Month: June 2024

Regency Centers brought home two awards at this year’s ICSC MAXI Global Awards ceremony, which features the premier recognition of excellence, innovation and creativity, and highlights the retail real estate industry’s most innovative events, programs and technologies that add value to marketplaces and companies internationally.

The awards included a Silver for “The Abbot Spotlight: The Unofficial Gateway to Harvard Square,” and a Gold for the industry’s first known intercompany partnership, “Signs of HOPE,” which was collaboratively submitted by Brixmor Property Group, Regency Centers, Kimco Realty, Kite Realty Group, Peterson Companies, Sterling Organization, and Urban Edge Properties.

The Abbot Spotlight: The Unofficial Gateway to Harvard Square
(B2B, Single Marketplace)

The Abbot Spotlight is an ongoing initiative to showcase an award-winning historic renovation/redevelopment in the vibrant heart of Harvard Square, one of America’s greatest intellectual hubs. This 65,000 SF mixed-use asset is situated in the heart of Cambridge, MA, directly connected to the best retail and placemaking amenities in the market. This property was deserving of an elevated marketing campaign; amplified by a narrative-driven, visually stunning digital production that served as its vehicle for promotion after one of the market’s worst economic downturns.

Click here to view the award submission.

It’s a great honor and a fantastic recognition for all involved,” said Eric Davidson, Senior Communications Manager. “The story of The Abbot’s transformation doesn’t happen without the work of Sam Steibel, David Sherin, and Krista Di Iaconi. The B2B and brand narrative was helmed by two of the best in the industry with Faith Hershey and Ivan Do. And of course, the visual expertise and craftsmanship of Quiet Valor’s incredibly talented team really brought this to life ‘on-screen.’ Our merchants, the city of Cambridge, our property operations team – the list goes on. My favorite piece of video content is Heat with Robert De Niro and Al Pacino, but The Abbot Spotlight is a close second.

Signs of HOPE
(Community, Company)

Despite an increase in suicide rates, only 17% of Americans were aware of the 988 Lifeline, a free lifesaving resource offered by the federal government for mental health crises calls. The urgency was clear: mental wellness is relevant to every community, regardless of geography or demographics, impacting 22% of Americans in 2021. As a result, seven open-air center landlords collaborated on the industry’s first known intercompany partnership to permanently install Signs of HOPE, car park pole signage promoting the 988 Lifeline, in 1,450 shopping centers in 40 states. Together, this portfolio serves 42% of the U.S. population with 251M people who make 4.2 billion visits annually.

Click here to view the award submission.

Being a part of something that has the potential to give hope to those who need it, and even help save lives, is incredibly gratifying,” said Jan Hanak, Vice President, Marketing + Communications. “To have our industry celebrate our collective efforts in this important endeavor is icing on the cake!

Learn more about the ICSC Global Maxi awards here.

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Originally published on May 24, 2024 on LinkedIn

Sysco received the ‘In It for the Long-Haul’ Award at the 2024 Alternative Clean Transportation (ACT) Expo for our pioneering efforts in reducing emissions across our global supply chain and our long-term commitment to sustainable transportation.

During the ACT Expo / ACT News, Sysco’s Senior Vice President and Chief Supply Chain Officer, Dan Purefoy, participated in a panel discussion with other industry leaders, including IKEA, DHL, Maersk and PepsiCo, to discuss global sustainability strategies and trends in the transportation sector, providing unique insights to Sysco’s electric vehicle journey.

We’re honored to share our learnings and help drive the innovation required to advance fleet electrification for our industry and others.

Watch the full panel discussion here.

About Sysco

Sysco is the global leader in selling, marketing and distributing food products to restaurants, healthcare and educational facilities, lodging establishments and other customers who prepare meals away from home. Its family of products also includes equipment and supplies for the foodservice and hospitality industries. With more than 74,000 colleagues, the company operates 334 distribution facilities worldwide and serves approximately 725,000 customer locations. For fiscal year 2023 that ended July 1, 2023, the company generated sales of more than $76 billion. Information about our Sustainability program, including Sysco’s 2022 Sustainability Report and 2022 Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Report, can be found at www.sysco.com.

