Month: August 2023

Originally published by QSR on qsrmagazine.com

By Danny Klein

It’s not hyperbole to say no restaurant group on record has grown as fast as Yum! Brands is currently. The Taco Bell, KFC, Pizza Hut, and Habit Burger owner opened roughly 8,700 locations in the past two years. That calculates to a store every two hours, across the globe, for 24 straight months, or 730 days. In fiscal 2022—its 25th as a public company—Yum! opened 4,560 gross new units, which topped a previous high mark it set a year earlier at 4,180.

As of the end of 2022, the company committed about $50 million to help fund more than 30 social impact programs in 11 countries.

Every employee is required to certify Yum!’s “Global Code of Conduct” as part of annual compliance training, which also covers anti-discrimination and harassment. Yum! tapped an independent, third-party-operated ethics hotline and online portal, known as The Speak Up Helpline, for employees to reach 24/7. It’s translated across nine different languages. 

In recent years, however, this wider movement to foster culture and talent at Yum! has been characterized by newly refined values, and an “EIB [equity, inclusion and belonging] mindset,” the company said.

Yum! struck several cross-sector partnerships, like Hispanic Promise, which is a national pledge to hire, promote, retain, and celebrate Hispanics in the workplaces; and the CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusions. As a member of OneTen Coalition, Yum! teams with other U.S. businesses to create career mobility and advancement opportunities for a million Black/African-America individuals over 10 years. In 2022, Yum! was among the organization’s highest-performing partners in terms of the number of new hires and promotions at its equity-owned restaurants and corporate offices, the company said.

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MELBOURNE, Australia, August 3, 2023 /3BL/ – Beca and Black & Veatch will expand their collaboration to deliver a greater breadth of sustainability and decarbonisation solutions in Australia and New Zealand.

The expanded agreement responds to a growing demand for infrastructure solutions that adapt to and mitigate against the impacts of climate change. The MoU covers collaboration on engineering and construction projects across areas including water and wastewater, renewable energy, hydrogen and ammonia production and export, mining and metal processing, data centres, power transmission and distribution, electric vehicle charging, and food and beverage facilities.

Decarbonisation is remarkably complex yet imperative to mitigate climate impacts. Achieving a net-zero energy future requires seamless and extensive integration of multiple technologies. With proper preparation, planning, and investment, progress can be achieved by utilities, energy producers, and other energy-intensive industrial and commercial organisations.

“Australia and New Zealand enjoy abundant energy transformation opportunities, and well-planned investments in sustainable infrastructure can have significant environmental and economic impacts,” said Narsingh Chaudhary, President, Asia Pacific and India, Black & Veatch. “Combining our global experience with Beca’s strong local presence and experience in the Australasia region, we look forward to accelerating this journey and taking on technically challenging engineering projects to realize the region’s decarbonisation ambitions and modernize its infrastructure.”

“For more than five years we have been working together on industry-shaping water projects across Australia and New Zealand, including leading water entities such as Melbourne Water, Yarra Valley Water, and Wellington City Council.,” said Clive Rundle, Group Director – Utilities, Beca. “We have forged a strong, collaborative relationship, born out of two organisations with similar values and complementary capabilities. The expansion of our partnership with Black & Veatch beyond the water sector is a natural progression that provides clients across Australia and New Zealand with unique globally informed experiences needed to solve the challenges they are facing now and in the future.”

The extended Beca and Black & Veatch MoU aligns with the commitments of Australia and New Zealand to hasten their energy transformation by navigating the opportunities and difficulties that the transition to net zero will provide for both countries’ economies and identifying potential areas of cooperation.

A strong shared culture is behind the success of the Beca and Black & Veatch collaboration. Both companies are employee-owned—a business model that has been delivering success for more than a century for each organisation. Among their shared priorities are the commitment to safely delivering and managing critical infrastructure, sustainability, and responsible corporate stewardship.

Contact Black & Veatch for more information.

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Editor’s Notes: 

The previous MoU executed in 2019 between the two companies focused on water and wastewater projects in New Zealand.

