Tag: 3BL

SAN JOSE, Calif., September 26, 2024 /3BL/ – Silicon Valley companies committed to sustainability and social impact performance will share best practices and encourage networking with like-minded professionals on Oct. 23 during 3BL Network Effect: San Jose. The event is free.

The half-day program, taking place at Logitech’s San Jose campus, is open to those working in corporate social responsibility, sustainability, social impact, communications, marketing and investor relations roles at companies, agencies and nonprofits. Breakfast will be provided.

Register for Network Effect: San Jose here. 

“Tech is the largest industry in the world, employing nearly 5 million people in the United States,” said Dave Armon, 3BL vice chair and host of Network Effect: San Jose. “We’re excited to discuss sustainability and corporate citizenship topics with companies whose products, people and cultures can change the world for the better.”

Among the organizations participating in 3BL Network Effect: San Jose are Cadence Design Systems, Cisco Systems, Fast Forward, Intuit and Logitech.

In addition to panel discussions, fireside chats and research revealing consumer sentiments about sustainability, the event is designed so practitioners from Silicon Valley companies, nonprofits and NGOs can explore opportunities to partner for more impact.

Here’s a sneak peak of what awaits on our agenda:

Size of the Prize: The Billion-Dollar Impact of Growing Consumer Demand
There’s growing pressure on businesses to prioritize sustainability, but how much of an impact does it have? Are consumers actually switching brands for sustainability reasons? The answer is yes, and the impact of sustainability-driven brand switching totals $44 billion across 12 U.S. industries. We’ll share new research.

Evolution of ESG Strategy and Reporting Practices
Jeff Rangel, Director of ESG Strategy and Reporting, Intuit, will join a fireside chat with Peggy Brannigan, Board Member, Business Council on Climate Change, to discuss how the software giant behind QuickBooks, TurboTax, Mailchimp and Credit Karma embeds its True North sustainability goals across the company to yield data alongside impactful stories.

Fem.AI: Changing the Future Workforce of Tech
Nicole Johnson, Director of Social Impact, Cadence Design Systems, and Kendall Arthur, Director of Strategic Partnerships, Fast Forward, will explore Cadence’s groundbreaking Fem.ai approach, which propels women and the industry towards a fairer tech sector.

Circular Transformation: Doing the Work, Telling the Story
Wendy Ng, Program Manager, Supply Chain Sustainability, Cisco Systems, will share circular design principles that are transforming product development to minimize environmental impact, enhance repairability, and promote reuse and recycling. Stacey Faucett, Manager Sustainability Communications, Governance and Compliance, Cisco Systems, will explore the power of effective storytelling in driving internal and external action, fostering innovation, and making progress on sustainability goals.

Gaming Without Barriers 
Logitech has eliminated barriers of all kinds in product design, promoting equity and inclusivity in communities throughout the world. Logitech’s Aurora Product Collection and the Adaptive E-Sports Tournament were intentionally designed to challenge existing biases and stereotypes, enhancing inclusivity in gaming.

Register today at no cost. Breakfast is included.

Nasdaq

Review the results from a survey that primarily polled corporate carbon credit buyers, who share insight into how the market for durable carbon removal credits has changed over the past year and the role carbon credits play in net zero strategies. The goal of this report is to help close carbon removal credit knowledge gaps and support carbon market stakeholders with fresh insights.

How has the VCM changed in the last 12 months?

Carbon dioxide removal (CDR) continues to be a necessary tool within the corporate net zero toolbox. But if CDR efforts expect to leverage the voluntary carbon market (VCM) as a financing vehicle for conventional and novel CDR, a deeper analysis of buying preferences is critical.

Considering the detail uncovered within the VCM from last year’s Nasdaq Global Net Zero Pulse survey, the Nasdaq ESG Advisory team used this year’s survey to capture answers to the question: How has the VCM changed in the last 12 months? To do so, the team uncovered insights that span three key themes necessary to scale the VCM and CDR adoption: 

Corporate net zero alignmentCarbon credit purchase strategiesCarbon market dynamics

Key Findings

Despite demand-side uncertainty in the market, there appears to be a need for durable CDR to achieve net zero. 

Respondents associate using carbon removal credits as an integral part of their net zero strategy. 57% plan to invest in nature-based and technology-based carbon removal solutions to neutralize their residual emissions and less than 10% expect to reach net zero without using any carbon credits.

To guide the carbon credit procurement process, companies are setting a strategy that aligns to their sustainability goals and targets.

93% of carbon credit buyer respondents report their company has a carbon credit strategy in place. In line with last year’s survey findings, strategies that focus on carbon removal credits are favored by respondents from larger companies, whereas smaller companies are more likely to have strategies that focus on carbon reduction or avoidance credits.

