Month: May 2024

James had been free from using drugs for a decade when a routine test at his local health center revealed he had hepatitis C (HCV).

James was one of many people in the island nation of Mauritius to receive a diagnosis. After seeing a surge of cases that mirrored a global trend, the government began searching for solutions and ultimately began a partnership with Gilead.

Gilead started developing curative therapies for HCV more than a decade ago and as part of its efforts to help ensure its medicines reach those who most need them, the company works with governments in regions of high prevalence around the world to provide low-cost treatment. Public-private partnerships like this are credited with helping James and others find success in treatment and with helping lead to the elimination of HCV.

“Five years back, it was impossible for the country to get these medications,” says Dr. Kailesh Jagutpal, Mauritius’ Minister of Health and Wellness. “If you have this level of commitment within the government, the elimination of hepatitis C in this region is possible.”

James, now in his mid-60s, has finished his treatment and is doing well. Mauritius, meanwhile, is on track to be rid of viral hepatitis within the decade.

Originally published by Gilead Sciences

Professor and psychologist Thema Bryant said: “Allyship is not an identity — it is a lifelong process of building relationships based on trust, consistency and accountability with marginalized individuals or groups of people.” To me, this statement reflects our vision for allyship at Clorox. It’s about the things we do and the actions we take to consistently advocate for a culture of inclusion, equity and sense of belonging.

Allyship is the newest part of our inclusion, diversity, equity and allyship efforts (what we refer to as IDEA), which fuels our IGNITE strategy. It helps create a more inclusive workplace where teammates can do their best work and we can better meet the diverse needs of the consumers we serve globally. It’s a call for everyone to play an active role by putting others first.

As we roll out this work, we identified four areas where teammates can put allyship into practice:

Be Curious: Have the desire to understand the experiences of others to help find points of connection and discover how to be most valuable as an ally.Seek to Understand: Learn the history and issues that affect other people to expand perspectives and enable us to see things through a different lens. Show Empathy: Reach beyond your own lived experiences to gain understanding of the experiences of others without judgment.Act Courageously: Lend your voice to amplify or support others

As a company we’re committed to practicing allyship every day as individuals, teams and a company. We’ll be talking about the practice in our meetings and events, recognizing teammates who exemplify allyship and holding ourselves accountable to one another. We’ll be hosting Cups of Understanding sessions to dive deep into the topic through candid discussions and working with our business units and functions to bring allyship to life on our teams. After all, it’s not only the right thing to do, but it will also help our brands better serve our consumers and help our teammates thrive.

Originally published by The Greater Houston LGBTQ+ Chamber of Commerce

If all you know about Sysco is those ubiquitous food trucks outside your favorite restaurant, then you really don’t know much about the world’s largest broadline food distributor.

Since Sysco’s formation in Houston in 1969, it has grown its annual sales from $115 million to its all-time high of $76.3 billion in the last fiscal year, both through organic growth and acquisitions. Being the leader in the foodservice industry means Sysco understands the important role food plays in bringing people together and creating connections. That understanding inspired Sysco’s company purpose: Connecting the world to share food and care for one another.

Last November, the Chamber held the popular Holiday Food & Supply Drive benefitting Tony’s Place, a resource center and community safe space for LGBTQ+ Houston youth. Sysco joined in a big way as a Giving Back Sponsor.

“Sysco’s Spectrum LGBTQ+ & Allies CRG worked alongside our DEl team to make an in-kind donation to the Greater Houston LGBTQ+ Chamber’s Holiday Food & Supply Drive, closing out Sysco’s first-ever Global Purpose Month,” said Nathan Hejl, Senior Research Manager, Customer Insights and Spectrum LGBTQ+ & Allies Colleague Resource Group (CRG), Co-Chair, Strategic Partnerships Committee. “Global Purpose Month was launched to mobilize colleagues around the world in connecting the world to share food and care for one another. Together, we made a positive impact on the communities we serve and advanced our Global Good Goal to contribute $500 million of good in our communities by 2025.

Continue reading here. 

Originally published on bloomberg.com

May 7, 2024 /3BL/ – Bloomberg today announced the launch of a new tool that helps investors assess portfolios, funds and indices based on sustainability criteria and thresholds customized by the user. Available on the Bloomberg Terminal, the solution facilitates a transparent screening process and can be used both for making investment decisions and to help clients with regulatory compliance.

