Month: March 2023

WICHITA, Kan., March 28, 2023 /3BL Media/ – Koch Industries, Inc. (“Koch”) has earned the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) ENERGY STAR® Partner of the Year Award for 2023. This is the third consecutive year Koch has earned this award and the fourth overall, maintaining its status in ENERGY STAR’s Sustained Excellence category. ENERGY STAR award winners lead their industries in the production, sale and adoption of energy-efficient products, homes, buildings, services and strategies; it is the highest honor bestowed by the EPA.

Employees across Koch companies work to use fewer resources as they create the life-sustaining essentials and everyday products that help people improve their lives. Koch has maintained a high performance level since joining the ENERGY STAR program in 2015, earning the agency’s ENERGY STAR certification at four facilities in the pulp and paper, refining and fertilizer industries in 2022, a designation reserved for manufacturing facilities in the top 25% of energy efficiency in their sector.

“Being recognized again by the EPA for superior energy performance is an important milestone for Koch,” said Sheryl Corrigan, director of environmental, health and safety at Koch Industries. “Our employees drive, design and implement energy improvement initiatives and projects at our sites, together with our customers, suppliers and community partners. We all win by using fewer resources. Receiving this award is a testament to our employees’ innovations that drive process enhancements, as well as our ongoing investments in new technology.”

Each day at Koch, employees apply Koch’s Stewardship Framework to help them continually improve their performance as they responsibly make the products and provide the services that people value over their alternatives.

Koch is one of the largest U.S. manufacturers and ENERGY STAR partners, and its facilities have successfully reduced energy consumption and associated emissions, compared to both domestic peers and facilities that less efficiently manufacture imported products.

From 2014 to 2021, production-related waste at Koch’s U.S. facilities is down by 250 million pounds (approximately 40%), across its numerous industries, according to the EPA’s Toxics Release Inventory report. Of the waste produced and reported to the EPA at Koch facilities in 2021, 90% was recycled, recovered for energy or treated—a total of 369 million pounds.

Koch has invested more than $1.8 billion in energy efficiency projects across its more than 300 U.S.-based facilities throughout the last decade.

This work includes DEPCOM Power, a Koch Engineered Solutions (KES) company, partnering with fellow Koch company Flint Hills Resources to construct a 45-megawatt supplemental solar power plant with more than 100,000 panels for Flint Hills’ Pine Bend refinery in Rosemount, Minnesota. The under-construction facility is believed to be one of the largest of its kind in the United States, increasing the refinery’s efficiency by generating enough energy to power 6,500 homes annually. Together with the facility’s recently completed Combined Heat and Power (CHP) system, 70% of the facility’s power needs will come from highly efficient on-site energy generation.

Integrating stewardship innovation into daily operations across hundreds of manufacturing facilities, employees at Koch company Georgia-Pacific’s (GP) Collaboration and Support Center (CSC) are combining data, artificial intelligence, process control and cloud technology in managing the company’s manufacturing assets and process health. The CSC partners with GP facilities across the country to optimize operations and improve energy management. Its partnership with GP’s cellulose plant in Brunswick, Georgia, uses AI with sensors to monitor energy and operations data to help predict and prevent potential issues before they happen.

To learn more about Koch’s stewardship approach, visit: KOCHind.com/Stewardship. To see more ways Koch employees are practicing environmental stewardship, visit news.KOCHind.com/Collections/Environmental-Stewardship.

About Koch Industries, Inc.

Based in Wichita, Kansas, Koch Industries, Inc. is one of the largest private companies in America, with annual revenues that exceed $125 billion. It owns a diverse group of companies involved in manufacturing, agriculture, pulp and paper, packaging, consumer products, building materials, glass, automotive components, refining, renewable energy, chemicals and polymers, electronics, enterprise software, data analytics, medical products, engineered technology, project services, recycling, supply chain and logistics, global commodities trading, and investments. Since 2003, Koch companies have invested more than $150 billion in growth and improvements. With a presence in about 60 countries, Koch companies employ more than 120,000 people worldwide, with about half of those in the United States. For more news and information, visit www.KOCHind.com.

New analysis published by GRI explores the relationship between due diligence and sustainability reporting, offering insights on the current state-of-play within the global policy landscape.

Corporate sustainability due diligence policies and sustainability reporting draws national and international policies, making the case for harmonization of due diligence rules on a global scale. The paper establishes a clear connection between due diligence and materiality assessment – a key component of corporate reporting – and highlights how GRI reporting unlocks transparency on the due diligence process, in a way that is aligned with international authoritative instruments, including the OECD Guidelines and UN Guiding Principles.

Peter Paul van de Wijs, GRI’s Chief Policy Officer, said:

“There are a growing number of due diligence-related policies around the world, in particular those that set expectations for greater accountability on environmental and social impacts. Organizations must be prepared for this reality. However, there is no widely adopted due diligence disclosure system, making it challenging to track, measure, and compare progress. 

Reporting with the GRI Standards puts impact information on an equal footing with financial reporting and – crucially – addresses impacts throughout the value chain. It also supports companies in aligning their due diligence processes with international expectations, as set by the UN and OECD.”

