Month: July 2024

Eastman

Getting a restful night’s sleep is important to our overall health and well-being. With Naia™ Renew, you can get there with three key benefits that ensure you’ll wake up refreshed, restored and at ease: comfort, long-lasting quality, and sustainability.

Naia™ Renew bedding is soft and smooth against the skin, with excellent moisture management qualities that keep your bed feeling fresh for a drier, cooler and more comfortable night’s rest. Even after repeated launder, Naia™ Renew bedding has less pilling and fewer wrinkles, so sheets stay looking new and lustrous for longer.

And since Naia™ Renew fibers are derived from sustainably sourced wood pulp and reclaimed* carpets diverted from landfills, you can rest well knowing your bedding choice is making a positive impact in your home with a reduced environmental impact on our shared home, Earth.

Wake up to your best tomorrow with bedding made from Naia™ Renew.

Visit https://naia.eastman.com/bedding for more information.

*40% Naia™ Renew recycled content is achieved by allocation of recycled plastics using an ISCC-certified mass balance process.

Originally published in Principal Financial Group 2023 Sustainability Report

Our sustainability strategy and commitments

We remain dedicated to our sustainability commitments to help drive better outcomes for people, society, and the planet.

Our strategy is made up of three activation pillars, which comprise our material sustainability focus areas which were determined through a materiality assessment. Our focus areas include specific topics and goals that help us deliver our sustainability commitments. These activation pillars help us integrate sustainability across the business and into our operations and decision-making.

Read more about our materiality assessment

In 2023, through the ongoing efforts of our Sustainability Task Force and participation from business leaders across the company, we continued to make progress against our sustainability commitments, including reaching our five-year goal to double the number of diverse small and midsized businesses we support by 2025. We also set new goals to advance our strategy.

Our sustainability strategy is aligned with several SDGs, which are an urgent, universal call to action to help end poverty, improve health and education, reduce inequality, and spur economic growth.

SDG 5 Gender equality: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.SDG 8 Decent work and economic growth: Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment, and decent work for all.SDG 10 Reduce inequalities: Reduce inequality within and among countries.SDG 13 Climate action: Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts.SDG 17 Partnerships for the goals: Revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development.

To manage the evolving landscape and stay ahead of the curve, we’re continuously refining our approach while we remain dedicated to transparently reporting progress.

Our key focus areas:

Sustainable investing
We provide clients with sustainable investment options that offer competitive, risk-adjusted returns and utilize a holistic view of factors influencing risk and return to help create added value for clients, the environment, and society over time.Consumer and product impact
We enable greater access to relevant insurance, investment, and savings products and services for individuals and businesses around the globe to help build a more inclusive economy.Financial inclusion
We advance financial inclusion by ensuring individuals and businesses have access to the necessary financial products, resources, and education to meet their diverse needs.Environmental impact
We promote environmental stewardship across our company by managing our use of resources and working to preserve the planet for future generations.Sustainable sourcing
We aim to improve our screening of new suppliers and our evaluation of existing suppliers against sustainability criteria and incorporate our findings into our supplier selection process to build a traceable and resilient supply chain.Governance, ethics, and risk
We operate our business with integrity through strong governance, effective risk management practices, and transparent reporting to maintain trust with our stakeholders.Global inclusion
We strive to create and maintain a work environment where all employees feel valued, respected, and included, enabling them to do their best work.Employee engagement
We cultivate a rewarding workplace experience centered on learning, development, and employee well-being to attract and nurture exceptional talent.

To learn more, read the Principal Financial Group 2023 Sustainability Report.

Integration of sustainability considerations and/or environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors is qualitative and subjective by nature. There is no guarantee that the criteria used, or judgment exercised, will reflect the beliefs or values of any particular investor. There is no assurance that any strategy or integration of sustainability considerations and/or ESG factors will be successful or profitable.

Principal Financial Group Foundation, Inc (“Principal® Foundation”) is a duly recognized 501(c)(3) entity focused on providing philanthropic support to programs that build financial security in the communities where Principal Financial Group, Inc. (“Principal’ operates. While Principal Foundation receives funding from Principal, Principal Foundation is a distinc independent, charitabl entity. Principal Foundation does not practice any form of investment advisory services and is not authorized to do so. © 2024 Principal Foundation.