With carbon offset claims at risk of being viewed as greenwashing, corporate buyers are concerned about properly evaluating credits. 

Consistent with 2023 survey results, MRV, cost, and permanence are prioritized components for corporate buyers purchasing carbon removal credits.

The evolving regulatory landscape plays a larger role in determining how companies approach their carbon credit procurement strategy.

While carbon removals have been largely unregulated, regulators and policy makers have focused more attention on the voluntary carbon markets. 72% of survey respondents report feeling pressure from this suite of policies, especially the SEC’s Climate Disclosure Rules and California’s AB-1305.

Familiarity with carbon removal credit types is not uniform – corporate buyers are interested in further education on carbon removals.

Survey respondents report familiarity with reforestation (83%), DAC (76%), and biochar (63%), suggesting that corporate education for individual CDR pathways is still needed. In addition, ocean-based CDR pathways are the least understood by survey respondents.

Download the report

Regency Centers recently participated in the Jacksonville Jaguars second Annual Community Day alongside other local partners.

Participating organizations were given projects addressing one of four primary areas of need: food insecurity, education, the homeless community, and military veterans.

Volunteers from Regency and other community members came together to pack 200 care packages that will be sent to military members serving our country, fulfilling a request made by a Jacksonville native who is currently serving overseas.

We are always proud to partner with the Jaguars and are happy to know that our efforts will bring joy and a taste of home to 200 brave individuals serving our country.

About Regency Centers Corporation (NASDAQ: REG)

Regency Centers is a preeminent national owner, operator, and developer of shopping centers located in suburban trade areas with compelling demographics. Our portfolio includes thriving properties merchandised with highly productive grocers, restaurants, service providers, and best-in-class retailers that connect to their neighborhoods, communities, and customers. Operating as a fully integrated real estate company, Regency Centers is a qualified real estate investment trust (REIT) that is self-administered, self-managed, and an S&P 500 Index member. For more information, please visit RegencyCenters.com

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Originally published by the Arthur W. Page Society on Page.org

In a world where economic uncertainty and shifting consumer behaviors challenge even the most established brands, the power of a strong corporate culture has never been more evident. For Jessica Merz, vice president of global corporate communications at Bacardi, nurturing this culture is not just a priority; it’s the foundation upon which the company’s recent success has been built.

Through a multifaceted culture review (more on that below), the company developed three cultural pillars: Fearless, Family, and Founders—the 3 Fs. As the company set out to embark on its bold 10-year strategy, these would serve as the foundation for how it would be achieved.

Continue reading here

Albertsons Companies celebrated Hispanic Heritage Month through a series of festive activities, including participation in the 19th annual Festival Salvadoreñisimo in Gaithersburg, MD and a lively in-store fiesta at Safeway in Dale City, VA. Guests enjoyed an array of fresh samples, exciting raffles, spin wheel prizes, exclusive savings, and coupons. The lively salsa music, mariachi bands, DJs, and visits from radio stations kept everyone dancing and enjoying the festive atmosphere. 

These events are not just celebrations but also a testament to our commitment to building belonging and creating spaces where everyone feels welcome and valued. Associates had an incredible time coming together with local community members to honor the rich and diverse Hispanic culture. Here’s to many more moments of connection and celebration!

See original post on LinkedIn and read more about Albertsons Companies and our Recipe for Change on our website.

As previously seen on the CSRHub blog.

KATONAH, N.Y., September 26, 2024 /3BL/ – CSRHub is excited to announce the launch of its new product, the CSRHub ESG Roadmap. This benchmarking and stakeholder diagnostic takes minutes to prepare, saving companies resources and providing business intelligence for sustainable growth. The sustainability landscape is a complex environment. ESG Roadmap provides the directions companies need to navigate towards for improved ESG performance and impact.

CSRHub’s ESG Roadmap includes:

Benchmarking – The Roadmap benchmarks a company’s sustainability position versus its peers and comparators. It examines trends in ESG ratings for a company, a company’s peers, its supply chain and its clients. A clear understanding of where a company stands enables it to identify strengths, areas for improvement and opportunities for leadership. 
 Strategic Stakeholder Engagement – The Roadmap pinpoints the areas where a company’s message is weak or poorly understood and where the message has been successfully communicated. Once a company knows the ESG rating sources that have more impact or negative views, it can engage with specific sources and adjust its message to improve its ESG ratings. The Roadmap also helps companies correct errors or omissions in its reporting and spotlights areas where ESG compliance is weak. 
 Quick and Informed Decision-Making – Using CSRHub’s trusted ESG information, the Roadmap supports data driven decision marking. Roadmap reports can be generated in PDF form (for easy internal sharing) or in PowerPoint (so each piece can be used in internal analysis). Data source drill downs show which indicators are pulling down a company’s CSR performance score or improving it.

