Month: June 2024

By Dana Obrist

Confidence in the small business outlook is on the rise.

According to a December 2023 report from the U.S Chamber of Commerce, despite headwinds from high inflation and a tight labor market, small business confidence was up at year-end and remains steady after the first quarter of 2024.

And that is good news for business owners, including the more than 600,000 Hispanic small business owners in Florida. The Sunshine State ranks as the second highest in the number of Hispanic small business owners.

We had an opportunity to sit down with Regions Commercial Banking and Private Wealth Management bankers in Central Florida to talk about the state of the market for Hispanic business owners and what challenges may still be lingering.

Challenges Remain

“Access to capital,” said Dario Orozco, Regions Commercial Banking relationship manager. “This is the No. 1 challenge that many small business owners are facing, and with higher interest rates and inflation, this access becomes even more critical.”

Joey Leyva, owner of Acapulco Tropical, noted that they are seeking to continue to open new locations in Central Florida to reach the growing community of newer immigrants to help them as they adapt to life in the U.S.

Access to capital. This is the No. 1 challenge that many small business owners are facing, and with higher interest rates and inflation, this access becomes even more critical.

Dario Orozco, Regions Commercial Banking relationship manager

“We see an increased opportunity for the market since many people have migrated from Cuba, Puerto Rico, and Venezuela in the past two years,” said Leyva.

But, hiring and retaining talent along with higher payroll costs has proven to be challenging for Leyva and other business owners.

“The challenges that many of us are seeing is in hiring bilingual people to target the market we are in and pay rates have gone up significantly,” said Leyva.

Understanding the Banking Landscape

Zenaida Negron, Regions Commercial Banking relationship manager in Orlando, is one of many bilingual commercial relationship managers in Central Florida. She sees this trend of the growing Hispanic population in the market as an opportunity to educate business owners and consumers alike on the U.S. banking system.

“We work with many professional service providers in the market and often serve as a conduit with the Hispanic community,” said Negron. “From attorneys to accountants, we are often engaged to work with their Hispanic clients who are business owners in this market.”

Her colleague Maria Rojas agrees.

“We are crucial for business owners, especially as they are coming from outside the U.S.,” said Rojas. “They look to us to help them understand more around the business and financial landscape.”

We work with many professional service providers in the market and often serve as a conduit with the Hispanic community.

Inflationary Impacts, a Mixed Bag

An owner of a chain of grocery stores we talked to pointed to inflation as a key challenge facing consumers, noting that the supermarket industry is often a good gauge for the overall economy.

But there may be some positive impact on this business according to another grocery store owner we spoke with who noted that they have experienced an uptick in business as a result of higher prices in large chain grocery stores leading to more traditional shoppers shifting their business to Latin supermarkets where prices may be lower.

Shifting Strategies

Tomas H. Bello, President and owner of Tuwa Pro LLC, a Jeep and utility vehicle accessory wholesaler and retailer, noted that the current obstacles are constant. From competition from national distributors and increasing customer demand for shorter shipping periods, they need to stock larger inventory selections to compete.

“The economic growth in the Central Florida region has allowed for increased demand in our products,” said Bello. “Access to capital has allowed us to fund those larger orders from Latin America and Asia that are essential for us to keep our competitive advantage and offer same-day shipping and delivery for local orders.”

Another supermarket owner noted that global supply chain challenges have shifted their model to purchasing more locally grown produce, something many consumers like to see. Similarly, while some consumers are feeling the pinch of higher interest rates, another grocery store owner in Central Florida noted that she hasn’t seen much impact in terms of their business as most of the transactions in her stores are cash, debit card or EBT.

Resources for Hispanic Small Business Owners

Alex Gonzalez, Regions Private Wealth Management executive for the North Florida region, is very involved with the Hispanic Chamber of Metro Orlando. Regions has been a member for many years and recently expanded its commitment, becoming a Trustee member. Gonzalez is a member of the Hispanic Business Advocacy Committee, was involved in the 2023 Don Quijote Awards, and serves as the liaison between the Chamber and Regions.

“The Chamber offers events and resources to help businesses connect and grow within our community,” noted Gonzalez. “Chamber benefits help business owners navigate through all stages of the business life cycle.