Insurance products issued by Principal National Life Insurance Co (except in NY) and Principal Life Insurance Company®. Plan administrative services offered by Principal Life. Principal Funds, Inc. is distributed by Principal Funds Distributor, Inc. Securities offered through Principal Securities, Inc., member SIPC and/or independent broker/dealers. Referenced companies are members of the Principal Financial Group®, Des Moines, IA 50392.​

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International Olympic Committee news

As the five-year milestone of its inauguration approaches, Olympic House – the headquarters of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) – has recently achieved LEED Platinum v4.1 certification for its operations and maintenance. This certification represents the highest form of recognition within the renowned LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) green building programme, recognising Olympic House’s sustainability performance.

Since its initial project phase, Olympic House has striven to meet the highest sustainability standards, in line with the IOC’s strategic roadmap Olympic Agenda 2020 and Olympic Agenda 2020+5. This has meant prioritising resource efficiency, circular economy, respectful integration into the local landscape and user comfort. As a result, the building became one of the world’s most sustainable buildings when it was inaugurated in June 2019. It was the first to obtain the LEED Platinum v.4 certification for Design and Construction, receiving 94 points – the highest score at the time. In addition, it was awarded the highest (Platinum) level of the Swiss National Sustainable Construction Standard (SNBS) and the Swiss standard for energy-efficient buildings (Minergie P).

This latest achievement, which focuses on the building’s operations and management, further solidifies Olympic House’s position as one of the world’s most sustainable buildings. With 82 points out of 100, Olympic House achieved the highest LEED operations score in Switzerland, which places it amongst top 10 per cent of certified buildings in Europe (according to LEED O+M v4.1).

“We are very proud to receive the prestigious LEED Platinum certification for the operations of IOC Headquarters’ Olympic House,” said IOC President Thomas Bach.

Guided by the reforms of Olympic Agenda 2020 and Olympic Agenda 2020+5, which place sustainability at the heart of all our actions, we believe the true measure of a building’s sustainability lies not only in its design and construction but also in its ongoing operations. As we mark the fifth anniversary of its inauguration, the IOC remains dedicated to upholding the highest global sustainability standards in Olympic House – in terms of both its daily operations and the comfort of its users.

Thomas Bach

IOC President

“The LEED Platinum certification of Olympic House in Lausanne demonstrates the International Olympic Committee’s commitment to maintaining the highest level of green building performance,” said Peter Templeton, President & CEO, US Green Building Council. “Recertification ensures that ongoing operations and maintenance practices help advance sustainability goals, including climate action, resource conservation and occupant health. The LEED Platinum-certified Olympic House is a model of sustainable building operations, delivering higher performance while protecting people and the environment.”

The LEED Platinum v4.1 for Operations and Maintenance evaluates Olympic House’s performance across various key metrics that undergo regular monitoring, including energy and water use, waste management, air quality, user comfort and staff commuting, with the certificate remaining valid for three years.

The optimisation measures implemented during Olympic House’s design and construction, and since its inauguration, have helped achieve significant reductions in electricity and water consumption. As a result, the IOC has reduced its energy use by half per square metre, and its use of drinkable water per occupant by 50 to 75 per cent, compared to the previous IOC headquarters.

The IOC has also achieved a 50 per cent decrease in non-recyclable office waste per employee since 2019, thanks to strategic initiatives including a reduction in the number of bins, minimisation of single-use plastics and promotion of recycling practices. In addition, the IOC has reduced its food waste by over 50 per cent through measures such as the sale of leftover food from the staff restaurant.

The IOC has also introduced measures to promote active and healthy lifestyles, including subsidies and infrastructure to encourage sustainable mobility and a flexible work structure. These measures have further contributed to reducing carbon emissions and promoting sustainable practices among the IOC staff. More than 60 per cent of staff members are now using sustainable mobility options, such as walking, cycling or public transport.

Designed by Danish architecture firm 3XN in collaboration with Swiss architecture firm IttenBrechbuhl, Olympic House embraces a holistic approach to sustainability. From its initial design, every facet of the building – including construction, energy and water efficiency, daily operations and user well-being – has been meticulously developed to ensure the highest sustainability standards.

Olympic House is part of the IOC’s broader sustainability efforts, which include a commitment to reduce the organisation’s carbon footprint by 30 per cent by 2024, and by 50 per cent by 2030, in line with the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. To reach these targets, the IOC has set travel carbon budgets per department and per event.

