Month: March 2023

LOS ANGELES, March 30, 2023 /3BL Media/ – FinTech Breakthrough, an independent market intelligence organization that recognizes the top companies, technologies and products in the global FinTech market, today announced that it has selected Oportun, a mission-driven fintech and digital banking platform, as winner of the “Best Consumer Lending Company” in the 7th annual FinTech Breakthrough Awards program.

Oportun is a breakthrough digital banking platform that empowers its members to reach their financial goals by offering intelligent borrowing, savings, budgeting, and spending capabilities.

Through machine learning, Oportun then builds a comprehensive and personalized profile of members’ cash flow and quickly learns how much a member can afford to set aside without impacting their ongoing obligations and daily spending needs. Oportun calls this the Bank Account with a Brain™, because it does all the hard math, budgeting, and money transferring that present the sort of daily obstacles that inhibit many people from having adequate savings when they most need it.

Additionally, Oportun aims to ensure members always have access to affordable and responsible credit that meets their lifestyle and needs. The Company’s A.I.-driven credit-decisioning platform does not require a credit score to be approved, instead focusing on a large range of alternative data points including a borrower’s income, cash flow, history of on-time rental payments, and more to score 100% of applicants. While historically about half of borrowers had no FICO score when first coming to Oportun, the Company has helped more than one million people to begin establishing a credit history for the first time.

“With more than half of Americans reporting that they do not have enough savings to cover an unplanned expense of $1,000 or more. Additionally, over 60 percent of Americans live paycheck to paycheck, including nearly half of six-figure earners,” said James Johnson, Managing Director, FinTech Breakthrough. “Oportun offers a breakthrough solution that makes building financial resiliency through savings easy and accessible, along with the ability to serve borrowers who would not be approved elsewhere. The Company is serving the needs of millions of people who are often not well-served by the financial mainstream, and we are thrilled to congratulate the entire Oportun team for this well-deserved industry recognition as ’Best Consumer Lending Company’ in 2023.”

The FinTech Breakthrough Awards is the premier awards program founded to recognize the FinTech innovators, leaders and visionaries from around the world in a range of categories, including Digital Banking, Personal Finance, Lending, Payments, Investments, RegTech, InsurTech and many more. The 2023 FinTech Breakthrough Award program attracted more than 4,000 nominations from across the globe.

“It is an honor to be recognized by Fintech Breakthrough as the best consumer lending platform, and be recognized for our efforts to advance our mission and place our members’ financial goals within their reach,” said Raul Vazquez, Oportun CEO. “Through our combined products and services we have made a significant impact in the lives of our members, having helped them set aside more than $8.9billion for emergencies and other purposes and empowering them to feel more confident in their financial future.”

Oportun has provided more than $15.5 billion in responsible and affordable credit, saved its members more than $2.3 billion in interest and fees, and helped members set aside an average of $1,800 annually in savings.

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About Oportun
Oportun (Nasdaq: OPRT) is a digital banking platform that puts its 1.9 million members’ financial goals within reach. With intelligent borrowing, savings, budgeting, and spending capabilities, Oportun empowers members with the confidence to build a better financial future. Since inception, Oportun has provided more than $15.5 billion in responsible and affordable credit, saved its members more than $2.3 billion in interest and fees, and helped our neobanking members save an average of more than $1,800 annually. For more information, visit Oportun.com.

About FinTech Breakthrough
Part of Tech Breakthrough, a leading market intelligence and recognition platform for technology innovation and leadership around the globe, the FinTech Breakthrough Awards program is devoted to honoring excellence in Financial Technologies and Services companies and products. The FinTech Breakthrough Awards provide public recognition for the achievements of FinTech companies and products in categories including Payments, Personal Finance, Wealth Management, Fraud Protection, Banking, Lending, RegTech, InsurTech and more. For more information visit FinTechBreakthrough.com.

Originally published by TriplePundit

Half a mile down the road from Henkel North America’s research and development facility in Trumbull, Connecticut, is the Trumbull Nature and Arts Center, a small nonprofit with a mission to provide nature-rich experiences to all members of its community. The center offers hands-on environmental science experiences for students and educational programming for families in the Trumbull community. It has grown rapidly in recent years, thanks in large part to collaboration with corporate volunteers from Henkel North America.

