JACKSONVILLE, Fla., July 11, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — The Alfred I. duPont Charitable Trust, one of America’s largest and most generous supporters of pediatric healthcare, announced the election of a new trustee, Tim Cost. For almost 90 years, the Trust has supported and advanced its…
Month: July 2024
Constructing New Wor(l)ds, our new podcast series on sustainable construction
Modern human activities are partly responsible for rising temperatures, various forms of pollution and declining biodiversity.
The construction industry is building and renovating more and more sustainably to deal with the climate crisis and scarcity of natural resources. With these innovative solutions and new construction methods, we have a whole new vocabulary that this podcast is going to decipher for you!
Listen here: A… for Anthropocene, A Saint-Gobain Podcast
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
Originally published on HARMAN Newsroom
Music holds the remarkable ability to transcend boundaries and connect people from all backgrounds, cultures, and beliefs. At HARMAN, we have experienced first-hand the power of music in bringing us closer – something we have celebrated throughout our company’s history, and for the last nearly ten years, as part of our global Make Music Day celebrations.
This year, our theme for Make Music Day was “United in HARMANy,” with a focus on how music can empower and encourage people around the world to come together and embrace the power of music to foster a sense of unity and harmony. Read on for a closer look at our musical celebrations and activities from the past month…
A Shared Rhythmic Relay
Together with our partners at the Make Music Alliance, this year we sponsored an international music relay, called “Pulsations.” On Make Music Day, musical artists from 24 countries through Asia, Africa, the Americas, and Europe performed live, connected by a shared beat that was set by renowned-trumpeter Ibrahim Maalouf. Our friend and longtime global brand ambassador, A.R. Rahman, joined the Pulsations relay from India, with a moving performance that reminded everyone of the unifying power of music.
As a leader in audio innovations, HARMAN understands the need for state-of-the-art audio equipment and technologies to power one-of-a-kind performances. Through our support of the Pulsations program this year, we provided each artist with one of our AKG microphones – ensuring that listeners around the world were able to enjoy Pulsations with crystal clear audio!
Listen to: Make Music Day 2024: Pulsations | AR Rahman | India
Connecting our Global Employees
Our employees also participated in a musical relay of their own through our HARMAN Employee Spotify Playlist. Based on employee submissions, we created a collection of songs specially curated by our team members around the world – in the end more than 46 songs were included in the playlist that powered some of our local celebrations!
From Brazil to Mexico, and Germany to India and beyond, our team members came together in full force to spread the unifying power of music, celebrate together, and give back to their local communities:
In Northridge, CA, employees celebrated with an office-wide summer barbecue, complete with a special performance from Girls Make Beats, a local nonprofit organization that supports young women chasing their dreams in the music production, DJ, and audio engineering fields. Our Northridge team also announced a sponsorship to provide one deserving individual with a scholarship to attend the Girls Make Beats program.At the JBL Store in New York City, passersby and Make Music Day celebrants enjoyed a live performance from a local band, while checking out the latest audio offerings from JBL.Our own HARMAN musicians took the stage to share their musical talents at our summer picnic in Novi, MI, but it was the band of young musicians from our longtime partner Music Will who really stole the show with their performance!
Our team members around the globe are passionate about spreading the power of music and helping their communities better understand the power of music to inspire us all. To learn more about our HARMAN Inspired initiatives and how we’re working with our nonprofit partners to expand access to music and music education, visit: https://www.harman.com/inspired
International Olympic Committee news
With just one month before the start of the Olympic Games Paris 2024, the President of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), Dennis Francis, today made a solemn appeal to the UN Member States for the observance of the Olympic Truce. He called on all warring parties around the world to agree to “true mutual ceasefires” for the duration of the Truce.
The resolution for the observance of the Olympic Truce for the Olympic and Paralympic Games Paris 2024 was formally adopted by the UN in November last year, calling for the Olympic Truce to be respected from seven days before the start of the Olympic Games until seven days after the Paralympic Games.
