IN BRIEF (Page 10)

Infants and PKU

The PKU (phenylketonuria) Special-Formula Subsidy Project was recently launched in Beijing. The project is designed to help newborn infants with the congenital metabolic disease in urban low-income populations and socially vulnerable groups in central and western China.

Mead Johnson, a leading infant and child nutritional products provider, will donate more than 20 million yuan to the project in the coming five years.

The project will help 500 infants with PKU from impoverished families in 22 provinces. The families will receive free, special products designed to treat the disease.

Starbucks and CSR

Starbucks Coffee Co recently introduced its corporate social responsibility program, Starbucks Shared Planet, to China.

The US-based company set three goals to achieve in China by 2015: sourcing coffee ethically, acting as good stewards of the environment and being actively involved in communities where Starbucks does business.

Science awards

Dutch chemical group AkzoNobel, in conjunction with the Chinese Chemistry Society (CCS), will extend its AkzoNobel Science Award to China to recognize outstanding scientific contributions in the fields of material science, chemistry and measurement science.

The award, to be granted biennially to three distinguished scientist in China, will offer each laureate a prize of 100,000 yuan.

Since its inception in 1970, the award had only been offered in the Netherlands and Sweden. China is the first country to which the prize has been extended.

New fund for students

Sino-Ocean Land Holdings Ltd, Beijing's largest property developer, established a charity fund at six universities to encourage college students to take part in community service activities.

Each year, the fund will allocate some 150,000 yuan to fund college students' social projects.

The goal is to help students have a better understanding about community service and teamwork.

(China Daily 12/21/2009 page10)