Month: April 2023

FORT WAYNE, Ind., April 26, 2023 /3BL Media/ – Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ/GS: STLD) today announced that the company supports The Steel Climate Standard. The Steel Climate Standard was published by the Global Steel Climate Council (GSCC) to provide a technology-agnostic global standard to measure and report steel product greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and provide a science-based target-setting framework to enable the industry to reduce carbon emissions.

In publishing its standard, the GSCC invited interested organizations to review The Steel Climate Standard and submit comments, which are due by May 17, 2023. The full text of the standard and guidelines on submitting comments can be found at: https://globalsteelclimatecouncil.org.

“We are proud to be a founding member of the Global Steel Climate Council,” said Mark D. Millett, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “Steel is an integral component of the global economy and foundational to the world’s essential infrastructure. Specifically, lower-carbon steel is necessary for the transition to a lower-carbon global economy. This new standard will accelerate the actual reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and provide key decisionmakers with transparent and consistent data to make informed decisions. Steel Dynamics is already a leader in producing lower-carbon steel products. We continue to identify decarbonization opportunities, building on our entrepreneurial, innovative spirit.”

GSCC’s proposed standard is comprised of two main components: (1) product certification criteria that allows customers to know if the steel they are buying is on the glidepath to achieve the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement; and (2) a science-based target-setting framework based on a 1.5°C scenario glidepath for net zero GHG emissions by 2050. The GSCC standard will measure all key GHG emissions from Scope 1, Scope 2 and Scope 3 categories.

“The Steel Climate Standard is a simple and understandable benchmark for reducing the steel industry’s greenhouse gas emissions and encourages innovation and investments in lower emission technology,” said Jeff Hansen, Vice President Environmental Sustainability and GSCC Board Member. “We are excited to help develop and launch this important standard for the industry, and for the investment and innovation that will surely follow.”

About the Global Steel Climate Council 

GSCC is a non-profit organization created to lead an effort to reduce steel carbon emissions and encourage investments in lower emission technology as part of the global effort to decarbonize economies and societies. GSCC members are steel manufacturers, associations and other organizations in the steel supply chain that have a presence in 79 countries around the world.

About Steel Dynamics, Inc.

Steel Dynamics is one of the largest domestic steel producers and metals recyclers in the United States, based on estimated annual steelmaking and metals recycling capability, with facilities located throughout the United States, and in Mexico. Steel Dynamics produces steel products, including hot roll, cold roll, and coated sheet steel, structural steel beams and shapes, rail, engineered special-bar-quality steel, cold finished steel, merchant bar products, specialty steel sections and steel joists and deck. In addition, the company produces liquid pig iron and processes and sells ferrous and nonferrous scrap.

Forward-Looking Statements

This report contains some predictive statements about future events, including statements related to conditions in domestic or global economies, conditions in steel, aluminum, and recycled metals market places, Steel Dynamics’ revenues, costs of purchased materials, future profitability and earnings, and the operation of new, existing or planned facilities. These statements, which we generally precede or accompany by such typical conditional words as “anticipate”, “intend”, “believe”, “estimate”, “plan”, “seek”, “project”, or “expect”, or by the words “may”, “will”, or “should”, are intended to be made as “forward-looking”, subject to many risks and uncertainties, within the safe harbor protections of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements speak only as of this date and are based upon information and assumptions, which we consider reasonable as of this date, concerning our businesses and the environments in which they operate. Such predictive statements are not guarantees of future performance, and we undertake no duty to update or revise any such statements. Some factors that could cause such forward-looking statements to turn out differently than anticipated include: (1) domestic and global economic factors; (2) global steelmaking overcapacity and imports of steel, together with increased scrap prices; (3) pandemics, epidemics, widespread illness or other health issues, such as COVID-19 or its variants; (4) the cyclical nature of the steel industry and the industries we serve; (5) volatility and major fluctuations in prices and availability of scrap metal, scrap substitutes and supplies, and our potential inability to pass higher costs on to our customers; (6) cost and availability of electricity, natural gas, oil, or other energy resources are subject to volatile market conditions; (7) increased environmental, greenhouse gas emissions and sustainability considerations or regulations; (8) compliance with and changes in environmental and remediation requirements; (9) significant price and other forms of competition from other steel and aluminum producers, scrap processors and alternative materials; (10) availability of an adequate source of supply of scrap for our metals recycling operations; (11) cybersecurity threats and risks to the security of our sensitive data and information technology; (12) the implementation of our growth strategy; (13) litigation and legal compliance; (14) unexpected equipment downtime or shutdowns; (15) governmental agencies may refuse to grant or renew some of our licenses and permits; (16) our senior unsecured credit facility contains, and any future financing agreements may contain, restrictive covenants that may limit our flexibility; and (17) the impacts of impairment charges.

