Every seat in the General Assembly was filled at the Global Engagement summit Essity convened last week at the UN’s headquarters in New York as part of our ongoing partnership with the organization. The agenda focused on how college students can be strong advocates and take action on the UN's Sustainable Development Goals and on ‘the most pressing issues facing the United Nations’. Speakers included Amina Mohammed, UN Deputy Secretary, and UN President, Miroslav Lajcak.    

Don Lewis, President of the BU Professional Hygiene, represented Essity. In his opening remarks he introduced the company and highlighted our commitment to the UN Sustainable Development Goals:

“What’s changed for Essity - and a growing number of companies - is the unifying focus that the United Nations, through the sustainable development goals, is providing. We welcome this global commitment and leadership!”  

Topics included climate change, UN priorities, achieving the sustainable development goals, human rights and the refugee crisis.  

The event also included the opportunity for Essity and other UN partner companies including CoCa Cola, Marstercard and H&M, to meet with 50 of the top student “influencers”. These are students with strong social media followers and networks. Discussions focused around student perspectives on the role of businesses in achieving the sustainable development goals. They were particularly impressed with Essity’s commitment to measuring many aspects of our work in the sustainability context, including our innovations.   

“I was extremely impressed with not only the commitment, but the deep knowledge these students had about the Sustainable Development Goals,” said Don. “Each student I met was actively involved in bringing a positive impact to their campus and community. From addressing food insecurity on campus, to helping refugees integrate in their towns, these students are not just reading and talking about sustainability, they are taking action.”  

“This program was an excellent forum for Essity to be introduced to the next generation of workforce in a very positive and impactful way. While they may not have heard of Essity before the meeting, they left knowing who we are and what we stand for,” said Amy Bellcourt, Professional Hygiene who also attended the event.

Find our more about our approach towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals by clicking here