Month: May 2024

By Dana Obrist

In recognition of Earth Day, Regions is sharing a series of articles that highlight how teams and associates across the bank are contributing to our commitment to operate in environmentally sound ways that make life better for all.

We’ve all heard that carbon dioxide (or CO2) in the environment is cited as a contributing factor to climate change – a topic that has been making headlines around the world for decades.

A lesser-known topic is one of the solutions positioned to reduce the effects of climate change and provide opportunity for large landowners: carbon sequestration.

What is Carbon Sequestration?

Carbon sequestration is the process of capture, removal and storage of carbon dioxide from the earth’s atmosphere. It has been recognized as a key method for removing excess CO2 from the environment. By capturing carbon at the industrial emission source before it enters the atmosphere, the process often referred to as carbon capture, usage and storage (CCUS) leverages a suite of technologies enabling the mitigation of CO2 emissions.

Carbon sequestration is yet another way for our clients to put their land to work for them by creating an additional revenue stream with possibly less impact to the surface of their land than more traditional oil and gas exploration.

Joseph Collier, Regions Natural Resources and Real Estate group mineral manager

Collier has been a mineral manager with Regions for 16 years. He and his team are at the forefront of the bank’s work with trust, agency and consulting clients seeking to better understand carbon sequestration and opportunities on their land.

Delivering Industry Knowledge

“As mineral managers, we negotiate oil and gas leases for clients in an effort to achieve top market prices for lease bonus payments and royalty percentages, as well as ensuring that the leases include provisions to protect the client’s land and mineral right,” said Collier.

Collier and his team leverage their experience in the oil and gas industry by applying the same principals and skillset to negotiating CCUS contracts for clients.

“We based our contracts and the structure of monetary compensation on the same principals used in drafting and negotiating oil and gas contracts,” Collier noted.

Regions entered this space in 2021, closing the first deal in late 2022. That project could see its first carbon injection as soon as 2027.

“It takes time – up to several years – to obtain permitting and get everything in place to begin the carbon injection process,” noted Collier. “From a financial perspective, we’re able to structure annual rental payments until the injection process begins, then defining the amounts of payments going forward based on volume of CO2 injected.”

The interest has grown significantly, and the team is currently working across the wealth management and commercial banking sectors to help connect landowners and business operators to reap the benefits of carbon sequestration.

Carbon Capture Gaining Traction on the Gulf Coast

Louisiana State University is getting in on the action around carbon capture. The U.S. Department of Energy has awarded nearly $5 million to an LSU-led consortium to study the feasibility of building a carbon capture hub in Louisiana.

The school began offering a first-of-its-kind concentration in carbon capture, utilization and storage through its Craft and Hawkins Department of Petroleum Engineering in the fall of 2022.

“This is a new industry that is seeing a lot of traction on the Gulf Coast in recent years,” said Stephanie Coln, Private Wealth Management leader for Regions in Louisiana, who recently worked with a client who owns several large tracts of land. “Through our extensive networks, we had a company very interested in the carbon capture process and were able to negotiate financial terms benefitting both the client and the company.”

An ideal location for carbon sequestration is large, contiguous acreage, typically 2,000-plus, within close proximately to CO2 emitters or existing CO2 pipelines. It’s also beneficial if little or no existing active oil and gas wells or leases are present.

“With these projects, the client retains full control over the decision making throughout the process,” noted Collier, adding that Regions’ role is to market the client’s land to CCUS operators and negotiate all terms and provisions of CCUS contracts.

Carbon Sequestration: Exploring the Tax Benefits

There is a tax benefit to carbon sequestration, as well.

The U.S. federal government provides tax credits to taxpayers that capture carbon dioxide in qualified processes, in accordance with rules laid out in Section 45Q of the Internal Revenue Code.

The 45Q tax credit has been expanded a number of times since it was initially established in 2008, with the primary purpose to incentivize investment in carbon capture, utilization and storage projects. In 2020 and early 2021, the U.S. Treasury Department and the IRS published guidance that addressed several open questions about how the credit works, providing additional confidence for investment in CCUS.

