Tag: 3BL

The electric grid powers nearly every part of daily life—from homes and hospitals to transportation and national security systems. Today, the grid is under increasing strain from unprecedented power load growth.

Large-scale data centers, electrification infrastructure, and advanced manufacturing are driving sustained demand for reliable power. At the same time, utilities must manage increasing complexity across grid operations, energy distribution, and long-term infrastructure planning while also making capital investment decisions in a highly regulated environment.

In this first episode of Outcomes Unlocked, Leidos dives into how it is using artificial intelligence to help utilities respond—improving operations, informing investment decisions, and enabling the grid to expand at the pace demand requires. 

Drawing on more than a decade of applied AI in mission-critical environments, Leidos is helping utilities move beyond pilot programs and into real-world, scalable solutions. 

A grid built for a different model

Much of today’s grid was designed for a centralized, predictable system. Power flowed in one direction, and demand followed consistent patterns.

That model has changed.

Energy is now generated from more sources, in more places, and with greater variability. This shift is accelerating the need for grid modernization that is flexible, visible, and reliable.

For utilities, this is not just a technical challenge, but a planning and investment challenge–requiring faster, more informed decisions about where and how to expand infrastructure.

Managing growing complexity 

Utilities are managing more assets, more variability, and more interconnected systems than ever before—while continuing to maintain reliability and service expectations.

Leidos applies AI in operational environments where speed, accuracy, and reliability are critical. These systems process large volumes of data, identify patterns, and surface insights that support faster, more informed decisions across grid operations.

“The amount of data is growing faster than engineers can keep up with.” 
— Bryce King, Energy Infrastructure AI Lead

This level of visibility is essential–but on its own, it is not enough. Utilities must also act on information quickly and at scale.

Accelerating grid expansion 

Meeting rising demand requires building and upgrading infrastructure faster than traditional approaches allow.

“We have to build the grid faster than we ever have before.” 
— Josh Wepman, VP, Energy Infrastructure CTO

Leidos is delivering AI-enabled capabilities that support both grid expansion and operations. Solutions like SkyWire™ can rapidly analyze distribution infrastructure and plan out new transmission lines helping utilities assess system conditions and prioritize investments at scale.

This allows utility operators to make faster, more cost-effective decisions and more optimally deploy capital—supporting grid expansion while meeting regulatory expectations. By accelerating the transition from planning to execution, SkyWire™ helps utilities move at the speed required to keep pace with demand.

This is not simply about efficiency. It is about enabling a level of speed and precision in infrastructure planning and execution that is difficult to achieve with traditional, manual approaches alone.

Supporting the people behind the grid 

AI works best when it supports the people operating and building the grid.

For engineers and utility operators that means better tools to interpret data, prioritize actions, and respond to changing conditions. AI helps reduce the burden of analysis so utilities can focus on decisions that impact reliability, safety, and performance.  

At the same time, demand for electricity is expected to grow significantly in the coming decades. According to the Department of Energy, the grid may need to double—or even triple—by 2050 to meet future demand. Meeting that need will place additional pressure on a workforce that is not scaling at the same pace.

AI can help bridge that gap—enabling teams to do more with the expertise they have, manage larger and more complex systems, and support faster, more cost-effective grid expansion.

Looking ahead

The demands on the electric grid and the need to expand it will continue to grow.

Meeting those demands will require new approaches to how infrastructure is planned, built, and operated. Outcomes Unlocked: AI and the Grid highlights how Leidos is applying AI to help utilities move faster, make better investment decisions, and scale operations to support the future of energy. 

Explore how Leidos is powering reliable and resilient energy at leidos.com/markets/energy, or to learn more about our AI capabilities visit leidos.com/ai. 

When young entrepreneurs have the right support at the right time, ideas turn into businesses. That belief underpins the collaboration between FedEx and Futurpreneur, which extends beyond sponsorship to combine expertise, promotion, and real world business insight to help more entrepreneurs start stronger and scale sustainably. Together, they power Expert Exchange, a free, national webinar series delivered by Futurpreneur and sponsored by FedEx.

Launched in March 2025, Expert Exchange meets early stage founders where they are, providing practical, expert led guidance they can apply immediately. By removing cost and access barriers, the program helps young entrepreneurs build skills, confidence, and momentum during the most critical stages of their journey.

