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The Canvas
Description/achievement of initiative

The Canvas transforms vacant spaces into hubs focused on sustainable development. We empower global rising, ethical businesses and provide them with access to global markets, services and technologies. We believe the demise of fast fashion will be accelerated through a connected network of sustainability-focused businesses working together to stimulate progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals. Our retail and e-commerce platform connects real estate, ethical fashion brands and initiatives, and retail entrepreneurs. The Canvas mission is to lower market entry barriers for entrepreneurs and independent brands, while supporting brands and landlords looking for tenants in an increasingly volatile market.

Implementation methodologies

The Canvas community of over 200 fashion brands is integrated on to one central operating system, a fully developed software platform meant to organize inventory, facilitate collaboration and streamline communication. This is a system for fashion and retail now, but serves as the essential framework for a problem solving mechanism amidst an interconnected group of businesses working towards the SDGs. Numerous collaborative initiatives have started within The Canvas community due to our existing platforms. This new software further enables efficiency in areas to international cooperation. Each of our brands address multiple Sustainable Development Goals, which they detail in order to be approved as part of The Canvas platform. The goals and targets we have selected below correspond with the initiatives of our brands, partners and collaborators, as well as the work we do as The Canvas for advancing SDG awareness.

Arrangements for Capacity-Building and Technology Transfer

Our community is engaged in multidisciplinary collaboration. As our business grows, so do our brands and our ability to integrate our products and services into systems beyond their businesses and into their communities.

Coordination mechanisms/governance structure

The Canvas is an LLC. Our headquarters are New York City and Antwerp, Belgium. Our Advisory Board is a group of global stakeholders with backgrounds in law, finance, design and filmmaking.

Partner(s)