“I solemnly appeal to all Member States to demonstrate their commitment to the Olympic Truce for the 2024 Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games and to undertake concrete actions at the local, national, regional and world levels to promote and strengthen a culture of peace and harmony based on the spirit of the Truce,” said UNGA President Francis.
“I also call upon all warring parties of current armed conflicts around the world to boldly agree to true mutual ceasefires for the duration of the Olympic Truce, thus providing an opportunity to settle disputes peacefully.”
In his appeal, Francis also highlighted the power of sport and the relevance of the Olympic Games to bring the world together in peaceful competition.
The Olympic Movement aspires to contribute to a peaceful future for all humankind through the educational value of sport, in particular youth.
Dennis Francis
President of the United Nations General Assembly
“The Games will bring together athletes from all parts of the world in the greatest of international sports events as a means to promote peace, mutual understanding and goodwill among nations and peoples – goals that are also part of the founding values of the United Nations.”
Francis also noted that Paris 2024 would be “breaking new ground in gender equality and inclusivity” by allocating the same number of quota places to male and female athletes, and emphasised that the participation of the Refugee Olympic Team would be “a powerful symbol of inclusion and our shared humanity”.
Read the complete text of the solemn appeal.
Paris 2024 to be “a unifying event”
International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach welcomed the UN’s appeal, while emphasising the enduring significance of the Olympic Truce.
“The IOC very much welcomes the solemn appeal by the President of the UN General Assembly, Dennis Francis,” he said.
“The Olympic Truce represents the very essence of what the Olympic Games stand for – peace, unity and the hope of building a better world. In these difficult times, when we are all facing so much confrontation, division and polarisation, the Olympic Truce is more relevant than ever. And, as an event that unites the world in peaceful competition, the Olympic Games Paris 2024 will be a powerful reminder that we can all come together peacefully, even in times of wars and crises.”
Paris 2024 Olympic Truce Resolution
The resolution calls for “support for the International Olympic Committee in its efforts to promote peace and human understanding through sport and the Olympic ideal” and acknowledges that “the Olympic and Paralympic Games Paris 2024 will be a unifying event”.
It also welcomes “the leadership of Olympic and Paralympic athletes in promoting peace and human understanding through sport and the Olympic ideal”, and calls upon all Member States “to cooperate with the International Olympic Committee and the International Paralympic Committee in their efforts to use sport as a tool to promote peace, dialogue and reconciliation in areas of conflict during and beyond the period of the Olympic and Paralympic Games”.
The Olympic Truce
The tradition of the “Olympic Truce”, or “Ekecheiria”, was established in Ancient Greece to allow safe participation in the ancient Olympic Games for all athletes and spectators.
The IOC decided to revive the concept of the Olympic Truce for the Olympic Games, with a view to protecting, as far as possible, the interests of the athletes and sport in general, and to harness the power of sport to promote peace, dialogue and reconciliation more broadly.
Since 1993, the United Nations General Assembly has repeatedly expressed its support for the Olympic Truce ideal and for the IOC’s mission by adopting, every two years – one year before each edition of the Olympic Games – a resolution entitled “Building a peaceful and better world through sport and the Olympic ideal”.
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The International Olympic Committee is a not-for-profit, civil, non-governmental, international organisation made up of volunteers which is committed to building a better world through sport. It redistributes more than 90 per cent of its income to the wider sporting movement, which means that every day the equivalent of USD 4.2 million goes to help athletes and sports organisations at all levels around the world.
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For more information, please contact the IOC Media Relations Team:
Tel: +41 21 621 6000, email: pressoffice@olympic.org, or visit our web site at www.ioc.org.
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The IOC Newsroom: https://newsroom.olympics.com/
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As we strive to build an Inclusive Future for All, the work we do to improve inclusion and belonging for LGBTQ+ Cisco employees is essential. In this spirit, we are proud to share that Cisco has been recognized by the 2023 Workplace Pride Impact Awards as an Ambassador-level achiever with a 78% rating. Our rating is one of the Most Improved year-over-year among hundreds of companies. Cisco was also the Top Scorer by Industry Sector in the Information & Communication Industry category.
