Month: January 2024

PHILADELPHIA, January 29, 2024 /3BL/ – Aramark (NYSE: ARMK), a leading global provider of food and facilities services, with operations spanning the education, healthcare, business and industry, sports, leisure, and corrections sectors, today published the 2023 Be Well. Do Well. Progress Report, which provides updates on its global responsible business practices and performance. In the report, Aramark shares progress on its environmental, social, and governance (ESG) efforts, including diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) commitments, and community building, climate, food and worker safety, responsible sourcing, and waste reduction programs, among other topics.

Introduced in 2019, Be Well. Do Well. articulates Aramark’s purpose and directly connects to the company’s mission: Because we’re rooted in service, we do great things for our people, our partners, our communities, and our planet. The platform’s interconnected people and planet goals focus Aramark’s efforts and inspire its organization, strengthening the company’s core foundation and long-term value proposition.

“Aramark is a company committed to a culture of hospitality. It’s how we support our people, our communities, and the planet,” said John Zillmer, Aramark CEO. “We have made some significant commitments in these areas, and the annual Be Well. Do Well. Progress Report provides a comprehensive view of our ongoing efforts. I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished so far and of who we are as a company, as a responsible business, as a partner, and as a neighbor.”

In July 2023, Aramark achieved a key milestone in its efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by securing SBTi validation of its global near-term and net-zero enterprise-wide science-based targets. Other highlights from 2023 include:

Building local communities – supported more than one million students, families, and individuals globally. Support includes, but is not limited to, serving a meal, providing a meal, snack, toiletry, or other kit, giving a backpack or collection of school supplies, facilitating nutrition education, funding scholarships, creating educational or employment readiness opportunities, leading workshops, or demonstrations.Embedding circularity – launched a new five-year strategy to eliminate, or substantially reduce, reliance on single-use plastics and other disposables across its operations.Empowering healthy consumers – increased the percentage of vegan, vegetarian, or plant-forward[1] main dishes and sides offered in U.S. Workplace Experience Group, Collegiate Hospitality, and Healthcare+ to 39% (up 1% from 2022).Engaging employees – increased the percentage of U.S. managers and/or salaried employees who are female to 46% (up 3% from 2022) and who are people of color to 33% (up 2% from 2022). New membership in employee resource groups grew more than 20% from 2022.Sourcing ethically and inclusively – increased spend with local, small, and diverse businesses in the U.S. by 18%. This includes $157 million spent with local farms and producers, a 60% increase from 2022.

To learn more about Aramark’s responsible business practices and progress from last year, please read the 2023 Be Well. Do Well. Progress Report at https://www.aramark.com/environmental-social-governance.

About Aramark 

Aramark (NYSE: ARMK) proudly serves the world’s leading educational institutions, Fortune 500 companies, world champion sports teams, prominent healthcare providers, iconic destinations and cultural attractions, and numerous municipalities in 15 countries around the world with food and facilities management. Because of our hospitality culture, our employees strive to do great things for each other, our partners, our communities, and the planet. Aramark has been recognized on FORTUNE’s list of “World’s Most Admired Companies,” Fair360’s “Top 50 Companies for Diversity” and “Top Companies for Supplier Diversity,” Newsweek’s list of “America’s Most Responsible Companies 2024,” the HRC’s “Best Places to Work for LGBTQ Equality,” and earned a score of 100 on the Disability Equality Index. Learn more at www.aramark.com and connect with us on LinkedIn, Facebook, X, and Instagram.

[1] Plant-forward is a style of cooking and eating that emphasizes fruits, vegetables, and whole grains but may contain a small amount of animal protein.

Originally published on Built From Scratch

In early 2016, a couple of months into her deployment in Bagram, Afghanistan, U.S. Army Specialist (SPC) Maggie Bilyeu was critically injured. She sustained multiple shrapnel wounds to her chest and torso, a broken leg and numerous internal injuries as a result of a bombing.

After returning to the U.S. for care, Maggie was diagnosed with TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury), loss of hearing and tinnitus. She also lost her left leg below the knee as a result of the attack. Since then, Maggie has been working hard at her rehabilitation.

The Home Depot Foundation partnered with Tunnel to Towers to present Maggie and her wife with a mortgage-free smart home that is specially adapted to her accessibility needs. The house is outfitted with automatic doors, oversized doorways and wider hallways. Every feature of the home can be controlled through a tablet or a smart device.

The Tunnel to Towers Foundation’s Smart Home Program helps our most catastrophically injured veterans and first responders reclaim their day-to-day independence. These homes come with high-tech features including automated doors and lighting, special showers to accommodate wheelchairs, automatic door openers and more.

