Month: April 2024

Originally published in Qualcomm’s 2023 Corporate Responsibility Report

This past year we launched the Africa Innovation Platform, a suite of mentorship, education and training programs created to support the development of Africa’s emerging technology ecosystem. The platform provides resources and support for local universities, small-to-medium sized startups and grant participants, exposing them to Qualcomm engineers and our state-of-the-art capabilities for mobile platforms and technologies, including 4G, 5G, IoT, AI and machine learning.

We have engaged governments, trade associations and other key stakeholders across the continent, and we collaborated with the African Telecommunications Union to launch the Africa Innovation Platform. This platform includes:

Qualcomm® Make in Africa Startup Mentorship Program
An equity-free mentorship program that has identified promising early-stage startups keen on applying advanced connectivity and processing technologies to innovative endto-end systems solutions. We also provide these companies with business coaching, access to engineering consultation for product development and guidance on protecting IP.

Qualcomm Africa University Relations Program
This program bolsters the research and educational capabilities of select African universities, research labs and students by providing them with learning platforms, associated trainings and Qualcomm developer kits. The program also works with university faculty to develop courses and lab curricula. Qualcomm Academy plans to expand its 5G University Training Program to students at select African universities. The students will be able to receive 5G training and certification from industry-leading engineers. In 2023, Qualcomm Academy formed partnerships with companies and universities in Nigeria, Cameroon, Ghana, Rwanda, Zambia and Egypt, with the goal of training engineers across the continent.

Wireless Reach
Since 2007, our Wireless Reach initiative has invested in Africa, including a collaboration with the International Telecommunication Union’s Development Bureau. This collaboration focuses on building foundational digital skills for youth, with the aim of fostering the early stage of the talent pipeline to drive digital, inclusive economic transformation across the continent.

Learn more about how Qualcomm is driving innovation, societal advancement and sustainability in the 2023 Corporate Responsibility Report

Originally published on 3M News Center

ST. PAUL, Minn., April 11, 2024 /3BL/ — 3M (NYSE: MMM) has invested in EVOLOH, a cleantech company that’s working to scale up manufacturing of its electrolyzers to make green hydrogen affordable and efficient.

Electrolyzers work by using electricity to separate the atoms in water. The result is hydrogen that can be used as clean fuel or chemical reactant to replace fossil fuels in industries that are traditionally difficult to decarbonize or abate, like steel production and aviation.

The low-cost production of green hydrogen is key to the world reaching its climate goals. The investment is part of 3M’s ongoing commitment to materials science-based climate tech solutions. It’s another way 3M is supporting the development of the hydrogen economy and working toward a clean energy transition.

“3M is excited about our investment in EVOLOH and the potential collaboration opportunities between our companies,” said Mark Copman, senior vice president, 3M New Growth Ventures. “3M has the opportunity to leverage our long-standing expertise in high volume membrane electrode assembly and shares EVOLOH’s vision to make clean and affordable hydrogen available around the world. 3M’s investment in EVOLOH fits well with the work 3M is doing to help support the hydrogen economy and move the planet toward a clean energy transition.”

EVOLOH takes an innovative approach to manufacturing electrolyzers with core components that do not require precious metals or rare earth materials and are made from abundant materials like steel, plastic and aluminum. That means lower cost electrolyzer modules for users, as well as lower costs for installation and maintenance.

3M Ventures, the venture capital arm of 3M, recently participated in EVOLOH’s $20 million Series A fundraising round, which will help the company scale up its manufacturing abilities.

“This round of funding positions EVOLOH to lead the electrolyzer manufacturing market by transforming electrolyzer stacks into affordable, efficient hardware commodities made with 100% local supply chains,” said Dr. Jimmy Rojas, founder and CEO of EVOLOH.