Practical learning with real world impact

Expert Exchange focuses on action over theory, addressing the challenges founders face every day—from sales and marketing to hiring, technology, and procurement. Interactive workshops led by industry experts cover topics including AI, digital marketing, sales strategy, HR, and government contracting. Sessions are offered free of charge in both English and French, ensuring broad, inclusive access to high quality business education.

Strong participation, measurable results

Between March and December 2025, Expert Exchange delivered 32 sessions, reaching 1,461 attendees across all 13 provinces and territories, including more than 1,100 unique founders.

Advancing inclusion across Canada

Expert Exchange is designed to support entrepreneurs from equity deserving communities. Nearly half of participants self-identified as women or non-binary, 38% as Black, and 4% as Indigenous. The program also connects founders to Futurpreneur’s broader ecosystem of mentorship, financing, and long term support.

Looking ahead

Building on a successful first year, Expert Exchange will continue in 2026 with more expert workshops and deeper use of real world case studies, driving lasting impact for Canada’s next generation of entrepreneurs. Want to learn more, click here.

Click here to learn about FedEx Cares, our global community engagement program.

When young entrepreneurs have the right support at the right time, ideas turn into businesses. That belief underpins the collaboration between FedEx and Futurpreneur, which extends beyond sponsorship to combine expertise, promotion, and real world business insight to help more entrepreneurs start stronger and scale sustainably. Together, they power Expert Exchange, a free, national webinar series delivered by Futurpreneur and sponsored by FedEx.

Launched in March 2025, Expert Exchange meets early stage founders where they are, providing practical, expert led guidance they can apply immediately. By removing cost and access barriers, the program helps young entrepreneurs build skills, confidence, and momentum during the most critical stages of their journey.

Practical learning with real world impact

Expert Exchange focuses on action over theory, addressing the challenges founders face every day—from sales and marketing to hiring, technology, and procurement. Interactive workshops led by industry experts cover topics including AI, digital marketing, sales strategy, HR, and government contracting. Sessions are offered free of charge in both English and French, ensuring broad, inclusive access to high quality business education.

Strong participation, measurable results

Between March and December 2025, Expert Exchange delivered 32 sessions, reaching 1,461 attendees across all 13 provinces and territories, including more than 1,100 unique founders.

Advancing inclusion across Canada

Expert Exchange is designed to support entrepreneurs from equity deserving communities. Nearly half of participants self-identified as women or non-binary, 38% as Black, and 4% as Indigenous. The program also connects founders to Futurpreneur’s broader ecosystem of mentorship, financing, and long term support.

Looking ahead

Building on a successful first year, Expert Exchange will continue in 2026 with more expert workshops and deeper use of real world case studies, driving lasting impact for Canada’s next generation of entrepreneurs. Want to learn more, click here.

Click here to learn about FedEx Cares, our global community engagement program.

Welcome to Advancing with Purpose, a new AMD video series featuring the people behind our corporate responsibility efforts.

In this first video, Srilatha (Bobbie) Manne, Senior Fellow, Software Development Engineer at AMD, talks about designing for product energy efficiency and the role it plays in advancing more sustainable computing. She shares how thoughtful design choices can contribute to real-world impact and why building technology with purpose matters.

Through personal stories like Bobbie’s, this series highlights how AMD employees are helping bring corporate responsibility to life across the company.

Learn more about AMD corporate responsibility: https://www.amd.com/en/corporate/corporate-responsibility.html

Welcome to Advancing with Purpose, a new AMD video series featuring the people behind our corporate responsibility efforts.

In this first video, Srilatha (Bobbie) Manne, Senior Fellow, Software Development Engineer at AMD, talks about designing for product energy efficiency and the role it plays in advancing more sustainable computing. She shares how thoughtful design choices can contribute to real-world impact and why building technology with purpose matters.

Through personal stories like Bobbie’s, this series highlights how AMD employees are helping bring corporate responsibility to life across the company.

Learn more about AMD corporate responsibility: https://www.amd.com/en/corporate/corporate-responsibility.html

April 23, 2026 /3BL/ – The Beverage Industry Environmental Roundtable (BIER) has released its 2025 Water, Energy, and Emissions Benchmarking Study, providing a comprehensive, comparable analysis of environmental performance across more than 1,600 facilities globally, offering a clear view of industry progress, operational efficiency, and emerging risk areas.

Now in its 20th year, BIER continues to build on a long-standing benchmarking program, using multi-year data to provide a robust perspective on industry performance trends.