For more information, visit www.sysco.com or connect with Sysco on Facebook at www.facebook.com/SyscoFoods. For important news and information regarding Sysco, visit the Investor Relations section of the company’s Internet home page at investors.sysco.com, which Sysco plans to use as a primary channel for publishing key information to its investors, some of which may contain material and previously non-public information. In addition, investors should continue to review our news releases and filings with the SEC. It is possible that the information we disclose through any of these channels of distribution could be deemed to be material information.

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June is Pride month and Griffith Food’s Supporting Pride With Inclusion Celebration and Education (SPICE) community is a global belonging community committed to cultivating a culture of inclusion and celebration of the 2SLGBTQ+ community through education and outreach. 

Our Canadian employees and SPICE group commemorated Pride month with a flag raising ceremony and remarks from Doug Pritchard, Vice President and General Manager of Griffith Foods Canada. At Griffith Foods, Pride month is about acceptance, equality, celebrating the work of 2SLGBTQ+ people, education in 2SLGBTQ+ history, and raising awareness of issues affecting the 2SLGBTQ+ community. Pride is all about being proud of who you are no matter who you love. 

This month and every month, we take #PRIDE in knowing that we’re Creating Better Together™ through a diverse and inclusive culture.

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Do you feel a bit lost when people refer to certain environmental sustainability topics and aren’t sure where to start when it comes to learning more? Sustainability 101 is a blog series that you can turn to for information about different environmental terms that may come up at work, during discussions with friends, and even at your annual holiday gathering.

“Biodiversity forms the web of life that we depend on for so many things – food, water, medicine, a stable climate, economic growth, among others. Over half of global GDP is dependent on nature. More than 1 billion people rely on forests for their livelihoods. And land and the ocean absorb more than half of all carbon emissions.”

— United Nations: Biodiversity – our strongest natural defense against climate change

When it comes to the health of the planet, resilient ecosystems play a critical role. Resilient ecosystems protect the environment and help support the stability and security of human communities.

But what makes an ecosystem resilient and why is it essential for our future?

Resilient ecosystems

A common view of resilient ecosystems is the ability to withstand, recover from, and adapt to changes or shocks from natural events, such as earthquakes, or from human-made causes, such as climate change, pollution, or deforestation.

As the world deals with ongoing changes, the term “resilient ecosystems” is becoming a more frequently discussed topic. But more than a buzzword, it’s an increasingly important strategic approach to sustainability. A wider perspective of resilience we can look at in this context includes:

Ecosystems that are able to adapt, survive, and thrive regardless of the disturbances they face.Providing essential services that support life on Earth—such as purifying water and air, supporting agriculture, maintaining biodiversity, and protecting against natural disasters.

Ecosystems have varying degrees of resilience depending on factors such as the variety and interconnectedness of species within the ecosystem, weather patterns, and temperature levels. We find examples of naturally resilient ecosystems now becoming strained, from coral reefs to lakes and forests.

As we have seen, ecosystem resilience can be negatively impacted by things like climate change and human-driven deforestation. For example, due to encroachment by human activities, it’s estimated that the Amazon rainforest has lost more than three-quarters of its resilience, making it more vulnerable to extreme events such as droughts. These types of trends are critical to address, given the interwoven balance of carbon stores, biodiversity, and human activity.

Interconnection – At the heart of establishing resilience

From this wider view, at the core of resilient ecosystems is interconnection—not just within the ecological community but also among individuals and societies.

This means moving beyond mere transactions with nature to fostering meaningful relationships with our environment and each other. Building connections and fostering unified responses are crucial for resilience. It’s about creating a world where we support our ecosystems as much as they support us.

The United Nations describes its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as “integrated and indivisible,” recognizing that sustainability efforts must build upon the connections between individuals, communities, and the environment. The SDGs emphasize that progress in one area amplifies the potential in others.

For instance, improving the health of our ecosystems directly supports goals related to health, water, and even economic growth. Recognizing the interdependence of these goals can help prioritize actions that offer the most significant mutual benefits.

When natural ecosystems are protected and preserved, that translates to benefits for the community—such as the ability to earn a living, resources to build schools, access to clean drinking water, and reduction of disease.

How Cisco is advancing resilient ecosystems

Investing in resilient ecosystems is one of the three key priorities of The Plan for Possible, our next-generation environmental sustainability strategy. We believe it is critical to help humans and nature navigate a changing climate by investing in regenerative technologies, workforces, and nature itself.

