The Ukrainian final of the UN Global Compact’s Young SDG Innovators program took place in Kiev. During the event, ten teams presented projects aimed at integrating the Sustainable Development Goals into the business models of their companies.
Participants from the DTEK Youth Movement developed a special series of interactive lessons for teenagers #BeEcoSmart, which contribute to the dissemination of knowledge of the Sustainable Development Goals of the UN Global Compact among schoolchildren. The launch of online eco-lessons took place in June this year. Today, more than 16,000 schoolchildren from all over the country have studied them. In the near future, a series of offline lessons in five classes will begin in different regions of Ukraine, where DTEK employees will share knowledge and everyday skills with children that will help preserve the planet for future generations.
As noted by the Leader of the DTEK youth movement and project participant Evgenia Volkova, participation in the UN Global Compact Young SDG Innovators program enabled DTEK's youth to contribute to the improvement of environmental culture in Ukraine: “We understand that is worth starting to form an ecological culture from children and teenagers. That is why DTEK cares about the future of Ukraine and supports talented youth. Our project helps to advance three UN Sustainable Development Goals at once: # 12 - Responsible Consumption and Production, # 13 - Climate Change Mitigation, # 15 - Protecting the Terrestrial Ecosystem. Now the Ministry of Education of Ukraine is certifying this curriculum. After that, our methodological developments and lesson plans will be recommended for extracurricular activities in all Ukrainian schools".
DTEK’s Young SDG Innovators team, together with Evgenia Volkova, included young leaders from various production enterprises of the company: Ivan Taranov, a miner from the Dnipropetrovsk region, Olga Polyakova, an environmentalist from an enrichment plant, and Dmitry Savastyanov, a power engineer from the Luhansk region. They not only joined the development of environmental lessons, but also became the presenters of video lessons broadcast online.
Tatiana Sakharuk, Executive Director at UN Global Compact Ukraine, commenting on the final of Young SDG Innovators, noted that now is the time to look for new approaches and opportunities in sustainable development. Business can grow and develop while meeting global challenges. Business processes should be viewed through the lens of innovation and the desire to positively impact human rights and the environment.
According to Director of sustainable development at DTEK Oleksandr Kucherenko, it is very important that the younger generation understands the need to form and develop an ecological culture in Ukraine and is actively involved in the search for ways to solve global problems. DTEK invests in education and supports talented youth. Initiatives and projects of the DTEK Youth Movement contribute to the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals and comply with the ESG principles that the company is guided by while implementing its own development strategy.
