Month: March 2024

Sofidel

Today, when discussing corporate culture, we emphasize the importance of purpose, the reason, or “higher” purpose, of the company. This qualifies the company on the market and generates long-term value for stakeholders. It is also the result of the growing role being recognized for businesses, in conjunction with institutions and other social parties, to resolve the complex problems that need to be addressed, starting with the ongoing transformational change.

To this end, expanding the scope of corporate responsibility, which encompasses environmental and social dimensions that have become absolutely relevant, these years has undoubtedly created the conditions for further enrichment and development of the corporate culture deeply rooted in the values embodied by a company and expressed in its vision, goals, policies, and the behavior of its people. It is a dynamic that affects all markets and companies of all sizes.

This issue of Soft&Green features an interview with Cristina Bombassei, president of AIDAF, the Italian Association of Family Businesses (the Italian Chapter of FBN, Family Business Network), to understand how corporate culture is evolving within the economic realities it represents. The issue also discusses other phenomena – such as the growth of corporate museums, the spread of training programs to strengthen employees’ sense of belonging, and the importance of organizations such as the Global Compact that help companies evolve – that point to an evolution in corporate culture and how companies’ identity assets are managed.

All this is in the wake of insights or best practices that often come from afar, thanks to highly visionary entrepreneurs or managers. Because, in words attributed to Bernard of Chartres, “We are dwarfs on the shoulders of giants.”

About The Sofidel Group

The Sofidel Group, a privately held company owned by the Stefani and Lazzareschi families, is a world leader in the manufacture of paper for hygienic and domestic use. Founded in 1966, the Group has subsidiaries in 12 countries – Italy, Spain, the UK, France, Belgium, Germany, Sweden, Poland, Hungary, Greece, Romania, and the USA – with more than 6,400 employees. A member of the UN Global Compact and the international WWF Climate Savers program, the Sofidel Group considers sustainability a strategic imperative and is committed to promoting sustainable development.  For more information, visit www.sofidel.com.

Media Contact:

Fabio Vitali
Fabio.Vitali@sofidel.com 
www.sofidel.com

At SAIC, we value our people for their unique perspectives, life experiences, values and skills. We empower our employees to succeed by developing their potential and enabling them to bring their authentic selves to work and consistently deliver innovative solutions for our customers. We are proud to highlight the winners of our 2024 Black Engineer of the Year Awards (BEYA) in the “Modern Day Technology Leader” and “Science Spectrum Trailblazer” categories for their outstanding achievements in a STEM profession. They exemplify all of our talented people, who apply their expertise and determination to our customers’ missions so that we can solve the most difficult challenges and succeed together.

SAIC HONORS OUR 2024 BEYA WINNERS

SAMFORD ANDERSON 
Senior Operations Research Analyst 
BEYA Modern Day Technology Leader

Samford Anderson is a senior operations research analyst, managing the planning and execution of U.S. Army constructive experimentation, overseeing the outcomes, analyzing data and producing experiment reports for the organization. He joined SAIC as a doctrinal and mission command expert, and in that role he has successfully planned and executed constructive simulation experiments and war game events to inform science and technology investments in force design of Army combat unit formations.

Anderson is an Army veteran. Throughout his 29-year military career, he was assigned many positions of increasing authority and responsibility in which he led multicultural organizations comprised of service members, Department of Defense civilian employees and contractors to achieve objectives in support of the national defense strategy. He is a member of the National Infantry Museum and Soldier Center, the Military Officers Association of America and the American Legion.

Anderson earned a certificate in electromagnetic warfare data analysis from Georgia Tech, a bachelor’s degree from the University of Hawaii and a master’s degree in organizational leadership from Regent University. He is also a Certified Modeling and Simulation Professional Master level.

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MARCUS HILL 
Senior Program Manager 
BEYA Modern Day Technology Leader

Marcus Hill is a senior program manager in the Information Technology Office within SAIC’s Business and Customer Experience Office. Hill joined SAIC as software engineer supporting several Department of Defense initiatives and eventually transitioned to leadership roles in research and development, profit and loss, and IT. He has led several program management offices and supported the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ $1.3 billion Revolutionary Information Technology Service program, implementing a technical business management framework and plug-in that enabled insight into financial spending and budgets to improve decision-making. His current focus is on mergers, acquisitions and divestitures. Most recently, he led the Separation Management Office in executing the divestiture of SAIC’s logistics and supply chain management business, valued at $350 million.

