BETHESDA, Md., Jan. 15, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Brave Healer Productions announces the release of 100 Poems and Possibilities for Healing, its first poetry collection, with more to come aimed at a group of some 22.4 million American adults who read poetry, based on figures released by the…
Month: January 2024
MANILA, Philippines, Jan. 15, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — A public health advocacy group based in the Philippines has criticized the latest report of the World Health Organization (WHO) on the use of electronic cigarettes, saying the global body undermines the significant progress made in public…
MANILA, Philippines, Jan. 15, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — A public health advocacy group based in the Philippines has criticized the latest report of the World Health Organization (WHO) on the use of electronic cigarettes, saying the global body undermines the significant progress made in public…
Sands has again been recognized by Newsweek as one of America’s Most Responsible Companies for 2024. The company ranked 259th out of 600 total companies on the list, the highest among integrated resort companies, and fifth among the 19 companies included in the Hotels, Dining & Leisure category.
“We deeply value this recognition as endorsement for our most recent accomplishments and ongoing work, which is indicative of our longstanding commitment to being a responsible company,” said Ron Reese, senior vice president of global communications and corporate affairs, who spearheads corporate responsibility initiatives for the company. “Our initiatives are centered around ensuring a people-centered culture with advancement opportunities for all, investing in and collaborating with our host regions to keep them strong, and continuing to advance environmental initiatives that drive ongoing progress in sustainability.”
Newsweek’s America’s Most Responsible Companies 2024 ranking focuses on a holistic view of corporate social responsibility that considers three pillars: environment, social and corporate governance. The media outlet’s partner for the ranking reviewed the top 2,000 public companies by revenue and based its analysis on two metrics: quantitative data from more than 30 key performance indicators for those three pillars and each company’s CSR reputation from an extensive survey of 17,000 U.S. residents that asked respondents to select companies familiar to them and evaluate their CSR performance generally and in ESG areas.
Sands’ environmental score of 87.47 out of 100 on America’s Most Responsible Companies 2024 was the company’s highest rating, demonstrating its leadership in environmental responsibility. Led by the Sands ECO360 global sustainability program, Sands’ environmental priorities are to address low-carbon transition, water stewardship, waste, plastic and packaging, responsible sourcing and biodiversity.
The company’s primary ambition under the Planet pillar of its corporate responsibility platform is to achieve a 17.5% reduction in carbon emissions by 2025. As of 2022, Sands had achieved a 50% reduction in carbon emissions from its 2018 baseline; however, the cumulative decrease reflected continued pandemic-related impact on property visitation. As business returns to more normal levels in 2023, Sands is continuing to aggressively pursue its low-carbon transition initiatives in the areas of energy efficiency, renewable energy and transportation, and will update on its progress in the 2023 ESG report scheduled for release in spring 2024.
The company also scored above 80 in the social category on Newsweek’s America’s Most Responsible Companies 2024 listing, reflecting its commitment to supporting people and making its local communities great places to live, work and visit. The global Sands Cares community engagement program leads Sands’ Community pillar and drives efforts to address hardship relief; promote educational opportunities, especially for underserved groups; advance local business and nonprofit partners; provide disaster relief and preparedness support; and preserve and protect the cultural heritage of the company’s host regions.
Under its Communities pillar, Sands set a target to contribute 150,000 Team Member volunteer hours by 2025 to accelerate impact in local regions. By the end of 2022, however, the company had surpassed this goal because of extensive Team Member support for pandemic-related initiatives in its communities, along with core Sands Cares volunteer efforts. While the new 2025 target will be announced in 2024, Sands Team Members continue to contribute thousands of hours to local nonprofits and community issues.
Under its People pillar, Sands aims to build the workforce of the future, through its priority on professional growth and advancement for Team Members as well as the local labor pool. The company also is dedicated to helping local businesses, especially small and medium enterprises, succeed. Other core People pillar priorities include advancing diversity, equity and inclusion; ensuring health, safety and well-being; and protecting fundamental human rights and freedoms for its Team Members, suppliers, partners and guests. Finally, responsible gaming and business practices are a cornerstone of the company’s efforts to safeguard its people.
Sands’ target ambition under the People pillar is to invest $200 million in workforce development by 2025. As of the end of 2022, Sands had invested $56 million in workforce development initiatives, bringing the company’s cumulative investment to $113 million since 2021, well past the halfway point. Sands will next update on its progress in the 2023 ESG Report published next spring.
