Month: April 2023

As brands and retailers, consumer goods companies rely on forest ecosystems to provide essential commodities, along with the millions of people employed in global supply chains who live and work in forests. However, they are often far away from the landscapes and regions where these commodities are sourced. To transform the consumer goods industry to forest positive and meet emerging targets, including the COP15 Global Biodiversity Framework’s 30×30 goal, businesses need to look beyond their individual supply chains to ensure these landscapes can both survive and thrive.

Through engagement and collaboration with place-based initiatives, businesses and their foundations can help support and drive action on the ground to end commodity-driven deforestation and achieve positive impacts for climate, people, and nature. This area of action is a key part of the Forest Positive Coalition of Action’s strategy to create a forest positive future for the consumer goods industry. At COP26, the Coalition launched its ambition to take collective action in production landscapes and help transform them to forest positive, meaning businesses practice deforestation- and conversion-free agricultural production while actively supporting thriving natural environments, resilient forest communities, a carbon-free climate, and responsible business growth.

To achieve this ambition, Coalition members are individually and collectively engaging in production landscapes by supporting jurisdictional- and landscape-level initiatives driving the transformation of agricultural practices to forest positive. In doing so these initiatives are also supporting sustainable forest livelihoods, protecting precious natural resources, and contributing to decarbonisation efforts.

In 2022, Coalition members reported collective investments in dozens of programmes focused on driving forest positive production of palm oil; soy; paper, pulp, and fibre-based packaging (PPP), and beef. Many of these programmes are among the 22 initiatives the Coalition identified as key drivers of forest positive transformation in their respective landscapes based on a set of Ten Principles for Collective Action in Production Landscapes.

Notably, the principles recognise the importance of driving positive outcomes for all life on earth – people, animals, and nature alike. To mark International Day of Forests, the theme of which for 2023 is ‘forests and health’, here are some of the initiatives Forest Positive Coalition members are supporting and how they are creating landscapes that are ForestPositiveForAll.

Brazil

In Mato Grosso, Jerónimo Martins and Nestlé are working with Instituto de Pesquisa Ambiental da Amazonia (the Amazon Environmental Research Institute, or IPAM) to develop a local governance model that enables the implementation of the state’s groundbreaking PCI (Protect, Conserve, Include) approach, which sets jurisdictional targets with 2030 goals to increase the sustainable production of commodities, conserve forests and include family farmers and indigenous people.

Similarly, Carrefour, METRO AG, and Nestlé are investing in a project led by Conservation International Brazil in partnership with EMBRAPA in the Tocantins state to build the capacity of 53 rural producers and 40 rural extension experts on almost 60,000 hectares for implementing Low-carbon, regenerative soy and beef farming practices. In doing so, the project helps farmers improve their land use practices to help restore and conserve degraded land. In addition, by facilitating workshops with local financial institutions and disseminating information on climate finance opportunities, the project aims to increase producers’ financial stability by creating incentives for improved access to credit.

In a new, 11-million USD venture to promote sustainable soy production in the Cerrado, Sainsbury’s and Tesco are two of the three main contributors to the Responsible Commodities Facility (RCF) operated by SIM. The RCF will provide financial incentives to farmers that commit to DCF practices, starting with 32 farms in the Cerrado in its first phase. Through participation in the RCF, farmers will conserve approximately 10,000 ha of native vegetation over the next four years.

Click on the image to learn about the RCF.

Indonesia

Mars, Mondelēz International, PepsiCo, Unilever, and the Walmart Foundation are supporting the Coalition for Sustainable Livelihoods (CSL) in Aceh and North Sumatra. CSL members work together to find solutions and demonstrate positive impacts for livelihoods and forests by strengthening coordination and communication across stakeholder groups, facilitating shared learning to replicate and scale successful models, and encouraging improved integration of livelihoods, production, and conservation across current initiatives. Through this approach, the CSL aims to enhance collaboration and collective action to achieve common objectives for strengthening smallholder livelihoods, sustainable production, and conservation in Aceh and North Sumatra.

