Month: April 2023

Kids are natural scientists, driven by curiosity to understand the world around them. Finding inspiration in their daily life, they constantly ask and answer their own hypotheses.

Engaging their own curiosity, the youngest students don’t even know they are using the scientific method to ask questions, form hypotheses, collect evidence, test out their theories, and communicate the results. But when you hear a child say, “I did it! I jumped in the puddle and my socks stayed dry and I made a big splash!” that is the scientific method on display.

This type of inquiry-based learning teaches critical thinking skills, as noted in a Cambridge University Press article, Teaching Critical Thinking in Science – the key to students future success. Science educators seek to continually engage this curiosity by creating lessons that help students continue to learn about the world around them. Great science educators foster opportunities for students to challenge their own understanding with evidence-based reasoning and argument.

Showcasing hands-on engineering projects at science events helps students make connections between asking questions, defining problems and analyzing data. Central to both science and engineering is evaluating and communicating information, which are essential skills for students.

Two recent community events showcased the creativity of our employees in working with students at science events in Penang, Malaysia and Santa Rosa, California.

Keysight Penang – Penang International Science Fair

As a participant in the Penang International Science Fair, which is organized by the Penang Science Cluster (PSC), in partnership with the Penang State Government, Keysight Penang employees worked with thousands of students ages 7-17 over a week-long fair in December 2022.

At this event Keysight employees worked with the older students on a mini radar scene emulator, to help students understand the complexity of testing self-driving car sensors and how Keysight’s powerful engineering solution can make testing easier. The younger students learned about electronic circuitry as it relates to logic gate design and smart homes. They also took measurements using a multi-meter and learned about voltage.

Keysight Santa Rosa – North Bay Science Discovery Day

At Keysight Santa Rosa, employees set up a booth with hands on science and engineering lessons for the North Bay Science Discovery Day, connecting with thousands of students through the event. Employees taught students about radar using a toy racecar track and a radar gun, demonstrated how oscilloscopes can visualize the soundwaves of music and the invisible light waves of remote controls, visualized the waves in the electromagnetic spectrum with a series of pendulums, and showcased the boundaries of human hearing by attempting to listen to signals from different frequencies.

Creating these types of hands-on and inquiry-based learning activities encourages students to use their own ideas to ask and answer questions about the activities, which helps to stimulate an interest in understanding how things work. Cultivating an interest in how things work helps students learn to think critically about the world around them. An interest in understanding how things work now, and how things can work in the future, is what drives scientists and engineers developing the future of technology.

At Keysight, our work to build a better planet involves investing in our communities and the future of science and engineering education. We support science events because they help students develop critical thinking skills and promote curiosity about how things work, skills which are essential for advancing innovation. Supporting STEM education through events like these is one of the ways we are championing the innovators of tomorrow.

Originally published on Built From Scratch

ATLANTA, April 25, 2023 /3BL Media/ – The Home Depot Foundation will add more than 750 units of supportive housing for veterans facing homelessness through $10.4 million in grants to its nonprofit partners. This funding will support the construction and renovation of supportive housing facilities, critical home repairs to keep at-risk veterans in their homes, and innovative housing solutions that will help more veterans exit or avoid homelessness and access affordable housing.

While veteran homelessness has declined 55% since 2010, more than 33,000 U.S. military veterans still lack access to stable, secure housing across the nation, according to the latest data released by the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The Home Depot Foundation has invested more than $100 million to help end veteran homelessness since 2011, part of its larger commitment to invest half of a billion dollars in veteran causes by 2025.

“The number of veterans facing homelessness was more than 65,000 when we established our first formal financial commitment to veterans in 2011, and we’re proud to see progress today through significant declines in that figure,” said Shannon Gerber, executive director of The Home Depot Foundation. “However, there is much more work to be done, and we remain dedicated to working with our nonprofit partners to ensure the heroes who served our nation have a place to lay their heads.”

Through these grants, The Home Depot Foundation and its nonprofit partners will work to end veteran homelessness through several key strategies, including:

Funding programs to help more veterans access housing: U.S.VETS will launch a pilot program in Los Angeles and Hawaii aimed at expanding housing opportunities for at-risk and formerly homeless veterans, with a goal of housing 100 veterans over the next two years. Volunteers of America will provide flexible funding to support veterans facing financial barriers that might be a hurdle keeping them from accessing adequate housing, such as paying a security deposit or providing first and last month’s rent upfront. Community Solutions is expected to help communities house 1,000 veterans across cities including Washington, D.C., Detroit, Jacksonville, Charlotte and Minneapolis through its Built for Zero initiative, a movement to measurably and equitably end homelessness.Preventing homelessness by keeping more veterans in their homes: A grant to the Housing Assistance Council will help low-income, at-risk veterans living in rural communities nationwide stay in their homes through home repairs and modifications.Increasing the number of affordable, supportive housing units available to veterans: Through the Foundation’s Veteran Housing Grant program, nonprofit organizations working at the local level can apply for funding to construct or renovate supportive housing units in their communities. More than $5 million in funding will go to multiple cities across the nation, including Greater Los Angeles, Cincinnati and Charlotte.

