This Week in Partnerships: Our Favorite Cross-Sector Stories

TIME AND COLUMBIA BUSINESS SCHOOL PARTNER TO LAUNCH A SERIES OF BUSINESS CLASSES FOR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT DURING UNCERTAIN ECONOMIC TIMES

TIME

Sharpen your professional skills with TIME and Columbia Business School. 

The two entities are teaming up to deliver a series of online, accessibly-priced business classes taught by renowned Columbia professors. From now until September, those of us looking to expand our professional toolkits will be able to learn the fundamentals of corporate finance, negotiation, customer-centric marketing, and more.

WHY IT MATTERS: A study found that 90% of 3,000 firms surveyed thought that young workers lacked professional skills. TIME and Columbia are bringing much-needed professional development right to our doorsteps.

GOOGLE is tracking sustainable raw materials. will fashion buy in?

VOGUE BUSINESS

Google and WWF Sweden have joined forces to help solve fashion’s sustainability problem. 

The two organizations will work together to analyze more than 20 commonly-used raw materials, scoring each material and sourcing location on criteria such as air pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, and water scarcity. Fashion brands will then be able to access these metrics through a tailored dashboard. 

WHY IT MATTERS: According to the World Bank, the fashion industry is responsible for up to 20% of wastewater and up to 8% of greenhouse gas emissions. Google’s machine learning expertise and WWF’s sustainability know-how will empower fashion to take actionable, technology-enabled steps toward reducing its environmental footprint.

GENERAL MILLS LAUNCHES THREE-YEAR REGENERATIVE DAIRY PILOT IN MICHIGAN IN PARTNERSHIP WITH FOREMOST FARMS AND UNDERSTANDING AG

BUSINESS WIRE

General Mills is emerging as a key player in the regenerative agriculture landscape. 

The food giant recently announced the launch of a three-year regenerative dairy program in western Michigan. In collaboration with consultants Understanding Ag and dairy cooperative Foremost Farms, the company will be working closely with dairy farmers to implement principle-based, holistic management strategies. The three partners will also be monitoring the program’s impact on biodiversity, soil, water, animal wellbeing, and farm profitability. 

WHY IT MATTERS: Regenerative practices improve soil health, mitigate runoff and erosion, and ultimately bolster environmental resilience. Many dairy farms are seeing their operations derailed by COVID-19, and regenerative practices can certainly help these farms remain afloat now and in the long term.