While reducing its footprint, the IOC is equally committed to creating tangible benefits locally, contributing to the local and national economy. Olympic House’s construction expenditure saw 80 per cent allocated to local businesses. A 2022 study by the International Academy for Sports Science and Technology (AISTS), which looked into the impact of the presence of the IOC and International Sports Organisations on the Swiss economy, revealed a substantial 57 per cent increase in economic impact from 2015 to 2019 compared to the preceding period of 2008 to 2013. This growth has positively impacted sectors such as employment, business tourism and construction.

The timing of Olympic House’s LEED Platinum certification comes with less than 100 days to go to Paris 2024, which will be the first Olympic Games aligned with Olympic Agenda 2020. In line with its reforms, Paris 2024 is dedicated to delivering more sustainable Games, with a primary focus on halving carbon emissions compared to previous Games and creating lasting benefits for the local communities. From construction to energy management, venue operations, transport, catering and digital services, Paris 2024 has meticulously implemented a strategy that uses less, better and for longer.

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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.

Broadcast quality footage

The IOC Newsroom: https://newsroom.olympics.com/

Videos

YouTube: www.youtube.com/iocmedia

Photos

For an extensive selection of photos available shortly after each event, please follow us on Flickr.

To request archive photos and footage, please contact our Images team at: images@olympic.org.

Social media

For up-to-the-minute information on the IOC and regular updates, please follow us on X and YouTube.

Originally published on 3M News Center

From design to recycling, the automotive industry is moving at breakneck speed to create new products and solve new challenges. 3M is a key partner at each stage, providing innovative technologies and one-of-a-kind solutions, expert collaboration and insights, and the trust and relationships the industry needs to enable mobility for a better world.

Manufacturing and assembly

The automotive manufacturing process is more complex than ever, with processes measured in microseconds and output measured in the hundreds of thousands. 3M’s Automotive Manufacturing Solutions are engineered to help pull big opportunities out of the smallest details at every stage. Recommending the right solution means understanding the entire assembly process, then optimizing applications at each step.

One example is the 3M™ Finesse-it™ Robotic Paint Repair System, which automates end-of-line or in-line paint topcoat defect repair by identifying and quickly delivering an exact repair strategy for each defect. By automating the process, the Finesse-it system can help reduce labor challenges, improve ergonomic challenges, and enable more consistent quality compared to manual repairs

Driver experience

Consumers can elevate their vehicle and make it their own with 3M™ Automotive Films, which offer a range of customizable style and protection options. These include:

3M™ Window Film helps a vehicle look and feel cool, with different levels of window tint that provide UV protection, heat rejection, increased security and reduced glare.

3M™ Paint Protection Film adds a layer of protection that guards vehicles against the elements and gives owners peace of mind.

3M™ Wrap Film can transform vehicles with a variety of colors, textures and finishes that make unique eye-catching designs.

Service and repair

At 3M, the art and science of automotive collision repair is a crucial part of our longstanding connection to our customers. For decades we have crafted abrasives, adhesives and coatings to solve the latest auto body repair demands, all backed by the guidance of our expert technical team. As collision repair evolves, 3M is creating new solutions that enable body shops to resolve new challenges in profitability, labor and inventory supply chains.

3M™ RepairStack™, a combined hardware and software inventory management system, optimizes and automates day-to-day shop processes like inventory management, blueprinting and billing, and business performance analysis. RepairStack integrates easily, works with 3M and non-3M materials, and automates re-ordering from preferred vendors to ensure necessary materials are on hand.

Engineering and design

Creating tomorrow’s vehicles means solving an array of challenges, from improving design assembly efficiency to achieving lighter weights to faster repair throughputs. 3M’s comprehensive view of the automotive space allows us to solve industry challenges; design, build and test new solutions; drive efficiencies; and support customers worldwide.

Repurpose and recycle

As the electric vehicle (EV) market expands, establishing a circular economy for EV batteries is crucial for a substantial reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. At the same time, the design of battery packs is evolving to seamlessly integrate with the overall vehicle structure. This design trend poses new challenges, such as factory rework, field repair, and end-of-life disassembly to OEMs.

Utilizing our expertise in material science, we are exploring new technologies that employ an array of debonding techniques to disassemble key components within battery packs, which will help create new opportunities to reduce waste, enable repairs, and repurpose or recycle batteries.

Happy Pride!

As we approach the end of June, I am reflecting on the passion and advocacy I’ve seen within our organization and across our communities.

I am thankful for our five LGBTQ+ employee resource groups (ERGs) and the impact they have on our inclusive workplace.

This month and throughout the year we provide psychologically safe forums for LGBTQ+ employees and allies through internal events and external outreach.

To our ERG sponsors, officers and members, thank you. Your support helps to make a difference every month of the year!

