Month: June 2024

HOUSTON, June 10, 2024 /3BL/ – The Baker Hughes Foundation announced Monday two grants in support of United Nations World Environment Day: a $310,000 grant to One Tree Planted and a $30,000 grant to Children’s Environmental Literacy Foundation (CELF). Both organizations share Baker Hughes’ vision of creating a more sustainable environment and society where employees live and work.

“It is paramount as a leader in the energy technology space that Baker Hughes helps the industry advance on the path to net-zero emissions and a sustainable energy future, and partnering with organizations like One Tree Planted and CELF can progress the planet towards a more sustainable environment,” said Jim Apostolides, Baker Hughes senior vice president of Enterprise Operational Excellence.

Led by the United Nations Environment Program and held annually in June since 1973, World Environment Day is the largest global platform for environmental public outreach and is celebrated by millions of people across the world. These grants support the global movement to foster climate education, biodiversity and global restoration activities.

The Foundation’s fourth grant to One Tree Planted will support 12 urban forestry projects in cities around the world, specifically in vulnerable areas. One Tree Planted’s mission is to reforest the planet, provide education and awareness around the importance of trees in the ecosystem, and inspire engagement and action. One Tree Planted has been a key enabler in the success of Baker Hughes’ commitment to environmental sustainability, recently reaching a total of 1 million trees planted across 17 countries as a result of the Foundation’s contributions.

“The Baker Hughes Foundation has been an impactful philanthropic partner in our reforestation and vital landscape restoration projects, funding 23 large-scale global initiatives to completion in three years,” said One Tree Planted President and CEO Hank Lynch. “We are grateful for their continued support and look forward to addressing critical issues of tree equity, the heat island effect, and green spaces in under-resourced neighborhoods, through their commitment to our urban forestry program.”

CELF was founded with the mission to establish sustainability as an integral part of every child’s K- 12 learning experience. The grant to CELF will support a Houston-based program partnership that engages with over 2,000 students across Title 1 schools serving Houston’s environmental justice communities through professional learning and student engagement programs. Through the multiple programs implemented, teachers and administrators will build skills for embedding environmental literacy concepts across subjects and engage with students in place-based inquiry projects, providing them with transferable workforce skills.

“Our CELF team is grateful for this renewed support from the Baker Hughes Foundation, which will enable us to further develop the energy pathway of our Civic Science: Inquiry to Action program. This support will allow us to connect more students and teachers in Greater Houston with their local green spaces, and with meaningful opportunities to investigate their energy consumption in order to identify actions they can take to improve efficiency and sustainability in their school communities,” said Tara Stafford Ocansey, CELF executive director.

The grants align with the Baker Hughes Foundation’s mission of supporting the communities where we conduct business and promoting environmental outcomes such as nature-based climate solutions and the advancement of education. The One Tree Planted donation also supports Baker Hughes’ commitment to advancing the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – SDG 15 to protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss. The CELF donation supports SDG 4 to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all and SDG 12 to ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns.

To learn more about Baker Hughes’ work in supporting its communities, visit our Corporate Responsibility website.

About the Baker Hughes Foundation: 

For 30 years, the Baker Hughes Foundation has been a steward of charitable resources for meaningful community impact. The Foundation seeks to advance environmental quality, education, health, safety, and wellness around the world by supporting organizations with shared values, demonstrated leadership, evidence of impact, financial soundness, and the capacity to implement initiatives and evaluate their success. The Baker Hughes Foundation makes strategic philanthropic contributions, matches Baker Hughes employee contributions, and awards volunteer recognition grants for outstanding employee community service.

About Baker Hughes

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ: BKR) is an energy technology company that provides solutions to energy and industrial customers worldwide. Built on a century of experience and conducting business in over 120 countries, our innovative technologies and services are taking energy forward – making it safer, cleaner and more efficient for people and the planet. Visit us at bakerhughes.com.

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For more information, please contact:

Media Relations 

Adrienne M. Lynch 
+1 713-906-8407 
adrienne.lynch@bakerhughes.com

Originally published on 3M News Center

3M pledge meets Direct Relief’s entire forecasted annual need for N95 respirators

In a significant step towards bolstering emergency preparedness and response efforts, 3M and Direct Relief are launching a global Respiratory Protection initiative to increase preparedness ahead of the 2024 hurricane and wildfire season. This initiative aims to increase preparedness and ensure the availability of N95 respirators, which play a pivotal role in helping to safeguard respiratory health during disasters and fostering community relief, re-entry, recovery and resilience efforts.

As part of the joint initiative, 3M has pledged to meet Direct Relief’s entire forecasted annual need for N95 filtering facepiece respirators with a donation of 5 million units. These respirators will be utilized in Direct Relief’s global humanitarian response efforts, providing essential protection to individuals in affected regions.

N95 respirators approved by NIOSH (National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health) can be used to help protect individuals within disaster-stricken areas. They help mitigate particulate smoke exposure during wildfires and offer assistance amid clean-up activities after floods, hurricanes, and earthquakes. Consequently, N95s constitute a cornerstone of Direct Relief’s disaster response framework.

Serving as the Official Respiratory Protection Sponsor, 3M’s N95s will be pre-stocked and strategically positioned to expedite relief operations to impacted communities, minimizing transit time. They will feature prominently within Direct Relief’s strategic emergency stockpile (SES), encompassing wildfire kits, emergency medical backpacks, hurricane preparedness packs, cholera kits, and an extensive network of U.S. safety-net clinics.

This significant new partnership between 3M and Direct Relief emerged out of an over 20-year relationship with 3M products and cash supporting Direct Relief’s global relief, recovery, and resilience efforts including responding to various emergencies worldwide, including the Turkey earthquake, Ukraine conflict, Mozambique floods, Hurricane Dorian in the Bahamas, and hurricanes and severe weather events across the US.

“Direct Relief is deeply thankful and privileged to work with 3M on this historic donation that will protect frontline health and emergency responders during disasters,” said Thomas Tighe, CEO and President of Direct Relief. “During disasters that are on-going, 3M has led by example, stepping up to help protect first responders, health workers and those at risk, and is once again providing high-quality protective equipment for people enduring fires, earthquakes, and other disasters and crises.”

This initiative reinforces 3M’s unwavering dedication to supporting communities in need and builds on its long-term commitment to humanitarian relief efforts. Since 2016, 3M has contributed nearly 10 million N95 respirators and other requested products to Direct Relief for individuals in the United States and more than 80 countries.

“3M is proud to continue our partnership with Direct Relief to expand access to critical protective equipment for natural disaster preparedness,” said Chris Goralski, president of 3M Safety and Industrial. “Access to N95 respirators can make a real difference in the health and safety of first responders and others providing care and support during crises. We will work together with Direct Relief to ensure these essential supplies reach the communities that need them most.”