Month: July 2024

To achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, Saint-Gobain North America must reach key milestones by 2030. Introducing a new series highlighting the lessons we are learning on our journey to be the leader in light and sustainable construction.

On this episode of our series, we look at creating a circular economy in manufacturing. Dennis Wilson shows us why reverse supply chains are the future of manufacturing.

Watch the Saint-Gobain video series Journey to 2030 here

About Saint-Gobain

Worldwide leader in light and sustainable construction, Saint-Gobain designs, manufactures and distributes materials and services for the construction and industrial markets. Its integrated solutions for the renovation of public and private buildings, light construction and the decarbonization of construction and industry are developed through a continuous innovation process and provide sustainability and performance. The Group’s commitment is guided by its purpose, “MAKING THE WORLD A BETTER HOME”.

€47.9 billion in sales in 2023
160,000 employees, locations in 76 countries 
Committed to achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050 

Henkel aims to foster a culture of belonging where each employee feels supported and encouraged to come to work as their true selves. Our differences and unique identities are drivers of creativity and performance – elements that are critical to success for the business and our culture. In building an inclusive workplace, we continuously challenge our biases by seeking out perspectives that are different from our own, paving the way for innovation, growth, and strong community ties.

Throughout the month of June, Henkel employees have joined together with friends and family to show their Pride and spread the message of love, allyship and unity to help create a more inclusive world! Our Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) and brands organized participation in events from New York and Connecticut to California and Canada. The PRIDE ERG and many other resource groups across the organization are strong catalysts for connecting employees, increasing our understanding of one another, and encouraging candid conversations about diversity.

Participating in the PRIDE ERG has been a great way to expand my Henkel network and get to know colleagues outside of my normal scope. I’ve met colleagues across the globe from functions and business units that I wouldn’t have been exposed to without my ERG involvement. It has also been a great way to get involved in helping shape internal policies and supporting local LGBTQ+ organizations.

Abe Blumenthal, Pilot Plant Process Engineer, Henkel

Hear from more of our employees about diversity within the LGBTQIA+ community at Henkel in the video above!

Originally published on Black & Veatch Perspectives

As the federal government investigates multiple cyberattacks, it’s becoming abundantly clear that water utilities are a particularly vulnerable part of the nation’s critical infrastructure.

Last November, as reported by Politico, politically motivated hackers breached a Pennsylvania water utility’s booster station. While that attack was diverted before any major impacts were made on water quality or availability, U.S. lawmakers have demanded more proactive cybersecurity measures. Last year, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) unveiled (and later rescinded) new federal mandates requiring water system inspections to include assessments of cybersecurity threats. While emerging standards are a step forward, there are worries about whether basic observance would give water utilities a false sense of security; compliance often does not necessarily equal a robust cybersecurity program.

Based on expert analyses of data from nearly 630 survey respondents, Black & Veatch’s 2024 Water Report illustrates a water sector navigating the challenges of cybersecurity, confidence in their current cybersecurity strategies, proactivity in financing upgrades and willingness to seek expert guidance.

Download the Report

Utilities Acknowledge that Cybersecurity is Essential

Eighty-six percent of respondents reported that cybersecurity is “very important,” while 73 percent categorized physical security in that way. Utilities are recognizing that cyberthreats have an exponentially growing reach, with even greater potential compromise than physical threats. For example, if a whole network system is compromised in a cyberattack, it could impact the entire utility; if just a single pump station is physically vandalized, the effects might be limited and addressed without a widespread service outage.

If the data for “very important” and “important” are combined, 97 percent of respondents believe that both cybersecurity and physical security are essential to the security of their assets (Figure 4). While there were no significant changes in the data regarding cybersecurity from 2022 to 2024, it’s worth noting that physical security had a 7 percentage point increase in “very important” and “important” responses from 2023 to this year. Respondents correctly may be recalling the increase in physical attacks on electrical substations in the Pacific Northwest in November 2022 that caused significant customer outages.

These observations are further validated in the digital water section of the 2024 Water Report; cybersecurity and asset management were tied at 58 percent among top objectives in the utilities’ digital solutions strategy.

