Month: March 2024

March 8, 2024 /3BL/ – Biomimicry Institute, a not-for-profit organization co-founded by Janine Benyus in 2005 to empower nature-inspired solutions for a healthy planet, today opens applications for its 2024 Ray of Hope Accelerator. This unique founder-focused program aims to propel nature-inspired startups towards marketplace growth with robust training, networking opportunities, and $15,000 in non-dilutive funding. Applications are due May 3, 2024.

Building on the success of the previous four years and 39 supported startups, the Ray of Hope Accelerator program is looking to identify the next ten leading nature-inspired startups. Those selected will be immersed in a six-month cohort program that provides more than $50,000 worth of in-kind services that aim to provide in-depth support and training for companies seeking to bring their ideas to commercialization. The program enhances participants’ visibility through science-based storytelling, as well as provides access to a wide range of corporate and investment leaders. The cohort is open to Pre-Seed to Series A stage companies world-wide and will commence with an in-person nature retreat where participants develop skills around community building, leadership, and cultivating a nature-inspired ethos.

“As we embark on our fifth year of the Ray of Hope program, we are pleased to share that all of our previous participating startups are thriving,” said Jared Yarnall-Schane, Director of Innovation at the Biomimicry Institute. “Graduate companies have raised more than $100M cumulatively in funding and are actively working to address systemic climate issues such as sea-level rise and plastic pollution. Building on this success, we are thrilled to launch an updated version of the program this year that provides more robust training and financial support to nature-inspired solutions.”

The Ray of Hope Accelerator, in partnership with founding sponsor The Ray C. Anderson Foundation, is not industry, technology, or geography specific. Chosen cohorts are connected by a shared drive to address at least one of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals. Any startup working on nature-inspired solutions, service, or technology with a positive environmental or social benefit may apply. The Biomimicry Institute is particularly interested in solutions that address the urgent need to regenerate nature, reduce the impacts of climate change and eliminate the current ‘take, make, waste’ paradigm.

“We are proud of our partnership with the Biomimicry Institute and of their efforts to support and scale the work of nature-inspired changemakers,” said Christoph Hohmann, Global Head of Brand Communications at Bentley Motors and Head of The Bentley Environmental Foundation. “Our partnership is a great example of the Bentley Environmental Foundation’s funding plus approach, in which we are working with mission-aligned organizations to create environmental change, also within Bentley itself. We hope this is a model other companies will follow in the future.”

Brent Cutcliffe, Co-Founder & Chief Operating Officer of New Iridium, a 2021 alumni of the Ray of Hope program adds, “not only was our startup elevated by the process, but being in the company of other viable nature-inspired solutions empowered us to know that collectively we are making serious progress against seemingly intractable problems.”

Past participants of the Ray of Hope program have secured additional funding, built greater awareness of their work through media, attained paid proof-of-concept pilot contracts with major corporations, and increased sales as a result of the program’s extensive network. Previous cohorts comprised companies from 15 different countries, were 40% female founders, and included award-winning startups like Sparxell (UK, 2023) GreenPod Labs (India, 2022), Spintex Engineering (UK, 2021), ECOncrete Tech (Israel, 2020). To see a full list of the nearly 40 nature-inspired startups that have completed the Ray of Hope Accelerator program, click here.

For more information on how to apply, visit biomimicry.org/RayofHopePrize.

About the Biomimicry Institute 

The Biomimicry Institute is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization founded in 2006 that empowers people to seek nature-inspired solutions for a healthy planet. To advance the solution process, the Institute offers AskNature.org, the largest free, living database of biological strategies for sustainable innovation. The organization also offers biomimicry curriculum and educator resources, including the Youth Design Challenge, a multidisciplinary, project-based challenge that teaches students to solve problems through biomimicry; a Biomimicry Launchpad incubator program; and the Ray of Hope Accelerator supports nature-inspired startups to scale systemic solutions to the world’s most pressing environmental challenges. Most recently, the Institute launched a new collaborative initiative called Design for Transformation which will pilot technologies that convert discarded clothes and textiles into biocompatible raw materials. For more information, visit biomimicry.org.

