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United Nations Student Leadership Conference on Development

2014-2015
Empowering Youth for Peace and Sustainable Development

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PLAN OF ACTION

Preamble
We, the youth, have united with the intent of addressing the future which we will inherit,
create, and pass down to those who come after us. Tomorrow will be forged by today's youth to a
degree incomparable to that of any era prior. The information age which we now inhabit has
provided voice where there was silence before, and communication amongst those who long for
change. It is a new world that today's youth were born into, and shall become the pioneers of.

It is with these tools of information and communication that we can address the growing
pains of development - most notably ​sanitation and clean water​, ​education​, ​food security and
nutrition​, and​ sustainability in business​.

It is with optimism that we inquire of solutions on both a local and global level, keeping
in mind peace and human rights for all. Proposal of realistic solutions, able to be implemented by
those proposing, is what will allow progress to be made in the aforementioned fields. Though
initially small, the impact could be large. Proposed solutions are to have purpose and potential,
with a reach far beyond those of the implementers. The growth and change of these ideas is
crucial to their survival. We must continue to breathe life into them by carrying out these
propositions and proposals, we must be not only an example, but an inspiration.

The hope is that the students gathered today will unite their minds to reforge an often
forgotten and abandoned path of justice and peace. Rooted passionately in the idea that every
human is infinitely valuable and deserves their basic rights, the youth of today will be a beacon
of light in an often dark world.

Combined effort, cooperation, and a firm sense of justice in this technology age shall
allow us to hold hands with brothers and sisters over oceans and mountains, and to come
together as one humanity: individual but intrinsically linked by coexistence.
Subtheme A​ - ​Sanitation and Clean Water

The Student Leadership Conference on Development,

Guided by Article 25(1) of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: “Everyone has the right
to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family,
including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to
security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of
livelihood in circumstances beyond his control,”

Bearing in mind pending Universal Declaration of Human Rights Article 31, “Everyone has the
right to clean and accessible water, adequate for the health and well-being of the individual and
family, and no one shall be deprived of such access or quality of water due to individual
economic circumstance,”

Noting with satisfaction that the world has met the Millennium Development Goal target of
halving the proportion of people without access to improved sources of water, five years ahead
of schedule,

Acknowledging sanitation as the safe collection and disposal of human excreta and the
management of solid wastes,

Observing clean water as water free from microorganisms, chemical substances and radiological
hazards,

Noting that about 750 million people around the world lack access to safe water,

Recognizing girls and women in Sub-Saharan Africa spend an average of 40 hours per year
collecting water,

Alarmed that women and children are fearful to leave their homes to use sanitation facilities,
collect water, and/or go to school due to sexual violence or assaults,

Deeply concerned that women and girls do not have proper sanitation products while
menstruating and during childbirth, forcing them to use inadequate supplies,

Fully aware that many girls around the ages 11-12 are either absent 20% of the school year or
drop out, due to lack of sanitation and cultural responsibilities,

Deeply conscious that open defecation happens not only due to lack of proper sanitation
facilities, but also because of the social norms of different cultures,

Observing that 35% of the people all over the world still do not use an improved sanitation
facility and a little over 14% are practicing open defecation,

Aware that a vast majority – 82% – of the world’s population who practice open defecation now
live in middle-income and populous countries,
Concerned that of the 93 million slum residents in India, 81% do not have the basic sanitation
facilities​ of a clean, working toilet,

Emphasizing that 76% of Congolese lacked an access to an adequate sanitation system,

Considering many sub-Saharan Africans get less than 20 liters of water a day and two-thirds
have no proper toilets,

Fully aware as many as 4,861 of 5,161 cities in India do not have a partial sewage network,

Noting with regret that Indian cities produce nearly 40,000 million liters of sewage per day,

Concerned that most people in rural areas are not aware of proper maintenance techniques of
existing toilets and that the numbers of toilets are few in number as compared to the number of
people using them,

