Month: July 2023

Clorox’s ESG goals are integrated into our IGNITE strategy because we believe they drive growth and create positive value for our brands, people and communities. We’ve focused on where we can make the biggest impact — Clean World, Healthy Lives and Thriving Communities — and have 20 public-facing goals in these areas.  

In this installment of our “Steps to … ” series, we spoke with Laura Baruch, our vice president of Total Rewards and sponsor of the Mental Health Champions ERG, about how Clorox is prioritizing total well-being, with a focus on our work around mental health, for our teammates and their families.

Why is promoting health and well-being fundamental to Clorox? 

As a company with a diverse portfolio of wellness-related brands reaching households around the globe, we understand that we can only deliver on our purpose when our people are equipped to be well and thrive. To us, this means protecting the safety of our teammates and supporting their total well-being — at work and beyond.

We often talk about our holistic approach to supporting the physical, mental and financial health of our people. We back that up by providing a powerful combination of benefits, programs and resources tailored to the diverse needs of our global workforce. Consistent with our IGNITE strategy, we put people at the center and genuinely embrace our responsibility to enhance the health and well-being of all our Clorox teammates and their families.

From an ESG perspective, how do you evaluate and track something so personal as health and well-being?

While our approach aims to empower our teammates to take ownership of their own wellness journeys, we as an employer have made bold commitments to ensure we’re doing our part to foster an environment that enables them to do so. This includes:

Promoting workplace safety: We closely monitor our operations and continually educate our teammates on how to identify, control or eliminate physical risk. This effort is just one of the ways Clorox has worked to maintain a recordable incident rate significantly below our target and the industry average.Ensuring financial well-being: We offer market-leading retirement benefits and no-cost financial coaching services to help our teammates prepare and save for retirement. These resources assist with budgeting, retirement planning, estimating healthcare expenses, insurance needs and more. Clorox is committed to supporting our teammates’ financial well-being, which is why we’ve set an aspirational retirement readiness goal of 75% (as measured by a metric called the income replacement ratio).Encouraging preventive physical and mental health care: It can be challenging to measure our teammates’ well-being, but we believe the key to driving better health outcomes is encouraging our people to get their preventive health screenings. Our goal is to have one-third of eligible teammates complete their age-based preventive health screenings every year. While I’m proud 29% took advantage of this benefit last year (exceeding our industry benchmark by 3 points), we have more progress to make!

We understand these goals and metrics only reflect the wellness of our workforce in a few areas, so we’re actively exploring how to measure the impact our benefits and resources have on the overall health of our people.

Do Clorox’s efforts to champion the overall well-being of its teammates include mental health?

Mental health is unquestionably and intrinsically linked to our overall well-being. Not only does mental health directly impact our physical health, but it influences our ability to do our jobs well, feel fulfilled, connect with others, and contribute positively within our organization and the broader community. If we want to help people be well and thrive, mental health must be an integral part of how we support our team.

While research tells us that one in four people will be affected by a mental illness at some point in their lives, it’s important to remember we don’t need a diagnosis in order to use resources to improve our own mental health. Every one of us experiences highs and lows in mental health. The recent rise in mental health concerns driven by the global pandemic has created a clear call to action for employers to not only destigmatize talking about mental health openly, including in the workplace, but also to offer mental health resources for teammates and their families.

As we’ve navigated through the past few challenging years, I’m proud of how Clorox has supported our teammates, specifically with their mental well-being. Since 2020, we’ve enhanced our benefits by working with global partners to provide mental health resources, no-cost counseling sessions, education sessions, caregiver support and mindfulness tools to our global workforce.

How do you prioritize which support structures and wellness resources to provide to a global workforce like we have at Clorox? Can you provide some examples specific to mental health? 

Championing well-being globally is an incredibly rewarding yet daunting endeavor, as there’s no one-size-fits-all mobile app or program subscription that can tackle this challenge for everyone.

That’s why we’ve worked to establish a range of resources that support a number of different needs — from help finding a therapist, to tools for navigating day-to-day anxiety, to help with caregiving challenges. Here are just a few:

As the executive sponsor of Clorox’s Mental Health Champions employee resource group, I’ve witnessed first-hand how instrumental this community has been to raising awareness and destigmatizing mental health. This group helps Clorox identify gaps and opportunities to better support teammates’ and their family members’ mental health while providing a safe space for people to connect and share their experiences with resources that have helped them.We provide employee assistance programs globally, which offer supportive resources such as no-cost therapy sessions with counselors and trained clinicians to help with life transitions and family, legal, financial, and work issues. Additionally, we offer mindfulness resources as another form of preventive care to help manage stress, lessen anxiety and improve sleep year-round, not only in moments of crisis. Roughly 25% of our U.S. teammates have enrolled in this program within the past year, a level of engagement that is both unprecedented and indicative of how critical this support really is.One of our most highly regarded benefits are monthly Quiet Days, when we ask all teammates to not schedule meetings and to limit emails so they’re able to focus on key priorities or take time off to recharge. We also recently reframed our sick leave — now called Health and Mental Well-Being Time Off— to be more inclusive of mental health needs for teammates and their families.

