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Every Covia facility is responsible for upholding high standards of safety, health, and security performance. Each year, Covia recognizes plants that display exemplary performance and dedication to its Safety First value. Several plants have gone at least 5 years without a lost time incident (LTI):

Roff, Oklahoma, USA – 38 YearsTuscaloosa, Alabama, USA – 38 YearsEmmett, Idaho, USA – 28 YearsHuntingburg, Indiana, USA – 24 YearsSan José, Veracruz, Mexico – 24 YearsHephzibah, Georgia, USA – 19 YearsTlaxcala, Tlaxcala, Mexico – 19 YearsElco, Illinois, USA – 9 YearsLugoff, South Carolina, USA – 9 YearsTroy Grove, Illinois, USA – 8 YearsMarston, North Carolina, USA – 8 YearsNSO, Ontario, Canada – 6 YearsPevely, Missouri, USA – 6 Years

For more information on how Covia recognizes its top performers, see page 40 of Covia’s 2023 ESG report.

Yum! Brands

Don’t miss your chance to apply for the Pizza Hut Foundation’s scholarship program! Applications are open until September 3. This scholarship supports individuals in financial need who demonstrate strong leadership and community involvement. If you’re between 17-26 years old, enrolled in higher education for Spring 2025 and live in the United States, Guam or the District of Columbia, you’re eligible to apply.

Apply now

With more than 2,000 employees and eight facilities in St. Louis, MilliporeSigma, the U.S. and Canada Life Science business of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, is committed to inspiring the STEM talent of the future. To help increase interest in STEM for students across St. Louis, MilliporeSigma enhanced its Curiosity Cube, which resides at the company’s Laclede facility, with an updated look and new lessons, and hosted an unveiling ceremony with local students.

Pictures of three future scientists, who are children of MilliporeSigma employees, adorn the Curiosity Cube’s exterior. Margarett Wolf, St. Louis employee and parent of a child featured on the Curiosity Cube, is proud to see her daughter as one of the faces of the Cube. As Margarett stated during the ceremony, “It’s hard to be what you can’t see. Letting other kids know that anyone can be a scientist can help push more people from a diverse background into these careers.”

The unveiling was part of Camp Leaders of Color (LOC), a half-day summer camp comprised of children or grandchildren of employees organized by the company’s LOC resource group. During the event, campers stepped inside the Curiosity Cube and learned about sustainability through the lens of the lifecycle of a t-shirt from MilliporeSigma scientists who led the experiments.

Jeffrey Whitford, Vice President of Sustainability and Social Business Innovation, shared similar sentiments about the importance of representation in filling tomorrow’s STEM jobs in a St. Louis Post-Dispatch op-ed. “We need to do a better job at making sure students see themselves as scientists now and in the future. If we can do this, we can drive more students into the STEM workforce pipeline to fill tomorrow’s jobs and solve tomorrow’s problems.” Continue reading Jeffrey’s thoughts on the need to expand the educational pipeline to STEM careers in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

To learn more about the Curiosity Cube mobile science lab and view the 2024 tour schedule, visit TheCuriosityCube.com and follow the Curiosity Cube on Instagram @curiositycube_milliporesigma.

Our sustainability strategy aligns with our Company’s growth and financial goals which extend beyond bottom-line considerations. Being a sustainable company means doing business in a way that allows us to be successful today while ensuring future growth. Sustainability is fundamental to our Company’s purpose. We operate responsibly to minimize environmental impact and maximize social benefits by by enabling affordable, sustainable and secure energy production for people and the planet. Our vision is to be a sustainable pioneer within the energy and industrial sectors, thus positioning Baker Hughes as the energy technology company of choice.

