Sustainability
Partners in Sustainability: Bonton Farms – the National Volunteer Week Edition
4/14/2023
Many of the sustainability challenges that we prioritize at Samsung – whether it be realizing a circular economy or optimizing energy efficiency – are enhanced through partnerships and collaborative initiatives with credible, knowledgeable, and innovative brands, environmental organizations, and industry groups. Together with these like-minded eco-friendly allies, we are putting our scale, global presence, and pioneering spirit to work on building a more sustainable and equitable future.
As part of our “Partners in Sustainability” series – this one timed to National Volunteer Week, an annual celebration that recognizes the impact of volunteer service in building stronger communities, Samsung’s esteemed partner, Bonton Farms, shares their views on how tackling environmental challenges requires unparalleled cooperation.
Name: | Kaitlynn McConville |
Title: | Communications & Development Manager |
Partner: | Bonton Farms |
Years working together: | 1 years |
Partnership focus: | Bonton Farms’ mission is to transform lives by disrupting systems of inequity, laying a foundation where change yields health, wholeness and opportunity as the norm. |
1. What does sustainability mean to Bonton Farms?
Sustainability is a theme woven into every aspect of our organization. To us, the environmental sustainability goals we have as a society are only achievable when all communities and people have their basic needs met. Sustainability is the “ability to be maintained at a certain rate or level.”
Because our mission is first and foremost oriented around people, we strive to help people achieve sustainability in their own lives. For example, through building safe and affordable housing with rent that is aligned with available wages, we are encouraging our neighbors to move away from living paycheck to paycheck and instead invest in other areas of their lives, like their education, health, financial wellness, and other things they may have previously neglected out of necessity.
It is also imperative that we create sustainability within our organizational operations. Many nonprofits depend solely on philanthropy, but our goal is to break that charity model by creating economic engines that not only allow us to recuperate expenses but help to kickstart our local economy. By creating self-sufficient “social enterprises” like our Market Café, Coffeehouse, and Farmers Market, we can regenerate operating capital and therefore leverage philanthropic dollars for programming.
Finally, we would not be living up to our philosophy if sustainability was not incorporated into our farming practices. We farm organically and implement regenerative farming techniques, striving to be good stewards of the land. We look at everything from a holistic standpoint, and sustainability is an important pillar of the work we’re doing here at Bonton Farms.