An employee’s passion prompts an ongoing partnership 

Henkel established the Make an Impact on Tomorrow (MIT) initiative in 1998 to fund and support employee volunteering efforts. Employees can volunteer with nonprofit organizations benefiting a wide variety of causes, from homelessness and food insecurity to education, and Henkel provides many of these organizations with financial support and product donations. Over the past 25 years, the company has supported more than 17,000 volunteer projects in over 100 countries.

As Henkel celebrates the 25th anniversary of its MIT program is, it shows no signs of slowing down. In 2022, the work of Henkel volunteers in North America specifically, impacted the lives of more than 110,000 people — and that work continues to grow as they move toward the mission to improve life for generations to come.

An employee involved with the MIT program got the company connected with the Trumbull Nature and Arts Center — and Henkel’s interest in supporting environmental and STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education made the partnership a perfect match.

“Over the years, Henkel has been a fabulous supporter of our center,” Kevin Malone, president of the Patrons of Trumbull Nature and Arts Center, told TriplePundit. “They funded and built a playground that is made from 100 percent recycled plastic, which is the centerpiece of our outdoor area, and they continue to provide two main resources we rely on: financial, which is extremely important, and human resources, which is volunteer hours and everything volunteers bring to the center.”

Its work with the center is part of a broader effort at Henkel North America to prioritize volunteering in the communities where it does business, said Angela Curley, the company’s senior manager for diversity, equity and inclusion in North America. “We want to be there for our community, to help build thriving communities,” said Curley, who also leads corporate citizenship, social partnerships and philanthropy work. “We do this work because it’s good for society and we want to give back. We also want to engage in projects important to our employees’ interests — we want to support their passions and their contributions.”

Like with the center, it’s often employees who introduce the Henkel team to nonprofit and community partners through the MIT program. “One of our employees, Steve Leeper, has been involved with Trumbull Nature and Arts Center for many years, so it was just natural for us to continue that partnership through MIT,” Curley said. “Sometimes it’s the small, thoughtful impact that goes the longest way. Steve has been passionate and consistent about staying involved with Trumbull Nature and Arts Center, and that’s made a big impact.”

Henkel employees regularly visit the center for volunteer days, where they beautify the grounds by planting, painting, repairing, organizing and building. The company also funded a recent expansion and continues to support the center’s educational programming for underserved students.

“The Trumbull Nature and Arts Center is a very important part of our town and community, bringing in young families and area schools to learn and enjoy the Center’s arts and sciences,” said Leeper, facilities manager at Henkel’s Trumbull site. “We enjoy getting the Center ready for the daily visitors and seasonal classrooms. One part of our volunteer work was the funding for an outdoor classroom. This allows Center volunteers and instructors to hold classes outside, but away from the summer sun and other weather conditions.”

“Having them there shows the rest of the community that we have this support from our corporate partners and lets the community know that we are here and we have the support of an important business in town, and it adds something that we otherwise couldn’t get,” Malone said. “It is amazing to have Henkel on our team and supporting us.”

Instilling a love for nature

As part of their partnership, Henkel and the Trumbull Nature and Arts Center work to bring natural learning to young people who aren’t often exposed to nature.

“We know that many students in underserved urban communities don’t have the same kind of access to nature that students in suburban neighborhoods may have,” said Sheryl Baumann, executive director of the Trumbull Arts and Nature Center.

Last year, Henkel and the center collaborated on a project for first-grade students in Bridgeport, Connecticut, focused on new ways to get kids outdoors. “Nature does exist nearly everywhere, if you know how to find it,” Baumann said. “With this in mind, we wanted to give students and teachers the tools they need to go outside and view nature in their own schoolyards, whether it’s a flower bed around the school perimeter, some trees near a fence, birds flying by, or a dandelion struggling to grow through the cracks of a sidewalk.”

The partners developed a curriculum for the program and rolled it out to multiple schools in Bridgeport during the last academic year, and Henkel volunteers packed supplies like binoculars, bug viewers and butterfly nets into backpacks to help students on their journeys.