More specifically, we refer you to our more detailed explanation of these and other factors and risks that may cause such predictive statements to turn out differently, as set forth in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K under the headings Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements and Risk Factors, in our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, or in other reports we file with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These reports are available publicly on the Securities and Exchange Commission website, www.sec.gov, and on our website, www.steeldynamics.com under “Investors – SEC Filings.”

Contact: Investor Relations — +1.260.969.3500

Only half of the largest listed companies’ green generals came from previous sustainability roles, with many preferring operations and strategy experience.

​​​​In a recent article for the Business Times, Acre’s Head of Sustainable Business, APAC, Greg Brittian, discusses the different paths companies can take when hiring sustainability leaders, as well as the trending skills associated with CSOs. The article looks at the largest listed companies in Singapore, and analyses sustainability-related expertise, hiring backgrounds, and challenges.

​”CSOs should possess both relevant sustainability qualifications – even if they do not have a technical sustainability background – as well as exhibit strong leadership and strategic skills.”

​To read the full article, please click here.

Original Source: The Business Times| Written by Wong Pei Ting and Janice Lim | Published on 03/04/23

About Acre

At Acre, we work with the most aspirational businesses with potential to make real change; from those who are just starting out to those who are well on the journey to crafting a legacy.

Our 18 years’ experience in sustainability recruitment, combined with our extensive global network, enables us to provide talent solutions that are designed to deliver this change.

Through our unique behavioural assessment technology, we understand the types of people, skills and behaviours required to create impact. We can develop these qualities within your existing teams too.

We find talented people and develop their skills to ensure they make a true impact in ambitious, progressive organisations.

Acre. Making companies ready for tomorrow.

The World Intellectual Property Organization marks April 26, 2023, as World Intellectual Property DayO-I Glass, as a leader in the global packaging market, has a portfolio of more than 3,600 active patentsO-I celebrates its women inventors embodying the spirit of innovation that drives the Company

PERRYSBURG, Ohio, April 26, 2023 /3BL Media/ – O-I Glass, Inc. (“O-I Glass” or “O-I”) joins the World Intellectual Property Organization in recognizing the vital role of innovators worldwide that create economic and social benefits through their ideas. April 26 marks World Intellectual Property Day with this year’s theme being “Women and IP: Accelerating innovation and creativity”. O-I applauds the innovative spirit of its female inventors and all creators company wide. 

In 1903, the Owens Bottle Machine Company was founded around Michael Owens’ patent for a bottle making machine, which is recognized for mechanically producing bottles at a rate of 240 per minute. This innovation set the foundation for becoming today’s O-I Glass, employing more than 24,000 employees and operating at 69 plants in 19 countries. Innovation is at the heart of O-I’s portfolio of more than 3,600 active patents that are transforming the packaging industry. 

Last year, 19 O-I employees were granted U.S. patents that advance the production, design, and overall sustainability of glass packaging. Among those granted patents were Jessica Bryant, Manufacturing Intelligence & Controls Squad Lead Research and Development (R&D), and Sutapa Bhaduri, Technology Strategist and Global Sustainability Lead, while three other female O-I employees filed U.S. patent applications last year. 

“Innovation is in our DNA at O-I, and we are harnessing the power of our innovators and creators to transform glass packaging and to shape a more sustainable world,” said Ludovic Valette, Vice President, Chief Technology Officer for O-I. “These innovators drive new technology such as our proprietary MAGMA glass-making approach which is set to revolutionize glass production.”

O-I’s MAGMA technology is designed for flexible, modular glass production. Facilities built for MAGMA will feature a smaller melter and enable advanced technologies.

O-I recently broke ground for a state-of-the-art greenfield glass plant in Bowling Green, KY that will be purpose-built around MAGMA technology. 