Giving back to veterans is personal to The Home Depot, as more than 35,000 of the company’s associates are veterans or military spouses. Since 2011, The Home Depot Foundation has partnered with Tunnel to Towers to build more than 100 smart homes for combat-wounded veterans and invested more than $500 million in veteran causes. This ensures more of our nation’s heroes have a safe, comfortable home that fits their individual needs.

Keep up with all the latest Home Depot news! Subscribe to our bi-weekly news update and get the top Built from Scratch stories delivered straight to your inbox.

Originally published on GoDaddy Resource Library

Tell us a little bit about yourself and your role.

I’ve been with GoDaddy for almost six years, and I’m currently an Account Manager Lead. In this role, I assist clients with their Marketing Services Premium package. The goal of the role is to have someone who is versed in marketing and our tools. This way, we can take a more hands-on approach to helping small businesses achieve their goals.

What’s the most challenging yet rewarding thing that you’ve worked on at GoDaddy, thus far?

Change. Change can be both positive and negative, depending on the perspective. I was part of company that GoDaddy acquired in 2018. The transition was fairly intense but fruitful long term with the addition of features and a baseline change in the program. The hardship was communicating these changes in mass. With a lot of hard work and a little luck, our team was able to navigate these changes with minimal turbulence. The transition allowed for growth not only personally but also for my clients, not to mention some shiny new bells and whistles!

You are involved in Empower by GoDaddy. Can you share more about the program and its impact?

Empower by GoDaddy is our way of giving back to the people who rely on GoDaddy – the small business owners. We put together hands-on classes that are specific to the business at hand and open forum for entrepreneurs to receive feedback, ideas, and help! One of the most satisfying things about this program is that you get to see people light up when they learn something new or see a different perspective.

Could you elaborate on your volunteer experiences with GoDaddy?

I’ve been fortunate to do extensive volunteering through Empower by GoDaddy. I’ve conducted over a dozen sessions with hundreds of business owners and taught in-house classes on small business marketing. Seeing people’s faces light up as they scribble notes is truly endearing and brings a full sense of accomplishment. It reinforces the fact that we’re here to help. I also can’t forget the experience from Season Four of the Made in America series. If you haven’t checked it out on YouTube, I highly recommend it.

How do you feel that GoDaddy supports you to do things that are important to you?

GoDaddy has given me several opportunities to work on programs across the company. One of my desires is to give back to the local community and protect our green spaces. With our “Volunteer Days”, I was able to be a part of a park clean up, helping the local community in a huge way with the support of that donated time!

What’s your personal mantra?

“Reasonable and attainable goals.” I had a mentor years ago say this to me when I would bite off more than I could chew and it just stuck. Whenever I’m creating a plan or a course of action for myself or anyone, I set these goals with this mantra.

What do you enjoy doing outside of work?

Outside of work, I’d classify myself as a social butterfly. Living in Austin, TX, there’s never a shortage of things to do. From live music to physical activities, there’s always something to keep me busy. If I’m not out and about, I’m likely at the gym or on my motorcycle.

*Bonus: My secret talent is heelying*

Are you enjoying this series and want to know more about life at GoDaddy? Check out our GoDaddy Life social pages! Follow us to meet our team, learn more about our culture (Teams, ERGs, Locations), careers, and so much more. You’re more than just your day job, so come propel your career with us.

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OVERLAND PARK, Kan., January 30, 2024 /3BL/ – At a time when nearly 200 countries recently pledged to ratchet up climate action before the end of this decade, global decarbonization solutions leader Black & Veatch is seeking applications to join its innovation-focused program to advance technologies that mitigate carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change.

Applicants will vie for the opportunity to participate in Black & Veatch’s IgniteX Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) Accelerator, a largely virtual, 12-week program in which selected participants partner with Black & Veatch thought leaders and subject matter experts to co-develop, pilot and market their new technology. Along the way they receive mentorship, access to the company’s vast industry network, product testing opportunities, pitch development coaching and investor introductions. The program culminates with a showcase in which the entrepreneurs present their solutions and outline their value propositions and market opportunity.

Black & Veatch also is teaming up with RTI International – a leading independent research institute – to provide technical and commercialization support to IgniteX program participants.

Applications are due by Feb. 19 and may be submitted by visiting www.bv.com/ignite.

“With the challenges of climate change mounting, it’s increasingly paramount that we accelerate novel technologies that ultimately will help lower the global carbon footprint both at scale and affordability. This program seeks to do just that,” said Ryan Pletka, vice president of innovation for Black & Veatch. “Entrepreneurs and startups with outside-the-box, potentially transformational concepts often need a boost in developing and scaling their technologies, and we have deep expertise to kickstart the growing climate innovation ecosystem.”

