Month: January 2024

The tech world is increasingly looking to leverage technology in ways that enhance environmental, social, and governance (ESG) programs. Equally, they are identifying how to ensure that technology is developed in sustainable, equitable, and accessible ways.

Here are some predictions from Keysight executives on how the technology world will consider ESG in 2024.

Environment

AI and the sustainability quandary – Gareth Smith, GM Software Test Automation

There has been significant hype around how AI systems will transform our lives, but little attention has focused on the compute power required. In 2024, AI’s impact on sustainability will enter the spotlight, and organizations will start to monitor the carbon footprint of their entire technology infrastructure as they strive to meet net-zero targets. As a result, companies will need to decide where and how to judiciously use AI rather than thinking it can be deployed everywhere. And when it comes to testing software and applications, businesses will also have to pivot from testing everything to predicting the tests that matter most to reduce the environmental impact.

Energy consumption and the need for more energy alternatives drive technology decisions – Mark Pierpoint, VP of Strategic Innovation and Partnerships

Technology decisions, rather than solely evaluating performance and cost, will increasingly take into account sustainability. Energy efficiency will be a C-suite imperative influencing every decision in order to achieve environmental goals.

To support the shift to more renewable energy, the grid will increasingly need to add storage to enable utility companies to manage the peaks and troughs of demand efficiently. Additionally, before the end of the decade, there needs to be a widespread acceptance that nuclear energy is a critical component required to meet Net Zero goals.

The wireless drive to net zero – Sara LaSelva, Director of 6G

With sustainability concerns growing around wireless networks, AI will play a pivotal role in helping reduce the environmental impact of 6G. For example, the technology can determine how to optimize power consumption by turning on and off components based on real-time operating conditions.

As 6G networks roll out and more devices and machines become wirelessly connected, it will create an opportunity to optimize operations and reduce carbon footprints. For example, 6G will help autonomous vehicles become more advanced, which will reduce traffic and some of the waste and inefficiencies associated with human-led driving. In farming, IoT devices connected to 6G will monitor soil conditions and help optimize water and fertilizer use. Once 6G becomes ubiquitous, it will usher in a new era of sustainability-driven operations.

The industry will look to standardize sustainability measurements in 2024, including measuring the total carbon footprint of a wireless network. This will help avoid greenwashing claims and accelerate the drive to net zero.

Social

AI & Digital Twins: Changing the face of healthcare – Marie Hattar, SVP and CMO

Digital twins are increasingly ubiquitous, and now, with AI-infused, they are creating a new reality in healthcare. The technology will significantly reduce the pressure on the system and provide individuals with more options, helping improve the quality of life. AI-powered digital twins will usher in a new era of caring for an aging population, allowing people to live independently for longer. AI will play a pivotal role in the early diagnosis of potential health issues. For example, full-body MRIs will tap into AI’s ability to identify, predict, and analyze data patterns to help diagnose disease long before it’s visible to the human eye. In addition, AI will take on a more prominent role in assisting medical staff to understand and interpret findings and provide treatment and care recommendations.

Emerging sectors of the cloud industry becoming significant in 2024 – Dan Krantz, CIO

As traditional cloud capabilities mature, I predict the emergence of Cloud High Performance Computing (HPC) in the next 12-18 months. Current HPC workloads typically utilize on-premise supercomputing infrastructure, but the cloud providers will bring to the HPC market supercomputing capabilities wrapped in cloud-native characteristics of elasticity, programmable automation, and metered usage, democratizing the most compute-intensive scientific and engineering workloads.

Inclusive Innovation: Quantum community champions gender equality – Dr. Philip Krantz, Quantum Engineering Solutions

Quantum has the potential to become the first technology sector to achieve gender equality. This will result from an ongoing concerted effort to attract women and ensure a diverse workforce is the norm rather than the exception.

Governance

Regulation on the radar – Sara LaSelva, Director of 6G

In 2024, regulation will be on the agenda as the industry looks to provide a framework so that the entire ecosystem, including companies, operators, and countries, can work in unison. Due to the complexity involved, particularly at the geopolitical level, this will take several years to resolve.

Regulation needs to be deep and wide – Gareth Smith, GM Software Test Automation

There is universal acceptance of the need to regulate AI. However, what the regulation should encompass will be subject to much debate due to the breadth and complexity of the technology involved. It will take a seismic event with significant negative consequences before the necessary funding is available. Only then will clear standards and best practices come into effect. If regulation doesn’t happen in the near future, it increases the risk that it will no longer be possible to rein AI in.