This information is general in nature and is not intended to be legal, tax, or financial advice. Consult an appropriate professional concerning your specific situation and irs.gov for current tax rules. The purchase of an insurance product through Regions Bank or any of its affiliates is completely optional. Regions Bank may not condition an extension of credit or the provision of other services on either: 1) the purchase of an insurance product through Regions Bank or any of its affiliates, or 2) an agreement not to obtain or a prohibition on obtaining, an insurance product from an entity not affiliated with Regions Bank.

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Trust and investment management services are offered through Regions Private Wealth Management, a business unit of Regions Bank. Investment advisory services are offered through Regions Investment Management, Inc. “RIM”. RIM is a Registered Investment Adviser and wholly owned subsidiary of Regions Bank, which in turn, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Regions Financial Corporation.

CHARLOTTE, N.C., May 13, 2024 /3BL/ – Global edtech leader Discovery Education and a selection of corporate partners recently released an array of new, free dynamic digital resources that nurture student curiosity and support student achievement.

The newly launched resources are designed to help educators keep students engaged in learning as they approach the end of the school year by connecting classroom learning to the real-world. The new content available includes:

Virtual Field Trips

The Innovators for Impact Virtual Field Trip from STEM Forward, a program with Panasonic and Olympian & Presidential Medal of Freedom award winner Katie Ledecky, is designed to help educators inspire student innovation in STEM. Travel virtually to Japan with Katie Ledecky to meet and interact with Panasonic STEM specialists who are exploring innovative ways of living and working today, and in the future. A 3-time Olympian, 7-time Olympic Gold Medalist (10-time Olympic Medalist), and 21-time World Champion, Katie is a proud STEM advocate.The Game Plan for the Future: A Virtual Field Trip with the NBA for students in grades 3-8 showcases how STEM concepts are helping the NBA think about sustainability in its arenas and offices and spark an individual’s interest in sustainability to improve the communities in which they are located.

Virtual and Augmented Reality Resources

Educators can discover more Immersive Learning solutions from Discovery Education here.

The Reach for the Sky Virtual Reality experience from Reach for the Sky – designed with Edge at Hudson Yards – is a one-of-a-kind experience in which students can control their journey and interact with their environment as they explore learning hotspots, visit a weather observation station, and take flight with a drone through the New York City skyline.Discover the wonders of prehistoric Earth in this immersive learning experience with TimePod Adventures, a program created with Verizon. Available through a 3D virtual desktop experience and free in app stores, students go back 67 million years to the Late Cretaceous Period to uncover topics such as evolution, fossilization, paleontology, and more! Throughout, students are guided by an AI assistant named ADA, who provides additional information. Keyboard controls and mission objectives are always visible. Get ready for an adventure that transcends time! 

Ready-to-Use Activities

Educators can find new lesson plan bundles from Conservation Station: Creating a More Resourceful World—an educational initiative produced in partnership with Itron. The resources inspire students to explore water conservation, energy, and smart cities while the accompanying educator guides make it easy to integrate these resources into classroom activities.A series of classroom activities from Better for Earth, Better for Us, an educational program from LG that takes students into the world of animal adaptations to observe snow leopards in real-time. With these resources, students are empowered to collaborate with their peers to create a project of their choice.From Amazon Career Tours comes ready-to-use classroom activities exploring the cutting-edge careers of the future and the intriguing people and technology behind Amazon’s innovations. Resources include a space innovation tour, an exploration of a robotics fulfillment center, a tour of a data center, and more.

Engaging Videos

The new Financial Sense video series from Discover’s Pathway to Financial Success in Schools covers important topics such as saving, balancing spending, how people get paid, and taxes in age-appropriate videos and classroom activities. This continuously updated series is designed to help students in grades 2-5 make sense of their dollars and cents.Anatomy of a Hit Song from Working in Harmony, a partnership with the Country Music Association, takes students behind the scenes of Country Music production to learn what goes into the making of a hit song. Students will go on a virtual tour exploring the making of a song and learn how STEAM is an essential ingredient every step of the way.The new Defying the Digital Dilemma video from the Creative Visions Classroom program shows students that taking a break from social media doesn’t necessarily mean missing out on what’s happening in the world while also addressing the potential downsides of social media. Students hear from peers who took ownership over their social media use and learned to have a healthier, more engaged social life away from the algorithm.