CSRHub sells ESG Roadmap reports for all 57,000 of the entities it covers. Roadmap reports can also be purchased through CSRHub partners.

Cynthia Figge, CSRHub’s CEO said:

“With increasing demands for transparency and regulatory reporting, companies are being rated on what is publicly available, whether they provide a report or not. Much like it is difficult to navigate to a destination without a map; it’s challenging to direct your company’s sustainability journey without a roadmap based on your benchmarks and stakeholder engagement.”

For more information, please visit https://www.csrhub.com/csrhub-esg-roadmap or contact Global Sales and Client Solutions, Jessica@csrhub.com.

About CSRHub

CSRHub offers the most comprehensive global set of Consensus ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) ratings, information, and tools. CSRHub’s business intelligence system measures the ESG business impact that drives corporate and investor sustainability decisions. Founded in 2007, CSRHub covers 56,545 public and private companies, and provides ESG performance scores on over 37,899 companies from 135 industries in 210 countries. Our Big Data platform uses algorithms to aggregate, normalize and weight ESG metrics from 957 sources to produce a strong consensus signal on corporate sustainability performance.

This new addition to the ENGAGE™ REN Polyolefin Elastomers product portfolio addresses the need for more sustainable options in the flooring industry.Bio-circular* materials are a key pillar of Dow’s vision to accelerate carbon neutrality and circularity for plastics.

MIDLAND, Mich., September 26, 2024 /3BL/ – Dow (NYSE: DOW) announced the introduction of its first bio-circular product* for the flooring industry, an addition to the ENGAGE™ REN Polyolefin Elastomers (POE) product portfolio. The flooring innovation* will be used in the manufacturing of carpet tile backing to provide dimensional stability and adhesion support for fibers.

This new bio-circular product* brings the same high performance as the rest of the ENGAGE™ POE portfolio while helping customers meet their sustainability goals. ENGAGE™ REN POEs offer a viable alternative to virgin petrochemical products by utilizing alternative feedstocks produced from residues of biological origin and responsibly sourced waste, such as used cooking oil, and converting them into bio-circular products* with a lower carbon impact. Dow’s resins from bio-circular feedstocks are ISCC PLUS-certified under a mass balance approach for chain of custody, allowing customers to account for these materials in their supply chains.

“This innovation represents a crucial step toward expanding our circularity offerings into new markets,” said Joanna Giovanoli, senior marketing manager for Dow’s Packaging and Specialty Plastics business. “By supporting our flooring customers with bio-circular feedstock options that maintain high performance, we can give waste a new life, potentially reducing carbon footprints and reliance on fossil feedstocks. This is how we are moving Dow and our customers closer to shared sustainability goals.”

Bio-circular materials are a key pillar within Dow’s vision for a lower-carbon plastics ecosystem. Dow’s “Transform the Waste” target aims to commercialize 3 million metric tons of circular and renewable solutions by 2030, which involves using plastic waste and alternative feedstocks, including bio-circular. These raw materials, made from waste residues or by-products from an alternative production process, support a circular economy by enabling material reuse.

“We are committed to developing innovative products that meet the sustainability needs of our customers and help drive toward a circular economy,” said Rosalyn Kent, associate TS&D scientist for Dow’s Packaging and Specialty Plastics business. “To do this, we continue to explore alternative feedstock options that reduce the impacts of production and invest in new partnerships that progress bio-circular raw materials to produce high-quality resins.”

*bio-circular attributed under mass balance chain of custody approach

About Dow

Dow (NYSE: DOW) is one of the world’s leading materials science companies, serving customers in high-growth markets such as packaging, infrastructure, mobility and consumer applications. Our global breadth, asset integration and scale, focused innovation, leading business positions and commitment to sustainability enable us to achieve profitable growth and help deliver a sustainable future. We operate manufacturing sites in 31 countries and employ approximately 35,900 people. Dow delivered sales of approximately $45 billion in 2023. References to Dow or the Company mean Dow Inc. and its subsidiaries. Learn more about us and our ambition to be the most innovative, customer-centric, inclusive and sustainable materials science company in the world by visiting www.dow.com.

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For further information, please contact:

Jennifer Varadi 
346-410-9006  
jvaradi@dow.com

Workforce develops remains a big part of our commitment to the communities we serve and recently, 34 students graduated from our three workforce development program cohorts, thanks to our partnerships with Cecil College, Delaware Technical Community College (DTCC) and the Forum for Advancing Minority Engineers (FAME).

