Month: March 2024

Originally published on Nielsen Insights

Shaping the future of media

Black America continues to diversify, and media will need to evolve to stay relevant for this media-hungry audience with a global influence on trends and culture.

The globalization of Black America

Black America is complex, but immigration trends will add to that complexity. As the diversity of this population grows, the media industry will need to focus on authenticity and accurate representations to maintain this audience’s high engagement with content.

18%: The U.S. Black population is projected to grow from 15% today to 18% by 20603X: The African-born U.S. population has grown 3x in the past 20 years67%: Two out of three Black Americans want to see more representation of their identity group on screen

The role of media in culture

This report highlights the significant amount of engagement Black America has with media, as well as this diversifying audience’s perspective on representation in content and advertising. Key sections include:

Black audiences are power TV users

Black adults spend 31.8% more time with TV each week than the general U.S. population.

The state of representation on TV

Representation is a key driver of media engagement. Black talent on TV has never been more visible, but the numbers—and audience demand—suggest there’s room for even more. Our most recent study found that 70% of Black LGBTQ+ respondents and 66% of Black men often feel misrepresented in media.

TV content is a global affair

While representation and diversity dimensions vary across providers, audiences stay engaged when they find what they’re looking for. Engagement with Blood Sisters and Far From Home, for example, reflect Netflix’s investment in Nollywood.

Brand strategies for relevance and inclusion

Meaningful engagement requires more than simply understanding where content is being consumed. Dimensions of diversity matter. Our most recent study found that almost 36% of Black audiences believe brands portray all Black people the same in advertising.

The Black audience insights you need

At its core, media is a means of connecting. The stronger the connection, the greater the engagement. Download The global Black audience: Shaping the future of media report to understand how you can evolve to better engage this audience and how to capitalize on it.

Download the Nielsen 2024 Diverse Intelligence Series report: The Global Black Audience here.

Data sources: U.S. Census; Pew Research Center; Nielsen Black Diaspora Study, powered by Toluna

Originally published on Nielsen Insights

Shaping the future of media

Black America continues to diversify, and media will need to evolve to stay relevant for this media-hungry audience with a global influence on trends and culture.

The globalization of Black America

Black America is complex, but immigration trends will add to that complexity. As the diversity of this population grows, the media industry will need to focus on authenticity and accurate representations to maintain this audience’s high engagement with content.

18%: The U.S. Black population is projected to grow from 15% today to 18% by 20603X: The African-born U.S. population has grown 3x in the past 20 years67%: Two out of three Black Americans want to see more representation of their identity group on screen

The role of media in culture

This report highlights the significant amount of engagement Black America has with media, as well as this diversifying audience’s perspective on representation in content and advertising. Key sections include:

Black audiences are power TV users

Black adults spend 31.8% more time with TV each week than the general U.S. population.

The state of representation on TV

Representation is a key driver of media engagement. Black talent on TV has never been more visible, but the numbers—and audience demand—suggest there’s room for even more. Our most recent study found that 70% of Black LGBTQ+ respondents and 66% of Black men often feel misrepresented in media.

TV content is a global affair

While representation and diversity dimensions vary across providers, audiences stay engaged when they find what they’re looking for. Engagement with Blood Sisters and Far From Home, for example, reflect Netflix’s investment in Nollywood.

Brand strategies for relevance and inclusion

Meaningful engagement requires more than simply understanding where content is being consumed. Dimensions of diversity matter. Our most recent study found that almost 36% of Black audiences believe brands portray all Black people the same in advertising.

The Black audience insights you need

At its core, media is a means of connecting. The stronger the connection, the greater the engagement. Download The global Black audience: Shaping the future of media report to understand how you can evolve to better engage this audience and how to capitalize on it.

Download the Nielsen 2024 Diverse Intelligence Series report: The Global Black Audience here.

