Tag: 3BL

By Mel Campbell 

For most people, making a deposit at an ATM or using a debit card to purchase something is almost second nature.

But that isn’t the case for everyone.

Particularly for those individuals who are neurodivergent and/or on the autism spectrum, sometimes the most seemingly simple of activities, including those associated with banking, can create challenges and anxiety.

Now, there’s help – with MagnusCards® available from Regions Bank. It’s a solution that provides easy-to-follow, step-by-step audio and visual guidance for everyday banking needs. It’s a proven product with an inspiring origin.

Founder and CEO of Magnusmode Nadia Hamilton knows first-hand the struggles of navigating a world not designed with the needs of neurodivergent brains in mind. She started with hand-drawn guides to help her autistic brother. That dedication has now blossomed into a company with solutions to remove barriers to inclusion in home, work and a variety of spaces of life.

Getting Started

Regions currently offers MagnusCards, which are available for download on IOS and Android devices, for five different banking activities:

Using a debit cardOpening a checking accountDepositing a check at a Regions ATMWithdrawing funds from a Regions ATMUsing Regions Online Banking services

Information on the cards is available from the Accessibility section of regions.com. The card decks are accessible from the Magnusmode app (available from the Apple store and Google Play). Once you have downloaded the app, you will need to create an account, then select the Money Management icon, and select the Regions logo.

“By becoming an Inclusion Partner with Magnusmode and working with its autism education specialists to develop our MagnusCards, we’re now better positioned to serve our customers with neurodiverse abilities and enable them to manage their banking needs with more confidence,” said Kathy Lovell, disability outreach and services manager for Regions.

Help for Those They Serve, Those They Love

When it comes to providing services to people, whether from a teacher, support worker, or others, having effective tools to help is crucial.

And for the people you love, it might seem simplistic to say that it also becomes personal. For several Regions associates, the rollout of Regions MagnusCards is more than just something useful for someone in the community; it’s something they know can be helpful … because they live it.

“My son is autistic and having something like this is amazing,” said Andrea Latham, Relationship Banker at the Cool Springs East Branch in Franklin, Tenn. “This is a life-changing product.”

With the help of various resources, our family has watched Alvin overcome the challenges of autism to become a state-champion athlete, perform at Carnegie Hall, and prepare to soon graduate with a bachelor’s degree in mathematics. His next hurdles include beginning a career and gaining financial confidence to live and thrive on his own. It’s comforting to know he can now have a tool like MagnusCards in his quiver to help him reach his greatest potential.

Veleka Finch, Regions Corporate Communications

Learn more about Regions accessibility accommodations for neurodivergent and autistic individuals including available sensory packs and quiet spaces in branches.

Hershey

By Leigh Horner, Chief Sustainability Officer

Key Takeaways:

ESG (environmental, social, and governance) initiatives matter to our stakeholders because they are business imperativesBuilding a more resilient cocoa supply chain remains Hershey’s top sustainability priorityHershey is refreshing its sustainability strategy in 2024 as we plan how to drive our business forward and create the next phase of impact across our material issues

ESG means different things to different people. But one thing I find to be true regardless of how you interpret that acronym is that when I talk to colleagues, consumers, customers and partners about the work we are doing, it matters.

It matters that farms have healthy soil and tree cover because our products rely on ingredients that are grown around the world, and our supply chains are dependent on the balance of those ecosystems. It matters that we are operating our facilities efficiently, reducing our energy emissions, water footprint and material waste. It matters that the people who work for and with us are treated with respect and integrity. These are business imperatives, and they’re what our consumers expect from us.

When you are in the business of making more moments of goodness, you also want those moments to feel good. In our 2023 ESG Report, we share what we’ve accomplished over the last year to make our business more resilient and sustainable and the challenges that we’ve encountered along the way.

Creating a more resilient supply chain

Cocoa continues to be our highest priority as it is central to our iconic chocolate brands. Unprecedented pricing volatility and underlying systemic issues affecting the cocoa ecosystem underscore that a resilient supply chain is critical to our business and those that work within it. Through our Cocoa For Good strategy, we are working to create a supply chain where farmers, and their children and families, can prosper. Over the last year, we laid the groundwork for a new approach to building long-term partnerships with farmers where they can professionalize and thrive. As of December 2023, we have invested 51% of our $500 million commitment.

