Month: April 2024

MIDLAND, Mich., April 23, 2024 /3BL/ – Dow (NYSE: DOW), a global leader in materials science, and Beyond Benign, a nonprofit organization focused on making green chemistry an integral part of education, announce an expanded multi-year collaboration. Building upon a foundation of cooperation, both organizations aim to advance chemistry education by empowering educators with the tools and resources to incorporate green chemistry into higher education curricula.

The collaboration, fueled by Dow’s commitment to sustainability, will bolster Beyond Benign’s initiatives in several key areas:

Expansion of the Green Chemistry Commitment program: Over the next three years, Beyond Benign plans to accelerate the recruitment of universities globally into its Green Chemistry Commitment (GCC) program, an institutional approach to advancing green chemistry in higher education (currently, more than 160 have joined). This expansion will further the integration of green chemistry principles into academic institutions worldwide.Design of on-demand professional training in Green Chemistry: Beyond Benign and Dow will partner with educators to design a cutting-edge on-demand training program focused on green chemistry. This initiative will provide educators and industry professionals with accessible resources to enhance their understanding and teaching of sustainable chemistry practices.Green Chemistry Education Challenge awards: Beyond Benign will provide university awards to support the advancement of Green Chemistry in teaching, research and service for 15-30 university educator teams.Support for Dow employee volunteer opportunities: Dow employees will have opportunities to engage as advocates, educators and learners in Green Chemistry initiatives, amplifying the impact of this collaboration across communities.

“We are thrilled to have the opportunity to expand our efforts with Dow,” says Amy Cannon, Beyond Benign Co-Founder and Executive Director. “This collaboration will allow us to deepen our connections with educators to provide key resources to train future scientists with the knowledge and skills to design safer chemical products. We will also provide support to universities through educational grants and peer support to enable further adoption of green chemistry in higher education.”

With expanded support from Dow, Beyond Benign aims to collaborate globally, prioritizing relationships with Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) in the U.S. Beyond Benign seeks to increase participation of Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs) in the GCC program to enhance the representation of scientists in the green chemistry field, empower faculty to integrate sustainability principles into chemistry education and expand the diversity of the talent pool equipped to address critical sustainability challenges in alignment with UN Sustainable Development Goals.

“Beyond Benign’s commitment to advancing green chemistry education is inspiring,” says Bob Plishka, global director of Strategic Corporate Partnerships and Dow Company Foundation president. “This collaboration reflects Dow’s commitment to sustainability and STEM & skilled trades, empowering educators to instill environmental stewardship in the next generation of scientists.”

Growing this collaboration symbolizes a significant stride in transforming chemistry education. Green chemistry places sustainability at the forefront of product and process design, providing the framework for scientists to address sustainability in the design stage of a product lifecycle. Supported by Dow, Beyond Benign launched the GCC 25×25 initiative in 2020, aiming to ensure 25% of graduating U.S. chemists possess green chemistry expertise by 2025. Over 107 U.S. universities, including many of Dow’s academic partners, and over 160 universities globally have already joined, highlighting the widespread embrace and impact of green chemistry principles. To learn more about the GCC program and which universities have signed the pledge, please visit Beyond Benign’s website: https://www.beyondbenign.org/he-green-chemistry-commitment/

About Beyond Benign:

Beyond Benign, a 501(c)3 nonprofit, envisions a world where the chemical building blocks of products used every day are healthy and safe for humans and the environment. Beyond Benign is fostering a green chemistry education community empowered to transform chemistry education for a sustainable future. Beyond Benign’s continuum of sustainable science educational programs including, teacher and faculty training and curriculum development from K-20 are helping to build the next generation of scientists and citizens with the skills and knowledge to create and choose products that are safe for human health and the environment. Over the past 17 years, Beyond Benign has an extensive history of service, having trained over 6,500 K-12 teachers in sustainable science and green chemistry, designed over 200 open-access lessons, reached over 35,000 youth and community members through outreach, & partnered with over 160 universities to transform chemistry education. Together we can catalyze the development of green technological innovations that result in safer products and processes in support of a sustainable, healthy society.

