure that the students can achieve some growth. It can be an NGO to NGO effort that can provide better reach in the area of education (SDG4) that the organisation so passionately tries to follow. Collaboration with universities and schools can also ensure that drop outs can again be urged back to main stream education and not limit them to vocational training only and thus enhance more opportunities.
Question 2
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Week 6: SDG Goal 17: “Revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development” |
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Target 17.7: “Promote the development, transfer, dissemination and diffusion of environmentally sound technologies to developing countries on favourable terms, including on concessional and preferential terms, as mutually agreed” |
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Summary |
The focus on vocational training and placing youths in a position where they are employable is the main focus. The transition programme of the charity is involved in arranging job clubs and experience earning apprenticeship opportunities in organisations for such trained youths, in an effort to channelise their energy to a sustainable brighter future. |
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What we could do |
Better contribution can be achieved through the Donut Economics model, which focuses on building the social foundation by building the basis of education and income that will eventually lead to awareness related to health and social equity. Skyway Charity is working the correct path but it is important that there is effort taken by them not only to increase their area of operation beyond London neighbourhoods. There is the need to ensure other than the age group of 8 to 25 years the programme of imparting vocational training can also be extended to women who are socially down trodden. This will have a double impact in the form of uplifting their condition along with giving a better life to their children, so the benefit will span more than 2 generations thus having a wider reach. This training will also aid in achieving another SDG of ensuring gender equality through providing economic independence to women. |
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