If one group of human beings deserves recognition and appreciation it has to be Family. On May 15th we’re recognizing the International Day of Families. This year the recognition of families has as its intention a focus on the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and in particular, climate change.
Quoting from the UN website [LINK] we learn about these goals.
“On 25 September 2015, the 193 member states of the United Nations unanimously adopted the Sustainable Development Goals; a set of 17 goals aiming to eliminate poverty, discrimination, abuse and preventable deaths, address environmental destruction, and usher in an era of development for all people, everywhere. Families and family-oriented policies and programs are vital for the achievement of many of these goals.”
The goals are inspiring… to eliminate poverty and discrimination, eliminate abuse and preventable deaths – wonderful. The goals of eliminating poverty and discrimination and addressing environmental destruction are AMS’ goals as well. We continue to put best practices in place which align with these Sustainable Development Goals of the UN.
A Bit of History
The UN General Assembly proclaimed the International Year of the Family in December of 1989. Later in 1993 the General Assembly indicated a commemorative day dedicated to families. The purpose was to bring to our awareness social, economic and demographic issues related to or affecting families. The Sustainable Development Goals were written and established 22 years later, in 2015.
We Are a Family
AMS considers itself a corporate family and we do our best to appreciate our co-workers as family. How do we support the goal of eliminating poverty and discrimination at AMS? Our activities committee finds ways to contribute to the community, helping in various fundraisers and making donations to organizations that support our underrepresented communities. From time to time our clients wish to donate and we are happy to facilitate those donations as well.
We hire individuals who are at risk of homelessness, single mothers and fathers, individuals with a prison record, disabled persons; many men and women for whom getting hired is a challenge. We practice DE&I as well, which in essence means there is absolutely no exclusion, inequity or discrimination based on race or gender in our hiring, promotion and development programs of employees.
How do we support the goal of addressing environmental destruction? We work together to ‘Go Green’! Our family fully participates in recycling – and that includes an enormous amount of plastic stretch film that every fulfillment company deals with. Our waste film is recycled into new plastic products. The AMS facilities and equipment are as ‘green’ as possible as are the packaging materials we purchase and utilize.
Climate Change
AMS joins with the UN in recognizing and dealing with the effects of climate change. The following is from the UN:
“Climate change negatively impacts the health and well-being of families through increased pollution, while extreme weather events exacerbated by climate change, such as hurricanes, droughts and floods, often lead to forced displacement and loss of livelihoods for families and individuals. Such events impact agricultural productivity and access to water, intensifying hunger and vulnerability. They cause economic disruption in industries sensitive to climate impacts such as agriculture and fisheries. Without drastic action, adaptation to and mitigation of the impacts of climate change will become increasingly difficult and costly.”
The AMS family is doing its very best in not allowing our company to carelessly pollute the environment, both with eliminating emissions through GHG reporting and carbon offsetting and also with extensive recycling. AMS was carbon neutral in 2023 and we are doing our best to do the same or better in 2024.
Our At-Home Families
Of course we understand that the UN focus on families is referring to our at-home families – our mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters, our children and grandchildren, our uncles and aunts, our grandmothers and grandfathers, our Families. Our first lessons in relationships with others are learned in our families.
For most of us, family is our precious foundation, giving us the feeling of security, care, a listening ear, shared responsibility, respect, and stability. The issues that the UN focuses upon are the health of our families, our education, the work-family balance and inclusion.
We will conclude with one more quote from the UN:
“Empowering families through education, changing consumption habits, and advocacy is critical for meaningful and effective climate action. Families pass values across generations, so instilling sustainable habits and climate awareness in families from an early age is important. Integrating circular economy principles into early childhood education can help build a sustainable economic model based on minimizing waste and regenerating natural resources. Families as consumers and advocates can drive the transition to a circular economy.”
Yes we can! A circular economy refers to repairing, re-using, recycling, sharing… extending the life-cycle of those things we use. Learning to care about our Earth and our environment begins in the family and we are happy to put our minds to minimizing waste and doing so as a family. Happy International Day of Families, AMS!
** ** **
AMS Fulfillment is a Certified B Corporation, dedicated to putting People and Planet before profit. We work to B the Change we wish to see in the world.
