Author: sHq_LoGiNz

Memphis, Tennessee, is our global headquarters city and home to over 30,000 team members. Memphis is rich with culture, talent, and history, and its energetic and resilient spirit brings us great pride. At the same time, Memphis faces real and persistent challenges. Nearly one in four residents lives in poverty, and thousands of young adults are neither in school nor working. These realities affect families, neighborhoods, and the future workforce that will power the city for decades to come.

In 2025, our FedEx Cares team worked closely with city experts, nonprofit leaders, our team members, and other Memphians to gain a deeper understanding of the challenges facing the current and future Memphis workforce. After many months of listening and learning, we launched a new support strategy — Mobilizing Memphis’ Workforce Potential — to fight poverty, create opportunity, foster belonging, and build a stronger Memphis.

Ready, set, launch!

Meet some of the Memphians who earned the education, skills, and credentials to launch new careers with FedEx-supported nonprofits:

Madison Smith, Army Veteran, gained welding and machining skills at Moore Tech, and set her sights on a career at Toyota Motor Manufacturing.

Cyrille Connor built essential workplace habits and industrial electricity and plant maintenance skills at Moore Tech, then landed a job as a Maintenance Technician at Lallemand.

Zakaria Culp graduated her EMT program thanks to the Memphis Medical District Collaborative’s Hire Local program and is fulfilling a lifelong dream of working as a paramedic firefighter.

Alan Manteiga graduated the Memphis Excel Center and plans to continue his college career at Tennessee College of Applied Technology.

When basic needs are met, Memphians can focus on careers & family

Together, FedEx and Feed the Children are tackling one of Memphis’ toughest challenges: making sure children and families have the food, supplies, and support they need to focus on education and careers.

Nationwide, one in five children face food insecurity, and some Memphis families often must choose between paying rent and buying groceries, school supplies and hygiene items. To meet that challenge, FedEx and Feed the Children built a year-round approach that combines four programs:

• Feed the Children’s Food & Essentials hubs inside Memphis Shelby County schools give students and families steady access to nutritious food, personal care items, and learning materials.
• Feed the Children’s Summer Feed & Read program keeps kids fed and engaged with books during the summer months, when school meals and classroom learning is paused.
• Feed the Children’s Backpack-N-Go program sends children back to school each year with the supplies they need to start strong.
• Feed the Children’s Resource Rallies bring food, hygiene products, and essentials directly to families facing tough months. In 2025, these programs reached more than 7,300 Memphians, delivering over 108,000 meals and more than $550,000 worth of food, hygiene products, books, and backpacks.

Award winning programs

Slingshot Memphis awarded FedEx the Inspire Award for our work combating poverty and creating lasting change in our headquarters city.

Click here to learn more about FedEx, Slingshot Memphis & the Inspire Award

Our reach in Memphis

From skills-based volunteering to hands-on service, from large organizations to grassroots, FedEx and our team members were busy doing good in Memphis last year.

“Our team members take great pride in programs and volunteer opportunities that support our neighbors. We are committed to building strong local communities and delivering positive change around the world—starting with the places where we live and work.” Jenny Robertson SVP Marketing & Communications, FedEx

Learn more about giving and volunteering at FedEx in the 2025 FedEx Cares Report

Sustainability action offers benefits that businesses have recognized for a long time, like lower energy costs, avoided regulatory fees, brand building, and higher employee satisfaction. But for many companies, it hasn’t always been necessary to make a business case to advance sustainability; acting responsibly was its own bottom line. A new report from the World Economic Forum indicates that now the business case for sustainability is becoming a must-have rather than a “nice-to-have.”

The authors of the WEF’s inaugural Chief Sustainability Officers’ Outlook surveyed 103 chief sustainability officers across five continents with two striking results. First, 63% expect global sustainability progress to hold steady or accelerate over the next year. (Sustainability Online reports on a study from GlobeScan and UN Global Compact that seems to add weight to this finding: just 10% of sustainability practitioners in North America expect companies’ sustainability ambitions to decrease.)