Duke Energy

Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK), a Fortune 150 company headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., is one of America’s largest energy holding companies. Its electric utilities serve 8.2 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky, and collectively own 50,000 megawatts of energy capacity. Its natural gas unit serves 1.6 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Ohio and Kentucky. The company employs 27,600 people.

Duke Energy is executing an ambitious clean energy transition to achieve its goals of net-zero methane emissions from its natural gas business by 2030 and net-zero carbon emissions from electricity generation by 2050. The company has interim carbon emission targets of at least 50% reduction from electric generation by 2030, 50% for Scope 2 and certain Scope 3 upstream and downstream emissions by 2035, and 80% from electric generation by 2040. In addition, the company is investing in major electric grid enhancements and energy storage, and exploring zero-emission power generation technologies such as hydrogen and advanced nuclear.

Duke Energy was named to Fortune’s 2023 “World’s Most Admired Companies” list and Forbes’ “World’s Best Employers” list. More information is available at duke-energy.com. The Duke Energy News Center contains news releases, fact sheets, photos and videos. Duke Energy’s illumination features stories about people, innovations, community topics and environmental issues. Follow Duke Energy on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook.

View original content here.

Originally published in Jazz Pharmaceuticals’ 2023 Corporate Sustainability and Social Impact Report

I am pleased to share Jazz’s 2023 Corporate Sustainability and Social Impact Report.

Jazz Pharmaceuticals remains committed to its core mission to develop life-changing medicines for people with serious diseases, often with limited therapeutic options. By developing innovative medicines, we aim to support patients in living their lives more fully. Our patient-focused approach is the foundation of our Corporate Sustainability and Social Impact (CSSI) strategy.

In 2023, we celebrated the 20th anniversary of Jazz Pharmaceuticals’ founding. Jazz was founded to create new and life-changing medicines for people with unmet needs. We established a people-first and purpose- driven culture, a culture we are proud of. As we have grown, our culture has remained fundamental to the continued development of the capabilities, talent and performance of an innovative biopharmaceutical company.

Last year, we placed particular emphasis on strengthening the governance of our CSSI strategy to ensure we can deliver positive impacts across
each of our CSSI pillars — Patients, People, Community and Planet. The long-term vision for our CSSI strategy is set by the Board and executive management with a core focus on aligning and integrating CSSI objectives with our overarching mission, culture and business strategy. Key members of our Executive Committee are accountable for the execution of our strategy in each CSSI pillar. These individuals and their teams enable the efficient integration of CSSI considerations into day-to-day business decisions, supporting and accelerating our growth strategy while helping us meet growing regulatory expectations.

We continued to progress each of our CSSI pillars, including successfully executing our mission to bring treatments to patients with limited therapeutic options through developments in our pipeline, such as expanding access to our medicines and initiating new clinical trials. We also launched an initiative to ensure that participants in Jazz’s clinical trials reflect the diversity of our patient populations.

Jazz continued to demonstrate the commitment to being the best experience of our employees’ careers. Our people approach supports the development of their talent and capabilities for oncology and neuroscience. We are proud of the engagement of our employees, who regularly exceed a 75% response rate on our engagement surveys and actively contribute to our Employee Resource Teams, ensuring Jazz is a diverse and inclusive place to work.

Jazz maintained its commitment to creating a positive impact in and on communities, focusing our direct philanthropy and volunteering efforts on the causes that mean the most to our people and reflect our mission. We contributed to initiatives across our network, supporting partner organizations through education, funding and provision of medical donations, including established partnerships with Stand Up To Cancer and the American Heart Association, to further research, education and patient support.

We are making steady improvements in reducing our environmental impact. Our Athlone, Villa Guardia and Kent Science Park sites purchased 100% renewable electricity in 2023. We have also increased our efforts to monitor environmental data across our sites to inform and improve our overall environmental sustainability approach.

As we advance our CSSI strategy this year, we do so against a backdrop of increasing sustainability reporting regulations. Throughout 2024, we will be preparing for these requirements, as well as focusing on our efforts where we can create positive impact for patients, people, society and

the planet. Providing access to innovative medicines, creating a uniquely talented workforce, giving back to our communities and reducing our environmental footprint further our capabilities as a responsible, innovative biopharmaceutical company.

Best regards,

Bruce C. Cozadd

Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer

Learn more about Jazz Pharmaceuticals commitment to progress, responsibility and innovation in its 2023 Corporate Sustainability and Social Impact Report