Tag: 3BL

By Saara Kaudeyr, Manager, Corporate Research, CECP

As CECP celebrates its 25 years of purpose throughout 2024, it is important to acknowledge the crucial role that our research and benchmarking have played in the organization becoming a leader in, and developing the standards for, the corporate purpose and societal investment space. This year is a great opportunity to look back at how the data has changed (and how it has stayed the same!) since the inception of Giving in Numbers™, the largest and most historical data set on corporate social investment trends, in partnership with more than 617 multibillion-dollar companies.

While Giving in Numbers did not start in 1999, the year of CECP’s founding, top companies were invited to participate in the survey three years later, collecting data on their corporate “giving” in 2001. CECP has redefined corporate social investments as Total Community Investment (TCI), the sum of a company’s direct cash, foundation cash, and non-cash. At that time, 17 companies participated in the survey. These companies had a median revenue in 2001 of US$19.4B (US$32.6B adjusted for inflation) and reported:

Median TCI of US$56.6M (US$95.0M adjusted for inflation)Top Quartile TCI of US$204.4M (US$343.3M adjusted for inflation)Median TCI as a Percentage of Revenue of 0.30% and Top Quartile TCI as a Percentage of Revenue of 0.63%Median TCI as a Percentage of Pre-Tax Profit of 2.35% and Top Quartile TCI as a Percentage of Pre-Tax Profit of 4.77%

Since that time, the survey has expanded to include data from a much larger number of companies, with 222 participating in last year’s survey, which collected 2022 data. These companies had a median revenue of US$20.7B and reported:

Median TCI of US$28.4MTop Quartile TCI of US$86.6MMedian TCI as a Percentage of Revenue of 0.12% and Top Quartile TCI as a Percentage of Revenue of 0.28%Median TCI as a Percentage of Pre-Tax Profit of 0.94% and Top Quartile TCI as a Percentage of Pre-Tax Profit of 2.56%

What is most interesting, however, is that 10 of the original 17 participating companies reported their 2022 data, a testament to the benchmarking information accessible to affiliated companies. The median revenue in 2022 for those 10 companies was US$56.0B (up from US$40.4B in 2001) and they reported:

Median TCI of US$419.1MTop Quartile TCI of US$3.2BMedian TCI as a Percentage of Revenue of 0.55% and Top Quartile TCI as a Percentage of Revenue of 5.07%Median TCI as a Percentage of Pre-Tax Profit of 5.83% and Top Quartile TCI as a Percentage of Pre-Tax Profit of 38.95%

These steadfast companies are juggernauts, both in their financial performance and in their dedication to societal investment, showing how seamlessly the two go hand in hand

Of course, societal investment does not happen in a vacuum. During many national and global crises since the inception of Giving in Numbers, society has called on corporations to respond. For example, 2001 was an exceptional year due to the September 11th attacks. This was reflected in a 33% decline in median TCI the following year, as community investment commitments ended (unmatched set, inflation-adjusted). 2008 saw a significant 7% increase during the height of the global financial crisis, when communities needed more support than ever to meet their basic needs. There was also a 13% increase in 2020 from the previous year, demonstrating how quickly companies responded to a call to action for giving during the start of COVID-19. Though, similar to the decline following September 11th, there was a 12% decrease from 2020 to 2021, when COVID-19 relief provided by companies decreased.

Through it all, CECP has collected this data through Giving in Numbers; we are helping the field to better understand these trends and allowing companies to benchmark themselves against their peers. The survey has grown to include measuring employee engagement, operations, and corporate purpose. The annual report remains the unrivaled leader on corporate societal investments.

Please reach out to CECP Insights to further explore our historical dataset, and stay tuned for the latest edition of Giving in Numbers which will be published this fall.

Originally published on Nielsen News Center

In recognition of International Women’s Day, Nielsen, a global leader in audience measurement, data, and analytics, released its latest Consumer & Media View (CMV) data highlighting the social issues of greatest concern to Australian women.

The CMV insights, which take a deep dive into the social concerns among different Australian female demographics, highlighted domestic violence and mental health as the most pressing social issues concerning the nation’s women – ranking higher than other significant concerns, like education, health, and economic growth.

Analysis of the research also showed a strong link between lifestyle, community engagement, and the level of concern Australian women have about domestic violence.

According to the data, women who name domestic violence as their biggest social concern were 17% less likely to have taken part in sport over the last 12 months, and 22% less likely to have socialised over a drink, or visited a bar or club in the last month.

