Month: August 2025

Originally published in Principal Financial Group 2024 Sustainability Report

Integrating sustainable investing practices

Our global investment philosophy

We aim to 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 over time.

Our approach

Our sustainable investing beliefs are grounded in fostering relationships with investors and communities by offering products and solutions that align with their values.

Our philosophy includes:

• Consideration of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) integration
• Creating sustainable investment products
• Engagement and stewardship
• Responsible proxy voting

Sustainable investing oversight and collaboration

Principal Asset Management^SM has multiple levels of oversight and collaboration for sustainable investing. Our Sustainable Investing Oversight Committee helps assure implementation of funds and strategies in accordance with the appropriate sustainability-related definitions. Our Sustainable Investment Council supports the sharing of best practices among investment professionals when they’re constructing and managing client portfolios. Finally, our Sustainable Investing Team helps ensure our investment professionals have the information and resources they need to create and maintain sustainable investment products and solutions for clients.

• $712.1B: Principal Financial Group, Inc. total assets under management (AUM) in billions as of December 31, 2024
• $559.1B: Principal Asset Management – Investment Management¹ managed AUM in billions as of December 31, 2024

For purposes of our sustainability report, as of December 31, 2024, the assets under management for Principal Financial Group were $712.1 billion, of which $559.1 billion is managed by Principal Asset Management – Investment Management and $124.3 billion is managed by Principal Asset Management – International Pension.

Our actions and performance in 2024

Throughout 2024 we continued advancing our sustainable investing efforts:

• Provided access to sustainable investing training to all Principal employees to empower them to understand our sustainable investment capabilities to better serve clients and customers.
• Firm’s sustainable investing AUM² increased to approximately 63%, with market appreciation and client demand as contributing factors.
• Introduced an enhanced Principal Asset Management sustainable investing website that provides an improved user experience and a wider array of resources to help investors understand the crucial elements of our sustainable investing capabilities across the globe.
• Launched six new sustainable investment products based on client demand.

What’s next

In 2025, the European Union’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), climate regulations in California, and climate- related disclosures in Singapore all require insight into portfolio emissions. We are making progress on collecting and analyzing scope 3 emissions data. As the first CSRD reports are being published, we expect data coverage from underlying companies to continue to improve as a result.

To learn more, read the Principal Financial Group 2024 Sustainability Report.

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.

¹In the fourth quarter of 2024, we implemented changes to our Principal Asset Management segment to align the global operations by business function. Prior to the fourth quarter of 2024, our Principal Asset Management segment was organized into Principal Global Investors and Principal International. The Principal Asset Management segment, is now organized into Investment Management and International Pension. The change has been applied retrospectively, which did not have an impact on our consolidated financial statements. Principal Asset Management^SM is the trade name of Principal Global Investors, LLC. See Important Information page 79 for AUM description.

²AUM representative of Principal Asset Management – Investment Management as of December 31, 2024. AUM that are sustainable investment products are internally classified by Principal Asset Management^SM and not by any third party or regulatory body. Principal Asset Management^SM is the trade name of Principal Global Investors, LLC. See Important Information page for AUM description.

Senior Environmental Consultant Justin Dycus grew up fishing on the Pee Dee River. Today, he’s helping lead Duke Energy’s efforts to restore it.

As a senior environmental consultant, Justin spends his days monitoring water quality, tracking fish populations, and restoring ecosystems across the Carolinas.

From electrofishing surveys to spawning studies, Justin’s work is helping species like the American shad return to rivers they haven’t reached in over a century.

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 energy transition, keeping customer reliability and value at the forefront as it builds a smarter energy future. The company is investing in major electric grid upgrades and cleaner generation, including natural gas, nuclear, renewables and energy storage. 

 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. 

View original content here.

 

Originally published by Black & Veatch

Once again in 2024, U.S. power utilities got an unwelcomed reminder of the disruptions of devastating weather events, punctuated by the above-average Atlantic hurricane season accurately predicted. Coming off that assault from deadly hurricanes Beryl, Debby and the one-two punch of Helene and Milton — knocking out power to millions of homes and businesses — there’s a new warning power providers in vulnerable areas should heed: Buckle up for another potentially rocky ride this year. 