Also in Aceh Singkil, General Mills and Nestlé are among a group of companies investing in Musim Mas’ Smallholder Hub Programme designed to help include independent smallholders in the critical Leuser ecosystem into Indonesia’s sustainable palm oil supply chains. Thus far, the projects have provided capacity-building education on sustainable agricultural practices, financial literacy, and no deforestation, peat or expansion (NDPE) to 75 illage extension officers and who with the assistance of Musim Mas Field staff have then trained 1050 smallholders in Aceh Singkil.”

In Siak and Pelalawan districts of Riau, Siak Pelalawan Landscape Program (SPLP) is supported by a coalition of companies including Danone, Neste, PepsiCo, and Unilever. The programme also received a collective investment from the entire Forest Positive Coalition in 2021. The Riau district includes 700,000 hectares of palm oil plantations and the project convenes stakeholders to implement forest positive land use practices and engage villages in participatory community resilience projects.

Also in Siak, Asia Pulp & Paper, Nestlé, and Sodexo are working with Winrock International to support the sustainable peatland management of land reallocated to local communities as part of Indonesia’s TORA agrarian reform programme (Tanah Obyek Reforma Agraira). The programme will improve the quality of land, help reduce peat fire and land subsidence in a 4,000 hectare environment and its surrounding areas; improve the livelihoods of 4,000 farmers; and help increase food security in local communities by promoting local sustainable wetland-friendly commodities.

Across Indonesia, Nestlé, PepsiCo, Procter & Gamble, and Unilever are the Founding Partners, with Lestari Capital, of the Rimba Collective. Starting in Indonesia, Malaysia and Papua New Guinea, the Collective aims to provide US$1 billion to protect or restore 500,000 hectares of forest, supporting 32,000 individuals in forest communities in Southeast Asia over 30 years. In its first year since launch, the Collective has funded over 75,000ha of conservation and restoration projects within its portfolio, whose projects span across 21 areas of critical importance to securing forest protection in deforestation-risk areas. The scale up continues with 200,000ha of projects to be included by the end of 2023. The Collective aims to welcome new Partners in 2023 from across the supply chain to continue momentum and ultimately go above and beyond its initial target of 500,000ha.

Click on the images to learn about the Siak Pelalawan Landscape Programme and the Rimba Collective.

Mexico

In La Encrucijada Biosphere Reserve and Marques de Comillas, Colgate-Palmolive and Grupo Bimbo are taking collective action with Earthworm Foundation in the Chiapas Landscape to protect critical forest and mangrove ecosystems by educating local farmers on sustainable land use management practices. By 2025, the project aims to protect 60,000 hectares of forest and mangroves through voluntary and legal commitments and empower 550 farmers with increased financial literacy and agency as well as 400 households with increased income and food security.

Malaysia

In Sabah, Colgate-Palmolive, Nestlé, and Reckitt are working with Earthworm Foundation to support the livelihoods and resilience of local communities, particularly by respecting the rights of workers and children; increase inclusivity for more than 2,000 smallholders in the supply chain and protect migrant workers’ rights; and protect local elephant populations.

Also in Sabah, Unilever is collaborating with WWF in the region as well to achieve key objectives including zero loss of natural habitat, zero extinction of wildlife, and halving the negative impacts of production and consumption by taking several actions, such as restoring a 14-kilometre (1,086 Ha) wildlife corridor and 250 Ha habitats and riparian river reintroducing varieties of native plants such as figs, laran, binuang, elephant apple, pulai, durian and many more to improve the degraded habitats and food sources for oranguatans. Procter & Gamble also engages with WWF-Malaysia to support local stakeholders protect their critically endangered Malayan Tiger population and restore ecosystems by first planting an initial 5,000 seedlings of native vegetation in Sungai Yu, Pahang State.

These are just some examples of how businesses and their foundations are engaging with stakeholders from governments, civil society, and local supply chains to drive forest positive transformation from the ground up. As we mark International Day of Forests and its theme around forests and health, we encourage all businesses with a forest footprint to participate in the landscape approach. Healthy forests are home to healthy communities, help create healthy businesses, and are the foundation of a healthy planet – and it’s on all of us to keep them thriving. 

