Tag: 3BL

MetLife Sustainability Report

Our Approach

MetLife’s commitment to building confident futures energizes colleagues and creates an environment in which everyone feels like they belong and can thrive. Our Employee Value Proposition (EVP), “All Together Possible,” is our promise to deliver on this commitment through comprehensive and inclusive benefits, services and experiences for our colleagues. All Together Possible is underpinned by three focus areas:

Guided By Empathy: At the heart of our culture lies a passion for people that guides us in everything we do and connects us to our customers.Winning Together: We believe that an inclusive culture where unique attributes, perspectives, voices and contributions are valued and respected—and where everyone has access to what they need to succeed—enables us to win together.Driven By Growth: We empower our colleagues to build a career, perform at their best and turn their ambitions into reality, all while focusing on our customers and growing our business.

MetLife’s 2023 U.S. Employee Benefit Trends Study (EBTS) found that employee care—an employer’s genuine demonstration of interest in their employees’ overall well-being, both at work and outside of work—increases several measures of employee health and productivity. Employers that care for their employees promote financial wellness and holistic health across the workforce, ultimately realizing better talent management outcomes and increased business performance.

Our EVP is demonstrated through employee care which aims to better connect our people to the suite of benefits, services and experiences that differentiate MetLife as an employer of choice.

Highlights

Certified Great Place to Work® in 11 markets.Women comprise 53% of our workforce.Surpassed 9,500 career development opportunities globally.Achieved record scores on culture, flexibility, well-being and learning opportunities in our annual employee survey.Launched Coaching@MetLife to democratize coaching, support career development and accelerate skill growth.97% of colleagues accessed MyLearning in 2023.

MetLife: A Certified Great Place to Work®

MetLife is proud to continue to be named among the best workplaces globally. In 2023, all 11 MetLife markets that participated in the Great Place to Work® certifications process were certified including:

Brazil;Chile;China;Colombia;Cyprus;India;Lebanon;Mexico;Romania;United States; andUruguay.

The certification process considers a company’s culture, innovation, diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives and trust between employees and the company, asking and surveying employees about their experience.

Additionally, MetLife was named to Fortune magazine’s 2023 list of the 100 Best Companies to Work For®.

Download the full MetLife 2023 Sustainability Report

The Port of Long Beach, California, is supporting an effort to reduce debris in the port with devices that collect trash from the surface of the water. Marathon Pipe Line installed two electric trash skimmers that continuously draw in water and trap debris.The skimmers are collecting roughly 500 pounds of trash every two weeks, and the port has agreed to handle disposal. 

The Port of Long Beach, California, is collaborating with a tenant on a 24/7 approach to collecting debris in the water. Marathon Pipe Line (MPL), a component of Marathon Petroleum’s midstream segment, MPLX, recently installed two electric trash skimmers at its dock in Terminal 2, and the port agreed to pick up the trash for disposal at a reduced cost.

“The skimmers are attached to the dock. They float and go up and down with the tide, using a system similar to a swimming pool skimmer to suck in trash,” said Marathon Petroleum Advanced Emergency Preparedness Professional Court Hemerick.

The skimmers have taken MPL’s trash collection efforts at the port to new heights. In the past, employee volunteers would conduct an annual trash cleanup around the dock in Terminal 2. Teams would spend hours manually gathering debris, accumulating as much as 500 pounds of trash during each year’s effort. The skimmers are now gathering more than 500 pounds every two weeks.

Each device has a 120-volt motor that allows for continuous operation, moving more than 300 gallons of water a minute. Floating debris is retained in a bin that is six-feet wide and four-feet deep.

“By helping to make the port cleaner, we know we are eliminating potential hazards for aquatic birds in particular. This illustrates our company’s commitment to environmental stewardship and making investments that help protect biodiversity.”

“The skimmers can each hold roughly 120 to 130 pounds of trash. Currently, employee volunteers from MPL engineering, maintenance and operations, as well as our emergency preparedness group, are helping manage this effort,” Hemerick said. “It takes one to two people to scoop out the trash into bags, using nets, and then dispose of the bags in a dumpster.”

The skimmers build on MPL’s existing sustainability initiatives in California, which include financial support for International Bird Rescue. This global conservation nonprofit has care centers in Los Angeles and San Francisco that help respond to wildlife emergencies, providing day-to-day care for aquatic birds that are injured, sick, abused or orphaned.