Sustainability strategy implementation

Baker Hughes’ sustainability strategy underpins our commercial strategy and serves as our roadmap to embed People, Planet and Principles into our business. Our sustainability programs focus on reducing risk and meeting business objectives, setting parameters that guide us as we align with stakeholder priorities. Our People, Planet and Principles focus, formalized in our publicly disclosed framework, is the playbook that empowers employees at all levels to drive sustainable change. With a “top-down” and “bottom-up” approach, fueled by shared purpose and Baker Hughes’ maturity in sustainability, our people are measurably driving the shift from aspiration to action—from promises to delivery. We are strengthening our skills, experience and desire to enable Baker Hughes and our customers to thrive in a low-carbon world.

Across our global workforce, we are driving a culture shift, embedding sustainable behaviors and spotlighting the opportunities born out of stakeholder priorities and emerging regulatory requirements.

Our people can intentionally activate change. Our strategy deployment efforts in 2023 focused on operationalizing 20+ working groups with defined cross-functional and business segment subject matter experts to provide leadership, governance, tools and resources to execute the 30 strategic outcomes outcomes on page 20. We established formalized training modules to ensure consistent process and progress.

Our communities of practice are designed to enable cross-company information sharing and support more effective collaboration to drive sustainable solutions. We continued to expand our existing communities of practice with significant growth in 2023 for our Carbon Out network, which focused on identifying and executing emission reduction projects across our locations globally. Read more about our Carbon Out program on p 18.

“To lead effective change, we must build a coalition, create consensus and facilitate dialogue and productive challenge.” 

– Baker Hughes Change Management Playbook

More than…

20+ working groups

30 strategic outcomes

Communities of practice

Also, in 2023, we formally launched our Sustainability Capabilities workstream. This project used company-specific insights and market-based research to identify roles and skills needed for our businesses to meet our goals and those of our customers. This effort drove enterprise alignment on supporting and adjacent capabilities, building a strong foundation for our organization to continue progressing and differentiating capabilities through our talent processes, operating models, communities and infrastructure.

We engaged employees through voluntary project teams to expand knowledge sharing and action initiatives. Our change management, communications and sustainability teams collaborated to conduct stakeholder analysis. These teams helped to implement strategic action planning and best practices. As a result, employee awareness increased and engagement grew.

In 2023, we formalized three new communities of practice:

Water Management and BiodiversityWaste, Circularity and Sustainable Supply ChainPolicy and Funding

All in. Carbon Out.

Our Carbon Out program is how we empower our employees to operate sustainably, with a continued focus to provide our customers with sustainable solutions. Through this program, our people actively participate in reducing our operational and value chain emissions. With sustainable practices and employee-driven solutions, we are able to drive carbon emissions down in our operations. This engagement program provides tools, a framework, funding and resources to engage Baker Hughes employees in systematically reducing operational emissions.

Business Need: Our global Carbon Out program is the way our Company takes carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2 e) of our operations. Every employee has a role to play in making us more sustainable. Becoming a sustainable energy technology company requires a transformation across many parts of the organization, including our culture. All employees, despite their roles, can learn how to work and live more sustainably.

Since its launch in 2021, Carbon Out has engaged and enabled employees and leaders across Baker Hughes with the knowledge, training and resources to systematically reduce our CO2 e emissions. Our employees are empowered to identify emissions reduction solutions and projects, which are then reviewed and approved to ensure timely, efficient and cost-effective implementation. We offer learning opportunities and resource groups. This ensures team members have the knowledge and skills to embed sustainable practices in their daily work.

Business Impact: As a global program with over 550 projects to be implemented or implementation commenced, our employees and Carbon Out leaders have demonstrated commitment to our net-zero goal by identifying and executing projects in 2022 and 2023. Employees can consult with their HSE representative, facility team, or Carbon Out leader to share their ideas.

In 2023, our Carbon Out program expanded in breadth and depth of impact with over 500 employees that are Carbon Out leaders across both business segments. These employees represent multiple corporate disciplines, such as HSE, supply chain, sourcing, real estate, f ield service engineers and finance. The goal of our champion network is to build and execute a pipeline of projects that enable us to achieve CO2 e emissions reduction throughout our operations and value chain.