Find us on Twitter @beyondbenign, on Instagram @beyondbenign, and follow us on Facebook @beyondbenign or LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beyond-benign-inc/.

About Dow

Dow (NYSE: DOW) is one of the world’s leading materials science companies, serving customers in high-growth markets such as packaging, infrastructure, mobility and consumer applications. Our global breadth, asset integration and scale, focused innovation, leading business positions and commitment to sustainability enable us to achieve profitable growth and help deliver a sustainable future. We operate manufacturing sites in 31 countries and employ approximately 35,900 people. Dow delivered sales of approximately $45 billion in 2023. References to Dow or the Company mean Dow Inc. and its subsidiaries. Learn more about us and our ambition to be the most innovative, customer-centric, inclusive and sustainable materials science company in the world by visiting www.dow.com.

For further information, please contact:

Jess MacDonald
Dow Global Citizenship manager
jmacdonald1@dow.com

Nicki Wiggins, director of Development
Beyond Benign
nicki_wiggins@beyondbenign.org

In the #HowIGotHere series, you’ll read about the career paths of some of the world-renowned leaders at Yum! Brands. Learn more about Burge Diemer, Vice President, Brand Marketing at The Habit Burger Grill in this installment.

EDUCATION

Yukselis Lisesi 
Ankara, Turkey (1992 – 1995)METU University 
Bachelor of Arts, Foreign Language Education Ankara, Turkey (1995 – 1999)University of California San Diego 
Pre-Master of Business Administration/Marketing Program San Diego, California, United States (1999 – 2000)

If we were to interview your teachers, what would they say about you?

Burge was curious, tenacious and focused, except in geometry — her least favorite subject.

What did you want to be when you grew up?

In high school, my best friend’s father was a NATO diplomat. I was fascinated by the countries he visited, the critical issues he tackled, the multiple languages he spoke and the pictures he had with some of the world’s leaders. So, I took the Foreign Service Officer test but failed the last round of interviews, and while disappointed, looking back, I would not have enjoyed the bureaucracy and red tape that come with diplomacy.

WORK

First Job: I worked as a tour guide in the ancient Greek city, Ephesus, in western Turkey. I wanted to improve my conversational English, get to know people from different cultures, learn the rich history of one of the seven wonders of the ancient world and save money to buy my first Volkswagen Beetle. Because of this job, I made lifelong friends in various parts of the world who I am still in touch with today.

The UPS Store, San Diego, California, United States
2000 – 2004: Marketing Manager, Franchise Sales
2004 – 2007: Senior Manager, International Marketing
 Jack in the Box, San Diego, California, United States
2007 – 2011: Senior Marketing Manager
2011 – 2012: Senior Manager, Operations Services
2012 – 2014: Business Unit Leader
2014 – 2016: Director, Regional and Product Marketing
2016 – 2018: Vice President, Product Marketing
 Boston Market, Golden, Colorado, United States
2018 – 2019: Vice President, Brand Strategy
 The Habit Burger Grill, Irvine, California, United States
2019 – present: Vice President, Brand Marketing

What moments, or who, in your life influenced the way you work?

Moving from Turkey to the United States

One of my favorite marketing professors in my pre-MBA program told me that he was really impressed that I had the courage to move from Turkey to the U.S. at 23 years old. He advised me to never lose sight of my adventurous spirit, and to this day, getting out of my comfort zone has always taught me the best lessons and made me more resilient both personally and professionally.

Stretch Assignment

In one of my previous jobs, I was put on a stretch assignment in Canada for a year and a half, which taught me how to adjust our brand messaging and tone based on cultural nuances while staying true to the core of our brand essence.

Lateral Move

When I worked at Jack in the Box, I made a lateral move from marketing to operations to broaden my perspective of the business and build trust and credibility with the franchisees. This experience helped me appreciate the key role the restaurant teams play in delivering great customer experiences and helped me become a well-rounded marketer, as I quickly realized that no matter how great a product or marketing idea is, if it cannot be scaled up and executed consistently, it will not work.

Do you believe in work/life balance?

Earlier in my career, as a young mother, trying to achieve the perfect work/life balance created unnecessary pressure and guilt on both fronts. Therefore, I try to embrace a more flexible approach that accommodates fluctuating demands of my work and personal life even when it is not always balanced.