International Harmonization of IoT Cyber Regulations – Scott Register, VP of Cybersecurity Solutions

There are numerous country-wide regulations to improve IoT cybersecurity, including the Cyber Trust Mark in the US, the ETSI EN 303 645 standard in Europe, and a labeling program in Singapore. In 2024, there will be more harmonization of the legislation to avoid manufacturers having to grapple with a multitude of requirements, which slows production and drives up costs. However, a global standard will remain elusive for now.

Technology equity, accessibility, and sustainability for global good

Technology has the potential to transform the way we interact with the world. Because of this, Keysight’s executive leadership has taken deliberate and actionable steps to ensure that ESG is embedded into the culture and steers the decisions made at every level. In 2024, we will see a more concerted, collective effort to ensure that technology drives benefits for all well into the future.

January 29, 2024 /3BL/ – Businesses with major operations in Virginia today called for state lawmakers to pass the Savings Achieved Via Efficiency (SAVE) Act (HB 746 / SB 565), to ensure the Commonwealth’s utilities achieve robust energy efficiency targets and to align its efficiency standards with industry best practices.

Akamai Technologies, eBay, Holcim, IKEA Retail U.S., and Worthen Industries sent a letter to the General Assembly to support the legislation, stressing that energy efficiency yields cost-savings for ratepayers, improves the resiliency of the electric grid, and brings economic and anti-pollution benefits to the whole state.

“Our businesses have made substantial investments associated with our commitment to a clean energy economy in Virginia, and we think the SAVE Act is an important step the state can take to ensure the continued growth of the clean energy economy in Virginia,” the letter says. “The continued cost-savings associated with energy efficiency will allow businesses to make further investments in Virginia through expanded operations, additional sustainability commitments, and more.”

The SAVE Act would establish new efficiency targets for Dominion Energy and Appalachian Power for 2026-2028 and a new process to update those standards every three years. The state’s current standards, included in the Virginia Clean Economy Act of 2020, expire in 2025.

“As a manufacturing company, Worthen Industries has long realized the value and benefits of energy efficiency for our business and the economy as a whole,” said Eric Worthen, president and CEO, Worthen Industries. “Virginia has made a great deal of progress in encouraging and enabling a cleaner, more efficient economy in recent years, and we strongly support the SAVE Act to ensure the Commonwealth continues to experience the benefits.”

“At eBay, we know that reducing energy waste is good for the climate and the bottom line,” said Renée Morin, chief sustainability officer, eBay. We encourage the Virginia General Assembly to pass the SAVE Act to make further progress in efficiency, so that the Commonwealth can continue building a more sustainable and competitive economy.”

The letter released today was organized by Ceres, a sustainability nonprofit that works with companies and investors to advance sustainability practices and policies, and which helped organize corporate support in 2020 for the Virginia Clean Economy Act. Businesses support strong climate and clean energy policy both to mitigate the significant financial threats of the climate crisis and to grow the economy by investing in solutions.

“Robust energy efficiency standards are a crucial foundation for a clean economy and reduce costs for all ratepayers,” said Alli Gold Roberts, senior director of state policy, Ceres. “The SAVE Act will strengthen that foundation, create policy certainty, and ensure Virginia remains an attractive place for companies to invest.”

About Ceres

Ceres is a nonprofit organization working with the most influential capital market leaders to solve the world’s greatest sustainability challenges. Through our powerful networks and global collaborations of investors, companies and nonprofits, we drive action and inspire equitable market-based and policy solutions throughout the economy to build a just and sustainable future. For more information, visit ceres.org and follow @CeresNews.

Media Contact: Helen Booth-Tobin, booth-tobin@ceres.org, 617-247-0700 ext. 214

Las Vegas Sands

Sands Team Members around the world collectively assembled 57,000 hygiene kits from October through December as part of the 2023 Sands Cares Global Hygiene Kit Build, which supports Clean the World’s mission of providing hygiene supplies to people affected by hardship, disasters and personal crises.

Nearly 900 Sands Team Members and community volunteers assembled kits containing soap that had been recycled by Clean the World after collection from Sands’ resorts and other hospitality partners, along with shampoo, conditioner, dental care items and inspirational messages handwritten by Sands Team Members.

Sands has hosted the annual kit build since 2014 with Team Members creating nearly 1 million hygiene kits for Clean the World.