3QUARTERS, DOTMO (Distant Relatives), Abby Alley, ADIFF, Amalya Meira, Anne James New York, Arielle, Atelier Minimalist, AYANI, Qaytu, Declare Denim, Tove by Design, Vert Toi, Reuben Oliver Co., Bring Japan, Paradox, Reflect Studio, Eaton Hemp, Kmana, Love Stories Bali, Kraywoods, Endota, Chic Made Consciously, Slow Burn NYC, Global Fashion Exchange, Miranda Watson, The Untrend Shop, RISE Brewing Co. and more
Progress reports
Goal 1
1.1 - By 2030, eradicate extreme poverty for all people everywhere, currently measured as people living on less than $1.25 a day
1.4 - By 2030, ensure that all men and women, in particular the poor and the vulnerable, have equal rights to economic resources, as well as access to basic services, ownership and control over land and other forms of property, inheritance, natural resources, appropriate new technology and financial services, including microfinance
1.5 - By 2030, build the resilience of the poor and those in vulnerable situations and reduce their exposure and vulnerability to climate-related extreme events and other economic, social and environmental shocks and disasters
1.b - Create sound policy frameworks at the national, regional and international levels, based on pro-poor and gender-sensitive development strategies, to support accelerated investment in poverty eradication actions
Goal 2
2.1 - By 2030, end hunger and ensure access by all people, in particular the poor and people in vulnerable situations, including infants, to safe, nutritious and sufficient food all year round
2.3 - By 2030, double the agricultural productivity and incomes of small-scale food producers, in particular women, indigenous peoples, family farmers, pastoralists and fishers, including through secure and equal access to land, other productive resources and inputs, knowledge, financial services, markets and opportunities for value addition and non-farm employment
2.a - Increase investment, including through enhanced international cooperation, in rural infrastructure, agricultural research and extension services, technology development and plant and livestock gene banks in order to enhance agricultural productive capacity in developing countries, in particular least developed countries
Goal 3
3.7 - By 2030, ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health-care services, including for family planning, information and education, and the integration of reproductive health into national strategies and programmes
3.9 - By 2030, substantially reduce the number of deaths and illnesses from hazardous chemicals and air, water and soil pollution and contamination
3.d - Strengthen the capacity of all countries, in particular developing countries, for early warning, risk reduction and management of national and global health risks
Goal 4
4.1 - By 2030, ensure that all girls and boys complete free, equitable and quality primary and secondary education leading to relevant and effective learning outcomes
4.2 - By 2030, ensure that all girls and boys have access to quality early childhood development, care and pre-primary education so that they are ready for primary education
4.3 - By 2030, ensure equal access for all women and men to affordable and quality technical, vocational and tertiary education, including university
4.4 - By 2030, substantially increase the number of youth and adults who have relevant skills, including technical and vocational skills, for employment, decent jobs and entrepreneurship
4.5 - By 2030, eliminate gender disparities in education and ensure equal access to all levels of education and vocational training for the vulnerable, including persons with disabilities, indigenous peoples and children in vulnerable situations
4.a - Build and upgrade education facilities that are child, disability and gender sensitive and provide safe, non-violent, inclusive and effective learning environments for all
Goal 5
5.1 - End all forms of discrimination against all women and girls everywhere
5.2 - Eliminate all forms of violence against all women and girls in the public and private spheres, including trafficking and sexual and other types of exploitation
5.3 - Eliminate all harmful practices, such as child, early and forced marriage and female genital mutilation
5.5 - Ensure women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making in political, economic and public life
5.a - Undertake reforms to give women equal rights to economic resources, as well as access to ownership and control over land and other forms of property, financial services, inheritance and natural resources, in accordance with national laws
5.b - Enhance the use of enabling technology, in particular information and communications technology, to promote the empowerment of women
Goal 6
6.1 - By 2030, achieve universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water for all
6.4 - By 2030, substantially increase water-use efficiency across all sectors and ensure sustainable withdrawals and supply of freshwater to address water scarcity and substantially reduce the number of people suffering from water scarcity
6.b - Support and strengthen the participation of local communities in improving water and sanitation management
Goal 7
7.3 - By 2030, double the global rate of improvement in energy efficiency
7.a - By 2030, enhance international cooperation to facilitate access to clean energy research and technology, including renewable energy, energy efficiency and advanced and cleaner fossil-fuel technology, and promote investment in energy infrastructure and clean energy technology
7.b - By 2030, expand infrastructure and upgrade technology for supplying modern and sustainable energy services for all in developing countries, in particular least developed countries, small island developing States, and land-locked developing countries, in accordance with their respective programmes of support
Goal 8
8.3 - Promote development-oriented policies that support productive activities, decent job creation, entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation, and encourage the formalization and growth of micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises, including through access to financial services
8.6 - By 2020, substantially reduce the proportion of youth not in employment, education or training
8.8 - Protect labour rights and promote safe and secure working environments for all workers, including migrant workers, in particular women migrants, and those in precarious employment
8.b - By 2020, develop and operationalize a global strategy for youth employment and implement the Global Jobs Pact of the International Labour Organization
Goal 9
9.3 - Increase the access of small-scale industrial and other enterprises, in particular in developing countries, to financial services, including affordable credit, and their integration into value chains and markets
9.a - Facilitate sustainable and resilient infrastructure development in developing countries through enhanced financial, technological and technical support to African countries, least developed countries, landlocked developing countries and small island developing States
Goal 10
10.1 - By 2030, progressively achieve and sustain income growth of the bottom 40 per cent of the population at a rate higher than the national average
10.4 - Adopt policies, especially fiscal, wage and social protection policies, and progressively achieve greater equality
10.c - By 2030, reduce to less than 3 per cent the transaction costs of migrant remittances and eliminate remittance corridors with costs higher than 5 per cent
Goal 11
11.4 - Strengthen efforts to protect and safeguard the world’s cultural and natural heritage
11.7 - By 2030, provide universal access to safe, inclusive and accessible, green and public spaces, in particular for women and children, older persons and persons with disabilities
11.b - By 2020, substantially increase the number of cities and human settlements adopting and implementing integrated policies and plans towards inclusion, resource efficiency, mitigation and adaptation to climate change, resilience to disasters, and develop and implement, in line with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030, holistic disaster risk management at all levels
Goal 12
12.1 - Implement the 10-year framework of programmes on sustainable consumption and production, all countries taking action, with developed countries taking the lead, taking into account the development and capabilities of developing countries
12.3 - By 2030, halve per capita global food waste at the retail and consumer levels and reduce food losses along production and supply chains, including post-harvest losses
12.8 - By 2030, ensure that people everywhere have the relevant information and awareness for sustainable development and lifestyles in harmony with nature
12.c - Rationalize inefficient fossil-fuel subsidies that encourage wasteful consumption by removing market distortions, in accordance with national circumstances, including by restructuring taxation and phasing out those harmful subsidies, where they exist, to reflect their environmental impacts, taking fully into account the specific needs and conditions of developing countries and minimizing the possible adverse impacts on their development in a manner that protects the poor and the affected communities
Goal 13
13.a - Implement the commitment undertaken by developed-country parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change to a goal of mobilizing jointly $100 billion annually by 2020 from all sources to address the needs of developing countries in the context of meaningful mitigation actions and transparency on implementation and fully operationalize the Green Climate Fund through its capitalization as soon as possible
13.b - Promote mechanisms for raising capacity for effective climate change-related planning and management in least developed countries and small island developing States, including focusing on women, youth and local and marginalized communities

