SHERPA Institute

We rarely cross-pollinate from Facebook to LinkedIn (usually vice-versa), but we feel compelled to share this local Patriot Day Event in our little North Alabama HQ City. If you are located in the United States and are wondering what YOU can do to make a difference on 9/11 - Patriot Day, consider showing appreciation to your local Fire and Rescue folks. In the attached flyers, we have detailed what OUR Fire and Rescue folks need for support. In our HQ City, there is ONLY BOTTLED WATER budgeted for needs that far exceed this paltry allowance. Perhaps your city is more enlightened and provides sufficiently for its Fire and Rescue Department. Our city leaves it to our local HEROES to pool their funds out of their own pockets, from a salary that does not match their daily willingness to make the ultimate sacrifice. We would be very interested in learning what YOUR city provides, as we are going to advocate for more appropriate budgeting. PLEEASE COMMENT BELOW IF YOU HAVE ANY INSIGHTS ON THIS!!! We've spoken with our Fire and Rescue Chief, who connected us with one of his Deputy Chiefs to coordinate efforts. Our flyers are in Spanish and English (translation might not be perfect, but a few folks have given it a green light - perfection pursuit generates inertia!). It is NOT TO LATE to organize something like this in your city or for your local neighborhood Firehouse. The first thing we suggest is to pick up the phone and call. Ask what is provided in YOUR local budget and where are the gaps in their needs. Your city might provide more than bottled water, but many cities fall short, in fulfilling needs for Fire and Rescue Heroes. You'll see that the list is not exotic. Every 9/11, it hurts to the core, reliving that tragic day; many of us avoid all media on the anniversary. There seems to be less and less respect for the senseless loss of life in NYC, at the Pentagon, and in a Pennsylvania Field. Scenes of NYC firetrucks and ambulances race towards the Twin Towers, along with those from surrounding areas, knowing that far too many of those hurriedly entering their Final Call to Duty is nothing short of gut-wrenching. This year, we've decided to stop staring at our navels and allowing our guts to be wrenched. It is time to bring turn this around and serve those who serve us. Many pay the ultimate sacrifice. Many travel far and wide, leaving family to fight massive wildfires. It is a hard job, but it should NOT be a thankless one. It takes COMMUNITY & EMPLOYERS to show thanks. This is a too-often ignored aspect of Social Responsibility (ISO 26000). Here is our LOCAL FB EVENT LINK: https://lnkd.in/gQJHZpFa In comments, we will post what out Fire and Rescue has requested. ONE thing that we will share now is this: WE had misconceptions about needs; a call to your local Fire and Rescue Dept takes just a few minutes, and gets you focused on gathering what THEY need, NOT what you might ASSUME they need!

Nikhil Jogdand has been producing some engaging infographics, focused on CSR and Sustainability. We encourage everyone to explore his current and past posts! What are YOUR thoughts on past-present-future of what the Brundtland Commission proposed in its report: Our Common Future (1987)? There has been substantial politicization of working towards a world in which future generations have a shot at quality of life. It is only getting more chaotic. It is no secret that the United Nations 2030 Agenda is falling short of achieving a fraction of the 17 UN SDGs. Clear-headed, unvarnished and truthful discussion is needed now, more than ever! Please comment - we really do want to know what you think! Check out this latest post by Nikhil and our Co-Founder, Andrea Hoffmeier’s comment: Let’s not forget, John Elkington RECALLED the term “Triple Bottom Line” in 2018. I believe he made his first proclamation of this in an HBR article. John has a new book out, which I’ve not yet read, but his last book, Green Swans is a must read! His 2018 proclamation was one of the inspirations for SHERPA Institute to drop “Sustainability” as middle word in our name. We need to go BEYOND SUSTAINABILITY! We need to be restorative and regenerative. The other major inspiration for the Institute simplifying our name was a visit to White Oak Pastures and a personal tour throughout the property provided by the incomparable Will Harris. When I told him we were eager to see their sustainable practices, he bellowed, “We go BEYOND sustainability! We are restorative and regenerative!” Blew my mind. And humbled me deeply, because I was on the final stretch of my glacial journey, earning my Master’s in Sustainability. It got me WAY outside my comfort zone! Which was a good thing. Six years later, I am entering yet another shift, as is the nonprofit that I co-founded in 2015. That said, I’d add Resilience to Regeneration and Restoration as necessary attributes to CREATE A WORLD WE ALL WANT! ……… Let’s start getting real! It is time for HONEST, NON-POLITICIZED conversation! Please share your thoughts below. We are especially interested in diverse, global perspectives from across industries! https://lnkd.in/gwKwsHQN Harvard Business Review #sustainability #csr #sdg #2030agenda #regeneration #restoration #unsdgs #