In 2023, we launched the Hershey Income Accelerator Program which aims to improve farmers’ livelihoods and reduce poverty in cocoa-growing communities. In its first year, we reached 1,850 farmers and paid our first wave of cash transfers to farming households. And we continue ambitious initiatives to build schools in rural farming communities in Côte d’Ivoire.

Progress on our key priorities

We continued progress in reducing Hershey’s emissions with a keen business focus on our owned emissions. We also expanded efforts to reduce emissions in our value chain while advancing nature-based projects to combat climate change. We set water usage reduction targets for priority sites where water is most scarce. Our run of success in reducing packaging waste sent to landfills continued in 2023, as we phased out more than 1.7 million pounds of material by eliminating, redesigning and reducing packaging.

We continue to operate with high integrity and build an inclusive workforce. We are proud of recognitions like being certified as a Great Place to Work® in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Brazil, India and Malaysia, named as one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies by Ethisphere, and most recently taking the #1 spot on Fair360’s top companies for diversity in 2024.

Meeting the moments ahead

In 2024, we are refreshing our sustainability strategy in anticipation of several of our commitments maturing in the next year. We will continue to implement our Cocoa For Good strategy, building longer-term relationships with cocoa farmers, families and communities. This, in turn, helps give us a deeper understanding of how to build a more economically resilient supply chain. We are scaling our work to meet our emissions targets and updating our sustainable packaging strategy to reduce materials and improve circularity.

It’s an exciting time to be at Hershey as our business grows and we continue on our journey to become a Leading Snacking Powerhouse. As we transform our business and the world changes around us, the work detailed in our ESG Report has never mattered more to our business and consumers. We’re proud of the way we do business. It’s Goodness in Action.

Originally published in FedEx’s 2023 FedEx Cares Report

New ideas for smart and sustainable mobility

In 2022, FedEx supported the EIT Climate-KIC Sustainable Cities Climate Impact Challenge to launch climate-friendly transportation projects in European cities. In 2023, four cities began implementing sustainable mobility solutions aiming to transform urban living and work. Explore the winning cities’ projects below.

Olot, Spain: As biking becomes an increasingly popular form of mobility, Olot wants to encourage more residents to trade four wheels for two. The winning project is building a network of enclosed, secure bike parking locations where cyclists can park safely for several hours without worry about theft. Learn More

Karasu, Turkey: A popular summer destination, Karasu faces increased congestion with seasonal visitors. The winning green mobility project aims to connect coastal bike paths to the city center, creating safer spaces for walkers, cyclists, and scooter-riders through dedicated bike lanes and infrastructure improvements. Learn More

Hackney, UK: Hackney is a densely populated and culturally diverse part of London, facing high levels of inequality and air pollution. The winning project awarded 14 small businesses with a grant to purchase a cargo bike to make deliveries, carry out client visits, and grow their enterprises. Learn More

Espoo, Finland: This city of over 305,000 residents blends urban life with nature, making it ideal for cycling. Yet, immigrants here face barriers to this mode of transport. The winning green mobility project promotes social inclusion and gender equality by offering free workshops that teach cycling skills and give participants increased freedom and mobility. Learn More

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Forests are rapidly disappearing around the world, with deforestation and forest degradation currently posing the biggest threats to the world’s woodlands. In a bid to halt this devastating situation, the EU is in the process of implementing the EU Regulation on Deforestation-free (EUDR) products.

The Burning Platform

Around 10% of the world’s forests – an area larger than the European Union – have been lost over the past 30 years due to deforestation and another approximately 10% of forests globally are severely fragmented with little or no connectivity. While this is not a new phenomenon, the current scale and pace of destruction is alarming, causing significant social, economic, and environmental impacts, locally and globally.

Deforestation is one of the main drivers of climate change and biodiversity loss, and countries across the EU contribute to it by demanding and consuming a significant share of products associated with deforestation. In an effort to take accountability for this, the EU is determined to help end the issues by protecting and improving the health of existing forests, especially primary forests, while significantly increasing sustainable, biodiverse forest coverage worldwide. To achieve this goal, the EU has developed the Regulation on Deforestation-free products, scheduled to go into effect in December 2024.

