Month: June 2023

June 6, 2023 /3BL Media/ -Thanks to the generous support of Fiserv, Points of Light and INFLUENCE|SG have partnered to share a new research report, Leading Locally: Small Business & Social Change. Building on Points of Light’s body of civic engagement research, this new report explores the expectations, perceptions and ways in which small businesses are taking action to support social issues and their communities. Points of Light will host a special webinar on July 19 at 1 p.m. ET to learn small business insights from Tasha Helm, director of corporate citizenship at Fiserv, and explore key findings from the new research with Derrick Feldmann, managing director of INFLUENCE|SG.

“Small business owners are an untapped resource to drive social impact and can be the key to unlocking deeper relationships with communities. While 41% of owners said they were not sure what their small business could do to help, their knowledge of the community, connections and creativity can make a deep impact locally. We hope this research brings awareness to the critical role small businesses can play in partnering with local nonprofits to create thriving and participatory societies.” — Diane Quest, interim president & CEO, Points of Light

Small business owners are often on the front lines of change, whether responding to a local disaster, supporting a local youth sports league or advocating for policies that help their community and local economy. This group is driving social change, and our research found they want to do more. With its emphasis on the public’s relationship to small business, this report spotlights the following takeaways:

The general public has high expectations of how small businesses get involved in social issues, but small business owners consistently expect even more of themselves than the general public. For instance, half the public and two-thirds of small business owners ranked speaking out as pretty important or essential.Rather than fear of customer backlash, small business owners who are not particularly involved in social issues avoid them because they do not know how to get involved or are unsure how they can make a difference. In fact, nearly half of small business owners responding to the survey felt this way.In spite of this, small businesses are positioned to have a unique influence on their communities and their customers – especially through opportunities to donate when customers make a purchase. Our research found that almost 75% of the public will make donations at the point of sale.Regardless of their involvement in social issues, the general public consider small businesses valuable. Nearly two-thirds of respondents purchased from a small business within the last month.

“Back2Business reflects our Fiserv commitment to leverage business as a force for good in communities across the country. Our investments supporting small businesses helps to strengthen communities and drive economic empowerment by providing needed resources, technology, and solutions to our clients while contributing to a diverse, inclusive ecosystem in which all small business owners can thrive.” — Vivian Greentree, SVP, head of global corporate citizenship and president of Fiserv Cares Fund

ABOUT POINTS OF LIGHT 

Points of Light is a global nonprofit organization that inspires, equips and mobilizes millions of people to take action that changes the world. We envision a world in which every individual discovers the power to make a difference, creating healthy communities in vibrant, participatory societies. Through 145 affiliates across 39 countries, and in partnership with thousands of nonprofits and corporations, Points of Light engages 3.7 million volunteers in 16.7 million hours of service each year. We bring the power of people to bear where it’s needed most. To learn more about Points of Light visit pointsoflight.org.

ABOUT INFLUENCE|SG 

INFLUENCE|SG is a global research and advisory firm focused on helping companies and causes bolster their social change initiatives by informing through new insights and guiding through strategy. We create and drive public involvement in our clients’ social change work. Learn more at isgresearchadvisors.com.

SABIC, a global leader in the chemicals industry, has released its 2022 Sustainability Report, highlighting the company’s continued efforts in driving sustainability through collaboration and innovation.

Titled “Sustainable Growth for a Better World,” the report details the progress SABIC made in 2022 toward key commitments, including advancing the circular economy, ensuring responsible chemicals management, and increasing Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) disclosures. The report reaffirms the company’s progress toward its goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050, bolstered by its continued commitment to investing in innovation and circularity despite significant economic headwinds.

Abdulrahman Al-Fageeh, SABIC CEO said, “Megatrends that have been unfolding slowly are now emerging as forces of change, affecting our industry in new ways. At SABIC, our future depends on our ability to meet the needs of tomorrow’s customers and communities. Given the pace of change and the challenges in our world, we redoubled efforts to drive innovation and collaboration in 2022 in order to maximize our contributions across the wider value chain, industry and beyond.”