Observing the fact that there has been lack of proper education in proper disposal of waste and
proper sanitation causing heavy pollution in bodies of water,

Grieved by the practice of immersion of dead bodies, drainage of sewage and dumping of waste
into rivers such as the Ganges, heavily polluting its waters and rendering it unfit for use by
thousands of people who live along its banks,

Noting with deep concern that the daily waste disposed in the Ganges River alone amounts to
about 1.7 billion liters, in addition to about 89 million liters of sewage,

Fully aware of Indian rituals which involve dissolving idols, made of plastic and plaster of Paris,
and painted with poisonous substances, in rivers,

Alarmed that 90% of sewage and 70% of industrial wastes are discharged into water courses
without treatment,

Noting with concern the fact that pollutants chemical leaks, antiquated and deteriorating water
systems, noxious-surrounding conditions, deforestation, infrastructure can emerge deadly
disease,

Regretting that lack of waste disposal in addition to lack of recycling, composting, or any other
form of environmental treatment leading to the creation of overfilled landfills and dumps,

Noting that there is a lack of necessary equipment such as special trucks for transportation of
waste, as well as gloves, vests, masks and rubber boots for the workers required for the disposal
of waste in India,

Keeping in mind that urban industrial and construction activities which involve drilling damage
water pipelines causing both wastage and contamination,

Acknowledging rainwater harvesting systems are vulnerable to corrosion by acid rain leading to
contaminated water,
Keeping in mind that socio-economic factors like poverty and caste discrimination among the
poor and lower castes have led to a lack of availability of sanitation and clean drinking water
among them,

Acknowledging many countries spend less than 1% of national income on water,

Fully aware that in some areas, water is being sold at high prices that people in the community
cannot afford,

Emphasizing In the world's worst slums, people often pay five to 10 times more than wealthy
people in the same cities,

Convinced that in the developing world, the cumulative effect of water-related disease stifles
economic growth and stresses healthcare systems that are already overloaded,

Recognizing water-related diseases are one of the world’s most significant health problems,
causing more than 840,000 deaths each year,

Alarmed that 13,844 tons of garbage is being generated every day in India, causing the breeding
of vectors and parasites leading to the outbreak of diseases,

Noting with regret that children around the world are in landfills trying to provide for not only
themselves but their family which leads them being open to diseases,

Expressing concern that due to improper rainwater harvesting and lack of storm drains, water
mixed with sewage seeps into people’s domestic water supply leading to serious health hazards
such as typhoid, dengue and cholera,

Affirming diarrhea is caused by a variety of microorganisms which can cause a person to lose
both water and electrolytes leading to dehydration and, in some cases, to death,

Deeply disturbed that the lack of toilets and poor hygiene has increased the risk of contracting
diseases like diarrhea and cholera, responsible for 1.8 million deaths each year, 200,000 of which
being children in India,

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Supports March 22​nd​ as a celebrated World Wide Water Day,

Recognizes November 19​th​ as World Sanitation Day,

Urges the education of villagers on environmental responsibilities,

Recommends the “Each One Teach One” method, where every willing student or citizen can
educate another on the importance of sanitation and disease prevention,

Urges the use of social media to make the world more aware of the situation,
Encourages school dances, bake sales, and other fundraisers for supplies such as the life straws
or water-cones,

Urges the education of young women of the importance of menstrual health and hygiene both in
usage and disposal of material,

Suggests acquiring sponsorship by feminine product companies for donations to underprivileged

women,

Raising awareness about the safe and mindful use of water including rainwater harvesting
methods, filtration techniques and sewage treat,

Emphasizes taking part in a “cola challenge,” wherein individuals abstain from drink soda as
long as possible, then donate the money they saved to charities that help transport water to places
with water scarcity,

Requests students to create illustrative pamphlets to spread the awareness about the usage of a
ceramic pot filtration system to obtain clean drinking water, creating campaigns to address the
obstacles dealing with water,

Recommends students to reuse the water for cleaning food items, for watering plants or for other
purposes,

