The idea for the Billion Tree campaign emerged during a meeting between 2004 Nobel Peace Prize laureate and Founder of the Green Belt Movement, Professor Wangari Maathai, and an executive from the private sector company Shakti. When the Shakti representative said that his corporate group was planning to plant one million trees, the civil society activist responded “That’s great, but what we really need is to plant one billion trees”...

Today, more and more sites are better preserved thanks to partnerships developed through the private sector, foundations, research institutions, the media, and individual donors. Uniting with internationally recognized institutions and companies for better outreach is a crucial component in safeguarding World Heritage...

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and Hürriyet, a private media company with the largest-circulation newspaper in Turkey, have partnered to stop violence against women in Turkey...

Global brands are, well, everywhere. From Ankara, Turkey to Zhengzhou, China, the spread of the internet and the decline of transportation costs and other trade barriers have made sure that consumers know their favourite global brands when they see them. But look again: with increasing frequency, there is less than meets the eye. Counterfeits - that is faked imitations of branded goods – are proliferating everywhere...

In 2007, the United Nations System Staff College initiated a partnership with CSI-Piemonte, a leading Consortium specializing in developing information systems and technological products for the Public Sector...

A first-ever emergency ICT training programme for humanitarian workers – funded by a partnership between Vodafone Group Foundation and the UN Foundation – prepares technical teams to operate in highly dangerous conditions... 

Human trafficking is rooted in poverty and lack of opportunities, marginalization, and violence. Combating these trafficking networks has become one of the greatest challenges faced by governments and international organizations working on migration, children’s and/or women’s issues...

Some additional new partnerships with short summaries and links to further information...

Should insurance companies provide services to the poor? There is a long list of reasons why they have not so far, but a new UNDP study, “Building Security for the Poor: Potential and Prospects for Microinsurance in India,” shows how microinsurance can, in fact, be a profitable niche in the insurance industry...

On 27 January 2007, the World Economic Forum, in cooperation with the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), organized a private session with representatives of business, governments and humanitarian partners on public-private collaboration for humanitarian relief during the annual meeting in Davos. The following article discusses highlights from this meeting and presents a draft copy of the OCHA/WEF Philanthropic Guiding Principles for Private Sector Engagement in Humanitarian Action. Your comments on this ongoing draft are very welcome and appreciated!...

The level of interest in nutrition among the business community was all too evident at the Business Alliance Global Forum to tackle malnutrition in New Delhi, March 22-23, 2007. The Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) and the World Bank Institute (WBI), the capacity building arm of the World Bank, brought together over 150 business leaders from all over the world to showcase innovative business approaches in a marketplace format, to share knowledge and ideas, and to foster new partnerships...

Partnership is considered a most important mechanism for building the information society in the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) region, yet stakeholders have yet to harness the numerous challenges and opportunities associated with cooperating and partnering...

How do you get cleaner energy to 330,000 people in Africa while creating new jobs and reducing carbon emissions by 420,000 tonnes? Easy, just find 40 serious entrepreneurs, train them, and then invest $4.1 million in 35 new enterprises selling everything from solar electric systems to better cookstoves...

In order to bring post-conflict investment to the fore of discussions on development, the German Foreign Office convened an international high-level meeting in Wilton Park, UK on 11-13 January 2007. The conference, entitled "Risk and Opportunity: Spurring Private Investment in Post-Conflict Economies", brought together representatives from the public, private and not-for-profit sectors to discuss strategies for supporting private investment in post-conflict economies...

The Equator Initiative’s recent announcement of the finalists to the Equator Prize shows that not only large companies are responding to the rising demand for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and green business behaviour...

On his last day supporting the UNDP Maldives office, Oren Schlein reflects upon some of his team’s accomplishments and his personal sense of fulfillment since he was called out to the country office in March 2005. As he looks back over the past two years, how he came to be stationed there, and where he will go from here, Oren released a slight chuckle and reassured us that “it really all does make sense!”...

So what does it take to be the Director of Corporate Citizenship for one of the largest companies in the world responsible for such a diverse geographical landscape? We decided to ask Elena Bonfiglioli of Microsoft

With the release of “CSR and Developing Countries: What scope for government action?”, the Commission on Sustainable Development launched the first issue of the Innovation Briefs series in February 2007...

Microinsurance offers innovative new ways to combat poverty in India through helping the rural poor systematically manage financial risks to their livelihoods and lives...

On 28 March 2007, Harvard Professor John Ruggie presented his much-anticipated report to the United Nations Human Rights Council as part of his two-year mandate as Special Representative to the Secretary-General on business and human rights...

Looking for ways to constructively spend your lunch hour? Frustrated at the lack of fun and educational online resources for children? The United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR) has created an online disaster simulation game that seeks to educate children of the risks of natural disasters...

The International Organization for Migration released a discussion paper entitled “Partnerships in Migration: Engaging Business and Civil Society” from the 2006 International Dialogue on Migration that took place in November...

The competition, entitled “Business and Development: The Private Path to Prosperity,” aimed to encourage new thinking in the ongoing dialogue on the role of business in development. The essay competition, which is expected to become an annual event, drew more than 500 essays from over 70 countries...

On 15 February 2007, the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) released a new publication on the pace and direction of progress toward corporate governance and social responsibility in the Latin American private sector...

Year after year, population growth, poorly managed catchments, wastage and climate change are producing water shortages across the globe - affecting health, destroying livelihoods, exacerbating environmental decline and provoking conflict. To better address this issue, the International Business Leaders Forum has released its “10 Practical Actions for Companies to Help Address the Upcoming Water Crisis”...

A list of upcoming events relevant to UN private sector focal points...

The names and contact information of new colleagues...