Additionally they skewed heavily towards more solitary activities, like reading and cooking, as opposed to community or group activities.

Nielsen Pacific MD, Monique Perry said: “Our latest findings highlight a significant concern among Australian women regarding domestic violence and mental health.

This valuable data underscores the importance of community engagement and support networks in addressing the challenges faced by women concerned with these issues and strongly suggests that regular ties to community groups, sports teams, and other social activities can provide a vital support network for women during challenging times.”

Nielsen Consumer & Media View Pacific Lead, Sonia Marine added: “These Nielsen CMV insights demonstrate the importance of understanding communities and groups so policymakers and organisations can create better support systems and develop inclusive programs that address the concerns of at-risk groups. The data highlights that engaging in community activities and building supportive networks can have a significant positive impact on women in need.”

About Nielsen Consumer & Media View

Nielsen Consumer & Media View, with its extensive breadth and depth of data, lets you access consumer research that is vital to achieving strong business and marketing goals.

Nielsen Consumer & Media View is an essential tool for understanding the constantly evolving consumer landscape. With rich demographic and lifestyle data, and information on purchasing behaviours and intentions alongside extensive media habit reporting, Consumer & Media View helps you shape successful brand, advertising and marketing strategies.

Consumer & Media View provides an invaluable resource for identifying priority audiences to inform the planning, buying, or selling of advertising media, to inform business and consumer strategies, and to build a comprehensive market/category landscape view.

About Nielsen 
Nielsen shapes the world’s media and content as a global leader in audience measurement, data and analytics. Through our understanding of people and their behaviours across all channels and platforms, we empower our clients with independent and actionable intelligence so they can connect and engage with their audiences – now and into the future. Nielsen operates around the world in more than 55 countries.

Learn more at www.nielsen.com and connect with us on social media (Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram).

Media Contact

Dan Chapman 
Assoc Director, Communications, Nielsen APAC 
dan.chapman@nielsen.com 
+61 404 088 462

Originally published in the IBM 2023 Impact Report

For many decades, IBM has developed products with consideration for serviceability and upgradability, and for the reuse, recyclability, and recoverability of materials within them. For this, IBM supports hardware refurbishment, remanufacturing, and recycling. Linda Demmler, GM of IBM Global Asset Recovery Services, leads the team that identifies ongoing opportunities to redeploy IBM Z, IBM Power, IBM Storage and other IT devices to avoid waste.

In 2023, IBM reused equipment that clients returned to IBM when they upgraded their infrastructure with new IBM systems. IBM used this returned equipment to refresh its own internal fleet of servers and storage. Linda and her team initiated a series of projects to replace equipment, such as replacing Z13 with Z15 servers. These projects repurposed servers that ultimately avoided waste and supported IBM’s results of reselling, reusing or recycling 96.8% of end-of-life products.

By utilizing IBM’s Certified Pre-Owned equipment in this project, the team was able to deploy cost effective cloud-based resources to support development teams, which enabled them to have capacity that matched the timing of application support requirements.

Learn more about how IBM is reusing IBM Z® and IBM Power® to avoid waste in the 2023 Impact Report

Cummins

COLUMBUS, Ind. /3BL/ – Cummins Inc. (NYSE: CMI) has commissioned its diesel hybrid solution in partnership with one of China’s leading rigid mining truck manufacturers, North Hauler Joint Stock Co., Ltd. (NHL), demonstrating progress in decarbonization for industrial customers.

The hybrid NHL NTH260, a 220 metric ton payload mining truck, rolled off the production line in January and is headed to Baiyun Iron Mine of Baogang Group, China, to begin field testing in March. As a leading power solutions provider, Cummins’ optimized hybrid system allows the truck engine to be downsized from the previous 2,500HP QSK60 to the current 2,000HP two-stage QSK50.

“We’re excited to share this significant milestone in our journey to advance bridge technologies and provide our mining customers with innovative, practical decarbonization solutions,” said Jenny Bush, Cummins Power Systems President, who joined key leaders from Cummins Power Systems China for the commissioning ceremony in the NHL industrial park in Bautou, China.

The truck is expected to provide a leading total cost of ownership based on initial cost advantages, fuel efficiency and extended service life of the engine. Improved fuel efficiency directly correlates to emissions and GHG reduction. Advanced hybrids have the potential to improve fuel efficiency up to 30% dependent on the mine profile and advanced battery technology and controls integration.

