When the United Nations (UN<\/a>) was founded in New York in 1945, it was a potent symbol for a new age. \u00a0An age of cooperation and optimism; where institutions, communities and businesses would shake off the ashes of war and work together to promote peace, partnership, progress.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen a wind blows; ride it . . .\u201d<\/em>\u00a0\u00a0was a favorite Arabian proverb of my father.\u201d<\/p>\n – Mohammed Jameel KBE That same year, more than 6,000 miles away in Saudi Arabia, a young entrepreneur called Abdul Latif Jameel saw an opportunity to harness these same winds of change \u2013 not only to build a business \u2013 but also to contribute to the development of the communities and society of his homeland, where it operated<\/p>\n This philosophy has been both a guiding beacon and driving force for the Jameel family over the past 75 years<\/a>.\u00a0 A vision that challenges what is possible, fueled by an ambition to realize the potential of people, businesses, and communities on a global scale.<\/p>\n But the need for governments and commerce to materially contribute to advancing the quality, standards, rights, and freedoms of our modern global human society has long been recognized.<\/p>\n Nearly three decades ago, in June 1992, at the United Nations\u2019 Rio Earth Summit<\/a>, Brazil, over 178 countries adopted what was then Agenda 21<\/a>, a plan to work in global partnership for sustainable development to improve human lives and protect the planet.\u00a0 This was followed by several further multilateral agreements including the Millennium Declaration (Millennium Summit<\/a> Sept. 2000) which included eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)<\/a> to reduce extreme poverty by 2015.\u00a0 The Johannesburg Declaration adopted at the World Summit on Sustainable Development<\/a> (South Africa 2002); the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20)<\/a> (Rio June 2012) –\u00a0 which led to “The Future We Want”<\/a> document.\u00a0 And a 30-member Open Working Group<\/a> to develop a proposal for Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) in 2013.[1]<\/a><\/p>\n\n
\n\u00a0 \u00a0Chairman & CEO
\n\u00a0 \u00a0Abdul Latif Jameel<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n