Extending the Good That You Do

December finds nearly all businesses taking an end-of-year review of the business we transacted over the past twelve months. But what if we take a forward-from-here view instead? If we ask how the work we have done will affect the world around us over the next twelve months, we may find some great news about the choices we made this year.

In October, we were honored to receive the 2024 U.S. Secretary of State Award for Corporate Excellence in Innovation to Strengthen Communities for our work in Togo. The ACE award recognizes our efforts, the hard work of our West Africa team, the achievements of the communities we work with, and the positive impacts that are showing real momentum.

In 2023, Koster Keunen introduced our work with Gassana Gafolai, in Northern Togo, West Africa, an effort to help the community to grow economically and increase the residents’ self-sufficiency. This year, we have the data that reveals the impact of making our goals a reality. Beekeepers who kept 30 hives were able to realize an income that doubled their previous year’s earnings. And the good extends beyond the beekeepers’ own households.

We have long known that agricultural crop yields where bees are kept show increases upwards of 30%, and the harvest data reveal that cashew trees also showed strong positive effects of increased pollination. The trees produced one and a half times the previous yield per 1.5 hectares where bees were kept, which created a significant increase in income for the cashew farmers as well.

The good that began with providing hives and education has created greater good going forward. This is the hope and the lived reality when we make choices that look ahead.

At Koster Keunen, our sustainability efforts are part of all that we do, and that extends to the waxes we produce. We want you to be able to meet your sustainability goals, your natural product goals, and your commitments to your customers and the excellence of your brand. We can extend the good we all do together by producing and using natural waxes. We can look to the future, care for our planet and each other by using sustainable waxes.

The future is in all of our hands, and when we take stock of the next twelve months, doing well by doing good will produce positive effects beyond those we see immediately. Your support in this work makes this impact possible.