“Reducing debris in the water goes hand-in-hand with wildlife conservation,” said MPL Region Manager Tim Hayes. “By helping to make the port cleaner, we know we are eliminating potential hazards for aquatic birds in particular. This illustrates our company’s commitment to environmental stewardship and making investments that help protect biodiversity.”

This story first appeared on Baker Hughes’ Energy Forward Stories.

In August 2023, the Baker Hughes Foundation awarded a $100,000 grant to the University of Houston Energy Transition Institute (ETI) to support environmental justice research and workforce development programs. The grant has multiple beneficiaries, including undergraduates in the university’s Energy Scholars Program working on research around carbon management, hydrogen, and circular plastics. University of Houston’s (UH) Energy Scholars program enhances the professional development of students by having them work with research faculty and industry partners on projects focusing on energy matters.

We sat down with two students from the program, Mustafa Khan and Aaron Hinkle, to hear about their research project, Exploratory Analysis: Reducing Greenhouse Gases (GHGs) at the Port of Houston.

QUESTION

Could you please each tell us a little about yourselves?

MUSTAFA KHAN: 

I’m studying quantitative economics and have taken a diverse array of courses. I’ve had the pleasure of going pretty deep into the math and physics departments. Delving deeper into these multidisciplinary fields allows me to better understand the world around us today and to be a greater contributor to what we need to do to make tomorrow happen.

AARON HINKLE:

I am a sophomore honors mechanical engineer student specializing in robotics. In addition, I’m the president of the UH Robotics Club and I’m involved in the UH Energy Coalition.

QUESTION

What does the energy transition mean to you and how does that play into your everyday life?

KHAN:

When we think about the energy transition it’s ordinarily around the adoption of new technologies and more efficient ways to produce energy. However, when we get into the details, the transition is multidisciplinary. It’s about how we approach the environment, future work opportunities and public health.

As we think about what these new technologies look like, we’re spending a lot of time thinking about each individual element involved in the whole process. We need to consider how we maximize the efficiency, the technologies, the conversations, and the communications to make these projects happen. We’re connecting with our communities to understand people’s needs – what do they want, what do they like, what would they prefer to have compared to what they have right now?

What we’re looking at for the future is this massive collage of distinct specializations to approach new ways of handling everything that we do today, whether it’s water resource conservation and development or utilizing solar radiation to generate power. Whatever it might be, it all translates into things that we do every single day. It all translates to how we live our life, and to hone in on these technologies and methodologies that are conducive to the world we want to make. A world that is sustainable and allows people to live the way they want to live. It requires just an incredible amount of specialization to do this.

As we make that shift to decarbonize, we will see that it makes a major difference to people’s public health. The hope for me is that as we make progress, people will be able to work wherever they want in any city, along any coastline, and live a healthy life. You can come home to your family and smile – that’s what the energy transition means to me.

HINKLE:

The energy transition for me means a brighter future for my family and the next generations. What I really care about is making the world a better place for everyone.

QUESTION

Could you tell us about the research project you’ve been working on together?

KHAN:

Aaron and I have been collaborating on an incredibly interesting project that ties into the energy transition in terms of reducing emissions around operations at the Port of Houston. We’re in the early stages but we’ve made a ton of great progress and done a ton of great research. We’ve locked in on what are known as “yard hostlers,” which are fundamental to cargo operations at the port. Yard hostlers are miniature trucks that take freight from one location to the next within the port, and they’re diesel-powered. Because they’re used in all container translocation, they’re the second-largest emission generator for the port. We’re working on ways to identify pathways to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions and the viability of potential solutions.

HINKLE:

The Port of Houston Authority sent out a Request for Proposals (RFP) and Evolve Houston, a non-profit organization working to decarbonize transportation in the city, brought it to us at UH. They let us know that the port was looking for research into how it could reduce GHGs specifically around introducing yard hostlers using different fuel. UH works very closely with Evolve Houston and it seemed like a great project for us to work on. We’re looking at electric-battery, LNG-powered and hydrogen-fuel-cell powered yard hostlers. The next step is considering the infrastructure the port would need. For example, for LNG, you’d need LNG stored at the port and a way to get it there.

QUESTION

It’s early days but what have the challenges been so far in the project?