Emphasizes individuals to publicize the E​coSan toilet which separate faeces, urine, and wash
water,

Appreciates the efforts of the Indian Railways for building eco sustainable bio toilets which can
also be adapted for use in buses, remote areas, trains, and highways,

Recognizes the Rural Sanitation Program, where 1.05 million schools have been provided with
sanitation facilities,

Suggests a periodic cleanliness check conducted by students and local authorities to ensure
maintenance of such facilities and inform the government of further/new requirements,

Calls upon the schools countrywide to set up sewage treatment plants individually or in groups
for the solid material and liquid waste to be segregated,

Addresses the usage of a siphon with a hose arrangement and siphoning off the stagnant water in
and around the school and if possible, the community,

Urges students to spread awareness by conducting workshops in schools and other institutions on
the importance of rainwater harvesting,

Encourages students to use limestone and marble pieces in perforated storage tanks in which
rainwater is collected, so that acid rain is neutralized and cleaned,

Adopts waste being put in segregating bins marked as “Plastics”, “Food Waste” ,”Paper” in
schools to be reused or recycled more effectively,
Urges students to follow the 5 R’s (reduce, reuse, recycle, rot, and refuse),

Encourages all students to observe a “cleaning day,” and clean their campus and neighborhood,

Invites students to create awareness for solid waste management, through videos, street plays,
and any other way they believe they can get the message out effectively,

Urges students to suggest that stores use reusable bags instead of plastic bags,

Urges governments who are dealing with unclean water due to pollution in rivers and lakes to
impose strict maintenance policies on communities surrounding those bodies of water,

Urges the government to conduct seminars and workshops regarding sanitation to indigenous
people and schools in areas in need,

Supports providing rural schools with chlorinators and tanks while simultaneously training
teachers to educate their students on the importance of water and hygiene,

Urges students globally to participate in a “Swim-a-thon," where students swim laps to raise
money for people who lack access to clean water,

Calls for the installation of wells with fresh water and with filter systems,

Welcoming volunteers to help build water pumps through organisations such as Cross Cultural
Solution, Girls Going Global, and Tarun Bharat Sangh,

Encourages students to link with NGOs in organizing events such as fundraising marathons, to
increase awareness of the importance of conserving water, identifying local areas that require
assistance and help raise money for the development of water sources/pipelines in those regions.
Subtheme B - Education

The Student Leadership Conference on Development,

Influenced by Article 26(1) of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; “Everyone has the
right to education. Education shall be free, at least in elementary and fundamental stages.
Elementary education shall be compulsory. Technical and professional education shall be made
generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all basis of merit”,

Grieved by the experiences regarding girls in rural areas lacking proper hygiene materials for
their menstruation cycles as well as sanitary bathroom facilities and thus interfering with their
education,

Alarmed by the high chances of sexual harassment and physical abuse faced by girls on the way
to school,

Concerned by girls missing their schooling due to their household duties and gender-based
responsibilities,

Further observing that early marriages and pregnancies prevent young women from going to
school,

Realizing the alarming rate of gender disparity seen in several societies hinders the ability of
girls to attain education,

Observing from Education For All (EFA) Global Monitoring Report that out of the 77 million
children globally who are out of school, 40 million live in conflict-inflicted areas,

Saddened by the news and reports that children in conflict areas are recruited as soldiers,

Concerned by the lack of willing and qualified teachers in rural educational institutions,

Recognizing the absence of resilient infrastructure in natural disaster-prone areas and also that
sudden changes in weather such as heavy rains or hail storms can cause damage to school
infrastructure,

Grieved that children are more vulnerable to being exploited, kidnapped, and trafficked and
made to follow illegal practices such as begging, child labor, drug use, and prostitution,

Worried for the underprivileged who, without access to high quality education, have little chance
to escape a life of poverty,

Alarmed by the fear of returning to school after a natural disaster or conflict,

Anxious that there are fewer schools due to a lack of funds, government aid, and space in urban
slums, as well as rural and remote areas,
Disconcerted by the lack of financial education in schools, which leaves many students unable to
make financially informed decisions,

Conscious of the preeminent shortages in educational resources and the obsolete nature of
resources such as textbooks that constitute imprecise education,

Mindful of illiteracy and ignorance among parents, leading to unwillingness to send their
children to school.