With the diversification of sustainable investment strategies, investors are looking for easy and reliable ways to understand if investment products align with specific sustainability criteria. Regulators across the globe also increasingly set baselines for companies to be considered as sustainable, and require investors to assess if the companies they invest in are meeting these thresholds. Bloomberg’s new tool provides an easy and transparent way for investors to understand to what extent a portfolio, fund or index meets their expectations and sustainability criteria predetermined by them.

Patricia Torres, Global Head of Sustainable Finance Solutions at Bloomberg, said: “Sustainability objectives vary from investor to investor, and from product to product. It can be difficult to fully understand whether a portfolio, fund or index meets your own definition of a sustainable investment. This new Bloomberg tool provides clarity and empowers the user to customize sustainable investment criteria to determine if portfolios, funds, or indices meet their requirements with confidence. Based on Bloomberg’s extensive range of company ESG data, proprietary metrics and scores, the tool enables investors to assess investments in a comparable and scalable way.”

The screening process is entirely customized by users, who input their investment preferences by selecting from a wide range of criteria and calibrating precise thresholds for the three following categories: sustainability targets, exclusion or “no harm” criteria, and good governance requirements. The solution then calculates a percentage figure that reveals how much of the portfolio, fund or index is aligned with the user’s criteria, and provides a detailed list view of all holdings to quickly detect any outliers.

In addition to using the solution for investment purposes, investors can also use it to check, based on their own definitions, if funds align with regulatory obligations, including the EU’s MiFID II suitability rules and Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR), the United Arab Emirates’ new sustainable finance framework, the UK FCA’s forthcoming sustainability disclosure requirements, and future SEC guidance on ESG disclosures and fund labelling.

The solution could also be used by investors to help assess whether a fund meets classification under the SFDR framework, and the percentage of sustainable investment reported by the fund itself. Bloomberg streamlines the screening process for Article 8 and 9 funds by providing access to SFDR fund-reported data for 26,000 funds captured within the European ESG Template (EET), covering more than 345 data points including a fund’s minimum EU Taxonomy alignment.

Bloomberg’s Sustainable Finance Data License offering provides enterprise-wide access to the underlying data feeding this new tool, for investors to use in their sustainable investment construction. Via Data License, clients can access a company’s potential Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) impact and SFDR Principal Adverse Impact sector percentile performance, alongside both positive and negative revenue-based screening.

To access Bloomberg’s new ESG fund screening tool, type SUST <GO> on the Bloomberg Terminal or visit data.Bloomberg.com to access via Data License. For more information on Bloomberg’s sustainable finance solutions, visit our website here.

Media Contacts
Anna Schoeffler, aschoeffler1@bloomberg.net, +33 6 75 54 70 92

About Bloomberg
Bloomberg is a global leader in business and financial information, delivering trusted data, news, and insights that bring transparency, efficiency, and fairness to markets. The company helps connect influential communities across the global financial ecosystem via reliable technology solutions that enable our customers to make more informed decisions and foster better collaboration. For more information, visit Bloomberg.com/company or request a demo.

Leverage agile frameworks to provide a robust synopsis for high level overviews. Iterative approaches to corporate strategy foster collaborative thinking to further the overall value proposition. Organically grow the holistic world view of disruptive innovation via workplace diversity and empowerment.

The Maximus Foundation is excited to present the 2023 Annual Report. In this year’s report, we dive into a year of impact in our communities through stories about our employees and grantee partners demonstrating a path toward positive change.

While this report reflects on 2023, it also looks ahead at the Foundation’s new 2025 grantmaking approach focused on our commitment to a more significant equitable impact, recognizing the importance of wielding, building, and sharing power in the communities we serve.

The Maximus Foundation continues to be driven by a commitment to improving the lives and wellbeing of people in our communities. Join us as we explore the stories of impact and work toward a more inclusive future. Visit our website to view the 2023 Maximus Foundation report.

Giving back to the communities we serve

The Maximus Foundation is one of the ways Maximus employees are doing something greater together. Established by the Maximus Board of Directors in 2000, the Maximus Foundation is an independent, employee-led, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Employee donors pool their charitable contributions together through the Foundation, double their impact on the grantmaking program through Maximus’ dollar-for-dollar matching pledge, and make their voices heard by nominating and voting for future grantee partners. Though the Foundation focuses its giving strategy on grantmaking, it also helps coordinate corporate-wide humanitarian efforts and empowers employees to donate their time and skills to nonprofits. Their inspired giving and volunteerism help accelerate the missions of nonprofits on the front lines of the communities we serve. Learn more at the Maximus Foundation website.

