b'Helping improve the lives of 100,000 people worldwide. We are supporting The Washing Machine Project with essential funding, products and expertise to deploy at least 7,500 machines to disadvantaged families and communities in 10 countries over the next three years. Some 70% of the worlds population does not have access to an electric washing machine and many people have to wash their clothes by hand in rivers, lakes and buckets. Handwashing is predominantly left to women and girls, forcing them to spend up to 20 hours per week on this task causing severe back and joint pain and painful skinirritation, as well as preventing the chance of an education. The Washing Machine Project has built an affordable, easy to maintain, manual crank washing machine, requiring no electricity, using 50% less water than handwashing and reducing the time spent on this task by 75%. Together, our goal is to improve the lives of 100,000 people by offering them better health, education and economic opportunities.Find out more at:electrocomponents.com/esgPartnering with Engineers Without BordersWe are proud to announce our partnership with Engineers Without Borders Australia, and their School Outreach program designed to inspire students from diverse backgrounds to create a better world through engineering. The EWB and RS partnership aims to not only inspire STEM, but strengthen relationships with First Nations communities, as well as contribute to initiatives that increase cultural understanding, the access of First Nations Australians to appropriate technology, and strengthen their career opportunities within the engineering sector. EWB began in Melbourne in 2003 with a small group of engineers dedicated to harnessing the potential of engineering to create an equitable reality for the planet and its people. Today, the EWB community includes thousands of people and dozens of organisations working together to engineer a better world. The EWB partnership is a significant step in our commitment as a business to create long standing ties with the ATSI community.We also have a Global partnership with Engineers Without Borders-International to involve 20,000 students in engineering design challenges that address global issuesWe recognise the need to tackle the skills gap and support the next generation of engineers who will shape our future world. We are supporting 20,000 engineering students from Australia, South Africa, UK and US who participate in the Engineers Without Borders annual competition, Engineering for People Design Challenge.Find out more at:au.rs-online.com/ewb9'