KHAN:

One of the bigger things that we’ve really been battling to understand is the operations component of it. Engines at different RPMs consume different levels of fuel and therefore a different output of emissions. We can gather that data easily, but we need to dive into the why – why are the yard hostlers idling or creeping, which is traveling at less than 4 mph? How can we make this more efficient? We’d like Aaron and I to get down there with our feet on the ground with stopwatches to gather more information, but understandably there are issues around getting non-Port Authority people access. But we intend to ensure that we do have quality data that we collect ourselves, to give us insights that we can then use to bolster our ideas.

HINKLE:

We can look at different fuel sources, existing technology, leasing programs and an implementation timeline. These are all things that are within our scope. What is exciting is that our entire research team is talking about developing our own type of technology to meet the port’s needs for the yard hostlers. The challenge is that the lead time of developing a new technology, testing it, getting the proper funding to build a prototype, would take this project timeline out to be years! We’re trying to figure out the most effective approach and how far we go.

QUESTION

How have you found communicating with the actual operators at the port?

KHAN: 

That has probably been the biggest hurdle to be honest. Operators don’t always want to change their ways or learn about a new technology which could be more efficient. We’re academics coming in with no experience in these operations trying to convince them to inform us about the decisions that they make when they’re operating in a typical shift. We would like to find out why they choose to stall versus accelerate or choose to lock themselves in slower traffic as opposed to taking a more efficient route. This is information we so far have not been able to gather.

QUESTION

Are your mentors from the University of Houston able to help?

HINKLE:

Our mentor Doug Erwing has been working with us to keep us on track and advocating for us, getting us meetings with Evolve Houston and trying to help us organize the boots on the ground research going. He’s been really helpful.

QUESTION

You talked about a multidisciplinary ecosystem needed to drive decarbonization.

How important do you think it is for companies from across different sectors, NGOs, and academics to collaborate to help drive the energy transition? Can they make a difference?

KHAN:

Giving the university the opportunity to collaborate across divisions and have these research opportunities for students to get engaged is great. It could be interesting to develop a survey course, which could be offered to specific majors, a college, or a whole-of-university initiative, where an interdisciplinary program would see the professors in constant collaboration with companies.

For example, they could work with specific divisions within Baker Hughes and the company could talk to the professor about what they’re finding in their work and where they want it to go. Then that survey course becomes a conversation around that, with projects that directly tie into the necessary skills students need when they get out there and start looking for jobs. That kind of collaboration could be incredibly valuable. There’s a big opportunity to build a pipeline of talent through collaboration of industry and universities – it’s about identifying the best way to do that.

HINKLE:

I agree. If universities can work with companies to help train students and build pathways for them to get into specific lines of work after graduating – for me, I’m really interested in robotics. So, anything my university can do to help connect me with prospective employers in this field, will also mean that in turn I can share my knowledge from my studies with them.

QUESTION

What are you most excited about for the future?

HINKLE:

I’m looking forward to learning new things and setting up connections where people can teach me new things. I want to learn as much as possible because I love learning. I want to continue learning forever.

KHAN:

University students are all gluttons for learning. What really excites me is that as we go out there and as we start contributing and making an impact, the constant flurry of new learning will not be like anything we’ve seen before.

We have these real problems that are going to take real effort to solve and once we do solve them, the innovations and the opportunities that will be created and the new doors that will open will be so incredible. That’s what I’m looking forward to.

For Priya Agrawal, health equity has been a lifelong concern and a guiding principle in the work she’s done across industries. 

As a young girl growing up in central London, Agrawal saw firsthand how inequities even within her own extended family could drastically impact health outcomes. 

“I watched my father’s side of the family — who lived in London — live with diabetes, but I watched my mother’s side of the family — who lived in North India — die of diabetes,” Agrawal said. “It took me a while to figure out that it was my father’s family’s access to the National Health Service that made the difference.” 

That early insight propelled Agrawal into a career as an obstetrician and gynecologist before moving into public health. She first joined Merck to help launch Merck for Mothers, a global initiative to help create a world where no woman has to die while giving life. From there, she went on to a variety of roles — from lead of the company’s vaccines and contraceptives business in the U.K. to managing director of South Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa to global head of HPV vaccines. She currently serves as vice president of health equity and partnerships. 

Agrawal’s work — and the passion that fuels it — continues, and she has no plans to stop. 

“My purpose in life is to advance health equity. I want to be able to say that I did all I could to ensure more people could both survive and thrive because they had easier access to health.” 

View original content here.

New Holland, a brand of CNH, has honored the work of women in forestry in Brazil by delivering 10 pink tractors.

