Month: February 2025

CINCINNATI, February 25, 2025 /3BL/ – Duke Energy recently announced the recipients of its 2024 Duke Energy Economic Development Awards, which recognize communities and individuals that continually support growth and economic development efforts in the region.

These awards originated in 2023 and are presented annually in the company’s Ohio and Kentucky service territory.

The 2024 Duke Energy Economic Development Awards include:

Partner Achievement Award presented to Boone County and Build & Elevate NKY (BE NKY) based on their number of requests for information on projects interested in locating to the region, ongoing partnership with Duke Energy and their commitment to furthering economic development within the community.Visionary Achievement Award presented to Clermont County based on proactive consideration and partnership with Duke Energy for economic development for new and existing sites.Energizing Economic Development Awards presented to Brendan Lyshe, Duke Energy distribution electric planner, and the Duke Energy Natural Gas Business Unit for their continuous efforts to assist and support economic development requests, which require in-depth and thoughtful engineering.

Since 2020, Duke Energy has helped the region attract 5,973 new jobs and $3.98 billion in capital investment. Last year, the Duke Energy Economic Development team worked in conjunction with state, regional and economic development partners to secure new company investments, which has resulted in over $26 billion in capital investment and 16,000 new jobs in the communities the company serves.

In addition, Duke Energy’s Site Readiness Program drives regional growth by identifying, assessing and improving high-potential industry sites to make them more competitive. Since the program began, it has evaluated 39 sites in Ohio and Kentucky, generating over $2.3 billion in capital investment and over 5,300 jobs.

“We continue to see high economic interest in our service territory,” said Amy Spiller, president of Duke Energy Ohio and Kentucky. “The growth of our company and our community depends on economic development, and together, we are bringing new jobs and capital investments to the communities we serve to help them thrive.”

Duke Energy Ohio and Kentucky’s collaboration with REDI Cincinnati, the region’s leading economic development group, and BE NKY has been instrumental in the recent economic growth.

“Our partnership with Duke Energy is essential for positioning the Greater Cincinnati region as a premier destination for businesses to expand, relocate and succeed,” said Kimm Lauterbach, president and CEO of REDI Cincinnati. “We commend the deserving communities and individuals for their commitment to driving economic development in our region and appreciate Duke Energy’s recognition of the award recipients.”

Duke Energy

Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK), a Fortune 150 company headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., is one of America’s largest energy holding companies. The company’s electric utilities serve 8.4 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky, and collectively own 54,800 megawatts of energy capacity. Its natural gas utilities serve 1.7 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Ohio and Kentucky.

Duke Energy is executing an ambitious clean energy transition, keeping reliability, affordability and accessibility at the forefront as the company works toward net-zero methane emissions from its natural gas business by 2030 and net-zero carbon emissions from electricity generation by 2050. The company is investing in major electric grid upgrades and cleaner generation, including expanded energy storage, renewables, natural gas and nuclear.

More information is available at duke-energy.com and the Duke Energy News Center. Follow Duke Energy on X, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook, and visit illumination for stories about the people and innovations powering our energy transition.

Duke Energy Ohio/Kentucky
Duke Energy Ohio/Kentucky, a subsidiary of Duke Energy, provides electric service to 910,000 residential, commercial and industrial customers in a 3,000-square-mile service area, and natural gas service to 560,000 customers in a 2,650-square-mile service area, in Ohio and Kentucky.

Contact: Matt Martin
24-Hour: 800.559.3853

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International Olympic Committee news

The International Olympic Committee (IOC)’s Olympic Values Education Programme (OVEP) was honoured with the prestigious “Nurturing Values and Ethics Award” at the Reimagine Education Awards ceremony in London on 11 December.

The accolade celebrates innovative programmes that promote integrity, empathy and ethical decision-making; foster respect, responsibility and ethical leadership; and inspire positive contributions to communities.