The investment in EVOLOH is just one of several 3M initiatives to enhance hydrogen technologies. Other examples include the development of a high-performance catalyst technology used in proton exchange membrane water electrolysis, another form of hydrogen production technology. Also, 3M and HD Hyundai Korea Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (KSOE) have signed a joint research project agreement to develop large liquid hydrogen storage tanks using 3M glass bubbles – a high-strength, low-density hollow glass microsphere.

Learn more about 3M solutions in the hydrogen economy

About 3M

3M (NYSE: MMM) believes science helps create a brighter world for everyone. By unlocking the power of people, ideas and science to reimagine what’s possible, our global team uniquely addresses the opportunities and challenges of our customers, communities, and planet. Learn how we’re working to improve lives and make what’s next at 3M.com/news.

Originally published on U.S. Bank company blog

Suzanne Rathbun was majoring in criminal justice and forensic science with a long-term plan of going to law school and becoming a prosecutor when the 2007-2008 financial crisis changed everything.

While getting her undergraduate degree during that time period, Rathbun worked in a law firm’s commercial real estate and financial practices group, and it gave her an up-close look at how bank loans work.

She found the work fascinating.

“I decided at that point, with less than year left of my undergrad degree, to switch course, start over and pursue a degree in finance,” Rathbun said. “It was the best decision I ever made.”

Rathbun got that finance degree and started a career in banking, where she’s held various loan administration roles in commercial real estate and other commercial lending products. She joined U.S. Bank in the summer of 2021 as the national head of Commercial Real Estate Loan Administration.

In this position, she leads teams that administer the entire life of a loan, from the preclosing work to closing and funding the loan, to continuing loan administration and monitoring. She also leads the compliance, risk and disbursement teams. The teams support the bank’s Commercial Real Estate and Commercial Banking Middle Market CRE groups and work on complex loans ranging from $10 million to well over $150 million.

“We provide direct support internally to relationship managers, underwriters and credit officers, but we also communicate directly with clients, whether they are private developers or up to institutional commercial real estate investors,” Rathbun said. “U.S. Bank has disciplined credit, process and risk mitigation practices, and we help make sure those practices are followed every step of the way.”

Rathbun’s teams need to have a deep understanding of commercial real estate processes, she said.

“We need to understand everything that is needed from a legal documentation, commercial real estate due diligence and credit policy standpoint to support both the client and the bank,” Rathbun said. “It’s a very technical space but at the same time, I really try to reinforce with my team that not everything is black and white. There’s going to be a gray area sometimes and we need to assess and analyze all the information that’s available to come up with the right course of action.”

Rathbun has a great passion for the industry, she said. She is part of several industry groups and enjoys mentoring people on various teams in the bank as well as through the University of Richmond’s Women in Leadership Certificate Program, where she is an advisor.

She also gets great satisfaction from seeing commercial real estate projects come to fruition.

“Some people may see a project as just another building, but I like to think about the impact it will have on an area,” she said. “It can generate employment opportunities, provide financing for multifamily housing to support a growing market and provide retail for much-needed amenities.”

Originally published on Tork.com

Almost 1 in 3 Americans face barriers when it comes to washing their hands.* Discover how removing these barriers can make your restrooms more hygienic and inclusive.

Watch the film

We placed the stories of people facing hand hygiene barriers into the hands of those with the power to make a change, at the very place these barriers occur. The restroom. 

Hand hygiene barriers

Throughout our lives, many of us do at some point face barriers when washing our hands in public restrooms. These invisible hand hygiene barriers can affect people in multiple ways, but there are multiple solutions. The problem is, it’s only the people who face the barriers that are aware of them. 

Age-related barriers

Our personal capabilities change with age, affecting mobility, reach and strength. In fact, around 1 in 5 adults experience difficulties using soap or hand towel dispensers due to an injury, health condition, physical capability or as a parent with a child.*

When you get to be my age, with my joints, simply using the buttons and faucets in public restrooms can be a real struggle.

Gay. New York

Auditory sensitivity

Some people are more sensitive to loud noises than others, especially the neurodivergent or autistic, as well as young children. 1 in 7 American adults cited loud noises as a source of difficulty personally or when assisting a child using public restrooms.*

I have to cover my daughter’s ears if someone is using the dryer or Flushing the toilet. I hope one day she can use the restroom without the anxiety she has now.