To learn more about Sands’ ESG initiatives, read its latest ESG report here: https://www.sands.com/2022-environmental-social-and-governance-report/
Sands has again been recognized by Newsweek as one of America’s Most Responsible Companies for 2024. The company ranked 259th out of 600 total companies on the list, the highest among integrated resort companies, and fifth among the 19 companies included in the Hotels, Dining & Leisure category.
“We deeply value this recognition as endorsement for our most recent accomplishments and ongoing work, which is indicative of our longstanding commitment to being a responsible company,” said Ron Reese, senior vice president of global communications and corporate affairs, who spearheads corporate responsibility initiatives for the company. “Our initiatives are centered around ensuring a people-centered culture with advancement opportunities for all, investing in and collaborating with our host regions to keep them strong, and continuing to advance environmental initiatives that drive ongoing progress in sustainability.”
Newsweek’s America’s Most Responsible Companies 2024 ranking focuses on a holistic view of corporate social responsibility that considers three pillars: environment, social and corporate governance. The media outlet’s partner for the ranking reviewed the top 2,000 public companies by revenue and based its analysis on two metrics: quantitative data from more than 30 key performance indicators for those three pillars and each company’s CSR reputation from an extensive survey of 17,000 U.S. residents that asked respondents to select companies familiar to them and evaluate their CSR performance generally and in ESG areas.
Sands’ environmental score of 87.47 out of 100 on America’s Most Responsible Companies 2024 was the company’s highest rating, demonstrating its leadership in environmental responsibility. Led by the Sands ECO360 global sustainability program, Sands’ environmental priorities are to address low-carbon transition, water stewardship, waste, plastic and packaging, responsible sourcing and biodiversity.
The company’s primary ambition under the Planet pillar of its corporate responsibility platform is to achieve a 17.5% reduction in carbon emissions by 2025. As of 2022, Sands had achieved a 50% reduction in carbon emissions from its 2018 baseline; however, the cumulative decrease reflected continued pandemic-related impact on property visitation. As business returns to more normal levels in 2023, Sands is continuing to aggressively pursue its low-carbon transition initiatives in the areas of energy efficiency, renewable energy and transportation, and will update on its progress in the 2023 ESG report scheduled for release in spring 2024.
The company also scored above 80 in the social category on Newsweek’s America’s Most Responsible Companies 2024 listing, reflecting its commitment to supporting people and making its local communities great places to live, work and visit. The global Sands Cares community engagement program leads Sands’ Community pillar and drives efforts to address hardship relief; promote educational opportunities, especially for underserved groups; advance local business and nonprofit partners; provide disaster relief and preparedness support; and preserve and protect the cultural heritage of the company’s host regions.
Under its Communities pillar, Sands set a target to contribute 150,000 Team Member volunteer hours by 2025 to accelerate impact in local regions. By the end of 2022, however, the company had surpassed this goal because of extensive Team Member support for pandemic-related initiatives in its communities, along with core Sands Cares volunteer efforts. While the new 2025 target will be announced in 2024, Sands Team Members continue to contribute thousands of hours to local nonprofits and community issues.
Under its People pillar, Sands aims to build the workforce of the future, through its priority on professional growth and advancement for Team Members as well as the local labor pool. The company also is dedicated to helping local businesses, especially small and medium enterprises, succeed. Other core People pillar priorities include advancing diversity, equity and inclusion; ensuring health, safety and well-being; and protecting fundamental human rights and freedoms for its Team Members, suppliers, partners and guests. Finally, responsible gaming and business practices are a cornerstone of the company’s efforts to safeguard its people.
Sands’ target ambition under the People pillar is to invest $200 million in workforce development by 2025. As of the end of 2022, Sands had invested $56 million in workforce development initiatives, bringing the company’s cumulative investment to $113 million since 2021, well past the halfway point. Sands will next update on its progress in the 2023 ESG Report published next spring.
To learn more about Sands’ ESG initiatives, read its latest ESG report here: https://www.sands.com/2022-environmental-social-and-governance-report/
Last month in the United Arab Emirates, the global community gathered for the UN Climate Change Conference (COP28), resulting in an important agreement signed on commitments and actions that seek to mitigate climate change.