Through Carbon Out, our employees were provided with educational materials on sustainability which equipped them with the right knowledge and skill set to identify qualifying projects. Participants of our core leadership training programs – ASPIRE, CULTIVATE and IMPACT – were engaged in the Carbon Out program to grow sustainability skill sets.

Over 500 employees are Carbon Out leaders. Carbon Out gives every person the pathway to identify key projects or initiatives, going All in as climate champions to take Carbon Out.

We have utilized crowdsourced ideas and employee-driven initiatives across the Company to help build a pipeline of new CO2 e emissions reduction projects for review, consideration and funding. Consistent engagement and awareness campaigns in the last year have increased our focus on sustainability in our operations and contributed to a mindset shift among our employees to adopt more sustainable practices in their day-to-day lives. We believe this transformation is foundational to being a sustainable business.

Energy conservation at United Arab Emirates (UAE) facilities

Training our employees in the processes of emission reduction is a huge part of our Carbon Out program. Our UAE HSE team and the real estate facilities team actively conducted Carbon Out training for UAE HSE and facility team members, empowering them to identify opportunities to eliminate energy waste.

One opportunity identified through this training was emissions reductions through minimization of compressed air leaks. A team in Dubai implemented a system to detect compressed air leaks and optimize compressors, reducing energy consumption. Knowledge and best practices have been shared across the region to further expand our energy reduction efforts.

View the full 2023 Corporate Sustainability Report.

While women are taking the business and entrepreneurial world by storm, they are still faced with inequalities and obstacles that their male counterparts are not. Here are four challenges women business owners are facing today — and ways to overcome them.

Challenges

1. Access to funding.

Women may own 42 percent of U.S. small businesses, but they continue to face challenges when it comes to obtaining funding. Even though the Women’s Business Ownership Act of 1988 affirmed equal access to capital, men are still 3 times more likely to get a business loan than women — and frequently, women receive smaller loans than men.

2. Equal sales.

On average, women-owned businesses make less money. According to Biz2Credit’s 2022 Women-Owned Business Study, women-owned businesses brought in an average annual revenue of $475,707, whereas men-owned businesses brought in an average annual revenue of $675,643. This, in part, may be due to the lack of outside funding obtained by women entrepreneurs to propel their businesses forward.

3. Equal respect as a CEO.

Women often face more scrutiny and less opportunity in the workplace than men —especially as a CEO. In addition to gender stereotypes still permeating everyday interactions, we see this directly in hiring practices, which provide women with less opportunities in leadership roles. For every 100 men promoted to manager positions, only 87 women — and 73 women of color — receive the same promotion. Consequently, managerial roles are more dominated by men, leaving fewer opportunities for women to eventually reach senior leadership positions.

When owning your own business, these unfortunate patterns can still impact daily operations, whether with employees or external partners.

4. Maintaining self-confidence.

When impacted by inequal opportunities, it can be hard to maintain self-confidence. Women have fewer CEO role models who look like them. Many workplace cultures have told them they don’t belong at the head of the table. This often leaves women business owners with fears of failure or inadequacy.

Solutions

1. Find a bank that prioritizes equality.

When looking for funding, women entrepreneurs can look to banks that prioritize specific solutions for minority and women owned businesses. This provides access not only to capital lending programs, but also Small Business Administration (SBA) programs and access to small business solutions from checking and savings accounts to credit cards and more.

2.Get certified.

When hoping to increase sales, it never hurts to become certified as a woman-owned business. Many corporations and government agencies specifically look to work with women-owned businesses — and becoming certified will widen your net and tell them you’re a viable option.

3. Show you know.

Commanding respect is often about demonstrating confidence and expertise. Show you know your industry. Show you know what you’re saying. And show you know you belong in the room as much as your male colleagues.