“Our partnership with Cummins spans 40 years and advancing the hybridization of our equipment is another demonstration of what we can accomplish together for the benefit of miners globally,” said Haiquan Guo, General Manager, NHL. NHL produces trucks with payload range from 35 to 360 metric tons, with Cummins as the standard engine configuration.”

“We are intent on enabling multiple pathways to carbon neutrality for industrial markets, including both first-fit and retrofit solutions,” said Molly Puga, Cummins Power Systems Executive Director of Strategy, Digital and Product Planning. “It’s partnerships with our customers like NHL and Baiyun Iron Mine that will accelerate product availability in the market and make both near- and long-term carbon reduction goals attainable.”

In 2023, Cummins announced approval of unblended renewable diesel use in all industrial high-horsepower engines. 

About Cummins Inc.

Cummins Inc., a global power solutions leader, is comprised of five business segments – Components, Engine, Distribution, Power Systems and Accelera by Cummins – supported by our global manufacturing and extensive service and support network, skilled workforce and vast technological expertise. Cummins is committed to its Destination Zero strategy, which is grounded in the company’s commitment to sustainability and helping its customers successfully navigate the energy transition with its broad portfolio of products. The products range from advanced diesel, natural gas, electric and hybrid powertrains and powertrain-related components including filtration, aftertreatment, turbochargers, fuel systems, valvetrain technologies, controls systems, air handling systems, automated transmissions, axles, drivelines, brakes, suspension systems, electric power generation systems, batteries, electrified power systems, hydrogen production technologies and fuel cell products. Headquartered in Columbus, Indiana (U.S.), since its founding in 1919, Cummins employs approximately 75,500 people committed to powering a more prosperous world through three global corporate responsibility priorities critical to healthy communities: education, environment and equality of opportunity. Cummins serves its customers online, through a network of company-owned and independent distributor locations, and through thousands of dealer locations worldwide and earned about $735 million on sales of $34.1 billion in 2023. See how Cummins is powering a world that’s always on by accessing news releases and more information at https://www.cummins.com/.

Media Contact

Jon Mills
Director – External Communications
(317) 658-4540 jon.mills@cummins.com 

Today, World Wildlife Fund (WWF), the global conservation nonprofit, released a new Public Service Announcement (PSA) ahead of Earth Day (April 22nd), and ahead of the upcoming global plastic treaty negotiations (April 23-29). The PSA, geared towards addressing the global plastic pollution crisis, features ‘Beautiful Day’ the iconic song by U2, and pairs with a child’s voiceover bringing an unfiltered and hopeful and powerful message to this critical issue. 

In an historic move in 2022, 175 nations voted to adopt a United Nations-led global treaty to end plastic pollution. The goal is to hold all countries to a high common standard on plastic consumption and create a legally binding and equitable treaty that delivers a clear path toward a future free from plastic pollution. WWF stands at the forefront of advocating for the swift finalization and implementation of this treaty. Harnessing the power of music, the PSA aims to galvanize people in support of this treaty and raise awareness about the urgent need to change the way we make, use, and recycle plastic. 

The Edge, guitarist of U2, stated: We have to wake up to the fact that single use plastic is a biohazard. Today no human or animal is safe from its impacts. It’s a convenience that we cannot afford.” 

Erin Simon, WWF’s vice president and head of plastic waste + business, added: “It will take everyone – businesses, governments, individuals and even the biggest bands in the world to finally solve the plastic pollution crisis that is crushing our planet. If we truly want more beautiful days ahead – the time to act is now.”

The PSA will air nationally across various platforms, encouraging individuals and communities to learn more and take action against plastic pollution. The spot is available in both English and Spanish. 

For more information on WWF’s efforts to combat plastic pollution and how people can get involved in supporting the global plastic treaty, please visit wwf.earth/plastics. 

PSA spots for media use can be found here.

Media contacts

Jenna.Bonello@wwfus.org
Susan.McCarthy@wwfus.org 

About World Wildlife Fund (WWF)

WWF is one of the world’s leading conservation organizations, working for 60 years in nearly 100 countries to help people and nature thrive. With the support of more than 5 million supporters worldwide, WWF is dedicated to delivering science-based solutions to preserve the diversity and abundance of life on Earth, halt the degradation of the environment, and combat the climate crisis. Visit worldwildlife.org to learn more; follow @WWFNews on Twitter to keep up with the latest conservation news; and sign up for our newsletter and news alerts here. 