He shared that the Chamber also partners with two organizations that specialize in helping businesses get started in the market through Prospera and the Hispanic Economic Advancement Foundation, a newly formed nonprofit that is helping existing businesses scale and expand.

The Chamber offers events and resources to help businesses connect and grow within our community.

Alex Gonzalez, Regions Private Wealth Management executive

Founder of the Hispanic Economic Advancement Foundation and former CEO of the Hispanic Chamber of Metro Orlando, Gaby Ortigoni, noted that the growth trends of the Hispanic population and subsequent Hispanic business community have been fueled by population surges following Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico and the Sunshine State’s open-for-business policy during COVID-19.

“With the proximity of the island and Latin American countries, we saw an increase of businesses from Puerto Rico and Latin America as they relocated to either open or expand their businesses,” said Ortigoni. “Central Florida offers a vibrant market for small businesses.”

Ortigoni left her post as CEO of the Hispanic Chamber in early 2024 to launch the Hispanic Economic Advancement Foundation, seeded by the Chamber, to support Hispanic business owners seeking to scale their companies and obtain contracts with private and public entities.

“The Hispanic community tends to be very young (30-35 median age) and entrepreneurial,” said Ortigoni. “This segment is opening businesses at a higher rate than any other demographic groups combined.”

“This creates an opportunity because our local Hispanic business community is seeking programs that provide capacity building and mentorship opportunities,” said Ortigoni. “Older generation business owners are selling or passing their businesses to the next generation. Many Hispanic entrepreneurs in this market purchase existing businesses.”

Ortigoni noted that Central Florida has also seen a lot of growth in franchises within the Hispanic business community, as these are proven business models with lower start-up risk. As for the future for Hispanic business owners and entrepreneurs, the future looks bright as the business-friendly landscape as well as public and private funding and finance opportunities in the market grow.

In honor of June Pride Month, team members across Qurate Retail Group participated in Pride flag-raising ceremonies in support of our LGBTQ+ team members and community.

Qurate Retail Group comprises six leading retail brands – QVC, HSN, Ballard Designs, FRONTGATE, Garnet Hill and Grandin Road – all dedicated to providing a more human way to shop.

Originally published in Bloomberg’s 2023 Impact Report

We provide data and news on sustainability and equality to help investors, entrepreneurs and policymakers build more resilient and sustainable communities. We use the time and talents of our employees and resources of our business to promote a more inclusive global economy, expand access to data and technology, support diverse voices in media and the arts and meet urgent needs in the cities in which our employees live and work.

Promoting an inclusive global economy

We support efforts to make the world’s economy fairer and more inclusive.

Economic inequality presents a threat to the stability of the global economy and stifles innovation. Bloomberg provides corporate social and governance data, news and insights to help investors, corporations and regulators make well-informed decisions. In addition, we engage in a range of philanthropic initiatives to help make financial markets more transparent and accessible.

Facilitating corporate action – Bloomberg’s transparent and actionable social and governance data, scores and insights help investors and companies better evaluate assets and report on social performance. 

We currently provide more than 2,500 social and governance data points, including third-party data, offering insight on a wide range of issues such as workforce diversity, board composition, executive compensation, labor and employment practices, health and safety and much more. Our social and governance data is available on the Bloomberg Terminal, in our enterprise product solutions, including our Portfolio and Risk Management solutions, and as an enterprise data feed via Bloomberg Data License, which allows this information to be used across a firm by multiple applications and people. 

We provide proprietary scores that investors can use to quickly and simply evaluate companies’ management of financially material industry-specific social issues and opportunities, as well as governance policies and practices, with adjustments for country-specific rules and regulations. Available for more than 14,500 global companies, Bloomberg’s Governance and Social scores are data-driven and fully transparent, allowing users to examine the company-reported social and governance data underlying each score.
 Advancing the discussion – Our Bloomberg Equality vertical is committed to reporting on issues of race, diversity and fairness. Its content is available on the Bloomberg Terminal and on all Bloomberg Media platforms and is integrated across all content pillars such as climate change, technology and healthcare. 

