Month: September 2023

By Doug Segrest

Dr. Jeffrey Nix first met Mike Slive the conventional way, as physician and patient.

Now Nix is ensuring that Slive’s vision remains intact as a member of the Mike Slive Foundation board of directors.

“There are very few men who wielded the power and influence Mike had and still remain the same person,” Nix said. “Sometimes, there’s a tradeoff, but there never was with Mike. He could come in and, with his presence, command a room. But he always remained approachable, and he was easy to become friends with.”

Slive, the longtime SEC Commissioner and one of the most powerful forces in college athletics during his tenure, passed away in 2018 from complications due to his lengthy battle with prostate cancer.

Five years later, his mission to fund research for prostate cancer and educate men on how best to fight the disease continues on with a new generation. And, once again, Regions Bank is helping play a role.

Throughout September, Regions is supporting The Mike Slive Foundation’s fight against prostate cancer – and helping save lives by funding innovative research. Through Sept. 30, $1 will be donated to the Mike Slive Foundation for every new qualifying consumer Regions Online or Mobile Banking, Bill Pay, Zelle® and External Transfer transaction.You can find more details on regions.com.

Nix, the Joe Chamblis endowed professor for prostate cancer reasarch and innovation, and the Director of Robotic Surgery at UAB, said the Mike Slive Foundation is unique because of its founder.

“The Foundation has been pretty remarkable,” Nix said. “Most cancer startups, in terms of research funding, take years before they become well-enough established to start the process of grant funding. Yet the Slive Foundation started grant funding within the first year, which is amazing.”

In addition, Slive’s connection throughout the sports world ensured another facet of his vision – education – would be a factor from the start.

Events like Block Cancer feature 30 college basketball games in 28 cities, providing free cancer screenings and opportunities to learn about combatting the disease. For the past two years at the Regions Tradition, a major event on the PGA TOUR Champions schedule, fans of Hall of Fame golfers also had the chance to get free screenings. In a matter of minutes.

Cure rates are really high when detected early. You want to get screening and detection early so we have options.

Jeffrey Nix, member of the Mike Slive Foundation board of directors

The field of prostate cancer research has seen numerous breakthroughs over the last few years. Certainly, research funded by the Mike Slive Foundation and others has played a significant role.

But the best prevention remains the standard: early screening.

“Cure rates are really high when detected early,” Nix said. “You want to get screening and detection early so we have options. But at the same time we need more research for prostate cancer at advanced stages so we don’t have to continue to lose family members like Mike..”

The Mike Slive Foundation also fills a void in an area of the country that has some of the highest incidences of prostate cancer, but also lacks access to screening and treatment.

“When we started, we knew there was a regional void in the Southeast in terms of research,” Nix said. “And there are higher instances of prostate cancer here. But just a few hours from where we are in Birmingham (Alabama), access to healthcare is dramatically different.”

By making screening and treatment more accessible, and by funding research to find a cure, the Mike Slive Foundation is following its founder vision.

“Mike knew this was a big space, with room for improvement,” Nix said. “And, each day, we are seeing improvement and better results.”

But many of the hangups remain entrenched.

Most cancer startups, in terms of research funding, take years before they become well-enough established to start the process of grant funding. Yet the Slive Foundation started grant funding within the first year, which is amazing.

Jeffrey Nix

“When you get a cancer diagnosis, it’s hard to get men to talk about it or to feel good about it. Our relationship between sports and men’s health is an obvious way to reach men.

“We’ve seen a myriad of breakthroughs, but the reality is that research takes money. That remains a major focus. So, too, education and screening because cure rates are really high when we diagnose men early.”

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Originally posted on GFANZ on September 19, 2023

The Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ) Secretariat today launched a consultation on its work to further refine the definitions of its transition finance strategies and support financial institutions to forecast the impact of these strategies on reducing emissions.

In 2022, GFANZ identified four strategies necessary for financing a whole economy transition to net zero, which collectively comprise “Transition Finance.” These are defined as financing or enabling:

The development and scaling of climate solutions;Assets or companies already aligned to a 1.5 degrees Celsius pathway;Assets or companies committed to transitioning in line with 1.5 degrees C-aligned pathways; andThe accelerated managed phaseout of high-emitting physical assets.

Achieving a whole economy transition will require common definitions of transition finance across the four strategies and common methodologies for measuring their impact on emissions. Creating consistent definitions that are applicable across markets and sectors will help to scale transition finance to ensure real-economy decarbonization, help financial institutions independently identify their risk exposure and the investment opportunity ahead. They can also serve as safeguards to verify that the reduction of emissions in their portfolios corresponds to actual emissions reductions in the real world, rather than being achieved solely through divestment from high-emitting assets.

The consultation paper issued today seeks market feedback on a principles-based approach to segment portfolios by the four key strategies and highlights potential approaches to estimate associated decarbonization contribution impact, drawing on existing methodologies and concepts. The principles outlined in the consultation document are designed to be voluntary, pan-sector and globally applicable. They build on previous GFANZ publications, existing practices, transition finance frameworks, and potential decarbonization contribution methodologies.