To improve the health of existing forests and significantly increase sustainable, biodiverse forest coverage worldwide, the EUDR spans five main priorities:

Reduce the footprint of EU consumption and encourage consumption of products from deforestation-free supply chainsWork in partnership with producer countries to reduce pressures on forestsStrengthen international cooperation to halt deforestation and encourage forest restorationRedirect finance to support more sustainable land-use practicesSupport availability and access to information on forests and commodity supply chains and support research and innovation

What’s at Stake

A number of industries and market segments are impacted by this new regulation, including consumer products, chemicals, pharma, agriculture, energy, retail, automotive, and mill and forestry industries covering paper, lumber, and wood. The regulation impacts seven commodities, which primarily consist of agricultural or raw materials, including cocoa, coffee, soy, wood, palm oil, rubber, and cattle, that are directly linked to deforestation and forest degradation. It also impacts derivatives, which are the products made using these commodities, such as chocolate from cocoa, furniture from wood, or fresh chicken meat made by feeding soya-based feed to poultry.

Companies such as manufacturers and exporters of these commodities and their derivatives are the ones most impacted by the regulation. Large companies in these categories must adhere to the regulation by December 2024, while small or mid-sized ones have until June 2025 to comply. To be approved for use in the EU, products must be covered by a due diligence statement (DDS) per delivery linked to a traceability system with evidence of chain-of-custody from the source of origin demonstrating that the product is deforestation-free and produced in accordance with relevant legislations.

Main Impact on Operators

The legislation has two broad ramifications:

Companies must carry out supplier risk assessments to ensure their suppliers of these seven commodities meet requirements, have mapped the land areas (shape files) of sourcing, and that their production does not violate local laws and regulations. If necessary, they must implement remedial action plans.Companies must do day-to-day DDS reporting per delivery to the EUDR portal, including the geolocation shape file of all plots of land where the relevant commodities or their derivates were produced, which requires supply chain traceability.

Responding to these impacts is an onerous task and for a typical large EU operator could involve hundreds of thousands of due diligence statements being created and sent to the EU annually. Due diligence statements must be kept for five years and must be auditable, making these tasks ripe for automation.

How to Get Started

Non-conformance to the EUDR may lead to fines, lack of market access, reputational risk, and other repercussions. Companies need an inexpensive, efficient solution to help meet their immediate reporting requirements, and SAP Green Token sustainability tracking software is being upgraded to fit the bill.

The out-of-the-box SAP Green Token solution currently includes DDS reporting capabilities and can cover the majority of technical requirements for customers. It can share information for commingled commodities in segregated supply chains with downstream partners and generate declarations.

SAP Green Token is being developed to help support automated EUDR DDS reporting and meet the audit history requirements. Also in the works is integration with data providers for standardized location information and integration with the EUDR reporting platform, called TRACES, for importing operators. Further expansions will enable a connection to SAP‘s sustainability business networks and end-to-end user experience scenarios.

Are You Equipped to Deal with the Upcoming Changes?

There is no better time than the present to prepare for the new regulatory landscape that is scheduled to take effect by the end of the year.

Companies can begin preparations by collaborating with suppliers to initiate the due diligence process, which includes three steps. It begins with collecting relevant data on types of products that are impacted and ensuring that they are being produced in accordance with regulations. If not, remedial steps can be taken in collaboration with partners and suppliers.

Next, companies must conduct risk assessments that address country-specific issues that can range from human right violations to tracing product origins. Again, remedial steps can be initiated collaboratively. And finally, the right technology is key to achieving compliance.

SAP Green Token can provide companies with the capability to track commingled materials in products using digital twins, segregated accounting, and blockchain technology to help prove sustainability. Not only can SAP Green Token help tackle this new regulation, but it can help demonstrate progress towards environmental, social, and governance (ESG) commitments in general and create a streamlined, transparent process for tracking and tracing materials to help drive a more sustainable, circular approach to business – one that benefits people and our planet while still driving profit.

Gloria Figaroa is part of Product Marketing for SAP Green Token at SAP.

Originally published by Pepco

Pepco recently sponsored more than 100 students from Hendley Elementary School to attend Weather Day at Nationals Park. The event presented by NBC-4 and Telemundo-44 meteorologists teaches kids about the weather and safety!

With summer storm season here, Pepco reminds kids “to be prepared and not scared”! The Weather Day event at Nationals Park helped to explain how kids can prepare safely and fun for severe weather.

Nearly 500 summer interns, representing 166 colleges and universities, recently kicked off a 10-week Summer Internship Program at PNC with a two-day summit at the Pittsburgh Playhouse in downtown Pittsburgh.

