Month: June 2025

Miami, FL, June 24, 2025 /3BL/ – Bacardi Global Travel Retail brought a fresh wave of excitement to Miami International Airport (MIA) this month with a dynamic pop-up activation which spotlighted PATRÓN® CRISTALINO, the brand’s latest super-premium innovation.

The month-long promotion not only celebrated the new crystal-clear, oak-aged PATRÓN expression but also reinforced the company’s commitment to reducing its impact on the environment by repurposing key structures from previous PATRÓN activations at MIA.

Demonstrating dedication to eco-conscious design, Bacardi Global Travel Retail has reused and refreshed the pop-up’s signature agave-inspired lattice bar structure, a fixture used at MIA for three consecutive years. By re-imagining existing promotional materials, waste is reduced while maintaining the premium aesthetic synonymous with PATRÓN.

“PATRÓN CRISTALINO is redefining the fast-growing cristalino category and Miami Airport is the perfect stage to introduce it to discerning travelers,” said Geoff Biggs, Regional Director Americas, Bacardi Global Travel Retail. “By reusing our pop-up infrastructure, we’re proving that making sustainable choices and luxury can go hand in hand. It’s a virtuous circular business model we are hoping to use in promotions at other high-profile airport locations.” ENDS

Read more about Corporate Sustainability at Bacardi

Despite widely publicized efforts by the Trump administration and certain Republican-led state governments to roll back diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies and programs at government agencies, universities, and corporations, there are clear signs that publicly-traded companies in the U.S. are pushing back against these efforts. While some companies have made changes to their diversity programs and in many cases are dropping the use of the acronym DEI, the boards and shareholders of many companies are rejecting anti-DEI proposals brought by conservative activists at annual shareholder meetings.

In our Top Stories, we highlight several examples of anti-DEI proposals that were overwhelmingly rejected by shareholders. ESG Today reported that more than 99% of the shareholders of Walmart and Netflix voted to reject resolutions brought at each company’s annual meeting. The article by Mark Segal states that “The votes mark the latest in a series of anti-DEI proposal rejections at major U.S. companies, following similar results at Apple, Amazon, Deere, and Goldman Sachs, among several others.”

Importantly, the shareholders of Walmart and Netflix followed the recommendations of the boards of both companies. Walmart’s board stressed the business rationale behind their diversity programs, saying, “One of our core values is respect for the individual. We work to create a culture where our customers feel welcome and our associates feel like they belong and their contributions are valued. We want our customers to be excited to shop with us and our associates to see us as the best place to work and to build a career. We believe fostering this type of culture among our associates, customers, suppliers, and communities creates value for our business.”

Manufacturing Digital reported on the recent rejection of an anti-DEI proposal by Caterpillar, with 97% of shareholders voting against the resolution to “consider abolishing its DEI policies, department and stated goals.” Caterpillar responded to the proposal by saying it “inappropriately attempts to restrict Caterpillar’s ability to manage its own employees, ordinary business operations and enterprise strategy. We are committed to fostering an inclusive environment and a workforce that is representative of the diverse customers and communities we serve around the globe.” According to the article, Caterpillar’s public DEI page remains live on its website.

Biospace reported that 99% of the shareholders of Merck voted to reject an anti-DEI proposal brought by a group that also proposed a similar resolution that was rejected by the shareholders of Johnson & Johnson. According to the article, Merck’s CEO Rob Davis stated at the annual meeting that “Our company has a long-standing commitment to diversity and inclusion. It is at the core of who we are, our values, and how we operate as a company.” He also called it a strategic imperative, saying it “enables us to fully execute on the scientific method and catalyze contributions and innovations from across our enterprise.”

These shareholder votes and the pushback from corporate boards show that most directors and investors are not in favor of eliminating diversity initiatives, even with external pressure. At the same time, many companies have made adjustments to their diversity and inclusion programs, including eliminating specific goals and targets and changing how they describe and communicate about the programs.

The G&A team is monitoring the impact of anti-DEI efforts and helping companies continue to focus on maintaining strategic diversity and inclusion programs grounded in building long-term value. We are available to work with you to develop and implement strategies to adapt to the evolving and challenging landscape. For more information contact us at: info@ga-institute.com.

This is just the introduction of G&A’s Sustainability Highlights newsletter this week. Click here to view the full issue.

PORTLAND, Ore., June 24, 2025 /3BL/ – The Global Electronics Council^® (GEC) unveiled the winners of the 2025 EPEAT^® Purchaser Awards, whose combined purchasing decisions drove measurable environmental benefits — including cutting 1.2 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions. This equates to taking about 250,000 passenger cars off the road for a year, alongside significant reductions in energy use, hazardous waste, water consumption, and more. 