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Demands education to become a main priority in order to empower youth around the world,

Calls for assisting the youth through fundraising, by creating public awareness using films, art,
social media, celebrities, and television ads promoting education for all,

Urges students to create or join social blogs and groups to spread knowledge through technology,

Promote organizations that help create avenues for growth, development, and inclusivity,

Calls upon the support from different organizations such as the Malala Fund and UNICEF for
funding different activities in attaining the goals in education,

Encourages UNESCO to have an official monitoring progress department, so that the funding
and the educational progress can be sustainably monitored in order to point out areas where
improvement is needed and to facilitate more options for development,

Reaffirms the vital role of health sector professionals in helping children in conflicts and girls
victimized from the abuses and trauma created by degradation and discrimination,

Recognizes that women are equally capable to men in terms of educational attainment,

Supports financial literacy in basic education,

Encourage that schools create a political organization as part of their co-curricular activities that
would promote political awareness and engagement among students,

Calls upon the government to provide open data which reflects the true state of the education
system for proper monitoring and decision making,

Encourages female empowerment through participation in extracurricular activities,

Endorses thorough and extensive sex education with a focus on safety and contraceptive
methods,

Appreciates students who are active participants in student leadership roles and encourages
others to do the same,

Considers organizing educational field trips to science fairs, planetariums, and sanctuaries to
develop interest and broaden their perceptions of education,
Supports the use of school classrooms for evening classes for underprivileged children,
uneducated adults, and children who are involved in work during the mornings,

Urges schools to set up a network with other schools to share books and worksheets to provide
materials and resources with underfunded schools in rural areas,

Calls upon youth to conduct workshops in rural areas to promote gender equality, legal rights,
and the benefits of receiving education, by collaborating with local and international NGOs,

Encourages students to promote peace in school through campaigns against bullying, sexual
harassment, and violence,

Supports the inclusion of first-aid education and medical centres in schools,

Recognizes the need for children to be taught how to react during a conflict or natural disaster
and follow pre-planned and practiced procedures to get themselves and fellow students/teachers
to safety,

Endorses the idea of staging peaceful street demonstrations and rallies in solidarity with places
affected by conflict,

Recommends implications of humanitarian programs to guide students to return to school after a

conflict or natural disaster,

Further proclaims parents to allow equal time dedicated between work and education for their
children,

Demands a higher level of security in schools to prevent the sexual abuse of young girls,

Encourages the establishment of better facilities in government funded schools,

Recommends that a platform be put in place under the supervision of the Global Education
Motivators (GEM) to monitor progress on education of each participant country and follow up
on each recommendation,

Urges the youth to take a more active role, accountability and responsibility to learn more on
leadership skills, entrepreneurship training and boost employment opportunities,

Encourages educational institutions to integrate social values into the curriculum. In example,
adopting a value and a problem every month and debating the problem and its solutions at youth
forums,

Recommends education institutions to give students projects for a practical application in

community service,

Suggests that governments allocate bigger funds for the education sector and stress the efficient
use of said resources.
Sub Theme C - Nutrition and Food Security

The Student Leadership Conference on Development,

Alarmed by how malnutrition affects most of the world,

Aware of the three major issues of micronutrient deficiency, hunger, and over
consumption,

Keeping in mind Article 25 (1) “Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the
health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical
care and necessary social services and the right to security in the event of unemployment,
sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his
control,”

Draws attention to Millennium Development Goal number 1 to, “Eradicate extreme poverty and
hunger”,

Deeply disturbed that 85 million children in India from ages 0-6 are undernourished,

Alarmed by the lack of awareness of the public on the nutritional value of the food they
consume,