In 2023, notable coverage included analysis of the progress of S&P 100 companies diversifying their workforces; reporting that showed how California is calculating the cost of reparations for the U.S. legacy of slavery and discrimination; how London lost its place at the heart of Black Britain; a series exploring India’s ruling on same-sex marriage; how Big Tech layoffs are hitting diversity and inclusion jobs; reporting on how race in college admissions became a U.S. flashpoint; and a Bloomberg Businessweek special issue dedicated to equality.
 Expanding horizons – Bloomberg employees build on our company’s legacy of helping to make financial markets more transparent and accessible by working with nonprofit partners to train and mentor individuals from underserved communities. A key focus for our company is demystifying financial services and motivating more young people to consider careers in financial services. In 2023, some of our programs included:The Bloomberg HBCU Trading ChallengeThe Greater Bay Area Fintech Talent InitiativeMIDE Global Money Week
 Opening doors – In keeping with our work to bring transparency, efficiency and fairness to financial markets, we leverage our expertise to create opportunities for women and other underrepresented groups to pursue careers in finance and high-growth industries. Highlights from the year include:Women in Finance initiativeBloomberg Women’s Buy-Side Network (BWBN)Girls Who Invest (GWI)

Expanding access to data and technology

We’re committed to creating a more level playing field in society by improving access to information. 

We share our expertise to help students and entrepreneurs acquire the technical and soft skills and support they need to unlock opportunity and drive progress in an increasingly digital world.

Supporting diverse voices in media and the arts

To broaden perspectives, enhance innovation and promote equality, we help women and people from diverse backgrounds share their ideas and insights with a wider audience.

We’re improving the mix of sources in our news stories to better reflect the demographics of our communities and working to ensure that a diverse range of voices are involved in reporting and shaping business news. We’re also helping cultural organizations expand audiences and amplify diverse voices through initiatives that support the work of artists from underrepresented communities.

Addressing the world’s most pressing needs 

Bloomberg gives back to the cities in which we live and work, using our employees’ time and talents and our company’s resources to address unmet needs and create lasting impact.

Our global employee giving and volunteer program, the Best of Bloomberg, harnesses the collective effort and generosity of our employees to strengthen our communities — and support the causes about which they’re most passionate. In 2023, over 19,000 employees from 101 cities volunteered their time and talents, helping to provide food and assemble necessity kits for vulnerable neighbors, serving as educational mentors, sharing pro bono legal expertise with individuals and small businesses, engaging in environmental stewardship and much more. In all, employees provided 183,537 hours of collective service in 2023, a 39 percent increase over the previous year. Key areas of action included disaster relief, protecting the planet, and legal pro bono work.

Read Bloomberg’s 2023 sustainability report to learn more about its environmental and social impact.

Originally published in GoDaddy’s 2023 Sustainability Report

Our Environmental Impact

We operate with future generations in mind.

As part of our ambition to be a powerful force for good, we embrace our responsibility to protect the environment. By focusing environmental efforts on our greatest areas of impact and influence, like our data centers and corporate real estate, we can do our part to protect the planet.

Climate Change Commitment 

We acknowledge that climate change is an urgent threat to our planet. We believe everyone has a critical role to play in addressing the climate crisis. Our position statement on climate change, published in 2022, highlights GoDaddy’s commitment to support urgent climate action.

GHG Emissions 

We set a goal to reduce scope 1 and 2 (market-based) emissions by 50% by 2025 from a 2019 baseline. We are happy to report that we achieved this goal in 2023 — two years earlier than anticipated. While we’re proud of our success, we know we still have more work to do. Moving forward, we hope to develop new and thoughtful plans that push us to reduce our environmental impact even further.

As of December 31, 2023, we reduced our scope 1 and 2 (market-based) emissions by 82% relative to our 2019 baseline. Scope 1 and 2 (marketbased) emissions totaled 9,602 mt CO2 e. The 2023 GHG inventory reflects increases in renewable energy coverage, improvements in energy efficiency, and consolidation of our physical footprint, which decreases our overall energy use. The inventory results also inform key areas where we can improve as we continuously evaluate the environmental impact of our operations.