Hartford, Conn. May 7, 2024 /3BL/ – The Urban League of Greater Hartford has received a $150,000 charitable grant from KeyBank Foundation payable over two years to support the agency’s Project Ready program, a signature national youth development direct service. The funds will launch two new modules, (1) STEAM and (2) Financial Capability, to provide high schoolers with skills and experiences to help foster more racial diversity in quantitative fields.

“The Project Ready Scholars have been a cornerstone of our agency’s work and this investment from KeyBank in our students’ financial capabilities will be valuable to them in their personal and professional development,” said David Hopkins, President and CEO of the Urban League of Greater Hartford. “The generous intentionality of this grant from our friends at KeyBank actually makes it the largest annualized ($75,000/year) donation ever presented by a private funder to our Project Ready program!” Founded in 1964 with a mission to promote racial equity through economic empowerment, the Urban League of Greater Hartford is celebrating 60 years as one of the 92 affiliates of the National Urban League, providing programming and services in education, employment, housing, health, and justice.

Project Ready modules operating in Hartford include mentoring, digital literacy, history and culture, and college success. The addition of the STEAM and Financial Capability modules will provide the Scholars, ranging in age from 14 to 19, with age-appropriate financial literacy in earnings, living expenses, budgeting, maintaining bank accounts, investing, and acquiring assets, as well as workforce readiness and entrepreneurship. Through workshops, simulations, speakers, tours, games, and activities, participants will be exposed to basic financial management techniques, and receive insights to help put them on a path to building wealth and reducing the wealth gap. Thanks to KeyBank, the Urban League of Greater Hartford expects to have an impact on current students, and attract new students, with these new modules, which also include financial incentives that afford participants an opportunity to actually put the things they learn into practice. In 2022, the Greater Hartford Project Ready team served nearly 70 students, 100 percent of whom were promoted to the next grade, with all of its seniors enrolling in college.

“Empowering our youth through financial education is an investment in a future where everyone has equal access to economic opportunities and where racial equity thrives,” said Matthew Hummel, KeyBank Connecticut and Western Massachusetts Market President. “KeyBank shares this vision with The Urban League and is proud to support Project Ready as a strong step forward toward that goal.”

KeyBank’s grant to The Urban League of Greater Hartford is part of the bank’s $40 billion community investments plan focused on economic access and equity to communities across the country. The scope of the plan includes investments and lending in affordable housing, home lending, small business lending, green initiatives, and transformative philanthropy targeted toward workforce development, education, and safe, vital neighborhoods for underserved communities and populations.

On May 1, 2024, KeyBank presented a check to Urban League of Greater Hartford leaders and young scholars at the nonprofit organization’s “College Signing Day” for graduating students, their parents and educators, held this year at the Chrysalis Center in Hartford.

Hartford program helps students commit to college (wtnh.com).

About the Urban League of Greater Hartford:

The Urban League of Greater Hartford is a community-based, not-for-profit 501(c)(3), established in 1964 as the National Urban League’s 66th affiliate. Its mission is to promote racial equity through economic empowerment programs in the areas of youth development, adult education, workforce development, housing, personal financial management, community health, and social justice. Its programs and operations impact more than 3,000 individuals and their families every year. visit www.ulgh.org or call 860-527-0147. Follow us on social media @ulgh64.

About KeyBank Foundation:

KeyBank Foundation serves to fulfill KeyBank’s purpose to help clients and communities thrive, and its mission is to support organizations and programs that prepare people for thriving futures. The Foundation’s mission is advanced through three funding priorities – neighbors, education, and workforce – and through community service. To provide meaningful philanthropy that transforms lives, KeyBank Foundation listens carefully to understand the unique characteristics and needs of its communities and then backs solutions with targeted philanthropic investments. KeyBank Foundation is a nonprofit charitable foundation, funded by KeyCorp.

About KeyCorp/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 $187 billion at March 31, 2024. 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

Media contacts:

Urban League of Greater Hartford: Laura Soll, Communications, | 860-688-4499, M 860-833-4466 | Laura@sollpr.com

KeyBank: Karen Crane, Communications Manager | 203-789-2752 | karen_crane@keybank.com

Jeremy Lardeau, senior vice president of Higg Index at Cascale, moderated a sustainability stakeholder dialogue at PUMA HQ in Herzogenaurach, Germany, part of a two-day event in which stakeholders converged to discuss the Sustainability Vision 2030 platform for PUMA, which has been a highly committed Cascale member since 2012.

