• Transforming Ideas Into Action
  • Why CGI?
  • Our Model
  • What We've Accomplished
  • Get Involved
• Combating Climate Change
• Treating HIV/AIDS & Malaria
• Fighting Childhood Obesity
• Promoting Economic Opportunity
• Creating Sustainable Development in Africa
• Enabling Sustainable Development

Accomplishments

Since its launch in 2005, CGI members have made more than 1,700 Commitments to Action valued at $57 billion to improve the lives of more than 200 million people in over 170 countries.

Because of the efforts of CGI’s members:

• More than 10 million children have gained access to a better education.
• More than 650,000 people have learned new professional skills.
• The equivalent of 60 million metric tons of CO2 emissions have been cut.
• More than 33 million acres of forest have been protected or restored.
• Enough clean energy has been generated to power more than 400,000 homes.
• 48 million people now have access to better health care.
• More than 12 million people have access to safe, fresh drinking water.
• More than $150 million has been invested in new medical research.
• 34 million people have access to treatment for neglected tropical diseases.
• Nearly nine million people have new jobs or income-generating opportunities.
• More than $600 million has been invested in or loaned to small and medium-sized enterprises.
• More than three million people have better access to information technology.
• Almost three million micro-entrepreneurs have been empowered through microfinance.

Achievements of specific projects:

• Over $680 million committed by the financial sector will be invested in more than 100 micro-finance institutions worldwide, reaching millions of new borrowers over the next five years. (Citi – $101 million; AIG – $5.25 million; Standard Chartered – $500 million; Deutsche Bank – $80 million)
• $530 million committed to child survival programs in sub-Saharan Africa’s 25 least-developed countries will save an estimated 3.2 million children’s lives in the region by 2009. (UNICEF-Maternal & Neonatal Child Survival Program)
• 66.7 million gallons of diesel fuel will not be used, and an estimated 600,000 metric tons of CO2 emissions reduced, as the result of innovative changes to supplier packaging. (Wal-Mart – Supplier Packaging Scorecard and Virtual Trade Show)
• 30 million people are being targeted for treatment this year through the Global Network for Neglected Tropical Diseases Control’s “rapid-impact” treatment packages, which can control deadly NTDs for just 50 cents per person per year.
• 100 million liters of safe drinking water have reached more than 715,778 African children through Procter & Gamble’s PUR water purification product and local partnerships to improve sanitation in schools. (Partnership includes PSI, CARE, World Vision, UNICEF, CFW Shops, Aga Khan Foundation, Millennium Village Projects, and others.)
• 1,220,000 patients throughout Sudan, Chad, Uganda and DRC have received emergency and primary care, including mental health services, through International Medical Corps’ Mental Health Services in Conflict-Affected Regions commitment.
• 2.5 million trees have been planted in Afghan villages to support sustainable farming and income-generation through the Global Partnership for Afghanistan.
• Over 6,000 religiously diverse youth and adults have cooperated to serve the common good through Interfaith Youth Core’s commitment.

Some of the small-scale commitments that were made show how a simple innovation or intervention can have real-world results.

• For example: the Sanam Vaziri Quraishi Foundation (SVQF) partnered with the children’s rights activist, Craig Kielburger, and his organization, Free the Children, to adopt a community village in Kenya. Together, they are constructing and furnishing eight one-classroom schools, providing medical care and a source of clean water, and implementing an income-generation program. These services will benefit over 5,000 people living in the village and lay a foundation for the village to continue independently with sustainable community efforts.
• Beginning in 2005, Starbucks pledged to dramatically increase the amount of its coffee grown according to C.A.F.E. (Coffee and Farmer Equity) standards. By fiscal 2008, Starbucks bought 295 million pounds of coffee, or 77 percent of its total purchases, from C.A.F.E.-verified suppliers. This commitment affects 1.2 million farmers and workers around the world.
• In 2007, Camfed International committed to spending $15 million to exponentially increase girls’ access to education in rural sub-Saharan Africa. Camfed, a UK-based NGO, enlisted several partners including the Financial Times, the Skoll Foundation, and Edelman PR. So far, the project has reached almost 2,800 rural schools serving more than 400,000 children.
• Poor nutrition and anemia are common problems for children in India. In 2007, Helen Keller International began a pilot project to distribute Sprinkles Plus micronutrient powder through India’s Integrated Child Development Services program, with the goal of creating a model that could be replicated in other areas. Supported by the H.J. Heinz Company Foundation, HKI has catalyzed the distribution of more than 17,000 sachets.
• Cargotec, the multinational cargo-handling company, committed to reducing the fuel consumption of its machines by 10 percent over the next six to ten years – saving one million barrels of oil and reducing carbon emissions by 436,000 tons. Since Cargotec made the commitment in 2007, several divisions have launched new products that use up to 33 percent less fuel than their predecessors.
• Actress Julia Ormond, a United Nations Goodwill Ambassador, committed to establishing an NGO that would help eradicate slavery and human trafficking. Since its establishment, the Alliance to Stop Slavery and End Trafficking (ASSET) has helped corporations learn about potential slavery within their supply chains and provided expertise behind anti-slavery legislation in California.
• The electricity sector is responsible for approximately 40 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions in the United States. FPL Group has committed to constructing up to 500 megawatts of new solar energy facilities, reaching 2.5 million customers. This added capacity – FPL’s first major solar project – will keep more than 18 million tons of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere over a 20 year period.
• In 2005, TNT and the World Food Program committed to increasing awareness about the dangers of HIV/AIDS by setting up roadside mobile clinics and providing free advice and counseling on a range of health issues, with a strong focus on HIV/AIDS. They created the North Star Foundation, which has secured funding to open more than 30 Wellness Centers in 11 countries, which will serve more than 300,000 drivers annually.

CGI University has:

Convened a membership of nearly 2,000 students, more than 60 university presidents, and more than 60 national youth organizations, representing all 50 states, 53 countries, and more than 280 universities.

As a result of commitments made by students at the inaugural CGI U Meeting at Tulane University in New Orleans in 2008:

• More than 26,000 university students and 2,000 university faculty and staff became actively engaged in efforts to promote clean energy, mitigate climate change, alleviate poverty, improve global health, and promote human rights and peace.
• More than 74,000 members of the university community were reached by educational efforts and outreach about clean energy, environmental awareness, and sustainability.
• More than 3,800 new recycling containers were placed on college campuses and in the surrounding community.
• Students raised $260,000 for humanitarian relief, and more than 2,500 refugees received assistance.
• Students raised $375,000 to fund scholarships and collected more than $100,000 worth of educational resources including books, laptops, uniforms, and pencils for students in need.
• Students raised $354,000 to fund global health programs and have reached over 70,000 people with health-care and social services.

At CGI Asia, members partnered together on nearly 70 Commitments to Action, which together have an estimated total value of $185 million. When fully funded and implemented, these commitments will have a positive impact on more than 10 million lives.

As a result of the commitments made at CGI Asia:

• An estimated 715,000 children will benefit from better education opportunities.
• Over 260,000 adults will learn new job skills. Of these, nearly 26,000 are teachers and 8,000 are health workers who will benefit from new training.
• Over 250,000 girls and women will be empowered with better opportunities for sustainable livelihoods.
• Nearly 24,000 hectares of forest land will be protected by empowering local residents to manage their own natural resources.
• The equivalent of more than 40,000 tons of carbon emissions will be cut.
• Over 700,000 people will be provided with technology and local educational training to help them to better cope with environmental stress and natural disasters.
• More than 3.5 million people will gain greater access to health services.
• Half a million people now will have safe drinking water, and 400,000 children will benefit from better nutrition.