Workplace Pride
Based in the Netherlands, Workplace Pride’s mission is to drive LGBTQ+ inclusion in the workplace across the world by raising awareness and providing measurement, research, and networking opportunities. Their Global Benchmark is the go-to measurement tool of LGBTQ+ policies and practices for international employers, giving participating companies a tailored overview of their organization’s LGBTQ+ policies and practices. Among the 120+ participating companies, many are our customers, partners, and competitors, which allows us to understand how Cisco measures against other companies passionate about inclusion.
Cisco’s Achievement
Our 78% rating was the highest score ever given to Cisco in the 10 years our company has participated in the Global Benchmark, and we are among only 11 companies recognized in the Ambassador tier. With a 26% increase in our rating, Cisco is also one of the most improved among companies participating in the Benchmark. Some of the activities that contributed to this achievement include: the visible support from Cisco leadership, our LGBTQ+ Social Justice Fund, the launch of Pronouns in our Cisco Employee Central (CEC) Directory, Cisco’s Self-ID program, and our Gender Affirmation policies.
“It has been both an effort and an honour to drive Cisco’ participation in the Global Benchmark. I am very proud to see that the recent progress made for LGBTQIA+ employees at Cisco is reflected in our outstanding and record-breaking results for 2023. This shows the true power of collaboration globally and across organisations; together we can truly make a difference for our employees.”
—Anna Chekelova (she/her), Pride Netherlands & Global Assessments Lead
Driving Inclusion
These achievements would not be possible without the tireless work of the Global Pride Inclusive Community, sponsors, the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, the People, Process & Policy organization and the Benefits team, and many other Cisco leaders, teams and individuals who drive inclusion of LGBTQ+ employees at Cisco every day. A special thanks to the Netherlands chapter of the Pride Inclusive Community, who partnered with Workplace Pride to assess how we are doing and how to continuously improve as a leader in LGBTQ+ inclusion.
“As a People & Communities representative and an ambassador for the Pride & Allies Community, it was my privilege to accept this award on behalf of Cisco. In my years as an HR leader, I have experienced firsthand what inclusion can do to improve engagement and performance. This award shows how Cisco’s Inclusive Communities, powered by diverse employees and their allies, can change our company and industry for the better. Together, we power an inclusive future for all.”
—Jack Naidoo (he/him), People & Communities Director – EMEA North
View original content here.
SPRINGFIELD, MA, July 11, 2024 /3BL/ – The Springfield Boys & Girls Club is thrilled to announce that the KeyBank Foundation, the charitable foundation of KeyBank N.A. has awarded the Springfield Boys & Girls Club a $20,000 grant to support their Summer Brain Gain Program. This funding supports the administration of a comprehensive program run on one-week modules and fun-themed activities that are aligned with the common core standards, focusing on learning through discovery, creative expression, and collaborative group work. The program helps the club’s members avoid learning loss over the summer, ensuring they stay on track for the upcoming school year.
“The Springfield Boys & Girls Club is deeply grateful to the KeyBank Foundation for their generous support of the Summer Brain Gain program, said Vincent Borello, Executive Director. “With their help, the club will be able to provide even more resources and opportunities to the young people in our community.”
The vast majority of children being served by The Springfield Boys & Girls Club are from low-income families, with 65% of them raised in homes where English is a second language, putting them at a disadvantage in terms of reading, retention, and school learning. “The Springfield Boys & Girls Club believes that every child deserves a safe and supportive environment where they can learn, grow, and thrive,” continued Borello, “and this grant from KeyBank brings us one step closer to achieving that goal. We look forward to continuing our partnership and making a positive impact on the lives of young people in the community.”
Members of KeyBank presented a ceremonial check to Borello and members of the club on June 26, when local bankers conducted a “Banking Basics” financial literacy course to about 40 teen members. In addition to philanthropic support through its charitable foundation, KeyBank also provides financial resources to nonprofits within the bank’s service areas that help students achieve academically, with a particular focus on minority and low-and moderate-income populations.
