Month: January 2025

Originally published on HARMAN Newsroom

This article has been modified from its original format that was first published on LinkedIn. Read the full piece here.

2024 was another remarkable year for HARMAN, defined by groundbreaking innovations and customer successes.

From achievements including the expansion of our partnership with Ferrari, the launch of our HARMAN Ignite Platform in Tata passenger vehicles, state-of-the-art professional lighting systems for Royal Caribbean’s “Icon of the Seas,” and top recognition of our commitment to collaboration and transparency through our JLR Global Supplier Excellence Award for Integrity, the dedication of our team members around the globe is easy to see.

The numerous awards and recognitions we received this year – like our CES 2024 Best of Innovation Award, a whopping 35 iF Design Awards and 31 Red Dot Design Awards, celebrations of our success in continuously extending quality and delivery to our Automotive customers, and many more – further illustrate our commitment to creating meaningful experiences that resonate with our customers and consumers worldwide.  

Michael Mauser, President and Chief Executive Officer at HARMAN, reflected on the incredible milestones achieved through the collective efforts of our teams, partners, and customers. Together, we’re unlocking the momentum that will carry us forward into 2025 – a year poised to bring even greater growth, technological advancements, and meaningful contributions to our communities.

Read Michael’s full article for a look back at HARMAN’s progress in 2024 – including how we are harnessing the power of AI, maximizing customer experiences, and giving back to local communities as part of our Sound Purpose: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/harmans-2024-year-excellence-innovation-growth-michael-mauser-y9raf/?trackingId=iyQciC6zQTqh5c6u94m5iw%3D%3D

by Margret Trilli, CEO & Chief Investment Office of ImpactAssets

For impact investors, the question is not why gender equality matters — it’s how to effectively allocate capital in ways that empower women and catalyze meaningful progress far more quickly.

To be sure, impact investing alone cannot be a panacea for gender inequality, but it is an indispensable component of a larger solution. Gender equality can itself be an impact objective or, for portfolios targeting other impact themes, gender equality can be an awareness that impact investors incorporate into their work.

At ImpactAssets, we focus on three essential areas of need where capital of impact investors can be most effective at driving gender equality: 1) advancing economic inclusion; 2) delivering products and services that improve lives and outcomes; 3) and increasing representation and voice.

Together with our clients and partners, we are driving progress in these areas, and many other gender lens impact investors are scaling up capital flows in similar ways. However, addressing a challenge as entrenched and widespread as gender inequality requires significantly more investment.

Read Margaret’s full article which includes: Expanding Economic Opportunities for Women; Elevating Women’s Voices in Leadership; and Investing in Women Catalyzes Deep, Transformative Impact – all here – https://greenmoney.com/investing-in-gender-equality-offers-a-bridge-to-a-healthier-and-more-stable-future/

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For municipalities and industries, addressing regulated PFAS is crucial for compliance, mitigating risks and restoring public trust in water sources. Regulations around PFAS are changing rapidly, though, and new requirements for wastewater discharge quality resulted in operational challenges for our client. 

We installed mobile treatment equipment and conducted on-site and lab testing for a full-scale solution. We used activated carbon, RO membranes and thermal technology. We designed the following treatment process:

Solids Removal → Hardness Removal → RO Concentration → Evaporation → Final PFAS treatment and discharge and reuse of treated water

The outcome was that 99%+ PFAS reduction, with an inlet wastewater treatment capacity of 220 gallons per minute.

Veolia is a global leader in PFAS treatment, with capabilities spanning conventional to cutting-edge technologies, from pre-treatment to polishing. We continuously pilot new, innovative solutions such as foam fractionation and novel adsorbents to ensure your operations comply with emerging PFAS regulations and treatment requirements. With decades of experience helping companies across a wide range of industries, our proven track record includes 20+ successful industrial water PFAS projects, with an additional 50+ projects currently in progress.

We meet the unique challenges of your market, delivering efficiencies, cost savings and sustainable practices. Whether achieving the highest purity standards for a microchip manufacturer or treating wastewater from a food processing plant, we develop targeted, compliant strategies tailored to your operations.