While acquiring knowledge about PNC and the financial industry, students also received lessons in volunteerism by building trikes and wagons for pre-K children. The build was in support of PNC Grow Up Great, the company’s signature philanthropic program now celebrating its 20th year. PNC Grow Up Great is a $500 million, bilingual early childhood education program that helps to prepare children for success in school and life. The company provides eligible employees with up to 40 hours of paid time to volunteer with approved organizations each year.

“Working in teams to build trikes and wagons was a great way for the interns to begin getting to know one another,” said Madison Tonarelli, PNC campus recruiting manager. “It also gave them the opportunity to immerse themselves in PNC’s culture of volunteerism and giving back to the community.”​​

Tonarelli said the intern class spans 52 PNC markets, the most of any intern cohort ever at PNC. Select markets will have one or more “Neighborhood Champions” to serve as an in-market resource for interns, facilitating engagement activities and helping interns make connections and learn more about career opportunities at PNC.

Originally published on Built From Scratch

The Home Depot Foundation is investing $9 million to provide housing solutions for over 3,400 veterans battling homelessness. This funding will support the construction of more than 300 new housing units and the repair of nearly 200 additional units, bringing much-needed stability and comfort to veterans across the nation.

Over the past decade, the number of homeless veterans has decreased by 55%, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. However, last year, that number began to rise again, with an average of 35,000 veterans experiencing homelessness on any given night. The Home Depot Foundation’s grants will play a pivotal role in countering this challenge by creating new housing units through collaborations with national nonprofit partners including Volunteers of America, Housing Assistance Council and Tunnel to Towers, as well as local nonprofits in Georgia, Ohio and Massachusetts.

“We are deeply committed to ensuring that our nation’s heroes have a safe and comfortable place to call home,” said Erin Izen, executive director of The Home Depot Foundation. “Our investment is not just about building structures; it’s about building hope and providing the security that every veteran deserves.”

In partnership with other nonprofits like Community Solutions, these grants will also facilitate the process of finding and securing existing housing for an additional 3,000 homeless veterans. An integral part of this initiative includes funding for landlord incentive programs, which are crucial in overcoming the barriers faced by at-risk and homeless veterans in finding sustainable housing.

Over the past year, the Foundation’s pilot landlord incentive programs with U.S. VETS and Volunteers of America have seen promising success in Los Angeles, Honolulu and Chicago. In April, the Foundation launched the LOVE (Landlord, Organizations, and Veterans Engagement) Fund in Atlanta, a dedicated resource aimed at assisting veterans who are housing insecure or transitioning from homelessness.

Under the direction of the National Coalition of Homeless Veterans and Open Doors Atlanta, this fund empowers local nonprofits to work directly with landlords, addressing challenges such as poor credit history or past evictions that often prevent veterans from obtaining housing.

“We are honored to partner with The Home Depot Foundation in this transformative endeavor,” said Matt Hurd, executive director of Open Doors Atlanta. “Their unwavering support and generous funding are instrumental in our mission to ensure every veteran and individual in the city of Atlanta has a place to call home.”

Beyond immediate housing solutions, the Foundation’s funding will also support essential research, studies and training on aging, rural, low-income and disabled veterans, as well as housing trends and specific housing needs through the Housing Assistance Council.

Keep up with all the latest Home Depot news! Subscribe to our bi-weekly news update and get the top Built from Scratch stories delivered straight to your inbox.

By Matthew Borst, CONTRIBUTOR

Change may be a constant in any industry, but the grid and energy industries are experiencing a revolutionary change they have never seen. The grid and energy industries are in the midst of a significant transformation, referred to as grid modernization, driven by the integration of cutting-edge technologies like telecommunications, distributed energy resources, battery storage, solar power, and the ever-present concern of cybersecurity. This fundamental shift presents both challenges and opportunities that will reshape how the world generates, distributes, and consumes electricity.

History of grid modernization

The traditional process that the grid and energy industries have utilized goes back to the late 19th century with the establishment of the first industrial power plants. In the early 20th century, the grid rapidly expanded, but with a focus on centralized power generation using fossil fuels and long-distance transmission lines. The power sources for energy expanded throughout the 20th century to include nuclear, hydroelectric, and some renewables, but the grid and energy industries continued to be separate, isolated entities until the 21st century.