Key conclusions from the report are:

Due diligence policies set expectations for all corporate behavior, not just on human rights: Topics such as tax, procurement and corruption are likely to be included in due diligence rules.Public reporting is necessary for the effective implementation of due diligence: Disclosure needs to cover a broad range of related areas – such as governance, supply chain impacts and operations – signaling why a widely adopted reporting regime is required.Due diligence considerations are having a growing role in financial decision-making: Impacts identified through the due diligence process can be included within enterprise risk management systems, serving as input for identifying financial risks and opportunities.Cross-border implications of due diligence laws require global harmonization: Wide representation and input is needed in policy development, which should ensure alignment with widely adopted standards and international due diligence approaches.Due diligence requires meaningful stakeholder engagement: Achieving credible due diligence outcomes means first identifying and engaging relevant stakeholders, creating an imperative for this information to be public.Due diligence is not possible without supply chain mapping: Effectively assessing potential impacts linked to a company’s products, including use of raw materials, necessitates transparent and traceable supply chains.

The due diligence and human rights-focused approach – the cornerstone of the GRI Universal Standards – will also form the basis for the current revision of labor-related Topic Standards.

Carrots and Sticks, the flagship publication and online resource from GRI, comprehensively covers non-financial and sustainability reporting provisions, policy, regulation, guidance, frameworks, and standards.

Established in 1997, Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) is the independent, international organization that helping businesses and other organizations take responsibility for their impacts by providing the global common language to report those impacts. The GRI Standards, the leading global standards for sustainability reporting, are provided as a free public good.

On World Water Day at the 2023 United Nations Water Conference, IBM hosted a side event at the UN headquarters in New York to provide the first formal impact and innovation updates on two on-going projects at the intersection of water and sustainable agriculture in its IBM Sustainability Accelerator is a pro-bono social impact program. The session, “Water Management Innovation for Underserved Populations,” included a high-level discussion with leading water innovation experts on the power and importance of partnerships and initiatives such as the Sustainability Accelerator to speed up and scale nonprofit and governmental organization environmental sustainability initiatives supporting vulnerable populations.

Watch the discussion here

WASHINGTON, March 28, 2023 /3BL Media/ – EarthShare’s newly released platform for giving is making environmental philanthropy easier and more accessible for everyday consumers. That includes YOU.

Our new platform enables users, regardless of income level, to create no-minimum donor-advised funding accounts and directly support vetted environmental nonprofits across a wide range of issue areas. With an emphasis on education and collaboration, users are introduced to local nonprofits in their area as well as to groups throughout the United States whose missions and impact focus areas are aligned with their goals and interest areas.

The platform showcases our deeply vetted Nonprofit Partner network, educational content, volunteer opportunities, tools to easily measure and reduce environmental impact, and it will have the flexibility for donors to recommend grants to any 501(c)(3) organization.

The purpose of this platform? To reimagine how people engage with the environmental movement through collective action at the individual level. To date, leveraging donor-advised funding has been limited to a core few—those with significant amounts of both disposable income and time to give to the planet. That changes today.

You don’t have to be wealthy to do something good for the planet. You just have to care.

Alongside the platform launch, EarthShare also announced the roll-out of its first-ever membership offering for individuals. For $25 a year, people interested in supporting environmental action can become part of a fast-growing community of like-minded individuals, nonprofits, and businesses with the common goal of creating a more just and sustainable planet. This membership includes access to EarthShare’s Giving Platform.

EarthShare CEO Brad Leibov shared, “We envision a world where everyone takes action for our planet. Whether the action is big or small, it is about building a movement of support that is accessible, inclusive, and built for scale. Now more than ever, positive impact will be at the fingertips of anyone who wants to be part of a growing community of dedicated environmental advocates, donors, and those just starting to get involved.”

EarthShare leads this initiative with 35 years of history supporting environmental nonprofits and the critical work they do. Our network of vetted environmental nonprofits includes 500 local, national, and international organizations, from large and well-known nonprofits like The Nature Conservancy and The Sierra Club to smaller grassroots organizations like West Harlem Environmental Action (WE ACT) and Detroiters Working for Environmental Justice. We are extremely proud of our history, and now it’s time to share our knowledge and resources with others eager to do something positive for the planet.

Is that you?

If you care, EarthShare.

About EarthShare 
For more than three decades, EarthShare has rallied millions of people in support of the planet, resulting in more than $375M mobilized and countless hours of volunteering. Motivated by the urgent threats facing our planet, EarthShare is increasing support for a diverse network of environmental nonprofits by drawing new people and new investment to aid our planet.

Backed by a network of some of the best environmental nonprofits, our issue expertise and partner network exceeds anything on the market, and it’s continuously expanding. We are building the world’s most robust and inclusive environmental network, with the goal to ensure that lesser-known, grassroots, frontline, and BIPOC-led nonprofits see increased visibility and financial support.

Our programs welcome new advocates into the fold, streamlining and enhancing efforts to create positive change by enabling more people to work together for a just and sustainable world. | EarthShare.org 

Contact 
Katelyn Pettit, Content Manager 
Katelyn@earthshare.org

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