“Our people and their ideas drive the company’s leadership in innovation, transformation and sustainability,” said Randy Burns, Chief Sustainability and Corporate Affairs Officer for O-I. “With 24,000 passionate glassmakers around the world, each of us is a driving force in achieving our vision of becoming the most sustainable producer of brand-building rigid packaging, and that spirit of innovation and creativity will continue to transform O-I and glass packaging into the future.”

About O-I  

At O-I Glass, Inc. (NYSE: OI), we love glass and we’re proud to be one of the leading producers of glass bottles and jars around the globe. Glass is not only beautiful, it’s also pure, healthy and completely recyclable, making it the most sustainable rigid packaging material. Headquartered in Perrysburg, Ohio (USA), O-I is the preferred partner for many of the world’s leading food and beverage brands. We innovate in line with customers’ needs to create iconic packaging that builds brands around the world. Led by our diverse team of approximately 24,000 people across 69 plants in 19 countries, O-I achieved revenues of $6.9 billion in 2022.  Learn more about us:  o-i.com / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / LinkedIn

contact:

JIM WOODS
Public Relations Lead 
James.Woods@o-i.com
724.732.5748

As more industries seek digital transformation — adopting conveniences such as cloud-based connectivity, frictionless operations, and more — their vulnerability to potential threats increases. When it comes to protecting sensitive information, is your company well-equipped to prevent email phishing scams, cybersecurity threats, and other attacks by bad actors?

While sharing and collaborating on information assets is essential to streamline workflow within an organization, it’s imperative to ensure that any shared information is only accessible by people who need to see it and that it is managed correctly. An information governance policy assures that not only is your company’s most confidential data protected, but also that of every department and individual employee.

What factors must be considered when defining an organization’s information governance (IG) policy? There are three main considerations that go into a strong IG policy approach:

1. WHAT needs to be protected? 

Information that needs to be protected can be placed in one of two categories:

Personally identifiable information (PII)Company confidential information (CCI)

Both sets must be protected, but for different reasons.

PII: It is a company’s responsibility to protect the personal data of their employees and customers. There are now laws, such as Europe’s General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) and the California Consumer Protection Act (CCPA) that require such PII protections, safeguarding individual’s interests and privacy.

CCI: It is a company’s responsibility to protect its own sensitive data. There are myriad reasons that a company’s private information stay in-house, the most important being to keep that data away from competitors or those looking to hurt the company. CII protections work to guard company interests.

2. WHO can access the protected data?

Locking away data certainly secures it, but the data serves very little purpose if need-to-know users cannot properly access it. This is where group access lists and Digital Rights Management (DRM) come in handy. Ensuring only true stakeholders have access minimizes the chances that private company information ends up in the wrong hands.

3. HOW can the protected data be accessed?

Policy creators must consider the following questions: Can the users only review the information, or can they also alter the information? Can they download the information locally? Administering user roles can help with this — certain users can read, other users can modify, and so on.

Implementing a sustainable information governance policy

Once an IG policy has been defined, it’s up to those implementing it to choose workflow solutions that meet the requirements of the policy. Weighing the usability of these solutions against how closely they adhere to the IG policy can be a bit of a give and take. The more secure a solution is, the more complicated it might be to administer or the more difficult it might be to use productively.

One area where solutions can offer both information security and solution usability is document viewing. Both CCI and PII are often found in Microsoft Office documents. Think about a financial spreadsheet, an applicant resume, and a product design document. These three documents are from three different areas — finance, human resources, and product development — but all contain CCI and/or PII. Selecting solutions that allow for secure storage of these kinds of documents, while limiting the access to these documents only to those who need to see them, certainly supports any well-defined IG policy. And if these solutions also provide a consistent way to view and work within these documents, that’s also a usability win.

On the other hand, solutions that store documents, but don’t provide a way to view them, not only impact productivity, but may encourage violating the IG policy. For instance, consider a Microsoft Word document containing patent submission information saved securely within a product lifecycle management solution in the cloud. This information is safe — access to the document within the solution is limited. But what happens when someone with access wants to see the information?

They click on the file within the solution and instead of opening a viewer, a copy of the file is downloaded locally to their personal computer so they can open it. If this process is repeated by everyone who needs to access this document, that is a tremendous waste of time. But worse yet, there are now dozens of copies of this document and the information contained therein on different systems. Is the information still secure? What if someone prints the document? Or sends it to personal email or personal cloud storage? Now that there are dozens of digital duplicates, the chances of this information leaking are now a lot higher. This can be avoided with a single solution that not only stores data, but also manages access among users.