Media Contact:

Marc Cappelletti
Biomimicry Institute, Communications Director
marc.cappelletti@biomimicry.org
+1 (215) 435-6185

Originally published on U.S. Bank company blog

As a Business Access Advisor at U.S. Bank, Cassandra Kidd’s goal is to help underserved small businesses thrive by providing them access to information, connections and other resources.

Kidd and other Business Access Advisors don’t sell any products but can refer clients to bankers within U.S. Bank or to nonprofits that offer financing. In one recent success story, Kidd helped a Black-owned company that provides information technology services obtain a loan after the owner had struggled to qualify for traditional bank financing.

Kidd also introduced the business owner to the bank’s Business Diversity Lending (BDL) program, a special purpose credit program that provides credit and financing designed to help minority-, women- and veteran-owned businesses grow and thrive. The business owner met the qualifications and was able to receive additional financing for his company.

Such outcomes are the primary goal of the U.S. Bank Business Access Advisor program, which was launched in 2021 with a focus on helping businesses in underserved communities, including communities of color, gain access to capital.

The Business Access Advisors, or BAAs, are placed in markets to help business owners gain access to capital, financial education and connections, said Queanne Smith, who leads Business Diverse Segment Strategy for U.S. Bank.

The BAAs also maintain and grow referral relationships with Community Development Financial Institutions and non-profit organizations that can assist small business applicants currently unable to get financing directly from the bank.

“Partnering with CDFIs increases access to capital, fosters economic inclusion and expands financial opportunities for underserved communities,” Smith said. “U.S. Bank increased the number of CDFI partners in 2023 to 100-plus participating organizations, which allows us to better bridge the finance gap and support community empowerment.”

The BAA program is part of U.S. Bank Access Commitment®, the bank’s long-term approach to help close the wealth gap for underserved communities, including communities of color. U.S. Bank started with nine BAAs serving Charlotte, North Carolina; Chicago; Colorado Springs and Denver, Colorado; Little Rock, Arkansas; Los Angeles; Minneapolis; Omaha, Nebraska; and Oakland, California.

Because of its success, U.S. Bank is now expanding the program by doubling the number of BAAs to 18 and expanding the strategy to six new states, Arizona, Nevada, Ohio, Tennessee, Washington and Wisconsin. The bank is also expanding the BAA program in California, hiring three additional BAAs in Los Angeles, Riverside and San Diego, and growing support for business owners in Hispanic communities.

“We acknowledge and value the Hispanic community and understand how important cultural engagement is to the communities we serve,” Smith said. “Our BAAs are placed in markets to better support these communities and build stronger relationships.”

“We have BAAs who speak Spanish in addition to English and can work with customers in their preferred language,” she said. “Our strategy is to break down barriers, including language barriers, that can prevent wealth creation.”

The BAA program serves small businesses, generally with $500,000 or more in annual revenue, across virtually all industries, Smith said.

While helping to provide access to capital is a primary focus of the program, BAAs serve as trusted advisors with business in a variety of ways, she said.

“Our BAAs are also knowledgeable, helping to educate our clients about financial concepts during one-on-one sessions, seminars and curated workshops,” Smith said. “They serve as a strong connector to U.S. Bank supplier diversity programs that can help small businesses become certified as minority-owned businesses, which can support them in building meaningful partnerships, operate in competitive markets and access new opportunities.”

The BAAs also partner with community organizations to help business owners connect with resources that can help them, she said.

For example, the bank has held small business bus tours in Chicago and Los Angeles, visiting Black-owned businesses in underserved communities to discuss challenges entrepreneurs have encountered and ways to partner with U.S. Bank effectively.

“During 2023, we offered over 160 financial education seminars, and 2,200 coaching sessions with businesses and business owners through our Business Access Advisor program,” Smith said.

“It’s all around facilitating inclusive growth for underserved small businesses,” she said. “Small businesses are part of the bedrock of the economy.”

