Month: May 2023

RAHWAY, N.J., May 8, 2023 /3BL Media/ – To support the work of nonprofits dedicated to improving the well-being of underserved populations in communities around the world, Merck (NYSE: MRK), known as MSD outside of the United States and Canada, has announced a new global grants program, Solutions for Healthy Communities (SHC). 

SHC will invest in strategies that are designed and led by local stakeholders to meet local health needs and priorities. Grants will cover two years of project implementation, and awards will range in size from $50,000 – $300,000. 

SHC aims to catalyze innovation and facilitate access to quality health care. The strategies that the program invests in should reach populations that are historically underserved by the health care system, including:

Black, indigenous, and other people of color;People experiencing poverty;People living in rural areas;Migrant populations;People with diverse gender identities and/or sexual orientations;People living with disabilities.

SHC will be available in all of the regions in which the company operates, including the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Canada, Latin America and Asia Pacific, and the program will prioritize nonprofits that operate within 50 miles of a company site.

Apply here, if your organization is based in the United States. If your organization is not based in the United States, apply here. The deadline for applications is June 2, 2023. 
 

About Merck

At Merck, known as MSD outside of the United States and Canada, we are unified around our purpose: We use the power of leading-edge science to save and improve lives around the world. For more than 130 years, we have brought hope to humanity through the development of important medicines and vaccines. We aspire to be the premier research-intensive biopharmaceutical company in the world – and today, we are at the forefront of research to deliver innovative health solutions that advance the prevention and treatment of diseases in people and animals. We foster a diverse and inclusive global workforce and operate responsibly every day to enable a safe, sustainable and healthy future for all people and communities. For more information, visit www.merck.com and connect with us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn.

Forward-Looking Statement of Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, N.J., USA

This news release of Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, N.J., USA (the “company”) includes “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based upon the current beliefs and expectations of the company’s management and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. If underlying assumptions prove inaccurate or risks or uncertainties materialize, actual results may differ materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements.

Risks and uncertainties include but are not limited to, general industry conditions and competition; general economic factors, including interest rate and currency exchange rate fluctuations; the impact of the global outbreak of novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19); the impact of pharmaceutical industry regulation and health care legislation in the United States and internationally; global trends toward health care cost containment; technological advances, new products and patents attained by competitors; challenges inherent in new product development, including obtaining regulatory approval; the company’s ability to accurately predict future market conditions; manufacturing difficulties or delays; financial instability of international economies and sovereign risk; dependence on the effectiveness of the company’s patents and other protections for innovative products; and the exposure to litigation, including patent litigation, and/or regulatory actions.

The company undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Additional factors that could cause results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements can be found in the company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022 and the company’s other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) available at the SEC’s Internet site (www.sec.gov).

Learn more about Merck’s Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) approach by visiting merck.com/company-overview/esg.

Energized by Edison

By Ben Gallagher ENERGIZED by Edison Writer

The Port of Long Beach is one of the world’s busiest ports. Handling more than 9 million 20-foot containers and cargo valued at $200 billion each year, port operators move about 90 million metric tons of cargo through their terminals annually. One-third of the loaded containers moving through California ports and nearly one of every five in the U.S. pass through the Port of Long Beach every year. Terminal operators at the ports are making significant advances in transitioning to all-electric power.

SSA Terminals, which operate three berths out of a 201-acre site at the port, worked with Southern California Edison to retrofit its existing cranes to be entirely electric, converting nine 1,000-horsepower diesel engines to fully electrified versions. The cranes are used to transport imported containers, which are offloaded and stored at the terminal, to trucks that deliver them to logistical hubs or their ultimate destination. 

The benefits were almost immediate. 

“We were burning about 10 gallons of diesel per hour, so that’s our main cost savings right there,” said Scott Hainlen, superintendent for SSA Terminals. Beyond cost benefits were those that extended to their employees. “The operators definitely like driving these machines. They’re not sitting up there next to a smokestack anymore, and they are much quieter.”

Successfully integrating the new machines into their existing operations took some firsthand experience. The new cranes initially reacted more quickly than their diesel counterparts, so SSA’s crane operators made the necessary adjustments, and now they’re working seamlessly. Ultimately, Hainlen said that they’ve seen a net increase in both efficiency and operator comfort. 

Hainlen expects other port operators to make the change to zero-emission machines soon as well, as the port aims to meet that threshold by 2030. The knowledge and experience gained through this project will extend to those operators, and SCE will play a critical role in enabling their transitions. 

SSA also worked with SCE to electrify 33 terminal tractors, which are used to move containers around the terminal yard.

“The Port of Long Beach is an incredible economic driver not only for our region but for California and the entire nation,” said Michael Bushey, director of SCE’s Business Customer Division. “We take pride in our role in helping the state reach its goal of carbon neutrality by 2045, and working with the Port of Long Beach operators to reach zero emissions is a critical part of that process.” 

Each of those future projects will bring the port closer to its 2030 zero-emissions target, and achieving that goal will mark a significant milestone on the Pathway to 2045, SCE’s groundbreaking analysis of the steps California must take to clean the electric grid and reach carbon neutrality. 

To learn more about SCE’s clean energy initiatives, visit edison.com/clean-energy.