He added, “SABIC is undergoing a complex transformation to ensure sustainability is at the core of everything we do, from our portfolio to our people. While we see challenges on the horizon, we remain both focused on this exciting phase of sustainability ahead and confident that SABIC is well positioned to lead the industry forward.”

Innovation for growth 
2022 was marked by SABIC’s continued commitment to sustainability-driven innovation to fuel growth. Its petrochemicals and agri-nutrients business tapped feedstock optimization to increase flexibility and competitiveness, prioritizing segment-driven and process innovation to enhance its growth opportunities, as well as its reliability, capabilities, and cost efficiencies. In its Specialties business, technology proved pivotal to creating a competitive edge and differentiation through unique market solutions.

This approach enabled SABIC to debut a series of new offerings in 2022, including BLUEHERO™, an expanding ecosystem of materials, solutions, expertise, and programs to help improve structural battery components to accelerate the world’s energy transition to electric power and address the global challenge of climate change.

Recognizing the breadth of environmental challenges facing the industry, SABIC also scaled up its efforts to uncover breakthrough solutions by joining forces with others across the value chain. SABIC launched new collaborations, including a partnership with BASF and Linde to build the world’s first demonstration plant for large-scale electrically heated steam cracker furnaces. This new technology has the potential to reduce the CO2 emissions of one of the most energy-intensive production processes in the chemical industry by at least 90% by using electricity from renewable sources instead of natural gas.

Other collaborations SABIC started in 2022 include a pilot project with technology company Finboot, advanced recycling pioneer Plastic Energy, and packaging specialist Intraplás. The collaboration explores the use of blockchain technology in supporting end-to-end digital traceability of circular feedstock in customer products.

In 2022, SABIC progressed its plans to significantly upscale volumes of its TRUCIRCLE™ circular materials globally , culminating in its announcement of a target to process one million metric tons of TRUCIRCLE™ materials annually by 2030.

Progress in the path to carbon neutrality 
In line with its Carbon Neutrality Roadmap, the 2022 report also highlights progress made against SABIC’s plans to decarbonize all owned operations across five pathways – energy efficiency; renewable energy; electrification; carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS); and green/blue hydrogen.

The report affirms that SABIC continued to lower its intensity-based performance in 2022, although its absolute emissions increased by 2% compared to 2021, as a rise in production led to a proportional increase in Scope 1 emissions. The company is set to make major headway on projects tied to energy efficiency, renewable energy, initial electrification and CCUS in the coming years, keeping it on track to meet its interim target of a 20% reduction of absolute greenhouse emissions (Scope 1 and 2) by 2030. For example, SABIC’s polycarbonate plant in Cartagena, Spain, is set to become the world’s first large-scale chemical plant to run on 100% renewable power in 2024 and reduce CO2 emissions by as much as 70KT.

Meanwhile, the other two pathways in SABIC’s Carbon Neutrality Roadmap – electrification and green/blue hydrogen – remain essential to the company’s long-term plan to become carbon neutral by 2050.  Besides SABIC’s joint development of an electric cracking furnace the company is forging industrial strategic partnerships for hydrogen hub development and off-taker agreements.

Strengthening Social Impact
Even in an economically turbulent year, SABIC continued to invest in communities around the world. In 2022, the company put US$ 28.9 million toward 124 global CSR programs in 20 countries that benefited over 160,000 people.

SABIC has significantly widened its disclosures in recent years, particularly on matters tied to governance, as detailed in its 2022 Annual Report. Reporting on the company’s environmental footprint has also grown to encompass parameters including water withdrawal, water discharge, and water consumption accounting across manufacturing sites.

Access the full report www.sabic.com or via this link.

Media Contact:
Lindsay Clarkmead, Sustainability Communications, T: +34 648 246 318

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