We currently operate two unique workforce development programs:

Path to Success Program: In collaboration with FAME, this 10-month program graduated 10 high school seniors. It offers industry exposure, financial literacy and work-readiness training, including a six-week paid internship with us. FAME’s mission to support minority engineers aligns with our goal to create a diverse and inclusive workforce.Powering the Workforce Utility Training Program: This program provides essential training for adults in partnership with DTCC and Cecil College to. DTCC’s six-week program focuses on practical energy sector skills and graduated 15 adults. Our Cecil College partnership saw nine adults complete an eight-week program, emphasizing hands-on training and real-world applications. This year marked the first Cecil College cohort.

Graduates from these programs are ready to pursue job opportunities with us or one of our contractors, contributing to the local economy and providing life and family sustaining career opportunities.

“Our programs are tailored to provide students with the practical skills and knowledge they need to thrive in their careers, and I am confident they will bring fresh perspectives to the industry,” said Martin Harrison, Workforce Development manager at Delmarva Power. “Working closely with these graduates is truly rewarding, and their enthusiasm and determination have been inspiring to witness. The opportunities that these programs provide are life-changing for many and we are thrilled to be part of that journey.”

Powering the Workforce Utility Training Program graduates, Charity Howard and Jeffrey Gray, attended the graduation, sharing their inspiring journeys with the 2024 graduates. Grey is now a Delmarva Power Utility Energy Serviceperson and Howard became an Interconnection Specialist at our sister company, Atlantic City Electric. Interested in joining our next cohorts in 2025? Contact Workforce Development manager, Martin Harrison, for more information.

By Kristen Coco

From indoor air quality to extreme heat, buildings face difficult challenges to protect their occupants. As we continue to see wildfires in some parts of the world from California to Brazil and Portugal due to impacts related to climate change, and while Eastern Europe is experiencing devastating flooding, the demand to fortify buildings for health is more urgent than ever.

We know that these two pieces of the puzzle – planetary and human health – are inextricably linked, and this is especially pertinent when it comes to future-proofing buildings to help address the climate crisis.

As Climate Week NYC returns in 2024, we are heeding its urgent message: It’s Time. It’s time to challenge the status quo. It’s time to ask, are our spaces doing all they can to ensure our planet and people have the resources needed to thrive? It’s time to influence, inspire and energize each other to commit to design, develop and operate healthier, sustainable buildings, for the benefit of the future of our planet and all of us who inhabit it.

It’s in this vein that we take a look at a few of the ways that IWBI has recently helped catalyze action and helped close the gap when it comes to addressing the climate challenge, and in turn generate corresponding benefits to public health:

We value the complementary nature of green building and building for people’s health and well-being. That’s why we’ve designed WELL to align with several leading global green building standards, identifying synergies and streamlining efforts for projects seeking a dual rating. In April of last year, the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and IWBI released a streamlined process for projects pursuing certifications for the LEED green building rating system and the WELL Building Standard. The process aligns documentation for projects that are pursuing both certifications at the same time or that have already earned one certification and are looking to add the other.
This new process creates an opportunity for organizations to apply an integrated approach to health and sustainability, transforming how they unite stakeholders and make key business decisions. Today, hundreds of projects around the world and representing hundreds of millions of square feet are poised to use the pathway, which has shown rapid growth and demand. Indeed, LEED + WELL project enrollment continues to grow exponentially, doubling in the last year by square footage. Moving forward, we remain as excited as ever about our strategic partnership with USGBC and how the global market has embraced the LEED + WELL streamlined certification pathway.
 IWBI has graduated a beta feature into the WELL Standard that rewards climate leadership with the goal of accelerating emission reductions in the face of ever-increasing public health impacts of climate change. Pursued by more than 30 organizations, the Innovation Feature on Carbon Disclosure and Reduction encourages companies to assess and disclose their carbon emissions, set science-based reduction targets and move toward carbon neutrality.
 We have made important advances in our partnership with Enterprise Community Partners (Enterprise), the leading non-profit organization in the United States focused on advancing affordable housing and sustainable communities. Enterprise administers the Green Communities program, the first national standard for green affordable housing in the country. As part of our partnership, IWBI and Enterprise developed a joint certification pathway so all future Green Communities projects would also earn a WELL certification. The partnership is simultaneously addressing health equity challenges within affordable housing communities while marrying best practices to promote human and environmental health. Today, Green Communities and WELL are referenced by multiple federal affordable housing programs and are also required or incentivized by 27 state housing authorities.
We recently celebrated Cadence, an affordable senior living development located in Fort Collins, Colorado, and comprising 55 senior living apartments, which achieved a new first in the country – attaining Green Communities Plus and WELL Certification. The “Plus” level of 2020 Green Communities is the highest certification tier, recognizing significant achievement for housing that meets all certification requirements and have invested in deep levels of energy efficiency.
 In May, IWBI also introduced the International Healthy Building Accord to empower leaders everywhere to tell the world’s government leaders to take action by adopting its policy prescriptions that would help ensure that our buildings support planetary and human health. By signing the Accord, people are not only affirming that healthy buildings are a human right, but that they are a climate imperative. Signatories commit to helping “proactively fortify all of the places where we live our lives to be health-resilient and capable of withstanding the challenges and stressors that will continue to increase in scale and frequency over time.” They also affirm that, “By designing, operating and maintaining healthier, more sustainable buildings, we can minimize the toll that extreme heat, floods, wildfires and other climate-induced disasters take on our lives, while slowing the pace of climate change.”

