Month: May 2023

One in five American adults has a diagnosable mental health condition. Yet all too often, our friends, co-workers, neighbors and family members suffer emotionally and either don’t recognize the symptoms of a disorder or don’t feel comfortable asking for help. And sometimes, we’re the ones suffering in silence.

Boston Scientific is committed to reducing the stigma of mental illness in the workplace and helping employees discover the tools, techniques and resources they need. Your employee benefits may vary based on where in the world you join us. For Mental Health Awareness Month, learn about the ways we support the wellbeing of our workforce in the U.S.

1. Out-of-network? Not anymore!

Access should never be a barrier to mental health care. Yet between the current national shortage of mental health providers and the cost of care in the U.S., it can often be difficult to find available providers within an insurance network, yet expensive to go outside the network. That’s why Boston Scientific covers a range of services for behavioral and mental health – and should you require those covered services out-of-network, we simply cover it as though it were “in-network,” so you can get the support you need.

2. Telehealth for adults and teens

Mental health among adolescents is worsening, continuing a decade-long downward trend, according to a distressing recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report; it discovered that 42% of high school students felt persistently sad or hopeless, and 22% seriously considered attempting suicide. Worried about your teenager? Think they may need to talk to someone? Virtual mental health appointments through Teladoc offer a convenient and cost-effective way of getting care for both adults and adolescents. Therapists are available by appointment via phone or video seven days a week to assist your teen with issues like school stress, family challenges, depression, eating disorders and more. And of course, they’re always there for you and other eligible family members, too.

3. Free counseling sessions

Our Employee Assistance Program (EAP) is a no-cost, supportive service to help employees and their families address personal issues that may arise. It is staffed by master’s and doctoral level clinicians who are prepared to listen and help you find ways to cope. We provide five free, confidential sessions per topic per year for employees and their household family members. (For example, you and each of your household family members could have five sessions for anxiety counseling and five sessions for grief counseling—up to five sessions per year for five separate topics.) In addition, EAP provides expert help to guide you through life stressors such as finances, elder care situations, parenting issues and legal needs.

4. Therapy in your pocket 24/7

Also available for free through our EAP, Computerized Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CCBT) is a digital self-care tool available anytime on your mobile phone. Created by a team of mental health professionals, it consists of simple, science-based activities, personalized to fit your life. Use the app to enhance your mental health and well-being, tackle stress and anxiety and improve mindfulness and sleep – on your schedule.

5. A personal healthcare advocate

Navigating healthcare can be a little like running through a maze: confusing, sometimes overwhelming, quite possibly endless. Wouldn’t it be nice to have someone to guide you through the mental health journey? Guess what: Expert guidance is but a phone call away with our third-party health care advocates. Whether you’re looking to find a therapist or understand your medication plan, need case management or admittance support or have billing or coverage questions, your advocates are ready to help simplify your healthcare experience at every point in the process.

6. Year-round wellbeing webinars, seminars and events

Mental health awareness is integrated into daily life at Boston Scientific in so many ways. Take our fitness centers, for example, where you’re encouraged to drop in for a stress-relieving workout, borrow a bicycle for a lunchtime ride or attend a calming meditation session. Throughout the year, you can also attend virtual seminars on a number of mental health topics or take advantage of our periodic on-site mental health fairs. In addition, we are rolling out a new training for people leaders in collaboration with Zevo Health to recognize common signs of mental distress and identify support for colleagues. And because a support network is crucial for mental health, our WellBeing SharePoint site, WellBeing Yammer group and LEAD (Leadership, Education and Allies for Disabilities) employee resource group give employees a place to connect and share.

Learn more about what makes Boston Scientific a “Best Place to Work” by exploring its wide range of employee benefits.

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Mother Earth and moms have a lot in common (And by moms, I’m including mothers, grandmothers, aunts, godmothers and more). Moms not only create life but their focus on nurturing their children year after year and ensuring their safety and ability to flourish is unparalleled. Mother Earth does the same. For millions of years, Mother Earth has been protecting us, providing a safe and abundant environment to live and raise our families.