SEATTLE, April 19, 2024 /3BL/ – KeyBank (NYSE: KEY) announced it has received the honor of ranking #1 for the most small business loans $350,000 or less in Washington Congressional Districts 1, 3, 7, 8, and 9 by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) 2023 fiscal year. Districts include:

Washington’s 1st Congressional District encompasses part of Bellevue and Kirkland, following I-5 up to Arlington.
 Washington’s 3rd Congressional District includes the Southwestern part of the state.
 Washington’s 7th Congressional District covers most of Seattle up to Shoreline, the University District, West Seattle, and Vashon.
 Washington’s 8th Congressional District is the bullseye of the state covering the vast middle.
 Washington’s 9th Congressional District stretches from Federal Way up to the bottom of Bellevue and includes Mercer Island and the Southeastern part of Seattle proper.

“We are very excited to receive this honor from the SBA here in Washington. Access to capital is a struggle for many small businesses, but through partnerships and relationships, KeyBank is making that happen,” said James Fliss, Jr., KeyBank Senior Vice President, National SBA Manager. “We believe that small businesses are the backbone to a thriving community, we couldn’t be prouder of our team.”

KeyBank has been a top-performing SBA Preferred Lender for over two decades1, helping numerous small businesses obtain access to capital through the SBA lending programs. Since 2015, KeyBank has provided more than $2.6 billion in SBA-guaranteed financing to thousands of small business owners with more than $1.29 billion of that funding occurring in the last four years.

“Small businesses consistently identify financing as a top need, but access to capital often brings challenges and barriers for many small business owners. This is why the work the SBA does, in tandem with a robust network of lenders, is so critical,” SBA Seattle District Director Melanie Norton said. “During Fiscal Year 2023 alone, approximately $900 million in SBA loans were made across the SBA Seattle District. We’re grateful to KeyBank for being one of the top lenders in the district to make loans under $350,000 during the past year and ensuring small businesses with smaller dollar needs were not overlooked. We will continue our work together to make certain no entrepreneur is left behind.”

ABOUT KEYBANK

KeyCorp’s roots trace back nearly 200 years to Albany, New York. Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, Key is one of the nation’s largest bank-based financial services companies, with assets of approximately $188 billion at December 31, 2023. Key provides deposit, lending, cash management, and investment services to individuals and businesses in 15 states under the name KeyBank National Association through a network of approximately 1,000 branches and approximately 1,200 ATMs. Key also provides a broad range of sophisticated corporate and investment banking products, such as merger and acquisition advice, public and private debt and equity, syndications and derivatives to middle market companies in selected industries throughout the United State under the KeyBanc Capital Markets trade name. For more information, visit. https://www.key.com/. KeyBank Member FDIC. SBA LOANS ARE NOT FDIC INSURED OR GUARANTEED. All credit products and SBA Loans are subject to approval, terms, conditions, and availability and subject to change. 

1 KeyBank has held the Preferred Lender designation since 1997

Anthony Pugliese, president and CEO of the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA), joins co-host Mandi McReynolds to discuss global internal audit standards and their impact on corporate governance, risk management, and ESG reporting. From enhancing collaboration among teams to leveraging technology for audit programs, tune in as they discuss how organizations can adapt to today’s dynamic business environment.

Listen Now

Looking for more? Subscribe to the ESG Talk podcast on Apple, Spotify, and YouTube.

ESG Talk is brought to you by Workiva, the world’s only unified platform for financial reporting, ESG, audit, and risk. Learn more at workiva.com.

At Tapestry we believe that difference sparks brilliance. Equity, inclusion and diversity (EI&D) pave the way for unlocking the potential of our people, our business and our communities. As such, we aim to cultivate possibilities for everyone, including our business partners.

Embracing our responsibility in the marketplace as a global fashion company is a key focus of EI&D at Tapestry. We are committed to affecting positive change for our industry and delivering on our value proposition to stakeholders – consumers, investors, employees and vendor partners. And we know that doing business with a diverse range of vendors serves to enhance the strength of Tapestry as a whole.

In March, Tapestry hosted its inaugural Vendor Diversity Business Development Forum at the company’s headquarters in New York City. The event was developed to connect diverse vendors with our sourcing team and business stakeholders in-person. The day brought together five of Tapestry’s vendors and select members of their teams from across the U.S. to share learnings and best practices from certified diverse vendors capable of fulfilling Tapestry’s current and future procurement opportunities.

The event kicked off with a session from Tapestry’s Chief Diversity Officer, David Casey and Rondette Amoy Smith, Director, Global Equity, Inclusion, and Diversity. Casey and Amoy Smith spoke about their team’s efforts and goals at Tapestry and specifically how they are focused on educating, equipping and empowering the business to leverage EI&D as a differentiator in our workforce and marketplace. 