Engaging employees while supporting the community 

These ongoing initiatives further the center’s mission by increasing engagement with nature among the community’s youth and encouraging students to think creatively about environmental science.

“The Trumbull Nature and Arts Center is a great example of how our MIT program can come to life when a team of employees put their minds to it,” Curley said. “We know the easy part is the funding — the hard work is getting out and getting it done. MIT programs involve a wide variety of Henkel employees, from frontline employees to senior executives who volunteer their time for the causes they care about. We are enormously proud of our people and the things they do.”

Supporting nonprofits like the center also affords measurable benefits for employee engagement. “We hear from our employees that it is meaningful that Henkel supports the projects that are important to them,” Curley continued. “It’s not about the amount of money, it’s about supporting the work they do.”

Read more about Henkel’s community support in North America.

This article series is sponsored by Henkel North America and produced by the TriplePundit editorial team.

Images courtesy of Henkel and the Trumbull Nature and Arts Center

LAUSANNE, Switzerland, and NEWARK, Calif., March 30, 2023 /3BL Media/ – Logitech International (SIX: LOGN) (Nasdaq: LOGI) announced that it has been recognized as a Supplier Engagement Leader by CDP, a global nonprofit that runs the global disclosure system for investors, companies, cities, states and regions to manage their environmental impacts. CDP ranked Logitech among the top 8% of all companies assessed for supplier engagement on climate change.

“For global organizations like Logitech, our carbon reduction goals go well beyond our factory doors, they are interdependent on the success of our suppliers. Only by working together, can we drive environmental action at scale,” said Prakash Arunkundrum, chief operating officer at Logitech. “As a company that holds ourselves accountable to carbon reductions from the sourcing of raw materials through to manufacturing, distribution, consumer use, and product end-of-life, we recognize the value of supplier engagement as a crucial component to identifying opportunities that tackle environmental risks.”

CDP’s Supplier Engagement Leaderboard and annual assessment is based on how well individual companies proactively work with suppliers to ensure climate change mitigation throughout their value chain. It assesses performance on supplier engagement using a company’s response to selected questions in the CDP climate change questionnaire on governance, targets, scope 3 emissions, and value chain engagement. In 2022, more than 18,600 companies around the world disclosed their climate change data through CDP. Logitech assesses product carbon footprint across the full value chain and uses 3rd party validated life-cycle assessment (LCA) modeling to help identify reduction opportunities through its Design for Sustainability program.

“This year’s report shows that environmental action is not happening at the speed, scale and scope required to limit global temperature rises to 1.5 degrees, with many companies still not acknowledging that their impact on the environment extends far beyond their operations and that of climate change,” said Sonya Bhonsle, Global Head of Value Chains, CDP. “Therefore, we need to see environmental leadership from companies right now by tackling their impacts on climate change and nature together, working with their suppliers in an integrated way.”

Logitech has achieved other widespread recognition for its sustainability performance. It is a third consecutive year member of the Dow Jones Sustainability Europe Index (DJSI), a widely recognized standard for measuring and advancing Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) criteria. It is also rated “AAA” 1 by MSCI representing the top 9% in the technology, hardware and peripherals industry globally, achieved “Prime” status in the ESG assessment carried out by Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS), recognized by the Financial Times as #1 in Europe for climate leadership in 2022, was elevated to the top 1% of sustainable companies by EcoVadis with their platinum rating in 2022, became a Gender Fair certified company, and was listed on the 2021 Forbes’ world ranking of “Top Female Friendly Companies.” Learn about all of Logitech’s sustainability programs in the 2022 Impact Report or on the website.

About Logitech

Logitech helps all people pursue their passions and is committed to doing so in a way that is good for people and the planet. We design hardware and software solutions that help businesses thrive and bring people together when working, creating, gaming and streaming. Brands of Logitech include Logitech, Logitech G, ASTRO Gaming, Streamlabs, Blue Microphones and Ultimate Ears.

Founded in 1981, and headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland, Logitech International is a Swiss public company listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange (LOGN) and on the Nasdaq Global Select Market (LOGI). Find Logitech at www.logitech.com, the company blog or @logitech.