* Acknowledging that the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change is the primary international,
intergovernmental forum for negotiating the global response to climate change.
Goal 14
14.2 - By 2020, sustainably manage and protect marine and coastal ecosystems to avoid significant adverse impacts, including by strengthening their resilience, and take action for their restoration in order to achieve healthy and productive oceans
14.3 - Minimize and address the impacts of ocean acidification, including through enhanced scientific cooperation at all levels
14.4 - By 2020, effectively regulate harvesting and end overfishing, illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing and destructive fishing practices and implement science-based management plans, in order to restore fish stocks in the shortest time feasible, at least to levels that can produce maximum sustainable yield as determined by their biological characteristics
14.5 - By 2020, conserve at least 10 per cent of coastal and marine areas, consistent with national and international law and based on the best available scientific information
14.6 - By 2020, prohibit certain forms of fisheries subsidies which contribute to overcapacity and overfishing, eliminate subsidies that contribute to illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing and refrain from introducing new such subsidies, recognizing that appropriate and effective special and differential treatment for developing and least developed countries should be an integral part of the World Trade Organization fisheries subsidies negotiation
14.7 - By 2030, increase the economic benefits to Small Island developing States and least developed countries from the sustainable use of marine resources, including through sustainable management of fisheries, aquaculture and tourism
14.a - Increase scientific knowledge, develop research capacity and transfer marine technology, taking into account the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission Criteria and Guidelines on the Transfer of Marine Technology, in order to improve ocean health and to enhance the contribution of marine biodiversity to the development of developing countries, in particular small island developing States and least developed countries
14.b - Provide access for small-scale artisanal fishers to marine resources and markets
14.c - Enhance the conservation and sustainable use of oceans and their resources by implementing international law as reflected in UNCLOS, which provides the legal framework for the conservation and sustainable use of oceans and their resources, as recalled in paragraph 158 of The Future We Want
Goal 15
15.1 - By 2020, ensure the conservation, restoration and sustainable use of terrestrial and inland freshwater ecosystems and their services, in particular forests, wetlands, mountains and drylands, in line with obligations under international agreements
15.5 - Take urgent and significant action to reduce the degradation of natural habitats, halt the loss of biodiversity and, by 2020, protect and prevent the extinction of threatened species
15.6 - Promote fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising from the utilization of genetic resources and promote appropriate access to such resources, as internationally agreed
15.9 - By 2020, integrate ecosystem and biodiversity values into national and local planning, development processes, poverty reduction strategies and accounts
15.a - Mobilize and significantly increase financial resources from all sources to conserve and sustainably use biodiversity and ecosystems
15.c - Enhance global support for efforts to combat poaching and trafficking of protected species, including by increasing the capacity of local communities to pursue sustainable livelihood opportunities
Goal 16
16.1 - Significantly reduce all forms of violence and related death rates everywhere
16.2 - End abuse, exploitation, trafficking and all forms of violence against and torture of children
16.3 - Promote the rule of law at the national and international levels and ensure equal access to justice for all
16.4 - By 2030, significantly reduce illicit financial and arms flows, strengthen the recovery and return of stolen assets and combat all forms of organized crime
16.6 - Develop effective, accountable and transparent institutions at all levels
16.9 - By 2030, provide legal identity for all, including birth registration
16.10 - Ensure public access to information and protect fundamental freedoms, in accordance with national legislation and international agreements
16.a - Strengthen relevant national institutions, including through international cooperation, for building capacity at all levels, in particular in developing countries, to prevent violence and combat terrorism and crime
16.b - Promote and enforce non-discriminatory laws and policies for sustainable development
Goal 17
17.1 - Strengthen domestic resource mobilization, including through international support to developing countries, to improve domestic capacity for tax and other revenue collection
17.2 - Developed countries to implement fully their official development assistance commitments, including the commitment by many developed countries to achieve the target of 0.7 per cent of ODA/GNI to developing countries and 0.15 to 0.20 per cent of ODA/GNI to least developed countries; ODA providers are encouraged to consider setting a target to provide at least 0.20 per cent of ODA/GNI to least developed countries
17.3 - Mobilize additional financial resources for developing countries from multiple sources
17.4 - Assist developing countries in attaining long-term debt sustainability through coordinated policies aimed at fostering debt financing, debt relief and debt restructuring, as appropriate, and address the external debt of highly indebted poor countries to reduce debt distress
17.5 - Adopt and implement investment promotion regimes for least developed countries
Technology -
17.6 - Enhance North-South, South-South and triangular regional and international cooperation on and access to science, technology and innovation and enhance knowledge sharing on mutually agreed terms, including through improved coordination among existing mechanisms, in particular at the United Nations level, and through a global technology facilitation mechanism
17.7 - Promote the development, transfer, dissemination and diffusion of environmentally sound technologies to developing countries on favourable terms, including on concessional and preferential terms, as mutually agreed
17.8 - Fully operationalize the technology bank and science, technology and innovation capacity-building mechanism for least developed countries by 2017 and enhance the use of enabling technology, in particular information and communications technology
Capacity-Building -
17.9 - Enhance international support for implementing effective and targeted capacity-building in developing countries to support national plans to implement all the sustainable development goals, including through North-South, South-South and triangular cooperation
Trade -
17.10 - Promote a universal, rules-based, open, non-discriminatory and equitable multilateral trading system under the World Trade Organization, including through the conclusion of negotiations under its Doha Development Agenda
17.11 - Significantly increase the exports of developing countries, in particular with a view to doubling the least developed countries’ share of global exports by 2020
17.12 - Realize timely implementation of duty-free and quota-free market access on a lasting basis for all least developed countries, consistent with World Trade Organization decisions, including by ensuring that preferential rules of origin applicable to imports from least developed countries are transparent and simple, and contribute to facilitating market access
Systemic Issues - Policy and Institutional coherence
17.13 - Enhance global macroeconomic stability, including through policy coordination and policy coherence
17.14 - Enhance policy coherence for sustainable development
17.15 - Respect each country’s policy space and leadership to establish and implement policies for poverty eradication and sustainable development