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration expects a six-in-10 chance of an above-normal hurricane season, which traditionally runs from June 1 through November. That administrative overseer of the National Weather Service forecasts that of 13 to 19 total named storms, six to 10 will become hurricanes packing winds of at least 74 mph. Three to five of those will be major hurricanes Category 3 — winds exceeding 111 mph — or stronger. Of 14 tropical storms that crop up during an average year, half spin into hurricanes, based on weather records dating from 1991 to 2020. 

While power utilities always think preparedness, the advent of yet another hurricane season should be an urgent incentive to get robust response plans in order for when nature breaks through grid defenses. Outside of coastal areas, utilities would be equally wise to take similar measures to mitigate their own significant storms – and other fallout, including wildfires, droughts and landslides – that significantly blunt their ability to keep electricity flowing. 

Pressure is mounting to invest in grid upgrades that enhance operational resiliency, as well as to marshal the resources – from boots and specialized trucks on the ground to drones in the sky – along with other technologies and essential replacement parts such as poles and transformers.

It’s about being proactive and reactive, leveraging the expertise of a critical infrastructure solutions provider to formulate a multi-dimensional game plan. 

Before the Storm

Last year’s hurricane destruction simply added to already staggering stats: Since 1980, the United States now has sustained 403 weather and climate disasters in which damages and costs of each has been at least $1 billion, according to NOAA. The total bill — an astounding $2.915 trillion. 

Persisting challenges range from chronically aging infrastructure to the growing need to integrate renewable energy onto the grid, all while maintaining robust, yearlong vegetation management programs that protect above-ground power lines. As a consultancy and resiliency expert with more than a century of expertise in the power sector, Black & Veatch has seen many power providers take emergency preparedness very seriously, often regularly doing exercises to test and hone their reactions to hypothetical storm scenarios. Black & Veatch’s 2024 Electric Report – based on a survey of more than 700 U.S. electric sector stakeholders – shows holistic storm readiness to be a work in progress. One-quarter of respondents don’t do climate-related disaster scenario planning to prepare for potential disruptive weather events, while nearly one in four don’t explicitly factor climate risk into their planning. That said, power providers should consider enlisting experts in climate risk modeling with predictive analytics that can reveal when existing infrastructure and physical assets may be at risk in the near and long term – and help inform what, where and when to prioritize climate risk mitigation measures. In the meantime, utilities should: 

• Review and update their emergency response plans to ensure strong collaboration with federal, state and local emergency management agencies.
• Ensure their plans outline their personnel and resource management processes.
• Conduct exercises and role-playing hypothetical storm scenarios, ferreting out any response gaps and learning how to better stay atop weather reports, heeding any shifts in an approaching storm’s track to position recovery assets at staging areas ahead of landfall.
• Engage local, regional and statewide first responders to ensure everyone is following the same playbook.
• When possible, maintain stockpiles of resources such as transformers, poles and other essential repair supplies.
• Ensure tools are in place to communicate the status of their systems effectively during a crisis. 

After the Storm

As much as powerful storms throw at a vulnerable grid, power utilities can and should respond in kind with everything at their disposal. That starts with thoughtful, technology-driven management of resources, information and personnel under a multi-pronged approach involving digital and physical innovations.

Black & Veatch – and its Bird Electric subsidiary, specializing in storm restoration after extreme weather events – has been a leader in disaster response solutions, from guiding the proactive path toward readiness to being on the front lines of the life-sustaining pushes to get power back on.

Think of it as a full suite of services, steeped in integrated innovations. Such things as digital mapping leveraging advanced analytics capabilities using geospatial technology, along with resource and incident management software, state-of-the-art mobile field command posts that are game changers in restoring power and order, and pop-up “base camps.”

In the end, readiness holds much of the key in ensuring how ultimately the storm response unfolds. While no storm is alike, utilities should make being proactive a priority in setting up the reaction, understanding that significant missteps can fuel public and political pressure along with serious, sometimes preventable scrutiny and scorn.

 

Our latest white paper, “Crafting Culinary Excellence at Griffith Foods,” explores how our team of chefs blend regional expertise, trend insights, and sustainable practices to deliver authentic, chef-inspired solutions.

From adapting to local cultures and sharing knowledge across continents, to reimagining products for today’s kitchens, this paper highlights the innovative spirit that drives us forward.

Download the full white paper and see how we’re shaping the future of food: https://griffithfoods.com/viewpoints/crafting-culinary-excellence-at-griffith-foods/.

View original content here.