Logitech and other Logitech marks are trademarks or registered trademarks of Logitech Europe S.A. and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. For more information about Logitech and its products, visit the company’s website at www.logitech.com

1 MSCI AAA rating as of 12th December 2022. The use by Logitech of any MSCI ESG Research LLC or its affiliates (“MSCI”) Data, and the use of MSCI logos, trademarks, service marks or index names herein, do not constitute a sponsorship, endorsement, recommendation, or promotion of Logitech by MSCI. MSCI services and data are the property of MSCI or its information providers, and are provided “as-is” and without warranty. MSCI names and logos are trademarks or service marks of MSCI.

Originally published on Built From Scratch

Ferdi Mongo is the definition of starting with little to nothing and working your way up. Although he was born into Cameroonian royalty, his family was poor. He traveled to America at 24 years old with less than five dollars to his name, embarking on a life-changing journey.  

Ferdi, a husband and father of four, has held roles in every department, working his way up the management ladder. Ferdi went on to pay for his siblings’ college education. He also brought his family over to the U.S. to become citizens.

His career advice is to give it 110%, be authentic and most importantly, be true to yourself. Here’s a look into his 26-year career at The Home Depot.

Interested in a career at The Home Depot? Visit www.careers.homedepot.com.

Keep up with all the latest Home Depot news! Subscribe to our bi-weekly news update and get the top Built from Scratch stories delivered straight to your inbox.

The Next Frontier of Social Impact: How CSR Professionals are Shaping the Future

Are you curious about the evolution of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and the impact it has on companies today?

Watch the latest episode of the Social Impact Show as we chat with Nicole McPhail, Co-founder of Darwin Pivot, as we explore the history of CSR from its informal beginnings to its formalization and progression over the years. Learn how CSR has evolved from simply making donations to including employee engagement models and strategic grants, and how its implementation within a company depends on their CSR strategy.

Watch the episode: https://youtu.be/5zUyuMYMA24

Listen to the episode: https://open.spotify.com/episode/7oeYnXRcCFu5rGTnleqE9F?si=02f97d61019248f3 

Koch Minerals & Trading, a diverse global trading, logistics and investment company, is making a $252 million investment in Compass Minerals to support phase-one development of the company’s Great Salt Lake resource.

About $200 million from the investment will go toward Compass’ development of the previously identified 2.4 million metric tons of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) at its active Ogden, Utah, solar evaporation site – enabling the construction of a commercial-scale direct lithium extraction (DLE) conversion plant, with the remaining amount going toward debt reduction.

BY THE NUMBERS: By 2025, the initial capacity is expected to be approximately 11 kilometric tons (kMT) LCE, with full annual capacity ultimately reaching 35 kMT LCE.

WHY IT MATTERS: The global market for lithium is expected to grow 12% annually from 2022 to 2030, according to recent market research.

WHY KOCH INVESTED: “Koch Minerals & Trading is excited to partner with fellow Kansas-based company, Compass Minerals, a leading producer of salt, fertilizers and other essential products and materials. We admire Compass Minerals for its values and its vision to produce products that help keep people safe, feed the world and enrich lives. KM&T seeks partners like Compass Minerals to apply its bulk commodity capabilities to create greater value for customers, communities and shareholders. KM&T will also be working closely with Compass Minerals and other Koch companies to unlock a significant lithium resource at Compass Minerals’ Great Salt Lake facility and become one of the first major U.S.-based lithium producers,” said KM&T Vice President Jon Chisholm.

KOCH AS A LAB: As part of the agreement, Koch and Compass will explore areas to create value with Koch’s expansive capabilities, including supply and procurement, freight and logistics, and project engineering and development support.

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING: “We are pleased to welcome KM&T as our investment partner and look forward to leveraging their deep expertise and proven track record of building value,” said Compass President and CEO Kevin S. Crutchfield. “Securing funding to aggressively pursue phase one of our lithium growth opportunity has been an important focus for our management team. This strategic investment will help drive our lithium project forward, strengthen our balance sheet and enhance execution capabilities across our entire platform.”

GO DEEPER: Read more about the transaction and Koch’s other investments in energy transformation.