For more information about how to start the landscape approach, view our Coalition’s strategy for engagement in production landscapes here.

International Paper Recycling team members recently volunteered with FeedMore, central Virginia’s core hunger relief organization. East region plant general managers and Richmond recycling sales representatives worked to prepare, portion and package afternoon meals at the Bayard Community Kitchen for children in the local area. The kitchen serves 4,000 meals a day for the Kids Cafe and Meals on Wheels programs. The meals are homemade and based on the availability of fresh, locally-sourced ingredients.

“Not only was it a fun team building event but it was an honor having my east region peers come along side and serve my local community,” said Danny Peck, plant general manager, Richmond Recycling. “There is a lot of need in Central Virginia; one out of every nine individuals in the service area is food insecure.”

Feed More serves clients who are distributing food through more than 250 nonprofit and community partners.

About International Paper 
International Paper (NYSE: IP) is a leading global supplier of renewable fiber-based products. We produce corrugated packaging products that protect and promote goods, and enable worldwide commerce, and pulp for diapers, tissue and other personal care products that promote health and wellness. Headquartered in Memphis, Tenn., we employ approximately 38,000 colleagues globally. We serve customers worldwide, with manufacturing operations in North America, Latin America, North Africa and Europe. Net sales for 2021 were $19.4 billion. Additional information can be found by visiting InternationalPaper.com.

Originally published on U.S. Bank company blog

Shana Pearson-Henry, a U.S. Bank employee for 20 years, holds one cause particularly close to her heart: autism awareness.

“My youngest son Jacob is autistic,” said Pearson-Henry, who lives in Rogersville, Tennessee, with her family of five. Jacob, 17, is a senior in high school. “Schoolwork is challenging for him, but he loves art. He also spends a lot of time bowling for the high school team and works at a local grocery store a few days a week.”

Jacob, in fact, won overall first place at a regional competition and qualified for the state bowling tournament at a Special Olympics event last fall. At the Tennessee competition, he was named state champion.

“It was a proud and exciting moment for Jacob,” she said.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a developmental disability that can cause significant social, communication and behavioral challenges. One in 36 children were identified with autism in 2020, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Autism Awareness Month, held in April, is intended to promote inclusion and connectedness for people with autism to help them achieve optimal health and reach their full potential. 

When Pearson-Henry heard that U.S. Bank this year was sponsoring a Knoxville-area Autism Acceptance Family Fun Day, presented by the Autism Society of East Tennessee and Autism Breakthrough of Knoxville, she was thrilled to get involved with Jacob.

“It showed me that U.S. Bank cares about causes that affect me,” she said.

About 15 employees and their families volunteered at the Family Fun Day, including Pearson-Henry and Jacob.

“Jacob said he had so much fun. He loved helping with the games and meeting all the people.”U.S. Bank Branch Manager Crystal Pierce added, “Throughout this process, I have learned more about the organization, their purpose and their goals to enable individuals with autism to lead full and purposeful lives. The organization’s purpose and cause has touched many individuals who work with us and we have had a constant stream of requests for information both for volunteering and many who are interested in involvement with the organization beyond the event.

U.S. Bank Fraud Investigator Kevin Carpenter also volunteered and led interactive activities for attendees. “The event offered a great opportunity for us to get out into the community,” he said. “We work for an amazing company that encourages us to get out and to contribute. Volunteering is a great way to help those who may not be able to help themselves or need that extra assistance which is the best part about partnering with Autism Breakthrough of Knoxville.”

U.S. Bank honors Autism Awareness Month in various ways, including hosting an employee event led by an internal panel where a group of autistic U.S. Bank employees shared their knowledge and experience of autism to reduce stigma and offer insights into how to create a more inclusive and accepting work environment for everyone.

Pearson-Henry added, “I personally know how autism impacts a family, so the more acceptance we have in our community, the better it is for all of us.”

