Month: June 2023

Each year, Comcast is proud to celebrate Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD). Founded in 2012, GAAD represents a moment for us all to reflect on the importance of creating equitable and inclusive experiences. We’ve made a lot of progress, which is inspiring, but there are always new technologies on the horizon, like AI for example, that make it exciting to think about future applications.

At Comcast, accessibility isn’t an afterthought. My team and I partner with teams across the company to deliver first-rate, accessible products and services. From day one, we have a seat at the table working closely with product teams to identify solutions to enhance the experience for the widest possible audience. In addition, we spend a lot of time talking with external audiences—through direct customer interactions and in partnership with leading disability organizations like the American Council of the Blind, the National Association of the Deaf, National Federation of the Blind, Team Gleason, United Spinal Association and many others—to get their feedback about how we can improve our products to be even more inclusive for people with a variety of disabilities.

As a consumer with a disability myself, I can always tell when I’m using a product that has taken accessibility to heart. It shows when a company has brought individuals with different types of disabilities into the product design conversation early as well as throughout the entire development lifecycle. I’m proud to say that for more than a decade at Comcast this approach has been fundamental to our product innovations.

Most recently, we followed this method with our Large Button Voice Remote, which was launched last fall. Since then, it has been lauded by USA Today and FastCompany for its inclusive design. During the development process, we worked with our Experience Design research team in senior centers, independent living facilities and at disability-focused technology and consumer conferences where we could talk directly with people who offered us a wide range of perspectives and feedback.

Last week, I revisited one of those locations, New Horizons, near Hartford, Connecticut, which houses seniors and adults with physical disabilities. I had the opportunity to thank them for their input and participation in helping us build such an innovative device.

The Large Button Voice Remote builds on our many years of other product innovations. These include our Xfinity Web Remote app, which won TIME Magazine’s “Best New Invention” in 2019, and enables customers to independently control Xfinity X1 and Flex using their preferred assistive technologies. We also have our “ Talking Guide” that reads the menu of our X1 TV menu as you move through the screens. All these options are important because we know accessibility isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution for everyone.

So, on Global Accessibility Awareness Day we reflect on all that we’ve been able to accomplish so far, but we’re also thinking creatively about what other new solutions are just around the corner. Comcast is proud to join with other organizations to raise awareness and inspire others to have conversations about creating a more inclusive world.

Tom Wlodkowski is Vice President of Accessibility at Comcast.

SAN JOSE, Calif., June 1, 2023 /3BL Media/ – With growing concerns about the business impacts of biodiversity loss and the climate crisis, GreenBiz Group is launching Bloom 23, a conference focused on company strategies to protect and regenerate nature, to be co-located with VERGE 23, the largest climate tech event in North America.

Over the course of two interactive days, Bloom 23 will help catalyze a community of companies, innovators and experts from leading organizations and Indigenous groups. Participants will explore the markets, technologies and partnerships key to addressing the climate and biodiversity crises hand-in-hand.

“Corporations are waking up to the reality that biodiversity impacts their operations’ bottom lines, including their ability to deliver on climate commitments,” said Theresa Lieb, Senior Director of Nature and Food Systems at GreenBiz. “Bloom aims to build and nurture a new community focused on accelerating solutions to both.”

VERGE 23 is the center of gravity for the climate tech community — leaders from business, government, finance and startups — working together to address the climate crisis across the six key programs that comprise the event: Buildings, Carbon, Energy, Food, Startups and Transport. The annual event attracts thousands of participants and convenes some of the biggest actors leveraging the power of technology to confront the climate crisis and ensure a just transition to a clean economy.

“The co-location of Bloom 23 with VERGE 23 acknowledges the inextricable interconnection between climate and biodiversity,” said Shana Rappaport, Senior Vice President of Climate Tech and Executive Director of VERGE. “While the climate crisis has been front and center for much of today’s business world, companies are recognizing that we can’t solve the climate crisis without also solving for biodiversity loss. We are thrilled to expand our scope and reach by co-locating Bloom and VERGE.”

The co-location of the two events underscores that flourishing ecosystems are critical to both mitigating and adapting to growing climate impacts. Moreover, companies are recognizing the importance of global biodiversity to the overall health and resilience of their operations and supply chains.