We continue to be awed by the incredible passion of Sands Team Members around the world for the annual Sands Cares Global Hygiene Kit Build,” Shawn Seipler, founder and CEO of Clean the World Global and chairman of the board of the WASH Foundation, said. “Sands’ global events are one of our longest-standing kit-build initiatives, and the thousands of resulting hygiene supplies have helped us provide critical support to organizations that are saving lives and restoring health and hope on the front lines. We extend our deep appreciation to everyone who joined the build – these efforts make a tremendous impact.”

The 2023 Sands Cares Global Hygiene Kit Build kicked off at Marina Bay Sands in Singapore on October 25, with 600 Team Members assembling 27,200 hygiene kits in one day. Clean the World distributed a portion of the kits to Children International in the Philippines, and Marina Bay Sands provided kits to the Singapore Red Cross, The Food Bank Singapore and local nursing homes.

More than 70 corporate Team Members in Las Vegas assembled 2,600 hygiene kits over four days in late October for distribution to Nevada Partnership for Homeless Youth and Clean the World’s Fresh Start mobile shower units for people facing homelessness in the region.

Kit builds culminated on December 1 in Macao, where nearly 200 Sands China Team Members and local community volunteers assembled 27,200 kits that are being distributed to Children International to aid families in need and people facing natural disasters and other crises.

“The annual Sands Cares Global Hygiene Kit Build with Clean the World is an essential and beloved part of our annual volunteerism calendar,” said Ron Reese, senior vice president of global communications and corporate affairs, who oversees corporate responsibility initiatives and the global Sands Cares program. “This event represents the essence of what we aim to achieve through Sands Cares – providing community service work to address the hardships in our communities. We value our Team Members’ contributions to Clean the World and the needs of their communities and appreciate their continued excitement and dedication year after year.”

The 2023 Sands Cares Global Hygiene Kit Build with Clean the World addresses Sands Cares’ priorities on providing hardship relief and supporting disaster response and preparedness efforts. The kit builds are Sands’ longest-standing global Sands Cares initiative, which also includes the Sands Cares Accelerator, a program launched in 2017 to help advance nonprofit organizations for greater community impact, and the Sands Cares Global Food Kit Build launched in 2022.

Together, these programs unify Sands’ properties around the world in addressing the company’s core community priorities: hardship relief, disaster response and preparedness, education, local business and partner development, and preservation of the cultural and natural heritage of the company’s host regions.

To learn more about Sands’ focus on ensuring its regions remain great places to live, work and visit, read the latest environmental, social and governance report: https://www.sands.com/2022-environmental-social-and-governance-report/

KeyBank and the KeyBank Foundation announced an investment of $150,000 in South Bend’s Center for the Homeless, aimed at bolstering its brand new NEXT (Neighbors Excelling as Tenants) Program.

The NEXT program has been uniquely developed to help engage individuals who are living at the Center for the Homeless and are preparing to move out or who have recently moved into apartments or other housing. The 16-class curriculum is specifically designed to help educate this population on every aspect of finding and maintaining safe and permanent housing for themselves and their families. Most importantly, by creating good tenant practices will lead to creating good neighbors for community now and for the future. It’s expected that 40 individuals will go through the program each year.

“For more than three decades, the Center for the Homeless has helped improve the lives of thousands of people across the greater South Bend area and is a major advocate for systemic change,” said Bhumika Norris, KeyBank’s Northern Indiana Market President. “We are thrilled to support the Center and its new NEXT program to promote safe, quality and affordable housing for the individuals and families they serve. The work their staff is doing to ensure our most vulnerable neighbors can achieve their goals and dreams is truly invaluable. Most importantly, creating good tenant practices will lead to creating good neighbors for our community now and for the future.”

“We are so grateful to KeyBank for their steadfast support and for investing in the guests at CFH with their sponsorship of the NEXT initiative that will impact so many lives,” said Steve Camilleri, Center for the Homeless Executive Director.

The Center for the Homeless is the South Bend area’s largest residential facility for individuals and families experiencing homelessness. To date, the Center has served over 65,000 people and continues to serve as a place of hope and opportunity for the up to 200 people a night including children who walk through the front doors looking for safe shelter and a warm meal.

KeyBank has supported the Center for the Homeless since 1998.

Since 2017, Key has made community investments totaling more than $105 million in Northern Indiana which supports low to moderate income individuals and neighborhoods through lending for affordable housing, small businesses, mortgage and transformative philanthropy.

ABOUT KEYCORP

KeyCorp’s roots trace back nearly 200 years to Albany, New York. Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, Key is one of the nation’s largest bank-based financial services companies, with assets of approximately $188 billion at December 31, 2023.

