Month: July 2023

Originally published on Avantor Sustainability

Developing Our Associates

At Avantor, we care about our associates’ growth. Our culture of development is fueled by our commitment to align our talent strategy for today and future strategic needs, to know our associates and their aspirations, and to provide opportunities for them to learn and grow future ready skills. Their success provides momentum that goes beyond Avantor and into the world around us. This is why we continually evaluate and evolve our talent strategy to support the careers and learning solutions for our associates.

Talent Philosophy

We launched our global Talent Philosophy for managers in 2022 to support our commitment to keep associates at the center of everything we do. Our Talent Philosophy is focused on accountability, performance, differentiation and transparency, and provides our managers with direction and clarity that enables them to maximize how they manage and guide talent for individual, team and organization performance. With this, our associates are provided a clear view of Avantor expectations of our managers to support our associates’ performance, growth and career actively and effectively.

Increased Learning Engagement

In our industry, a learning culture is critical for an organization’s ability to pivot at the pace of change. In 2022, Avantor saw a 34% increase in learning with 317,200+ training completions. Avantor’s robust learning catalog reflects offerings for different learning styles, providing associates access to learn what, how and when they want. Programming is designed around topics that matter most, and aligned by persona so associates can easily select the solution that best fit their needs. We continuously evaluate and evolve our strategies through several feedback channels, and we are committed to adapting our learning collection to the changing needs of our associates and our industry.

Leadership Development

Developing a strong leadership capability is critical to the success of Avantor. In 2022, we designed and launched the Avantor Leadership Advantage (ALA), our signature Leadership Development program for first-line managers. Grounded in the Talent Philosophy referenced above, the ALA program provides a comprehensive curriculum that equips leaders with the mindset, skillset and toolset to power performance and associate engagement. This journey consists of six live virtual instructor-led workshops and helps set managers up for success with proven capabilities and a peer community of practice. Topics include Leading People, Leading Performance, Coaching Excellence, Inclusive Leadership, Leading Virtually, Conflict to Collaboration, and Leading You. In 2022, 350 leaders earned their ALA certification and provided a 96% satisfaction score, exceeding our target of 85%. In addition to the ALA, Avantor launched the Avantor Power Skills Series designed to provide leaders with practical tools and strategies to accelerate Avantor’s strategic priorities and boost leadership capabilities.

Professional Skill Building

With our commitment to supporting learning and growth of the whole person, Avantor launched an online learning library tool for all associates. Access to over 16,000 learning offerings provides associates with limitless opportunities to acquire new knowledge, enhance existing skills, and expand professional and personal horizons. In addition, we have carefully curated collections aligned to specific topics of interest based on associate feedback or in support of larger initiatives such as Wellbeing, DE&I, and Career and Feedback. Offerings are available on demand or live and in multiple languages, so associates have an opportunity to learn how and when they choose. Associate response was overwhelmingly positive with 43% of Avantor associates consuming e-learning library content in the first year exceeding the benchmark target of 20%.

Additionally, we included Unconscious Bias and Micro-Aggressions modules in our annual Code of Ethics training for associates to complete around the globe.

Learning Programs for Diverse Associates

We launched Career Accelerator and Leadership Academies for women and people leaders of color to support skills building for career advancement with a focus on the unique challenges that face leaders who are the first or the only of marginalized identity in role.

Workplace Wellbeing

In 2022, wellbeing was a topic of discussion for everyone – not unique to an industry, geography, race or gender. Recognizing our associates were interested in this topic as well, we invited a global expert on resilience and burnout to help our associates learn to recognize signs of burnout, build a toolkit to make stress work for them, and engage in activities that proactively build resilience.

Talent Management

We have enhanced our talent management practices to better enable the mindset, skillset and toolkit for leaders and associates to focus on enhancing our performance management processes and enabling robust feedback and career conversations. Last year marked the launch of our Integrated Talent Review enabling our leaders to have better visibility of talent and leverage our learning solutions to support development.

Bring Your Own Device

We significantly expanded our Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) program, facilitating real-time access to and participation in learning offerings and virtual DE&I and ACT events for our non-wired associates on personal cell phones. Sign-up events conducted in 44 sites across 13 countries, with an achieved adoption rate of over 80%, equal to approximately 30 associates per site.

To learn more, download the Avantor 2023 Science for Goodness Sustainability Report here.

CHARLOTTE, N.C., July 25, 2023 /3BL/ – Discovery Education today unveiled an engaging, no-cost professional learning event, as well as updated digital resources coming this Fall designed to support educators’ efforts to ignite the natural curiosity of every K-12 student. Discovery Education is the worldwide edtech leader whose state-of-the-art digital platform supports instruction wherever it takes place.