The idea came from Empreiteira Costa Pinto, the company that bought the New Holland TL5.90 tractors, and the Ottoboni dealership in Mato Grosso do Sul.

The tractors were delivered to the contractor’s headquarters where employees hired to work in the forestry sector were waiting to catch a first glimpse of them.

“We lead the #ÉTEMPODEMULHER movement, not only as a way to support them, but also to strengthen female entrepreneurship and establish a position as a brand close to farmers, which speak to the whole society and seeks to bring solutions that help producers to increase productivity in a sustainable way”, says Eduardo Kerbauy, New Holland’s Vice President for Latin America.

Mikelly Fernanda Silveira Redero, one of the operators recently hired by Empreiteira Costa Pinto, says that she never imagined that one day she would operate a tractor in the forestry area, especially in pink. “Every woman has the ability, and the company gave us that opportunity. Today I feel very happy.”

According to Adilson Costa Pinto, owner of Empreiteira Costa Pinto, the company realized that it could invest more in female labor. For this reason, they decided to expand the range and encourage women to be operators. “We believed it would work. And it did. Today we have a differential within the company. And our operators helped us break this taboo,” he says.

For Renato Stevanato Ottoboni, partner-owner of Ottoboni, the pink tractors are a way to symbolize and spread the movement for women’s appreciation. “Wherever they go, these tractors attract attention, in addition to further stimulating the sector to bring women to the field,” she explains.

Created four years ago, New Holland’s #ÉTEMPODEMULHER movement has helped to give a voice to the female public by developing actions to encourage women’s participation. The objective is to stimulate and value the importance of women in the field with engagement actions, encouraging and recognizing diversity in agribusiness as an engine of innovation, especially because today women and young people are taking the lead in the field.

On June 6, 1944, D-Day, a vast and intricate logistics operation was executed, marking the beginning of the end of World War II. The Normandy campaign required the coordination and mobilization of an unprecedented invasion fleet comprising 4,300 vessels. These ships transported 130,000 troops and 20,000 vehicles across the English Channel, successfully breaching the Atlantic Wall and paving the way for Allied victory.

Drawing parallels between the extraordinary logistics of the Normandy campaign and our current operations, Leidos continues to support defence and other government customers across the UK, U.S., and Australian markets. Our commitment to excellence in digital transformation in logistics is demonstrated in our work on the Logistics Commodities & Services Transformation (LCST) Programme for the UK Ministry of Defence.  

The LCST Programme is critical in enhancing and improving the digital infrastructure of the UK’s defence supply chain. Our logistics expertise has recently supported defence operations into Europe as well as Afghanistan, Ukraine, Sudan, Mali, and Turkey, showcasing our capability to deliver under diverse and challenging conditions.

Just as the success of D-Day relied on meticulous planning and execution, our efforts today ensure that our defense partners can rely on us for critical support, enabling them to achieve their missions.

Learn more about our partnership and the critical role of logistics in both historical and modern-day military operations.

Nasdaq

Organizations are under increasing pressure to demonstrate ESG and sustainability excellence—and are investing in software to do so. Nasdaq surveyed 150 sustainability, finance, and legal executives to understand how organizations are using ESG and sustainability data management and reporting software.

THE OPPORTUNITY:

Invest in ESG and Sustainability Software

On average, respondents report a full ROI within 3 years of software implementation.

As software use cases increase and teams further leverage its capabilities to meet changing ESG and sustainability demands, this time to value is expected to shorten. Anticipating increased spend to support ESG and sustainability initiatives, organizations should:

Leverage software to prepare for forthcoming regulatory reporting requirementsEmploy software to improve cross-functional collaborationIntegrate software into risk mitigation strategiesUnderstand how software can help improve ESG and sustainability performance

THE TAKEAWAY:

Leverage Software to Ensure Success

Survey findings reveal how investment in software is helping improve organizational collaboration, mitigate risks, and meet ambitious ESG and sustainability goals. Key takeaways include:

86% Reporting & Communications

Respondents state software improved the quality of ESG and sustainability reporting and stakeholder communications

78% Progress Towards KPIs

Respondents note software improves their ability to manage progress towards ESG and sustainability KPIs

86% Data Collection & Validation

Respondents report software significantly boosts the efficiency of data collection and validation processes

74% Risk Mitigation

Respondents state software helps mitigate risks related to inaccurate ESG and sustainability data

68% Time Savings

Respondents experience at least 25%-time savings when validating and ensuring data accuracy, including internal audit processes

THE VALUE:

Users View Software as an Advantage

Over 60% of respondents state they experience at least 25%-time savings when using software to collect ESG and sustainability data and validate accuracy.