Established in 2006, BIER unites globally recognized beverage companies to advance environmental sustainability through collaboration, scientific rigor, and shared expertise. The benchmarking study is a prime example of this approach in action, providing industry-wide data that supports measurable progress in water stewardship, climate, and operational efficiency.

This year’s study includes data from 2020, 2022, and 2024, representing 15 companies and facilities spanning six continents. Results show that while global beverage production increased by 8% over the reporting period, participating companies achieved meaningful efficiency improvements, including:

• 3% reduction in water use ratio
• 4% reduction in energy use ratio
• 11% reduction in emissions ratio

These findings demonstrate continued progress toward decoupling production growth from environmental impact, an important signal for investors, industry stakeholders, and member companies seeking credible, data-backed evidence of sustainability performance and operational improvement.

The study also highlights the growing importance of water risk. More than 60% of facilities currently operate in areas facing at least medium water risk, with over half projected to face medium to extremely high water stress by 2030. This data underscores the increasing importance of proactive water stewardship, informed decision-making, and cross-industry collaboration in managing long-term operational and environmental risks.

BIER’s benchmarking work supports its broader mission to strengthen collective action within the beverage industry. By providing standardized metrics, transparent insights, and a platform for shared learning, BIER enables member companies to assess performance relative to peers, identify opportunities for improvement, and translate data into actionable strategies that drive measurable environmental performance improvements across the sector.

As sustainability expectations continue to evolve, resources like the benchmarking study are increasingly essential in helping companies move from commitment to implementation and in providing external stakeholders with credible, comparable insights into industry-wide progress.

“BIER’s benchmarking study reflects the value of sustained collaboration across the beverage sector. By bringing companies together around consistent, comparable data, we’re able to move beyond insight to action- identifying practical opportunities, prioritizing investments, and tracking the real progress companies are making on shared environmental priorities.” ~ Erica Pann, Executive Director, BIER

The Beverage Industry Water, Energy, and Emissions Benchmarking is available for download at: 2025 Water, Energy, and Emissions Benchmarking Summary – BIER

For more information, please contact: BIER@anteagroup.us

About BIER
BIER is a technical coalition of leading global beverage companies working together to advance environmental sustainability within the beverage sector. Formed in 2006, BIER is a common voice across the beverage sector, speaking to influence global standards on environmental sustainability aspects most relevant to the sector, affect change both up and down the supply chain, and share best practices that raise the bar for environmental performance of the industry. By doing so, BIER is able to monitor data and trends, engage with key stakeholders, develop best practices, and guide a course of action for the future. BIER members include Anheuser-Busch InBev, Asahi Group Holdings, Bacardi, Brown-Forman, Carlsberg Group, The Coca-Cola Company, Constellation Brands, Diageo, Heaven Hill Brands, Heineken, Keurig Dr Pepper, Kirin Holdings Company, Limited, Molson Coors, Monster Energy, Ocean Spray Cranberries, PepsiCo, Pernod Ricard, and Suntory Global Spirits. For more information, visit www.bieroundtable.com.

April 23, 2026 /3BL/ – The Beverage Industry Environmental Roundtable (BIER) has released its 2025 Water, Energy, and Emissions Benchmarking Study, providing a comprehensive, comparable analysis of environmental performance across more than 1,600 facilities globally, offering a clear view of industry progress, operational efficiency, and emerging risk areas.

Now in its 20th year, BIER continues to build on a long-standing benchmarking program, using multi-year data to provide a robust perspective on industry performance trends.

Established in 2006, BIER unites globally recognized beverage companies to advance environmental sustainability through collaboration, scientific rigor, and shared expertise. The benchmarking study is a prime example of this approach in action, providing industry-wide data that supports measurable progress in water stewardship, climate, and operational efficiency.

This year’s study includes data from 2020, 2022, and 2024, representing 15 companies and facilities spanning six continents. Results show that while global beverage production increased by 8% over the reporting period, participating companies achieved meaningful efficiency improvements, including:

• 3% reduction in water use ratio
• 4% reduction in energy use ratio
• 11% reduction in emissions ratio

These findings demonstrate continued progress toward decoupling production growth from environmental impact, an important signal for investors, industry stakeholders, and member companies seeking credible, data-backed evidence of sustainability performance and operational improvement.

The study also highlights the growing importance of water risk. More than 60% of facilities currently operate in areas facing at least medium water risk, with over half projected to face medium to extremely high water stress by 2030. This data underscores the increasing importance of proactive water stewardship, informed decision-making, and cross-industry collaboration in managing long-term operational and environmental risks.