Concerned that most of the people do not get sufficient food because of poor storage, natural
disasters and inadequate or ineffective transportation facilities,

Alarmed by the fact that there is widespread usage of hazardous synthetic pesticides and
fertilizers to increase the yield of crops and control pests. In India many pesticides are used that
are banned in other countries because of their hazardous effects on health and environment,

Aware that High Yield Variety seeds are more prone to pest attacks therefore they require
more pesticide,

Deeply concerned that the excessive use of pesticides reduces the fertility of soil and degrades
the quality of food. Pesticides, through the food consumed, enter the body causing chronic health
ailments like mental retardation, physical deformities, skin problems,

Recognizing that due to the little knowledge by the farmers regarding the proper usage of
pesticides and often not being able to read the instructions, they tend to use it excessively,
believing it will bring more benefit to their crops,

Taking note that unseasonal climatic condition which cause decrease in yield may lead to
excessive use of pesticides and chemical fertilizers. This has a direct effect on environmental
calamities such as soil erosion, and loss of pollinators because of excessive pesticide application,

Alarmed that intensive agriculture reduces biodiversity and affects natural habitats through
land conversion, eutrophication, pesticide inputs, irrigation, and drainage,
Deeply concerned that memory loss, loss of vision, tiredness, and death result from the lack of
the proper micronutrients,

Noting that micronutrient deficiencies affect child birth and childhood development,

Observing that one of the main causes of mental retardation in children is malnutrition,

Realizing that a human dies every 3.6 seconds due to hunger related diseases,

Having considered that hunger exists to a poverty cycle due to agricultural roadblocks, climate,
conflicts, and instability in the market,

Deeply disturbed that in developing countries, 13.5% of the population is underfed,

Reaffirming that one in six children in developing countries is underfeed,

Noting that without food banks and other domestic food assistance, hunger rates would be
even higher,

Regretting that 805 million people across the globe do not have enough food to live a healthy
life,

Aware that many people in developing countries live on less than a dollar a day,

Deeply concerned that in developing countries more than 13.5% of the population are underfed
and undernourished,

Recognizing the impact youth activists can have in stopping hunger in their communities,

Fully aware that hunger takes place everywhere not just in developing countries,

Deeply disturbed that 90% of the food that is sent to developed nations comes from countries
that have very high poverty rates,

Having been made aware that malnutrition is a global problem that many people experience on a
daily basis, a solution will be hard to find, but if a union is made a solution can be found,

Emphasizing that in 2012, 40 billion children and adults were considered obese,

Concerned that more than 2/3 of adults in the United States are overweight,

Guided by the fact that obesity can cause heart disease, cancer, diabetes, high blood pressure,
and poor wound healing,

Noting that economic disadvantages and advantages impact the occurrence of obesity,

Aware that there are ways to prevent and reverse the symptoms of obesity,

Deeply disturbed that children with a normal weight miss between 10.1 and 10.5 days of school
each year, while obese children missed between 11.7 and 12.2 days of school each year.
 <<<<< >>>>>

Urges attention to be brought to this issue through the use of social media and other forms of
global communication that are available to those unable to get internet service,

Encourages UNICEF, WHO, Africare, and Antenna to continue their work in helping victims of
malnutrition,

Calls upon organizations in developed countries to provide agricultural education and training to
developing countries through NGO’s,

Requests that established organizations, like the ones mentioned above, produce sufficient
electricity and storage units to maintain agricultural products,

Calls upon government leaders to work with private sectors to craft new policies and measures
concerning food security and nutrition in order to control the prices of commodities and promote
stability,

Calls upon government leaders, whom their citizens look up to, to be an example of eating
healthy and living healthy,

Declares accordingly the importance of educating consumers that genetically modified

organisms (GMOs) are safe, economical and healthy,

Emphasizes the empowerment of farmers and fishermen, so that more organic and fresh products
be made available to the public,

Encourages rural banking, credit and microfinance among small-time food producers,