Originally published by Ericsson

In this blog, I wish to offer some perspectives on leadership in large organizations concerned with the phenomenon of quiet quitting. Old wine in new bottles or not, quiet quitting is an outgrowth of a new set of prevailing orthodoxies about the meaning and demands of work. It refers to a lack of motivation on the part of workers to do more than the bare minimum, and it challenges the ethos of giving one’s full attention to the business of the organization, rather focusing on one’s own needs and preferences. It is always hard to put words to what is going on around us in real time, but important changes are taking place in what people expect from work that need to be given appropriate thought so that we can see them more clearly.

Let’s go back in time so we can move forward to where we are now. Were we to talk about leadership twenty-five years ago, we would surely have brought up Jack Welch, the legendary head of General Electric, or GE. We would have noted his decisiveness and strategic clarity and admired his grand ambition. We might have lauded his fixation on shareholder value. What we would not have talked about, or perhaps even known about, was how fiercely intimidating he was with others, and how he bet the farm on an entirely new and, ultimately unsuccessful, business model to become a nonbank bank to finance his customers’ purchases of GE’s industrial products, as well as many wide-ranging projects outside the realm of GE’s usual businesses.

Jack Welch is not considered a great leader today. He botched the choice of the person who was to succeed him, he was ultimately responsible for the destruction of considerable shareholder value, and he managed to massively pollute the Hudson River in New York State in the process. Jack Welch exemplified an era where the prevailing ethos was one of fear-driven performance and macho competitiveness.

Today we talk about quiet quitting in the spirit of thinking about what makes work fulfilling and we are coming to believe that work should meet three fundamental criteria to pass through a threshold of satisfaction. It should take place in an organization that has a purpose one can align with. It should provide an opportunity to make an impact in achieving that purpose. And it should provide a working culture and style of leadership that one can comfortably abide with.

Not everyone has the good fortune to experience working under these three conditions, but they are, nevertheless, animating factors for large numbers of people. And one of the byproducts of these aspirations is the increasing number of people eschewing strong commitments to jobs that are uninspiring, overly taxing, and ultimately meaningless. They feel that there are other things to do right now that are more important on a personal level than marking time at work and selling one’s soul for someone else’s benefit.

In thinking about leading in the age of quiet quitting, especially in the context of Ericsson, an organization of mostly knowledge workers that has always aspired to meet the three conditions mentioned above, it can be useful to think back on what leadership meant in the past and then see how those ideas fit with today’s realities.

Before moving further into the past, however, I should state where my perspectives on leadership come from. I was Program Director for Executive Development at Ericsson for fifteen years from 1997 to 2012 and thus able to observe what leaders did in their roles and discuss with them the challenges they faced. I came to believe that there were seven capabilities that leaders must possess and practice. They make up, at a high level, the leader’s toolbox. It is a personal view, much influenced by the leaders I met at Ericsson, and I will lay them out after a brief detour to think about, arguably, the most famous leader of them all, Napoleon Bonaparte.

We first started talking about leadership with Napoleon over two hundred years ago because people were fascinated by how successful he was. What was it that allowed this man of diminutive stature to win consistently on the battlefield, so often against what seemed to be overwhelming odds? Those studying Napoleon came up with certain characteristics. He was courageous. He was incredibly clever and strategic, devising attacks that no one else envisioned, and he led with utter self-confidence. He was also charismatic. People wanted to be on his team. Going into battle with him meant that good rewards would surely follow. It was worth it to follow this man. As to purpose, if toppling the old order of Europe and bringing down its kings and queens was your thing, then you could well believe you were part of something worthy and important. When you read about Napoleon, a ‘great man’ if ever there was one, you were led to believe that had he not existed, then nothing that he accomplished would have gotten done by anyone else. The leader as exceptional genius entered our imagination.

Setting Direction, the first of the seven capabilities, is a mild way of stating what Napoleon was able to do brilliantly. What has changed is the fact that the leader does not do that setting alone, anymore, and direction refers to more than tactics on the battlefield. Setting direction today involves embodying an organization’s culture and values, articulating its vision and purpose, imagining its future, showing how it adds value to the communities in which it operates, and doing all of that with an authenticity that directly connects with people. People no longer wish to work for organizations whose direction is not communicated in those terms.