Jason Livingston, Manager of Tapestry’s Vendor Diversity Program, gave an overview of Tapestry’s Vendor Diversity Program, progress to date and forward-looking plans. Each vendor was then invited to introduce themselves and describe how they work with Tapestry.

One of the many highlights of the forum was a panel discussion that included one representative from each vendor. The vibrant discussions included topics such as dispelling common myths about diverse vendors, the benefits of working with a diverse vendor, and the challenges diverse vendors face when doing business with corporations. Balancing out the day was a presentation by the advocacy group Disability:IN, where we learned that most disabilities are non-apparent.

Tapestry is proud of the progress we’ve made to develop and implement a formal vendor diversity program and we’ve only just begun our journey. Looking ahead, we aim to pursue a best-in-class corporate program, including accountability throughout the organization, advancing our partnerships with advocacy groups and tracking tier two performance.

Brian Spitzkeit, Senior Vice President of Global Procurement and Transportation said, “This was a great opportunity to hear a wide variety of perspectives from our vendor community and advocacy groups. We are still at the beginning of our Vendor Diversity journey at Tapestry but events like this help accelerate our learnings and provide clarity on our path forward.”

Christiane Ocampo, Vice President, Global Procurement, Tapestry said, “The inaugural Tapestry Vendor Diversity Business Development Forum was exactly what I thought it would be – A collaborative space to share information with stakeholders and vendors. We can leverage what we learned to help continue to elevate Tapestry’s Vendor Diversity program.”

Kirsten Craig from Activate, an experiential marketing company, was in attendance and said, “This was probably one of the most helpful and…insightful supplier diversity experiences that I’ve had in our 10 years of being certified. I also really appreciated that Tapestry brands had their full procurement team here to listen and learn. It’s amazing to be heard, but what’s really exciting is building a relationship so that we can continue expanding our work together.”

Interested in working with Tapestry? Learn more about our vendor diversity program here.

April 19, 2024 /3BL/ – The Coro New York Leadership Center announced a transformative $500,000 grant from the Wells Fargo Foundation in support of Coro’s Neighborhood Leadership program, a peer-driven mentorship program that develops the skills and networks of diverse, up-and-coming New York City-based community leaders who are focusing on careers in neighborhood development, commercial revitalization, and small business development. The grant represents the largest donation in Coro New York’s history for this program.

With the new funding, Coro New York will expand the Neighborhood Leadership program’s reach to increase capacity and collaboration among diverse economic development and commercial revitalization nonprofit leaders in underserved areas across all five boroughs. The funding will also allow Coro to expand the program from one to three cohorts a year by 2025. In total, Coro has committed to serve 120 graduates within this period.

“Diverse leadership is at the forefront of innovation and community change,” said Darlene Goins, Head of Philanthropy and Community Impact at Wells Fargo and President of the Wells Fargo Foundation. “Given the proven track record behind the Neighborhood Leadership program, Wells Fargo wanted to help expand Coro’s ability to push for more pathways to economic advancement in New York City through diverse, highly-trained leaders.”

Garrett Lucien, Executive Director of Coro, said: “We are so thankful to the Wells Fargo Foundation for this generous grant, which will help us expand the already successful Neighborhood Leadership program. Coro and our leaders care deeply about New York City, and this grant will go a long way towards helping us build a New York with an economy that works for everyone – no matter who they are or where they come from.”

Each year, the Neighborhood Leadership Program participants realize a Neighborhood Change Project to apply their learning in real-time to a current revitalization project. Fueled by this new grant, Coro’s program participants will be able to build on alumni initiatives to keep leaders engaged and continue sharpening the skills and knowledge to lead change.

About Coro’s Neighborhood Leadership Program

For those leading commercial revitalization efforts in their communities— whether working in a Business Improvement District, Merchant Association, local development corporation, Chamber of Commerce, or other nonprofit organization—Coro’s Neighborhood Leadership program provides our city’s top talent with the resources they need to understand how to influence meaningful change and address complex challenges within their neighborhoods. Using New York as a classroom, Neighborhood Leadership participants are deeply immersed in commercial revitalization strategies and are allowed to build leadership skills through intensive training and peer-to-peer learning. Participants leave the program equipped with the knowledge and skills to drive change in their own neighborhoods and an unparalleled network of engaged civic leaders from which to continue to build and grow.