Originally published on HARMAN Newsroom

HARMAN is a global connected technologies leader known for our products and solutions that make life easier, more productive and entertaining. Our success wouldn’t be possible without the technical expertise and innovation mindset of our skilled engineering teams! In recognition of our appreciation for our engineers whose passion, hard work, and creativity make a more connected future possible, our team members around the world joined a celebration of the engineering community during Engineers Week 2024.

Our full week of programming highlighted our talented inventors, designers, and developers and encouraged all of our employees to continue sharing innovative ideas, providing impactful solutions, and exploring future technologies.

Navigating the Forefront of Innovation

Our engineers are committed to staying abreast of the engineering and software technologies that are at the forefront of innovation. During a virtual panel discussion, leaders from our engineering teams shared their insights on some of the latest industry trends and lessons learned from their own professional development journeys. Our panelists also shared the importance of continuous exploration and curiosity with a thought-provoking conversation about software development as the driving force behind HARMAN’s cutting-edge products and solutions.

Celebrating Professional and Personal Achievements

Our HARMAN engineers draw on both their science-based knowledge and creativity in order to help deliver unprecedented connectivity and levels of personalization to our consumers. We strive to create a workplace environment where all our employees feel empowered to embrace their individuality to further push the boundaries of innovation. During Engineers Week, we celebrated our engineers who have combined their profession with their own unique interests and personal talents, like Tessa, a HARMAN Field Application Engineer (FAE) and an EDM performing artist, and Pawel, an engineer, people leader, and music producer.

Creating Pathways for the Next Generation of Engineers

Through the ongoing support of our HARMAN Inspired partners like the 1,000 Dreams Fund and Technovation, HARMAN is committed to helping the next generation of leaders break barriers and pursue careers in science, technology, and engineering. To learn more about how we’re empowering the next generation of women and girls in STEAM and helping work toward a more equitable future, visit: https://www.harman.com/inspired

As we reflect on our Engineers Week celebrations, we at HARMAN cannot thank our engineers enough for the innovation, creativity, and dedication they bring to powering our connected technologies. For engineers exploring a fulfilling career where you can bring your individual passions to work, visit http://jobs.harman.com/.

As the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Strengthening Organic Enforcement (SOE) final rule’s implementation deadline of March 19, 2024, quickly approaches, companies are making sure their organic operations are compliant with the new requirements. Grounded in the need to prevent fraud along the organic supply chain, the SOE final rule will help bolster consumer trust in the USDA National Organic Program (NOP) Organic Seal. That being said, ongoing consumer trust in the USDA Organic Seal depends greatly on organic operators doing their best to identify, eradicate, and prevent fraud from happening at every step along the supply chain.

To do so, the mandatory drafting and coordinating of an organic system plan (OSP) — which must also include an Organic Fraud Prevention Plan (OFPP) — stand to be the most significant changes coming from the SOE. In its Organic Fraud Prevention Guide, the Organic Trade Association (OTA) writes, “Recent activities and USDA investigations have revealed products fraudulently labeled as organic and gaps in the complex organic supply chain, specifically as it relates to organic imports. Compromised supply chains due to fraud can erode consumer trust in the integrity of the organic brand. Strong action is needed to improve the effectiveness of controls throughout the organic product supply chain,” (see page 2 of OTA’s Organic Fraud Prevention Guide).

This increased focus on fraud prevention will significantly impact how the entire organic sector and associated supply chains function. Below SCS walks through the major components and rationale behind the specifications of the new OFPP requirements and helps get your company started with relevant resources.

How is organic product fraud defined?

The OTA defines organic product fraud as an “intentional, misleading or deceptive action carried out for illicit financial gain.” Examples can include “adulteration, substitution, falsified records and the deliberate mislabeling of goods, as well as false statements made on applications, organic system plans, and during inspections,” explains OTA. Among other SOE considerations, an organic operator will be expected not only to be aware of opportunities of fraud along the organic supply chain both before and after its individual organization’s involvement, but also to develop a system to document and prevent these instances of fraud through their OSP’s organic fraud prevention plan.