Data sources: U.S. Census; Pew Research Center; Nielsen Black Diaspora Study, powered by Toluna

Originally published on HARMAN Newsroom

Supporting our employees’ health and wellbeing is of the utmost importance to HARMAN. That’s why our HARMAN Global Wellbeing team challenged our employees to a step contest through Charity Miles, the organization that empowers people to make an impact for charity whenever they walk, run, or bike. With the support of our HARMAN Inspired global cause initiative, the three employees with the most steps logged at the end of the month-long competition had the opportunity to symbolically adopt and support an animal of their choice on the World Wildlife Fund’s (WWF) endangered species list.

Colin, Product Marketing Manager, Video & Control, HARMAN Professional Solutions, emerged as one of the top three contributors in our HARMAN Inspired Charity Miles Year End Step Challenge! As a result, HARMAN made a donation is his name to symbolically adopt the Mexican Gray Wolf. In honor of World Wildlife Day on March 3rd, we asked Colin how he stayed motivated through the step challenge and why giving back is important to him…

Q: How do Charity Miles and HARMAN’s Global Wellbeing program inspire you?

A: Sometimes, it’s easy to get overwhelmed with work or personal responsibilities and feel like there aren’t enough hours in the day to get everything done. I like that the Charity Miles app and other tools in the Global Wellbeing program help make it easy for me to carve out at least a little time from my busy schedule to focus on my physical and emotional health. I feel inspired when I look at all the names of my peers and colleagues on the Charity Miles leaderboard as well as all the different activities that are logged, at all times of day from all around the world, because it makes me feel like we’re truly part of a team. Plus, the fact that taking my dog, Ava, on a walk helps support a charity is an amazing bonus!

Q: Through our donation, you chose to symbolically adopt a Mexican Gray Wolf through the World Wildlife Fund. Why did you choose this animal?

A: It was a tough choice because, of course, all animals are important – and most of them are pretty adorable! Ultimately, I chose to support the Mexican Gray Wolf because it’s one of the few animals that live near me in Arizona. I also did some research and found that, thanks to the U.S. Endangered Species Act and support from organizations like the WWF, repopulation efforts for Mexican Gray Wolves have made a lot of progress for the species overall. Hopefully, it won’t be long before the wild population of these wolves is self-sustaining and they can be removed from the endangered species list altogether.

Q: How did you stay motivated during the step challenge?

A: It was fortunate for me that this challenge happened to take place in December because it was a particularly beautiful month here in Arizona! In addition to logging my daily (at least!) walks with Ava, I put it a lot of miles training on my bike. I definitely worked a bit harder knowing that I had a chance to be in the top three. I have a big race coming up soon and I’m going to need all the fitness I can get – so thank you to everyone at HARMAN for the extra motivation!

Our employees around the world all share a passion for supporting the communities where we work and live. To learn more about our teams’ efforts to give back and support our communities through HARMAN Inspired, visit: https://www.harman.com/inspired

Originally published on HARMAN Newsroom

Supporting our employees’ health and wellbeing is of the utmost importance to HARMAN. That’s why our HARMAN Global Wellbeing team challenged our employees to a step contest through Charity Miles, the organization that empowers people to make an impact for charity whenever they walk, run, or bike. With the support of our HARMAN Inspired global cause initiative, the three employees with the most steps logged at the end of the month-long competition had the opportunity to symbolically adopt and support an animal of their choice on the World Wildlife Fund’s (WWF) endangered species list.

Colin, Product Marketing Manager, Video & Control, HARMAN Professional Solutions, emerged as one of the top three contributors in our HARMAN Inspired Charity Miles Year End Step Challenge! As a result, HARMAN made a donation is his name to symbolically adopt the Mexican Gray Wolf. In honor of World Wildlife Day on March 3rd, we asked Colin how he stayed motivated through the step challenge and why giving back is important to him…

Q: How do Charity Miles and HARMAN’s Global Wellbeing program inspire you?