Discovery Education’s Creating Curious Classrooms is a free professional learning series for school and science curriculum leaders that takes a fresh approach to how the latest digital resources and tools can be integrated into instruction to drive REAL engagement and a powerful science program. Live and on-demand sessions will provide participants examples of how teachers from across the country can create and deliver fascinating science lessons that unlock student curiosity in grades K-12 and inspire exploration of the world around them.

For more information and to register to attend, visit the Creating Curious Classrooms homepage here.

Discovery Education is also updating the digital resources found in several of the company’s award-winning services to provide educators additional ways to maximize students’ innate inquisitiveness. Included in the latest updates coming to Discovery Education Experience, the company’s award-winning K-12 platform, this Fall are:

Discovery Education’s all-new DE original series, Need to Know, provides DE-produced videos and ready-to-use lessons for grades K-5 that help educators engage students and facilitate classroom discourse on important United States historical events. Utilizing historical artifacts that reflect influential moments in history, educators guide students through structured learning experiences and activities that provide opportunities for text analysis and collaboration. Literacy supports are woven throughout lessons and enhance teachers’ literacy instruction.​The Electric Company: K-2 ELA Collection, coming to the exclusive Sesame Learning Channel, provides engaging, research-based resources and lessons that support young students in becoming proficient readers, language learners, and communicators. The collection includes learner-centered videos featuring characters from The Electric Company, ready-to-use presentation materials, professional development resources, and lesson plans.New resources from our trusted educational partners, spanning grades and subjects – including Shark Week 2023, The Fixies, Coyote Peterson: Brave Wilderness, NASA, Vooks, Fable Cottage, Panasonic, and more! From videos to instructional activities to reading passages to animated storybooks and more – there’s something for everyone to inspire learning and ignite curiosity.

In addition, Discovery Education Experience is being updated to provide users a more personal experience, even better, faster search results, and improved administrative and integration functions that make using this service easier than ever. Finally, Discovery Education Experience will soon allow users access to DoodleMath. A product of DoodleLearning, which joined the Discovery Education family in 2022, DoodleMath is a K-5 math practice solution personalized to each student’s need.

Discovery Education’s Science Techbook has also been updated with more than 100 re-imagined virtual labs and interactives to support K-8 science explorations. The Discovery Education Science Techbook series is a comprehensive, research-backed science solution for grades K-12. Used in classrooms across the United States, the Science Techbooks drive engagement with exclusive, interactive digital content and companion printed resources.

Pivot Interactives—the online science curriculum supplement that helps teachers provide more phenomena-based, active learning, without adding to their plates—has also been enhanced for back-to-school. New this Fall are:

Draggable tasks structured to incrementally develop students’ skills in the science practices make science now easier to teach, learn, and assess with auto-grading.​Immediate, guided feedback and embedded scaffolding that provides students the guidance they need when they need it and saves teachers hours they can use to deepen relationships in the classroom.​Deep randomization of content and variables adds a layer of novelty to activities and assures students are demonstrating authentic learning of the scientific practices authentically.

New this Fall to Mystery Science—the unique, standards-aligned science curriculum for grades K-5— are updated open-and-go lessons and units for grades 2-4. These lessons and units, which include step-by-step, hands-on activities exploring scientific phenomena, help students stay curious by answering the “real life” science questions asked by students nationwide. The Mystery Science team is also updating their Standards Alignment Guide to better help teachers plan their entire year of standards-based instruction. ​

In addition, Discovery Education’s corporate partners are providing educators an array of back-to-school resources supporting a variety of topics, including:

Immersive learning. With Verizon, educators can take augmented reality to a new level with a trip to Mars in 2072 via two augmented reality apps, TimePod and Sandbox AR. These experiences are accompanied by standards-aligned lessons, all available on Discovery Education Experience, smartphone app stores, and the Verizon Innovative Learning HQ.

STEM career explorations. The STEM Careers Coalition™ offers a collection of resources spotlighting careers in STEM. Students can see people like them working while diving deeper into STEM topics through a variety of hands-on, lessons and activities. Teachers can then introduce students to STEM with over 200 resources designed to uncover students’ STEM skills and activate future solution seekers. The new Curiosity Circle collection features a variety of video vignettes designed for grades K-5.

Spark inspiration. Launching for back to school, this new video topic series from Boeing transports students across the globe to explore technology and innovation, diversity and culture, and commitment to sustainability and problem-solving through the lens of different people and countries.

All educators using Discovery Education’s digital resource have access to the Discovery Education Network. A global community of education professionals, the Discovery Education Network connects members across school systems and around the world through social media, virtual conferences, and in-person events, fostering valuable idea sharing and inspiration.