“As the school year begins to wrap up, we wanted to ensure that educators had in hand some new, creative, and engaging ways to foster student curiosity,” said Amy Nakamoto, General Manager of Corporate Partnerships at Discovery Education. “This selection of content showcases relevant and appealing resources that cover important topics and use cutting-edge technologies to attract and sustain student attention.”

For more information about Discovery Education’s award-winning digital resources and professional learning solutions visit www.discoveryeducation.com, and stay connected with Discovery Education on social media through X (formerly Twitter), LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook.

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About Discovery Education 
Discovery Education is the worldwide edtech leader whose state-of-the-art digital platform supports learning wherever it takes place. Through its award-winning multimedia content, instructional supports, innovative classroom tools, and corporate partnerships, Discovery Education helps educators deliver equitable learning experiences engaging all students and supporting higher academic achievement on a global scale. Discovery Education serves approximately 4.5 million educators and 45 million students worldwide, and its resources are accessed in over 100 countries and territories. Inspired by the global media company Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. Discovery Education partners with districts, states, and trusted organizations to empower teachers with leading edtech solutions that support the success of all learners. Explore the future of education at www.discoveryeducation.com.

Contacts 
Grace Maliska 
Discovery Education 
Email: gmaliska@dicoveryed.com

By James Pollard

Read the Full story on AP news.

Common Impact leverages the increased power of corporations in society by connecting their employees with community groups. CEO Leila Saad describes it as the corporate version of legal pro bono work.

More workplaces are bolstering their volunteer programs, especially as employee demands grow for socially responsible employers and engagement. Nearly three in five companies surveyed by the Association of Corporate Citizenship Professionals reported increased opportunities for group volunteering last year.

With National Volunteer Week in the rearview mirror, coworkers buoyed by recent acts of kindness might be looking for ways to integrate service more regularly into their professional schedules. They stand to benefit themselves, too. Recent University of Oxford research suggests organized volunteering is one of the most effective workplace programs for improving workers’ well-being.

But not all corporate volunteering is created equal. The following advice from experts and nonprofit leaders provides some best practices for anyone interested in building or strengthening an officewide culture of service.

Continue reading on AP News

Connect with Leila Saad on LinkedIn. For more social impact content, follow Common Impact on LinkedIn and sign-up for our monthly newsletter. Ready to learn more about skills-based volunteering? Reach out.

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About Common Impact 

Common Impact is a national nonprofit that fosters meaningful partnerships between purpose-driven Fortune 500 companies and nonprofits worldwide to propel social good. Since 2000, Common Impact has generated over 205,000 hours of skills-based volunteering and $40 million in resources. Common Impact is dedicated to helping nonprofits expand their capacity, improve efficiency, and deliver on their mission with customized and impactful projects through corporate partnerships. Learn more about Common Impact’s services, impact, and clients.

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Media Contact

Elizabeth Cross, Obviouslee Marketing 
common-impact@obviouslee.com

Growing up in rural Georgia, Shirley Sherrod never planned to stay in her native South. All that changed when her father, a farmer and a church deacon, was shot by a white farmer and died later that week. Sherrod was 17 at the time, about to graduate from high school.

“The thought occurred to me then, as I prayed and asked for help, that I could give up my dream of living my life in the North,” Sherrod said. “I could stay in the South and devote my life to working for change.”

Shirley Sherrod, 76, has spent the past half-century working for change. With her husband Charles Sherrod, a well-known civil rights leader, in 1969 she co-founded New Communities, Inc., the country’s first collective land trust, creating a safe haven and a position of power for Black farmers removed from their land. When the organization lost its land to foreclosure in the 1980s, Sherrod went to work for the Federation of Southern Cooperatives, where she was tasked with helping Black farmers keep their land.

The Sherrods devoted their lives to advancing voting rights, solidarity, and wealth building through land ownership. But for a new generation of housing leaders like Devin Culbertson, their story is much more than a history lesson. It’s an urgent call to action.

“Movements must evolve and adapt to the current landscape and challenges. And the foundation of the Sherrods’ land ownership model remains more relevant than ever,“ said Culbertson, vice president of innovative finance at Grounded Solutions Network.

The legacy of the Sherrods’ work has spread far beyond the farmlands of southern Georgia, with the community land trust model gaining traction across the country, even in urban areas.