We offer scientifically proven PFAS solutions for these and other markets:

AutomotiveChemical processingFood and beverageMicroelectronicsMilitary operationsOil refineriesPharmaceuticalPower generationPulp and paper

BeyondPFAS, our suite of end-to-end PFAS management solutions, is designed to support you at every step, from sampling and analysis to responsible disposal of contaminants. Our holistic approach involves initial site assessment and sampling, followed by implementing tailored treatment technologies based on your needs. We are committed to safely handling and disposing contaminates in line with EPA-recommended methods, including incineration, deep well injection and approved landfill.

Verizon

When the isolation of the pandemic left Michael Odulana of Union City, New Jersey, feeling disconnected, he turned to nature: specifically, plants — lots of plants. Odulana’s apartment is now lined with nearly 200 varieties, from Marimo moss balls and pitcher plants to variegated Monstera Peru and a golden pothos he grew from a clipping he received from his father. Adding the greenery, he says, made an immediate impact: His home became a “charging station,” with the living décor giving him energy whenever he returned to it.

“I felt way more balanced,” Odulana says. “And I wanted other people to feel that way.”

That desire sparked Odulana’s two small businesses: Plant Dad, which sells unique plant artwork and home decor, and Moobience, an interior design company whose moniker is a combination of the words “mood” and “ambience.” Both entrepreneurial ventures center wellness in interior design by using live plants and natural elements to create truly restorative spaces — something uniquely important to Odulana.

A lifelong love of nature

Odulana’s love of plants began in childhood, inspired by his parents’ passion for botany. Today, that passion shines through on his Plant Dad social media account, where he shares tips on reviving ailing plants and building terrariums — all with a focus on mental health and well-being.

“As people of color, young professionals, people in high-stress situations, cognitively [or] physically diverse people,” he says, “we have to think about the physical and mental aspects of the places we inhabit.”

Turning passion into profit

As a solopreneur, balancing a full-time job as a business analyst for a Fortune 500 company, Odulana knew he would need to “level up” his skill set to make his ideas come to fruition. “I didn’t know how to get started, and I definitely wasn’t aware of how to run a service-based organization, let alone an interior design organization,” he says. “So, I started looking for free resources to get me started.”

In 2021, Odulana signed up for the Verizon Small Business Digital Ready program to gain access to free resources such as courses, networking, and small business grants. He was already proficient in topics like SEO, thanks to his background in technology, but the program elevated his knowledge of developing website content, building relationships with new clients, advertising, and other essential skills. The courses also helped him refine his Plant Dad product line, focusing on low-maintenance terrariums and heirloom plants.

Odulana says the resources also helped him optimize cash flow and pricing, and improve cost effectiveness to maximize revenue. He learned how to increase business prospects and leads after connecting with other businesses in the Digital Ready community. He also learned how to secure designer trade partnerships during a Digital Ready live event. These partnerships allow him to order items from major retailers at a discount.

Additionally, Odulana gained confidence in his social media presence. One of his key milestones? A viral video where he demonstrated how to paint an accent wall, garnered over 21 million views and nearly 742,000 likes and cemented his online presence.

“I was able to skyrocket my brand very early on and successfully hit targets while actively gaining the skills, tools, and resources I needed for brand building,” he says.

Scaling up through pop-up shops

By 2023, Odulana began hosting pop-up shops to promote his businesses and sell his products at festivals and markets. These temporary shops serve multiple purposes: They increase brand awareness, promote online sales, provide immediate cash flow to fund supplies for interior design projects, and offer a valuable platform for market research. Odulana also uses the pop-up shops to test which products resonate with customers and refine his sales pitch. Each event creates fresh content for his social media accounts, too, extending his brand’s impact beyond the physical space.

Odulana has even taught a course for Verizon Small Business Digital Ready about how small businesses can use pop-up shops. The course covered vendor preparation, customer engagement, market research, and translating offline success to online platforms.

“I see my companies becoming an essential sustainable pioneer in shifting [and] cultivating the interior design and wellness industries,” he says. “So far, I’m very proud of what I have been able to accomplish with my brand.”

Verizon Small Business Digital Ready is part of Verizon’s goal to support 1 million small businesses by 2030 with the resources to thrive in the digital economy. Visit CitizenVerizon.com to learn more about the company’s responsible business efforts. To sign up for Verizon Small Business Digital Ready, visit digitalready.verizonwireless.com. An individual user’s experience may vary and results are not guaranteed.