Month: February 2024

Originally published by SuperSport

Over 800 KFC Mini-Cricket kids participated in the ninth KFC Mini-Cricket Provincial festival as the KFC Mini-Cricket season made its return in 2024.

The Provincial festival was hosted at The Oval Cricket Ground, Pietermaritzburg as part of the KwaZulu-Natal Inland region activities.

Over the years, the KFC Mini-Cricket programme has witnessed the graduation of numerous players, including Proteas captain Laura Wolvaardt and Under-19 women’s wicketkeeper Karabo Meso to mention a few.

Continue reading here. 

Originally published by SuperSport

Over 800 KFC Mini-Cricket kids participated in the ninth KFC Mini-Cricket Provincial festival as the KFC Mini-Cricket season made its return in 2024.

The Provincial festival was hosted at The Oval Cricket Ground, Pietermaritzburg as part of the KwaZulu-Natal Inland region activities.

Over the years, the KFC Mini-Cricket programme has witnessed the graduation of numerous players, including Proteas captain Laura Wolvaardt and Under-19 women’s wicketkeeper Karabo Meso to mention a few.

Continue reading here. 

February 23, 2024 /3BL/ – Lenovo has been included in the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s 2023-2024 Corporate Equality Index (CEI) for the sixth year in a row, receiving a score of 90 out of 100. The Index is the foremost benchmarking survey and report measuring corporate policies and practices related to LGBTQ+ workplace equality for US-based companies for their employees in the US and abroad.

The CEI rates companies on detailed criteria falling under four central pillars:

Non-discrimination policies across business entities;Equitable benefits for LGBTQ+ workers and their families;Supporting an inclusive culture; and,Corporate social responsibility.

“Lenovo is proud of being part of the 2023-2024 Corporate Equality Index again this year, it demonstrates the company’s commitment to build a smarter workplace for its LGBTQ+ employees” said Calvin Crosslin, Chief Diversity Officer, Lenovo. “While we are pleased with the continued progress we are making, we also recognize there is still work to do to build on our polices and practices and ensure equality for all our employees.”

Among actions implemented in the past year, Lenovo launched its first-ever self-identification campaign allowing employees to voluntarily self-identify their gender identity, race and ethnicity, and self-disclose visible and invisible disabilities in internal systems. Starting in the US with plans to roll out in other markets, the self-identification function will help Lenovo better understand the diversity of its workforce across different segments, including gender identity. Lenovo is also launching a guide to benefits in the US, especially as they relate to LGBTQIA+ populations.

Lenovo’s placement on the CEI comes alongside recent news that Lenovo has achieved its highest-ever score on the Workplace Pride benchmark, reflecting its dedication to inclusion of the LGBTQIA+ community beyond the US.

Lenovo is focused on growing diverse perspectives in its executive ranks, as demonstrated by the goal to increase executives from underrepresented backgrounds – including LGBTQ – to 35% by FY2025/26 (from 29% in 2020).

The results of the 2023-2024 CEI showcase how US-based companies are promoting LGBTQ+ friendly workplace policies in the U.S. and abroad. The first year of the CEI included 319 participants, and the 2023-2024 CEI now includes 1,384 participants; further demonstrating the tremendous trajectory of the CEI, a record-breaking 1,340 businesses have non-discrimination protections specific to gender identity, up from just 17 in 2002. These critical non-discrimination protections cover 21 million employees in the U.S. and around the globe.

The CEI rates employers providing these crucial protections to over 20 million U.S. workers and an additional 18 million outside of the US. Companies rated in the CEI include Fortune magazine’s 500 largest publicly traded businesses, American Lawyer magazine’s top 200 revenue-grossing law firms (AmLaw 200), and hundreds of publicly and privately held mid- to large-sized businesses.

The full CEI report is available online at www.hrc.org/cei. You can read more about Lenovo’s diversity and inclusion efforts in the Company’s most recent Environmental, Social and Governance Report.

About Lenovo 

Lenovo is a US$62 billion revenue global technology powerhouse, ranked #217 in the Fortune Global 500, employing 77,000 people around the world, and serving millions of customers every day in 180 markets. Focused on a bold vision to deliver Smarter Technology for All, Lenovo has built on its success as the world’s largest PC company by further expanding into growth areas that fuel the advancement of ‘New IT’ technologies (client, edge, cloud, network, and intelligence) including server, storage, mobile, software, solutions, and services. This transformation together with Lenovo’s world-changing innovation is building a more inclusive, trustworthy, and smarter future for everyone, everywhere. Lenovo is listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange under Lenovo Group Limited (HKSE: 992)(ADR: LNVGY). To find out more visit https://www.lenovo.com, and read about the latest news via our StoryHub