OVEP was shortlisted from a pool of over 1,300 applications from over 90 countries, and was ultimately chosen from amongst seven other finalists for first place. The programme’s innovation, scalability and global reach were among the criteria for recognition, as its adaptable framework enables its resources to be culturally relevant across diverse contexts.

Established in 2005, OVEP combines innovative teaching methodologies, tools, content and activities to promote civic values through sport. Now implemented in over 60 countries, the programme emphasises social-emotional learning, teamwork and resilience – equipping young people with essential life skills for a rapidly changing world.

In 2024, OVEP achieved a major milestone by engaging over 12 million children during its third year of implementation in India. Notably, in several Indian regions, the programme has enabled more than 50,000 girls to participate in sport for the first time.

“The Nurturing Values and Ethics Award is a tremendous honour and a testament to sport’s transformative role in education,” said Frédérique Jamolli, Head of International Cultural Affairs at the Olympic Foundation for Culture and Heritage, which oversees OVEP. “Through our strong partnerships, OVEP has been able to harness the power of sport to empower young people with the Olympic values.”

“I am immensely proud of the Olympic Values Education Programme’s global impact,” said Xenia Kourgouzova, OVEP’s lead. “Winning this award not only recognises our past successes, but also encourages us for the future, reinforcing our commitment to promote friendship, respect and excellence through sport. This also marks a high-level endorsement of our unique values-based approach to education worldwide.”

About the QS Reimagine Education Awards

The annual QS Reimagine Education Awards serve as a prestigious platform to recognise and celebrate the pioneers of education across the world, fostering a vibrant community of innovators committed to redefining learning and employability for future generations.

Through 18 diverse awards categories, they honour the most transformative and forward-thinking programmes, technologies and pedagogical approaches that are revolutionising education.

About the Olympic Values Education Programme (OVEP)

OVEP consists of a series of free and easily accessible teaching resources that complement school curricula using the context of Olympic sports and the Fundamental Principles of Olympism. OVEP communicates the long-term benefits of sport and physical activity through an understanding of Olympism and its impact on individual health, enjoyment and social interaction. For more information, visit the programme’s website.

Cisco’s Fran Katsoudas on the company’s next big ambition for positive global change, and the importance of resilience for countries and communities.

As Cisco EVP and chief people, policy, and purpose officer, Francine Katsoudas helps guide some of the company’s most important initiatives — for its employees, its partners and customers, and communities around the world.

And at a company as committed to positive global change as Cisco, that’s a big responsibility — especially as it celebrates the global impact of its first 40 years and its powerful commitment to the future.

Following her participation at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, last week, we spoke with Fran about Cisco’s latest Purpose Report; the company’s new 40 Communities ambition, designed to impact underserved people in a wide range of global regions; and its commitment to building tech and societal resilience around the world.

Thank you, Fran! Let’s start with the big picture. What are some key macro-economic and mega forces that are defining our world and our industry today?

The first mega force that all of us are talking about, of course, is AI. What we’re seeing across industries and communities is a belief that this technology can do so much. At WEF there was a theme around growth in AI, and this puts technology front and center as we think about resilience and our interconnected future. The use cases for AI are clearer and more outcome-focused this year — evolving from just productivity to how it can help people, organizations and countries create better and more fulfilling lives — and how we can use AI to help close the digital divide.

The other thing that always has to go hand in hand with AI, is cybersecurity. In today’s world, we need security for AI and AI for security. This idea has redefined how we talk about AI at Cisco. But I think many other companies are also thinking about not only the technology but about practices for their people to keep everyone safe.

Cisco’s Purpose Report is a sweeping, comprehensive document that chronicles progress, innovation, and what more needs to be done to realize Cisco’s commitment to an Inclusive Future. Could you share some highlights from this year’s report.

The first thing that I would say is that we are celebrating 40 years as a company. And there’s a realization that from day one, Cisco has been all about connections. What you see in the Purpose Report is how in this age of AI and global disruption, we as a company are more compelled than ever to make sure we are leveraging our technology and our people to connect and do good. And that’s not just for our business but doing good for the world, because the need for public and private to come together and address pressing global issues has never been more urgent.

