Month: May 2024

May 9, 2024 /3BL/ – Ceres joins businesses with employees and operations across Maryland to applaud lawmakers and Gov. Wes Moore for strengthening the state’s EmPOWER program by aligning its energy efficiency targets with the state’s ambitious climate goals.

Maryland’s EmPOWER program has been in place for two decades to help residents and businesses access and install more efficient appliances in their homes and buildings, generating more than $4 billion in ratepayer savings, lowering utility bills for thousands of low-income residents, reducing strain on the power grid, and creating thousands of jobs.

Under the new law, EmPOWER must set explicit greenhouse gas emission pollution reduction goals that align with the state’s commitment to cut the state’s share of planet-warming pollution by 60% by 2030 and achieve net zero emissions by 2045.

“At A.O. Smith, we know that high efficiency products offer consumers access to a critical resource that saves them money, and we strive to ensure that our products are accessible and affordable for consumers. Programs like EmPOWER help to ensure that these benefits are widely felt by businesses, households, and ratepayers of all backgrounds,” said Joshua C. Greene, vice president for government, regulatory, and industry affairs at A. O. Smith. “We applaud the state legislature and Gov. Moore for expanding and bolstering the program by aligning it with the state’s ambitious climate goals.”

“We applaud the Maryland legislature for passing legislation to reform the EmPOWER Program. This is a great example of how public policy can support environmental justice while sharing the benefits of the low-carbon transition across all segments of society,” Julie Gorte, senior vice president, sustainable investing, Impax Asset Management.

“By connecting homeowners and contractors with efficiency programs, Sealed has seen firsthand how programs like EmPOWER benefit consumers, local economies, and the climate all at once,” said David Kolata, vice president of policy, Sealed. “We are excited that Gov. Moore and Maryland lawmakers are bolstering these wide-ranging benefits by ensuring EmPOWER is at the center of the state’s efforts to confront climate change.”

Several major businesses including A. O. Smith, dsm-firmenich, EILEEN FISHER, Sealed, and Uplight supported strengthening the EmPOWER Program during the 2024 legislative session. In a letter organized by Ceres, the businesses voiced their support for investing in energy efficiency and aligning the EmPOWER program with Maryland’s climate goals.

“We applaud the General Assembly and Gov. Wes Moore for expanding the EmPOWER program to help ensure Maryland meets its ambitious climate goals,” said Jeff Mauk, director of state policy, Ceres. “Energy efficiency has a crucial role to play in reducing climate pollution while also bringing significant economic benefits to businesses and residents. The continued investment in energy efficiency will allow Maryland to lower utility costs for ratepayers, cut pollution, and bring new local jobs to communities.”

Ceres is a nonprofit advocacy organization working to accelerate the transition to a cleaner, more just, and sustainable world. United under a shared vision, our powerful networks of investors and companies are proving sustainability is the bottom line — changing markets and sectors from the inside out. For more information, visit ceres.org.

Media Contact: Helen Booth-Tobin, booth-tobin@ceres.org

At Covia, we believe that thriving communities can help change the world. That’s why The Covia Foundation, Covia’s philanthropic arm, has been investing in social impact for decades. We have worked with our partners and communities across the world to make a difference through time, talent, and financial support. This year, Covia employees have already donated hundreds of hours in the communities where we live and work. Below are a few ways our employees are making a difference. To learn more about The Covia Foundation, please visit https://www.coviacorp.com/esg/positive-social-impact/the-covia-foundation/.

Huntersville, North Carolina Office

Bags of Hope

Covia Team Members recently showed their support for Bags of Hope by assembling more than 140 bags of food for children in the local community. Bags of Hope is an organization that aims to provide weekend food supplies to school children in the Lake Norman, North Carolina, area who face food insecurity. Currently, they support over 700 kids in the region every weekend. These bags consist of nutritious breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack, and beverage items.

Roff, Oklahoma Plant

Roff Food Pantry

As part of the Roff Plant’s commitment to its local community, Steve Burrows, Maintenance Lead Man, proposed establishing a community food pantry. The City of Roff approved the project, and the maintenance team, including Steve, James Gregory, and Adom Black, began designing the pantry. After the design was approved by the city and location was determined, the Roff maintenance team took the lead once again and built the pantry at Veteran’s Park. Once completed, the local community quickly filled the shelves. Thanks to the collaborative efforts of the community and our plant team, this invaluable resource became accessible to those in need.

Troy Grove, Illinois Plant

Camp Tuckabatchee

Covia’s Troy Grove, Illinois, plant volunteered at Camp Tuckabatchee, a youth camp that provides a safe environment where campers have the opportunity to develop an understanding and appreciation of nature. Team members removed and replaced shutters, removed hardware from sleeping cabins, helped dig out and rebuild fire pits around the camp, and helped clean up leaves and sticks.