Read on to find out more about how IWBI is helping the industry fortify buildings for sustainability and health in light of the climate crisis, in our 2023 Annual Report: Our Movement is Growing.

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On the heels of a similar workplace violence prevention law in California, on September 5, 2024, Governor Kathy Hochul signed the Retail Worker Safety Act (A 8947 / S 8358) into law. This law requires certain New York retailers to implement safety measures to prevent workplace violence. This legislation updates the New York Labor Law by adding Section 27-e, which outlines specific requirements designed to protect retail employees at both small and large retail operations. The majority of the law’s new provisions will take effect on March 4, 2025. Below is a summary of the key requirements.

Who is Covered by the Act? 

The Retail Worker Safety Act applies to businesses that employ at least ten retail workers and sell consumer goods. However, retailers that primarily sell food for consumption on-site are not covered by the law.

Key Requirements 

Workplace Violence Prevention Policy

Starting March 4, 2025, all covered retailers must implement a workplace violence prevention policy. At minimum, this policy should:

Identify potential risk factors for workplace violence, such as late-night hours, handling money, working alone, or lack of workplace security.Outline procedures for preventing violent incidents, including setting up reporting systems.Provide information on relevant federal and state laws that protect retail workers and outline remedies available to victims of workplace violence.Clearly state that it is illegal to retaliate against employees who report concerns about workplace violence or incidents.

Employers will be able to use a model policy provided by the New York Department of Labor, once it becomes available. Or employers can choose to develop a customized program to fit their individual needs.

Workplace Violence Prevention Training Program

Also effective on March 4, 2025, covered retail employers must introduce an interactive training program that covers:

The Retail Worker Safety Act and its requirements.Strategies for employees to protect themselves from violence by customers or coworkers.Techniques for de-escalating violent situations and active shooter preparedness.Emergency protocols, including the use of alarms and panic buttons.Specific instructions for supervisors on handling emergencies.Information about the Retail Worker Safety Act and its requirements.Self-protection strategies for employees facing violence from customers or coworkers.De-escalation techniques and active shooter drills.Emergency procedures and how to use security systems, such as alarms and panic buttons.Guidance for supervisors on handling emergency situations.

Additionally, each employer must provide site-specific information, including emergency exits and meeting points, to employees. Again, the New York Department of Labor will release a model training program that businesses can adopt.

At each training session, employers must provide, in a language that they can understand:

A copy of the workplace violence prevention policy.Written materials from the training session, available in both English and the employee’s preferred language.

Silent Response Buttons

By January 1, 2027, the regulation requires large retail employers with 500 or more workers nationwide to provide employees with access to silent response buttons for emergencies. These buttons can be either installed in accessible locations within the store or provided as wearable or mobile devices. If the employer chooses to utilize wearable or mobile phone-based devices, then all of the location’s employees must be equipped. Additionally, mobile phone-based panic buttons may only be installed on employer- provided equipment and may only track employee location only when the button is triggered.

Conclusion 

This new legislation aims to enhance protection for retail workers across New York through preventive measures and comprehensive training programs to keep their retail teams safe from potential workplace violence situations.

This law is important not only because it is a legal requirement, but also because it fosters a safer and more supportive working environment. By prioritizing employee safety and well-being, businesses can improve morale, reduce turnover, and enhance productivity. Moreover, demonstrating a commitment to workplace safety can strengthen a company’s reputation and help attract and retain top talent. Investing in these safety measures is not just about compliance, but about building a resilient and responsible business that values its workforce.

Do you have questions? Reach out to our team of experts to get answers today!