There are amazing statistics in the Purpose Report that make me so proud of Cisco and our people. First, our Networking Academy has trained more than 24 million students with technology skills and opportunities since its inception in 1997. Another thing that is so amazing is that this year 86 percent of Cisco employees participated in giving back to their communities — the fifth year in a row that we have been over 80%. I’ve never seen this at another company. It shows how engaged our employees are. And that’s just two examples of what you’ll see in the Purpose Report. There’s so much to be proud of — about our past and all that we will continue to accomplish in the future.

One of the focus areas of the Purpose Report is resilience. How does Cisco define resilience in our tech-driven world?

When we think about resilience today, it’s often from an individual perspective, maybe even a company perspective. What you’ll see in the Purpose Report and in the work that we’re doing is thinking about resilience from a community perspective as well. It comes down to the ability to turn disruption and challenges into opportunities for growth and innovation. Today, that’s tightly interwoven with technology because so much depends on having access to secure, dependable connectivity. We aim to build a legacy that extends far beyond Cisco’s 40th anniversary and contribute to the world a model for driving resilience and true systems change based on lasting and enduring relationships — engaging, supporting and investing to power an inclusive future for all.

What about the disparity in resilience? How does that play out from country to country?

Everyone is at a different point on the journey to resilience, whether that’s country by country or community by community. This shows up especially when we consider that 2.6 billion people globally are still not connected to the internet. Even things like the cost to access the internet varies from country by country. In less economically developed countries, it’s much more expensive to get connected. That creates an issue from a resilience perspective, but also such an opportunity. Our Rural Broadband Innovation Center in North Carolina is just one example of how we are going after that problem.

You mentioned security. That’s a critical element to resilience.

This year, cybercrime is expected to cost more than $10 trillion globally. So, security is arguably the most important element of connection and resilience, whether it’s individuals, critical infrastructure, or entire countries that are threatened.

From a Cisco perspective, we initially started with connection 40 years ago, and that remains a cornerstone today. But we have to bring security into the dialogue as another vital pillar so that when people do finally get connected they don’t find themselves victims of cybercrime. The most important thing now is to securely connect people — to ensure that security is always front and center. As an example, we’ve done a lot of work looking at security and resilience on the African continent and we see that cybercrime is impacting as much as 10 percent of GDP. That’s exactly what we have to prevent. Also, our world is so interconnected that no one is completely secure until we all are. So, whether the developing world or developed, we need to do all we can to build resilient security, from the smallest business to the biggest enterprise or government.

Looking forward, tell us about one of Cisco’s next big ambitions — impacting 40 Communities around the world.

Something that we’re so proud of as a company is that we met our goal of positively impacting a billion people well ahead of schedule. We actually did that in 2023, and we did it through all of the amazing projects and efforts and partnerships across both the public and private sectors – non-profits, governments and companies all working together. We saw that when we apply Cisco’s unique strengths – our technology, our people, and the trust people have in our brand — that we can create impact at huge scale. All of this led to a big question around what’s next? We decided that over the next decade, we intend to engage, support, and invest in 40 communities around the globe.

Something that we realized at Cisco from day one is that our technology connects best where we leverage it to build resilience in communities. This is why we’ll bring our Resilient Ecosystem Framework into communities — so we can better understand how we can truly serve that community. We’ll be looking at people in society, we’ll be looking at government, we’ll look at economies and what can be done to create projects that are truly meaningful.

I’m sure Cisco’s Country Digital Acceleration (CDA) will have a great impact on the 40 Communities.

Yes, CDA brings together nations’ industry, government, and academic leaders to co-innovate and solve some of their biggest societal problems. And when I think about what we’ve done through CDA against the backdrop of our Purpose, you can expect that we’ll continue to explore things like EDGE Incubation Centers that connect digital skills to jobs in places like Africa. Those EDGE Centers provide a physical space equipped with our technology, accelerating innovation and collaboration for start-ups.