As promising as that sounds, utilities cannot have robust cybersecurity without equally robust physical security, and vice versa. Here’s why: network devices and endpoints need physical protection to prevent unauthorized electronic access by an adversary. Conversely, the technology that supports physical security needs cybersecurity protection to prevent unauthorized physical access by an adversary. Utilities should consider having their cybersecurity and physical security professionals collaborate to strategically align efforts. For example, if an adversary were to access a computer physically, they are more easily able to hack into the computer, affecting the utility’s cybersecurity as well.

Hinderances Include Lack of Personnel Training, Funding

When asked what is preventing utilities most from advancing the cybersecurity of their control systems, staff resources (47 percent) and budget or funding (37 percent) led the way (Figure 5). In the past year, it appears that staff resources became slightly less of a concern, decreasing from 51 percent in 2023. Budgeting became more of a hinderance, increasing from 33 percent in 2023. Respondents who selected cyber expertise slid from 33 percent in 2023 to 23 percent in 2024; this reveals that although there still are knowledge gaps within their organizations when it comes to cybersecurity, utilities are beginning to feel more confident in their abilities to address it.

A takeaway: utilities should provide their control systems’ engineers with additional cybersecurity training to work toward closing this knowledge gap completely while simultaneously mitigating their staff resource obstacles.

Utilities Seek External Support to Address Cyber Challenges

Without question, utilities agree that cybersecurity is a growing concern — but a few key obstacles stand in their way. Black & Veatch’s survey found that utilities may be struggling to determine the best path forward and are seeking external support to address it. Of all the areas that can be outsourced, 35 percent of respondents reported a preference to do so with cybersecurity assessments, closely followed by personnel training (31 percent) (Figure 6). There’s a correlation between these two majority selections, in that utilities need assessments to embark on their cybersecurity journey and need training to maintain the strategies implemented.

Sixty-one percent of utilities reported that they already have consulted with outside cybersecurity experts; an additional 37 percent hired cybersecurity experts as either part-time or full-time permanent staff (Figure 7). Only 18 percent hadn’t consulted with external experts at all — an encouraging showing of the willingness of utilities to seek external expertise to protect their assets in the most strategic way possible. It could also mean that in that 18 percent, utilities may have internal IT and SCADA departments, with experienced resources and the ability to take on cybersecurity without external consultants.

Next Steps: Connecting the ‘Why’ to the ‘How’

Given the proliferation of digital attacks and growing vulnerabilities, it’s more important than ever to take cybersecurity seriously. Black & Veatch’s survey demonstrates that utilities agree on the “why” behind cybersecurity, but not all are confident on the “how.” When it comes to cybersecurity, the areas where utilities need the most support are training, technical design and funding. Regarding technical design, utilities are seeking alignment for their people, processes and technology in addition to ongoing management, with a growing chorus among utilities of “help me build it, then help me run it.”

Funding remains a hindrance; due to inflation, costs for utilities are rising across the board — not just for cybersecurity services. This makes it challenging to make impactful progress when fewer “real” dollars are available to be applied to these initiatives. Underfunded utilities also are more likely to be using outdated equipment that isn’t protected from modern cyberattacks.

The bottom line: utilities should consider a holistic approach to cybersecurity, understanding that it’s not just about addressing vulnerabilities but about how cybersecurity fits into the overall modernization strategy and existing system of operations. It’s also about balancing multiple priorities that shouldn’t have to compete. Many utilities are doing a great job of bolstering resiliency in the face of climate change but are lacking in cybersecurity. These don’t have to be competing priorities, and it’s essential to find ways to address both.

Following the data trend of seeking external consultants, utilities benefit from collaborating with expert advisory partners such as Black & Veatch who can provide an overall cybersecurity roadmap that considers initial costs, lifecycle costs and process integrations to best fit their unique needs.