-Mary, San Diego

Hygiene concerns

Many people avoid visiting public toilets and washing their hands due to poor hygiene levels. And more than 1 in 3 Americans cite lack of cleanliness as a barrier to using workplace or public restrooms.*

I have contamination OCD and am hypersensitive to dirty restrooms

Brooke. Utah

Skin sensitivities

Some soaps contain ingredients that can cause skin irritation. In the US 31.6 m people suffer from eczema** and may find that some hand soaps irritate their skin.

So many people have eczema like me, I don’t get why they stock public restrooms with harsh fragrant soaps. It’s not fair.

– Mason, Brooklyn, NY

Simple, practical actions

Simple, practical actions to help make hand hygiene more inclusive in your restroom.

Download your guide here.

“We applaud Tork for leading the charge on this important initiative and continuing to push for attention and improvement of the accessibility of hand washing in public and workplace restrooms.”

Ron Clemmer, Secretariat Director, Global Handwashing Partnership

References

* Survey among nationally representative group, barriers faced personally or in assisting others, 2024  

** Eczema Prevalence, Quality of Life and Economic Impact (nationaleczema.org)

Eastman

KINGSPORT, Tenn., April 11, 2024 /3BL/ – Eastman’s “Project Balanced” digital innovation has earned the company a spot on the list of 2024 CIO 100 award winners.

For more than 25 years, the CIO 100 Awards from Foundry’s CIO have recognized innovative organizations around the world that exemplify the highest level of strategic and operational excellence in IT.

Project Balanced is a digital twin solution that enables the traceability of Eastman’s mass balanced recycled content – from intake of waste plastic at our molecular recycling facility in Kingsport through to our finished products that are sold to customers around the world – in a transparent and easily auditable way that also allows for the rapid scale-up of Eastman’s molecular recycling efforts.

“This recognition is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our team in leveraging innovative digital solutions to drive business value and make a positive impact not only on Eastman, but on the world,” said Aldo Noseda, Eastman vice president and chief information officer. “Receiving this CIO 100 award is both humbling and rewarding.”

About the US CIO 100 Awards

The annual US CIO 100 Awards celebrate 100 organizations and the teams within them that use IT in innovative ways to deliver business value, whether by creating competitive advantage, optimizing business processes, enabling growth, or improving relationships with customers. The award is an acknowledged mark of enterprise excellence. Coverage of the 2024 US CIO 100 award-winning projects will be available online at www.cio.com.

About CIO

CIO focuses on attracting the highest concentration of enterprise CIOs and business technology executives with unparalleled peer insight and expertise on business strategy, innovation, and leadership. As organizations grow with digital transformation, CIO provides its readers with key insights on career development, including certifications, hiring practices and skills development. The award-winning CIO portfolio provides business technology leaders with analysis and insight on information technology trends and a keen understanding of IT’s role in achieving business goals. CIO is published by Foundry, an IDG Inc. Company. Company information is available at www.foundryco.com.

About Eastman

Founded in 1920, Eastman is a global specialty materials company that produces a broad range of products found in items people use every day. With the purpose of enhancing the quality of life in a material way, Eastman works with customers to deliver innovative products and solutions while maintaining a commitment to safety and sustainability. The company’s innovation-driven growth model takes advantage of world-class technology platforms, deep customer engagement, and differentiated application development to grow its leading positions in attractive end markets such as transportation, building and construction, and consumables. As a globally inclusive and diverse company, Eastman employs approximately 14,000 people around the world and serves customers in more than 100 countries. The company had 2023 revenue of approximately $9.2 billion and is headquartered in Kingsport, Tennessee, USA. For more information, visit www.eastman.com.

Media contact

Jessica Fischer
Eastman Corporate Communications
423-229-1620
jessica.fischer@eastman.com