Considering solutions that support information governance

The fact is that every day, Microsoft Office files are shared by millions across all vertical industries and markets — and these files frequently contain sensitive data. Setting an IG policy that moves these kinds of documents to limited distribution within workflow tools is a start. But from there, organizations must consider how users are allowed to access the documents to further limit the number of copies of these files. These documents must also be viewable within the solution to prevent users downloading them or attempting to access them by any other means.

Workflow solution providers can feel confident their products meet customer expectations around protecting CCI and PPI by implementing an inline viewer like Qualcomm DirectOffice Document Conversion Software, which ensures that documents are quickly converted and accurately displayed right within the solution.

Check out Qualcomm DirectOffice to see for yourself how it works

Cummins

Cummins Inc. has been named to Ethisphere’s list of the World’s Most Ethical Companies for a 16th consecutive year.

The list honors companies demonstrating business integrity through best-in-class ethics, compliance and governance practices. Ethisphere is a global leader in defining and advancing the standards of ethical business practices.

“We continue to be inspired by the World’s Most Ethical Companies honorees and their dedication to making real impact for their stakeholders and displaying exemplary values-based leadership,” said Ethisphere CEO Erica Salmon Byrne. “Congratulations to Cummins for earning a place in the World’s Most Ethical Companies Community.”

Cummins was one of 135 honorees on the 2023 list, spanning 19 countries and 49 industries. The list is grounded in Ethisphere’s proprietary Ethics Quotient, the World’s Most Ethical Companies’ assessment process, which includes a more than 200-question survey on the company’s ethical and social practices.

Ethics and the importance of ethical behavior have been emphasized at Cummins since the earliest days of the more than 103-year-old global power technology leader. Today, the Cummins Code of Business Conduct guides employees on ethical behavior around issues ranging from diversity, equity and inclusion; to competing fairly and honestly and avoiding conflicts of interest.

Employees worldwide are required to comply with the code, which is built around 10 ethical principles starting with “We will follow the law everywhere” and ending with the 10th principle, “We will create a culture where employees take responsibility for ethical behavior.”

Employees can report potential code or policy violations in multiple ways. They can use Cummins’ external Ethics website, call the company’s Ethics Helpline, send an email to the Ethics and Compliance function or simply talk to their supervisor, Human Resources representative or a member of the company’s Legal function.

The company has a strict no-retaliation policy for employees reporting potential code violations in good faith.

Cummins’ Ethics and Compliance Function in 2022 oversaw mandatory ethics training in 10 different areas, including anti-bribery, avoiding conflicts of interest, preventing money laundering and more.

Originally published on GoDaddy For Good

By Aman Bhutani
Chief Executive Officer, GoDaddy

I joined GoDaddy in 2019 because I was inspired by its mission. I am not alone. Everyone working here feels the importance of GoDaddy’s mission: to empower entrepreneurs everywhere, making opportunity more inclusive for all.

Every member of our team can share a story about a customer GoDaddy helped. That’s why we really feel a sense of accomplishment and meaning in the work we do. We take pride in being there and advocating for entrepreneurs at every step of their journey, even when they face very personal challenges caused by global pandemics and conflicts, supply chain disruptions and inflationary pressures.

We also take very seriously our role as a corporate citizen. Making a difference in our communities through good governance is core to GoDaddy’s mission and DNA. This report shares our 2022 progress, including highlights like our progress against the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals most meaningful to our business, our momentum against our greenhouse gas emissions reduction goal announced last year and for achieving pay parity for gender equality globally for the eighth consecutive year.1

We believe commerce on the internet offers the greatest opportunity to small businesses to reach more people in their community and all over the world. Our job at GoDaddy is to provide solutions and human-centered guidance that helps entrepreneurs securely unify their digital identity and presence, show up everywhere customers might find them and grow via connected commerce. As we work to execute our mission and strategy, we prioritize our efforts across three pillars — customers, employees and operations — identifying and concentrating our efforts on areas where we can make the greatest positive impact for stakeholders.