Pizza Hut blog

As a brand, Pizza Hut® delights in celebrating all things pizza, excellence in operations, and supreme customer experiences. This is why the Hut 100 Program was created. Based on key performance indicators, one hundred Pizza Hut U.S. restaurant general managers (RGMs) are recognized annually for their excellence in connecting people through the joy of pizza by delivering hot, fast, and reliable service. This year, the Hut 100 honorees were awarded and celebrated at the 2024 Pizza Hut Spring Business Conference in Phoenix, Arizona.

Below are five honorees who share their journey with the Pizza Hut Brand and their franchise organization, the impact of earning the Hut 100 award, tips for other RGMs, and their plans for 2025.

Covia continues to build on a long legacy of corporate responsibility. We have ambitious goals that are aimed at accelerating our ESG progress and performance through 2030. These are our Goals That Inspire in the areas of Environmental Stewardship, Positive Social Impact, and Responsible Governance and Ethics.

We are proud to report that we made steady progress on all our Goals That Inspire in 2023, and we are on track to achieve our goals by the 2030 target date. To learn more about each goal, the related metrics, and the progress we are making, please view the corresponding sections below and click on the link to learn more.

GOALS THAT INSPIRE: Environmental Stewardship

Ensure Responsible Operations

Protect Essential Water Supply

Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Preserve, Restore, and Improve Biodiversity

GOALS THAT INSPIRE: Positive Social Impact

Ensure Safety and Health of our Team Members

Foster an Inclusive Culture Where Everyone Feels Valued and Engaged

Support Our Communities

Expand Sustainable Product Offerings

GOALS THAT INSPIRE: Responsible Governance and Ethic

Strengthen Our Security and Data Privacy Posture

Increase Corporate Transparency

We hope you enjoy learning about our ESG performance and milestones and welcome your feedback at ESG@coviacorp.com.

Get to know Dilpreet Kaur, a senior scientist here at Clorox.

When she first entered the field, her workplace expectations weren’t exactly met — yet. “As a scientist, I always thought I wanted to do research, and I tried the academia route, but it seemed a little slow-paced for me,” she says.

With our launch timelines anywhere from three months to 24 months, Dilpreet believed consumer goods might be a better fit.

“My friends use our products, my family uses our products, the doctors I go to use our products,” she says. “So, when I think about the work I do to change Clorox wipes for the better, I think about how many people are benefiting from that. Whether it’s spending less time cleaning and more time hanging out with their kids, or they’re making sure their patients are safe in that hospital room … yeah, our work is important.”

Her passion for science is evident both within her team and within her community. “I love that we can make science approachable,” she says. “I volunteer with Clorox and outside of Clorox on STEM initiatives, making sure people have access to science, technology, engineering and math. And I think we need to get out of the old routine of just having one picture of what engineers look like, ’cause engineers look like me, too.’”

Learn more about life at Clorox here.

At PNC, our approach to corporate responsibility is rooted in the understanding that maintaining strong relationships with our stakeholders is fundamental to our success. But open and honest dialogue with our customers, employees, shareholders and communities at large, contributes to more than our success. It drives meaningful impact. We know because we’ve been at this work for nearly 160 years, and it’s why we’re proud to share with you our progress over this past year.

With a theme of “Brilliantly supporting all of our stakeholders” the 2023 PNC Corporate Responsibility Report is now available on PNC.com and shares progress toward our commitments to all of our stakeholders.

The 2023 highlights include:

5,000+ employees have enrolled in academic programs though PNC’s education benefit since the program expansion in late 202283,433 volunteer hours were completed by employees5,243 employees served as Certified Women’s Business Advocates31% of employees participated in PNC’s Employee Business Resource Groups (EBRGs)$56 billion of PNC’s $88 billion Community Benefits Plan has been deployed in the first two years of the plan, including:$38.3 billion to affordable homeownership (of $47 billion commitment)$9.8 billion to small business loans (of $26.5 billion commitment)$7.9 billion to community financing (of $14.5 billion commitment)$249.8 million in charitable giving (of $500 million commitment)$352.3 million spent with diverse suppliers (Tier 1 and Tier 2)1,500 mobile branch deployments traveled over 57,000 miles and impacted nearly 9,000 individuals1,584 financial education classes reached 27,447 low- and moderate-income (LMI) individuals$672 million has been saved by our customers in overdraft fees using the features of Low Cash Mode® and through our pricing changes$6.48 billion in responsible investing assets were under management$22.9 billion was deployed toward our $30 billion environmental finance pledge, since the pledge announcementProgress was made on PNC’s operational targets by reducing energy use by 11%; carbon emissions by 10% and water by 4%48% of our renewable electricity purchased target was achieved (out of our 100% goal by 2025)Enhanced our capabilities related to data breach laws and regulations to PNC’s privacy program.Expanded our customer awareness campaign across online, social media and digital banking channels, helping customers recognize and prevent potential threats. This includes new content and alerts within the Zelle® experience in our mobile app and on our website, to help customers identify common peer-to-peer payment scams.