Among the topics to be covered at Bloom 23:

Creating a “nature-positive” business strategyEngaging Indigenous and local groups, suppliers and other partnersUnderstanding the fast-changing biodiversity policy landscapeEmerging tools, technologies and other resourcesCase studies from leadership companies

“We are in a race against time, and the private sector has a critical role now to turn risk into opportunity at speed and scale. We need all innovators, disruptors and ecopreneurs on deck for nature and climate,” said Tim Christophersen, Vice President of Climate Action at Salesforce.

“As Indigenous Peoples, we think long term, and we try to do what we think is going to be best in the long term. Land, culture, and identity are interwoven, they are one and the same, resulting in 80% of the remaining global biodiversity being on Indigenous Peoples’ lands and waters. I look forward to participating in Bloom to help other stakeholders understand how to respect Indigenous Peoples’ jurisdictions and invest in their knowledge,” said Steven Nitah, former Chief of the ŁuTsël K’e Dene First Nation.

Bloom 23 is launching with the support of more than two dozen allied organizations, including the Biomimicry Institute, Business for Nature, Capitals Coalition, MRV Collective, Nature for Justice, Science Based Targets Network, World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), Wildlife Habitat Council and WWF.

“There’s a powerful, pivotal movement taking shape: companies acknowledging, measuring and addressing the value that nature brings to their operations and supply chains,” said William Sisson, Executive Director of WBCSD North America. “WBCSD is proud to partner with Bloom as we work alongside our members who will play critical roles in accelerating this important movement.”

Professionals interested in learning more can visit the Bloom 23 and VERGE 23 websites. Select media are invited to attend for free. To apply, contact Sam Dow, samantha@greenbiz.com.

Category-exclusive sponsorship and brand integrations for Bloom 23 and VERGE 23 are still available. For more information, contact Natalie Rasmus, natalie@greenbiz.com.

ABOUT GREENBIZ

GreenBiz Group empowers professional communities to confront the climate crisis. We do this through media, events and peer networks that help professionals understand the emerging technologies, business practices, policies and societal expectations that companies, cities and others need to know to succeed. www.greenbiz.com

The corporate giving program at Quest captures the passion and commitment of our employees, leadership, and business partners to make lasting, meaningful contributions in the communities where we live and operate.

We believe that a strategic and targeted approach to giving enables us to focus our resources to support identified needs in the most effective and impactful way.

Donated or discounted testing

Community engagement We are committed to providing clinical laboratory services regardless of patients’ ability to pay. Through our various patient assistance programs and Quest for Health Equity (Q4HE), we tailor solutions based on individual circumstances and may adjust some or all laboratory charges.

In 2021, we provided ~800K donated or discounted test requisitions, at a cost of approximately $13M

Matching gifts and volunteering

The Quest Diagnostics matching gifts and volunteering programs are designed to support organizations with a primary focus on healthcare, health disparities, and social determinants of health; accredited educational institutions; and organizations that promote diversity, equity, and inclusion. Our program matches $1 for every $1 contributed by Quest employees to eligible organizations, up to $2,500 per employee per year.

Contributed $475K in matching funds to 600+ nonprofits Volunteered more than 27K hours

Employee Relief Fund

At Quest Diagnostics, we take pride in our ability to support our employees during unforeseen circumstances. The Quest Diagnostics Employee Relief Fund serves as an opportunity for employees to support one another during f inancial hardships that result from federally declared emergencies, such as the COVID-19 pandemic and other natural disasters. Quest matches $1 for every $1 contributed to the Fund by Quest employees.

More than 300 grants were approved in 2021, representing $268K in support for employees

Community engagement

Through local, national, and international partnerships, Quest offers employees several ways to participate in community engagement throughout the year. Some of the programs through which we give back include:

Season of Giving campaign: In 2020, Quest introduced the Season of Giving campaign, which offered employees a double-match opportunity for donations made as part of the Giving Tuesday global movement. In 2021, the campaign expanded to feature nearly 30 volunteer opportunities through various nonprofit partnerships across each region. This campaign offered employees flexibility to give back in a way that is meaningful to them, from food, clothing, and toy drives to cash donations to nonprofits aligned with Quest’s strategic giving.

Supporting COVID-19 relief efforts in India: To support colleagues, their families, and the broader community in India during the COVID-19 surge, Quest partnered with Vibha, a US-based nonprofit organization with the mission to ensure that underprivileged children attain their right to health, education, and opportunity. Vibha established Ray of Light, an initiative focused on COVID-19 relief efforts in India to set up modular bed hospitals, procure oxygen concentrators, personal protective equipment (PPE), and establish vaccine clinics. Through Quest employee donations and corporate matching funds, more than $30,000 was donated to these relief efforts.

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