To be able to set direction, a second capability comes into play one of. The leader, by the very nature of her role, thinks about the future constantly since the organization that she is leading today merely exists as a precursor to what the organization should think like and look like tomorrow. No one else has that remit, no one else is charged to see far ahead with all its explicit and implicit ramifications.

What has changed, surely, is that the future comes sooner now. It comes whether we plan for it or not, and it comes from everywhere, not just from the familiar drivers of change. And, considering today’s speed of change, when it does come, it can dissolve again quickly into something else entirely.

If Managing Change was always a key leadership capability, it is doubly so when change is constant. Understanding how things might pan out, grasping how employees are going to be affected by a change, by that future that is coming, inexorably, and taking the organization on as smooth a ride as possible from here to there, is an essential task for which the leader is ultimately responsible. The skills of visioning, timing, listening, communicating and risk management involved in managing change are vital and daunting.

Another quality of leadership that is in ascendence is Forming and Managing Teams. Like many Americans, my favorite leader is Abraham Lincoln. He was as an outsider, a man of limited experience at a time of crisis, and he was able to defeat much more experienced men than he to be elected President of the United States. Those who lost out could easily have weakened him and thwarted his plans. Then, when in office, he formed a team of rivals. He put all those who had opposed him into his cabinet and asked for their council, treating them with the respect he thought they deserved. At the end of day, they managed to save the union with each one’s talents yoked to those of the others. Talk about leading with purpose!

Today, with operations spread out over the globe, and many people working from home with little visibility, forming good teams is vital. And understanding that it is the diversity of thought within those teams that makes them powerful is fundamental. Leaders who can build teams that work with enthusiasm and commitment by recognizing the talents of each individual member are essential in knowledge industries for those who work anonymously, unseen, uncared for, and unrecognized, will be the ones who quietly quit.

Connected to forming teams is Developing People so they can perform well in whichever teams they find themselves. Good leaders sense what others are capable of. They give support and show trust. They encourage and stretch, coach and give feedback. There is a new generation of workers craving feedback, open for challenges to learn and shine. Good leaders respond to those desires.

Learning is essential for survival, and it goes for leaders as well. Today, we add to the list of everything else leaders need to learn the imperative of learning about the people around them. The more curious leaders are, the more people will come to them in a spirit of openness. The leader’s attention to, and interest in, what people have to say is a powerful motivator for working happily.

Leaders who learn ask questions. Why are customers buying from us? Why are they not buying from us? What were our assumptions about what would happen when we made that decision three months ago? What, in fact, did happen and how come it did? How can we get more out of the diversity manifested in our team? What is going on with students that we did not see three years ago? And what is quiet quitting and to what extent is it happening here? Curiosity goes a long way toward building a culture of frankness. The engagement involved in learning as a team pushes back against those who feel themselves left out.

Finally, the leader is the one Making Decisions and taking responsibility for the decisions she makes. Any leader who cannot own up to her decisions when things go badly will not succeed. Making decisions, once the capabilities above have been activated, is what the leadership role ultimately comes down to. Good decisions derive from setting a good direction, focusing on the future, deftly managing change, building great teams, developing people, and keeping the flame of curiosity burning bright through learning every day. Lincoln, alone, made the hard choices, and he knew well that he and the entire nation would have to live by them.

Quiet Quitting raises the stakes of learning and listening and quickens the need to think about the future, especially with regards to developing a culture of working with purpose since purpose is a stronger motivator than quarterly results or getting a promotion or meeting deadlines. And it is imperative upon any leader today to think hard about how to develop people, how to give them the tools and perspectives they need to succeed on their own terms and in a way that does not corrupt their values or curb their enthusiasm.

What we expect from leaders will always adjust with the times, even if the capabilities they need to possess are constant. In the age of quiet quitting, we expect leaders be in touch with the currents of change that puts purpose at the apex of what people seek from employment. Those who work for large organizations have choices. They do not wish to spend their lives doing things that have no meaning, not to speak of polluting the beautiful Hudson River.