Key provides deposit, lending, cash management, and investment services to individuals and businesses in 15 states under the name KeyBank National Association through a network of approximately 1,000 branches and approximately 1,200 ATMs. Key also provides a broad range of sophisticated corporate and investment banking products, such as merger and acquisition advice, public and private debt and equity, syndications and derivatives to middle market companies in selected industries throughout the United States under the KeyBanc Capital Markets trade name. For more information, visit https://www.key.com/. KeyBank is Member FDIC.

ABOUT CENTER FOR THE HOMELESS

The Center for the Homeless is the South Bend area’s largest residential facility for individuals and families experiencing homelessness. To date, the Center has served over 65,000 people and continues to serve as a place of hope and opportunity for the up to 200 people a night including children who walk through the front doors looking for safe shelter and a warm meal.

International Olympic Committee news

Twelve athletes from seven African countries, all recipients of Olympic Solidarity Scholarships for Paris 2024, were welcomed at Olympic House and the Olympic Museum during a two-day visit to Lausanne. Five of them, who took part in the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 and Rio 2016, were invited to sign the Olympians Wall in the presence of IOC President Thomas Bach.

Competing in athletics, boxing, judo and swimming, the visiting athletes are all currently training at the Centre Régional Jeunesse et Sports (CRJS) Petit-Couronne (France) with a view to qualifying for Paris 2024, thanks to their selection by their respective National Olympic Committees (NOCs) for an Olympic Solidarity scholarship. The training programme, hosted at an elite-level facility approximately two hours northwest of Paris, is the result of a partnership between Olympic Solidarity and the French National Olympic Committee (CNOSF).

During their stay in Lausanne, the athletes were given the chance to immerse themselves in the Olympic values, history and culture, with various workshops at Olympic House and a visit to the Olympic Museum.

The group included five Olympians, who were invited to sign the Olympians Wall at Olympic House. Four of these athletes competed at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020: judokas Housni Thaoubani (COM) and Ismael Alhassane (NIG), plus sprinters Seco Camara (GBS) and Natacha Ngoye Akamabi (CGO), who was a flagbearer at the Opening Ceremony. Judoka Andrew Mlugu (TAN) competed at the Olympic Games Rio 2016, and was also a flagbearer at the Opening Ceremony.

An elite-level facility to help fulfil Olympic dreams

The CRJS has played host to scholarship-holders from around the world since 2010, providing an elite-level training facility to help them fulfil their Olympic dreams, while also allowing the centre’s young French students, aged 12 to 18, to engage with athletes from different backgrounds and cultures.

Thanks to the infrastructure and facilities available at the centre, I was able to significantly improve my level. This led me to win a silver medal at the African Open in Dakar, Senegal, last year.

Andrew Mlugu (TAN)
Olympian, Rio 2016

Seven other athletes training at the facility took part in the visit, including swimmer Salima Youssoufou Ahmadou (NIG), who competed at the Youth Olympic Games Buenos Aires 2018, as well as judokas Abdoulaye Millimono (GUI), Jason Patrick Zacko Ngawili (CAF) and Resquain Graig Logan Mongondo (CAF), boxer Moussa Sahabi Gado (NIG) and swimmer Fode Amara Camara (GUI).

It would be such an honour to represent my country at the Olympic Games. Training in France has allowed me not only to improve my performance but also to meet athletes from other horizons and learn a lot about society.

Salima Youssoufou Ahmadou
Nigeria

Scholarship-holders reaching and succeeding at the Games

Olympic Solidarity has delivered great success over the years, helping athletes who otherwise might not have been able to progress their sporting careers. At Tokyo 2020, 827 Olympic scholarship-holders qualified and took part in the Games, winning a total of 30 gold, 26 silver and 47 bronze medals between them.

For Paris 2024, nearly 1,300 individual scholarships have already been awarded to athletes from 145 NOCs.

NOCs with larger delegations can also benefit from Olympic Scholarships for their athletes via a “tailor-made” option, which provides additional flexibility in the use of the support. Some 36 additional NOCs are already benefitting from this option for Paris 2024, with over 50 having used the option for Tokyo 2020.

Giving athletes an equal chance

Olympic Solidarity aims to ensure that talented athletes of all backgrounds have an equal chance of reaching and succeeding in the Olympic arena by providing crucial funding to help finance their Olympic dreams. With a particular focus on athletes and NOCs most in need, individual scholarship-holders receive financial support through monthly grants that contribute to their preparation and qualification for the Games, whether in their home country or at a high-level training centre.