The annual EPEAT Purchaser Awards celebrate institutions that prioritize the purchase of EPEAT registered products, reinforcing market demand for responsible electronics supply chains and showcasing the power of procurement to advance organizational sustainability goals. One of this year’s awardees, Kaiser Permanente, emphasizes the vital connections of social & environmental responsibility to public health.

“At Kaiser Permanente, we know that climate health has a direct impact on human health” explained Elizabeth Eldridge, Director of Sustainability. “To minimize our environmental impact and to improve the health of our members and the communities we serve, we are proud to make sustainable procurement choices, including EPEAT registered IT product purchases.” 

The program’s global reach was also demonstrated by the Scottish Government, honored for the seventh consecutive year for its commitment to reducing environmental and social impacts through responsible procurement frameworks.

“Our ICT frameworks are supporting Scotland’s Net Zero ambitions through the circular economy and environmental best practice,” said Calum Elliot, Deputy Director, National Collaborative Procurement Division. “We would like to extend our gratitude to our wider Scottish public sector colleagues, our suppliers, and the Global Electronics Council for helping us move towards our sustainability goals.”

In addition to GHG emissions reduction, 2025 EPEAT Purchaser Award winners collectively reduced:

• 1,300 gigawatt-hours of energy, comparable to the annual electricity consumption of 107,000 average US households
• 24,400 metric tons of solid waste, the equivalent to the waste generated by 13,100 US households
• 2.45 billion liters of water consumption, saving enough to fill 983 Olympic sized swimming pools.

With total EPEAT registered products purchases exceeding 3.6 million, award winners are expected to collectively save more than $70 million over the life of the products.

“These results show what’s possible when organizations embed responsible procurement practices into their operations” remarked Bob Mitchell, CEO of the Global Electronics Council. “With third-party verification, impact measurement tools, and a trusted product registry, EPEAT empowers purchasers to confidently drive meaningful progress toward their sustainability goals.” 

By choosing EPEAT registered products, the 2025 award winners reduce their negative environmental and social impacts while setting a standard for other leading institutions to follow. GEC encourages all institutions to join the movement towards a more sustainable future by integrating EPEAT registered products into their procurement practices.

To learn more about the EPEAT Purchaser Awards and view the full list of 2025 recipients, visit: globalelectronicscouncil.org/epeat-purchaser-awards.

About the Global Electronics Council

The Global Electronics Council (GEC) envisions a world with only sustainable electronic technology that enhances the well-being of people and planet. Our mission is to accelerate the transformation of markets toward prioritizing the most sustainable electronic products and services. 

As stewards of the EPEAT ecolabel, we set global standards for electronics that empower brands, their value chains and their buyers to achieve ambitious sustainability goals. Through our thought leadership, advocacy, and EPEAT ecolabel, GEC is helping to reshape the electronics industry into a driving force for environmental preservation and global well-being.

Our EPEAT Ecolabel

We are stewards of the EPEAT ecolabel – the definitive global standard to drive change across the technology sector from extraction to end of life. EPEAT enables manufacturers to follow strict third party verified standards while providing transparency for buyers.

Since its launch in 2006, procurement professionals have reported purchases of over 2.7 billion EPEAT products, generating cost savings exceeding 34 billion USD and reducing greenhouse gas emissions by over 341 million metric tonnes.

Erik Fessler 
Senior Manager, Global Communications 
+1 971-380-4088 
efessler@gec.org

Originally published in GoDaddy’s 2024 Sustainability Report

Employee Wellbeing

At GoDaddy, we believe a happy, healthy team sparks creativity, collaboration, and big ideas.

When employees feel their best, they bring their best, and we want to provide a supportive and safe environment for them to do so. We make wellbeing and security a top priority because a thriving team is the heart of everything we do.

Benefits

Here are just a few ways we’re supporting families:

• Backup Dependent Care: Access to 10 backup care visits per plan year to ease the stress of last-minute caregiving needs.
   
• Adoption Assistance: Up to $10,000 per adoption to help with adoption costs, legal fees, and other eligible expenses.
   
• Surrogacy Reimbursement: Up to $10,000 per surrogacy, with a lifetime maximum of $20,000, to help cover eligible expenses not covered by medical insurance.
   
• Daycare Discounts & Subsidies: A 10% discount plus an additional 10% subsidy for fees with our daycare partners.
   
• Parental Leave: Generous paid leave to allow parents time to bond with their new additions. Flexible scheduling options may also be available when returning to work.

GoDaddy’s Wellbeing Focus

The wellbeing of our employees is a key focus for GoDaddy. Here’s how we show it¹:

• Global Wellness Days: Four dedicated days each year for employees to unplug and focus on their wellbeing.
   