Therefore, it’s essential for each company to know and understand its products and any associated risks. Such risks might include relevant transaction points along the supply chain, the geographic history of each product, the economic status of each supplier or service provider, and the general history of the product and all suppliers, shippers, brokers, and distributors. Knowing this information for all suppliers will be critical as will understanding the precise verification measures and any possible gaps along the way.

How does the OSP work under the SOE final rule?

An OSP — and specifically the mandatory OFPP component — mobilize several important features of the SOE final rule. One of the functions of the OSP is to describe the monitoring practices and procedures used to verify that suppliers within a certified organic operation’s supply chain are appropriately certified to the activities, scope, and complexity of the operation, and confirms the status of agricultural products received by the operations. The OFPP functions to detect and prevent fraud along an operation’s entire organic supply chain.

It’s important to note that the operation itself is responsible for crafting and implementing its own OFPP as part of its larger OSP.

What if my company doesn’t have an OFPP?

An organic system plan and accompanying organic fraud prevention plan are mandatory under the new SOE rule. With the March 19 deadline approaching for all organic operations to be compliant, companies will want to take immediate action to meet these new requirements.

SCS has developed a form that organizations may use as an Organic Fraud Prevention Plan. Once completed, the form can be submitted along with any relevant addenda or attachments to function as a comparable OFPP.

Supply Chain & Critical Control Points (CCP)

Any organic operation will want to begin their OFPP by diagramming its supply chain and identifying critical control points (CCP) for each significantly different organic supplier along the way. A CCP refers to a specific stage in a process or supply chain where control measures are necessary to prevent, eliminate, or reduce risk while ensuring the integrity of a product or supply chain is maintained.

Organizations with existing flowcharts, diagrams, maps, or other means of illustrating their supply chain and these CCPs can include such documentation as an addendum to their OFPP, making adaptations as necessary to specifically identify CCPs for organic fraud.

Operations diagramming their supply chain for the first time should identify all incoming ingredients, products, and services representing the operation’s entire supply chain. This information may include specific ingredient groups, certification status of each entity within the supply chain, the location of each supplier, details of transportation and storage events, as well as all other handling activities. Above all, an operation must identify and highlight the CCP throughout their supply chain.

Vulnerability Assessment

Another essential component of an operation’s organic fraud prevention plan is the vulnerability assessment. Recognized as a systemic evaluation that identifies and analyzes weakness or susceptibilities within an organic system, the vulnerability assessment allows operations to bring forward their knowledge of potential risks and weak spots throughout their supply chain. The assessment helps an operation to understand these risks and clarify any relevant events or transactions that could compromise the organic integrity of its products. Importantly, the vulnerability assessment also allows an operation to develop viable strategies to prevent and mitigate risk of fraud for each CCP identified during their supply chain evaluation and diagramming exercise. The vulnerability assessment must include an explanation of the operation’s process to perform a vulnerability assessment, including actions taken and factors considered.

Components of the vulnerability assessment can be further divided into two distinct categories:

Product Assessment and Supply Chain FactorsInternal Company Vulnerability Factors

The vulnerability assessment should consider where the pressure, opportunity, and rationale for fraud exist, both outside and within the organization. For example, when a supplier or an employee has a reason for committing fraud, the opportunity to do so without being caught, and can justify their behavior, the likelihood of fraud increases.

Additional Information to Include in an OFPP

Operations developing their OFPP will also need to include an explanation of their supply chain verification program, an explanation of their training and reporting protocols, and a clear representation of how the OFPP is being measured, monitored, and continually improved.

Where do I go to learn more about SOE?

SCS recommends starting with the full text of the final rule, the National Organic Program’s website, the Organic Trade Association’s (OTA) SOE Fact Sheet, and the Agricultural Marketing Service’s (AMS) SOE Fact Sheet. Also helpful is the USDA’s side-by-side comparison of the original organic regulation language and the new SOE. Organizations with questions or concerns about the implementation deadline of March 19, 2024, or about certification to the USDA Organic standard, should reach out directly to SCS Global Services as soon as possible.