A: Sometimes, it’s easy to get overwhelmed with work or personal responsibilities and feel like there aren’t enough hours in the day to get everything done. I like that the Charity Miles app and other tools in the Global Wellbeing program help make it easy for me to carve out at least a little time from my busy schedule to focus on my physical and emotional health. I feel inspired when I look at all the names of my peers and colleagues on the Charity Miles leaderboard as well as all the different activities that are logged, at all times of day from all around the world, because it makes me feel like we’re truly part of a team. Plus, the fact that taking my dog, Ava, on a walk helps support a charity is an amazing bonus!

Q: Through our donation, you chose to symbolically adopt a Mexican Gray Wolf through the World Wildlife Fund. Why did you choose this animal?

A: It was a tough choice because, of course, all animals are important – and most of them are pretty adorable! Ultimately, I chose to support the Mexican Gray Wolf because it’s one of the few animals that live near me in Arizona. I also did some research and found that, thanks to the U.S. Endangered Species Act and support from organizations like the WWF, repopulation efforts for Mexican Gray Wolves have made a lot of progress for the species overall. Hopefully, it won’t be long before the wild population of these wolves is self-sustaining and they can be removed from the endangered species list altogether.

Q: How did you stay motivated during the step challenge?

A: It was fortunate for me that this challenge happened to take place in December because it was a particularly beautiful month here in Arizona! In addition to logging my daily (at least!) walks with Ava, I put it a lot of miles training on my bike. I definitely worked a bit harder knowing that I had a chance to be in the top three. I have a big race coming up soon and I’m going to need all the fitness I can get – so thank you to everyone at HARMAN for the extra motivation!

Our employees around the world all share a passion for supporting the communities where we work and live. To learn more about our teams’ efforts to give back and support our communities through HARMAN Inspired, visit: https://www.harman.com/inspired

Portland, Ore., March 6, 2024 /3BL/ — REACH Community Development Inc. has received a $120,000 grant from KeyBank to support its “Career Mapping” workshops, which uplifts individuals who are unemployed or under-employed by equipping them with the tools and opportunities to gain employment that secures a living wage, stable hours, and health benefits.

The workshops, which are a strategic part of REACH’s commitment to community empowerment, will be offered at two of its properties in North Portland and SE Portland. The ultimate objective of the “Career Mapping” workshops is to cultivate a skilled workforce within REACH’s communities, thereby enabling residents to achieve stable housing. With the assurance of housing security, individuals are empowered to exit survival mode and embrace the opportunity to thrive.

“At KeyBank, we know that a crucial building block to a stable future is developing skills that will lead to successful and fulfilling employment,” said Josh Lyons, KeyBank’s Market President for Oregon and S.W. Washington and Commercial Banking leader. “This program will help some of our most vulnerable neighbors attain secure employment, which will increase their ability to pay their rent on time and help them navigate a path forward. Work security is imperative to effectively achieve financial wellness.”

“We are immensely grateful for the partnership and support of KeyBank,” said Margaret Salazar, CEO of REACH. “By addressing the critical intersection of employment and housing security, we are taking a significant step towards ensuring that all community members have the foundation needed to build a brighter, more secure future.” 

About REACH Community Development Inc.

REACH’s mission is to create opportunities for all people to thrive by developing and promoting equitable access to quality, affordable homes, supportive services, and community. Since 1982, REACH has built innovative and affordable housing serving lower-income families and individuals in the Portland metropolitan region. More information about REACH and its programs is available at http://reachcdc.org.

About KeyBank

KeyCorp’s roots trace back nearly 200 years to Albany, New York. Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, Key is one of the nation’s largest bank-based financial services companies, with assets of approximately $188 billion at December 31, 2023. Key provides deposit, lending, cash management, and investment services to individuals and businesses in 15 states under the name KeyBank National Association through a network of approximately 1,000 branches and approximately 1,200 ATMs. Key also provides a broad range of sophisticated corporate and investment banking products, such as merger and acquisition advice, public and private debt and equity, syndications and derivatives to middle market companies in selected industries throughout the United States under the KeyBanc Capital Markets trade name. For more information, visit https://www.key.com/. KeyBank is Member FDIC. 
 