A team from GRI was on the ground in Dubai, making the case for organizations to be accountable for their impacts as enabled by sustainability reporting. That included Margherita Barbieri, who has written on Medium about the growing recognition that safeguards for the natural environment underpin efforts to address global temperature rises:
The crucial intersection of climate and biodiversity: a look back on COP28
As Margherita addresses, nature is much more than just a ‘mitigation tool’ in the climate change debate, with important steps reached during COP28:
Consensus on the urgency of more protections for biodiversity – from the oceans depths to the mountain topsLaunch of the Declaration on Sustainable Agriculture, Resilient Food Systems and Climate ActionThe role of nature and biodiversity reflected in the final COP28 Global Stocktake
Margherita Barbieri, Standards Manager, said:
The global temperature is racing towards an anomaly of +1.5 degrees too quickly and it is critical to rely on nature to slow down this dangerous escalation. In fact, it will not be possible to reach the Paris Agreement and keep temperatures below this threshold without the absorption of CO2 that comes from the ecosystem services provided by nature. With the ink barely dry on the COP28 declaration, we need to remember that safeguarding nature, with transparency achieved for the impacts of organizations around the world, is absolutely non-optional if we are to stand any chance of turning the commitments signed last month in the concrete jungle of Dubai into reality.
GRI is currently consulting on new Climate Change and Energy Standards, open for public comment until 28 February. A revised GRI Biodiversity Standard is set to launch in the coming weeks.
Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) is the independent, international organization that helps businesses and other organizations take responsibility for their impacts, by providing the global common language to report those impacts. The GRI Standards are the world’s most widely used sustainability reporting standards, which are developed through a multi-stakeholder process and provided as a free public good.
Last month in the United Arab Emirates, the global community gathered for the UN Climate Change Conference (COP28), resulting in an important agreement signed on commitments and actions that seek to mitigate climate change.
A team from GRI was on the ground in Dubai, making the case for organizations to be accountable for their impacts as enabled by sustainability reporting. That included Margherita Barbieri, who has written on Medium about the growing recognition that safeguards for the natural environment underpin efforts to address global temperature rises:
The crucial intersection of climate and biodiversity: a look back on COP28
As Margherita addresses, nature is much more than just a ‘mitigation tool’ in the climate change debate, with important steps reached during COP28:
Consensus on the urgency of more protections for biodiversity – from the oceans depths to the mountain topsLaunch of the Declaration on Sustainable Agriculture, Resilient Food Systems and Climate ActionThe role of nature and biodiversity reflected in the final COP28 Global Stocktake
Margherita Barbieri, Standards Manager, said:
The global temperature is racing towards an anomaly of +1.5 degrees too quickly and it is critical to rely on nature to slow down this dangerous escalation. In fact, it will not be possible to reach the Paris Agreement and keep temperatures below this threshold without the absorption of CO2 that comes from the ecosystem services provided by nature. With the ink barely dry on the COP28 declaration, we need to remember that safeguarding nature, with transparency achieved for the impacts of organizations around the world, is absolutely non-optional if we are to stand any chance of turning the commitments signed last month in the concrete jungle of Dubai into reality.
GRI is currently consulting on new Climate Change and Energy Standards, open for public comment until 28 February. A revised GRI Biodiversity Standard is set to launch in the coming weeks.
Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) is the independent, international organization that helps businesses and other organizations take responsibility for their impacts, by providing the global common language to report those impacts. The GRI Standards are the world’s most widely used sustainability reporting standards, which are developed through a multi-stakeholder process and provided as a free public good.
January 15, 2024 /3BL/ – GreenBiz 24 – the premier conference for sustainable business leaders seeking hands-on, tangible solutions – is taking place February 12-14, 2024 in Phoenix, AZ. Join this growing community to recharge and learn what’s next in decarbonization, biodiversity, supply chains, strategic communications and much more – so you can continue to accelerate your impact and your career.
As companies continue to set increasingly ambitious decarbonization targets in an unpredictable social, regulatory and economic climate. The stakes are higher than ever, and more than ever, sustainability professionals need to create meaningful connections with an unparalleled community to offer fresh perspectives and insights.
Dylan Siegler, Senior Vice President of Sustainability at GreenBiz Group, emphasizes that “GreenBiz is your annual reminder that we have the numbers, the might, the tools, and the mass market support to address the existential crisis we’re facing. It’s a thrill to bring together the change makers in business who are solving wicked, systemic problems, and to create the means for them to learn from each other’s approaches.”
This year’s program introduces a new perspective through seven program tracks — offering breakouts, roundtable discussions and keynote sessions focused on decarbonization, finance and ESG, regenerative nature, leading change and more. The program focuses on future-oriented content with cross-cutting themes of social impact, justice and DE&I.