CDA is also celebrating its 10 anniversary this year.

Yes, we are very excited for the global CDA team! They have done so much good work, spanning more than 50 countries around the world. CDA leverages our technologies and expertise while forming great partnerships. We’ve helped many non-profits and governments scale their efforts, and over the past 10 years our strong partnerships have helped our work to narrow the digital divide by ensuring inclusive and equitable access to knowledge, resources, and opportunities. CDA has taken on innovation challenges around security, sustainability, and we are looking forward to much more.

For CDA and Cisco, it sounds like the momentum is accelerating.

You can expect that we’ll look at how we can leverage both our mainstream and cutting-edge technologies to drive access to governments in a really positive way and ensure that services like transportation, health care, and education can get easier for citizens to use. We’ll ensure that all of the work we do to connect, we do in a secure way. We talked about our 40 Communities ambition, and right now we’re identifying the first set of communities that we’re going to start with. We anticipate that we’ll be bringing CDA and so many of our employees along with us on this journey.

Beyond being a company-wide effort, the ecosystem perspective is critical. To what extent will Cisco’s efforts continue to reach far beyond the company walls?

Our employees will play a big role in our next big ambition to truly impact 40 communities around the world. But one thing that WEF highlighted was the need for collaboration on a global scale to solve our world’s biggest problems — and public-private partnerships are critical to addressing this. Beyond that, it’s just so important to have that holistic view — to remember that our interconnectedness underscores the need to support vulnerable communities. And why helping them become resilient should matter to us all.

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WASHINGTON, February 25, 2025 /3BL/ – Two of the leading nonprofit organizations empowering businesses to enhance and safeguard the natural world, Wildlife Habitat Council (WHC) and World Environment Center (WEC), are now Tandem Global. The new organization, with its new name and brand, honors 75 years of combined experience, which will now be leveraged in tandem for the benefit of businesses and the environment. The Tandem Global team of experts, from a wide range of fields located across the globe, will provide technical acumen, innovative solutions, and thought leadership to support corporate sustainability efforts. Meet our 100 corporate members here.

Tandem Global corporate members, consulting engagements, and certified programs can be found in 47 U.S. states and 19 countries. With over half the world’s total GDP moderately or highly dependent on nature and its services, corporate leaders turn to Tandem Global for impactful strategies and resilient solutions that support a better future for nature and business. Tandem Global will continue to offer meaningful private sector value through proven approaches in nature, water, climate resilience and social impact, including the world’s leading voluntary sustainability standard for corporate conservation actions, WHC Certification, powered by Tandem Global.

“At Tandem Global, we believe there is no greater cause with global consequences than the intersection of business and nature. The formation of Tandem Global through the combination of WHC and WEC and the establishment of our new brand reflect our commitment to working across sectors for the benefit of both business and nature” said Margaret O’Gorman, CEO of Tandem Global. “I have spent nearly two decades working with the C-Suite to the site level operations and beyond fence lines to activate environmental commitments and practices. As business and nature rapidly evolve, it is increasingly clear that together leads to better.”

Since early 2024, the board members and staff from both Wildlife Habitat Council and World Environment Center, alongside trusted professional partners, have been working together on a strategic plan, the new brand identity, and enhancing governance structures. The close collaboration between WHC and WEC has yielded a unique organization that provides the know-how and the network to move business and the environment forward. The combination also includes WEC Europe e.V., which will continue to serve as the Global Thought Leadership hub.

“Tandem Global’s role in providing the platform and expertise for companies to align their business and environmental interests has never been more vital,” said O’Gorman. “We will support, spotlight, coach, and collaborate with team members at every level of an enterprise to provide value to industry and the communities in which they work. We don’t do this work at the expense of business imperatives—we do it with business, climate, nature, water, and community imperatives all in alignment.”

The organization’s annual conference for professionals working at the intersection of business and nature, Tandem Global Conference, will be held June 3 and 4 in Detroit, Michigan.

To learn more about Tandem Global and its network and services, visit tandemglobal.org.