Portland, Ore., March 6, 2024 /3BL/ — REACH Community Development Inc. has received a $120,000 grant from KeyBank to support its “Career Mapping” workshops, which uplifts individuals who are unemployed or under-employed by equipping them with the tools and opportunities to gain employment that secures a living wage, stable hours, and health benefits.

The workshops, which are a strategic part of REACH’s commitment to community empowerment, will be offered at two of its properties in North Portland and SE Portland. The ultimate objective of the “Career Mapping” workshops is to cultivate a skilled workforce within REACH’s communities, thereby enabling residents to achieve stable housing. With the assurance of housing security, individuals are empowered to exit survival mode and embrace the opportunity to thrive.

“At KeyBank, we know that a crucial building block to a stable future is developing skills that will lead to successful and fulfilling employment,” said Josh Lyons, KeyBank’s Market President for Oregon and S.W. Washington and Commercial Banking leader. “This program will help some of our most vulnerable neighbors attain secure employment, which will increase their ability to pay their rent on time and help them navigate a path forward. Work security is imperative to effectively achieve financial wellness.”

“We are immensely grateful for the partnership and support of KeyBank,” said Margaret Salazar, CEO of REACH. “By addressing the critical intersection of employment and housing security, we are taking a significant step towards ensuring that all community members have the foundation needed to build a brighter, more secure future.” 

About REACH Community Development Inc.

REACH’s mission is to create opportunities for all people to thrive by developing and promoting equitable access to quality, affordable homes, supportive services, and community. Since 1982, REACH has built innovative and affordable housing serving lower-income families and individuals in the Portland metropolitan region. More information about REACH and its programs is available at http://reachcdc.org.

About KeyBank

KeyCorp’s roots trace back nearly 200 years to Albany, New York. Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, Key is one of the nation’s largest bank-based financial services companies, with assets of approximately $188 billion at December 31, 2023. Key provides deposit, lending, cash management, and investment services to individuals and businesses in 15 states under the name KeyBank National Association through a network of approximately 1,000 branches and approximately 1,200 ATMs. Key also provides a broad range of sophisticated corporate and investment banking products, such as merger and acquisition advice, public and private debt and equity, syndications and derivatives to middle market companies in selected industries throughout the United States under the KeyBanc Capital Markets trade name. For more information, visit https://www.key.com/. KeyBank is Member FDIC. 
 

We commemorate World Day of Social Justice and honor those across the globe who stand for the equitable access to opportunities within societies where individuals’ rights are recognized and protected.

I have the distinct honor of leading the Social Justice work here at Cisco (even writing that gives me chills). I am as proud of my company for making such a commitment to this cause as I am of my team of colleagues, customers, suppliers, and partners that work together to make this body of work come alive. I am also struck by the need to help frame social justice in a way that resonates globally.

Understanding social justice from a broader perspective

Over the course of my involvement in this work, I have spent equal parts of my time doing the work and learning about social justice both as a set of practices and as an ideal. Most of my exposure to the topic had come from my own history in civil rights and political activism, life experience (there were still partially segregated school districts in my home state when I attended elementary school), and reading authors/thought leaders like Howard Zinn, David Walker, Michelle Alexander, Marcus Garvey and W.E.B. duBois.

While their writing examined social justice through an anti-racist lens, I noticed common themes as I started to look at social justice from a broader perspective.

Access: all people having equal access to resources such as healthcare, education, and employment.Equity: providing resources to people that are proportionate to what they need in order to thrive.Participation: involving people in the decisions that govern their lives.Human Rights: ensuring the civil, political, economic, cultural, and social rights of all people are protected and valued equally.

These themes provide a framework for how we can expand our perspective around social justice. Words and their definitions matter. Framing social justice as access, equity, participation, and human rights allows us to transcend the notion that social justice is simply about race.