I focus my energy on living a more fulfilling life by driving results and impact in my work, never missing special moments with my kids such as watching their soccer games, doing Pilates and taking long walks while listening to my favorite podcasts. These walks allow me to immerse myself in the environment, providing a deep appreciation for nature’s beauty and a gentle reminder of the importance of preserving and caring for our planet.

What do people think you do versus what you actually do?

People think my job is to come up with new food ideas, but really, my role is to spearhead marketing strategies, elevate The Habit as a modern and distinctive brand and drive our sustainability objectives. One of the most exciting initiatives I championed was the integration of plant-based burgers into our core menu, which reduced our carbon footprint. I was also proud to lead efforts to transition our to-go packaging from plastic to paper.

I still constantly get new recipes from passionate food enthusiasts, friends and family. If they are a good fit for our brand, I often pass along these ideas to our talented chef. Most recently, I got a suggestion for a fried doughnut burger from one of my son’s soccer coaches who was confident that it would be a massive hit for The Habit. I am still holding on to that idea!

What is the best piece of advice that you’ve been given?

Since I was a little girl, I have carried with me the inspiration instilled by my grandmother. She was the first female school principal in a small, conservative town in Turkey who had to overcome gender bias in a male-dominated society. She taught me to always chase my dreams, be proud of my heritage and to never allow any obstacle to hinder my pursuit of what may seem hard or even impossible.

WHAT MAKES YOU HAPPY?

As once a young immigrant with a thick accent striving her way forward to build a career in the U.S., I love helping others be seen, heard and be the best version of themselves, just like many of my mentors have done for me over the years.

One of my most rewarding accomplishments has been to establish The Habit’s first Equity, Inclusion & Belonging team, launching our first Business Employee Resource Group and the mentorship program to support our young talents’ professional and personal growth.

I am also passionate about helping refugee women and children through my involvement with several international NGOs. Seeing the resilience of people in the hardest situations helps me stay grounded, not to sweat the small stuff, appreciate all the ups and downs of life and role model empathy, kindness and compassion for my kids.

With a quantum leap in terms of focus on corporate sustainability and governance, with non-financial reporting and other mandatory requirements such as the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) coming into force, the competition for corporate sustainability talent is significant.

Driven from multiple angles; regulations, investors, consumers, and employees, 2021 was the start of a dramatic shift in how business leadership saw, and responded to, the broad sustainability and governance agenda. What started as an awareness has now become a business-critical element and altered the way businesses see sustainability and how it integrates into their business model.

No longer ‘a nice to have’, sustainability is viewed as an essential corporate function by many, intertwined with established departments like Finance, Procurement, Marketing and Operations.

The effect of this has seen “Green Jobs” grow significantly year on year. Chief Sustainability Officers have grown in number and now take their place at the table alongside other C-suite executives.

What do you need to know about recruiting for a sustainability role?

In what was already a nuanced and composite role, modern sustainability leadership roles have emerged with even greater complexity. This is in response to a myriad of new requirements; from reporting needs such as Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) to consumer, customer and employee demands for Environmental Social and Governance (ESG) related action, visibility, and accountability. All of this means that the role is often subtly different and bespoke to each organisation.

Not immune to the normal rules of supply vs. demand, this talent pool has come under unprecedented pressure. Combined with the complexity of the role criteria, the recruitment process arc often requires informed, creative thinking to reach a successful conclusion.

Here are our tips on how you can hire better, faster and get ahead of your competition throughout the recruitment process:

Define the brief – multiple stakeholders can make for muddled thinking

Sustainability strategies affect all parts of a business, bringing a host of potential “would like to haves” from different stakeholders to the profile.

Whilst it’s important to gather all your stakeholders’ requirements and build a complete picture of what would be ideal in the incumbent, this can create a muddled and potentially unachievable profile leading to a clunky process.

In what is a competitive and fast-moving market, clarity on what is absolutely required and what falls into a larger group of preferred characteristics will enable the process to flow, reduce time to hire and importantly present far better to the candidates themselves at interview.

Quite commonly, not all boxes will be ticked by a single candidate, know your red lines on the most critical elements and be ready to flex beyond them.