GoDaddy follows the GHG Protocol and our established Inventory Management Plan to complete our annual emissions calculations. To determine the achievement of our scope 1 and 2 (market-based) emissions goal and the percent reduction achieved as of December 31, 2023, we calculated our scope 1 and scope 2 (market-based) emissions for 2023 and compared this to the same emissions from December 31, 2019. Prior to achieving our goal, we measured our interim progress annually by comparing our scope 1 and scope 2 (market-based) emissions at the end of the relevant reporting year to the same emissions from December 31, 2019.

50%: We achieved our goal to reduce our scope 1 and 2 (market-based) GHG emissions by 50% by 2025 from a 2019 baseline.

<1% Scope 16.4% Scope 2 – Market-Based67.4% Scope 3 – Purchased Goods and Services8.5% Scope 3 – Capital Goods3.6% Scope 3 – Fuel and Energy Related Activities1.3% Scope 3 – Upstream Transportation and Distribution<1% Scope 3 – Waste in Operations<1% Scope 3 – Business Travel1.3% Scope 3 – Employee Commuting9.5% Scope 3 – Use of Sold Products<1% Scope 3 – End of Life Treatment<1% Scope 3 – Investments

Operational Emissions (Thousand mt CO2e)

2019: 
Scope 1 – 1.36 
Scope 2 – 50.682020: 
Scope 1 – 1.30 
Scope 2 – 48.782021: 
Scope 1 – 1.22 
Scope 2 – 47.812021: 
Scope 1 – 1.24 
Scope 2 – 32.382022: 
Scope 1 – 0.83 
Scope 2 – 8.77

Renewable Energy Coverage (%)

2019: 28%2020: 27%2021: 27%2022: 40%2023: 65%

The Impact of Our Data Centers 

Our data center footprint drives our scope 1 and 2 emissions. Globally, we minimized the environmental impact of our data centers through energy efficient technologies and renewable energy. We also implemented energy management systems to monitor and optimize energy usage routinely. 

We increased our workload density in 2023, allowing us to consolidate our data center footprint, where we leverage scale efficiencies and improved power usage effectiveness, a key measure of data center energy efficiency. We also leveraged co-located data centers run by third parties and used key performance indicators to track our progress over time. 

Leveraging efficient technologies is part of our commitment to serving our customers. Since 2019, our Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) data centers used 100% renewable energy through purchasing Guarantees of Origin. In 2023, power usage at our Phoenix data center was also covered by 100% renewable energy from renewable energy credits. 

We regularly assess available and emerging technologies to understand how to best implement energy efficient and environmentally friendly solutions at our data centers. For example, in select data centers, we introduced HVO (hydrogenated vegetable oil) as an alternative for backup diesel generators. In 2024, we aim to identify additional opportunities to update infrastructure to enhance operational efficiencies.

Empowering our Entrepreneurs Working to Reduce Environmental Impacts

THE VILLAGE REFILLERY | CORRALES, NEW MEXICO

Entrepreneur Lauren Wenderoth, owner of the Village Refillery based in Corrales, New Mexico is on a mission to empower communities to embrace sustainable living by providing an alluring and accessible low-waste home shopping experience. Aligned with GoDaddy’s mission to empower entrepreneurs everywhere, Lauren uses GoDaddy’s tools and services to further scale her business, amplify her message, and make an even greater environmental impact. She participated in the Empower by GoDaddy program, GoDaddy’s signature social impact program, where she acquired these new digital skills and networks to support her business growth.

Lauren started The Village Refillery to channel her climate anxiety into actionable change. As a zero-waste refill shop, The Village Refillery helps customers avoid virgin packaging for their everyday home products by offering reusable, refillable containers. This keeps perfectly good jars and bottles in circulation rather than sending them to landfill. Lauren makes many of the products inhouse using locally sourced, sustainable ingredients. For products she doesn’t make herself, Lauren sources wholesale from innovative companies who minimize plastic packaging and focus on limiting GHG emissions.

“GoDaddy enabled me to quickly and easily create a professional website that drew people in and led to sales. Being able to create the entire website myself helped me to save money and launch a viable business helping others be more sustainable in their daily lives.”