To learn more about PNC’s corporate responsibility commitments and progress please visit pnc.com.

Mastercard

In the corner by one of the many potted plants, three Vietnamese women sit around bowls of steaming noodles and dumplings, engrossed in discussion. Despite the noise and chaos of the traffic outside, it’s peaceful in this small and cozy vegetarian restaurant tucked away in Hanoi’s Old Quarter. Sounds of conversation and laughter grow as the restaurant fills up with the lunch crowd.

The handmade menu tells the owner’s story. She opened the restaurant during the COVID-19 pandemic with a desire to provide healthy, nourishing food sourced from local producers. As the manager of a small business, the owner faces multiple challenges and fierce competition (as she later tells me), but the restaurant is clearly thriving and I wonder, what is the recipe for her success? What draws all these customers and me, a foreigner in Vietnam, time and again to this restaurant over more familiar big chain names?

Is it just the papaya salad — really, the best I’ve ever eaten — or is it something else that only a small business has?

Building stronger communities

Small businesses are the hearts and souls of communities. Your local barber and corner stores offer more than just transactional interactions for essential products and services. They are places where people listen to your everyday problems and foster a sense of belonging. What’s more, there’s a one in three chance that these micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), like the one I’m lunching in, are led by women.

There are more women than ever in business, yet most have only three-quarters of the legal rights that men have when it comes to career, finances and work-life balance — this despite the fact that women-led businesses are vital not just for their reinvestment into household incomes and national economies, but also for their transformative power.

The latest evidence on women-led businesses finds that they not only reduce poverty but that they also drive job creation, spark innovation and contribute to safer, greener and more vibrant communities, ensuring that everyone thrives collectively. These women-led enterprises are regenerative forces — building business communities and hiring local workers. Local economies simply cannot succeed without them.

Dreaming inclusive growth into reality

“Women on their own face many obstacles. However, if we build a community of people who inspire us and support us, we can achieve so much … We can do things together that we could never accomplish alone,” says Violeta Pacheco Mejía an entrepreneur in Lima, Peru.

Her eco-friendly alpaca and cotton clothing company, Tejidos Peruanos, is based in Villa El Salvador, a historically disadvantaged neighborhood in Lima. Her business has a reputation for being a place where women help women succeed and where community makes the impossible possible. Violeta set up her company in Villa El Salvador to make it more accessible to talented workers living in the area. In addition to having a largely female work staff, Tejidos Peruanos offers safe on-site childcare for employees to give parents flexibility and peace of mind. Tejidos Peruanos and Violeta are prime examples of how women entrepreneurs reinvest in their communities, hire more women and give hope to other marginalized populations.

“We have realized at this point that if we want to keep moving forward, we must keep preparing and training — not just me, but the whole team. This is a dream that we dream together.”

Violeta Pacheco Mejía

It has taken Violeta over 18 years of hard work and passion to create the business of her dreams — impactful and profitable. Yet it was only in this last year that Violeta, through her participation in CARE’s Ignite and Strive Women programs — both supported by the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth — was finally able to get a bank loan in her own name.

“Tejidos Peruanos is the dream of 14 women,” says Violeta. “We have gone through many difficulties, but we have been able to move forward despite them. We have realized at this point that if we want to keep moving forward, we must keep preparing and training — not just me, but the whole team. This is a dream that we dream together.”