Know your audience – frame the opportunity

Mission and purpose driven, the sustainability leader wants to know what the role is but even more importantly why it exists – what the business wants to achieve, who amongst the Senior Leadership Team (SLT) is behind the role, what their operating parameters will be, and how the role fits into the overarching company culture and values.

Typically, a sustainability leader’s career decisions are heavily influenced by these factors (more than might be expected), so framing the opportunity in this way is key. In a tight candidate market, options are being compared with human factors, like purpose, impact and especially the role’s positioning, which will likely outweigh the fiscal ones.

Consider the right recruitment methodology – search, advertising, external, internal

Any methodology might and can work, but with experience of the market and an understanding of what has worked for others, a specialist recruiter will advise clients accordingly and help them navigate the challenges ahead.

Furthermore, market penetration is key to gaining applicants in a candidate short and risk adverse market. A specialist partner should significantly add value to the process through quality engagement and market insights as well as the number and quality of candidate options presented.

Iterate and innovate – prepare to adapt!

With no composite candidate (or role) profile in a complex and changing sustainability landscape, your role may evolve as the process progresses. New information will certainly come to light that changes the priorities or adds to the brief, it may also include the possibility that the ideal candidate – with all the required attributes listed at the outset – does not exist.

We work with clients to help inform their decision making through an iterative process, offering a range of solutions including ones that may not have been anticipated.

Iron out the wrinkles in the hiring process

Due diligence and standard processes are important to maintain. We recommend you plan for what may be a highly competitive landscape, having a smooth process that maintains energy and can be reactive to circumstances (if needed) is recommended.

An initial video call with the candidate will give you a good starting point for potential future conversations, and in return is an ideal first opportunity to showcase your organisation and provide more information about the role. This is most definitely a two-way street, so this first meeting is a great opportunity to start to understand what drives the candidate, but also what they can expect from you.

Beware – overly onerous first interviews will lose candidates before they have had a chance to become engaged.

Delays in arranging interviews are a huge own goal in a fast-moving talent short market. Commonly, we see multiple stakeholders trying to co-ordinate their diaries with the effect that it takes far too long to confirm dates for interview. If employers are hoping to see multiple candidates on the same day this often leads to further delays and a loss of momentum.

Engagement is key to securing that acceptance in the sustainability sector, nothing in the recruitment process says “this isn’t our priority” than a long delay between segments in the process.

Make your offer difficult to refuse

If you know your audience and their motivators, have matched them to your agreed specification and have held a robust yet engaging recruitment process, your candidate is almost one foot in the door. Ensure you have discussed all the elements that are important to the individual in play and design your remuneration and benefits package around them. Once you have the ideal person engaged, closing the deal by knowing what you both need and expect should be the easiest part of the process!

Allen & York can help – we take each assignment on its own merits and tailor our service according to our clients’ needs. We specialise in working with individuals, technical experts, talent acquisition specialists and recruitment teams to recruit individuals to look after the environment and the people working within it. We’ve built a vast network of talent, managed by dedicated professionals. So, whether you’re a big brand corporate, a consultancy, non-profit or NGO, we can help you hire and deliver value all through your recruitment process. Call us on +44(0)1202 888986 or email hello@allen-york.com to see how we can help you find the right person for the right role. 

By April Skeete, Manager of Corporate Sustainability at GoDaddy

In 2023, GoDaddy employees played a valuable role in working to fulfill our mission of empowering entrepreneurs everywhere, making opportunity more inclusive for all. Employees donated their time and resources to important causes, and the result was a positive impact across several communities. Through volunteerism and philanthropy, we aim to strengthen our GoDaddy community by giving back to the communities in which we live and work.

As we recognize National Volunteer Month this April in the U.S., we’d like to highlight some of the ways our employees made a positive impact during 2023, including:

Raising more than $370K in donations for over 350 organizations around the world, during a 200% donation matching campaign by GoDaddy.Reporting more than 4,600 volunteer hours supporting a wide variety of causes from inclusive entrepreneurship, food security, mentoring youth, housing, human services and more.Helping improve or curate new websites for 445 different Empower by GoDaddy entrepreneurs.Teaching 95 Empower by GoDaddy sessions on branding, social media and website design to help entrepreneurs grow their businesses online.

