Tag: 3BL

MIDLAND, Mich., February 9, 2024 /3BL/ – Dow (NYSE: DOW) announced that it has been named to the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index (DJSI) by S&P Dow Jones Indices, the world’s leading index provider focused on providing essential sustainability intelligence. This is the 23rd year Dow has achieved this prestigious ranking as one of the top companies in the global chemical industry in terms of sustainability performance.

“It is an honor to once again be recognized among this respected corporate sustainability benchmark, which continues to raise the bar in performance and disclosure transparency expectations,” said Andre Argenton, chief sustainability officer and vice president of Environment, Health, Safety and Sustainability for Dow. “Our ambition to become the most innovative, customer-centric, inclusive and sustainable materials science company in the world propels us to continue advancing a sustainable future for the world as we deliver value growth to all our stakeholders.”

Dow also remains listed on the DJSI North America Index for the 18th consecutive year. Listing on these indices is based on company sustainability performance in a broad range of cross-sectoral and industry-specific topics across governance and economic, environmental and social dimensions. These scores reflect the Company’s continued focus on its ambition in action, performance, accountability and transparency.

The Dow Jones Sustainability Index and the DJSI World Index were launched in 1999 as the pioneering series of global sustainability benchmarks available in the market. The index family is comprised of global, regional and country benchmarks.

For information about Dow’s sustainability and ambition progress, see our INtersections Progress Report.

About Dow 
Dow (NYSE: DOW) combines global breadth; asset integration and scale; focused innovation and materials science expertise; leading business positions; and environmental, social and governance leadership to achieve profitable growth and help deliver a sustainable future. The Company’s ambition is to become the most innovative, customer centric, inclusive and sustainable materials science company in the world. Dow’s portfolio of plastics, industrial intermediates, coatings and silicones businesses delivers a broad range of differentiated, science-based products and solutions for its customers in high-growth market segments, such as packaging, infrastructure, mobility and consumer applications. Dow operates manufacturing sites in 31 countries and employs approximately 37,800 people. Dow delivered sales of approximately $57 billion in 2022. References to Dow or the Company mean Dow Inc. and its subsidiaries. For more information, please visit www.dow.com or follow @DowNewsroom on Twitter.

For further information, please contact:

Rachelle Schikorra 
989-638-4090 
ryschikorra@dow.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/DowNewsroom 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dow/ 
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/dow-chemical 
Instagram: http://instagram.com/dow_official

SOURCE The Dow Chemical Company

Picture this: 12 students ages 11 to 14 are given an assignment. In less than 24 hours, fly to New York City and present a unique idea to the product experts at one of the world’s leading personal care and home fragrance brands. That’s what happened earlier this week when Bath & Body Works partnered with the Ron Clark Academy’s Amazing Shake.

The Ron Clark Academy’s Amazing Shake is an exciting and dynamic competition that rallies leaders and role models together to teach students about professional skills for success. Elementary and middle school students learn and develop professional qualities — from the mechanics of a proper handshake to how to “work the room”— so they can present themselves effectively for opportunities today and in the future. The Ron Clark Academy is a non-profit middle school in Atlanta, Georgia that is internationally recognized for its success in creating a loving, dynamic learning environment that promotes academic excellence and fosters leadership. The competition began in 2011 and today competitions are held across the country with the winners of the event competing in the Global Amazing Shake in March.

Bath & Body Works invited the Amazing Shake students to their NYC offices and challenged them to pitch product ideas which would bring something new and refreshing to the brand. The idea needed to capture the interest and excitement of potential customers while taking into account market data and profitability.

One by one, students entered a large conference room on their own and stood in front of a panel of Bath & Body Works fragrance and product experts. Armed with a slide deck, they had just three minutes to sell their idea. Then, they were subject to a lightning round of questions from the Bath & Body Works judges.

After 12 impressive presentations, the Bath & Body Works team chose Ron Clark Academy student Adrienne Prater as the challenge’s winner. Under wraps for now, Prater’s idea was one-of-a-kind, innovative and something never before offered in Bath & Body Works’ extensive fragrance-first portfolio.

“We were proud to partner with the Ron Clark Academy on the Amazing Shake,” says Bath & Body Works Chief Diversity Officer Kelie Charles. “We’re committed to inspiring the next generation and demonstrating everything that’s possible in fragrance. Each student presentation was so inspiring, and the entire team was truly impressed with the creativity, extensive research and presentation skills of these students. Who knows, there may be a collaboration in the future.”

Congrats to all the students who brought their talents to the Bath & Body Works team. We can’t wait to see what they accomplish next.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Comcast partners with local nonprofits and community organizations to install Lift Zones, which offer free WiFi that enables families to access the Internet and learn digital skills.To showcase the impact this program is having in communities, Comcast teamed up with teens at the Ralph J. Roberts Boys & Girls Club in Philadelphia to see what they are accomplishing with the help of their Lift Zone.Lift Zones are a critical component of how Project UP provides the tools, resources, and skills people and communities need to succeed in a digital world. 74% of Lift Zone users surveyed would recommend them to others.

Why Do You Lift?

The global pandemic in 2020 changed the way we work, learn, and communicate. Among the biggest shifts were mandatory remote learning and work-from-home policies that called attention to the persistence of the digital divide.

Comcast created “Lift Zones” to help combat digital inequities and connect more families to essential resources like Digital Navigators – tech experts who can assist people with getting online, using devices, and acquiring digital skills. These WiFi-connected hubs also provide free Internet access and other digital services in neighborhood locations including community centers, gyms, parks and recreation facilities, and even small businesses.

At the time, the goal of Lift Zones was to work collaboratively with local governments and civic leaders, educators, and community nonprofit organizations to provide spaces where students and caregivers could go while schools were shut down.