However, leadership is not just a toolbox in the sense that you can pass that box along to someone else and expect the same results. People use to teach leadership as a Jack Welch toolbox, just do like he did, and things will be fine. Do like Jack! Go be Napoleon! Act wisely like Lincoln!

We don’t believe that you can copy/paste from great leaders’ toolboxes anymore. The person doing the doing is what makes the difference. If the leader has no sense of purpose, no humanity that others can relate to, no feeling for how the world is changing and where it is heading, no humility to admit that there are things she does not know, and, above all, no authenticity in how she goes about doing things, then no realignment in the mix of the seven capabilities will satisfy those who are seeking a more meaningful connection with the work they are asked to do. Only Napoleon can be Napoleon.

Quiet Quitting may be real, but it will not be the term we remember for the age we are entering. What might be remembered is that this was an Age of Purpose, or an Age of Authenticity, or even an Age of Humility. In any case, it is an age of change and change is always a good time to think about how we go about leading others.

This blog is part of a series on quiet quitting

The meaning of quiet quitting by Heraldo Sales-Cavalcante

Why Gen X is quiet quitting in tech by Pascal Potvin

Why do people quiet quit? Let’s look at the theory by Roman Zhohov

Learn more about what it’s like to work at Ericsson here.

To kick off Financial Literacy Month, Secret Deodorant is launching a new financial empowerment initiative, aiming to provide 1 million young women with educational resources — including courses, apps and books – created by highly renowned female financial experts.

Did you know that Gen Z adults report the highest level of stress compared to any other generation?1 And the biggest cause of stress is money. Financial stress disproportionately impacts women, particularly women of color. Black and Hispanic women generally have higher unmet financial needs, more student loan debt, and are more likely to struggle financially while in school.2 In fact, this disparity begins to take a toll on a young woman’s financial journey as early as adolescence.

As a longtime champion of women equality and advancement, Secret partnered with Seneca Women, a global leadership platform dedicated to amplifying women’s voices, to host a live, on-stage conversation at the New York Stock Exchange with an alliance of financial experts. To empower young women to take control of their financial wellness, experts offered practical, tangible advice geared to the needs and concerns of Gen Z women.

Financial experts partnering with Secret on this initiative include:

Carmen Perez, creator of MUCH budgeting app, helping individuals manage their money and paychecks.Marsha Barnes, CEO and founder of The Finance Bar, helping individuals start their journey to financial wellness.Berna Anat, Financial Educator & Hypewoman, helping BIPOC and first-gen folks feel seen in the money world.Jamila Souffrant, founder of Journey to Launch, helping individuals launch into financial freedom.Giovanna Gonzalez, founder of The First Gen Mentor, helping first-generation students and young professionals of color entering the workplace to confidently manage their money.

For the past 60 years, Secret has been at the forefront of women’s lives — giving them the confidence they need to take on any challenge. Financial wellness, a fundamental enabler to women’s equality and advancement, is key to helping them achieve that confidence,” said Freddy Bharucha, Senior Vice President, North America & Global Personal Care, Procter & Gamble. “We are creating a bank of resources — from expert coaches and formal class offerings to education and awareness — our new financial empowerment programming offers a multi-faceted approach to reach young women where they are and support them on their journeys to financial wellness.

Secret’s initiative will roll out in multiple phases to further reach young women, with the first already underway on social media through #SecretMoneyMoves. Join the social conversation today to watch a series of financial literacy social content that tackles the ins and outs of relevant financial matters, including:

How to create a budgetPaying off debtNegotiating your first salaryUnderstanding your credit score 
 

I understand how imperative it is to be well-versed in the world of finances. From understanding how to get your first credit card, student loans, to how to apply for a mortgage and dealing with debt, it’s a lot to take in,” said Marsha Barnes, personal finance expert and founder of The Finance Bar. “Through financial therapy and education, I can support women throughout their experiences and partnering with Secret will give me the opportunity to extend a helping hand to more women in need. I look forward to making a meaningful impact in young women’s lives as they embark on their personal journeys to achieve financial wellness.