Empower by GoDaddy is our signature global social impact program that propels underserved entrepreneurs forward in their business journeys through education, networking and mentoring. In 2023, 57% of participating Empower by GoDaddy employees volunteered two or more times. Collectively, our Empower by GoDaddy employee volunteers positively impacted thousands of entrepreneurs throughout 2023.

Throughout 2023, GoDaddy employees came together as a united force, creating a sense of unity and camaraderie that was truly inspiring. They collaborated with peers, empowered underserved entrepreneurs and championed the work of GoDaddy’s employee resource groups (ERGs).

GoDaddy volunteers tackled crucial tasks supporting the operations of various community organizations worldwide, including:

Arizona employees, in coordination with our GoDaddy Black in Tech (GDBIT) and GoDaddy Latinx in Tech (GDLIT) ERGs tackled food insecurity with several events at the United Food Bank, Feed My Starving Children and St. Mary’s Food Bank. Arizona employees also came together on two separate occasions to uplift youth by building and donating bicycles and hosting a children’s holiday party benefiting the Boys & Girls Club of the Valley.The Beeston, U.K. team joined efforts to end homelessness by volunteering their time with Emmanuel House.In Kirkland, Washington, employees hosted a STEM activity for youth at the Boys & Girls Club of Kirkland, championing their mission of enabling young people to realize their full potential. Later in the year, employees gave their time to prepare and serve dinner to families staying at the Ronald McDonald House of Seattle, an organization supporting critically ill children and their families.Our GoDaddy interns came together virtually to decorate luggage bags for children transitioning into Foster Care through Foster Love.And lastly, hundreds of employees independently devoted their valuable time to countless causes that are personally meaningful to them.

GoDaddy employees provided entrepreneurs with access to capital. 

GoDaddy Venture Forward, a research initiative that quantifies the impact 20 million online microbusinesses have on their local economies, identified access to capital as one of the top three challenges microbusiness owners encounter when starting a business.

Through GoDaddy’s partnership with Kiva, a nonprofit organization on a mission to expand financial access to help underserved communities thrive, GoDaddy employees provided crucial funding to entrepreneurs around the world.

In 2023, employees had the opportunity to choose which eco-friendly entrepreneurs received GoDaddy funds in celebration of Earth Day, and by supporting the entrepreneurs of their choosing during U.S. Small Business Month. Additionally, GoDaddy publicly matched loans up to four times the giving amount, supporting select U.S. communities where Empower by GoDaddy has had programming. With employee help, in 2023, GoDaddy disbursed $114,050 across 640 loans to small business owners.

More than 200 employees, with support from GoDaddy, raised over $370K in donations for 350 organizations through GoDaddy’s ‘Power of Giving’ 200% donation match campaign.

Our employees care about a wide variety of causes that hold personal value to them. 

In addition to the $370K in donations raised last year, our ERGs proactively bolstered the work of several organizations. GDLIT provided hope for children through funds raised and donated to Toys for Tots, and GD Green financially supported GoDaddy customer, the Cookstove Project’s mission to eliminate preventable health hazards by helping women and their families gain access to efficient, clean cookstoves. 

GoDaddy encourages employees to continue making a difference in their communities. 

At GoDaddy, we know that our employees’ volunteerism and charitable giving not only strengthen our communities, but they also strengthen us as a team. Empowering our people here at GoDaddy moves us closer to realizing our vision to radically shift the global economy toward life-fulfilling entrepreneurial ventures. We are incredibly proud to celebrate our employees who share their resources to help others. We know, however, there isn’t a finish line, and we’re committed to our ongoing journey.

“GoDaddy is heart-led and that’s why I chose to join the company eight years ago, because at heart, we are aligned,” said Terri Wong, GoDaddy senior product designer and active volunteer. “It’s heart-expanding for me to grow with people who care, nurtured by the heart-led leadership, and now practicing the act of giving in everything I do – from empowering 20 million customers to achieve more impact and fulfillment, to contributing our time, money and energy to our communities, without asking anything in return. Greater good for all is our gift to this world.”