Hill earned a bachelor’s degree in aerospace science engineering from Tuskegee University and an MBA from Rollins College, and is pursuing a doctorate in business administration at the University of North Alabama. He is a member of SAIC’s Multicultural Employee Resource Group and is active in community service through his church. He is a certified TBM Executive for technology business management, has a Project Management Professional certification, and is a member of the North Alabama Chapter of the Project Management Institute and the ITIL Foundation.

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DEJA NOEL 
Cybersecurity Specialist 
BEYA Modern Day Technology Leader

Deja Noel is a cybersecurity specialist with SAIC’s Governance, Risk and Compliance team. Her role includes identifying, assessing, reporting and mitigating risks; evaluating international travel requests regarding company assets; and reviewing enterprise software requests. Noel joined SAIC as an intern, where she learned about cybersecurity working in corporate operations. Noel’s journey from novice to accomplished professional underscores her commitment to contributing significantly to the protection of digital environments and critical data.

Noel is a member of the leadership team for SAIC’s Women’s Employee Resource Group. She spearheaded the group’s annual blood drive in collaboration with the American Red Cross, overseeing event coordination. In addition, Noel has actively contributed to volunteer initiatives supporting the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and participated in Feeding America events.

Noel earned her bachelor’s degree from Seminole State College of Florida.

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DONALD TARPLEY 
Program Analyst Manager 
BEYA Science Spectrum Trailblazer

Donald Tarpley is a program analyst manager, serving as an invaluable principal advisor for lifecycle logistics strategy, execution and continuous improvement for property and program management for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate. He is a highly sought-after expert and invaluable leader of a seven-person team, responsible for loss prevention for more than $125 million in accountable personal property assets per year. In 2022, he and his team were awarded the DHS Under Secretary’s Award for Science and Technology Program Management Support.

Tarpley is a member of the National Property Management Association in Northern Virginia and serves as a consultant for a community of interest with the DHS Personal Property Committee. As a dedicated blood drive volunteer with the American Red Cross, he has contributed to more than 1,000 lifesaving efforts each year.

Tarpley earned his bachelor’s degree from Penn State University and is working to obtain Project Management Professional certification from the Project Management Institute.

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GEATAEUS WILLOCKS 
Systems Engineering Manager 
BEYA Science Spectrum Trailblazer

Geataeus Willocks is a systems engineering manager in SAIC’s Space and Intelligence Business Group. She joined SAIC as a radio frequency systems engineer supporting the Special Programs Directorate within the U.S. Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center, where she successfully advised and led acquisition programs in electronic warfare space control.

Throughout her career, Willocks has held numerous positions of increasing authority, leading teams focused on atmospheric traffic control and research and development with particular emphasis on propulsion technologies, X-ray vision and super-hearing.

Willocks earned her bachelor’s degree in electrical and computer engineering from Ohio State University and her master’s degree in electrical engineering from Johns Hopkins University. She currently serves as a mentor to middle school girls through Tech Trek, an organization sponsored by the American Association of University Women to encourage girls to consider careers in STEM.

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Learn more about our diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives at our DE&I page.

International Olympic Committee news

This will enable the IOC to engage more effectively with the global efforts to address climate change, underscoring its commitment to reducing emissions and to leveraging the role of sport as an “important enabler” for the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

“We want to use the power of sport to help address one of the biggest challenges humanity is faced with,” said IOC President Thomas Bach. “Being an observer to the UN Climate Change process gives us an opportunity to contribute to the climate change debate, and build and strengthen relationships in our ongoing mission to build a better world through sport, including where climate change is concerned.”

Being an observer to the UNFCCC process and the Conference of the Parties (COP) will allow the IOC to:

Follow the negotiations in order to provide tailored substantive inputs to Parties; andFormally share position papers and submissions to advocate for recognising and mainstreaming the sports sector as a contributor to climate change mitigation efforts.