Burnishing Black & Veatch’s decarbonization solutions status, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management last August named the company among 13 semifinalists to receive a total of $1.3 million for commercialization programs that support technologies that remove carbon from the atmosphere, including direct air capture (DAC).

The DAC Energy Program for Innovation Clusters (EPIC) Prize is among several competitions hosted by the DOE and funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to support breakthrough DAC technologies. The prize sponsors incubator teams that provide creative, impactful solutions that support entrepreneurs and innovators in the DAC space.

This year’s IgniteX program is looking for innovations that span the critical elements across the entire end-to-end carbon dioxide removal lifecycle in:

Direct air capture (DAC)Enhanced mineralizationSoil carbon sequestrationBiomass carbon removal and storageOcean-based CDRAfforestation and ReforestationBioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS)Other innovations that improve the cost-effectiveness, scalability, efficiency or co-benefits of CO2 capture from the environment through engineered processes

Editor’s Notes: 

The IgniteX tech accelerator program provides funding of up to $35,000 in non-dilutive grants and in-kind services, plus potential equity investments from $50,000 – $100,000.This is the fifth year of the program, where Black & Veatch has partnered with more than 40 companies.Since its inception, the program has made more than $2 million in investments, grants and in-kind services.

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. Follow us on www.bv.com and on social media.

Media Contact Information:

JIM SUHR | +1 913-458-6995 P | SuhrJ@BV.com 
24-HOUR MEDIA CONTACT | Media@bv.com

Originally published on bloomberg.com

Bloomberg for Education and Bloomberg Human Resources have expanded the reach of this year’s Bloomberg and Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) Trading Challenge to new universities and shifted to evaluate participant investment performance against a developed market (DM) index.

The Bloomberg and HBCU Trading Challenge exercises the financial acumen of college participants through a virtual investment competition on the Bloomberg Terminal. Geared towards Black students in the US who are typically underrepresented in the finance industry, the challenge was created to help HBCU students build marketable skills and knowledge needed to compete for finance jobs and provide hands-on experience that they will use in their future careers.

This year, students invested $1 million virtual US dollars across companies in the DM index in a closed network, with the assistance of university faculty and assigned Bloomberg mentors. The winner was decided based on the trade performance of participants, benchmarked against real DM indices on the Bloomberg Terminal.

“The new focus on developed markets stocks builds on last year’s ESG-specific challenge to introduce another layer of difficulty and further replicate real world experiences,” said Emily Perrucci, Global Head of User Support at Bloomberg. “Fund managers often must consider ESG factors as part of managing a much larger, diverse portfolio. We want to ensure students have a well-rounded understanding of market indices to be best prepared for future careers in finance.”

Participating universities included Clark Atlanta University, Howard University, Hampton University, Morehouse College, Morgan State University, Spelman College and Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU). Jaeden Patterson, a Senior at FAMU was this year’s winner. “The advice I would give to future participants is to take advantage of your resources,” said Patterson. “The mentor that was provided through the challenge helped me navigate unfamiliar functionality on the Bloomberg Terminal. Additionally, I was able to take the Bloomberg ESG Certificate Course, which enabled me to identify ESG investment strategies and apply them to develop a profitable portfolio.”

Students who participated in this year’s challenge were invited to Bloomberg’s headquarters in New York City. There, top-performing students had the opportunity to present their trading strategy to a panel of experts who offered feedback and insights on the students’ experience. Students who participate in the challenge also receive direct access to Bloomberg recruiters who provide professional development support around interviewing and resume creation.

Bloomberg continues to build relationships with HBCUs and contribute to cultivating the success of its students. By providing additional resources, like the Bloomberg Terminal, University professors are able to further enrich their coursework with the same tools that are used by financial professionals.

“Florida A&M University School of Business and Industry (SBI) has a long legacy of training students to be capable and well-prepared young business professionals. Bloomberg plays a role in that training process,” said Dr. Inger M. Daniels-Hollar, Assistant Professor of Finance at FAMU. “Bloomberg access enables us to simulate for our students the experience of sitting on a real-life desk while they’re still in college — much like a law student might argue in a mock courtroom before becoming a lawyer.”

About Bloomberg for Education
Bloomberg for Education offers a suite of education technology products and services that immerse learners directly into the financial markets and provide research and analytics across multiple industries. Universities around the globe use Bloomberg to bring the real world of finance into the classroom, providing students with access to the same information platform used by leading decision makers in business, finance and government. For more information, visit: https://www.bloomberg.com/professional/product/education/

About Bloomberg
Bloomberg is a global leader in business and financial information, delivering trusted data, news, and insights that bring transparency, efficiency, and fairness to markets. The company helps connect influential communities across the global financial ecosystem via reliable technology solutions that enable our customers to make more informed decisions and foster better collaboration. For more information, visit https://www.bloomberg.com/company or request a demo.