Supports food manufacturers that put on their product labels the benefits of eating healthy food,
the importance of being healthy, and simple ways to be healthy,

Admires the requirement of regions or provinces to allot land area dedicated to agricultural
development,

Endorses the maximization of the agricultural potentials of all countries by aggressively

promoting and hosting agricultural and livelihood researches, trainings and exchange programs,

Proposes to the proper authorities the creation, development, maintenance and preservation of
suitable infrastructure to achieve food security such as roads, bridges, cold storage plants, water
supply facilities, markets, etc.,

Recognizes the role of women, shown in their unique strengths, through listening to and learning
from female food producers which can be made possible by increasing the representation of
women in agricultural policy making bodies,

Strongly recommends to the government and other agencies to provide education to farmers and
fishermen in order encourage them and ensure stable production,
Recommends that the wasted amounts of crops should be used as organic fertilizers to produce
crops,

Suggests the orientation of business owners about the importance of ethical advertisement to
correctly provide information on their product,

Supports home gardening or organic farming instead of inorganic farming or factory production,
and be encouraged that all homes adopt their own organic garden to produce a variety of foods to
avoid micronutrient deficiency,

Encourages urban gardens be required in communities to ensure nutrient-rich foods available in

all spaces and to all people in said community,

Further invites those with difficult climates to find successful and sustainable crops able to grow
in their countries,

Urges Government Health Care systems the prioritization of the proper nutrition of mothers and
children during the child’s first 1000 days,

Recommend that schools offer sports and have the weekly state enforced physical education
schedule for students,

Encourage obese people to exercise at least 150 minutes a week,

Support the promotion and selling of healthy recipe books and healthy foods,

Welcomes obesity ​awareness campaigns and Marathons to be organized by schools, and the
money which is collected from this can be contributed to NGOs that deal with combating
malnutrition. This will help the obese as well as the malnourished/hungry people,

Calls upon schools to organize special physical training lessons for overweight children with
well-balanced training programmes,

Recommends that during life skill classes the students can make posters and brochures to raise
awareness: instructing the consumers to check the ingredients, expiry dates and also that the
packing is intact. They can be displayed near the shops,

Encourages students to form social network group where they share knowledge and ideas based
on the importance of this problem and connect with other schools,

Calls upon students to organize street plays, skits, exhibitions and conferences to bring out the
issue of excessive use of pesticides and to promote the benefits of organic farming.
Subtheme D - Environmental Responsibility in Business

The Student Leadership Conference on Development,

Keeping in mind the official definition of biodiversity, as adapted by UN Convention Biological

Diversity: "Biodiversity is the variability among living organisms from all sources, including,
'inter alia', terrestrial, marine, and other aquatic ecosystems, and the ecological complexes of
which they are part: this includes diversity within species, between species and of ecosystems,"

Desiring movement to Sustainable Development Goals: To ​ensure affordable, sustainable, and

reliable energy for all, promote sustainable consumption and production patterns and t​ackle
climate change and its impacts,

Alarmed by the large number of premature deaths linked to pollution according to the World
Health Organization,

Upholding the United Nations Environmental Program’s call for resource efficient and cleaner
production, involving the efficient use of water, energy, and materials and reducing waste and
harmful emissions, and promoting sustainable growth for the future,

Noting that there is limited information regarding environmentally sustainable practices in

businesses,

Acknowledging the ineffective monitoring of the compliance of businesses with environmental

laws,

Resenting that first world companies improperly dispose waste in third world countries​,

Guided by the Seventh target of the United Nations Millennium Development Goal of Ensuring
environmental sustainability, which for the business enterprise means adopting strategies and
activities that meet the needs of the enterprise and stakeholders, while protecting, sustaining and
enhancing the human and natural resources that will be needed in the future,

Alarmed that businesses are causing damage to all areas of the environment – damage of forests
and woodlands through logging and agricultural clearing, polluting and over-fishing of oceans,
rivers and lakes, pollution of the atmosphere through the burning of fossil fuels, damage of prime
agricultural and cultivated land by the use of unsustainable farming practices,