About Black & Veatch 

Black & Veatch is a 100-percent employee-owned global engineering, procurement, consulting, and construction company with a more than 100-year track record of innovation in sustainable infrastructure. Since 1915, we have helped our clients improve the lives of people around the world by addressing the resilience and reliability of our most important infrastructure assets. Our revenues in 2022 were US$4.3 billion. Follow us on www.bv.com and on social media.

Media Contact, Black & Veatch:

EMILY CHIA | +65 6335 6623 P | +65 9875 8907 M | Chialp@bv.com

24-HOUR MEDIA EMAIL | Media@bv.com

About Beca

Beca is an employee-owned professional services firm that has been delivering community-shaping Engineering, Advisory and Management Consulting services across the Asia-Pacific Region for over 100 years. We have more than 4,000 people in 21 offices who are delivering projects in over 70 countries. We have had offices in Australia since 1969 and we’re proud to be supporting our customers across market segments including Minerals and Metals, Transport and Infrastructure, Energy, Water, Food and Life Sciences, Advanced Manufacturing, Health, and Defence.

Creative people together transforming our world is our vision. It reflects our culture, our aspirations and our purpose – to make everyday better. We create value through understanding and delivering successful solutions, exceptional service and our enduring relationships and use our skills and systems to empower innovation; helping our clients shape communities, optimise their assets and streamline their operations. Follow us on www.beca.com.

Media Contact, Beca:

REBECCA ADAM I +61 403 502 654 I rebecca.adam@beca.com

Project joins the company’s other three solar facilities in Northern Kentucky’s Kenton and Grant countiesMore than 5,600 solar panels designed to generate approximately 2 megawatts of clean electricity

CINCINNATI, August 3, 2023 /3BL/ – Duke Energy customers in Northern Kentucky are benefiting from additional clean, renewable solar energy as a result of a new utility-scale rooftop solar project now generating power for area homes and businesses.

Kentucky’s largest rooftop solar array operates over 5,600 photovoltaic panels on the 800,000-square-foot Amazon Air Hub rooftop adjacent to the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport. This Duke Energy facility will feed up to 2 megawatts of solar power directly onto the electric distribution grid, energizing approximately 400 homes and businesses in the area.

“Duke Energy Kentucky has gained a great deal of experience in owning and operating ground-mounted solar since 2017,” said Amy Spiller, president, Duke Energy Ohio and Kentucky. “Located in one of the fastest-growing counties in the Commonwealth, this new rooftop solar site will complement our emerging solar portfolio in the Bluegrass State.”

Duke Energy Kentucky is making cost-effective incremental additions to its existing electric generation to support growth across the region and ensure Northern Kentucky customers benefit from clean, affordable and reliable energy for many years to come. Among many benefits, the rooftop solar project aligns with Duke Energy’s companywide goal to achieve net-zero carbon emissions and provide a cleaner and smarter energy future for customers and communities.

This new solar project is a joint partnership between Amazon and Duke Energy, aligning with both companies’ renewable energy goals. The location on Amazon’s Air Hub is ideal for many reasons, including a substantial and accessible flat roof, which receives optimal sunlight, and it is near the infrastructure needed to feed the solar energy onto the distribution grid, and then to nearby customers.

“Powering our operations with 100% renewable energy is an important part of Amazon’s commitment to reach net zero by 2040, and we built Amazon’s Air Hub – the largest field operation in Amazon’s history – with sustainability in mind,” said Chris Roe, Amazon director of energy and sustainable operations. “We’re excited to host this solar project on our rooftop in collaboration with Duke Energy, and help provide a new source of clean electricity to the local community.”

Duke Energy Kentucky’s other solar sites in Grant and Kenton counties

Walton Solar Power Plants 1 & 2 are located on a 60-acre property on York Road in Kenton County. Duke Energy operates about 19,000 solar panels at the site, which are capable of producing more than 4 megawatts of electricity.

Crittenden Solar Power Plant is located off I-75 in Grant County on portions of a 110-acre site on Ruark Road. This solar array includes about 12,500 panels, and is able to generate more than 2.7 megawatts of electricity.

