On World Environment Day, UNITAR and Danone announced that they have developed an online learning course named “Sustainable Diet”. By highlighting the environmental and social aspects of food production and consumption, the partnership will help people to better understand the impact of their food choices on their health and on the health of the planet. It is seeking to shift mindsets towards a more sustainable way of living and to include sustainable development challenges – such as climate change and biodiversity – into consumers’ decision-making.
This joint learning program will help over 100,000 Danone employees as well as almost 200,000 UN CC:Learn learners all over the world to become agents of change. The course for all Danone employees will be delivered through the company’s internal digital platform whereas the free-of-charge and self- paced public version is available to anyone on UN CC:elearn platform.
The innovative, video-based course consists of 6 interactive lessons: Better Farming, Buying Food Locally, Is Processed Food Bad?, Reducing Food Waste and Packaging, Reading the Labels, Changing Eating Habits. It includes, among other things, interviews with sustainability and nutrition experts, food practitioners as well as local farming and food associations. It also features an interview with renowned Chef Thierry Marx, who shared his knowledge and some cooking tips to inspire healthier eating and drinking practices.
The final module also invites learners to develop an individual plan and identify actions they can take to make their diet more sustainable and to promote more sustainable food habits. After completing the 2-hour course, learners will get a UN-accredited certificate on sustainable diet, which is part of a One Planet. One Health series enabling learners to make more informed choices in their day to day lives. The course is now available in English and will gradually become available in other languages (Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Indonesian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish…).
This initiative is part of a broader partnership between UNITAR and Danone that was launched in 2018. For the first time, UNITAR has partnered with a private company to build a core set of knowledge to help promote conservation, restoration and safeguarding of our planet. This partnership aims to support and facilitate the implementation of the United Nations Sustainable Goals and particularly goals and targets addressing the environment and human health. It also nourishes the global ambition of Danone to empower its teams to achieve its 2030 Goals and embrace the food revolution.
“It has been more than a pleasure to work with Danone on this course and, without a doubt, it is the best that we have ever produced” says Angus Mackay, Director of Division for Planet at UNITAR, and
Head of the UN CC:Learn Secretariat. “Changing your diet is not easy, but I am willing to bet that those who complete this course will do just that”.
“To bring our ‘One Planet. One Health’ vision to life and build Danone’s roadmap with our 100,000 employees, we want to help our teams to become food experts and local food activists. We are convinced that initiatives such as this innovative learning program on sustainability challenges, co- created with our partner UNITAR, are great opportunities to empower our employees to become agents of change and have a positive impact inside and outside the company”, said Bertrand Austruy, Executive Vice President, Human Resources and General Secretary of Danone.