One great way to show you know your industry is to know how your brand fits into it. Do your research, know the industry landscape, hone your business’ identity, and determine how to speak to it. Remember, how you say it is how you sell it.

Confidence often powers success. Train yourself to eliminate uncertain phrases such as, “I think,” or apologetic preambles like, “Maybe this is just how I see it but…”. Believe that your ideas are valuable. Stand tall. And remember, if you can build a business, you can build self-confidence.

4. Network with allies.

Owning a business comes with a multitude of challenges that can erode confidence — it helps to have a support system. Find professional groups for women business owners for support and idea sharing. When you connect with others who can relate firsthand to your experiences, it builds self-assurance.

Pay it forward. Mentor young professional women to build a culture of confidence in your company. Instilling confidence in others often leads to self-confidence.

Ready to take the next step?

Find a trusted ally, like those at Webster, who will work with you hands-on to reach your goals — with a team who understands the complex lending needs of Minority and Women Owned Business Enterprises (MWBE)1, Webster can help with SBA-guaranteed loans and lines of credit in multiple forms and terms.

Connect with Webster Bank today.

The opinions and views herein are for informational purposes only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations. Please consult professional advisors with regard to your individual situation.

All credit products, pricing and overdraft protection are subject to the normal credit approval process. Some applications may require further consideration and/or supplemental information. Certain terms and conditions may apply

1Also referred to as Minority and Women Owned Businesses (MWOBs) and defined by the FDIC as companies which are at least 51% owned and controlled by one or more minorities or women.

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News like this has become so common that you may have missed a headline from the Associated Press on July 24: “Monday breaks the record for the hottest day ever on Earth.” As reported in one of our Top Stories below, the European climate service Copernicus said the global average surface air temperature on Monday, July 22 was the hottest day on Earth in Copernicus’ data dating back to 1940. Scientists attribute the warming trend to human actions, with the director of Copernicus, Carlo Buontempo, saying, “The climate is generally warming up as a consequence of the increase in greenhouse gases.”

Consumers are increasingly affected by extreme weather events and flooding from rising tides, and as a result want to take action to combat climate change. In another of our Top Stories, PwC’s 2024 Voice of the Consumer Survey found that “85% of consumers are experiencing first-hand the disruptive effects of climate change in their daily lives and are prioritizing consumption that integrates sustainability-focused practices.” In addition, the survey found that 80% of consumers say they are willing to pay a premium of 9.7% more on average for goods that meet specific environmental criteria.

While consumer action is helpful, climate experts say the actions of businesses are far more important in reducing carbon emissions to meet the ambitious targets set by the Paris Agreement in 2016 (45% reduction by 2030 from 2010 levels and net zero by 2050). At a webinar hosted recently by the University of Colorado Denver, discussed in another of our Top Stories, Robert Hobbins of the UC Denver Business School said, “Businesses must step up to the plate and lead the charge in sustainability, not just for the planet’s sake but for the sake of their future.”

The UC Denver webinar, “Empowering Businesses to Make the Climate Transition,” discussed sustainability strategies for businesses and also highlighted the vital role that government policies had on improving sustainability. Global businesses are facing increased pressure from new government regulations to mandate sustainability reporting and climate actions, including the European Union’s CSRD and proposed new mandates from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

A recent Forbes article by contributor Gary Drenik, another of our Top Stories, discusses the need for companies to provide accurate data on carbon emissions and product carbon footprints to drive sustainable business decisions and help consumers make more informed decisions. He quotes Tim Weiss, CEO and co-founder of carbon management software company Optera, as saying that companies need to focus more on Scope 3 emissions, the emissions generated by the entire value chain, which can account for 70% of a company’s total carbon footprint.

Drenik cites efforts by the retail industry to improve direct product-use emissions data, in which the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) partnered with Optera to create a database which combines information from suppliers and the EPA to provide standardized product emissions data. The data, which is currently at the product category level, is intended to help retailers take accountability for these emissions and provide consumers with more environmentally friendly choices.