Second, 64% claim that the biggest accelerator of corporate sustainability measures over the next three years will be a stronger business case. This comes in as the lead driver ahead of availability of cheaper technology, expanded value chain collaboration, regulatory action, and international agreements.

Proving that sustainability pays is not a straightforward task. For example, asked what most constrains their company from investing in adaptation to climate change, CSOs pointed to uncertain cost-benefit assessments, as a greater constraint than financing costs, regulatory hurdles, or competing priorities. Indeed, as the report explains, adaptation “often creates value through avoided losses rather than additional revenue,” which makes the benefit hard to quantify and slow to appear.

Report authors Sebastian Buckup and Akanksha Khatri underscore the need to link sustainability to business growth, writing that it “is no longer a commitment to be made; it is a capability to be embedded in growth, competitiveness and resilience.”

Other flagship research came from G&A Institute’s own team last week. The 2026 edition of Sustainability Reporting In Focus is our 15th annual study of corporate sustainability reporting, and finds that in 2025 94% of the S&P 500 and 86% of the Russell 1000 published sustainability reports – both slightly below 2024. But even as the levels ebbed slightly from recent years, our analysts noted that companies are making use of more standards and assuring more of their data. These efforts make the documentation of their sustainability work more robust, and form an important piece of the puzzle for building a reliable business case for continuing to invest.

In other news, the first GHG emissions reports mandated under California’s SB 253 are due in about six weeks – November 10 – and ESG Today covers CARB’s confirmation of reliefs for the opening cycle, including prior-year data and submissions without assurance. To delve into SB 253’s sister law on climate risk, SB 261, turn to our joint research with Ceres to examine 154 voluntary filings.

Meanwhile, new polling covered by Trellis indicates that 71% of climate-skeptical Republicans say companies should reduce their climate impacts, because doing so “encourages long-term planning.”

Finally, as we see in ESG Dive, the business and public perspectives on sustainability are not reflected in recent action in Washington, DC, where the EPA finalized the repeal of most Biden-era power plant carbon rules, and proposed to rescind the rest.

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

This contract leverages advanced geospatial mapping to identify prime highway and railroad right-of-ways for large-scale energy transmission and broadband co-location.

ATLANTA, September 29, 2026 /3BL/ – Today, The Ray announced a contract with the Build America Bureau at the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) to provide specialized geospatial analysis and corridor mapping for the America’s Great Corridors of Commerce (AGCC) initiative.

AGCC represents a first-of-its-kind, nationwide opportunity to transform existing highway and rail corridors into multi-use arteries capable of carrying high-voltage transmission wires, fiber optic lines, water pipelines, and other critical utility infrastructure.

Under the partnership, The Ray Geospatial Solutions program will deliver advanced Geographic Information System (GIS) analysis and mapping across highway and railroad corridors nationwide. This data-driven approach will identify prime right-of-way (ROW) segments best suited for immediate, large-scale energy transmission and telecommunications development.

“The Ray’s expertise is a unique combination of focused GIS capabilities and a decade of investment in planning and scaling energy infrastructure in highway right-of-way.”

— Jessie Hong, Geospatial Solutions Director, The Ray

Expanding national energy and telecommunications capacity is vital to sustaining growth in America’s high-tech and advanced manufacturing sectors while lowering energy costs for households. By co-locating energy and data infrastructure within existing transportation ROW, the AGCC framework aims to:

• Accelerate Delivery: Expedite project timelines for national energy and data grid expansions.
• Streamline Approvals: Simplify environmental review and permitting actions through pre-identified corridors.
• Lower Costs & Generate Revenue: Reduce land acquisition costs for developers while opening new revenue streams for state and federal transportation agencies.
• Boost Economic Development: Create efficient options to situate emerging industries near primary transport arteries.

Recognized by the White House Council on Environmental Quality as 2026 Permitting Innovators, The Ray’s Geospatial Solutions team brings proven spatial intelligence to federal infrastructure priorities.