Origins and early themes in social justice

In my research, I found there were themes around social justice that go all the way back to philosophers like Plato, Thomas Aquinas and Immanuel Kant, Thomas Hobbes, and John Locke. There is also a strong current of social justice in many of the world’s major religions.

One of the earliest thinkers in this space was Luigi Taparelli, who was an advisor to the Vatican in 1840. He believed society should not be seen as a monolith, but as a collective of different groups, all of which have rights that needed to be recognized. He is generally credited as the first to use the phrase “social justice” and saw it as an economic and class issue as opposed to a racial one.

The UN Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Building on this foundation in part led to the UN Charter in 1945 and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948 which focused on political, civil, social, and economic rights. As many African nations were still under colonial rule at this time, they had limited input to the Declaration.

While this was problematic for a number of reasons, it does explain the anti-racist focus of many social justice programs and initiatives that would come later and how race played a key role in the access to those rights. The UN would start to use the term “social justice” heavily in the 1960s, and much of the work of the modern Civil Rights movement and much of the work around affirmative action and later diversity and inclusion efforts seemed to focus in this area.

The global perspective and Cisco’s journey for social justice

As we continue the work of social justice here at Cisco, we know that many corporations have rolled back some initiatives that were receiving support just a few years ago. This trend is happening across the globe and underpins what history has already shown us—social justice is global.

Just as the UN believes that social justice is an underlying principle for peaceful and prosperous coexistence within and among nations, Cisco believes that social justice is integral to our purpose to power an inclusive future for all.

A global perspective will inform us – and empower us – as we move forward in our social justice journey. Our focus is on access, equity, participation, and human rights. For all.

Words matter. We can choose the ones that shape us. Inspire us. And propel us forward. We can choose to use words as an avenue to bring more people into the fold. Build new bridges. And speak from a broader perspective.

Discover more about the United Nations World Day of Social Justice and Cisco’s Social Justice Beliefs and Actions.

View original content here.

We commemorate World Day of Social Justice and honor those across the globe who stand for the equitable access to opportunities within societies where individuals’ rights are recognized and protected.

I have the distinct honor of leading the Social Justice work here at Cisco (even writing that gives me chills). I am as proud of my company for making such a commitment to this cause as I am of my team of colleagues, customers, suppliers, and partners that work together to make this body of work come alive. I am also struck by the need to help frame social justice in a way that resonates globally.

Understanding social justice from a broader perspective

Over the course of my involvement in this work, I have spent equal parts of my time doing the work and learning about social justice both as a set of practices and as an ideal. Most of my exposure to the topic had come from my own history in civil rights and political activism, life experience (there were still partially segregated school districts in my home state when I attended elementary school), and reading authors/thought leaders like Howard Zinn, David Walker, Michelle Alexander, Marcus Garvey and W.E.B. duBois.

While their writing examined social justice through an anti-racist lens, I noticed common themes as I started to look at social justice from a broader perspective.

Access: all people having equal access to resources such as healthcare, education, and employment.Equity: providing resources to people that are proportionate to what they need in order to thrive.Participation: involving people in the decisions that govern their lives.Human Rights: ensuring the civil, political, economic, cultural, and social rights of all people are protected and valued equally.

These themes provide a framework for how we can expand our perspective around social justice. Words and their definitions matter. Framing social justice as access, equity, participation, and human rights allows us to transcend the notion that social justice is simply about race.

Origins and early themes in social justice

In my research, I found there were themes around social justice that go all the way back to philosophers like Plato, Thomas Aquinas and Immanuel Kant, Thomas Hobbes, and John Locke. There is also a strong current of social justice in many of the world’s major religions.

One of the earliest thinkers in this space was Luigi Taparelli, who was an advisor to the Vatican in 1840. He believed society should not be seen as a monolith, but as a collective of different groups, all of which have rights that needed to be recognized. He is generally credited as the first to use the phrase “social justice” and saw it as an economic and class issue as opposed to a racial one.