https://lnkd.in/gpPtax9B SHERPA Institute encourages anyone who gives a damn to read this excellent post by John Pabon and our Founder, Andrea Hoffmeier’s comments. We are done being polite. Time to get real. #unsdgs #unitednations #sustainability #regeneration #socialresponsibility #csr #esg #sdgs #greenwashing 2015 is what we peg as our 10th Anniversary, because we had finally finished our book and incorporated, but we’d been working on responsible operations for many years before that. Back in 2018, SHERPA committed to working to engage the private sector (corporates) in the 17 UN SDGs and the 169 underlying targets. Popping the hood on that has been eye opening, but we will leave that for future posts. We’ve assembled brilliant teams of researchers and writers around the globe. Bottom line, is the 2030 Agenda achievable? How would we even know we’d reached the destination? Will we simply see more navel-gazing this September at the Annual Convening? Back in 2018, we were also inspired to abbreviate our name from SHERPA Sustainability Institute to simply SHERPA Institute. Will Harris is our hero for his bold call to Return to Giving a Damn. In 2018, he told us during a visit to White Oak Pastures that they “go beyond sustainability; [they] are REGENERATIVE. The definition in the 1987 Brundtland Report of Sustainable Development is NO LONGER ENOUGH! Meeting our needs of today without plundering from future generations does not cut it, folks. We must restore what has already been poisoned, plundered and laid barren. Rachel Carson testified to Congress that “we must solve this in our time”. That was in 1963. Problem solved? Nope. We’ve just found new ways to package it up (I’m looking at you, giant Amazon box, big enough for a Great Pyrenees to curl up in, that was used to deliver a flash drive:) Also in 2018, we were inspired by John Elkington our hero for his humility and intellectual curiosity to re-examine the world around us; he literally recalled the term he coined - the Triple Bottom Line.

Cross-pollinated (pun intended:) from Facebook! Yes, we are a global nonprofit with our team spread from Decatur to Delhi. This post focuses on our local efforts in the former - a town in North Alabama, USA! We’ve featured just a few pics here from our local CommUnity Day; but to see many more on Facebook. Visit and follow us on Facebook to learn how YOU can get involved in this Local-Global Movement, that is vital to FOOD SECURITY, follow our SHERPA Pollinator Rescue (SPR) Facebook Page: https://lnkd.in/gVsN-wmE Again, please follow us, no matter where in the world you are! BIG KUDOS to Adrianna Tapscott, with Blue Origin, who worked tirelessly to pull of this event, while excelling at her “day job”. You can see in the background of one of the pics, along with Anita Clarke, an amazing leader at Decatur, Alabama Schools. At CommUnity Day, kids received school supplies, free books, food and had lots of fun. Families came together from diverse backgrounds to have a great time. Educators were recognized for excellence and we celebrated UNITY in our town. There was a DJ, fun activities and contests, and over 50 organizations coming together to make it an outstanding event. We were also joined by Wild Alabama, who’s mission is to inspire people to enjoy, value and protect the wild places of Alabama. They strive to engage people in a variety of ways, year round and in all kinds of environments from virtual to the deep wilderness. No matter where you are, check them out! They have resources on their website that will inspire you no matter your location (including virtual resources). Also pictured below is our Co-Founder, Andrea Hoffmeier, helping an attendee create her own posie (bitty bouquet). This activity gave us the opportunity to engage with stakeholders on a more personal, 1:1 basis. There were bittersweet moments, like another attendee who was dreading her recently departed mom’s birthday the next day. We helped her make a posie with flowers her mom enjoyed, and encouraged her to pop it in a favorite cup or container of her mom’s. We showed her that anything can be a posie holder; she arrived in despair and left with a glimmer of joy (those pics are on Facebook). SHERPA Institute encourages you to organize events like this in YOUR community! Spread joy and kindness! Ensure that school children have the supplies they need! Have you done something similar or are planning a community event? Please comment below! We’d LOVE to know how YOU’RE getting involved where YOU ARE! Our SHERPA Institute Facebook Page is where you can find more local happenings: https://lnkd.in/dby7e-ww #foodsecurity #communitybuilding #unity #kindness #wilderness #educators #communityaction