BIER’s benchmarking work supports its broader mission to strengthen collective action within the beverage industry. By providing standardized metrics, transparent insights, and a platform for shared learning, BIER enables member companies to assess performance relative to peers, identify opportunities for improvement, and translate data into actionable strategies that drive measurable environmental performance improvements across the sector.

As sustainability expectations continue to evolve, resources like the benchmarking study are increasingly essential in helping companies move from commitment to implementation and in providing external stakeholders with credible, comparable insights into industry-wide progress.

“BIER’s benchmarking study reflects the value of sustained collaboration across the beverage sector. By bringing companies together around consistent, comparable data, we’re able to move beyond insight to action- identifying practical opportunities, prioritizing investments, and tracking the real progress companies are making on shared environmental priorities.” ~ Erica Pann, Executive Director, BIER

The Beverage Industry Water, Energy, and Emissions Benchmarking is available for download at: 2025 Water, Energy, and Emissions Benchmarking Summary – BIER

For more information, please contact: BIER@anteagroup.us

About BIER
BIER is a technical coalition of leading global beverage companies working together to advance environmental sustainability within the beverage sector. Formed in 2006, BIER is a common voice across the beverage sector, speaking to influence global standards on environmental sustainability aspects most relevant to the sector, affect change both up and down the supply chain, and share best practices that raise the bar for environmental performance of the industry. By doing so, BIER is able to monitor data and trends, engage with key stakeholders, develop best practices, and guide a course of action for the future. BIER members include Anheuser-Busch InBev, Asahi Group Holdings, Bacardi, Brown-Forman, Carlsberg Group, The Coca-Cola Company, Constellation Brands, Diageo, Heaven Hill Brands, Heineken, Keurig Dr Pepper, Kirin Holdings Company, Limited, Molson Coors, Monster Energy, Ocean Spray Cranberries, PepsiCo, Pernod Ricard, and Suntory Global Spirits. For more information, visit www.bieroundtable.com.

The following is an excerpt from Cisco’s FY25 Purpose Report. Explore the full report to learn more about how we Power an Inclusive Future for All.

As innovation accelerates, the need for strong security, data protection, and privacy has never been more critical.

In a world where nearly everything is connected and generating data, technology holds extraordinary promise to solve our greatest challenges, from improving education to curing disease. But with this opportunity comes increasing vulnerability if security and privacy are not prioritized. 

At Cisco, we view security and privacy not as mere checkboxes, but as business imperatives and foundations for responsible innovation. Key to that innovation is governance for secure, trustworthy, transparent, fair, and accountable data usage. This involves embedding security, privacy, and responsible AI by design, advancing zero-trust architecture, and enabling ongoing observability for threat detection. 

We are guided by our core principles of trustworthiness, transparency, and accountability. In fiscal 2025, we continued to embrace a holistic approach to security and privacy throughout our operations, data management practices, products, and solutions. 

Securing Global Data

Our 2025 Data Privacy Benchmark Study revealed that privacy remains core to customer trust, with 95% of survey respondents saying they won’t make a purchase if their data isn’t properly protected. We apply a Privacy by Design approach that reflects our commitment to using data responsibly and serves as the foundation for how we handle personal, customer, and corporate data. Incorporating Privacy Enhancing Technologies in the design process helps enable responsible data use, manages risks, and gives users more control over their information.

This work comes to life through our Cisco Privacy Center of Excellence (PCOE). While the PCOE initially focused on protecting personal data, in fiscal 2025, its scope expanded to include regulated data, such as “industrial data,” or data generated by connected products, like smart devices. Though this data is driven primarily by commercial considerations, users are also demanding greater visibility and control over their nonpersonal data. 

Increasing Data Transparency

In fiscal 2025, PCOE launched data questionnaires to Cisco product developers to gather information about the way data is collected, how the data is used, where the data is stored, and more. Those responses were then used to create public‑facing Offer Disclosures to provide transparency to our customers and stakeholders via the Cisco Trust Portal.

Advancing Cybersecurity Around the World 

Data breach incidents surged 70% from 2021 to 2024, with the average data breach costing an estimated US$4.9 million. As a cybersecurity leader, Cisco builds technology to defend against threats and shares our expertise with customers, partners, and communities.  

Preparing for the Threats of Today and Tomorrow 

As threat actors shift to targeting network infrastructure, we began a multiyear effort to help customers use Cisco equipment more securely and increase resiliency to attacks. 