Secret has also joined forces with Prosperity Now, the nation’s leading racial economic justice organization, to extend educational resources to young women in need. The organization’s mission is to drive economic opportunity for all and build equitable economic power by creating impactful systemic change by centering those who have been historically excluded, amplifying community-rooted solutions, and energizing them through research, advocacy, policy and narrative change.

Click here to learn more about Secret’s new financial empowerment programming.

1American Psychological Association: Stress In America: Generation Z, October 2018. 
2Brookings: Student loans, the racial wealth divide, and why we need full student loan debt cancellation, June 2021. 

By Gina DiPietro

Tim Huffman stands in awe as water flows down a scenic stretch of the Catawba River.

“From rolling waves of granite to 40-foot rock bluffs, it’s not the sort of geology you’d expect to see in this part of South Carolina,” said Huffman, senior project manager at Duke Energy. “It’s like a transport to the mountains.”

Despite its natural beauty, the town of Great Falls, S.C., has been economically depressed since its textile mills closed in the 1980s. Tourism is expected to rise, however, as a result of new whitewater runs, a state park, hiking trails and other projects at Great Falls Reservoir.

“People are going to have a great deal of fun out here,” Huffman said. “They can fish, kayak, canoe, stand-up paddleboard, whitewater raft, you name it.”

One of two whitewater runs, the long bypass river channel, is open to the public during scheduled flow releases. It is a free community resource that will complement a diverse mix of other recreation in the coming years, said Christy Churchill, recreation project manager at Duke Energy.

“From a pedestrian bridge that will connect to a new state park at Dearborn Island, and all sorts of hiking trails, you don’t have to be a kayaker to enjoy it here,” Churchill said. “Maybe you like to fish, flat-water paddle, or just walk the trails and look at historic interpretation information.”

As part of its Catawba-Wateree license, issued by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Duke Energy enhanced public recreation, as well as habitat for fish and other aquatic life, a collaborative process with stakeholders in communities where its hydro facilities are located.

As a result, the company can meet customers’ needs with sustainable, carbon-free electricity. The Catawba-Wateree Hydro Project, 12 hydro stations and 11 reservoirs in North Carolina and South Carolina, generates 799 megawatts of electricity, which, on average, is enough to power more than 639,000 homes. Hydropower also contributes to decarbonizing the Duke Energy grid.

To build the whitewater runs, the company returned water to a river channel that was diverted in 1907 to create the Great Falls and Dearborn Hydroelectric plants to produce power. Huffman’s team modified two dams, bringing a managed flow of water to the long and short bypasses.

“It’s a first-of-its-kind project for Duke Energy,” he said. “You’re looking at seven years of work from concept to final engineering and then another two years to construct it. So, it’s extremely complex.”

Duke Energy consulted S2O Design and Engineering, the same team that worked on the U.S. National Whitewater Center in Charlotte, N.C.

Kayakers, paddlers and others who wish to navigate the long bypass river channel, a 2.25-mile downstream channel with rapids the paddling community has classified as Class II and III rapids, during scheduled flow releases can do so through the Nitrolee Access Area.

Farther south on Great Falls Reservoir, pneumatically controlled steel gates were installed to provide aquatic flows, recreation flow releases and flood management. The .75-mile short bypass river channel will have a faster flow of water than the long bypass river channel, creating rapids for skilled paddlers.

It’s an exciting time for an area that hasn’t attracted many tourists, said Glinda Coleman, executive director of the Great Falls Home Town Association.

“I’ve heard nothing but positive comments from folks. People are excited,” Coleman said, “because we know it’s going to be a wonderful boost for economic development in Great Falls.”

A bar opened in town, she said, and people have begun to look at vacant properties along Main Street; others have expressed an interest in building campgrounds in the town that’s located about halfway between Charlotte and Columbia, S.C.

“Duke Energy went out of its way to help us connect the town of Great Falls, its downtown area to all of the projects,” Coleman said.

“And that’s what we strived for: ensuring our community benefits from all this development. So, we’ve appreciated the partnership tremendously.”

Just as important as making it fun, Huffman said, was including safety features. It’s why the river is channelized toward the west bank.