https://lnkd.in/g34EcQ5M Friends, we ask that you FOLLOW our FB page, as we need to increase our Followers to “Go Live” at our local community event! This is an initiative that we started piloting in our HQ community in 2020, and will expand GLOBALLY in 2025! While you’re at it, could you FOLLOW our SHERPA Pollinator Rescue Page on Facebook? Again we need to increase Followers to meet the criteria for going Live on Facebook! SHERPA Pollinator Rescue Page needs Followers! We will be expanding globally after three years of local HQ piloting. https://lnkd.in/gVsN-wmE And as always, please like, comment and share:)

As you may have noticed, we have been posting about LOCAL initiatives with which SHERPA Institute is associated, or that we have initiated. Yes, we are a GLOBAL nonprofit dedicated to engaging corporations in the United Nations 2030 Agenda and the SDGs, but meaningful change happens at the local and regional level. We’ve posted about Anuradha Jain’s efforts in village mentorship to build entrepreneurial competencies, as well as their e-waste collection efforts. In the past, we’ve also shared the amazing efforts of Derya Uzun 戴尔雅, in earthquake recovery. Most recently, we shared the urgent need for the need in Tampa, Florida, USA to find a new home for Garage 5:17. Ginger Rockey-Johnson has secured a 6 month location, so we will be reporting more in coming months on that effort. There is an urgent need for volunteers to help spot clean the old location 7/12 and move to new one 7/13. If you are located in the metro-Tampa area, please consider helping. Call John at 917-648-0042 for info. The list goes on. This USA Holiday Weekend, we are proud to share that we are involved in CommUnity Day, a citywide family event in Decatur, Alabama, USA. Check out our logo in the flyer below. We are truly proud of this amazing event being pulled up by bootstraps. Yes, MLK said it is a cruel jest to tell a man with no boots to pull himself up by the straps, but there are some strong men and women pulling our city up with sandal straps, shoelaces, and bare feet if that’s what it takes! If you are in North Alabama, please stop by and visit our booth, where we will share information about our SDG Career Talks (offered globally) and have hands-on activities about our growing efforts for Pollinator Rescue! We are on a mission to save pollinators from collapse, by converting lawns, commercial/municipal turf, abandoned lots and otherwise uninhabitable landscape into pollinator habitat. Our food supply depends on turning the collapse of pollinators around! The Facebook link to this UNITING EVENT is: https://lnkd.in/gbReVnxb Stay tuned for more LOCAL initiatives, from Decatur to Delhi!

