Month: March 2024

Gen Blog | People & Impact

By Syreeta McAuley Conversational Designer and Jeremeiah Whiteside Senior Internal Auditor

Though one month is dedicated to Black History, the incredible efforts and contributions of Black individuals have made impacts far, wide and through periods of time.

History has the power to reach everyone.

Honoring Black History isn’t just about the past, though. It’s also about celebrating Black excellence and paving a way for people to follow.

Celebrating our POWER  

Our Employee Resource Group, POWER, was created to connect Black team members and allies from around the company and the world. Like with many other communities, it’s a safe place to find fellowship with those who look like you, understand where you’re coming from and maybe even have similar experiences. We also use it as a space to educate those who are willing to learn and become an ally and a part of change. We focus on cultural topics, larger company initiatives and find ways to give back and ways to uplift.

And, of course, we couldn’t miss an opportunity to celebrate Black History Month. POWER hosted a global celebration for Black History Month, highlighting the contributions of Black individuals in visual and performing arts, literature, fashion, folklore, language, film, music, architecture, culinary arts and other cultural expressions. 

Some honorable mentions included:

Toni Morrison – first woman to win a Nobel Prize in literatureAbby Fisher – published the oldest known cookbook written by a former slaveSona Jobarteh – first recognized female Kora player in the worldJean-Michel Basquiat – neo-expressionism artist, set the record for a painting sold at $110.5 million

(If you haven’t heard of them before, we encourage you to learn more.)

Becoming HBCU Heroes  

Around Gen, team members have volunteered to participate in a year-long mentoring partnership with HBCU Heroes. The partnership includes quarterly mentorship “meetups” where 30 students will be paired with a Genovator to help advance their career goals.

We’re excited to help empower HBCU (Historically Black College and University) students to give them a leg up in corporate America and tech. We also hope that we can meet future hires through this opportunity, too.

Connecting Cyber Safety to Black Communities  

As a leader in Cyber Safety and Identity Theft Protection, we use our skills and resources to also support our local communities. That’s why we’re a founding partner of the Identity Theft Resource Center’s (ITRC) multi-year initiative to provide identity education and protection programs and victim services to Black communities – communities that are disproportionately affected by identity theft.

Lots of quantitative and qualitative research has been done to give us a better understanding of identity theft in the Black community, Now, ITRC is working on the development of assistance programs. New training practices will help provide advice to identity theft victims and we’ll be seeking new ways to increase awareness and recovery, to better protect our community.

Celebration Through Action: How You Can Participate 

Black History Month can be celebrated by anyone and everyone. The best part is, in seemingly small ways you too can make an impact.

Organize Speaker Sessions – Education is a tool for understanding awareness and empathy. Learn from culture, achievements and Black experts for a deeper understanding of black history and its significance.Promote Black Excellence – Share successes and milestones of Black professionals in your network. It takes one second to repost, like a tweet, etc.Advocate for Diversity – Amplify Black voices, representation and perspectives in panels, groups and organizations.Offer Support – Black businesses, authors and artists all need support. For instance, find a local Black business that you can purchase from or recommend to others.Donate to Nonprofits – Connect with nonprofits on how you can help. Some known ones are Black Girls Code and Blacks in Technology Foundation.Educational Support – Support programs and initiatives that provide educational opportunities, scholarships or resources to Black students and aspiring professionals. Mentorship – Just as we found an opportunity for mentorship with HBCU Heroes, you can too!Give Someone an Opportunity – Giving someone a chance can change the trajectory of their life.

Today and every day, it’s important to acknowledge the rich diversity and achievements of the Black community. And it’s also crucial that we not only reminisce about the past but also actively support and empower the Black community for the future.

Manufacturing Engineering Manager Emmanuel Caraza spends his days innovating more environmentally friendly wastewater treatment processes for our product plating and coatings.   

As one of more than 900 Kohler Sustainability Champions around the world, Emmanuel:

Makes intentional decisions to reduce Kohler’s and his own environmental impact.Works to incorporate environmental sustainability improvements in his business, function, and physical location.Believes that sustainability is not just a buzzword, but a responsibility to future generations. 

In the last five years, Emmanuel has helped to upgrade all plating lines across our China, India, and Mexico operations and integrate state-of-the-art equipment to recycle wastewater from the plating process and reduce sludge byproduct.

He also takes his passion home, where he’s reducing his personal water usage, cutting back on driving his car, and making plans to add solar panels to his house.

Here’s to the work being done each and every day to create a more sustainable future.

FISHERS, Ind., March 11, 2024 /3BL/ – Land Betterment Corporation, a Certified B Corporation and environmental solutions company fostering positive impact through up-cycling former coal mining and industrial sites to create sustainable community development and job creation is pleased to share that its ekō Solutions division was recently featured on WHNT News19 TV.

Peter Rodriguez, President of ekō Solutions said, “The idea for the shipping container conversions is to create attainable housing options in northern Alabama. There is a need for housing, especially in the fast-growing cities of Huntsville and Decatur. The need for unique and alternative housing is very, very evident and we are here to serve that solution.” Rodriguez concluded, “We hope that the homes will one day be able to offer more solutions in north Alabama counties with their unhoused crisis.”

THE FULL STORY ON WHNT CAN BE VIEWED HERE. 

In addition to providing up-cycled shipping container homes across the country, ekō Solutions offers a range of sustainable and energy-efficient dwelling solutions for commercial, recreational, residential, farming and crisis recovery. ekō Solutions offers an extensive line of shipping-container housing solutions to include mobile workstations, mobile bathrooms, mobile dog grooming, containerized food stands, ekō farms, Airbnb rentals, nature retreats and homes. These sustainable and energy-efficient structures combine contemporary design with practicality.

To learn more about ekō Solutions’ products, visit – www.ekosolutionsllc.com 

About ekō Solutions 

ekō Solutions, a Land Betterment Company, is a sustainable development company utilizing innovative, low-cost, up-cycled shipping container structures to provide durable, high-end solutions to the building marketplace while also maintaining the ability to be utilized in a mobile environment. ekō Solutions uses innovative ecological structures to replace legacy inefficient and ineffective methods of living, growing and working. The sustainable craftsmanship of our up-cycled shipping container structures is what separates us from the alternatives. Our structures are suitable for residential, crisis recovery, commercial, farming and recreation use. To stay up to date on our innovations and get an insider’s view of our daily operations follow us on our social platforms – Facebook LinkedIn X Instagram Tik Tok and YouTube.

About Land Betterment Corporation 

Land Betterment Corporation, an Indiana Benefit Corporation and Certified B Corporation, is an environmental solutions company focused on fostering a positive impact through up-cycling former coal mining and industrial sites to create sustainable community development and job creation. The Company utilizes a complete solution-based lifecycle program to restore and rehabilitate the environment and revitalize communities in need of change and opportunity. Land Betterment accomplishes this by identifying un-reclaimed, run-down and neglected coal mining sites, fixing the environment through reclamation and remediation, and then repurposing the land to support a sustainable business that serves the community. Land Betterment firmly believes that with real solutions it is possible for restoration of impacted areas to live side-by-side long term employment, while building sustainable and safe surroundings for communities and our planet. For more information visit landbetterment.com or connect with the Company on Facebook X Instagram and LinkedIn.

Contacts: 

Mark LaVerghetta 
317.537.0492 ext. 0 
Chief Governance Officer, Corporate Finance 
info@landbetterment.com

Stephanie Conzelman 
207.205.0790 
Stakeholder Engagement Director 
info@landbetterment.com

Zak Owens 
Fleur de Lis Communications 
502.386.5704 
zak@fdlcomms.com