The UN Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Building on this foundation in part led to the UN Charter in 1945 and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948 which focused on political, civil, social, and economic rights. As many African nations were still under colonial rule at this time, they had limited input to the Declaration.

While this was problematic for a number of reasons, it does explain the anti-racist focus of many social justice programs and initiatives that would come later and how race played a key role in the access to those rights. The UN would start to use the term “social justice” heavily in the 1960s, and much of the work of the modern Civil Rights movement and much of the work around affirmative action and later diversity and inclusion efforts seemed to focus in this area.

The global perspective and Cisco’s journey for social justice

As we continue the work of social justice here at Cisco, we know that many corporations have rolled back some initiatives that were receiving support just a few years ago. This trend is happening across the globe and underpins what history has already shown us—social justice is global.

Just as the UN believes that social justice is an underlying principle for peaceful and prosperous coexistence within and among nations, Cisco believes that social justice is integral to our purpose to power an inclusive future for all.

A global perspective will inform us – and empower us – as we move forward in our social justice journey. Our focus is on access, equity, participation, and human rights. For all.

Words matter. We can choose the ones that shape us. Inspire us. And propel us forward. We can choose to use words as an avenue to bring more people into the fold. Build new bridges. And speak from a broader perspective.

Discover more about the United Nations World Day of Social Justice and Cisco’s Social Justice Beliefs and Actions.

View original content here.

IBM will increase investment in the IBM Sustainability Accelerator by 50%, committing up to $45 million in cash and in-kind donations over the next five years.New RFP will align with United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 11: making cities safe, resilient and sustainable.IBM will collaborate with the EY organization to strengthen the opportunities and knowledge support available to program participants.

ARMONK, N.Y., March 6, 2024 /3BL/ – Aligned with United Nations SDG 11, IBM (NYSE: IBM) announced today a new request for proposals from government and non-profit organizations for the IBM Sustainability Accelerator, focused on technology-driven projects to advance city resiliency. IBM also announced that it would increase investment in the pro-bono social impact program by 50%, committing to make up to $45 million in cash and in-kind donations of technology and services available over the next five years. The IBM Sustainability Accelerator applies IBM technology, including IBM watsonx, an AI and data platform and AI assistants, to support populations vulnerable to environmental threats around the world, with a new RFP and sustainability topic announced each year.

UN Habitat1 forecasts that the world will continue to urbanize over the next three decades, with the share of people living in urban areas increasing from 56 percent in 2021 to 68 percent by 2050. The disproportionate impacts of climate change can challenge capacity for sustainable urban development and planning, as cities around the world work to address priorities like emissions levels, intensifying climate risks, environmental justice and more.

“After three years working to improve lives and uplift vulnerable communities around the world, we’re proud to recognize the success of the IBM Sustainability Accelerator by strengthening both our impact and our investment in the program,” said Justina Nixon-Saintil, IBM Vice President and Chief Impact Officer. “We look forward to working with a new cohort of partners to transform the cities we live in, and to deploy solutions that harness the potential of artificial intelligence to build a more resilient future.”

This year, the program will introduce a new strategic collaboration with EY to strengthen the participant experience and amplify the impact of the IBM Sustainability Accelerator. EY will contribute to the resilient cities cohort by providing support during the RFP selection process, organizational development coaching from EY teams, and capacity-building workshops that will build upon the leadership development and professional mentoring opportunities available to program participants.

The evaluation and selection criteria for the global RFP will consider applicants’ level of support to communities especially vulnerable to urban environmental threats; the feasibility and sustainability of proposed technology solutions for climate change mitigation; and applicants’ transparency on measurement and reporting, among other considerations.

Nonprofit and government initiatives focused on city resiliency and urban climate adaptation can apply to the RFP beginning March 6, 2024, until the end of the submission window on April 30, 2024. Selected participants will be announced later in the year.

Questions about the IBM Sustainability Accelerator program and the new RFP can be directed to sustainability.accelerator@ibm.com.