— Lauren Wenderoth 
     Owner, The Village Refillery

The Impact of Our Workspaces 

GoDaddy’s hybrid work model reduces our demand on the physical workspaces that comprise our corporate real estate footprint. To ensure we’re capturing the full impact of our workforce, however, we included emissions associated with employees who work from home in our 2023 GHG inventory. 

In 2023, the Global Real Estate team actively worked to optimize our real estate footprint, considering the utilization of the provided office spaces. Through our optimization efforts, we reduced our active global real estate footprint by more than 77,000 square feet in 2023. This metric reflects properties under our operational control, including owned and leased properties and vacant, non-sublet spaces. We continuously evaluate our environmental impact and make strides to improve for the benefit of our employees, the entrepreneurs we empower, and for the broader communities in which they grow and thrive.

Reducing E-waste in Our Operations

We promote waste reduction and recycling in our operations, including e-waste. This includes our e-waste recycler that repurposes GoDaddy’s unused technology.

In 2023, the Global Logistics team partnered with the Corporate Sustainability and ESG team to evaluate the GHG impact associated with collecting and recycling company e-waste from employees. We then leveraged this GHG analysis to inform changes to our e-waste practices.

To learn more, read our 2023 Sustainability Report.

###

About this Report 

The GoDaddy 2023 Sustainability Report details our progress toward our corporate sustainability goals, strategies, and initiatives in support of our overarching corporate mission and values. Unless otherwise noted, this report reflects our corporate sustainability performance across our global operations covering the fiscal year period from January 1 to December 31, 2023. To demonstrate our commitment to transparent communication regarding our sustainability progress, we routinely share updates through our website and our annual Sustainability Report. We welcome your questions, comments, and feedback on this report by contacting ESG@GoDaddy.com.

This report references the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Standards and includes select Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) metrics for the Internet Media and Services sector. We also disclose our contributions and progress toward priority UN SDGs. For additional information on how we align with these frameworks and key indicators demonstrating our sustainability performance, please review the Frameworks and Metrics section.

Building the workforce of tomorrow means investing in the students of today. That’s why Merck has partnered with North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (N.C. A&T) — the largest historically Black college and university in the U.S. — to launch the Merck Biotechnology Learning Center.

“We’re pleased to launch this new collaboration with an institution that precisely aligns to our company priorities to invest in the growth and delivery of innovative health solutions and strong values around diversity and inclusion,” said Sanat Chattopadhyay, executive vice president and president, Merck Manufacturing Division. “Together we can fuel the growth of talent for our company and the biotechnology industry overall.”

Located in the home state of the company’s Durham and Wilson manufacturing sites, the 4,025 square-foot facility will enhance academic programming and training for biotechnology careers for N.C. A&T students and provide advanced discovery opportunities through its classroom space, process laboratory and state-of-the-art biopharmaceutical manufacturing equipment.

“This collaboration signifies a union between academia and industry, and a commitment to excellence, innovation and the advancement of scientific knowledge,” said Tonya Smith-Jackson, Ph.D., provost and executive vice chancellor of academic affairs for N.C. A&T.

The collaboration also signifies an investment in the community’s future by expanding local and statewide bioeconomy initiatives. Additionally, it will help to diversify talent and recruitment opportunities for Merck and offer vaccine manufacturing process training for new and existing employees.

“The Merck Biotechnology Learning Center will provide opportunities for N.C. A&T students to look inside the biopharmaceutical industry and understand what a career in this space looks like. Through our joint initiative with N.C. A&T, we’re developing new and innovative ways to build a pipeline of talent here in North Carolina and beyond,” added Amanda Taylor, vice president and Durham plant manager, Merck.

View original content here.

Originally published by Divert, Inc.

Divert, Inc., an impact technology company on a mission to Protect the Value of Food™, and Safeway, the leading banner operated by Albertsons Companies, today announced results from the implementation of Divert’s optimization solution to reduce wasted food and accelerate food recovery efforts. In three months, Safeway increased its food donations by 20%, reducing the edible food going to waste by an average of 1,252 pounds per store per month.

See the original press release here, download the full case study here, and read more about Albertsons Companies and our Recipe for Change on our website.