Enabling healthy market systems, while battling systemic barriers

Despite the creativity, resilience, and leadership demonstrated by Violeta and millions like her, women entrepreneurs face outsized barriers and constraints — including access to credit — that impede their growth and deteriorate their confidence.

The women entrepreneurs we work with through CARE’s programs are not willing to wait. They want to grow their businesses and they have the skills and confidence to do it. Our recipe for building a supportive ecosystem — one that values the contributions of women — works with local partners to design policies, products, and programs. Together we design tailored financial services, alongside training and business networks, with outreach campaigns to challenge harmful gender norms.

Policymakers, businesses, banks, community leaders and individuals have a role to play in unlocking women’s economic power, valued at $10 trillion annually. We need whole system change that includes comprehensive macroeconomic reforms, from fairer tax systems to recognition of the care economy. We need localized women-centered financial products and entrepreneur support systems to create more equitable economies for all marginalized groups, including women.

As we commemorate the United Nations’ MSME Day, let us recognize, celebrate and promote the women-led micro and small enterprises that are the lifeblood of our communities. Here’s how you can show your support and make an impact:

Commit to intentionally shopping at women-led small businesses and spread the word about them to friends and family or on social media.If you are a business owner, then invest in, work with and/or mentor women entrepreneurs.If you are a financial service provider, then design client-centered solutions that prioritize and champion women and other marginalized groups.If you are a policymaker or advocate, then champion policies and programs that recognize and strengthen the central role that women entrepreneurs play in society.

By supporting the growth and resilience of women-led small businesses, we strengthen the invisible bonds that connect us. This not only helps unique and vibrant places thrive, like the Vietnamese noodle café in Hanoi, but also moves us towards a feminist future where equality and inclusivity become a lived reality.

Sarah Hewitt is the director for Strive Women with CARE’s Women’s Entrepreneurship team. An expert in international development, she has led global strategies with a focus on women’s economic justice. Based in London, she holds a Master of Business Administration from Northwestern University and serves on the board of Nurturing Minds.

Originally published by Mastercard

Follow the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth’s journey to advance equitable and sustainable economic growth and financial inclusion around the world by following us on LinkedIn and Instagram.

What does purpose have to do with movements? StrawberryFrog, a movement marketing agency, were faced with this question when clients came to them with a purpose statement but were unsure how to activate it. This led to a pivotal realization: purpose activation is essentially a movement, where a group of people rally around a shared purpose to drive change.

Inspired, StrawberryFrog decided to enter the purpose field, focusing on mobilizing employees and consumers around a purpose, in addition to conducting innovative research. Their primary research tool, the first-of-its-kind Purpose Power Index (PPI), empirically measures how well companies activate purpose at the core of their business. The PPI reveals key insights, from what drives purpose to how it enhances employee engagement and retention.

We invited Chip Walker, Head of Strategy, to share key insights from StrawberryFrog’s work and research with purpose, highlighting the transformative power of purpose and showing that, when companies move beyond merely defining their purpose to actively living it, they can ignite powerful internal and external change.

Listen for insights on:

The primary drivers of purposePurpose’s role on an employee’s hierarchy of needsKey purpose gaps at organizationsStrategies for measuring purpose internally and externally

Listen to this and other episodes of Purpose 360 Podcast here.

Purpose 360 Podcast is a masterclass in unlocking the potential of purpose to ignite business and social impact. Hosted by Carol Cone, CEO of Carol Cone ON PURPOSE, Purpose 360 illuminates the impact of purpose, from engaging employees and fostering deeper consumer loyalty to inspiring product innovation and increasing market share.

Carol Cone ON PURPOSE (CCOP) is a pioneering social impact consultancy helping companies, brands, and nonprofits harness the power of purpose to advance their business and societal impact. CCOP’s proven approach, developed over decades and hundreds of purpose assignments, meets clients at any point on their purpose journey to unlock opportunities to build reputation, inspire and engage employees, ignite organizational culture for innovation and growth, while supporting the greater good.