The push for grid modernization came as concerns rose about aging infrastructure, increasing blackouts, and rising environmental impact. In 2003, the United States Department of Energy created dedicated offices to address grid reliability and security. The past two decades have seen a dramatic rise of renewable energy sources like wind and solar and pushes for grid upgrades to handle fluctuating power generation. Grid modernization strives to tackle these problems to ensure a better system moving forward.

Key aspects of grid modernization

Grid modernization is focused on transforming the current electricity delivery system to meet the demands of the 21st century and beyond. Key aspects of this transformation include:

Integration of renewables: A core focus is on smoothly bringing renewable energy sources like solar and wind into the power generation mix. This often requires upgrades to handle the variable nature of these power sources.Smart grid technologies: The Smart Grid concept involves using digital technology to monitor, control, and optimize the flow of electricity. This includes smart meters for consumers and advanced grid management systems for utilities.Infrastructure improvements: Aging grid systems need upgrades to improve reliability and efficiency. This can involve replacing outdated equipment, strengthening transmission lines, and investing in new technologies for power distribution.Consumer management: Modernization aims to give consumers more control over their energy use. This might involve tools for monitoring consumption, participating in demand-response programs, and even generating their own power.Resilience and security: The grid needs to be more resistant to outages caused by weather events, cyberattacks, and other threats. This involves building redundancy and implementing advanced security measures.

Overall, grid modernization is a complex undertaking with far-reaching impacts. The goal of this process is to pave the way for a more reliable, efficient, secure, and environmentally sound electricity system for the future.

Challenges of grid modernization

Grid modernization is a necessary step towards a more sustainable and efficient energy future, but it is not without its hurdles to overcome. Some of the challenges that come with this transformation include:

Cost: Upgrading the power grid requires significant investment in new technologies, infrastructure, and cybersecurity measures. Utilities need to find ways to finance these improvements while keeping electricity affordable for consumers.Variability of renewables: Renewable energy sources like solar and wind are variable in their output. The grid needs to be able to handle these fluctuations without compromising reliability.Interoperability: Modernization often involves integrating equipment from new technology sources. Ensuring seamless communication and utilization between new and legacy systems requires common standards and protocols, which are still being developed.Cybersecurity: A more digital grid with new data sources creates increasing vulnerabilities to cyberattacks. Robust security measures are essential to protect critical infrastructure.Regulation: The regulatory framework needs to adapt to support grid modernization efforts and incentivize investment and adoption of new technologies

Opportunities with grid modernization

While grid modernization presents a complex challenge, the potential benefits are significant. Overcoming the hurdles and capitalizing on these opportunities creates numerous advantages, including:

Clean energy integration: A modernized grid can efficiently integrate renewable energy sources, reducing global reliance on fossil fuels and combating climate change.Consumer empowerment: Consumers can gain more control over their energy use through smart meters and demand-response programs, leading to increased participation in the energy market, potentially even selling excess power back to the grid.Improved grid reliability and efficiency: Modernization can lead to fewer power outages, reduced energy losses, and a more efficient overall system.Economic growth: Investment in a modern grid will drive economic growth and the creation of new jobs in areas like renewable energy technologies, grid construction, and cybersecurity solutions.Innovation: Modernization opens doors for innovation in areas like energy storage, distributed generation, data analytics, cybersecurity, and telecommunications.

The Road Ahead

The transformation of the grid and energy industry is complex and ongoing. Collaboration between utilities, technology companies, policymakers, and consumers is essential to overcome the challenges and seize the opportunities presented by grid modernization. By investing in infrastructure upgrades, developing innovative technologies, and prioritizing cybersecurity, the world can create a more resilient, efficient, and sustainable energy future.

Key to this transition will be the integration of five key technology areas: telecommunications, distributed energy resources, battery storage, solar power, and cybersecurity. In future blog posts, we will explore grid modernization and these five areas in depth. Bookmark this post and check back again next month for a link to the next blog post in the series.

CHARLOTTE, N.C., June 24, 2024 /3BL/ – Global edtech leader Discovery Education today unveiled a host of enhancements to its award-winning digital solutions that will help school systems everywhere support teachers as they ignite student curiosity, drive deeper engagement, and propel higher student achievement in the coming school year. Headlining these enhancements are more standards-aligned content and ready-to-use lessons that make the creation of modern learning experiences easier than ever, as well as upgraded teacher resources and professional learning opportunities that help save educators time and improve their teaching practice.