The Cisco Foundation’s social investment strategy is closely aligned to this priority, particularly through its 10-year, $100 million climate impact initiative. The Cisco Foundation is supporting resilient ecosystems through both grants and impact investments, directly helping communities cultivate approaches for a regenerative economy, launching climate-focused companies, as well as supporting educational initiatives to help people take effective climate action.

Beyond the Foundation’s climate impact initiative, the Foundation also supports community and ecosystem resilience through investments in other sectors, including Crisis Response and Critical Human Needs, Education, and Economic Empowerment. For example, in 2021, NESsT launched the Amazonia Tech Portfolio with support from Cisco that addresses regenerative forest conservation by supporting climate-smart solutions that grow sustainable value chains while improving livelihoods in the Amazon basin.

Climate adaption and resilience

Cisco’s nonprofit partner Mercy Corps provides an inspiring example of building resilient ecosystems. Mercy Corps partners with communities around the world to help them adapt to their changing environment and innovate to improve their livelihoods—collaborating with partners large and small, global and local.

Our recent five-year Technology for Impact partnership with Mercy Corp reached more than 13 million people across 45 countries, and it has also influenced the broader humanitarian and development sector. Now we have a new partnership that focuses on fostering climate adaptation and resilience.

In the Horn of Africa, where over 20 million people’s lives and livelihoods are being threatened by drought, Cisco is working with Mercy Corps to support pastoralist farmers who have been severely impacted by the drought in Northeast Kenya. You can learn more about our partnership in the video above.

Building community skills for resilience

Developing a workforce with the right skills is an important component of building resilient ecosystems and supporting transitions to clean energy. The Cisco Foundation supports various organizations that are advancing environmental education and initiatives, including DOT (Digital Opportunity Trust), which supports a youth-led response to the global climate challenge in regions such as Lebanon and Tanzania, and the Pachamama Alliance which focuses on developing skills for local community action and climate justice.

Communities leading the way in resilient ecosystems are those that emphasize a deep connection, working to restore our relationships with the Earth, each other, and ourselves.

By understanding and supporting resilient ecosystems, we can empower vulnerable communities and co-create opportunities for more sustainable and equitable development.

As we continue to face environmental challenges, the need for robust, resilient ecosystems has never been greater. It’s time to foster a broader climate and environmental movement, one that welcomes new ideas, people, and inventive connections.

Together, we can build a resilient future where both people and the planet thrive. Want to learn more and get involved? Check out our Climate Grants and Investments page, for more information.

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Originally published on 3M News Center

As the world looks to accelerate climate action, 3M is intensifying its commitment to climate innovation—using cutting-edge materials science to advance decarbonization, energy efficiency, resilient infrastructure and more. 3M’s diverse global portfolio and deep technological expertise enables our company to develop products that consumers and other companies can use to tackle some of the most pressing climate issues. Below are just a few areas where 3M Science is making an impact.

Removing carbon from the atmosphere

Carbon capture is essential to global environmental stewardship. To get to net-zero atmospheric carbon, the world needs to remove at least 1-2 gigatons annually directly from the atmosphere—one gigaton of mass is roughly equivalent to 200 million elephants.

To help advance decarbonization and direct air capture, 3M is collaborating with companies like Svante to innovate solutions like Sorbent-on-a-Roll (SOAR), a reusable sorbent filtration material that acts like a sponge to adsorb CO2 from the atmosphere. When a filter box of SOAR material is saturated, the carbon is removed by steam heat and can be permanently sequestered, enabling the filter to continue adsorbing more carbon.

By leveraging each company’s capabilities – including 3M’s ability to produce advanced filtration technology at-scale – 3M and Svante believe it will be feasible to capture millions of tons of CO2 from diverse sites around the world.

Turning greenhouses into power plants

Greenhouses are an essential tool to meet growing food production demands, which must increase by 50-70% while simultaneously minimizing environmental and energy impact. In the US, greenhouses cover 13.9 million acres and are expected to grow 10% annually.

3M is partnering with Voltiris to transform greenhouses, helping them become energy-independent while simultaneously improving plant growth and yield. 3M’s solution is light management, using an array of thin films to capture the optimal light waves to grow plants, then utilizing the remaining light waves to produce solar energy that can provide up to 70% of a greenhouse’s energy needs.