“Over two years, The Ray will develop the national intelligence to power AGCC’s prioritization of corridors and utility co-location projects.”

— Allie Kelly, Executive Director

Resources

To explore the spatial data and learn more about highway right-of-way co-location, view the interactive project overview.

In today’s global food supply chain, transparency, quality, and sustainability are more than buzzwords—they’re essential for long-term success. TEROVA’s innovative approach to working with farmers sets a new standard for responsible sourcing, delivering tangible benefits to both growers and their communities.

A Partnership Built on Trust and Support

When farmers join the TEROVA program, they receive benefits beyond the traditional supplier and buyer relationship. Enrolling in the TEROVA program includes support with sustainability practices, upholding human rights, and community development opportunities. From the outset, TEROVA provides:

• Comprehensive Training: Farmers receive guidance to boost yields and ensure their crops meet export standards, unlocking access to better prices.
• Essential Materials: Integrated Pest Management (IPM) tools, personal protective equipment (PPE), and drying nets are supplied to support safe and effective farming.
• Reliable Storage and Transport: TEROVA manages logistics, including cold storage and quality testing, to maintain product integrity and maximize value.
• Prompt, Fair Payment: Farmers are paid on time—typically within 21 days—at market price plus a premium, with all transactions transparently documented.
• Ongoing Field Support: Dedicated field teams visit every 10 days on average, monitoring crops, identifying pests, and offering agronomic advice.

A Transparent, Farmer-Centric Workflow

The TEROVA process is designed to empower farmers at every step:

1. Onboarding and Training: Field officers—trusted, local agronomy experts—register new farmers, conduct agronomic surveys, and provide ongoing education in regenerative agriculture.
2. Sustainable Cultivation: Farmers grow crops according to TEROVA’s best practices, using approved seeds and implementing regenerative techniques such as cover crops.
3. Harvest and Quality Assurance: After harvesting and drying on TEROVA-provided drying nets, crops are tested and stored in monitored cold facilities, preserving quality for processing and export.
4. Traceability: Harvested spices are tagged with a QR code that connects to TEROVA Trace and shows the farmer’s information and map of the field where the raw material was grown. The tagging system is maintained through processing, ensuring traceability.
5. Community Engagement: Farmers and community members contribute ideas to annual Welfare Committee meetings, shaping investments in local development. Past projects Welfare Committees have funded include shared water wells and filtration systems at local schools and communities.
6. Continuous Improvement: Internal and external audits ensure compliance with sustainability certifications including Rainforest Alliance.

Lasting Impact and Community Benefits

TEROVA’s commitment extends beyond the farm gate:

• Annual Support: Cover crop seeds, tree saplings, and regenerative agriculture education are provided to all participating farmers.
• Incentivized Sustainability: Field officers are rewarded for promoting regenerative practices, ensuring that environmental stewardship is woven into the fabric of the program.
• Community-Driven Investment: Welfare Committees in each region (India, Albania, Vietnam) identify and address local needs, from infrastructure to social programs.
• Health Clinics: Annual health checkups are available for farmers and their families via mobile clinics.

TEROVA’s model demonstrates that responsible sourcing can deliver value for everyone involved. By investing in farmer training, fair compensation, and community wellbeing, TEROVA not only ensures a reliable supply of high-quality spices but also fosters resilient, thriving agricultural communities.

View original content here.

About Griffith Foods

Griffith Foods is a global product development partner helping food companies meet the evolving needs of consumers with high-quality, culinary driven, customized products. Founded in 1919 and headquartered in Alsip, Illinois, USA, Griffith Foods is a family-owned business known for collaborative innovation guided by its purpose to “Blend Care and Creativity to Nourish the World.” Operating in over 40 countries across six continents, Griffith Foods employs more than 5,000 people, including over 40 chefs and 340 food scientists, who work together to create solutions that nourish people, planet, and communities. The company’s product capabilities include seasonings, sauces, dressings, coating systems, and alternative protein solutions. Griffith Foods’ primary areas of focus include Foodservice, Food Manufacturers, Protein Processors, and Retail.