Month: March 2023

COLUMBUS, Ohio, March 2, 2023 /3BL Media/ – Bread Financial (NYSE: BFH), a tech-forward financial services company that provides simple, personalized payment, lending and saving solutions, today announced that it joins 483 other public companies as a member of the 2023 Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index (GEI), a modified market capitalization-weighted index developed to gauge the performance of public companies’ commitment to reporting gender-related data. The index measures gender equality across five pillars: leadership & talent pipeline, equal pay & gender pay parity, inclusive culture, anti-sexual harassment policies, and external brand.

The 2023 GEI represents 45 countries and regions, and includes firms headquartered in Luxembourg, Ecuador, and Kuwait for the first time. Member companies represent a variety of sectors, including financial services, technology and utilities, these three of which continue to have the highest company representation in the index from 2022.

“We are again pleased and proud of this third-party validation of our intentional efforts to foster and report on our diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives at all levels of our company,” said Ralph Andretta, president and chief executive officer, Bread Financial. “Bread Financial is committed to sustainable business practices that fuel our long-term success and make our culture strong, and this recognition reflects those efforts.”

“Congratulations to the companies that are included in the 2023 GEI,” said Peter T. Grauer, Chairman of Bloomberg and Founding Chairman of the U.S. 30% Club. “We continue to see an increase in both interest and membership globally, reflecting a shared goal of transparency in gender-related metrics.”

Bread Financial submitted a social survey created by Bloomberg, in collaboration with subject matter experts globally. Those included on this year’s index scored at or above a global threshold established by Bloomberg to reflect disclosure and the achievement or adoption of best-in-class statistics and policies.

Both the survey and the GEI are voluntary and have no associated costs. Bloomberg collected this data for reference purposes only. The index is not ranked. While all public companies are encouraged to disclose supplemental gender data for their company’s investment profile on the Bloomberg Terminal, those that have a market capitalization of USD1 billion are eligible for inclusion in the Index.

About Bread Financial™ 

Bread FinancialTM (NYSE: BFH) is a tech-forward financial services company providing simple, personalized payment, lending and saving solutions. The company creates opportunities for its customers and partners through digitally enabled choices that offer ease, empowerment, financial flexibility and exceptional customer experiences. Driven by a digital-first approach, data insights and white-label technology, Bread Financial delivers growth for its partners through a comprehensive product suite, including private label and co-brand credit cards, installment lending, and buy now, pay later (BNPL). Bread Financial also offers direct-to-consumer solutions that give customers more access, choice and freedom through its branded Bread CashbackTM American Express® Credit Card and Bread SavingsTM products.

Headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, Bread Financial is powered by its 7,500+ global associates and is committed to sustainable business practices. To learn more about Bread Financial, visit BreadFinancial.com or follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram.

About Bloomberg

Bloomberg is a global leader in business and financial information, delivering trusted data, news, and insights that bring transparency, efficiency, and fairness to markets. The company helps connect influential communities across the global financial ecosystem via reliable technology solutions that enable our customers to make more informed decisions and foster better collaboration.

For more information, visit Bloomberg.com/company or request a demo.

Media Contacts 

Rachel Stultz, Bread Financial 
Rachel.Stultz@breadfinancial.com

GEIComms@bloomberg.net, Bloomberg

The numbers are concerning, if not staggering.

In the United States, alone, more than 100 million tons of wasted food are generated annually, with about 50% going to landfills or incinerators.

As wasted food decomposes, it creates methane. Estimates, in fact, identify wasted food as creating about 10% of greenhouse gas emissions globally.

Enbridge and Divert Inc. have unveiled plans to join forces and develop more facilities that turn wasted food into renewable natural gas (RNG). It’s a historic collaboration for Enbridge that aims to help tackle both important issues—wasted food and greenhouse gas emissions.

Concord, MA-based Divert, founded in 2007, creates advanced technologies and sustainable infrastructure to eliminate wasted food. Their solutions prevent waste by maximizing the freshness of food, recovering edible food to serve communities in need, and by converting wasted food into renewable energy.

The synergies are obvious. In short, Enbridge sees growing RNG supply as a key pillar to its energy transition strategy and Divert, with its technical and logistical expertise that includes connections to RNG feedstock from within the food sector, is expanding into RNG.

Details of the new arrangement, discussed by Enbridge at its annual investor conference today in Toronto, include the following: Enbridge is acquiring a 10% stake in Divert Inc., which describes itself as an impact technology company on a mission to Protect the Value of Food™ and is expanding into RNG to help major food retailers manage their wasted food more sustainably, for US$80 million. The agreement includes further investment opportunities to develop wasted-food-to-RNG projects across the U.S. providing line of sight to greater than $1 billion of new capital growth, which will be underpinned by long-term take-or-pay contracts. Enbridge expects to close the transaction in March 2023.

Divert also issued a news release about the partnership and in it, Caitlin Tessin, Enbridge’s Vice President of Strategy and Market Innovation, offered comments from the Enbridge perspective. “Divert has emerged as a leader in creatively managing wasted food and our partnership aligns with Enbridge’s priorities in pioneering RNG as an effective solution to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions,” Tessin said.

Said Ryan Begin, CEO and co-founder of Divert: “The infrastructure development agreement with Enbridge marks a major turning point in the battle against the wasted food crisis. For 16 years, Divert has been at the forefront of efforts to prevent wasted food nationwide and this new funding will serve as a catalyst to address this pervasive problem at scale. As one of North America’s largest energy infrastructure companies, Enbridge will play a critical role in the continued development of our transformative technologies and infrastructure.”