Our Sustainability Journey
At Griffith Foods, we are committed to driving positive impact through a regenerative mindset. Sustainability is connected to everything we do as a business, and by 2030, we are dedicated to significantly improving the future with a singular sustainable business strategy that we call our 2030 Aspirations. To learn more about Griffith Foods and its current sustainability efforts, visit them online and download the 2024 Sustainability Report.

About Griffith Foods
At Griffith Foods, our purpose defines who we are, what we do, and why we exist, highlighting what makes us distinct and authentic in the marketplace. We help our partners meet the evolving needs and desires of consumers in ways that respect and sustain the planet. Our care and creativity mean we’ll find the right mix of global reach and local impact to serve the earth and nourish all of us who call it home.

To read Kenvue’s 2024 Healthy Lives Mission Report, visit kenvue.com/hlmreport.

Q&A with Jennifer Duran, Group Head of Sustainability, Kenvue

Q: How is Kenvue’s approach to sustainability evolving following our transformation into a standalone consumer health company?

At Kenvue, we recognize that people’s health is deeply interconnected with the health of our planet. Therefore, as a company singularly focused on consumer health, sustainability becomes a key element of how we do business and serve our Purpose—whether that’s through our products and solutions, including many beloved brands worldwide, or through our work to reduce the impact of our operations and transition our sourcing efforts to be more mindful of the environment. That’s why we’re working cross-functionally to make sustainability part of our processes and built in, not retroactive or bolted on.

Q: What are some of the biggest opportunities where Kenvue can make an impact?

We have tremendous opportunities to partner with our industry to drive impact worldwide, from suppliers to customers as well as consumers. For example, on the ingredients side, we are working with suppliers to fully understand the lifecycle of our raw materials and identify the hotspots where we have the most opportunity for innovation as well as where we may need to build resilience. And through non-competitive industry consortiums such as the EcoBeautyScore, the Forum for the Future’s Climate and Health Coalition, or the Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), we are using our collective knowledge to increase transparency, drive more responsible sourcing practices, and design more sustainable and resilient systems.

Q: What are some of the challenges you face as you look ahead?

We have the right strategy in place and our goals are set but there is a
lot of work ahead as we balance short-term mitigation with longer-term resilience-building efforts. What’s important is maintaining our focus on our material topics and being thoughtful and strategic about the choices we make in how we manage them. This work is about innovation and identifying opportunities for growth as well as about managing risk and building resiliency in our business and value chain.

Q: What are you most excited about as you think about the work ahead for Kenvue?

I’m excited about the deeper integration of our Healthy Lives Mission within our business strategy and am looking forward to reinforcing the connections between sustainability, growth, innovation, and our commitment to help people realize the extraordinary power of everyday care.

To read Kenvue’s 2024 Healthy Lives Mission Report, visit kenvue.com/hlmreport.

*These statements should not be read in isolation. Important information with respect to these goals and commitments is included in Kenvue’s 2024 Healthy Lives Mission Report on page 8 or on kenvue.com/our-commitments.

ATLANTA, Aug. 12, 2025 /3BL/ – In today’s fast-paced and ever-changing business landscape, retaining institutional knowledge and maintaining productivity are important challenges faced by many companies. Georgia-Pacific is tackling these challenges head-on with an innovative approach: the Retiree Talent Network Program. This program, led by Georgia-Pacific’s internal staffing agency, is an initiative that leverages the skills and expertise of retirees, turning a potential gap into a competitive advantage.

By bringing back seasoned professionals for special projects or short-term assignments at Georgia-Pacific’s U.S. sites, the company is closing knowledge gaps, reducing overtime for current employees, and ensuring smooth transitions where expertise is required. Retirees bring valuable skills and insights, allowing the company to maintain operational excellence while fostering mentorship and knowledge transfer to the next generation of talent.

Watch how Georgia-Pacific retirees are contributing in meaningful ways.

Retaining institutional knowledge and maintaining productivity are important challenges faced by many companies. Georgia-Pacific is tackling these challenges head-on with an innovative approach, its Retiree Talent Network Program.

Do you know a retiree or an upcoming retiree in the U.S. at Georgia-Pacific who’s interested in bringing their knowledge and skills back to the company? Or are you a Georgia-Pacific employee curious about how a retiree might support your team? Contact Encadria at EncadriaAtlanta@gapac.com.