“Each case of a veteran at-risk of or experiencing homelessness is unique, with circumstances frequently beyond the veteran’s control,” said Tanisha Smith, vice president of corporate partnerships for Volunteers of America. “Through the latest grant from The Home Depot Foundation, we can address their individual needs on multiple levels, ensuring more veterans find, secure and stay in a place they can call home.”

Since 2011, The Home Depot Foundation has invested more than $475 million in veteran causes and improved more than 55,000 veteran housing facilities.

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.

NCGrowth at the UNC Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise aims to help businesses create good jobs and to help communities across the Carolinas create sustainable and equitable opportunities. Founding Executive Director Mark Little leads efforts to produce applied research and develop innovative policies that promote equitable development and hosts unique, cross-sector gatherings and workshops to bring together diverse perspectives.

A recent client of the organization is a century farm, owned in the same family for more than 100 years by ancestors who were previously enslaved on the land. NCGrowth helped connect the farm to a boutique grocer in North Carolina which expanded the farm’s distribution.

On a recent episode of Inspiring Conversations, Truist Foundation’s audio series with nonprofit leaders doing the work, Truist Foundation President Lynette Bell and Mark discuss and envision an economy that has opportunities for everyone to prosper.

To learn more, listen to Lynette’s conversation with Mark.

About Truist Foundation

Truist Foundation is committed to Truist Financial Corporation’s (NYSE: TFC) purpose to inspire and build better lives and communities. Established in 2020, Truist Foundation makes strategic investments in nonprofit organizations to help ensure the communities it serves have more opportunities for a better quality of life. Truist Foundation’s grants and activities focus on building career pathways to economic mobility and strengthening small businesses. Learn more at truist.com/foundation. 

# # #

Originally published on Nielsen News Center

NEW YORK, April 25, 2023 /3BL Media/ – Nielsen, a global leader in audience measurement, data and analytics, announced that it has met the Media Rating Council (MRC) accreditation standards for its National TV Audience Measurement service, once again becoming the only TV audience measurement provider to be accredited by the MRC.

Following the November 2022 audit of Nielsen’s National TV Audience Measurement service, the MRC engaged independent auditors to review Nielsen’s progress against identified non-compliance areas. And that audit report indicated compliance with industry standards. The MRC’s decision to reinstate accreditation demonstrates how Nielsen has delivered on its goals and commitment to servicing its customers and partners across the media ecosystem.

“As the industry demands measurement that is trusted, independent and founded on real viewing from real people, we continue to support the MRC guidelines that set the standard for quality, audited measurement,” said Karthik Rao, CEO, Audience Measurement at Nielsen. “It’s our daily mission to maintain our methodologies at the highest standard so that our clients can trade with confidence well into the future. We thank our clients for their trust and for pushing us to get better. At Nielsen, we believe the accreditation process has made us stronger as we’ve evolved our panel strategy and quality measures, and inspired new automation technologies and approaches to ensure that our service remains consistent and reliable.”

About Nielsen

Nielsen shapes the world’s media and content as a global leader in audience measurement, data and analytics. Through our understanding of people and their behaviors across all channels and platforms, we empower our clients with independent and actionable intelligence so they can connect and engage with their audiences—now and into the future. Nielsen operates around the world in more than 55 countries. Learn more at www.nielsen.com and connect with us on social media (Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram).

On track to become carbon neutral by 2027 with global sourcing of electricity from renewable energy growing to 62% in 2022, from 51% in 202177% of new products identified as responsible in 2022, from 69% in 2021

STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM), a global semiconductor leader serving customers across the spectrum of electronics applications, today releases its annual sustainability report detailing 2022 performance, strategy, and ongoing action plans.

“We provide our customers with the key enabling products and technologies for decarbonization and a more sustainable society through digitalization and electrification. We are committed to doing so through a secure and responsible supply chain that prioritizes our people and the planet,” said Jean Marc Chery, President and CEO, STMicroelectronics. “Our strong commitment to sustainability is clear from the important progress we are making in all areas and from our ambition to drive further improvement to achieve all our sustainability goals, including our goal to be carbon neutral by 2027.”

The identification of ST’s priority sustainability topics is formalized through a regular multistakeholder materiality exercise and the company’s reporting is aligned with Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Standards for stakeholder inclusiveness, sustainability context, materiality, and completeness.

ST’s performance across many areas was recognized again by multiple ESG rankings, indices and international certifications including, among others, Dow Jones Sustainability Index World and Europe, EuroNext VIGEO Europe 120, FTSE4Good, ISS ESG Corporate Rating and MSCI.