Together with his team at Grounded Solutions Network, Culbertson is building on that model with the support of a $3 million grant from the Housing Affordability Breakthrough Challenge led by Enterprise and the Wells Fargo Foundation. Their winning financing innovation, the Homes for the Future Fund, aims to promote homeownership and upward mobility in Black and brown communities, while keeping homes affordable in perpetuity. Culbertson likens the grant to venture capital, critical support that offers bold leaders flexible resources and a network of expertise to advance their solutions.

Culbertson recently spoke with Shirley Sherrod about the power and potential of the community land trust movement. Here are excerpts from their conversation.

Devon Culbertson: New Communities Inc. – the organization you founded in 1969 – is the starting place for the community land trust movement. What made you feel this was the right work to focus on?

Shirley Sherrod: Our work started with the Civil Rights Movement and organizing here in rural southwest Georgia. As we were helping people to exercise their rights, they would get kicked off the land owned by white people. “Our goal was to try to acquire land so that we would never lose it. And that’s why we chose the community land trust model so that we would all own it together. No one person could mortgage anything so that we could lose it.”

We were really trying to look at how to get this land and hold it forever, for everyone’s use.

DC: What has kept you focused on this movement over the years, given the headwinds you have faced? What has kept you there on a personal level?

SS: I did not intend to live my life on the farm, and I didn’t intend to live my life in the South. Everything changed in one night – the night my father was murdered by a white farmer, who was not prosecuted, even though there were witnesses. I’m the oldest of six children and I was 17 and a senior in high school on that night. My mother was pregnant with my brother.

As the oldest, I needed to come up with a plan. I had no idea what I would do then – it unfolded through the years; initially, it was trying to integrate schools. Then it was trying to get the right to vote.

At a certain point, we were also looking at how the local county committee would target Black landowners. If they were trying to borrow money or get access to programs through USDA, they would be denied. The land was targeted, and Black landowners would end up losing it. Around 1910, Black farmers owned over 15 million acres and we’re down to less than 2 million acres now.

Through the years, marrying Charles Sherrod and getting deeply involved in the civil rights work and working with farmers, we realized that the only way to hold on to land was to own it together.

DC: Land meant so many things then and it means different things now – stability for families, source of political agency, the ability to vote, and economic opportunity. What did land mean to you and why did holding that land become so powerful?

SS: Land was a path to independence – as much as we could, as Black people, have independence in the Jim Crow era. Land meant having a path to getting an education. We have doctors and lawyers and so forth, because that base of land was purchased. And many of them didn’t stay on the farm – I didn’t intend to stay there either.

At New Communities we didn’t just work on acquiring land. We also made the decision that we would not operate in the normal way of a big boss and everybody working under that. We decided we would have committees – for example, there was a farm committee, there was also an education committee, a health committee, and an industry committee.

We looked to the land to help move us forward as we worked together. But we had that added layer of racism and discrimination to deal with. And that ultimately caused the failure of our project.

DC: That really resonates. We see situations where people go through foreclosure and become renters in their own homes. How do we use our understanding of how the deck can be stacked against us to better serve people?

SS: I’ve worked with farmers for years and had to convince them in the earlier years, it’s no longer possible for you to work your farm without working with other farmers and forming cooperatives. At one point I helped a group of farmers learn how to raise seedless watermelons. The markets in the area were not open to us. So we connected with a group in Boston and we were shipping seedless watermelons from Georgia to Boston. People had to understand it’s no longer possible for them to be on that little plot of land and not interact and work with other farmers.

DC: What do you see as lessons for creating broader economic benefit through this type of cooperation and solidarity?

SS: When people come together, truly committed to working with each other, the sky is the limit in terms of ideas and things they can do together to create their own jobs and income stream. A good example for us was in the 1990s, when Ben and Jerry’s wanted to do something to help with Black land loss. They said they would buy product from Black farmers to go in their ice cream. So, I organized farmers into a co-op that we called Southern Alternatives. We faced a lot of opposition because it was hard to find a white-owned sheller who would process our pecans for us. And in the end, Ben and Jerry’s had to strong arm their major supplier to get them to do it.

When you are working together and people see you working together, opportunities surface. Even when folks look across town and feel that they don’t have the resources to get started – they can’t let that stop them.