Duke Energy Ohio/Kentucky

Duke Energy Ohio/Kentucky, a subsidiary of Duke Energy, provides electric service to 900,000 residential, commercial and industrial customers in a 3,000-square-mile service area, and natural gas service to 550,000 customers in a 2,650-square-mile service area, in Ohio and Kentucky.

Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK), a Fortune 150 company headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., is one of America’s largest energy holding companies. Its electric utilities serve 8.2 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky, and collectively own 50,000 megawatts of energy capacity. Its natural gas unit serves 1.6 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Ohio and Kentucky. The company employs 27,600 people.

Duke Energy is executing an aggressive clean energy transition to achieve its goals of net-zero methane emissions from its natural gas business by 2030 and net-zero carbon emissions from electricity generation by 2050. The company has interim carbon emission targets of at least 50% reduction from electric generation by 2030, 50% for Scope 2 and certain Scope 3 upstream and downstream emissions by 2035, and 80% from electric generation by 2040. In addition, the company is investing in major electric grid enhancements and energy storage, and exploring zero-emission power generation technologies such as hydrogen and advanced nuclear.

Duke Energy was named to Fortune’s 2023 “World’s Most Admired Companies” list and Forbes’ “World’s Best Employers” list. More information is available at duke-energy.com. The Duke Energy News Center contains news releases, fact sheets, photos and videos. Duke Energy’s illumination features stories about people, innovations, community topics and environmental issues. Follow Duke Energy on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook.

Media contact: Sally Thelen 
Phone: 513.287.2432 | 24-Hour: 800.559.3853 
Twitter: @DE_SallyT

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Originally published by CAREERS & the disABLED

Bird & MacDonald Advocate for Inclusion at Boston Scientific

HAVING DEVOTED HER ENTIRE CAREER TO DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION (DEI) WORK, SHANI BIRD HAS LED DEI EFFORTS AT MARLBOROUGH, MA-HEADQUARTERED BOSTON SCIENTIFIC SINCE 2018. IN HER CAPACITY AS DIRECTOR OF DEI, BIRD STRIVES TO ENSURE THAT BOSTON SCIENTIFIC IS A PLACE WHERE THE BEST TALENT — REGARDLESS OF BACKGROUND OR ABILITY — CAN THRIVE.

“I help develop scalable solutions to embed DEI interventions across the employee lifecycle and provide strategic consulting to partners around the globe,” Bird explains, while also acknowledging the broader impact that her actions at Boston Scientific have beyond the workforce. “We’re working to dismantle or unwind centuries-old systemic issues and helping people see beyond themselves.”

When it comes to focusing those efforts in the workforce, Bird is keenly aware of the challenges and work specifically pertaining to hiring and retaining individuals with disabilities. “We know that individuals with disabilities are an underutilized talent pool with regard to their skillsets. There is so much talent to unlock there and we’re working towards doing that,” Bird offers. “For a solutions-driven company like Boston Scientific, it’s imperative to create a rich tapestry of talent that brings a diversity of experiences and perspectives to the table. It’s not only the right thing to do — it’s the necessary thing to do.”

Jacqueline “Jackie” MacDonald, a quality systems engineer, has experienced firsthand the efforts Boston Scientific has made and is making toward fostering a workplace culture of inclusion and belonging for its employees working with disabilities. Diagnosed with a rare disease called X-linked hypophosphatemia (XLH), MacDonald lives with chronic bone pain and shorter stature, which forced her to work with her employer to provide certain accommodations in the workplace, even when it felt like an uncomfortable subject to broach.

“There was a time when I wanted to hide my disease as best I could because I didn’t want to be treated differently. Since I’ve been more comfortable talking about my disease over the past few years, I feel that my openness has actually opened doors,” she explains, noting the accommodations that Boston Scientific has provided for herself and other employees working with disabilities — from a flexible, hybrid schedule to adding push buttons to bathrooms for handicap access and providing grabbers in the cafeteria which allow her to grab drinks from a higher shelf by herself.

Learn about Marlborough, MA-headquartered Boston Scientific. Connect on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram, and Glassdoor. Explore careers at bostonscientific.com/en-US/careers.html.

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