Portage, Wisconsin Plant

Wisconsin Department of Transportation Adopt-A-Highway Program

Covia’s Portage plant actively participates in the Wisconsin Department of Transportation’s Adopt-A-Highway program. Covia employees, along with their extended family members, were given the opportunity to clean up the area along highway 51. In this year’s cleanup, they managed to collect a total of 18 trash bags filled with trash and debris. Additionally, they safely disposed of larger items like tires, pallets, hub caps, and wood pieces. The volunteers witnessed firsthand the impact of littering, but they also experienced the satisfaction of making a positive change by cleaning up their local area.

The Woodlands, Texas Office

Kids’ Meals

In collaboration with the Power of HalliburtonTM, Covia’s office in The Woodlands, Texas, spent time at Kids’ Meals assembling more than 500 sandwiches for preschool children in Montgomery County, Texas. Kids’ Meals’ mission is to end childhood hunger in Houston by delivering free healthy meals, year-round, to the doorsteps of Houston’s hungriest preschool-aged children and, through collaboration, provide their families with resources to end the cycle of poverty.

Ottawa, Illinois Office

Shepherd Middle School

The total solar eclipse was an extraordinary and significant event, serving as an educational experience for many schools in the United States. Tony Michels, Accounting Manager at Covia, went out of his way to support Shepherd Middle School by securing funds from The Covia Foundation and volunteering his time. Thanks to Covia’s support in offsetting the cost of eclipse glasses and Tony’s dedication, the students were able to safely experience this rare natural phenomenon. Tony later stated, “it was truly gratifying to witness the joy and excitement of the students during this momentous occasion.”

Originally published in the Delaware Business Magazine‘s May/June 2024 issue.

By Najwa Corum, Early Career Program Leader at Chemours

The world is innovating at a rapid pace as we work to solve major global challenges, from climate change and decarbonization to managing the boom in artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies.

At Chemours, our chemistry is integral to many of the innovations needed to solve these problems, including the development of clean energy, electric vehicles, semiconductor chips, sustainable refrigeration and cooling solutions, and more. While these transformations are helping us build a brighter future for our planet, they aren’t without their demands—including access to a strong and diverse Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) workforce here in Delaware and across the country.

Some forecasts show that the United States will add nearly 800,000 new STEM jobs by 2031, compared to 2021 numbers. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) predicts data science jobs will increase by 35% by 2032, mechanical engineers by 10%, chemical engineers by 8%, and chemists and materials scientist jobs by 6%—all at rates faster than average for all occupations.

That’s why Chemours is focused on identifying and developing that next generation of talent through initiatives like our internship/ co-op program and investments in STEM education. Our program is part of our strategic effort to attract high-quality, early-career talent from colleges and universities. It provides students with a hands-on opportunity to jumpstart their career in fields like chemical or mechanical engineering at one of our manufacturing sites or in research and development positions at the Chemours Discovery Hub (CDH) on the University of Delaware’s STAR Campus. At the same time, this program allows our teams to train and evaluate high-potential candidates who can meet our future hiring needs.

In 2023, we hosted 97 interns and co-ops across our plant sites and locations, with nearly a third of the graduating seniors becoming full-time employees.

However, ensuring a strong STEM workforce also means having a diverse one. Innovation is driven by diversity; diversity in thinking, experiences, and backgrounds. To continue to innovate and meet future challenges, we need input from different perspectives.

The numbers from our 2023 internship/co-op program paint a promising picture of the progress we have made in diversifying our talent pool. Women candidates made up 35% of the program in 2023, with ethnic candidates comprising 48% of the talent pool who self-reported on these metrics. Moreover, 5% of interns in our program attended a Historically Black College or University (HBCU).

Partnerships are essential to our progress and investments in the future of STEM. Nearly half of the students in our 2023 internship program came from universities and colleges where we have established relationships, including Delaware State University and the University of Delaware. At the same time, we leverage partnerships with organizations like the Society of Women Engineers, Women in Manufacturing, the National Society of Black Engineers, the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, and the Society of Asian Scientists and Engineers to increase reach to potential candidates.

We also utilize our scholarship programs, such as the Future of STEM Scholars Initiative (FOSSI) and Chemours’ Future of Chemistry Scholarships (FOCS), to tap into diverse talent pools.

FOSSI is a game-changing program that provides scholarships and professional development opportunities to uplift students from communities that are underrepresented in STEM. Chemours has partnered with the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, the American Chemistry Council, and the HBCU Week Foundation to help ensure students pursuing STEM degrees at HBCUs receive scholarships and are connected to internships, leadership development, and mentoring opportunities. Through FOSSI, Chemours has sponsored 60 scholars, each of whom has received a scholarship of $40,000.

FOCS, in turn, delivers scholarships to high-potential young people from communities where we operate who will or are currently studying a STEM-related field in college—helping them on their journey to an exciting and meaningful career. With the forecasted growth of the STEM industry, we need a robust and diverse pool of talent to develop innovations and help tackle global challenges.

Chemours is proud to play a pivotal role in helping to identify up-and-coming talent, connect students with scholarship opportunities, and provide real-world learning experiences to the next generation of innovators. We encourage more students to explore the opportunities Chemours has to offer (check out www.chemours.com/careers) to begin or continue their journey in STEM. We believe that together, we will create a better world through the power of our chemistry.

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