“Empowering teens with money management skills is crucial for their future success,” commented Abigail Gawron, the KeyBank personal banker who conducted the financial literacy workshop. “It equips them with the knowledge to make informed financial decisions and avoid common pitfalls. At our bank, we believe that investing in the financial education of young people is an investment in the prosperity of our community.”
KeyBank has seven retail bank branches throughout greater Springfield.
Media contact: If you have any questions, please contact Sarah Gumaer Marketing & Special Events Director sgumaer@sbgc.org
About Springfield Boys & Girls Club
The Springfield Boys and Girls Club is committed to the betterment of the lives of children in Springfield, Massachusetts. At the Springfield Boys & Girls Club, we provide all our members with a safe place to grow and learn that fosters ongoing relationships with caring adult professionals. We offer a variety of life-enhancing programs that include character development experiences, hope, and opportunities. With a dedicated staff, board, and volunteers, the Club ensures that “Great Futures Start Here.”
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.
Never in history has the global supply chain been more complex. Between geopolitical uncertainty, pressure for more sustainable operations, disruptive technologies, the list goes on, it is essential that companies adapt in this changing environment.
DP World, in partnership with Economist Impact, recently released our 2024 edition of the Trade in Transition report, highlighting key trends in global trade and supply chains. The research found that despite uncertainty, executives are optimistic due to improved economic stability and emerging technologies. You can check out the full report here, but let’s dive deeper into one of the trends: supplier restructuring.
Here’s the short of it: North American businesses are evolving their supplier networks in three ways to combat supply chain disruption: supplier diversification, supplier consolidation and nearshoring. Let’s unpack these, starting with diversification.
Supplier diversification allows companies to funnel their goods through a larger network of suppliers. This year’s study found that 44% of respondents prioritized this strategy over consolidating. Why? A larger supplier base prevents having a single-point of supply chain failure, which many companies experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic. Though popular, diversification does have its downsides. Expanding your supplier network can create operational challenges and increase maintenance costs. With an increased focus on emissions reporting, having more suppliers makes carbon output more difficult to track. Therefore, businesses are more cautious about diversifying their suppliers this year compared to last.
In stark contrast to diversification, 26% of businesses are opting to consolidate their supplier network, a strategy increasing in popularity by 16 percentage points since 2023. The benefits: greater supply chain visibility, quality control, better information sharing, and larger supplier contracts. Fewer suppliers can also simplify environmental reporting and allow businesses to foster a deeper feeling of trust between their supply chain partners – leading to more effective communication and stronger collaboration. While consolidation offers advantages, it introduces challenges such as an elevated risk of disruption and slower transport times, underscoring the delicate balance in supplier strategy.
While diversification and consolidation reign supreme in supply chain restructuring, nearly one-in-five North American respondents are prioritizing nearshoring as their main supply chain restructuring strategy. Nearshoring, the process of employing suppliers geographically closer to the initial production point, mitigates disruption caused by trade barriers, ultimately decreasing delivery times. Though the strategy has lost some steam since 2023, we believe it will rebound given ongoing geopolitical flux.
Take Mondelez, one of the world’s largest snack companies, for example. The year 2020 delivered a worldwide shortage of shipping containers, causing transportation problems in over 75% of the world’s supply chain companies. Mondelez was unable to reach over 15 territories in the Caribbean. Project Near, a collaboration between DP World and Mondelez International, focused on sourcing products directly from their countries of origin, including Mexico and Peru, to the Dominican Republic. This partnership enabled Mondelez to create a new cargo pathway through the Dominican Republic to the region and stabilize their product distribution through the pandemic and beyond.
Regardless of the chosen strategy—be it diversification, consolidation, or nearshoring—one common theme emerges: supply chain businesses are adapting to operate in times of crisis and preparing for the uncertainties of the future. As the Trade in Transition report emphasizes, the supply chain of the past will not be the same as the supply chain of the future.