Covestro’s third-largest site, Baytown, Texas, USA receives ISCC PLUS certificationFocus on mass balanced products using recycled and bio-attributed raw materialsAlready hundreds of products made from alternative raw materials in the circular “CQ” portfolio

March 30, 2023 /3BL Media/ – With the ISCC (International Sustainability and Carbon Certification) PLUS certification of its production site in Baytown, Texas (USA), Covestro is significantly expanding the reach of its product portfolio for the circular economy. The Baytown site is the company’s largest operating facility in North and South America and its third-largest production site worldwide. This most recent achievement is significant, with all of Covestro’s major sites now certified by the internationally recognized ISCC PLUS standard. In addition to Baytown, certified sites include Leverkusen, Dormagen, Krefeld-Uerdingen (Germany), Shanghai (China), Changhua (Taiwan), Map Ta Phut (Thailand), Antwerp (Belgium) and Filago (Italy).

“Thanks to this new milestone, Covestro will soon be able to serve even more customers around the world with an easily accessible, more sustainable product portfolio,” says Sucheta Govil, Chief Commercial Officer of Covestro. “Customers in North America can now reduce their carbon footprint and Scope 3 emissions with drop-in, mass-balanced materials derived from recycled and bio-attributed products.”

Learn more about Covestro’s ISCC PLUS certification in the U.S.: https://www.covestro.com/en/company/covestro-worldwide/united-states/covestro-in-the-united-states/sustainability-and-innovation/iscc-plus-certification

Covestro is the first manufacturer of polyurethane and polycarbonate raw materials to receive this certification in the United States. The certification is an important milestone for both Covestro and the industries it serves, including the automotive, construction, comfort, electronics and appliance industries, which will now have access to ISCC PLUS-certified products made from more sustainable raw materials in North America.

To underscore how the products support both the company’s vision to become fully circular and its customers’ journey to greater sustainability, Covestro has introduced a specially branded product line with the suffix “CQ.” CQ, which stands for “Circular Intelligence,” is a portfolio of products with attribution of at least 25 percent alternative raw materials derived from biomass or recycled plastics.

Covestro is also introducing the name Evocycle® CQ for all evolutionary recycling processes. The first project of this kind, currently focused in Europe, is called Evocycle® CQ Mattress and denotes an innovative chemical recycling technology for polyurethane mattress foam. The company currently has hundreds of CQ products and is continuously expanding this portfolio.

The ISCC PLUS certified products produced at Covestro’s Baytown facilities will include:

Methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI) – used primarily in the production of rigid polyurethane foam for efficient insulation of refrigeration equipment and buildingsToluene diisocyanate (TDI) – used in the production of flexible foam for the automotive and furniture industriesMakrolon® RE – polycarbonate, a high-grade plastic used in the automotive, electronics and medical industries, among othersHexamethylene diisocyanate (HDI), isophorone diisocyanate (IPDI), Desmodur® W and Desmodur® Z – used in various coatings and adhesive applications

Covestro expects to begin supplying select ISCC PLUS-certified products from its Baytown facility in the second half of 2023.

The products will be produced using a mass-balance approach. Sustainable raw materials will be accounted for throughout both the value chain and production process, allowing for an accurate attribution to the end products. The existing production infrastructure will be utilized while reducing the carbon footprint of the final products.

ISCC is an internationally recognized sustainability certification for biomass and bioenergy. The standard applies to all stages of the value chain and is recognized worldwide.

About Covestro: 
Covestro is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of high-quality polymer materials and their components. With its innovative products, processes and methods, the company helps enhance sustainability and the quality of life in many areas. Covestro supplies customers around the world in key industries such as mobility, building and living, as well as the electrical and electronics sector. In addition, polymers from Covestro are also used in sectors such as sports and leisure, cosmetics and health, as well as in the chemical industry itself.

The company is committed to becoming fully circular and is striving to become climate neutral by 2035 (scope 1 and 2). Covestro generated sales of EUR 18 billion in fiscal 2022. At the end of 2022, the company had 50 production sites worldwide and employed approximately 18,000 people (calculated as full-time equivalents).

Editor’s Note: Follow news from Covestro on Twitter: https://twitter.com/CovestroUS

CONTACT 
Russell Glorioso 
+1 (412) 525-9330 
Russell.Glorioso@covestro.com 
Covestro LLC