• Mental Health Management Program: We partner with Lyra Health/ ICAS, a world-class provider of confidential support. Employees and those who live with them can access in-person appointments, video chats, therapy, coaching, and self-care apps to navigate stress, anxiety, and more.
   
• Wellbeing App: Starting in 2025, employees enrolled in one of our United Health Care plans will have access to Calm, a mental health app with tools for sleep, meditation, and mindfulness.
   
• Noom: A platform offering a comprehensive and personalized approach to weight management and wellbeing initiatives.

In 2024, we celebrated Mental Health Awareness Month, promoting self-care and access to professional resources. As a part of our celebration, we spotlighted financial, physical, and family wellness to help employees prioritize all aspects of their wellbeing. Resilience, and our safety policies.

Security & Resilience

The Corporate Security and Resilience Team plays a vital role in maintaining a safe, productive, and resilient environment that supports both our employees and global operations. At GoDaddy, we believe security is a collective responsibility, with everyone playing a part in keeping our workplace safe.

To ensure all employees have the tools and resources they need, we provide access to safety, security, and facility-related information and support questions via phone, email, and Slack. Employees also have access to a dedicated intranet page that outlines essential processes, including global security, security standards and technology, business resilience, and our safety policies.

Supporting Employees During an Emergency

The Corporate Security and Resilience Team is focused on keeping employees safe, whether they’re in the office, at home, at a data center, or traveling. By combining employee input, site feedback, and global monitoring tools to quickly detect disruptions and coordinate responses, we identify potential security risks and support local teams in managing events to ensure a swift return to normal operations.

TOMORROW FUND

One thing we all have in common at GoDaddy is the ability to help each other in times of need. It is in this spirit that the Tomorrow Fund by GoDaddy is available to employees worldwide. This fund provides financial support for those affected by unanticipated events or natural disasters. The grants provide short-term financial assistance for necessities such as food, clothing, and transitional housing. In 2024, 25 grants were provided to employees.

To learn more, read our 2024 Sustainability Report.

About This Report

This GoDaddy 2024 Sustainability Report details our progress toward our corporate sustainability goals, strategies, and initiatives in support of our overarching corporate mission and values. Unless otherwise noted, this report reflects our corporate sustainability performance across our global operations covering the fiscal year period from January 1 to December 31, 2024. To demonstrate our commitment to transparent communication regarding our sustainability progress, we routinely share updates through our website and our annual Sustainability Report. We welcome your questions, comments, and feedback on this report by contacting ESG@GoDaddy.com.

This report references the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Standards, includes select Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) metrics for the Internet Media and Services sector, and the Task Force on Climate Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD). We also disclose our contributions and progress toward priority UN SDGs. For additional information on how we align with these frameworks and key indicators demonstrating our sustainability performance, please refer to the Frameworks & Metrics section.

June 24, 2025 /3BL/ – As part of its global mission to achieve carbon neutrality by 2023 (scope 1 and scope 2 emissions), Rockwell Automation recognizes the need for a structured and data-driven approach to energy optimization. The company’s Asia Pacific Business Center (APBC), a manufacturing facility based in Singapore, partnered with Kalypso, Rockwell’s digital consulting services team, to implement a structured transformation roadmap to meet its sustainability goals and align with local government climate targets.

“Manufacturers today face increasing pressure to balance production efficiency with sustainability goals,” said Ferdi Aksoy, senior director, Asia Pacific operations. “However, many industrial facilities lack the necessary digital tools to analyze energy consumption, predict inefficiencies, and implement corrective measures. Our facility in Singapore aimed to bridge this gap by developing a scalable strategy that could drive tangible energy savings while supporting long-term decarbonization efforts.”

Building the data-driven sustainability roadmap

The team’s strategy was built around data visibility, predictive analytics, and data-driven process optimization:

• Energy Audit & Maturity Assessment: A comprehensive review of current energy consumption patterns to identify inefficiencies.
• Integration of FactoryTalk® Energy Manager™: A real-time monitoring platform that provides dynamic feedback on power usage, enabling precise energy tracking.
• Data-driven Process Optimization: Leveraging machine learning models to analyze historical trends, predict demand fluctuations, and recommend corrective actions.
• Roadmap for Closed-Loop Energy Optimization: Implementing prescriptive controls that automatically adjust production parameters for maximum efficiency.
• Employee Engagement & Process Change Management: Driving behavioral changes through persona-driven dashboards, alerts, and decision-support tools.
• Automated Facilities Based on Production: Integrating sensors and control systems to dynamically adjust lighting, temperature, and humidity levels in response to production activities.
• Asset Optimization: Features include sleep mode for idle high-intensity assets, sequencing based on performance and closed-loop start-up/shutdown procedures.