At a panel that included Mike Burgass, co-founder and director at Biodiversity​​, Jeremy He, sustainability development director at Shenzhou International Group​​, Lindita Xhaveri-Salihu, business engagement lead at UN Climate Change, and Aishwarya Sharma, representative voice of a RE:GENERATION​, Lardeau steered a discussion of critical goals for climate and biodiversity.

The panel discussed PUMA’s 2030 goals, which cover a wide range of sustainability targets including human rights, climate, and circularity, aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Lardeau drew parallels between Cascale’s mission and vision and PUMA’s ambitious 10FOR25 targets. He also pointed out shared values of collaboration and collective action across the consumer goods industry, with notable alignment between PUMA and the ZDHC Foundation.

In an era where the complexity of global supply chains continues to escalate, the need for integrated logistics solutions has become more apparent than ever. This evolution is driven by a variety of factors including increasing globalization, customer demand for faster and more reliable deliveries, and the ever-present push towards sustainability. These dynamics are reshaping the way companies approach logistics and supply chain management, heralding a new age of strategic partnerships and technological integration.

A comprehensive survey conducted by MindMiners and EXAME in partnership with DP World, a leader in global supply chain solutions, provides insight into the current and future trends of logistics management. The survey polled more than 200 executives from large organizations to discover that there is a clear shift towards working with end-to-end logistics providers who offer integrated services across all stages of the supply chain.

The Rise of End-to-End Logistics Solutions

The traditional model of logistics, characterized by fragmented services and multiple intermediaries, is rapidly giving way to a more consolidated approach. Today’s businesses demand not just service providers but strategic partners who are deeply integrated into their operations and committed to addressing comprehensive logistics challenges. This shift is largely driven by the need for enhanced operational efficiency and better management of the increased complexities that come with global supply chains.

“Supply chains have become more complex in recent decades, involving different suppliers and logistics partners that connect in various parts of the world. Managing all this increases the costs of transporting goods. Therefore, the market clamors for integrated solutions,” said Fábio Siccherino, CEO of DP World Brazil, which operates one of the largest and most modern multipurpose private port terminals in the country at the Port of Santos. The response from the market has been a loud call for integrated solutions that streamline processes and cut through the complexity to deliver cost-effective, reliable outcomes.

Supplier Relationship is Key

Supplier relationships remain a challenge for those across the industry. When dealing with multiple suppliers, 42% of survey respondents pinpointed high costs as a major issue, followed by reporting communication failures with suppliers (36%). To address these issues, 55% of respondents are adopting strategies like supplier consolidation, while 50% are accelerating digitization and automation.

Siccherino emphasizes that poor communication, lack of transparency, or unreliability from suppliers can result in delivery delays, inconsistent product quality, and disruptions in the supply chain. Effective management of supplier processes is crucial for reducing costs and enhancing operational efficiency, as demanded by the market.

Strategic Advantages of Integrated Solutions

There are several advantages when adopting an integrated logistics approach. First, it significantly reduces the risk of communication failures and supply chain disruptions, which are common in more segmented operations. Secondly, it improves overall operational efficiency by minimizing the redundancies and delays that can occur when multiple parties are involved.

The survey reveals that companies are increasingly recognizing these benefits – 69% of respondents highlighted the economic benefits derived from employing end-to-end logistics services, 58% pointed to optimization and risk reduction, and 54% identified reputation improvement and shortened delivery deadlines as the top benefits of working with an end-to-end logistics provider.

Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility

Another critical aspect driving the shift towards integrated logistics solutions is the increasing emphasis on sustainability and corporate social responsibility (CSR). The logistics sector, traditionally known for its significant environmental footprint, is under growing pressure to adopt greener practices and help combat climate change. This is not just a regulatory demand but a business imperative, as customers and stakeholders increasingly favor companies with strong environmental credentials.

Nearly three-quarters of respondents (74%) say that their companies are increasingly prioritizing sustainable practices. This includes opting for sustainable energy (50%), using sustainable logistics resources (42%), and opting for suppliers with sustainable practices (40%).

The biggest impacts anticipated for these actions are cost reduction (64%), access to extensive end-to-end logistical resources (60%), and increased perceptions of value by business partners (60%).

DP World’s initiatives, such as investing in electrified equipment and adopting renewable energy sources across its operations, exemplify the industry’s response to these challenges. These efforts are aimed not only at reducing the carbon footprint but also at positioning the company as a leader in sustainable logistics solutions.