Our commitment to driving resilient infrastructure strengthens the security of Cisco solutions and customer networks, reducing the risk of insecure network configurations and delivering proactive detection and response to safeguard against evolving threats. 

To help develop real-world skills, we host hands-on “Capture the Flag” cybersecurity simulations in person and online. In fiscal 2025, more than 40,000 learners around the globe participated, using Cisco products to defend against threats. 

We’re also looking to the next frontier: quantum networking and computing. To help organizations safeguard against looming threats, like quantum computers cracking encryption keys, Cisco published resources on Cryptography in a Post-Quantum World and opened our Cisco Quantum Labs facility to provide space for experimentation, education, and training.  

Building Trust Through Cisco Talos 

Cisco Talos’ mission is to defend Cisco’s customers from the broad threat landscape. Using custom-built detection engines, Talos powers the Cisco portfolio 24/7 — protecting customers across every environment, every event, every day. Talos analyzes up to 886 billion security events per day. To sift through this data, we use ML engines trained on Talos playbooks, with recent AI enhancements including: 

• SnortML: Created by Talos engineers, SnortML uses deep neural networks, rather than static signatures, to detect exploit attempts with greater speed and accuracy.
• Cisco Talos Domain Name System (DNS) Security Service: To help organizations detect DNS tunneling attacks, Talos developed an AI-based DNS Security Service trained on millions of global patterns. 

Talos discovered and responsibly disclosed over 200 zero-day vulnerabilities, or previously unknown security threats, in fiscal 2025. 

Threat detection cannot be done in isolation, which is why Talos is committed to educating and working with the security community. We collaborate with over 60 law enforcement partners, in addition to developing and releasing free open-source tools. Additional services offered by Talos include Cisco Talos Incident Response, which provides emergency and proactive support, and a comprehensive suite of cloud-based threat intelligence services. 

Read the full FY25 Purpose Report

At Cisco, our Purpose is core to who we are and what we do. Learn more about our goals and progress to date in our Purpose Reporting Hub. 

View original content here.

As part of Major League Soccer’s “Greener Goals” initiative, AEG’s LA Galaxy partnered with Heal the Bay on Saturday, April 11, to host a community beach cleanup in Santa Monica.

The cleanup brought together over 60 employees, season ticket holders, and local partners to safeguard Southern California’s coastline, reinforcing a shared commitment to environmental stewardship.

The effort removed 141 pounds of debris from the shoreline, including plastic bottles and food wrappers, helping to prevent further ocean contamination.

The event supported Heal the Bay’s mission to keep Greater Los Angeles watersheds healthy and safe. Eyewear brand Goodr, also supported the activation by providing sunglasses for volunteers, ensuring a safe and comfortable experience during the cleanup.

“As we recognize Earth Month, this beach cleanup is a reminder that protecting our coastline starts with showing up for our communities,” said Gia Friedberg, Community Relations Coordinator for the LA Galaxy. “Partnering with Heal the Bay allows us to take meaningful action—bringing people together to care for our environment and preserve Southern California’s beaches for future generations.”

Volunteers from the Galaxy, Heal the Bay, and partner organizations worked side by side, demonstrating how collaboration can drive meaningful local impact while raising awareness around plastic pollution and ocean conservation.

By participating in the beach cleanup, the LA Galaxy continues to support environmental education and action across Los Angeles, empowering individuals to take part in protecting the region’s natural resources.

Case Study Originally Published on Tempus.com

Bristol Myers Squibb is advancing its efforts to improve equitable access to high‑quality cancer care by applying real‑world insight to where care delivery often breaks down. In a recent case study focused on advanced non‑small cell lung cancer (aNSCLC), BMS worked in collaboration with Tempus to deploy the Tempus Next Pathways program across 13 community‑based health systems. The initiative provided a unified, longitudinal view of the patient journey using de‑identified, near real‑time clinical intelligence, helping to surface where and why patients may fall off guideline‑directed pathways, particularly around biomarker testing.

By illuminating practical barriers to care delivery and variation across settings, including geography and community context, the work supports measurable progress in closing testing gaps and informs BMS’ broader approach to health equity. These insights reinforce BMS’ focus on pairing innovation with accountability, using data to better understand real‑world care and help ensure that advances in oncology reach more patients, including those in historically medically underserved communities.

Read the Case Study here: Tempus Next Pathways unlocked critical insights into the aNSCLC patient journey with Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS) – Tempus