What are some examples of mental health education, training and/or resources you would encourage other organizations to adopt?

Our commitment to supporting mental health as part of overall well-being is one of the many reasons so many of my teammates and I are proud to work at Clorox. Here are a few tips to keep in mind when evaluating how best to support your workforce:

Understand what your teammates need. Conduct internal surveys and/or focus groups to understand what resources your workforce values most and where there are opportunities to expand the support provided to your teammates and their families.Reduce the stigma by openly talking about mental health within your organization. Having senior leaders talk about the importance of mental health and potentially share how it has impacted their lives is truly impactful, and opens the door for others to share their own experiences.Create forums for teammates to learn and share insights about mental health. Schedule workshops; bring in external speakers who are subject matter experts; and offer mental health first-aid training to help your teammates identify, understand and respond to signs of mental health challenges. Most importantly, provide both in-person and virtual opportunities for teammates to connect with each other.

Our ESG commitment is driven by our purpose to champion people to be well and thrive every single day. Learn more about our ESG goals here. Want to make a positive impact on the world? Learn about Clorox careers here.  

Originally published on U.S. Bank company blog

What do Girls Garage, a design and construction school for youth; La Cocina, a kitchen incubator for food entrepreneurs; the SF LGBT Center, which supports the LGBTQ community, have in common? These Bay Area nonprofits recently received a boost in funding thanks to the U.S. Bank Legends of Possible team member recognition program for top performers.

In May, more than 800 U.S. Bank team members from across the country gathered in San Francisco to celebrate being named a U.S. Bank Legend, an annual recognition for company employees that go above and beyond. As part of the celebratory trip, recipients were invited to select a local nonprofit for a donation to be made on their behalf. The result was a combined $100,000 donation to these nonprofits.

Project Analyst Christine Bailey, one of this year’s Legends recipients, selected Girls Garage to receive a donation on her behalf. Bailey chose this organization because she supports a nonprofit in Charlotte, North Carolina, with a similar mission.

“I know there was a lot that went into creating a very special experience for us at Legends. When I saw that we could select a local nonprofit for a donation to be made on our behalf, it was a great moment to pause and really be appreciative that we work for company that takes the time to give back to the communities around us,” Bailey said.

You can read more about the nonprofits that benefited from donations on behalf of the U.S. Bank Legends of Possible program below. 

Empowering female immigrant food entrepreneurs in San Francisco 
In San Francisco, kitchen incubator La Cocina has helped more than 130 women of color and immigrants launch food businesses by providing affordable commercial kitchen space, industry-specific technical assistance, and access to market opportunities to talented entrepreneurs.

La Cocina recently launched the first women-led food hall in the U.S. with the opening of La Cocina Municipal Marketplace, which currently features seven food businesses led by La Cocina participants. The marketplace hosts pop-up dinners featuring current chef cohorts and community events like trivia night, serving as a bright spot in the heart of the Tenderloin neighborhood.

The grant provided by U.S. Bank will support La Cocina’s general operations. In the last three years, U.S. Bank has provided more than $100,000 in grant funding to La Cocina.

Creating design and construction opportunities for girls and gender-expansive youth 
In a workshop in Berkeley, California, community members ages 9-18 have access to free and low-cost programs in carpentry, welding, architecture, engineering and activist art. Girls Garage is the first-ever design and building workshop for female, nonbinary, and gender-expansive youth in the United States, serving 185 students each year. To date, participants have built 183 projects ranging from furniture for a domestic abuse shelter to a greenhouse for a community garden and fruit stand for an organization serving refugee families.

Funding provided by U.S. Bank will support general operations at Girls Garage. In addition, U.S. Bank has committed $300,000 over the next three years to Girls Garage.

Supporting LGBTQ communities and allies in San Francisco 
The SF LGBT Center supports the needs of the LGBTQ community and allies through robust programming, including employment services, small business services, financial services, youth services, community programs, and arts and culture events. Many of these programs are made possible by a strong network of volunteers.

During a recent Pride month event at the center, the U.S. Bank Good Truck supported LGBT-owned small business Gnome Bath & Body by providing free soap samples from the truck to event attendees.

The latest grant from U.S. Bank will support general operations at the center. In addition, U.S. Bank provides regular volunteers for center programs and various sponsorship and grant funding throughout the year.

To learn more about U.S. Bank at work in the community, visit usbank.com/community.

As originally published by GoDaddy’s Venture Forward research initiative

The soaring rate at which Black U.S. entrepreneurs start businesses is one of the biggest economic success stories of the post-pandemic era. Venture Forward, a GoDaddy one-of-a-kind research initiative established in 2018 to quantify the impact of online microbusinesses on their local economies, defines microbusiness as businesses that have fewer than ten employees, a unique domain and an active website.

20% of microbusinesses started in 2020 or after are owned by Black entrepreneurs, up 6% since 2019, according to the latest Venture Forward national survey of microbusiness owners.

According to Pew Research Center, the Black majority ownership rate for U.S. businesses of any size is only 3%, making the microbusiness sector one of the most diverse pockets of the economy right now.