By incorporating these elements, APBC was able to create a structured roadmap that moved beyond simple energy monitoring to real-time optimization and predictive decision-making.

Achieving Energy and Emissions Reductions 

Through the implementation of its energy optimization strategy, Rockwell Automation Singapore achieved significant sustainability milestones:

• 15%–30% projected Annual Energy Savings: Reduction in power consumption across key manufacturing processes.
• 20%–40% projected Reduction in Scope 1 & 2 Emissions: A major step toward realizing the company’s carbon neutrality goal.
• Scalability for Future Growth: The framework established a repeatable model that can be applied to other Rockwell Automation facilities worldwide.
• Enhanced Workforce Efficiency: By re-tasking employees to value-added activities, eliminating repetitive manual tasks, and automating data recording, the initiative has contributed to increased production capacity.
• Regulatory Compliance Achievements: Rockwell Automation’s Asia Pacific Business Center has been awarded the BCA Green Mark Platinum Certification, reinforcing its commitment to sustainable building operations.
• Real-Time Decision-Making: With FactoryTalk Energy Manager, the plant can monitor and compare energy and air consumption across multiple lines and assets. The system has enabled proactive identification of air leakages, allowing teams to rectify issues before significant energy losses occur.

Additionally, the roadmap facilitated faster executive decision-making through clear business cases, data-driven insights, and AI-powered recommendations.

Expanding Sustainability Efforts

Rockwell is expanding its digital transformation efforts with AI-driven predictive energy optimization and further smart manufacturing innovations to enhance both sustainability and operational efficiency.

By leveraging its industrial automation and digital transformation expertise, Rockwell is empowering businesses to reduce their carbon footprint while maintaining peak efficiency.

Client background

The organization is a prominent technical college specializing in hands-on education in fields such as nursing, construction, plumbing and other trade skills. The college focuses on serving nontraditional students seeking associate degrees or certifications.

The business challenge

As hybrid learning and technical skill development became increasingly essential, the institution recognized the need to modernize its IT strategy to enhance the student experience and streamline operations. However, it struggled to assess and improve the effectiveness of its IT function.

A major challenge was the lack of clarity in the division of responsibilities between IT and other departments, particularly in managing software applications and technology services. Additionally, the college needed to upgrade its aging IT infrastructure, refine its organizational structure and implement more flexible, scalable solutions to support its evolving goals.

The core issue was aligning IT with the institution’s broader strategy while fostering agility and innovation. Addressing this required a comprehensive assessment of the IT landscape and the development of a clear, actionable long-term strategy.

Strategy and solution

Baker Tilly conducted a thorough three-step IT assessment, which included:

1. Understanding the IT environment: By engaging key stakeholders and analyzing the current state of the IT function, Baker Tilly identified operational misalignments and established a baseline for improvements.
2. Application portfolio evaluation: The assessment involved reviewing the client’s software applications for completeness, appropriateness, integration and alignment with institutional needs. This ensured that the technology in place was supporting the institution’s strategic objectives.
3. Infrastructure and people review: The technical infrastructure was assessed to ensure flexibility and scalability, while the IT organizational structure was analyzed for alignment with the institution’s needs. Governance and management processes were also reviewed to ensure they were effectively monitoring IT performance and supporting decision-making.

With the findings from this assessment, Baker Tilly helped the client develop a sequenced and prioritized three-year IT strategy road map. The road map was designed to modernize the IT infrastructure, streamline operations and improve the integration of systems and data. It also proposed structural changes to improve collaboration between IT and other departments. The solution aimed to:

• Enhance the agility and intuitive use of technology across the institution
• Improve IT capabilities, reduce manual burdens and eliminate workarounds through digital solutions
• Modernize the technology portfolio, optimizing the mix of on-premise and cloud-based solutions
• Strengthen governance and resource alignment to better support institutional outcomes

Since the completion of the road map, the college has continued to follow the strategic guidance provided by Baker Tilly, with the new CIO overseeing the implementation. The road map has served as a foundational tool for the institution to evolve its IT function and better position itself for long-term sustainability in the competitive landscape of technical education.

Connect with a Baker Tilly specialist to learn more

Originally published May 27, 2025

At Northwestern Mutual, acting on our values helps us achieve our mission:

• We’re focused on growth.
• We’re committed to building and supporting healthy communities.
• We value the people who help carry out our mission.
• We strive to be good stewards of the environment.
• We value the trust of our stakeholders.

Our mission is to free Americans from financial anxiety, and it’s rooted in each decision that we make.

We focus on actions that shape a better way to tomorrow, driving meaningful change and positively impacting our policyowners, clients, employees, financial advisors, and communities.

Here’s how our sustainability and impact efforts help us achieve our mission.