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From a seminal call to action last year issued by former Surgeons General to an indoor air policy proposal from a group of expert researchers, as well as the recent launch of a new global accord signed by hundreds of advocates and practitioners, healthy building advocacy is reaching new heights
In an historic move last year, a group of former U.S. Surgeons General and public health leaders came together to call on policymakers to prioritize buildings as instruments of public health. This seminal call to action led by a dozen public health luminaries has helped spark what is becoming a growing global policy conversation aimed at improving health in our buildings and, in doing so, creating unprecedented advocacy momentum.
Surgeons General Unite for Healthy Buildings
In September of 2023, in a landmark moment, six former U.S. Surgeons General, alongside another six prominent public health leaders, issued an open letter to all U.S. policymakers emphasizing the pivotal role buildings play in health and well-being. “We hope all policymakers will embrace this new policy paradigm wherein buildings are not seen merely as structures, but as pillars supporting our nation’s health,” declared the signatories of the open letter.
Dr. Richard Carmona, the 17th Surgeon General of the United States and one of the signatories, added, “Buildings are not just walls and roofs; they are health-critical environments where we spend 90% of our lives.” This recognition of buildings as fundamental to public health represents a pivotal shift in our policy thinking, urging leaders to embrace healthy building practices.
Researchers Also Stepped up to Advocate for Health in Buildings
Following suit, this past March more than three dozen researchers, led by lead author Lidia Morawska, a distinguished professor at Queensland University of Technology, wrote in Science, to urge for mandatory indoor air quality (IAQ) standards in public buildings. Their joint article highlighted the critical importance of clean indoor air to human health, saying, “The COVID-19 pandemic has made all levels of society, from community members to decision-makers, realize the importance of IAQ for human health, wellbeing, productivity, and learning.”
The Recent Launch of the International Healthy Building Accord
Further building on these efforts, this past May nearly 200 leaders signed on for the launch of the International Healthy Building Accord. The Accord, shaped by contributions from foremost health authorities and informed by an extensive and thorough body of health and buildings research, communicates the imperative for healthy buildings and outlines key focus areas and strategic policy actions necessary to accelerate healthy buildings. It emphasizes the importance of indoor air quality, water quality, healthy materials, biophilia and design practices that prioritize human health as well as environmental sustainability. Over the next year, this initiative aims to unite global advocates, experts and practitioners to push for healthier building practices worldwide.
“We invite healthy building champions to unite around the imperative of making sure the places and spaces where we live our lives enhance our health and well-being, not compromise it,” said Rachel Hodgdon, President and CEO of IWBI, upon the Accord’s launch. (For those interested in supporting the Accord, please sign here.)
Together, these efforts represent monumental momentum for healthy building policy. With the combined efforts of these iconic public health leaders, distinguished researchers, and hundreds of global advocates (and growing), we are laying the fundamental groundwork to elevate health as a major focus in all future building policy. The opportunity is clear: by reimagining building policy to support health, we can better position our spaces and places to move much faster to improve our health, safety, well-being and resilience.
View original content here.
From replacing non-recyclable packing peanuts with biodegradable alternatives to downsizing packaging material, engineers at MilliporeSigma, the U.S. and Canada Life Science business of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, are improving the sustainability of packaging without compromising safety and quality. And that’s important with a portfolio of over 300,000 products and approximately 50,000 shipments dispatched daily.
Each sustainable packaging project aligns with the organization’s SMASH Packaging plan, which works toward more sustainable packaging for new and existing products. So far, these projects combined avoid more than 400 metric tons of packaging materials annually.
To learn more about five of these innovative packaging solutions, read the full article on MilliporeSigma’s website.
Authored by Tyler R. Inda, Manjima Bose, Michelle Isenhouer Hanlin, Tom Bucher, Joe Marchese, Serena Walters
President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) created the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF), a $27 billion investment to facilitate advancement in climate technologies.
Under the $6 billion Clean Communities Investment Accelerator (CCIA) initiative, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ran a competitive procurement and selected five applicants to establish hubs. These hubs provide funding and technical assistance to community lenders working in low-income and disadvantaged communities, providing an immediate pathway to deploy projects in those communities while also building capacity of these lenders to finance projects for years to come.
Download the whitepaper for more information on CCIA’s requirements and complexities.