ST’s 2022 ESG achievements and progress include:

Sustainable Technology 
ST technologies and products enable its customers to boost sustainability and seize opportunities with continued improvement of the Company’s social and environmental footprint at every stage of the product lifecycle (Sustainable technology). In 2022:

77% of new products were identified as responsible1 (responsible sourcing, eco-design, advanced EHS standards of manufacturing, responsible products, and applications) (vs 69% in 2021).23% of total revenue derived from responsible products (vs 20% in 2021).

Sustainable Way 
ST is on track to become carbon neutral by 2027 (Energy and climate change) and, while continuing to expand manufacturing capacity, actively worked in 2022 to further reduce its environmental footprint, including the following achievements:

A 40% decrease in GHG emissions for scopes 1 and 2 since 2018 in absolute terms (vs a 34% decrease in 2021).An increased sourcing of electricity coming from renewable sources to 62% (from 51% in 2021).The reuse, recovery, or recycling of 95% of the Company’s waste (vs 90% in 2021), reaching the 2025 target ahead of time.

ST also continued to put people first, with actions and training to support a more diverse and inclusive culture, along with continued progress on health and safety, and talent attraction and engagement, including the following achievements:

Sustainability performance is now part of the incentive program for over 21,000 employees.Over 19,000 employees trained in 2022 on the new leadership model designed to support the transformation journey of the company.86% of employees recommend ST as a great place to work (+3 points vs 2021) (Talent attraction and engagement).A further decrease in the recordable case rate for employees (work-related injuries per 100 employees per year) to 0.10 (from 0.12 in 2021), a best-in-class performance.Reached the target of hiring 30% women for exempt positions for the second year in a row.

Sustainable Company 
Innovation is the driving force that fuels ST’s growth and helps achieve the Company’s business objectives. ST has a collaborative approach for profitable growth, working across ecosystems and communities and with academic, private, and public partners, to create market-leading products and solutions that enable the Company’s customers to tackle tomorrow’s challenges and fuel their future growth:

12% of net revenues (US$1.9 billion) invested in R&D to support innovation.Involved in 186 active R&D partnerships worldwide.More than 450 STEM2 events and initiatives reaching over 100,000 students and teachers (Community and education).

The 26th annual report contains highlights and details of ST’s sustainability performance in 2022 and presents the Company’s ambitions and longer-term goals in alignment with both the United Nations Global Compact3 Ten Principles and Sustainable Development Goals and the Science Based Targets initiative4 (SBTi). It is aligned with Global Reporting Standards (GRI), Sustainability Accounting Standards Boards (SASB), and Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD). A third party has verified this report.

More information on ST’s sustainability efforts can be found at https://www.st.com/content/st_com/en/about/sustainability.html

About STMicroelectronics
At ST, we are more than 50,000 creators and makers of semiconductor technologies mastering the semiconductor supply chain with state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities. An integrated device manufacturer, we work with more than 200,000 customers and thousands of partners to design and build products, solutions, and ecosystems that address their challenges and opportunities, and the need to support a more sustainable world. Our technologies enable smarter mobility, more efficient power and energy management, and the wide-scale deployment of the Internet of Things and connectivity. ST is committed to becoming carbon neutral by 2027. Further information can be found at www.st.com.

For further information, please contact the Corporate Social Responsibility team at sustainable.development@st.com

1 Responsible products are products that provide environmental and social benefits.

2 Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics

3 The United Nations Global Compact asks companies to embrace, support and enact, within their sphere of influence, a set of core values in the areas of human rights, labor standards, the environment and anti-corruption. More information on the UN Global Compact is available at: http://www.unglobalcompact.org/aboutthegc/thetenprinciples/index.html

4 The Science Based Targets initiative mobilizes companies to set science-based targets and boost their competitive advantage in the transition to the low-carbon economy. It is a collaboration between CDP, the United Nations Global Compact, World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and one of the We Mean Business Coalition commitments.

Read More

What does a sustainable future look like?

Leading international sustainability nonprofit Forum for the Future works to tackle this very question. Their answer: a just and regenerative future where the capacity of all living systems is strengthened to adapt, replenish, and regenerate; everyone’s human rights and potential to thrive is respected; and our economies and societies are rewired to serve both people and the planet.

But how do we get there?

We invited Sally Uren, Chief Executive at Forum for the Future, to walk us through how businesses can lead the way to create a just and regenerative future where both people and the planet thrive and what to do along the way.

Listen for insights on:

Why procurement is a critical opportunity for value creationHow to build and maintain a successful partnershipHow to shape the C-suite and Board’s mindsets to be open to social and environmental sustainability

To listen to this episode and others, visit Purpose 360 Podcast.