GreenBiz 24 participants will gain access to unparalleled networking opportunities with more than 2,500 professionals, organized by topics to facilitate deeper, more meaningful connections with fellow sustainability trailblazers. GreenBiz 24 is not just an event – it is a platform to ignite collaboration and innovation, paving the way for a more just and sustainable future.
To participate in GreenBiz 24, register now using the code GB243BL at registration to receive 10% off the All-Access Pass: https://buff.ly/3Q18aXT
January 15, 2024 /3BL/ – GreenBiz 24 – the premier conference for sustainable business leaders seeking hands-on, tangible solutions – is taking place February 12-14, 2024 in Phoenix, AZ. Join this growing community to recharge and learn what’s next in decarbonization, biodiversity, supply chains, strategic communications and much more – so you can continue to accelerate your impact and your career.
As companies continue to set increasingly ambitious decarbonization targets in an unpredictable social, regulatory and economic climate. The stakes are higher than ever, and more than ever, sustainability professionals need to create meaningful connections with an unparalleled community to offer fresh perspectives and insights.
Dylan Siegler, Senior Vice President of Sustainability at GreenBiz Group, emphasizes that “GreenBiz is your annual reminder that we have the numbers, the might, the tools, and the mass market support to address the existential crisis we’re facing. It’s a thrill to bring together the change makers in business who are solving wicked, systemic problems, and to create the means for them to learn from each other’s approaches.”
This year’s program introduces a new perspective through seven program tracks — offering breakouts, roundtable discussions and keynote sessions focused on decarbonization, finance and ESG, regenerative nature, leading change and more. The program focuses on future-oriented content with cross-cutting themes of social impact, justice and DE&I.
GreenBiz 24 participants will gain access to unparalleled networking opportunities with more than 2,500 professionals, organized by topics to facilitate deeper, more meaningful connections with fellow sustainability trailblazers. GreenBiz 24 is not just an event – it is a platform to ignite collaboration and innovation, paving the way for a more just and sustainable future.
To participate in GreenBiz 24, register now using the code GB243BL at registration to receive 10% off the All-Access Pass: https://buff.ly/3Q18aXT
Diverse projects support land conservation, biodiversity of plant and animal species, environmental resiliency and community engagement
CHARLOTTE, N.C., January 15, 2024 /3BL/ – As North Carolina continues to grow and lead the clean energy transition, the Duke Energy Foundation will donate more than $500,000 in grants to support programs to strengthen local nonprofit organizations and advance environmental programs.
“We’re committed to playing a significant role in lifting up our communities and awarding grants to help local nonprofits across the state advance their environmental impact and community engagement,” said Kendal Bowman, Duke Energy’s North Carolina president. “Local communities are critical to North Carolina’s energy transformation, and we look forward to our continued engagement as the state experiences unprecedented growth and opportunity.”
Thirty-two organizations will receive grants. Anita Brown-Graham, director of the ncIMPACT Initiative at the University of North Carolina School of Government, a recent grant recipient, sees a strong opportunity for building environmental awareness about North Carolina’s future.
“Engaging all voices in communities about our environment is critical,” she said. “The ncIMPACT Initiative grant from the Duke Energy Foundation will uplift Carolina Across 100’s ‘Our State, Our Work’ program to offer young adults who find their way back to school and employment a voice on important community issues. Regions of North Carolina facing pressing environmental challenges are also those experiencing the highest rates of youth disconnection. It is critical to include the voices of lived experience from these young adults in environmental programs. They are the path to our collective future.”
The North Carolina Wildlife Federation has been a Duke Energy philanthropic partner for years. “Funding from Duke Energy is critical to our mission,” said Tim Gestwicki, CEO of the NC Wildlife Federation. “We are proud to partner to advance our mission to protect, conserve and restore North Carolina wildlife and habitat for all, and our latest grant will help us address biodiversity loss by restoring habitat in historically underserved communities of Wilmington.”
Duke Energy Foundation
The Duke Energy Foundation provides philanthropic support to meet the needs of communities where Duke Energy customers live and work. The foundation contributes more than $30 million annually in charitable gifts and is funded by Duke Energy shareholder dollars. More information can be found at duke-energy.com/foundation.
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.
Contact: Shawna Berger
24-Hour: 800.559.3853
@DE_ShawnaB
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