“Curiosity is an integral part of the human condition,” said Pete Weir, Discovery Education’s Chief Product Officer. “When students enter the classroom, they bring their natural curiosity with them. It is critical that we provide educators everything they need to spark students’ interest in the world around them and ignite their natural curiosity in all subjects. We believe that our Creating Curious Classrooms series and the new digital content and resources added to our services provide educators innovative new strategies and tools to bring learning alive in every grade.”

To learn more about Discovery Education’s plans to ignite student curiosity throughout the Fall, visit the Curiosity homepage here.

For more information about Discovery Education’s award-winning digital resources and professional learning services—which can be purchased with federal stimulus funds— visit www.discoveryeducation.com, and stay connected with Discovery Education on social media through Twitter and LinkedIn.

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About Discovery Education 
Discovery Education is the worldwide edtech leader whose state-of-the-art digital platform supports learning wherever it takes place. Through its award-winning multimedia content, instructional supports, and innovative classroom tools, Discovery Education helps educators deliver equitable learning experiences engaging all students and supporting higher academic achievement on a global scale. Discovery Education serves approximately 4.5 million educators and 45 million students worldwide, and its resources are accessed in over 100 countries and territories. Inspired by the global media company Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. Discovery Education partners with districts, states, and trusted organizations to empower teachers with leading edtech solutions that support the success of all learners. Explore the future of education at www.discoveryeducation.com.

Contact

Stephen Wakefield 
Discovery Education 
Phone: 202-316-6615 
Email: swakefield@discoveryed.com

Cummins

Cummins Inc. has received a 2023 Energy Management Insight Award from the Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM), a global forum to promote policies and programs that advance clean energy technology and share best practices to encourage the transition to a clean energy economy.

The global power technology leader earned the award for producing a case study to share insights on the process and benefits of setting up an energy management system certified to the global ISO energy 50001 efficiency standard. 

In 2016, Cummins won the CEM Award of Excellence for its nine ISO 50001 certified sites. At the 2016 awards ceremony, Jennifer Rumsey, Cummins’ current Chief Executive Officer, was then Chief Technical Officer. She announced the company goal to certify 40 sites to ISO 50001 by 2020. Cummins has since exceeded this goal by expanding the ISO 50001 certification to 45 sites. 

The award is part of the CEM Energy Management Leadership Awards program. To enter the awards program, Cummins Facilities and Operations Environmental Center of Excellence developed and submitted a detailed case study describing its experiences and results using ISO 50001 at 45 of its sites across eight countries. The company’s award-winning case study is available on the CEM website as a resource for other organizations interested in achieving significant and enduring energy and cost savings.

In the case study, Cummins described key aspects of its ISO 50001-certified energy management system and identified resulting benefits from 2018 to 2021, including:

•    Total energy cost savings (cumulative total savings for 45 sites) of $183,775,216.

•    Total CO2 equivalent emission reductions of 2,297,587 metric tons.

•    A 9% absolute energy reduction. 

•    An 18% greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction.

The ISO 50001 standard is a cost-effective framework that enables organizations to take control of their energy use and continually improve performance, reducing costs and emissions. Regardless of an organization’s size or sector, the framework helps maintain and build energy and cost savings year after year. 

PLANET 2050, Cummins’ environmental sustainability strategy, sets quantifiable goals for 2030 along with longer-term aspirations timed to 2050. This includes the 2030 goal of an absolute GHG reduction from facilities and operations of 50%. 

A 50% absolute carbon emissions reduction by 2030 from a base year of 2018 is a target consistent with the level of decarbonization required to keep global temperature rise to below 1.5°C compared to pre-industrial temperatures.

Yum China, the operator of KFC and Pizza Hut brands in China, has recently launched a new pasta dish featuring citron daylily sourced from Shanxi province, as part of its Grow Local initiative that promotes the use of locally sourced produce in its menu offerings. The citron daylily is known for its unique taste and comes from the city of Datong, which is one of the top producers of this crop in China. The new pasta dish is now available as a limited time offering in over 130 Pizza Hut restaurants in Shanxi and Shaanxi provinces.

Over many years, Yum China has leveraged its expertise in supply chain management and product R&D to support local development. Since the launch of the Grow Local Initiative in 2018, Pizza Hut has introduced high-quality products such as Yunnan truffles, Guizhou dragon fruits, and Shaanxi apples, which have become delicacies on its menu. Meanwhile, in 2022, KFC added Dark Soy Milk made with Tartary buckwheat grown in the remote Liangshan region of Sichuan province to its offerings.

To promote local agricultural products, Yum China has also utilized its e-commerce platforms to sell pomegranates from Yunnan province, Zigui oranges from Hubei province, and lemons from Sichuan province. Through its strong supply chain management and practices, Yum China is committed to developing the Grow Local initiative into a sustainable agriculture program by providing technical support and training to farmers. Since 2018, the Grow Local initiative has conducted hundreds of online and offline training sessions to teach farmers about crop rotation, soil health, pest management etc.