In addition to time savings, users indicate other software advantages across key areas like automation, engagement, and decision-making—all from a single platform.

The primary advantage is that it automates complicated procedures like data collection, calculations, and formatting, which is a really valuable way to save time and resources.

VP and Head of Legal Compliance, Food and Beverage Manufacturing, APAC

Software has enabled us to engage with our stakeholders, including investors, customers, employees, regulators, and communities, more effectively.

Finance Director, Pharmaceuticals and Life Sciences, North America

To our advantage, the most significant benefit is that all sustainability data is housed on a single platform, enhancing data consistency and accessibility between departments.

Finance Director, Pharmaceuticals and Lifesciences, Europe

The Solution: Discover Nasdaq Metrio™

Investment in ESG and sustainability data management and reporting software, like Nasdaq Metrio, is helping organizations improve collaboration, mitigate risks, and meet ambitious ESG and sustainability goals.

Discover Nasdaq Metrio

Download the full report to learn more about how organizations are using software to demonstrate ESG and sustainability excellence.

Migration throughout Central America has soared in the last five years. The most recent data shows that over 25 million migrants made the journey to North America as of 2020. Men, women, and children flee violence from drug cartels and gangs; worsening economic inequalities; gender-based violence; government instability; and natural disasters. They leave with all that they can carry — and the hope of starting a new life elsewhere.

Most of these families are forced to make harrowing decisions: begin a perilous journey in search of safety or remain and face unimaginable challenges. They risk illness, hunger, and death as they hike through muddy rainforests and remote villages hoping to find a secure place to rest. Families arrive with what very little remains of their old life — usually the clothes on their back and each other. When they finally find a place to pause, they are traumatized and in urgent need of humanitarian support. Few countries are equipped to handle the influx.

Most migrants are looking for a better, safer future for their children. Across Central America, more and more are embarking on long expeditions across country lines. Many cross through the Darién Gap, one of the world’s most dangerous migrant routes. Last year, a record number 520,000 migrants traversed this treacherous jungle, more than double the number reported in 2022. The surge is partly fueled by climate disasters: global warming, coupled with El Nino (a recurring phenomenon of high sea temperatures), led to floods and droughts across the region. Now, the cooling La Nina is set to begin in mid-2024, driving a higher-than-average hurricane season.

Other countries in Latin America are similarly breaking migration records. In Honduras, for instance, there are 30 times more migrants crossing the country irregularly than three years ago. Over 133,000 people arrived in only the first quarter of 2024, 120% more than the same period the year prior.

The people making this long and dangerous journey come from more than 100 different countries, such as Venezuela, Cuba, Haiti, Ecuador, Colombia, and even, although in smaller numbers, from Guinea Conakry, Senegal, Uzbekistan, India, and China. Although their journeys vary, most are united by the same dream: to live in a home free from hunger.

Our teams greeted four migrants who stopped in Honduras on their journey north. Here are their stories.

Angel José

The city of Danlí, in the eastern part of Honduras, lies close to the Nicaragua border. In recent years, it has become the epicenter of migration for people en route to North America. Depending on the time of the year, between hundreds to thousands of people cross there every day. Angel José was one of these migrants.

Angel arrived with his wife and two children at a health point run in part by Action Against Hunger. They were exhausted, hungry, and ill. They had just passed through the Darién Gap, one of the deadliest migrant routes in the world. Child migration has increased 40% there so far this year.

During their journey, Angel’s baby boy resorted to drinking contaminated river water. The water source is especially unsanitary — many people die on the route and their bodies are later found in the river.

“As soon as we left the jungle, the baby began to have serious diarrhea, and everything he ate he vomited,” said Angel. Despite rushing him to a hospital in Panama, the baby only recovered for a short period.

“When we arrived in Nicaragua the baby got sick again,” he said. “Twenty days ago, when we left, my baby weighed almost ten kilos (22 pounds). My baby now weighs only 7 kilos (15 pounds).”