UPDATE! Garage 5:17 (G5:17) has a TEMPORARY home for the next 6 months! So at least this resource is stable through the holidays. They still need to locate a long-term pocation but there is breathing room to find the best location!! Moving day is 7/13! But we cannot take our foot off the gas. Locating an ideal long-term location is a melting ice cube (literally, given the move and search are proceeding in scorching heat:) This unique nonprofit is the only teen boys clothing & necessities “store”, where everything is free for foster and at risk youth in 4 counties, serving Pinellas, Hillsborough, Pasco, & Polk, in the U.S. state of Florida. CHECK OUT THIS VIDEO! Friends, you might recall posts that we’ve shared about the amazing work being done by SHERPA Institute CISR Expert, Ginger Rockey-Johnson. For over a decade, she has achieved astounding positive change in the USA Florida Ad Litem system and reforming the circumstances for youths who age out of foster care. We are putting out an appeal to help Ginger save one of her newer major initiatives, that’s been making a difference for the past three years. HERE IS THE URGENT NEED…, The Tampa Bay Area and surrounding locations are at risk of losing a charitable and educational organization, called Garage 5:17, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. G5:17’s mission is to serve the underprivileged youths in the Tampa Bay area with free clothing, toiletries, hygiene, necessities, and haircuts to teenage boys in foster care and at-risk youth, from ages 11 to 25 years old. Ginger and Team have secured a temporary location by the July 17 deadline! Could you please help network to find a new long-term home for this vitally important nonprofit? The minimum space needed is 2000 square feet. The dream would be 4,000. Please check out the video, which shows how Garage 5:17 has brought dignity to the experience of receiving help. The experience they’ve created is more like shopping an interesting boutique, than a depressing pile of second hand clothes and shoes. Garage 5:17 will be open to serving homeless men and families, including prison ministry. Garage 5:17 additionally provides a safe mentoring, education, life, and job skills for youth and young adults of the same age range. We cannot let this important youth resource die! Garage 5:17 has been told they must vacate the building by July 15th, which they’ve occupied for the last 3 years to serve the community. They have packed the entire building with no place to go! https://garage517.org Please connect with Ginger if you know of any unused space in the Tampa Bay area. Let’s use LinkedIn for a great cause and network to make a difference! Please comment, like, and share!

THE VOTES ARE IN!!! Many thanks to everyone who voted for ages of Student SDG/ESG Career Talks! We received 56 votes from diverse LinkedIn Members around the world. Our goal was fifty responses, for a reasonable sample size, so we are very pleased with the participation. The votes early on leaned heavily in favor of 16-18, but the distribution shifted in final hours. The final batch of votes really mattered! (see breakdown below) The distribution of responses guided us to create the Student SDG/ESG Career Talks for BOTH high school/secondary students AND college undergrads. The standard message will be tweaked slightly for the two audiences. If you have a special interest in middle school students, our high school talk could be tweaked on case by case basis, after we launch in September. Our message to youths is that ANY academic path and subsequent career can contribute to sustainable development. Many of us really wish we’d gotten that message in high school or as undergrads!When students better understand the ecosystem of people-planet-profit, they realize that ANY professions they’re considering contribute to A World We All Want! These Career Talks are planned for NEXT school year, with some preceding PILOT TALKS in select cities. Between school years, we will pilot with youth groups and other sources for reaching students. Next steps and rough schedule (please comment or message us if you’d like to participate) in Live Zooms, which will be recorded, delivering Career Talks, translating, etcetera: *May - Review drafts of Career Talk PPT (to be contextualized by presenters with their intro slide and localized). **June - How to connect with local educators and school administrators, to arrange Career Talks (approach will vary by location and types of schools). Pilot presentations - select cities. ***July - Final standard PPT presented on Zoom, with instructions for contextualizing. ****August - Translate beyond Spanish, based on interest level. All Professionals participating practice on Zoom prior to delivering SDG/ESG Career Talks… *****September - …and, we’re off! ******Onward - Continually Improve:) Whew! That’s a lot, but it is an exciting and impactful initiative! Let’s get the youths of today ready to create A World We All Want! One last note: We are already translating the Career Talks into Spanish, and recommendations were posted for German, French and Chinese. In some Zooms, we’ve had debates about local Indian dialects/languages. Some feel it would be valuable, while others assert that students are learning in English. What do YOU think should be the translation priority? The breakdown of votes for age ranges was: 13-15 14% 16-18 38% 19-21 32% Other/All 16% With Other/All distributed across 16-18 and 19-21, these two age ranges are statistically equal. 56 votes is a decent sample size; we might geek out on our analysis in all our spare time, but feel confident about the direction:) #sdg4 #unsdgs #esg #iso26000