The work also highlights the importance of real-economy transition plans, part of a suite of attributes, for entities, assets, and activities to be considered transition finance by the financial sector. For example, proposed attributes for aligning entities may encompass a net zero by 2050 commitment, the presence of a transparent net-zero transition plan and the inclusion of low-carbon capex plans.

To provide further clarity around transition finance activities, this consultation proposes emerging technical approaches for measuring the decarbonization contribution of transition finance activities. It also introduces the concept of Expected Emissions Reductions (EER). This concept is applicable across the four key financing strategies but employs distinct approaches for each, allowing financial institutions to quantify the “emissions return” of their transition finance activities more effectively.

The public consultation begins today and will run for six-weeks until November 2, 2023. Feedback from all stakeholders will be considered and can be provided here. The final report will be published by COP28.

Michael R. Bloomberg, GFANZ Co-Chair and UN Special Envoy on Climate Ambition and Solutions: “GFANZ is working with the financial sector to tackle climate change and helping financial institutions to make their net-zero transition plans a reality. But more needs to be done to ensure that their impact is measured accurately, and today’s consultation aims to do that. The more the market has accurate and transparent data, the more capital will flow to climate projects, reducing emissions, improving public health, and growing the economy.”

Mark Carney, GFANZ Co-Chair and UN Special Envoy on Climate Action and Finance: “To achieve the largest and most rapid reduction in emissions possible, transition finance must be mobilized – urgently and at scale. Trillions of dollars are required to bring emissions down and private finance will need to play a central role. We need to be able to track impact by measuring the expected decarbonization contribution of financing. This consultation links decarbonization contribution methodologies to the GFANZ financing strategies as a proposed approach to measuring the impact of transition finance over time. We strongly encourage all stakeholders to take part in the consultation.”

Mary Schapiro, GFANZ Vice Chair: “Transforming the global economy to achieve net zero is the biggest challenge facing this generation. To move forward, we must apply more rigor to how we finance the transition and how that investment is truly driving decarbonization over time – but we must do this thoughtfully and in broad consultation. We encourage everyone who is committed to the net-zero transition to provide feedback and we welcome insights from the public and private sectors, civil society and academia to help us address the really difficult issues that are part of the net-zero transition.”

About GFANZ

The Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ) is a global coalition of financial sector net-zero alliances working together to support the world’s transition to net-zero emissions by 2050. Through the net-zero alliances, GFANZ has united over 650 institutions across the financial sector, including banks, insurers, asset owners, asset managers, financial service providers, and investment consultants, spanning 50 countries and representing 40% of global private financial assets. To help unlock transition investment in developing economies, GFANZ regional networks work to support capital mobilization, expand participation, and reflect the diverse needs of financial institutions around the world.

Media Contacts
press@gfanzero.com

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The world’s leading conference on brand transformation, SB’23 San Diego, convenes in Southern California this October 16-19. Join the 3BL community and 1,200+ sustainability and brand leaders, 200+ speakers, and 50+ exhibiting brands who see environmental and social innovation as a critical driver to long term business success.

As a valued member of the 3BL community, we have an exclusive offer just for you. Use code “ptr3BL15” to unlock a 15% discount on any pass type.

But that’s not all! After a day of insightful discussions and networking, unwind and connect at 3BL’s Sundowners & S’mores event. Join us Wednesday night for an evening of live music, street tacos, tropical s’mores, and your favorite libation.

We hope to see you there! 

Please contact events@sustainablebrands.com for more info.

Register Here

September 29, 2023 /3BL/ – The Inogen Alliance Global Water Working Group is hosting a webinar on the topic of Flood Risk and Climate Resilience relating to ESG on 19 October.

Please Register Here!

 

This webinar will focus on the topics risk assessment models for flood and climate change as it relates to ESG with the shift from voluntary to mandatory climate reporting. Flood Risk & Climate Change fall within the E of ESG and is part of a series of Physical Risks. We will explore innovative practices and tools in modeling, predicting and planning for flooding events with examples from Germany. We will also look at some of the main drivers for ESG and climate reporting and available tools and software with our presenter from the UK. Finally we will explore enhancing ESG strategies with building in flood risk and climate resilience in New Zealand. 

Drawing from our expertise, Inogen Alliance can provide assistance in establishing a comprehensive understanding, strategy and planning when it comes to climate risks such as flooding and how to integrate this into your ESG strategies.

19th October at 7:30 CET London / 8:30 CEST Milan / 14:30 SGT Singapore / 16:30 AEST Australia / 19:30 NZDT New Zealand / 2:30 EDT New York (convert to your own time zone here)

Presenters include:

Peter Struck, HPC Germany, Head of Department Remediation and Geotechnical ProjectsUwe Range, HPC Germany, Geographic Modeling LeadAlex Perryman, Delta-Simons, UK, Associate Director Water ServicesJon Rix, Tonkin + Taylor, New Zealand, Climate & Hazard Resilience Sector LeadModerator: Beatrice Bizzaro, HPC Italy, Global Water Working Group Leader

 

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