Yum China’s commitment to rural revitalization extends beyond the Grow Local initiative. Through programs like One Yuan Donation, Digital Classroom, and Grow Local, the company aims to empower rural communities, boost local economies, and improve the lives of rural children. Yum China’s ongoing efforts to drive the revitalization and growth of rural areas throughout China demonstrates its steadfast commitment to empowering local communities and creating a more sustainable future for all.

KeyBank has been recognized by the Small Business Administration for the most small loans valued at $350,000 or less for fiscal year 2022 in Washington Congressional District 9. The award was presented at KeyBank’s Renton Highlands Branch in Renton, Washington. Key has been a top performing SBA Preferred Lender for over two decades, helping countless small businesses obtain access to capital through the SBA lending programs. This award is a testament to KeyBank’s continued commitment to the community and small businesses of all sizes.

“Small business is the backbone of a thriving community, which is why we dedicate so many resources and talented teammates to support these business owners,” said Derek Pender, KeyBank Regional Retail Leader for Washington and Alaska. “We are humbled to receive this honor by the SBA and appreciate their partnership.”

PARIS and NEW YORK, July 25, 2023 /3BL/ – EcoVadis, the leading provider of business sustainability ratings, today announced its Carbon Action Module (CAM) has received a Top Product of the Year Award from Environment + Energy Leader. The 2023 E+E Leader Awards program commends excellence in products and projects that deliver significant energy and environmental benefits.

Many companies struggle to accelerate progress towards emission-reductions goals because they lack supply chain visibility. The Carbon Action Module gives companies a complete view into each suppliers’ GHG management efforts, based on primary qualitative and quantitative data along with supporting evidence, all directly from the supplier. It empowers organizations to drive climate action at scale by engaging their value chain trading partners at all maturity levels in a decarbonization journey.

“To prevent the most devastating impacts of climate change, we must shift to a low carbon economy, and supplier engagement presents a great opportunity to drive decarbonization that transcends national borders,” said Julia Salant, Carbon General Solution Manager at EcoVadis. “This award is great validation of how the Carbon Action Module empowers companies to drive GHG reduction strategies, build resilience and foster sustainable innovation throughout the supply chain.”

The Carbon Action Module provides a rich set of management indicators, tools and an engagement platform that helps suppliers baseline and build maturity, report and calculate emissions, report targets, and improve on carbon management practices. From the carbon heatmap to the carbon calculator, sustainability metrics and EcoVadis Academy, CAM quantifies and structures the decarbonization journey, enabling procurement organizations to integrate climate action into purchasing strategies and processes.

“This year’s entrants had to surpass an exceptionally high bar to qualify for an award, thanks to a seasoned and discerning judging panel as well as stringent judging criteria,” said Sarah Roberts, co-president of E+E Leader.

Upon their review of the EcoVadis Carbon Action Module, the program’s judges remarked:

“This product solves a number of prominent issues for companies; Scope 3 capabilities and engaging value chain in decarbonization and climate action.””Abundant tools and resources to help and empower SMEs to collect emissions data throughout their supply chain respond to reporting platforms.””I think this is a solid tool. I do like the differentiator in this tool as it discusses risk and carbon hotspots.”

To learn more about the impact of supply chain carbon emissions and how companies can take action, visit https://ecovadis.com/solutions/carbon/.

About EcoVadis

EcoVadis is a purpose-driven company whose mission is to provide the world’s most trusted business sustainability ratings. Businesses of all sizes rely on EcoVadis’ expert intelligence and evidence-based ratings to monitor and improve the sustainability performance of their business and trading partners. Its actionable scorecards, benchmarks, carbon action tools, and insights guide an improvement journey for environmental, social and ethical practices across 200 industry categories and 175 countries. Industry leaders such as Johnson & Johnson, L’Oréal, Unilever, LVMH, Bridgestone, BASF and JPMorgan are among the 100,000 businesses that collaborate with EcoVadis to drive resilience, sustainable growth and positive impact worldwide. Learn more on ecovadis.com, Twitter or LinkedIn.

Press Inquiries 
Corporate Ink for EcoVadis 
617-969-9192, ecovadis@corporateink.com

About the Environment + Energy Leader Awards

For over a decade, the Environment + Energy Leader Awards have celebrated excellence in the world of environmental, sustainability and energy management. Award recipients are acknowledged as industry leaders, and featuring a Top Project or Top Product of the Year Award badge signifies their outstanding contributions. Companies seeking sustainable and energy management solutions trust that E+E Product of the Year Award winners offer a comprehensive array of vetted products to guide their decision-making. Project of the Year Award winners exemplify how sustainability and energy management projects can successfully enhance the profitability of other companies.