SHERPA Institute is on a mission to deliver Career Talks to students around the world about the vast academic pathways and professional career opportunities in ESG/SDG/CSR. After all, with 17 UN SDGs and 169 Targets, there are unlimited opportunities to forge a career that contributes to sustainable development for A World We All Want! ……. SHERPA Institute tiene dentro de su misión el ofrecer charlas a estudiantes de todo el mundo sobre las amplias vías académicas y oportunidades de carrera profesional en ESG/SDG/RSE. Después de todo, con 17 ODS y 169 metas de la ONU, existen oportunidades ilimitadas para forjar una carrera que contribuya al desarrollo sostenible para ¡El Mundo Que Todos Queremos! We are translating into multiple languages. ……. Estamos traduciendo a múltiples idiomas. We are ALREADY translating into Spanish ……. YA estamos traduciendo al español:) We will also be providing FREE virtual training sessions for our LinkedIn connections for: 1) tips on how to connect with schools in your community and 2) practicing the Career Talks presentation, based on age range of students …… También ofreceremos sesiones de capacitación virtual GRATUITAS a nuestras conexiones de LinkedIn para: 1) brindar consejos sobre cómo conectarse con escuelas de su comunidad y 2) practicar la presentación de Charlas de Carrera, según el rango de edad de los estudiantes This post (comment please) and poll are to find out: 1)what languages (in addition to Spanish) are of most interest (comment below in this post please or message us) and; 2) what ages are of most interest to prioritize (indicate in poll please). There are differences in the presentation for ages: a) 13-15   b) 16-18 c) 19-21  d) Other/All (please comment) ……… Este post (comenta por favor) y la encuesta son para descubrir: 1) qué idiomas (además del español) son de mayor interés (comenta abajo en esta publicación por favor o envíanos un mensaje) y; 2) qué edades son de mayor interés para priorizar (indíquelo en la encuesta, por favor). Existen diferencias en la presentación para: a) 13 a 15 años b) 16 a 18 años c) 19 a 21 años d) Otra/Todas (por favor comenta) What languages (in addition to Spanish) are of most interest (comment below in this post please or message us)? Thank you! ……… Qué idiomas (además del español) son de mayor interés (comenta abajo en esta publicación por favor o envíanos un mensaje) ¡Gracias!

https://lnkd.in/guRAFgj3 This image is Amaraja Kulkarni’s Recently updated LinkedIn background photo. Her photo reflects her knack for expressing what matters to her. We are proud to see SHERPA Institute featured! We are also proud to share that team members like Amaraja have inspired us to reignite our commitment to LOCAL IMPACT! Yes, global initiatives remain important, but we need to be mindful of our local community needs. Our first initiative to revitalize is focused high school and college students. Innovation in sustainable development demands that todays youths are encouraged to bring fresh thinking to the most pressing issues in their communities. Our SDG/ESG Career Talks provide awareness of academic and career paths; the overarching message is that ANY career can contribute to sustainable development! Presenting in schools is an example of how you can impact SDG4 - Quality Education, especially SDG4.7 - knowledge/skills to promote sustainable development. What is your company doing? Are you sharing your insights with local schools? This can make an immense difference in academic or professional career choices for youths eager to make a difference in their communities, country and world. By supporting your employees who are interested in connecting with local schools, you’re also contributing to employee satisfaction and engagement! Interested in having talks delivered to schools in YOUR COMMUNITY, or getting involved with delivering Career Talks? We have presentations and training to field questions. Please comment here or message us. In all of our LOCAL EFFORTS, contextualization to the culture of every community is so important! We love the post linked here from Amaraja, with one of the most important insights related to ESG/SDG/CSR impact; contextualizing efforts to one’s organization or region is a critical step that is too often overlooked. To have meaningful impact, it is important to understand local needs. Consider the SHERPA Institute reignited focus on educating students; we must consider factors like any local backlash against ESG/SDGs. In this case, we must emphasize that sustainable development, when done right, is good for business. When the value of a contextualized approach is embraced, an organization can stand out. Standing out is achieved by making a difference in a way that is….well, different. Competitive advantages are not enjoyed by those who view sustainable development as a series of boxes to be checked. Thank you Amaraja for this eloquent description of the art form and attention to context! Again, if you’re interested in talks for schools in YOUR COMMUNITY, or delivering Career Talks, please comment or message us (click three dots at top of page). #sdgs #sdg4 #localimpact #innovation #educationinnovation #sdgsinschools