The enhancements coming to Discovery Education Experience, the company’s K-12 cross-curricular supplemental solution, include:

Standards-aligned search improvements ensuring educators find the right resources to support high-quality instruction, now with a more intuitive user interface, an updated Browse by Standards page, a new Filter by Standards feature in Search, and improved alignments of content to standards.Exciting new high-quality resources fostering engaging instruction in math, ELA, social studies, and science – including new student science investigations and lessons, new elementary social studies grab-and-go lessons and videos from the DE original series Need to Know, more activities, ready-to-use-resources, and engaging videos within the exclusive Sesame Learning Channel, and new math interactives for grades 6-12.More seamless LMS integrations with workflow enhancements for Google Classroom, Schoology, and Canvas.

DreamBox Math by Discovery Education, the standards-aligned program for students in grades K-8 rated “Strong” by evidenceforESSA.org, adapts and differentiates in real-time based on students’ answers and problem-solving method. DreamBox Math has been enriched with:

Engaging new lessons and accessibility enhancements for K-5 math lessons designed to support every learner in developing their math skills and building their confidence.New and updated state alignments for NJ, ND, RI, VA, and FL that add ease and flexibility to weekly routines and ensure standards-aligned instruction.Reporting enhancements that make it easier to view student progress.

Pivot Interactives by Discovery Education, which recently won a coveted CODiE award, is a supplemental science solution for students 6-12 providing interactive science activities driving phenomena-based learning. New updates to Pivot include:

New interactive video activities offering continuous, personalized feedback scaffolding, across a variety of disciplines.Deep randomization capabilities that vary question text, images, video trials, and data sets that prompt students to persevere and achieve success on their own.More flexible assignment extension options, enabling greater teacher control.Co-teacher capability that makes it easy for teachers to collaborate on assigning and grading activities.Rich Assignment Insights to see where students are succeeding and need more support.New Assessment Mode capabilities, providing flexible options to better assess student understanding of science practices.Quick sharing for custom libraries, ensuring easy teacher collaboration and departmental organization.

DreamBox Reading by Discovery Education meets students with targeted personalization that ensures students in every grade have the support they need to become proficient and confident readers. Enhancements coming to Discovery Education’s effective literacy solutions this fall include:

Reporting updates that make it easy for educators to view students’ progress in DreamBox Reading Plus and quickly identify areas of struggle or opportunities to enhance their instruction.Enhancements to DreamBox Reading Park lessons for grades PreK-2, including additional instruction via Concept Videos, more robust lessons with enhanced mistake types and feedback, and visual updates to Fluency & Comprehension lessons that increase readability.

Mystery Science by Discovery Education is a unique, standards-aligned science curriculum for grades K-5 designed to help students stay curious. Mystery Science offers engaging, open-and-go lessons with step-by-step, hands-on activities that explore scientific phenomena using common classroom items. Mystery Science has been updated with:

New K-5 vocabulary supports in English and Spanish. Included are Teacher Printouts, with a printable vocabulary list with words and definitions, as well as Student Slideshows with images and videos pulled directly from the lesson to reinforce student vocabulary retention.New lesson updates and realignments that make Mystery Science even easier to use.

Science Techbook, the rigorous science curriculum for K-12 classrooms that brings the excitement of science to life for every student, has been improved with the following:

Streamlined navigation, updated note-taking capabilities, and visual reinforcement of the 5E model with Science Techbook for grades 6-8.New, immersive, content following relevant, real-world storylines that empower educators to bring phenomena-based learning opportunities to students.

Recently, Discovery Education’s Science Techbook was certified as meeting the rigorous, evidence-based ESSA Tier III standards as set forth in the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).

“Discovery Education is dedicated to creating and distributing powerful products that nurture student curiosity and drive improved achievement, while easing the workload of teachers,” said Discovery Education CEO Brian Shaw. “The new enhancements to Discovery Education’s award-winning products support that mission, and we look forward to continuing to innovate on our products to maintain our position as the leading provider of edtech products for K-12 teachers and students.”

All educators using Discovery Education products enjoy access to the Discovery Educator Network. A global community of education professionals, the Discovery Educator Network connects members across school systems and around the world through social media, virtual conferences, and in-person events, fostering valuable idea sharing and inspiration.