Despite our achievements, we have more work to do and continually seek ways to make progress. That intent was evident when I signed the CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion pledge in March 2023. This public commitment aligns with three of our corporate sustainability priorities: inclusive entrepreneurship; diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging; and talent management and engagement. I am eager to partner with and learn from this community of more than 2,400 CEOs.

With our almost 21 million customers, international footprint and nearly 84 million domains under management, we have the scale to make a difference globally yet are agile and focused enough to help entrepreneurs overcome obstacles and realize their dreams.

Here’s to the next stages of progress on our journey.

About This Report
Unless otherwise noted, the GoDaddy 2022 Sustainability Report outlines our environmental, social and governance (ESG) strategies, activities, progress, metrics and performance for the fiscal year that ended on December 31, 2022. This report references the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Standards and includes select Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) Standards metrics for the Internet Media and Services sector.

GoDaddy is committed to regular, transparent communication about our sustainability progress, and to that end, we will share updates on an ongoing basis through our website and will continue to publish an annual Sustainability Report.

1We define achievement of pay parity as pay that is equal to, or a few cents on either side of, a dollar. Please read our 2022 Diversity and Pay Parity Annual Report for more information.

by Keisha Bolden of Self-Help Credit Union

Sustainable investing has gained momentum over the past decade with both financial professionals and casual investors, and in 2023 it’s more relevant than ever. Growing social, economic, and environmental concerns have fueled an increase in socially responsible investments as more people realize the positive impact their investments can make.

CDFIs (Community Development Financial Institutions) are critical players in sustainable investing, leveraging specialized knowledge and resources to create innovative financial products with a positive social return. As we look ahead to the rest of 2023 and beyond, these key CDFI investing trends are likely to play a crucial role in the sustainable investing movement.

Investing in Gender Equity – CDFIs are increasingly emphasizing women-led projects, helping to counter the substantial barriers that female entrepreneurs still face. According to research from the Kaufman Foundation and the PitchBook-NVCA Venture Monitor, women make up 40% of founders, yet received only 2% of total venture capital allocations in 2022. Additional collective research by ICA and CNote has found noteworthy challenges for women, particularly women of color. Although women entrepreneurs are approved for lower loan amounts with higher interest rates, the probability of them defaulting on loans is 2 to 4.5% lower than that of men founders. CDFIs are leading the charge to change these inequities. 

Read the rest of Keisha’s very informative article here – https://greenmoney.com/2023-cdfi-sustainable-investing-trends

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Originally published on Built From Scratch

By making our supply chain more efficient, we reduce business costs and the impact that our product distribution has on the environment.

We continue to make progress on our multi-year supply chain initiative to create the fastest, most efficient and reliable delivery network for home improvement products.

When we announced our approximately $1.2 billion supply chain initiative in 2017, we could have never envisioned the disruption to the global supply chain because of the pandemic. Due to our supply chain investments, however, we have demonstrated our ability to navigate any environment.

In addition, our supply chain investments have helped us move record amounts of product more efficiently. Despite seeing another year of record product volume move through our business, our new supply chain facilities helped us reduce the miles driven to get products from our vendors to our customers.

Even as supply chain volume increased, the efficiencies we gained in our operations and our investments in green energy helped us reduce our carbon intensity.

WAYS WE’RE DRIVING SUPPLY CHAIN IMPROVEMENTS

In 2021, we installed hydrogen fuel cells at three U.S. supply chain facilities, giving us 15 locations with emissions- free fuel for forklifts. We estimate these fuel cells helped us reduce electricity consumption by about 21 million kilowatt hours in 2021.We do a technology-assisted assessment of scheduled pickups and deliveries, then recommend optimized routes to reduce miles traveled, fuel consumed and trucks on the road.By partnering with suppliers to forgo pallets, we can stack products to the top of trailers, resulting in a reduction in the number of truckloads needed to transport some goods.As we roll out our new distribution facilities, we’ve partnered with Plug Power to fuel some of our new facility’s material handling fleets, like forklifts, with zero-emission hydrogen fuel. This is another way we are reducing our environmental impact while building a best-in-class supply chain.We sell available space on our trucks and buy space from other companies, ensuring fewer underloaded trailers hit the road. That space sharing saves about 2 million driven miles a year.Optimization technology guides how we pack trucks or ocean-bound containers. We maximize the product load, reducing the number of truckloads and containers – and overall emissions.

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