With consumers pushing for more sustainable products, businesses will need to adapt to meet that demand, including by improving their sustainability reporting. G&A’s team continues to monitor trends in climate reporting including measuring Scope 3 emissions and is available to help guide companies on this important part of your sustainability journey.

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

As part of our commitment to Safe Water For All, Kohler teams from Saraburi and Bangkok, Thailand, helped to renovate bathrooms at the Wat Khon Hom primary school—providing a cleaner and more gracious experience for students and staff.

The teams also sponsored sports equipment, helped plant a vegetable garden for fresh produce at lunch, and spent time playing and teaching the students English.

Here’s to healthy and supportive learning environments for all children.

Originally published on Life At HARMAN

​​​​​​​​Tessa, a HARMAN Field Application Engineer (FAE), shares her captivating journey that​​​ intertwines the realms of music and automotive technological innovation.

​​​The Roadmap to Professional Success

Tessa’s journey began at the University of Michigan, where she graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Performing Arts Technology with a concentration in Engineering. This diverse academic background laid the foundation for a multidimensional approach to problem-solving.

After graduating, Tessa’s passion for sound and technology led her to HARMAN. With a focus on software-only projects, Tessa works in the solution management team, guiding automotive manufacturers in utilizing the software developed by HARMAN. This software plays a crucial role in building, organizing, tuning, and analyzing complex audio signal flows that are later integrated into the vehicle’s audio system.

Tessa is also occasionally involved in Engine Sound Synthesis projects and addressing the software capabilities in sound design for electric vehicles.

Surrounded by colleagues who share a passion for music and technology, the office transcends the traditional notion of a workplace.

“I appreciate a wor​​kplace that is full of musicians like me! As a social environment, it feels like I am surrounded by like-minded people,” said Tessa. “The office environment feels less like a workplace and more like a collaborative space where can I accomplish great things with a supportive team.”

For Tessa, it is not only a collaborative space where creativity is encouraged but also celebrated.

The Evolution of a Musician: A Symphony of Creativity

Beyond the corporate realm, Tessa is a skillful musician, performing under the artist name AUDIA. She has been crafting music since a young age, having often participated in extracurriculars such as the choir.

What sparked Tessa’s passion for music? A childhood filled with movie magic and an intrinsic fascination about the ability of music to enhance storytelling and create a link between all the elements of moviemaking.​​​​

In high school, the installation of her first Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) marked a pivotal moment. Experimenting with various styles, from synthpop to singer-songwriter pieces, and even orchestral compositions infused with electronic elements, Tessa eventually found her niche in the world of electronic music known as “bass music.” This genre, including sub-genres like dubstep, bass house, and midtempo bass, allowed Tessa to work with the storytelling aspect of orchestral arrangements including her vocals, and infuse them musically with the infinite and diverse possibilities of working with sound design.​

In 2023, Tessa performed at Movement Music Festival in Detroit and shared in an interview what it meant for her to make an appearance at a major festival. ​

Perf​​​ormin​g​ for Colleagues

A unique aspect of Tessa’s journey at HARMAN is the opportunity to showcase her musical prowess within the corporate setting. Participating in various HARMAN events, Tessa has performed live for colleagues – a rare and enriching experience in a professional environment.

“I really enjoy performing for my colleagues and having the opportunity to share my art and my music with the people I work with. It is rare to find a company like HARMAN that embraces its employees’ whole skillset and passion with this type of opportunity,” Tessa shared.

This fusion of work and art is indicative of HARMAN’s distinctive culture, one that actively encourages employees to bring their whole selves to the workplace. It’s a culture where individual talents are celebrated, and the diverse skills of each team member contribute to the vibrant tapestry of innovation.

Check out Tessa’s music under the artist name AUDIA available on Spotify, Soundcloud, and Apple Music.