Preparing for the Future

Looking forward, the logistics industry faces several challenges and opportunities. The ongoing digital transformation, the push for further sustainability, and the evolving global trade dynamics will continue to shape the industry’s trajectory.

Companies like DP World are already paving the way with strategic investments in technology and infrastructure to meet these future demands. Our approach not only responds to current market needs but also anticipates future trends, making us a leader in comprehensive logistics in a rapidly changing world .

In conclusion, as global supply chains become increasingly complex and the demands for efficiency and sustainability grow louder, the role of integrated logistics solutions becomes more crucial. Companies that embrace this integrated approach, backed by strong technological support and a commitment to sustainability, are well-placed to lead the market in the coming years.

The insights from the MindMiners and EXAME survey underscore this trend, highlighting the strategic shifts companies must make to navigate the future of logistics and supply chain management effectively.

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PITTSBURGH, May 7, 2024 /3BL/ – Intelligent power management company Eaton is helping Endurant Energy deploy 10 battery storage projects in New York City. With a combined capacity exceeding 150-megawatt hours (MWh), the energy storage systems will support clean, reliable power and strengthen the electric grid in the Bronx and Staten Island.

The clean energy storage projects are designed to provide load relief for buildings and the grid during peak demand hours. The battery storage installations will also help the local utility meet the region’s growing demand for electricity without major upgrades to existing electrical substations.

“These important investments in distributed energy storage will optimize New York’s electrical grid while supporting reliable power for industrial and commercial energy consumers,” said Jason Plane, utility segment manager at Eaton. “We’re confident our industry expertise, pioneering technologies and close collaboration with our customers will help successfully reinvent the way New York City distributes electric energy to support a more sustainable and resilient future.”

In addition to helping design the energy storage systems, Eaton is providing power system studies and equipment including switchgear, switchboards and transformers to facilitate safe interconnection with the electric grid. Eaton is uniquely positioned to advance the energy transition and electrification with its Everything as a Grid approach, which enables flexible energy systems and supports more resilient, efficient and affordable electricity.

Learn more about how Eaton is helping utilities and their customers simplify the energy transition.

Eaton is an intelligent power management company dedicated to protecting the environment and improving the quality of life for people everywhere. We make products for the data center, utility, industrial, commercial, machine building, residential, aerospace and mobility markets. We are guided by our commitment to do business right, to operate sustainably and to help our customers manage power ─ today and well into the future. By capitalizing on the global growth trends of electrification and digitalization, we’re accelerating the planet’s transition to renewable energy sources, helping to solve the world’s most urgent power management challenges, and building a more sustainable society for people today and generations to come.

Eaton was founded in 1911 and has been listed on the New York Stock Exchange for more than a century. We reported revenues of $23.2 billion in 2023 and serve customers in more than 160 countries. For more information, visit www.eaton.com. Follow us on LinkedIn.

Contact: 
Kristin Somers 
+1.919.345.3714 
Kristincsomers@eaton.com

Regina Parundik 
Cobblestone Communications 
+1.412.559.1614 
Regina@cobblecreative.com

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Congrats to Katie Hindman, senior director of Georgia-Pacific LLC’s foodservice national accounts, for being named a 2024 Women’s Foodservice Forum (WFF) Change Maker! Katie earned this recognition for making a difference with her inclusive leadership and continuously driving strong business results. Our GP team, including WFF board member Brooke McKillop, were on hand at the recent WFF Leadership Conference to celebrate Katie and connect with other foodservice industry leaders.

Georgia-Pacific

Based in Atlanta, Georgia-Pacific and its subsidiaries are among the world’s leading manufacturers and marketers of bath tissue, paper towels and napkins, tableware, paper-based packaging, cellulose, specialty fibers, nonwoven fabrics, building products and related chemicals. Our familiar consumer brands include Quilted Northern®, Angel Soft®, Brawny®, Dixie®, enMotion®, Sparkle® and Vanity Fair®. Georgia-Pacific has long been a leading supplier of building products to lumber and building materials dealers and large do-it-yourself warehouse retailers. Its Georgia-Pacific Recycling subsidiary is among the world’s largest traders of paper, metal and plastics. The company operates more than 150 facilities and employs more than 30,000 people directly and creates approximately 89,000 jobs indirectly. For more information, visit: gp.com/about-us . For news, visit: gp.com/news

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