“If a trip doesn’t go as planned, a person would naturally go with the flow toward the bank where there are other people,” he said, “or to an area where they can self-rescue.”

Self-rescue features – exit steps, rescue rings and grab bars, for example – were installed throughout the long bypass structure. And Huffman noted other design safety elements, like energy dissipation pools.

“We’re required to put about 3,000 cubic feet of water each second into the river as part of the official recreation release,” Huffman said. “That’s a lot of water. It would be like 3,000 basketballs coming at you at once.”

During recreation flow releases, the boater bypass channel will be carrying a smaller portion of that, about 400 cubic feet a second.

A healthy aquatic habitat for fish and other wildlife was created. Rock surfaces, placed by hand to blend in with the environment, also aerate the water.

“If you’re a fish, and you get a chance to swim in freshly aerated water, you’re going to do it,” Huffman said. “Those rocks will greatly enhance the habitat of the area for fish while creating a natural setting.”

And the catfish here are “just monsters. They’re huge,” he added with a laugh.

Of bringing the project to life, Huffman called it the pinnacle of his career. Even better, he said, might be the community’s response.

“It’s just amazing to see people going down these channels,” he said. “I believe it’s a great community resource that does nothing but forecast a bright future for this town.”

More improvements coming

In the coming years, Churchill said Duke Energy has also committed to:

Build the Lower Great Falls Canoe/Kayak Launch, another access area with parking (near the pedestrian bridge to Dearborn Island State Park), an ideal spot to access flat water in the lower part of the reservoir.Build a canoe/kayak launch with restrooms and parking on Cedar Creek Reservoir.Build a fishing platform just below Fishing Creek Dam.Upgrade the Fishing Creek Access Area (on Fishing Creek Reservoir) to add restrooms and a swimming beach.Provide funding to the S.C. Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism to develop a state park on Dearborn Island.

More information about flow releases at Great Falls and other Duke Energy facilities: Recreation flow schedule

View original content here

Nasdaq

In our latest episode of ESG Trendsetters we highlight Array Technologies (ARRY), a leading American company and global provider of utility-scale solar tracker technology on a mission to maximize renewable energy production and accelerate the adoption of cost-effective and sustainable energy.

Hosted by Randall Hopkins, Head of ESG Solutions for Nasdaq’s Corporate Platforms business, the panel included Array’s Chief Commercial Officer and Head of ESG, Erica Brinker, Senior Vice President of Finance and Investor Relations, Cody Mueller and CEO Kevin Hostetler. The group discussed the importance of transparency when communicating ESG stories to stakeholders and Array’s three-tiered approach to ESG engagement that helps the company achieve meaningful impact when meeting its ESG goals.

Brinker noted that as a company that creates renewable energy, Array is held to a higher standard when it comes to ESG. The team welcomed the challenge but found beginning their ESG journey daunting. She lauded the help of Nasdaq OneReport in synthesizing Array’s vast amounts of information into a tangible ESG story, “I would say that Nasdaq OneReport has been a helpful resource in bringing calm to the madness,” said Brinker.

In just under a year, Array pulled together two sustainability reports, conducted a materiality assessment, set mid-term goals for the organization and then reported out metrics to leading reporting frameworks.

But to follow through with its ESG commitments, making goals and executing plans, the company needed consistent engagement in ESG to have an aligned team. Brinker credited Array’s three-tiered approach to ESG engagement as the strategy keeping ESG a primary focus to help meet Array’s targets:

Board oversightExecutive ESG steering committeeESG working groups

Array’s hard work has found success in telling its authentic ESG story to investors. When asked to offer advice to other companies, panelists said to make a plan that is ownable but actionable. Mueller added, “I think it’s all about being true to who you are, where you are on that journey and being transparent at every step along that path.”

When asked about future ESG plans for Array, Hostetler ended with an emphatic commitment, “I want to be clear, our ambition is to be a leader in ESG. We want to not only be a strong financial bet for our investors, but to also be known as a responsible company.”

Watch the full interview to discover how Array Technologies is making an impact as an ESG Trendsetter.