About the IBM Sustainability Accelerator

Launched in 2022, the IBM Sustainability Accelerator is a social impact program that addresses environmental threats impacting vulnerable communities around the world. Each year, the program selects about five projects to scale technology and AI solutions within a new sustainability topic area. To date, the IBM Sustainability Accelerator has supported 15 global projects across three active cohorts, focused on sustainable agriculture, clean energy and water management. For more information: https://www.ibm.com/impact/initiatives/ibm-sustainability-accelerator/cities

CONTACT
Carmen San Segundo
Global Communications Director, ESG and CSR
carmenssg@ibm.com

SOURCE IBM

1 https://unhabitat.org/sites/default/files/2022/06/wcr_2022.pdf

IBM will increase investment in the IBM Sustainability Accelerator by 50%, committing up to $45 million in cash and in-kind donations over the next five years.New RFP will align with United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 11: making cities safe, resilient and sustainable.IBM will collaborate with the EY organization to strengthen the opportunities and knowledge support available to program participants.

ARMONK, N.Y., March 6, 2024 /3BL/ – Aligned with United Nations SDG 11, IBM (NYSE: IBM) announced today a new request for proposals from government and non-profit organizations for the IBM Sustainability Accelerator, focused on technology-driven projects to advance city resiliency. IBM also announced that it would increase investment in the pro-bono social impact program by 50%, committing to make up to $45 million in cash and in-kind donations of technology and services available over the next five years. The IBM Sustainability Accelerator applies IBM technology, including IBM watsonx, an AI and data platform and AI assistants, to support populations vulnerable to environmental threats around the world, with a new RFP and sustainability topic announced each year.

UN Habitat1 forecasts that the world will continue to urbanize over the next three decades, with the share of people living in urban areas increasing from 56 percent in 2021 to 68 percent by 2050. The disproportionate impacts of climate change can challenge capacity for sustainable urban development and planning, as cities around the world work to address priorities like emissions levels, intensifying climate risks, environmental justice and more.

“After three years working to improve lives and uplift vulnerable communities around the world, we’re proud to recognize the success of the IBM Sustainability Accelerator by strengthening both our impact and our investment in the program,” said Justina Nixon-Saintil, IBM Vice President and Chief Impact Officer. “We look forward to working with a new cohort of partners to transform the cities we live in, and to deploy solutions that harness the potential of artificial intelligence to build a more resilient future.”

This year, the program will introduce a new strategic collaboration with EY to strengthen the participant experience and amplify the impact of the IBM Sustainability Accelerator. EY will contribute to the resilient cities cohort by providing support during the RFP selection process, organizational development coaching from EY teams, and capacity-building workshops that will build upon the leadership development and professional mentoring opportunities available to program participants.

The evaluation and selection criteria for the global RFP will consider applicants’ level of support to communities especially vulnerable to urban environmental threats; the feasibility and sustainability of proposed technology solutions for climate change mitigation; and applicants’ transparency on measurement and reporting, among other considerations.

Nonprofit and government initiatives focused on city resiliency and urban climate adaptation can apply to the RFP beginning March 6, 2024, until the end of the submission window on April 30, 2024. Selected participants will be announced later in the year.

Questions about the IBM Sustainability Accelerator program and the new RFP can be directed to sustainability.accelerator@ibm.com.

About the IBM Sustainability Accelerator

Launched in 2022, the IBM Sustainability Accelerator is a social impact program that addresses environmental threats impacting vulnerable communities around the world. Each year, the program selects about five projects to scale technology and AI solutions within a new sustainability topic area. To date, the IBM Sustainability Accelerator has supported 15 global projects across three active cohorts, focused on sustainable agriculture, clean energy and water management. For more information: https://www.ibm.com/impact/initiatives/ibm-sustainability-accelerator/cities

CONTACT
Carmen San Segundo
Global Communications Director, ESG and CSR
carmenssg@ibm.com

SOURCE IBM

1 https://unhabitat.org/sites/default/files/2022/06/wcr_2022.pdf