Guided by the 12​th​ sustainable development goal of the United Nations, which targets to promote
sustainable consumption and production patterns, the 13​th​ sustainable development goal of the
United Nations to tackle climate change and its impacts, the 14​th​ sustainable development goal of
the United Nations, which targets conserving and sustainably using the oceans, seas and marine
resources for sustainable development, and the 15​th​ sustainable development goals of the United
Nations, which targets to protect and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, halt
desertification, land degradation and biodiversity loss,
Recognizing that nearly 700 million people living in rural areas directly depend on
climate-sensitive sectors (agriculture, forests, and fisheries) and natural resources (such as water,
biodiversity, mangroves, coastal zones, grasslands) for their subsistence and livelihoods,

Regretting that government laws and regulations on businesses related to environmental

protection are not strictly implemented,

Concerned that the annual production and consumption of construction materials are increasing
simultaneously, where the production of cement could could release about 4 billion tons of CO​2
emissions annually,

Fully believing that the large-scale use of renewable energy technologies would greatly mitigate
or eliminate a wide range of environmental and human health impacts of energy use,

Concerned that while newer and renewable energy technologies such as wind energy, solar
power, and biomass energy are available, market and regulatory constraints exist,

Deeply concerned by the fact that half of the world’s oil reserves have been consumed,

Conscious of the fact that the industries that cause maximum pollution are distilling, dyeing,
textile, fertilization, pesticide, paper, and tanning industry,

Regretting that the oil and gas drilling industry can contribute to water pollution through both
accidents and extraction processes,

Grieved that the dumps of coal mines contaminate nearby water bodies,

Expressing deep appreciation for the Common Effluent Treatment Plants that has been set-up for
a cluster of small scale industries that cannot afford the cost of waste water treatment plant,

Alarmed that pesticides can be absorbed by soil, contaminating root crops and groundwater,

Fully aware that loss of forest contributes between 12%-17% of annual global greenhouse
emission,

Alarmed that over 25% of all the world's fish stocks are either overexploited or depleted, and
another 52% are in imminent danger of overexploitation,

Concerned that commercial farming which promotes monocultures destroys the diversity of the
landscape and leads to loss of biodiversity,

Noting that small business firms are not aware of environmental laws,

Noting that government implementation of environmental laws is very weak due to poor
enforcement and corruption,

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Encourages companies to support legislation that would incentivize green companies,

Encourages eco-friendly building construction conducted by LEED,

Encourages consumers to seek out environmentally friendly companies from which to purchase
products,

Urges companies to partner with the UN and uphold the Global Compact Standards “to support a
precautionary approach to environmental challenges, undertake initiatives to promote greater
environmental responsibility, and encourage the development and diffusion of environmentally
friendly technologies,”

Suggests the imposition of stricter monitoring and proper enforcement and implementation in
business regulate waste production,

Urges businesses to have transparency in their supply chain processes and issue sustainability
reports to inform the public and communicate about their environmental initiatives,

Suggests the use of social media platforms to spread information of corporate wrongdoings,

Further recommends community integration experiences among youth to promote

community-based resource management education and environmental awareness among the
grassroots sector,

Demands governments for transparency on compliance of businesses with environmental laws,

Suggests businesses to develop personal CSR in promoting environmental responsibility as part

of the workplace culture, by encouraging employees to practice conservation of water, energy,
and waste management,

Strongly expresses the need to promote businesses whose innovations drive positive ecological
advancements,

Encourages student leaders to play an effective role by inviting local businesses to speak on their
green initiatives at schools,

Urges the school community to promote the idea of green entrepreneurship through school
events such as exhibitions, fairs, and competitions,

Urge the the consumption of local products, reducing transport pollution,

Calls upon student leaders to invite managers from local factories, kilns, mills, etc. and conduct
workshops and programs with visiting experts, about methods of running the plants in a
sustainable manner,
Calls upon all student communities to conduct awareness programs on National Pollution
Control Day through exhibitions, street plays, and social networking sites, including information
on ways to improve energy efficiency in businesses and homes,