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HAMILTON, Bermuda, August 12, 2025 /3BL/ – As part of its 60th anniversary celebrations in Bermuda, family-owned Bacardi has planted 60 native and endemic trees on Trunk Island, the education and conservation center of the Bermuda Aquarium, Museum and Zoo (BAMZ). The effort was carried out in collaboration with the Bermuda Zoological Society (BZS), reinforcing a longstanding partnership focused on environmental stewardship and habitat restoration.

The initiative, called “60 Trees for 60 Years,” commemorates the company’s six decades in Bermuda, where it established its global headquarters in 1965. First introduced in 1862 by Don Facundo Bacardí Massó, BACARDÍ rum called Santiago de Cuba home for nearly a century, until the family-owned company was forced into exile in 1960 following the Cuban Revolution. Seeking a new home where it could rebuild with stability and opportunity, Bacardi chose Bermuda—a decision that marked the beginning of a new chapter in the company’s remarkable history.

As part of the Bermudian initiative, Bacardi staff members volunteered to plant the trees, contributing directly to improving biodiversity, shade canopy, and long-term conservation outcomes on Trunk Island.

“This initiative is a living tribute to the strong roots Bacardi has planted in Bermuda,” said Douglas Mello, Managing Director of Bacardi in Bermuda. “It reflects not only our gratitude to the community but also our ongoing commitment to protecting the environment and natural beauty of the island we call home.”

The Bacardi relationship with BAMZ and BZS spans over a decade, most notably through its support of the environmental restoration of Trunk Island. The “60 Trees” project builds on that legacy and aligns with the company’s global commitment to invest in its communities to help protect people and planet.

This tree planting marks the first in a series of initiatives taking place throughout the year to honor the company’s milestone anniversary in Bermuda.

In a recent Fast Company article – “AI is helping companies revolutionize the global supply chain” – Glen Clark, DP World’s CEO of US/Mexico and Regional Head of Contract Logistics, explores how artificial intelligence (AI) is fundamentally reshaping global supply chains. Clark emphasizes that AI-driven analytics provide businesses with unprecedented visibility, allowing them to predict disruptions, optimize logistics routes, and manage resources sustainably and efficiently.

Three Ways AI Transforms Global Supply Chains:

• Predictive capabilities: AI enables proactive responses to supply chain disruptions, significantly reducing delays.
• Operational efficiency: AI streamlines port operations, container movements, and logistics scheduling, leading to improved productivity.
• Sustainability: By optimizing routes, inventory management, and equipment usage, AI significantly reduces emissions and waste, aligning closely with global sustainability goals.

DP World’s AI-Powered Solutions in Action
Building upon Clark’s insights, DP World itself is pioneering innovative AI solutions to further these advancements. The company’s proprietary AI-powered logistics platform, CARGOES TOS+, integrates predictive analytics and automation across its global port and logistics operations. From terminal scheduling at Jebel Ali Port to route optimization in logistics corridors worldwide, DP World demonstrates how AI technology can simultaneously enhance efficiency and sustainability.

Ethical and Sustainable AI for Global Trade
DP World’s approach uniquely combines human expertise and AI technology, ensuring ethical and accountable application, which is critical in building trust across global supply chains. This hybrid strategy ensures that AI solutions not only drive economic value but also uphold DP World’s commitment to environmental stewardship and social responsibility.

Learn More About AI’s Supply Chain Impact
For more insights on AI’s transformation of global supply chains, read Glen’s full article here.

In this follow-up to our last episode on Safety in Design, Host Alizabeth Aramowicz Smith sits down with Meng Liu, Senior Partner at Anew Global Consulting in China, to discuss two case studies that highlight the benefits of this approach. Meng shares the outcomes of a factory consultation for an electric vehicle manufacturer and a construction project for a university, with time pressures to accommodate the academic year.

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Rethinking EHS: Global Goals. Local Delivery.

The key to a sustainable future lies in our ability to coordinate global efforts built on the foundation of local expertise. So how can those of us passionate about protecting planet and people harness this knowledge and turn it into practical solutions on a worldwide scale?

On this podcast, we’ll traverse the globe to unearth the stories of EHS and sustainability communities making an impact on the ground. We’ll share compelling stories from biodiversity and energy transition to workplace safety and more; expert insights, on topics such as PFAS and CSRD, and diverse perspectives to highlight tangible solutions and share innovative strategies to drive change.

Whether you’re an EHS practitioner, a sustainability specialist, or a leader striving to improve your organization, join us, as we explore the path forward and Rethink EHS.

Brought to you by Inogen Alliance.