According to the United Nations (UN) report Progress on the Sustainable Development Goals: The gender snapshot 2022, “Women play transformative roles in climate change adaptation and mitigation despite many obstacles” with many taking on grassroot efforts to make a change in their own communities. Women are also taking leadership positions in the field of sustainability. At large companies, 58 percent of sustainability executives are female. And according to the 2022 GreenBiz State of the Profession report, the number of women in sustainability leadership roles has expanded. That’s good news for Mother Earth, since we know how innovative, persistent, and driven women can be when protecting their families.

From my own personal experience, I was raised by a mother who was an environmentalist before most people knew what that was. She sold “biodegradable” cleaning products to the neighborhood moms, wrapped our sandwiches in wax paper and insisted we bring that paper home so she could reuse it the next day. She sewed some of our clothes out of left-over fabric (“We can’t let this perfectly good fabric go to waste!”) and made us save our gum in water to rechew later (I know, I wish I were kidding, too). We walked and rode our bikes because gas emitted “that black stuff into the air” and donated all our used toys, books, clothing, etc. to the “Bargain Box” secondhand store down the road. My mom instilled in my siblings and me that we have to live in harmony with the Earth or she will kick us off. I took her on a hike last weekend and at 85 years old she was still “schooling me” on the wildflowers growing on Mt. Tamalpais and why they’re important to the ecosystem.

As a mom myself, I wanted to sit down with another mom at Cisco and learn more about her thoughts on sustainability. Elisabeth Brandasu is a global account manager for Equinor and sustainability lead for the North Theater in Cisco’s Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region. She shares how being a mother has impacted her perspective on the environment and influenced her actions to create a more sustainable future.

How did you get into the field of sustainability?

Elisabeth: I was naïve until a few years ago. I was so busy with building my life, surviving those first few whirlwind years of being a young mom with a full-time job. At some point, I was offered the opportunity for a stretch assignment (which gives employees a chance to explore a different type of role by volunteering some of their time to another team) as inclusion and diversity lead for EMEA. That is where my calling for purpose-driven work started. I am privileged in many ways; I have a lot of energy and I want to use my voice for doing something purposeful. When sustainability came on my path it just really struck home. It’s not just the sense of necessity in accelerating the needed change, but the enormous opportunity the transition provides too. It excites me.

Did becoming a mother change your personal perspective about the work you’re doing?

Elisabeth: My worry for the kids really kicked in when they began school. As you release them into the wider world, you start envisioning their future and the planet we are leaving them. We don’t inherit the planet from our parents, we borrow it from our children. I lovingly pour all my time and effort into the kids being safe and happy, now and for all their days to come. So, how could I stand by and let this monumental systemic transition the world so desperately needs pass me by? How can I push this onto my children’s shoulders to resolve it?

You circle back to yourself, thinking, ‘what can I do?’ As a mom, you don’t just sit by, and watch tragedy impact your kids. You step up and do whatever you can.

What does working in sustainability mean to you?

Elisabeth: Working in sustainability means so much more than ‘just a job’. It is continuous learning, giving back, amplifying the reach of our experts by spreading their word, scaling the community of ambassadors, training people to incorporate sustainability as a first thought in doing business. You don’t necessarily need a formal education or background in sustainability to make a contribution. I believe I have found my own way of contributing and I know others can too. I am proud of the Green and Blue sustainability community at Cisco. It emerged from the internal Green and Blue Innovation Challenge in EMEA to stimulate as many ideas as possible, with green representing sustainability and blue representing the digital transformation. It is a force to be reckoned with and we have together accomplished so much. I want to be part of this movement of change for the better, because what we all wish for our children is the very best.

How did you start the conversation about sustainability with your kids?

Elisabeth: They’ve learned some very simple concepts about sustainability in school. They do not yet understand that if the world continues as it does, there will be some serious consequences.

When speaking about a sustainable future, it’s important to put a sense of hope into it, rather than risk paralyzing people with devastating outlooks. Hope activates! It’s not about being perfect, it’s about pledging yourself to do better all the time. I am also an optimistic realist. I choose to believe in our collective power to make amazing progress, steering us toward less devastating outcomes.

The way I speak to my kids about it is that the world has been using more than it can replenish. The system is broken, so we are trying to build a new system and that is really complicated because everything is intertwined. Do I think they get it yet? No, but that’s okay. They don’t need to have it all figured out. But they’re the type of kids that think about those things and are curious to learn more and it will eventually mature in their minds. For now, I just want them to be kids.

Do you have any advice for actions that parents can take to help create a more sustainable future?

