August 03, 2009, 2:57 PM — At the North American JA Company of the Year Competition recently held in Boston, Junior Achievement and Hewlett-Packard honored Project My World — a student company composed of 14 teens from the Atlanta, Georgia area — with the HP Responsible Business Award. JA and HP launched the new award to encourage young entrepreneurs to engage in responsible business practices.
One of Project My World’s primary objectives was to enlighten consumers about living a sustainable, economically positive lifestyle, according to the students’ JA Company Annual Report. The winning team marketed and sold an environmentally friendly Eco-Tote made of 100-percent recycled material to replace plastic bags at grocery and retail stores. The innovative design eliminates the need for packaging, as the bag folds to form a small zip pouch for easy storage and re-use.
Project My World sold 800 Eco-Totes and donated more than 20 percent of its profits to a community charity, the Georgia Conservancy, while delivering a 250-percent return on investment to its shareholders. “We are grateful to HP for its commitment to educating youth about entrepreneurship, good business practices and global citizenship,” said Sean Rush, president and chief executive officer of JA Worldwide. “We appreciate their support of Junior Achievement’s mission to inspire and prepare young people to succeed in a global economy.”
“The HP Responsible Business Award not only encourages the development of business and work-readiness skills, but also teaches the value of corporate social responsibility,” said Yvonne Hunt, director, Social Investment, HP. “Students who compete for this award gain valuable skills and an edge up on entering the world marketplace and contributing to economic betterment. We applaud their vision and are pleased that our work with JA is helping to promote how corporate citizenship can best align a business’ goals with its impacts on society and the planet.”
A special HP jury evaluated Project My World’s achievement, based on the award criteria of financial performance, social responsibility, environmental excellence and innovation, and awarded the Project My World team top honors, along with 5 HP mini notebook computers.
About Junior Achievement® (JA)
Junior Achievement is the world's largest organization dedicated to inspiring and preparing young people to succeed in a global economy. Through a dedicated volunteer network, Junior Achievement provides in-school and after-school programs for students which focus on three key content areas: work readiness, entrepreneurship, and financial literacy. Today, 131 individual area operations reach more than four million students in the United States, with an additional five million students served by operations in 123 other countries worldwide. For more information, visit www.ja.org.