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For more information, please contact: 
Ned Halaby 
Director of Sales – Product Claims 
+1-510-993-0235

As part of its commitment to making homeownership more accessible, KeyBank is pleased to announce that it now offers Freddie Mac Home Possible®i mortgage loans.

The Home Possible® mortgage offers more options and credit flexibilities than ever before to help eligible individuals attain the dream of owning a home. In addition to its down payment requirement of as little as 3%, Home Possible® also offers more options to responsibly increase homeownership for more individuals. Many types of down payment sources are acceptable with Home Possible®, including family, employer-assistance programs, and secondary financing.

Learn more about Freddie Mac Home Possible® mortgage loans

“We are excited to partner with Freddie Mac to offer Freddie Mac’s Home Possible® mortgage loan, which helps eliminate barriers to owning a home,” said Dale Baker, KeyBank President of Home Lending. “Our commitment to making homeownership more accessible and achievable helps us deliver on KeyBank’s purpose of helping the clients and communities we serve thrive.”

KeyBank’s 2024 Financial Mobility Survey found increasingly rising costs have made many Americans question whether owning a home is feasible. Of those people (20%) who are not currently in the market to purchase a home and haven’t purchased one in the past year, 69% believe the dream of owning a home is not very attainable.

The Freddie Mac Home Possible® mortgage loan product can be combined with KeyBank’s two special purpose credit programsii, which can also help make homeownership more affordable and attainable. The KeyBank Home Buyer Creditiii and KeyBank Neighbors First Creditiv provide homebuyers purchasing eligible properties in eligible communities up to $5,000v to be used towards closing costs and pre-paid fees that may come with financing a new home. Since its launch in September 2022, through March 1, 2024, KeyBank has funded more than $1.63 million in KeyBank Home Buyer Credits, helping 368 clients achieve their dream of homeownership in areas where the program is available. The Neighbors First Credit launched in July 2023. Through that program, Key has funded more than a half million dollars in credits, helping 104 clients through March 1, 2024.

“Home Possible® is a new option for our clients that will have a transformative effect, providing them with yet another option to unlock the possibility of sustainable homeownership,” said Rachael Sampson, KeyBank Head of Community Banking for the Consumer Bank. “Home Possible® and our KeyBank special purpose credit programs show how committed we are to adding products and programs that help make the dream of owning a home a reality.”

For more information about Freddie Mac Home Possible® mortgage loans or KeyBank’s SPCPs, clients can visit a KeyBank branch or use the Find a KeyBank Mortgage Loan Officer tool on key.com.

NMLS# 399797. NOTICE: This is not a commitment to lend or extend credit. Conditions and restrictions may apply. All home lending products, including mortgage, home equity loans and home equity lines of credit, are subject to credit and collateral approval. Not all home lending products are available in all states. Hazard insurance and, if applicable, flood insurance are required on collateral property. Actual rates, fees, and terms are based on those offered as of the date of application and are subject to change without notice.

CFMA #240304-2483328

iMaximum income is limited to 80% of the Area Median Income (AMI) in all census tracts.

iiSpecial Purpose Credit Programs (“SPCPs”) are, generally, programs that are established to meet special social needs or the needs of economically disadvantaged persons by extending credit to persons who would probably be denied credit or would receive it on less favorable terms, under certain conditions. See 15 U.S.C. § 1691(c)(1)-(3); 12 C.F.R. § 1002.8(a).

iiiAvailable on primary residence first lien purchases only. Property must be located in an eligible community as determined by KeyBank. Eligible Communities are subject to change without notice. Additional terms or restrictions may apply. Ask us for details.

ivAvailable on primary residence first lien purchases only. Property must be located in an eligible community in KeyBank’s retail footprint or Florida. Eligible communities are determined by KeyBank and subject to change without notice. Additional terms or restrictions may apply. Ask us for details.

vCredits up to $5,000 to be used towards closing costs and prepaid fees.