Elisabeth: For me, there is a big focus on circularity. I try not to buy new things. So, everything I buy with the kids or for the kids I try to buy second hand. We’re also focused on reducing waste, especially around food. We don’t throw away food. When you have leftovers, you eat it again the next day. If they didn’t eat their lunch, that’s fine, but they need to have their lunch for dinner. My kids have very few toys and prefer to go outside to play.

Also, I have been focused on energy minimization in the house and using energy at the lowest possible price and load balancing throughout the day. I don’t cook while I have the washing machine on, and I don’t charge the car while the dishwasher is on.

Sustainability is a bit like exercise. Don’t overdo it from the get-go. Allow yourself to embrace it and make it a habit. You don’t need to save the world on day one. Educate yourself and understand the impact of your lifestyle. Decide what you are going to integrate into your normal routine and identify the things that you’re going to step away from. Whatever you decide to do, it is okay because you’ve been conscious about the decision. Every day, there are probably at least 200 moments where you can make the decision to do the more sustainable thing. Are any of the individual actions that I take enough on their own? Definitely not, but it is about doing what you can do and keep on pushing to do better. It’s a journey.

We also need to stop passing judgement on people that aren’t moving as fast when it comes to sustainability. It’s counterproductive. Rather, meet them where they are, and inspire them to keep moving forward.

Thirty years from now, I’m going to be retired. My kids will be the age I am now and will decide if they want to become parents. I don’t want them to have existential worries and I don’t want to look back on my own life thinking ‘I didn’t do enough for the planet when I had a chance.’ We can’t defer action any longer, it’s the responsibility of our generation, the ‘elders’, to do what we can.

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Cummins

Cummins Inc. President and CEO Jennifer Rumsey says the climate challenges facing the planet and society will be the company’s “moment to shine.”

Speaking at Cummins’ Annual Meeting earlier this month, Rumsey said the company is well positioned to take a leadership role on climate action, helping customers in the transition to cleaner power sources.

PLANET 2050, Cummins environmental sustainability strategy, has product, facility and community goals timed to 2030 and aspirations timed to 2050. Cummins also has established Destination Zero, the company’s strategy to achieve its product decarbonization goals.

Together, they provide a path for Cummins’ aspiration to achieve zero emissions by 2050.

“Cummins has a history of turning challenges into opportunities, and this is a challenging time for our planet and society,” Rumsey said, speaking to the company’s shareholders and other stakeholders at the virtual meeting May 9. “I believe this moment of truth will be Cummins’ moment to shine as we face the need to decarbonize our planet and continue to serve the critical applications our customers perform.”

The company’s wide-ranging product portfolio powers customers engaged in everything from on-highway trucking, marine and rail, to agricultural and construction equipment as well as generators providing emergency power to hospitals, data centers and schools.

Rumsey, named President and CEO in 2022, said decarbonization is a growth opportunity for Cummins. She said four key focus areas are critical to the company’s plans for climate action while delivering strong earnings:

• Investing in innovation to power customer success.

• Understanding customers’ needs.

• Understanding how the company serves those needs today.

• Delivering the right solution at the right time to better serve customers moving forward.

Rumsey, a nearly 25-year Cummins employee whose past roles included Chief Technical Officer and Chief Operating Officer, said having the right people is critical to all of these focus areas and she has vowed to keep people at the center of everything the company does.

Cummins has consistently invested $1 billion or more annually in recent years to support research, development and engineering expenses. Rumsey pledged a continued commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion to create dynamic work environments where a variety of ideas and perspectives can be brought to bear on customers’ challenges.

She said Cummins will also keep investing in developing great leaders who can uphold Cummins’ Leadership Culture of “inspiring and encouraging all employees to achieve their full potential.”

Finally, she said Cummins will remain committed to building stronger communities, recognizing that any company is only as strong as the communities where it does business, and its employees live and work.

“We will leverage our expertise to develop more sustainable solutions that support our customers’ success, positively impact our communities and protect our planet for future generations,” Rumsey said. “We’ll continue to realize growth and strong returns by executing this strategy and delivering results for all of our stakeholders.

“It’s an incredible opportunity and a responsibility,” she added. “And as CEO, I believe there’s no company better positioned than Cummins to make a positive impact.”