Knowledge: Neighborhood Leadership deeply immerses participants in building individual and collaborative capacity for practicing leadership and bringing about change in their communities.Skills: Neighborhood Leadership uses the City of New York as a lab to explore, test and build effective commercial revitalization strategies to adapt and thrive in challenging environments.Network: Neighborhood Leadership connects participants to an accomplished community of Coro Neighborhood Leadership alumni, City leaders, and the broader Coro community from all industries and sectors, who are dedicated to supporting one another and to improving the City in which we live and work.

About Coro

Coro New York is the city’s premier leadership training organization. Since 1984, no other group has put this insight into practice more successfully than Coro. Coro is a community of over 3,600 graduates who, through our single and collaborative efforts, make the city great.

Graduates come away from Coro with a deeper understanding of how the city works, the leadership skills to change it, and a network of engaged and influential alumni to help them reach their goals. They are part of a collaborative community with a shared belief that a single person, with the right knowledge, skills, and network, is what will make New York a better place for all who live and work here. Coro New York Alumni include Members of Congress, United States Senators, New York City Council Members, and senior-level executives.

For the team at Chemours, the communities where we operate are also where we live work and play, and our mutual success is one and the same. We invest time and resources in our communities to make a meaningful difference. That’s the driving force behind our goal of building vibrant communities by investing $50 million in expanding access to Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) education, sustainable environment programs, and safety initiatives. One way we do this is through the Chemours Future of Engineering, Science, Trades, and Technology School Partnership Program (ChemFEST).

Last year, Chemours Belgium joined hands with Technische Scholen Mechelen (TSM) to establish the company’s first ChemFEST partnership outside of the US. This 3-year agreement was intended to promote the significance of STEM education and inspire students to explore their love for science and technology. Isabel Welters, a Nafion™ Technical Service Specialist at Chemours, led the multi-faceted plan to transform the school’s STEM facilities, with plans to inaugurate the refurbished technical lab and classrooms by the second half of 2024.

Beyond the ChemFEST partnership, Welters, in collaboration with the Belgium Chapter of the Chemours Women’s Network (CWN), has been integral to other STEM-related activities. An event titled “Str@ffe Madammen” co-organized by Welters and the CWN saw participation from over 150 female students from TSM, who were provided with insights into career opportunities in STEM. Additionally, the team recently hosted a unique STEM day at the Mechelen plant for 40 students, showcasing their Coatings Production facilities and Technical Services.

Back in our headquarters state of Delaware, the Chemours team recently celebrated an important milestone towards the opening of the Chemours STEM Hub at EastSide Charter School in Wilmington. After breaking ground on the facility in February 2023, Chemours team members joined with community partners and school officials to commemorate the placing of the final beam in the 24,000-square-foot facility.

The Hub—expected to open by early 2025—will serve as a premier access point for STEM education and other development opportunities in the Wilmington community. Made possible in part by a $4 million grant from Chemours in 2021 through the ChemFEST program, the Chemours STEM Hub will offer public spaces for learning and improve access for more students from more backgrounds to be exposed to, excited by, and interested in STEM. 

“We know that shaping the world’s future requires great innovators and problem solvers from all backgrounds; it’s why we are committed to taking action and championing change toward a more diverse STEM workforce. Through partnerships – like our ChemFEST school partnership program – we’re helping to support future STEM talent by nurturing students and members of communities who have been underserved, under-resourced, and often overlooked,” said Chemours Chief Brand Officer, Alvenia Scarborough.

And earlier this year, the team at our Chambers Works manufacturing site in New Jersey continued a more than three-decades-long tradition of sponsoring the Salem County Science Fair. This science fair allows students to apply what they have learned in STEM education in hopes of advancing to the Delaware Valley Science Fair and beyond.

Students concentrate on an area of special interest, collecting and analyzing data while following the scientific method and presenting their findings to volunteer judges.

The various winners received a total of $2,500 from Chemours. This event sponsorship is part of a broader $275,000 Vibrant Community grant where the Chambers Works team partners with Salem Community College (SCC) and the local middle schools to support hands-on learning opportunities to instill a lifelong love of STEM.

Brian Boettler, Chemours Environmental, Health, and Safety (EHS) Senior Consultant, leads the partnership on the site’s behalf. 

“Partnering with the local schools and community college is rewarding. We all contribute in our own way to help support the next generation, and that is on full display at the Science Fair,” Brian explained.

These are a few examples of Chemours’ commitment to fostering greater interest and diversity in STEM careers by supporting students in our communities. We are proud to play a key role in shaping the future of our industry and making a positive impact on communities by inspiring the next generation of STEM leaders.