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A Keystone – Mexico Partnership for Prosperity Project (Prosperity Partnership) is proposed between First Data-Western Union (heretofore abbreviated FDWU), Keystone Resort, (heretofore abbreviated Keystone), and the University of Denver’s International Institute for Environment and Enterprise (DU) under the auspices of the Snake River Basin Sustainability Laboratory (Laboratory or SRBSL). The purpose of this Prosperity Partnership is to strengthen a business model established by the Snake River Basin Sustainability Laboratory. The Laboratory is a cross-sector partnership that includes the University of Denver’s International Institute for Environment & Enterprise and the Keystone Center (NGO). (Please see www.snakeriversustainabilitylab.org and Attachment 7 for more details.)
The Laboratory was formed in April, 2001, for the express purpose of developing an educational, research, and business model for corporate responsibility and sustainability for the resort industry. The proposed Prosperity Partnership’s goal is to strengthen the Laboratory’s model by creating a strong collaboration between Keystone’s Mexican migrant workers (called “Paisanos”), including their source-communities back in Mexico, and the SRBSL through increased knowledge and the best labor practices that underpin sustainability (environment + economics + social equity and well being). The primary desired outcome of this proposal is improved quality-of-life and happiness for the migrant workforce and their families in Colorado (ie, health services, English language training, affordable housing, etc.), as well as a sense of connection and sustainability between the communities on both sides of the border. Overall, this should result in a more productive and sustainable resort workforce, as well as community-based sustainable development practices in both countries.
For FDWU as a principal donor, the project will help enhance its Corporate Citizenship, brand image and future markets at the state, national, and international levels. For Keystone, the project will generate concrete benefits at the resort level that promote profitability, worker productivity and stability, as well as sustainability throughout the Snake River Basin.
This project will generate two specific and equally valuable products: 1) a mechanism that facilitates the accrual of migrant benefits and services; and 2) an educational, research, and business model for sustainability that links employees (the Mexican workforce), and the employer (Keystone) to migrant home communities, both in Colorado and in Mexico. This project, in its pilot phase, focuses initially on Keystone Resort, one of the most progressive ski resorts in Colorado. This initial phase is expected to take one year. Once project viability and potential benefits are demonstrated, a full scale program will be launched in year two. This program could be replicated and expanded in the future to incorporate other resorts in the Rocky Mountain region.
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