Tessa’s story as an FAE at HARMAN is a testament to the transformative power of aligning one’s professional journey with their passions. It exemplifies the potential for innovation when creativity is not only embraced but integrated into the very fabric of the workplace. As the symphony of her career continues to unfold, it resonates with a harmonious blend of technology, artistry, and the collaborative spirit that defines HARMAN’s unique cultural landscape.

If you are looking for a place where engineering meets vision, innovation, and inspiration, HARMAN will feel like the place where you belong.

Every day, we make small decisions to lead more sustainable lives. These choices reflect a growing awareness of the impact humans have on the planet. Yet when it comes to banking, many overlook the influence our choice of financial institution can have on the environment and in our communities. Where we choose to save and invest our money can align with—or work against—our personal values. This is where Walden Mutual Bank comes in, offering an opportunity to make a more conscious and positive impact through everyday financial choices.

Walden Mutual Bank is driven by a mission to support the sustainable growth of local communities. The bank offers consumer savings accounts, grow local accounts, and CDs which fund loans for local sustainable food, farm, and community businesses across New England and New York, enabling customers to contribute to a healthier, more resilient regional economy.

We invited Charley Cummings, Founder and CEO of Walden Mutual Bank, to share his insights on building a reputable banking institution in a mutual structure and how it has successfully funded underrepresented borrowers—all while supporting a sustainable regional economy

Listen for insights on:

How traditional business can implement a mutual structureHow this funding approach enables businesses with distinct ecological priorities to secure specialized loansServing underrepresented businesses and borrowers

Listen to this and other episodes of Purpose 360 Podcast here.

Purpose 360 Podcast is a masterclass in unlocking the potential of purpose to ignite business and social impact. Hosted by Carol Cone, CEO of Carol Cone ON PURPOSE, Purpose 360 illuminates the impact of purpose, from engaging employees and fostering deeper consumer loyalty to inspiring product innovation and increasing market share.

Carol Cone ON PURPOSE (CCOP) is a pioneering social impact consultancy helping companies, brands, and nonprofits harness the power of purpose to advance their business and societal impact. CCOP’s proven approach, developed over decades and hundreds of purpose assignments, meets clients at any point on their purpose journey to unlock opportunities to build reputation, inspire and engage employees, ignite organizational culture for innovation and growth, while supporting the greater good.

Originally published on August 5, 2024 on LinkedIn

Sysco is proud to be a long-standing partner of the American Red Cross, donating nearly $2 million dollars since 2001 to aid their efforts. As disasters continue to increase in frequency and severity, individuals and families are depending on the Red Cross’s essential services even more.

We recently donated another $10,000 to help aid their efforts following Hurricane Beryl in Houston. Sysco’s purpose of “connecting the world to share food and care for one another” guides our actions and the organizations we support to make a positive impact in our community. Together, we’re continuing to make a difference by providing essential support to those in need.

About Sysco

Sysco is the global leader in selling, marketing and distributing food products to restaurants, healthcare and educational facilities, lodging establishments and other customers who prepare meals away from home. Its family of products also includes equipment and supplies for the foodservice and hospitality industries. With more than 74,000 colleagues, the company operates 334 distribution facilities worldwide and serves approximately 725,000 customer locations. For fiscal year 2023 that ended July 1, 2023, the company generated sales of more than $76 billion. Information about our Sustainability program, including Sysco’s 2022 Sustainability Report and 2022 Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Report, can be found at www.sysco.com.

For more information, visit www.sysco.com or connect with Sysco on Facebook at www.facebook.com/SyscoFoods. For important news and information regarding Sysco, visit the Investor Relations section of the company’s Internet home page at investors.sysco.com, which Sysco plans to use as a primary channel for publishing key information to its investors, some of which may contain material and previously non-public information. In addition, investors should continue to review our news releases and filings with the SEC. It is possible that the information we disclose through any of these channels of distribution could be deemed to be material information.

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