Multi-stakeholder partnerships
17.16 - Enhance the global partnership for sustainable development, complemented by multi-stakeholder partnerships that mobilize and share knowledge, expertise, technology and financial resources, to support the achievement of the sustainable development goals in all countries, in particular developing countries
17.17 - Encourage and promote effective public, public-private and civil society partnerships, building on the experience and resourcing strategies of partnerships

Data, monitoring and accountability
17.18 - By 2020, enhance capacity-building support to developing countries, including for least developed countries and small island developing States, to increase significantly the availability of high-quality, timely and reliable data disaggregated by income, gender, age, race, ethnicity, migratory status, disability, geographic location and other characteristics relevant in national contexts
17.19 - By 2030, build on existing initiatives to develop measurements of progress on sustainable development that complement gross domestic product, and support statistical capacity-building in developing countries
01/2023
Business Incubator System for Emerging Designers in Island Nations
05/2021
Brand Platform for Sustainable Development Goals (In Progress)
07/2021
Partnership for Algorithmic Assessment of Brand's Efforts Towards SDGs
Staff / Technical expertise
The Canvas team is pleased to remain available for technical support and integration in any capacity useful for the advancement of SDG related initiatives.
In-kind contribution
The Canvas will offer any of our physical locations in NYC and Europe for SDG Partnership Platform related programming.
Other, please specify
We will be pleased to make annual contributions to the SDG Partnerships Platform based on a % of sales, and encourage our global partners to do the same.

Basic information
Time-frame: 05/2021 - Ongoing
Partners
3QUARTERS, DOTMO (Distant Relatives), Abby Alley, ADIFF, Amalya Meira, Anne James New York, Arielle, Atelier Minimalist, AYANI, Qaytu, Declare Denim, Tove by Design, Vert Toi, Reuben Oliver Co., Bring Japan, Paradox, Reflect Studio, Eaton Hemp, Kmana, Love Stories Bali, Kraywoods, Endota, Chic Made Consciously, Slow Burn NYC, Global Fashion Exchange, Miranda Watson, The Untrend Shop, RISE Brewing Co. and more
Countries
Contact information
Devin Gilmartin, Co-Chief Executive Officer, devin@querenciastudio.com
United Nations