In celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month in the U.S., Ibi Montesino, SVP of North America at Herbalife Nutrition shares stories of Latina independent distributors. Each of their stories highlights how they balance becoming an entrepreneurs and motherhood all while making impact on their communities.
If the value of all goods and services produced by the Latino community in the U.S. were a standalone economy, it would be the 7th largest in the world. Today, there are 4.37 million Hispanic-owned businesses in the U.S., which contribute more than $700 billion to the economy annually, according to the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. These businesses have provided almost 2.7 million jobs to U.S. workers.
By Marla Blow, Senior Vice President of Social Impact, North America, Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth
Inclusive growth ensures that the benefits of a growing economy extend to all segments of society, and research suggests that productivity is determined less by a person's skills and abilities, and more by their access to the vital networks that power the modern economy. But access to these physical, virtual and social networks is not equally available, and Black people have been deliberately excluded from these networks.
Roughly half the industries in our economy face significant water risks.
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by Kirsten James, Director of Water at Ceres
Our research shows that roughly half the industries in our economy face significant water risks. That’s the startling insight we uncovered when we analyzed the sectors represented in the four main U.S. stock indices. These risks, including dwindling water sources, pollution, climate change and increasing competition, affect industries across the board, from agriculture to utilities, apparel to oil and gas.
Right now, sustainably minded business is good business. The global coronavirus pandemic has jeopardized the health of our communities, impeded our ability to support local business — causing a historical spike in unemployment — and prevented us from connecting with friends and families.
In damaging the wellbeing of communities around the world, coronavirus has also hurt the wellbeing of small business stakeholders. So, if we want the economy to thrive in this new world, we need to do well by our neighbors.
by Jessye Waxman, Green Century Capital Management
As a shareholder advocate for an environmentally-responsible mutual fund company, I directly engage companies on their supply chain strategies and have successfully convinced them to adopt practices that have real-world impacts that protect a triple bottom line. I’ve collaborated with Aramark and Tyson Foods to develop robust no-deforestation commitments, and have successfully pressed Kroger, the largest grocery chain in the US, to adopt a no-deforestation policy that will cover its private label products.
Recently, we announced a partnership with Certify My Company to assist self-classified suppliers in obtaining third-party diversity certifications.
The partnership furthers our commitment to increase overall spend with small and diverse suppliers to 25 percent by 2025. Our robust supply chain already includes more than 6,000 small or diverse suppliers, about 18 percent of which are third-party certified as diverse. A diverse business is generally defined as one that is 51 percent owned and controlled by women, ethnic minorities, veterans, LGBTQ, or disabled person(s).