For more information about Discovery Education’s award-winning digital resources and professional learning solutions visit www.discoveryeducation.com and stay connected with Discovery Education on social media through LinkedIn, X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook.

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About Discovery Education 
Discovery Education is the worldwide edtech leader whose state-of-the-art digital platform supports learning wherever it takes place. Through its award-winning multimedia content, instructional supports, innovative classroom tools, and corporate partnerships, Discovery Education helps educators deliver equitable learning experiences engaging all students and supporting higher academic achievement on a global scale. Discovery Education serves approximately 4.5 million educators and 45 million students worldwide, and its resources are accessed in over 100 countries and territories. Inspired by the global media company Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. Discovery Education partners with districts, states, and trusted organizations to empower teachers with leading edtech solutions that support the success of all learners. Explore the future of education at www.discoveryeducation.com.

Contact 
Stephen Wakefield 
Discovery Education 
Phone: 202-316-6615 
Email: swakefield@discoveryed.com

June 24, 2024 /3BL/ – The Consumer Goods Forum’s (CGF) Sustainable Supply Chain Initiative (SSCI) participated in a pivotal event hosted by BRCGS in Shanghai, China, on Friday 29 March 2024, aimed at advancing integral global conversations surrounding responsible procurement and due diligence. The event, titled “ETRS – A Rising Ethical Global Standard,” showcased collaborative efforts to promote Ethical Trade & Responsible Sourcing (ETRS) in China.

Bringing together key stakeholders including retailers, certification bodies, and industry representatives, the event served as a platform for insightful discussions addressing the unique challenges of the Asian market. With a focus on transparency, speakers from BRCGS, SSCI, and Extensive Standard Technical Services (ESTS) delved into topics such as social compliance audits, global issues, relevant laws and regulations, and solutions offered by the BRCGS ETRS Standard.

One of the highlights of the event was the roundtable discussion featuring prominent representatives from leading organisations, including Stephanie Shu from Starbucks China, Sherlock Jiang from Associated British Foods, Jule Li from COOP Italia China, Jianqiang Huo from Yili Dairy Group, and Iarina Radu and Ray Jin from BRCGS. The interactive session fostered active dialogue, identifying key pain points, addressing existing issues, and generating constructive suggestions.

Diana Wang, the CGF’s China Manager for Sustainability, represented at the event with guests receiving a recorded presentation by the SSCI emphasising the critical importance of transparency in global supply chains.

Diana said about the collaboration, “Harmonisation and transparency is a cornerstone for building sustainable supply chains, particularly in the nuanced landscape of China’s industry. Recognising the significance of participating in global dialogues, SSCI values collaboration with partners like BRCGS to foster meaningful change and advocate for responsible sourcing practices worldwide.”

SSCI, inspired by the success of GFSI, offers a robust benchmark for social and environmental programs across various sectors, including national mandatory standards like MSPO. Furthermore, SSCI plays a pivotal role in the forest-positive coalition, incorporating requirements related to deforestation and forest-positive practices.

Looking ahead, SSCI remains committed to expanding its efforts across all regions and sectors, further embedding sustainability into the fabric of global supply chains. With its recognition of the BRCGS Ethical Trade and Responsible Sourcing Standard, SSCI continues to drive meaningful change and collaboration within the industry.

Ray Jin from BRCGS said “At BRCGS, we’re thankful for our collaboration with SSCI as we’re committed to promoting transparency and ethical sourcing in supply chains. Our ETRS Standard, in partnership with SSCI, provides a robust framework for companies to navigate the complexities of global procurement responsibly.”

For more details on the summit proceedings and to access presentation slides and session recordings, please visit the International Sustainability Summit’s website.

About the Consumer Goods Forum’s Sustainable Supply Chain Initiative (SSCI):

The Consumer Goods Forum (CGF) Sustainable Supply Chain Initiative (SSCI) builds trust in sustainability standards worldwide by benchmarking third-party auditing and certification programmes and recognising schemes that meet social and environmental industry sustainability expectations. By providing an open-source list of recognised programmes, the SSCI delivers clear guidance on which schemes cover key sustainability criteria and apply relevant verification practices. The SSCI improves transparency in the market, facilitates decision-making on schemes at both buyer and supplier level, and sets responsible sourcing expectations for the industry. For more information, visit www.tcgfssci.com and sign up to receive our news and updates.