There is no one-size-fits all solution when it comes to greenhouses and the challenges they have. This is why 3M will soon be offering a portfolio of thin film solutions to help reduce energy use and increase crop yield.

Making clean hydrogen power a reality

Green hydrogen—a sustainable fuel source produced using renewable energy—is a critical strategy in reducing global carbon emissions, especially for hard-to-decarbonize industries like steel production and long-haul transport. It is estimated that clean hydrogen will supply 15% of global energy demands by 2050, abating carbon emissions up to 80 gigatons.

To meet this need, 3M is supporting the developing hydrogen economy—from production to storage and shipping solutions. For example, just ten grams of our innovative 3M™ Nanostructured Supported Iridium Catalyst Powder can help separate ten tons of hydrogen from water while preventing 100 tons of carbon emissions annually. It can help the industry reach its goals to reduce hydrogen production costs by 80% and create momentum for an industry estimated at $4.3 billion by 2026 and $2.5 trillion by 2050.

Additionally, 3M has invested in EVOLOH, a California-based developer of electrolyzer stacks for hydrogen production, and signed a joint research project agreement with HD Hyundai Korea Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (KSOE) to develop large liquid hydrogen storage tanks using 3M Glass Bubbles—high-strength, low-density hollow glass microspheres.

As PRIDE month begins, AllianceBernstein is proud to honor our LGBTQ+ community and allies. Our Employee Resource Group, ABOut, will hold informative and inclusive events throughout the month. Join us throughout the month of June as we celebrate AB Love Out Loud.

AllianceBernstein

AllianceBernstein (AB) is a leading global investment management firm that offers diversified investment services to institutional investors, individuals, and private wealth clients in major world markets. We believe corporate responsibility, responsible investing and stewardship are intertwined. To be effective stewards of our clients’ assets, we strive to invest responsibly—assessing, engaging on and integrating material issues, including environmental, social and governance (ESG), and climate change considerations in most of our actively managed strategies (approximately 70% of AB’s total assets under management as of March 31, 2024). We also strive to hold ourselves as a firm to similar practices that we ask of issues. Our stewardship practices, investment strategy and decision-making are guided by our purpose, mission and values.

Our purpose—pursue insight that unlocks opportunity—inspires our firm to act responsibly. While opportunity means something different to each of our stakeholders; it always means considering the unique goals of each stakeholder. AB’s mission is to help our clients define and achieve their investment goals, explicitly stating what we do to unlock opportunity for our clients. We became a signatory to the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) in 2011. This began our journey to formalize our approach to identifying responsible ways to unlock opportunities for our clients through integrating material ESG factors throughout most of our actively managed equity and fixed-income client accounts, funds and strategies. AB also engages issuers when it believes the engagement is in the best financial interest of its clients.

Because we are an active manager, our differentiated insights drive our ability to deliver alpha and design innovative investment solutions. Material ESG and climate issues are important elements in forming insights and in presenting potential risks and opportunities that can affect the performance of the companies and issuers that we invest in and the portfolios that we build.

Our values provide a framework for the behaviors and actions that deliver on our purpose and mission. Values align our actions. Each value emerges from the firm’s collective character—yet is also aspirational.

Invest in One Another means that we have a strong organizational culture where diversity is celebrated and mentorship is critical to our success. When we invest in one another, we empower our employees to reach their potential, so that they can help our clients realize theirs. This enables us to partner with clients to design and deliver improved investment outcomes.Strive for Distinctive Knowledge means that we collaboratively identify creative solutions to clients’ economic, ESG and climate- related investment challenges through our expertise in a wide range of investment disciplines, close collaboration among our investment experts and creative solutions.Speak with Courage and Conviction informs how we engage our AB colleagues and issuers. We seek to learn from other parts of our business to strengthen our own views. And we engage issuers for insight and action by sharing ideas and best practices.Act with Integrity—Always is the bedrock of our relationships and has specific meaning for our business. Unlike many other asset managers, we’re singularly focused on providing asset management and research to our clients. We don’t engage in activities that could be distracting, or create conflicts—such as investment banking, insurance writing, commercial banking or proprietary trading for our own account. We are unconflicted and fully accountable.

As of March 31, 2024, AB had $759B in assets under management, $528B of which were ESG-integrated. Additional information about AB may be found on our website, www.alliancebernstein.com.

Learn more about AB’s approach to responsibility here.