Angel met Action Against Hunger teams in Nicaragua. When he continued traveling North, he looked for our teams again so they could check in on his baby. Now, Angel must remain in Honduras until the baby recovers. “As long as my baby is like this, I’m not going anywhere. My child’s life comes before the journey,” he said. “I don’t want to lose my baby during the course of the trip or have something worse happen to him. At least I thank God that I am here, close to a hospital, close to an organization that can give us support and help as migrants.”

Edgar Alexander

Edgar Alexander, 43, left Venezuela to make the long trek towards Guatemala. The journey was extremely difficult — especially since Edgar has a physical disability. In Danlí, Honduras, Action Against Hunger teams told him where he could find a temporary shelter to rest.

“I came with a group of Venezuelans who supported me, they were carrying me because I came with a crutch,” he said. “Thank God they put up with me, they waited for me, they were with me all the time, they kept up with me at my pace because of my disability.”

Traveling through the Darién Jungle was demanding, and Edgar tried to make do with a rubber boot and a sock. “I made myself a kind of prosthesis. I strapped it on with straps,” he said. “I made a lot of progress in the jungle thanks to this, but suddenly I felt a burning sensation under my foot. When I took off the boot, everything was peeled off, the leg, all skinless, with pus… I thought I was going to die there.”

Edgar has dreams of a better future: “I want to get a real prosthesis, I want to work, I want to fight for my family, for my children, my mother, my grandchildren.”

Emmy Patricia

When Emmy Patricia stopped at the Temporary Resting Center in Trojes, Honduras, she had already endured a deadly trek through the Darién Gap. Emmy began her journey in Venezuela and remembers horrible climbs through the muddy jungle.

“It rained; we couldn’t camp because we had no money,” she said. “The jungle is not for everyone. There are caimans, crocodiles, snakes, pumas… there are all sorts of things.”

She remembers seeing people die during the trek. One night, a pregnant woman camped outside because she didn’t have a tent; she was attacked by a puma.

“Another lady fell because there are many large slippery stones to walk on,” said Emmy. “The lady was walking around, wading through the river because it is very deep. She fell and broke both her knees; she couldn’t move forward. She was carrying her two little children and gave them to another woman because she couldn’t go on.”

Eddy

Eddy was once a teacher in Cuba. He is now trekking north and stopped momentarily at the Temporary Resting Center in Trojes, Honduras with his wife and baby.

He said that his family was welcomed and given urgent support. “When they opened, we went in, and they gave us toiletries, food, and protection.”

Eddy tries every day to prove himself to others he meets along the way — whether they are Mexicans, Hondurans, Nicaraguans, or Cubans like him. Along his route, he’s interacted with people from all different backgrounds and ethnicities.

“We are humble people, we have a heart, and we have the right to survive and to love each other,” he said. “We are one America. We are human beings, we laugh the same, our tears are the same, we have dreams.”

About Action Against Hunger in Central America

Action Against Hunger has been working in Honduras since 2020, Guatemala since 1998, and Nicaragua since 1996. In 2023, Action Against Hunger launched a lifesaving program in the Darién Gap to support the most vulnerable migrants. There, our mobile teams provide maternal and child healthcare through expert medical and nutrition staff.

At The Temporary Rest Center in Trojes and the health point in Danlí, Honduras, we greet migrants like Eddy, Emmy, Edgar, and Angel. We treat children and adults for malnutrition; we provide families with safe water and shelter; we distribute hygiene kits; we build sanitation facilities; and we coordinate multipurpose cash transfers.

Elsewhere in Latin America, our teams strengthen food security and provide assistance to thousands of people, especially women. We equip small-scale farmers with climate-smart agriculture techniques, connect them with local markets, and teach them how to save and earn more money.

To respond to urgent humanitarian needs, we work in partnership with UNICEF and other local and international NGOs, including the LIFE-Honduras Consortium and the Nutritional Attention to Vulnerable Population in Mobility Project in Guatemala.

About Action Against Hunger

Action Against Hunger leads the global movement to end hunger. We innovate solutions, advocate for change, and reach 28 million people every year with proven hunger prevention and treatment programs. As a nonprofit that works across 55 countries, our 8,900 dedicated staff members partner with communities to address the root causes of hunger, including climate change, conflict, inequity, and emergencies. We strive to create a world free from hunger, for everyone, for good.