The UNFCCC is a global agreement on climate change, which forms the foundation for the annual COP meetings. These bring together world leaders, diplomats, scientists, Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), Inter-Governmental Organisations (IGOs), journalists, and various other stakeholders. COP21 in 2015 produced the historic Paris Agreement, while last year’s COP28 brought agreement on the need to phase out the use of fossil fuels.

As sport globally is increasingly affected by climate change, the IOC has taken a leading role in driving climate action among the sports community. Sustainability is a key element of the IOC’s strategic roadmap, Olympic Agenda 2020 and Olympic Agenda 2020+5, which among other things calls for the Olympic Movement to foster sustainable Olympic Games; strengthen the role of sport as an important enabler for the UN SDGs; and lead by example in corporate citizenship.

As part of this commitment, the IOC has set itself the goal of reducing its own emissions by 30 per cent by the end of 2024, and by 50 per cent by 2030, in line with the Paris Agreement. It is also using its global platform and influence to encourage other sports organisations and fans to follow suit.

In addition to reducing its own emissions, the IOC is creating an Olympic Forest, which aims to bring social, economic and environmental benefits for communities in Mali and Senegal that are heavily impacted by climate change.

In 2018, with UNFCCC, the IOC co-launched the UN Sports for Climate Action Framework, which aims to create a climate action plan for sport. The Framework requires sports organisations to reduce their emissions by 50 percent by 2030, and to report annually on progress. Thirty-four International Sports Federations, 52 National Olympic Committees and the Organising Committees for Paris 2024 and Milano Cortina 2026 have so far joined the Framework.

The IOC has also increased its requirements for the Olympic Games to address climate change. From 2030 onwards, Games organisers will be obliged to minimise direct and indirect Games-related carbon emissions; strive to remove more carbon from the atmosphere than the Games project emits; and use their influence to encourage stakeholders to take climate action.

Already in 2024, the Paris 2024 organisers plan to set new sustainability standards for major sporting events by reducing the Games’ carbon footprint by half compared to the average of London 2012 and Rio 2016. These will also be the first Olympic Games aligned with the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.

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The International Olympic Committee is a not-for-profit, civil, non-governmental, international organisation made up of volunteers which is committed to building a better world through sport. It redistributes more than 90 per cent of its income to the wider sporting movement, which means that every day the equivalent of USD 4.2 million goes to help athletes and sports organisations at all levels around the world.

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For more information, please contact the IOC Media Relations Team: 
Tel: +41 21 621 6000, email: pressoffice@olympic.org, or visit our web site at www.ioc.org.

Broadcast quality footage

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LINCOLN, Neb., March 11, 2024 /3BL/ – Private sector leaders have the power to rebuild trust in the voluntary forestry carbon market, according to a new article published by TIME Magazine authored by Arbor Day Foundation chief executive Dan Lambe.

In the TIME Magazine piece, Lambe discusses the apparent crisis of confidence in the voluntary forestry carbon market and its larger implications in the fight against climate change. He also addresses the concerns of corporate leaders regarding the risks of the market and offers guidance on how to navigate those challenges while fueling critical forestry work.

The column was published as part of the TIME CO2 Futures Collection. The initiative from TIME Magazine was created to advance business climate action by leveraging the stories and insights of climate, corporate and sustainability experts.

The full article can be viewed here.

The Arbor Day Foundation’s wholly-owned subsidiary Arbor Day Carbon has vetted, funded and sold more than five million carbon credits. The Foundation has helped hundreds of corporate leaders advance their climate goals by connecting them to high-quality forestry carbon projects.

Follow Dan Lambe on Twitter and LinkedIn, or reach out to dlambe@arborday.org.

About the Arbor Day Foundation

Founded in 1972, the Arbor Day Foundation is the largest nonprofit membership organization dedicated to planting trees. Together with our partners, we have helped plant more than 500 million trees in neighborhoods, communities, cities and forests throughout the world. Our vision is to lead toward a world where trees are used to solve issues critical to survival. Through our members, partners and programs, the Arbor Day Foundation inspires people across the globe to plant, nurture and celebrate trees. More information is available at arborday.org.

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