Corporate sustainability report outlines progress in key areasCompany completed detailed materiality assessment using best practices, aligned to most widely recognized reporting frameworks

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ: BKR), an energy technology company, announced today the release of its 2022 corporate sustainability report, which shows the company is on-track to meet its net-zero emissions by 2050 goal by reducing emissions by nearly one-third from its operating facilities through energy efficiency initiatives. The report also outlined the company’s progress toward driving more sustainable operations through improved performance in its environmental, social and governance (ESG) metrics.

“Last year was a year of transformation for Baker Hughes, highlighting sustainability as one of the key differentiators of our business. Against the backdrop of a challenging and complex global energy environment, I am proud that while we continue supporting our customers on their energy transition journeys, we have not lost sight of our goal to operate in a responsible and more sustainable way,” said Lorenzo Simonelli, chairman and CEO of Baker Hughes. “Sustainability has a clear role to play in advancing our purpose of taking energy forward, making it safer, cleaner, and more efficient for people and the planet.”

“Our sustainability strategy underpins our broader commercial strategy and encompasses progress in key focus areas of people, planet and principles by weaving sustainability more deeply in our culture,” said Allyson Anderson Book, chief sustainability officer and sustainability steering team chair at Baker Hughes. “Additionally, we have driven data integrity, transparency, and controllership in our annual sustainability disclosure. I am particularly proud that in true spirit of putting people first, our report this year is more inclusive and accessible to readers of all abilities.”
 
Key highlights of Baker Hughes’ sustainability performance in 2022 include:

Reduction in Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions by 28% compared to 2019 baseline year: In 2022, Baker Hughes achieved emissions reductions through energy efficiency initiatives, facility consolidations, and increased electricity from renewable and zero-carbon sources. Twenty-six percent of its electricity came from zero-emissions sources. The company achieved 31% reduction in emissions from all operated facilities as compared to baseline year 2019 due to energy conservation efforts, energy efficiency and sustainable standards for new buildings and construction.Materiality assessment and benchmarking for a cohesive sustainability strategy: Owing to the dynamic energy landscape, the company conducted a detailed materiality assessment – an important listening exercise – using best practices and aligned to the most widely recognized reporting frameworks, Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB), to identify material gaps, buffer and mitigate energy transition risks and catalyze opportunities.Improvement in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) performance: People are at the heart of the company’s progress, and fresh perspectives, unique experiences and innovative ideas are critical to drive its innovation and competitiveness. The company enhanced its reporting data with over 20 new metrics to drive more transparency and was recognized for attracting, retaining, and developing talent. In June 2022, it published its first DEI report, showing that women represent 19.1% of all employees, and 36.1% of employees in the U.S. are people of color.Priority of employees’ safety and health: Baker Hughes is committed to safety, honesty and taking care of its people, its customers, and the communities in which it operates. In 2022, 100% of Baker Hughes security personnel and embedded security contractors completed human rights training, and it reported consistently strong occupational safety and health performance, including 217 perfect Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) days – ones without serious injuries, accidents, or harm to the environment.Increased community giving: In 2022, total charitable pledges and contributions through Baker Hughes Foundation was $75 million and a total of 27,181 volunteer service hours. In addition, the Foundation increased global contributions (outside North America) by 40%.“All In, Carbon Out.” Launched in 2021, “Carbon Out” is a unique, internal company-wide initiative to take carbon out of its operations and in 2022, it was expanded in breadth and depth of impact further operationalizing sustainability at Baker Hughes, advancing its net-zero emissions goals.

As one of the first companies in the industry to announce a net-zero emissions goal, Baker Hughes remains transparent in its reporting with two separate reviews of its annual sustainability report – internal audit as well as an independent accounting firm.
 
Baker Hughes corporate sustainability report is prepared in accordance with GRI-Core standards, SASB, references the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, and Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD). Baker Hughes is also a participant of the UN Global Compact Initiative – a voluntary leadership platform for the development, implementation, and disclosure of responsible business practices.
 
Learn more about its sustainability commitments and performance by accessing the full 2022 Corporate Sustainability Report here. 
 
About Baker Hughes:
Baker Hughes (NASDAQ: BKR) is an energy technology company that provides solutions to energy and industrial customers worldwide. Built on a century of experience and conducting business in over 120 countries, our innovative technologies and services are taking energy forward – making it safer, cleaner, and more efficient for people and the planet. Visit us at bakerhughes.com.

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