Further reminds school communities to initiate projects and conduct exhibitions showing
methods to practice the 5 R’s (reuse, reduce, refuse, recycle and rethink),

Appeals to school communities to initiate programs to motivate students to design

environmentally friendly technologies,

Requesting students to take initiatives on 16​th​ of September, International Day for the
Preservation of the Ozone Layer, ​promoting to parents, local communities and schools to reduce
the use of air conditioners which leads to release of CFCs leading to ozone depletion,

Encourages school communities to approach industries and businesses to plant trees in and
around their campuses,

Directs businesses with boarding and dining facilities to commit to purchase materials which are
ecofriendly and can be disposed harmlessly,

Recommends that businesses strongly advocate pooling of vehicles,

Suggests that students connect with NGOs that promote businesses and customers to use energy
efficient appliances as they save energy costs, and also reduce greenhouse gas emissions from
power plants that produce energy,

Considers student communities, to approach businesses to explore opportunities of

‘environmental marketing’ (or green marketing),

Promote the use of environmentally-friendly cleaning products,

Emphasises students to purchase produce made without the use of pesticides,

Welcoming students and other members of the community to create and sign online petitions to
push the government to ban harmful pesticides,

Suggesting that students can approach the local environment office or the local authorities and
help reinforce chemical disposal plans for local businesses by conducting community
discussions,

Suggests students approach the top level management of agro-processing plants to express their
concern on the waste produced,

Urge ​members of the student community to ​liaise with NGOs (such as Navdanya which educates
farmers on organic farming) and ​invite local farming communities and host exhibitions on
benefits of practicing sustainable methods like organic farming, multi-cropping, using locally
available manure, and homemade sustainable pesticides,
Further requests school authorities to organize science and technology fairs to encourage
innovative technologies that promote environmental sustainability,

Recommends students organize a volunteer expedition to clean up nearby business sites

Suggests students screen videos and documentaries in areas where illiteracy is prevalent, about
success stories of sustainable farming practices, rainwater harvesting, afforestation, etc., which
can be replicated,

Further encourages schools to invite Cottage Enterprises to set up selling exhibitions in the
school during events like School Open days. The people exhibiting can explain how the product
is made and what the benefits are, so that parents and the students understand their significance
and use these instead of the mainstream commercial products,

Appreciates the initiative taken by Lalaji Memorial Omega International School to prepare
natural dyes from fruit and vegetable wastes and then use them in hand-made products,

Suggests students collaborate with school management and approach industries to promote using
technology that reduces waste generation, thus resulting in lower waste disposal costs,

Strongly supports the use of furniture endorsed by ​the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and the
Program for the Endorsement of Forest Certification,

Confirms the efforts of Lalaji Memorial Omega International School in growing local vegetables
in the school garden using the principles of organic cultivation, and suggests such projects in
schools be used to demonstrate the benefits and methodology to others in the community,

Calls upon student communities to organize and participate in responsible citizen action against
existing or proposed activities that are likely to harm local biodiversity,

Supports educational tours of ecologically conscious businesses,

Calls upon student communities to initiate programs to create awareness about the implications
of buying products made out of animal parts like skin, fur, ivory, bones and body parts, and to
discourage wildlife traders and poachers,

Calls upon students to sign or create online petitions that push the government to consider
enforcing laws regarding overfishing.
This plan has been voted on by students at participating sites in
the following countries:

Democratic Republic of the Congo Pakistan

India Philippines
Mexico United States of America

Votes from all sites​: 351 yea, 3 nay, and 3 abstention

Respectfully Submitted by

___________________________ ____________________________
Bryan Freedman – Co-Chair Mackenzie Moyer – Co-Chair

Witnessed by Youth Leaders

___________________________ _____________________________
Tajae Briggs Julia Roche

___________________________ _____________________________
Michelle Asim

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