**

By Kenneal Patterson and Ana Mora Segura

Photos by Gonzalo Höhr

ATLANTA, July 16, 2024 /3BL/ – Points of Light, a nonpartisan, global nonprofit organization that inspires, equips and mobilizes millions of people to act that changes the world, today released The Civic 50 2024 Honoree Insights and Benchmarking Report. The Civic 50, now in its twelfth year, recognizes the 50 most community-minded companies in the United States with annual revenues of at least $1 billion, providing a road map for good corporate citizenship while showcasing how companies are moving social impact, civic engagement and community to the center of their business.

Download The Civic 50 2024 for full insights and benchmarking data.

The Civic 50 2024 honorees demonstrate a deep commitment to community engagement, employee volunteerism and CSR best practices, and share similar practices that move the needle in these areas. Amongst other key findings, they:

Engage 40% of employees, on average, in external volunteering, twice the 20% average for US companies.Contribute more than five times the cash and in-kind donations to charitable causes compared to the average US company, as a percentage of revenue (0.69% versus 0.12%).¹Establish departmental goals related to community engagement (84%).Frequently offer paid time off to volunteer to employees (84%), significantly higher than the percentage of companies with similar programs for domestic employees (65%).²

([1], [2] US data from Giving in Numbers, 2023 by CECP.).

The Civic 50 survey is administered by True Impact, and the results are analyzed by VeraWorks. The survey instrument consists of quantitative and multiple-choice questions that inform the scoring process. The Civic 50 is the only survey and ranking system that exclusively measures corporate community engagement. To learn more about The Civic 50, visit pointsoflight.org/civic50survey or email civic50@pointsoflight.org. 

About Points of Light

Points of Light is a nonpartisan, global nonprofit organization that inspires, equips and mobilizes millions of people to take action that changes the world. Through our work with nonprofits, companies, and social impact leaders, we galvanize volunteers to meet critical needs. As the world’s largest organization dedicated to increasing volunteer service, we engage nearly 4 million volunteers across 38 countries to create healthy, equitable communities where all can thrive. For more information, visit pointsoflight.org.

STAMFORD, Conn., July 16, 2024 /3BL/ – Henkel, a leading manufacturer of well-known consumer and industrial brands such as Dial® soap, Schwarzkopf® hair care, all® laundry detergent, and Loctite®, Technomelt®, and Bonderite® adhesives, sealants, and functional coatings, has been recognized as a top-scoring business on the Disability Equality Index®, a joint initiative of Disability:IN and The American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD), with a score of 90.

The Disability Equality Index, established in 2015, is the world’s most comprehensive benchmarking tool for Fortune 1000 scope companies to measure disability workplace inclusion within their organization and assess comparative performance across industry sectors. Henkel’s score of 90 on the 2024 ranking takes into account criteria such as Culture & Leadership, Enterprise-Wide Access, Community Engagement, Supplier Diversity, Responsible Procurement, and Employment Practices including benefits, recruitment, employment, education, retention, advancement, and accommodation.

Henkel is proud to exhibit forward-thinking disability inclusion practices. Globally, people with disabilities represent 1.3 billion individuals, crossing lines of age, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, race, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, and other unique identities that our employees embody. With disability, as with all other identities, Henkel believes it is important to acknowledge our differences and embrace our individuality in order to compel remarkable outcomes for employees and the entire organization.

Henkel’s programs and accommodations for those with disabilities were a strong factor in this recognition, including accessibility of our internal communications and social media feeds to people with disabilities, and the introduction of the AVID (Awareness of Visible and Invisible Disabilities) Employee Resource Group, with a mission to create a space that celebrates persons with disabilities and their unique identities by providing community, information, support, and resources.

“At Henkel, we strive to foster a culture of belonging where diverse voices and perspectives are heard, understood, and valued,” said Robert McNamee, Chief Legal Officer, Henkel North America and the Executive Sponsor of the AVID Employee Resource Group. “We are proud of the programs and procedures at Henkel that have led to this distinction, and are committed to raising awareness about disability and reducing the stigma associated with it. Many people are living with a disability or know someone who is, and continuing to seek new and innovative ways to enhance the employee, customer, and consumer experience through accessibility and support for the disability community is just one way we can continue building a more inclusive workplace and world.

“On the 10th anniversary of the Disability Equality Index, we’re extremely proud of the 542 national and international companies that are taking a proactive role in leading progress towards disability inclusion, setting a benchmark for others to follow. Their dedication to fostering inclusive workplaces not only attracts top talent but also drives innovation and creates sustainable performance in today’s global market. Together, we are creating a future where everyone can contribute and thrive,” said Jill Houghton, President and CEO of Disability:IN.