About Human Rights Campaign Foundation

The Human Rights Campaign Foundation is the educational arm of the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), America’s largest civil rights organization working to achieve equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ+) people. Through its programs, the HRC Foundation seeks to make transformational change in the everyday lives of LGBTQ+ people, shedding light on inequity and deepening the public’s understanding of LGBTQ+ issues, with a clear focus on advancing transgender and racial justice. Its work has transformed the landscape for more than 15 million workers, 11 million students, 1 million clients in the adoption and foster care system and so much more. The HRC Foundation provides direct consultation and technical assistance to institutions and communities, driving the advancement of inclusive policies and practices; it builds the capacity of future leaders and allies through fellowship and training programs; and, with the firm belief that we are stronger working together, it forges partnerships with advocates in the U.S. and around the globe to increase our impact and shape the future of our work.

More companies are setting net zero targets than ever before. Three quarters of companies with a senior sustainability executive are increasing their budgets to reach net zero.

The catch is, many of these companies are not communicating about the climate action they are taking.

These are some of the key findings from South Pole’s latest Net Zero Report: Destination Zero. While this report should encourage companies across the world to set, or double down on, net zero targets, more companies need to be going further, faster – especially against the backdrop of increasing, multi-billion-dollar climate disasters.

The report surveyed 1,400 sustainability professionals at director level to understand what drives their big climate commitments, what they see as risks, the solutions they are turning to, and how their organisations are progressing on a net zero emissions journey.

First, the bad news. The report found that most of the world’s companies are still doing nothing or very little when it comes to climate action. 92% of listed companies across the world do not have a publicly stated net zero commitment – a truly shocking figure.

However, the report revealed that the small but significant group of so-called climate-conscious companies – those with a dedicated sustainability or CSR lead in senior management – are doubling down on climate action. Over three quarters (76%) of climate-conscious companies are in fact increasing their net zero budgets.

In addition, companies clearly understand that communicating about the climate action they are taking is good for their business. The overwhelming majority (93%) of surveyed companies see the communication of their net zero strategy as key to commercial success.

This is a huge win. Taking climate action is simply good business and companies are starting to put their money where their mouth is – or rather where their mouth was. The survey also shows, concerningly, that the majority of companies who found communicating their climate action more difficult are decreasing their level of communications. This trend of greenhushing is prevalent across 9 of the 14 sectors surveyed.

Our report offers a rare glimpse into a core tension at the heart of corporate climate action: it reveals that increased and unclear regulation and industry requirements for corporate climate reporting, as well as heightened scrutiny from various stakeholders including media, are the core reasons for companies keeping quiet about their climate goals and progress.

Why is this a problem? Considering our efforts to reach net zero are often referred to as a moon shot, imagine the Apollo 11 Mission and the lead up to this historic feat happening in total secrecy and silence. Would international competition and the race for best solutions have been so fierce? Would it have happened without public moments and calls-to-action like JFK’s, ‘we choose to go to the moon’ address? I am no astronaut, but I somehow doubt it.

Coming down to earth, companies credibly and proudly communicating the work they are doing is critically important to spurring competition, action and, crucially, climate finance to the fledgling solutions science says we need. If more businesses lead from the front by speaking openly about their goals, this will spur the many others who are yet to set targets.

While it is easy to despair, I am genuinely hopeful. It is clear that corporate climate action is maturing.

More governments are now writing or implementing laws that push companies to report on their overall sustainability work, and to weed out those who have nothing to show. This means the trends we are seeing could be the proverbial calm before the (regulatory) storm, which will inevitably require all companies to disclose and discuss their impact on the climate and environment. Getting ahead of regulation will give companies the upper hand and deliver real value to shareholders, customers, our climate and environment.

To seize this opportunity, corporate net zero targets need to be underpinned by credible actions if they are to have their intended impact. This includes setting science-based milestones that drive down direct emissions and support collective resilience, while incentivising investments in future climate innovation, beyond corporate value chains. This applies above all to resource-intense companies with complex value chains. When considering investments in activities beyond a companies value chain, the focus should be on meaningful, high-quality, high-impact projects that really move the needle on reducing emissions but also carry other positive impacts for nature and communities. Without such milestones, targets ring hollow.

Companies leading this movement will bypass “’greenhushing” to communicate their actions and lessons learned in a credible and nuanced way. These efforts may not be perfect, but they will help drive progress, improve standards, and level the playing field.

Make no mistake, it is the committed corporate climate leaders who will blaze the trail down which the climate laggards will eventually be frog-marched by regulators. Which is why, now more than ever, it is time for all companies to meet the moment, to step up and, importantly, speak up on climate action.