The research: GoDaddy’s Venture Forward provides a unique view into the attitudes, demographics, and needs of these entrepreneurs. The initiative’s U.S. national survey started in 2019 and occurs twice a year, typically capturing responses from over 3,500 entrepreneurs per instance to identify and explore trends, as well as deliver insights to advocates of microbusiness entrepreneurs.

GoDaddy analyzes more than 20 million online microbusinesses in the U.S. who have a unique domain and active website. They are often too small or too new to show up in government statistics. While these microbusinesses may be small, their impact on the U.S. economy is outsized . For example, for every one online microbusiness entrepreneur an additional 6.7 jobs are created at the county level. 

Go deeper: The fastest-growing ownership segment in the February 2023 survey was Black women, who increased their share from 8% to 13% since 2019. Like most microbusiness owners, they are primarily self-funded. Women, in general, face serious inequities in securing access to capital. Only 2% of all venture capital funding goes to U.S. female-only founder teams, according to PitchBook.

When analyzing the data, the diversification of microbusinesses is most apparent across generational lines. Some 85% of baby boomer owners are white, but only 60% of Generation Z and millennial owners are white.

By the numbers: 

Small business owners are surprisingly bullish: 87% of Black microbusiness owners have a positive outlook for their business over the next 6 months, compared to 73% of the entire sample.Black business owners are more ambitious than most: Only 21% say they want to remain a solopreneur or stay small compared with 36% for the entire sample. (Unless they’re retired: More than half (53%) of retirees don’t want employees.)The most common channel for owners to conduct business? A website. 28% of owners invest in their website first. Setting up a website is a challenge for 1 out of 5 owners.

Fifth Third published its 2022 Sustainability Report on June 30. In it, the Company’s Board of Directors shared messages about its responsibility to ensure the Bank meets its sustainability commitments.

“Fifth Third Bank recognizes the critical role of financial institutions in our society. The Board, including each of its committees, is committed to excellence and to implementing strong policies, procedures and practices to ensure we are delivering long-term sustainable value to our clients, employees, communities and shareholders, regardless of the economic environment. As a Board we are committed to Fifth Third’s holistic approach to creating sustainable and inclusive programs.” 

–Nicholas K. Akins, Board Chair.

Nominating & Corporate Governance Committee:

“We believe that a strong corporate governance program is the foundation for a sustainable company. Accordingly, we are committed to being a leader in sustainability practices and performance. We will drive this work with all stakeholders in mind and ensure we do so with integrity and care.”

–Thomas H. Harvey, Chair, Nominating & Corporate Governance Committee

The Nominating & Corporate Governance Committee oversees the Company’s Sustainability program, including practices and reporting related to environmental topics, governance practices and other corporate social responsibilities that are significant to our business and stakeholders.

Risk & Compliance Committee:

“Through its 165-year history, Fifth Third Bank has been a source of strength and stability for our economy. Our strong risk management foundation allows us to provide better solutions for our customers in all economic environments, while ensuring regulatory and operational excellence. We are continuously assessing and implementing solutions that will best protect our stakeholders.”

–Emerson L. Brumback, Chair, Risk & Compliance Committee

The Risk & Compliance Committee oversees risk management practices, including sustainability topics such as enterprise risk management, information security and data privacy.

Audit Committee:

“One of the primary purposes of the Audit Committee is oversight of Fifth Third’s policies, procedures and controls. This oversight helps foster accountability and transparency. Our practices enable Fifth Third to live our purpose and to achieve our ambition to be the one bank people most value and trust.” 

–Eileen A. Mallesch, Chair, Audit Committee

The Audit Committee oversees the integrity of our financial reporting and governance programs.

Finance Committee:

“A top priority for Fifth Third Bank is to generate and maintain sustainable value for all stakeholders. Through a collaborative, one bank approach, we consistently validate the soundness and inclusivity of our strategic financial planning processes.”

—Gary R. Heminger, Chair, Finance Committee

The Finance Committee exercises all the powers of the Board in management of business, properties and affairs during the intervals between meetings of the Board of Directors.

Human Capital & Compensation Committee:

“We believe an actively engaged workforce is one of our most valuable assets. Employees are the backbone and public face of Fifth Third Bank. Therefore, we focus not only on attracting top talent, but also on developing and retaining our employees. We do this by creating a respectful and inclusive culture where they can thrive and are encouraged to innovate and grow.” 

–Michael B. McCallister, Chair, Human Capital & Compensation Committee

The Human Capital & Compensation Committee oversees strategies and policies regarding compensation, talent management, and succession planning and other employment practices.

Technology Committee:

“It is vitally important that our customers feel confident that their financial and information assets are safe with Fifth Third Bank. We are continually innovating to create systems designed to assess, monitor, and enhance technology that can withstand current and future financial environments to give Fifth Third clients superior products along with the peace of mind they deserve.” 

–Jorge L. Benitez, Chair, Technology Committee

The Technology Committee oversees our technology, information security and data privacy strategies, which are critical to the interests of all stakeholders.

Continue reading the 2022 Sustainability Report at www.53.com/sustainabilityreport.