Marisol Perez, a 51-year-old migrant currently in Honduras, has made countless decisions since she left her Venezuelan home five years ago. None of them have been easy.

Today she sits in a folding chair outside a tent in a Honduran refugee shelter, waiting for her badly fractured leg to heal. It’s a leg that was shattered because of a lose-lose choice she was forced to make as she traveled through Panama’s Darien Gap.

A life never far from violence

Marisol is dressed in grey shorts and a matching T-shirt emblazoned with a cartoon panda that peeks out from behind the rosary she wears. As Marisol traveled from her home in Venezuela through Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica, and Nicaragua to Honduras, she was never far from violence. Migrants are routinely robbed, murdered, and sexually assaulted as they travel though a landscape so difficult, many people routinely dump essential supplies just to get through.

More than four years ago, Marisol, her adult daughter, and her granddaughter left Venezuela’s decimated economy and dangerous streets for a safer life in Colombia, where they settled. The years went by and conditions in Colombia also began to deteriorate. Roughly a year ago, Marisol decided to head north again to scout a better life for the family. Because she felt her granddaughter, Viviana, was too young to endure the infamously rough terrain of the Darien Gap, Marisol began the second phase of her trip alone, leaving her family in Colombia.

Marisol’s leg was fractured when traversing Panama’s notorious Darien Gap. 

The most trecherous pathway

Eventually Marisol began to travel with a young man she met along the way. Informal arrangements like this one are a common way for migrants to band together for safety. Soon enough the duo entered the Darien Gap, a 60-mile-long land bridge that runs through Panama, connecting North and South America.

According to Human Rights Watch, “the Darien Gap is one of the most treacherous migration pathways in the world, made even more so by the dearth of government and humanitarian assistance in the jungle.”

It was here that Marisol faced another choice.

One evening inside the Darien Gap, her traveling companion wanted to push on past sunset. Marisol was afraid that she would fall in the dark and injure herself, but she was equally afraid to stay behind alone. They kept walking. Marisol slipped and fell, injuring her leg. At the time, she did not realize the extent of the damage.

She continued on, fueled by adrenaline that soon receded.

“When we got up, my foot was extremely swollen, and everything was very dark purple,” she said. “I continued my journey, so I walked for eight hours fractured because my fear was to stay there, in that jungle. My fear was that I would not be able to advance any further.”

“I didn’t know what would happen to me if I stayed there. There came a time when I couldn’t hold my foot any further, and I couldn’t stand the pain anymore, and I lay down on a stone.”

Her traveling companion and other migrants helped her through the jungle, but it would be roughly eight days until she was able to get medical attention. She says the exact number of days was lost in an unrelenting miasma of pain.

Months later, in late April, now sporting a cast, Marisol waits at the Charitas migrant shelter, eager to return to the road.

Almost every object in this quiet refuge near El Paraíso (Paradise in English), a Honduran region along the south-eastern border with Nicaragua, looks washed out and beige: the dry, sandy earth, the standard-issue UNHCR tents, the grid of tables where families eat, the uniform vests worn by the staff. This lack of color is perhaps a soothing contrast to the saturated hues of the jungles and rivers that the migrants resting here fought their way through. Charitas limits shelter stays to a day or two, since so many migrants pass through this part of the border.

According to The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), the number of people crossing into Honduras in this region has increased dramatically in the last three years. “Between 2010 and 2021, just under 2,000 migrants with an irregular status crossed into the Danlí and Trojes municipalities, according to the National Migration Institute (INM). But in 2022, that number ballooned to 141,290 – more than 70 times as many migrants as in the previous 11 years combined. More than 229,100 migrants have already crossed into El Paraíso in the first half of this year, many of whom need assistance.”

Today, another 2,600 miles lie between Marisol and the U.S. border. She is determined to get back on the road. “I try to recover as soon as possible and be able to at least, not use this [walker] or a three-legged cane. Because, hey, I know that what awaits me is not easy, at least in Mexico, it is difficult, the passage to Mexico is complicated, and I need to walk well to be able to reach my destination.”

For Marisol, this is the only choice. “It was very sad, very difficult. I always remember my country and would like to return one day, but at the moment it is not possible.” 
 

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