Today, the award-winning Lift Zones program is a core component of Project UP – our comprehensive $1 billion initiative to connect people to the Internet and provide the digital skills training needed to unlock economic opportunity. Comcast has now installed more than 1,250 Lift Zones nationwide.

In the new digital series “Why Do You Lift,” Comcast sat down with several teens at the Ralph J. Roberts Boys & Girls Club – a Comcast Lift Zone in Philadelphia’s Germantown neighborhood – to learn what they have been able to accomplish with the help of free WiFi and digital skills assistance. These teens are using their Lift Zone for enhanced learning outside the classroom – from teaching a new generation of musicians, to exploring the world through art, to mentoring other young people.

What is a Lift Zone?

Lift Zones are spaces in neighborhood community centers that provide free Internet access for students and families. The initiative also offers hundreds of hours of free educational and digital skills content to help navigate online learning. The type of location can vary – it can be a nonprofit community center, a gym, a parks and recreation facility, or even a small business.

They can help:

Students do homework before or after school.Adults work remotely or apply for a job.Seniors learn digital skills.Veterans advance their careers and access their hard-earned healthcare benefits.People access telehealth appointments.Connect someone with a Digital Navigator for tech support.

The Impact of Lift Zones

In an effort to understand the ways in which having Lift Zones in a community positively impacted students and their families, Comcast partnered with Benenson Strategy Group to conduct research on the topic.

Access to reliable WiFi, devices, and a supportive neighborhood space helped reduce frustrations with remote learning that many families who did not use Lift Zones experienced. In fact, parents who turned to Lift Zones during the pandemic were not only significantly more satisfied with the community resources that were available to support learning, but also looked more favorably upon how their children’s schools and local governments managed remote learning. Nearly all of the parents surveyed who relied on Lift Zones said they have been helpful, and many have continued to return to them again and again.

An overwhelming majority of community leaders also said that ensuring children have access to high-speed Internet and essential technology should be a priority. Even now that children are back in classrooms, both parents and community leaders see additional potential for Lift Zones in the future, including providing online access to educational resources as well as devices for adults who lack them at home. Among the potential offerings identified as most helpful are after-school programs like AI tutoring to meet specific needs of students, coaching for students applying to college, tech support for using devices or troubleshooting problems, telehealth pods for medical appointments, and programs to teach seniors how to use technology to improve their health and safety.

The Benenson Strategy Group study found compelling evidence that Lift Zones are already helping parents and children:

90% Nearly all Lift Zones users say they have been helpful.62% More than 6 in 10 Lift Zone users have returned to get online more than twice.74% About 3 in 4 Lift Zone users are very likely to recommend the Lift Zone in their community.

With broad support for Lift Zones and the resources they provide to children and families, Comcast remains focused on ensuring Lift Zones continue to make an impact in communities nationwide.

Client background

KG Development Group, a real estate development firm based in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, was founded by Anthony Kazee and Jamila Gray, two innovative emerging developers with a passion for bringing affordable housing to communities with supportive services for residents. KG Development Group sets themselves apart by being “intentional developers” and providing solutions to remove many social determinants of health barriers associated with housing needs.

The business challenge

As an emerging developer in the affordable housing industry, KG Development Group needed help conceptualizing, organizing and applying for funding sources to close its deals. Low-income housing tax credits (LIHTC) utilization can be nuanced and complex with the many financing hurdles that a developer needs to navigate. KG Development Group sought after a proven and experienced team to pull the funding structure together and visualize the project to make it come to fruition.

Baker Tilly’s strategy and solution

To address the challenges faced by KG Development Group, Baker Tilly’s housing team worked closely with Kazee and Gray to understand where the financing gaps were and how to overcome hurdles associated with various financing sources. The team also helped with market studies to get a better sense of their target community, application of tax credits, including LIHTC, structuring and closing services for an affordable housing building development in Sheboygan, Wisconsin and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Baker Tilly helped the emerging developer build capacity through education and creating relationships to position KG Development Group and Kazee and Gray for future success.

For more insights, visit Baker Tilly’s multifamily housing page.

Client background

KG Development Group, a real estate development firm based in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, was founded by Anthony Kazee and Jamila Gray, two innovative emerging developers with a passion for bringing affordable housing to communities with supportive services for residents. KG Development Group sets themselves apart by being “intentional developers” and providing solutions to remove many social determinants of health barriers associated with housing needs.

The business challenge

As an emerging developer in the affordable housing industry, KG Development Group needed help conceptualizing, organizing and applying for funding sources to close its deals. Low-income housing tax credits (LIHTC) utilization can be nuanced and complex with the many financing hurdles that a developer needs to navigate. KG Development Group sought after a proven and experienced team to pull the funding structure together and visualize the project to make it come to fruition.

Baker Tilly’s strategy and solution

To address the challenges faced by KG Development Group, Baker Tilly’s housing team worked closely with Kazee and Gray to understand where the financing gaps were and how to overcome hurdles associated with various financing sources. The team also helped with market studies to get a better sense of their target community, application of tax credits, including LIHTC, structuring and closing services for an affordable housing building development in Sheboygan, Wisconsin and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Baker Tilly helped the emerging developer build capacity through education and creating relationships to position KG Development Group and Kazee and Gray for future success.

For more insights, visit Baker Tilly’s multifamily housing page.

GREENFIELD, Ind., February 7, 2024 /3BL/ – Athian (athian.ai) announced the establishment of the first-of-its-kind voluntary livestock carbon insetting marketplace, with the first accepted protocol aimed at reducing enteric methane emissions and improving feed utilization by using innovative feed management products from Elanco Animal Health (NYSE: ELAN). This new carbon marketplace creates an opportunity for farmers to monetize their greenhouse gas emission reductions.

Athian is verifying its first farms and creating, certifying and selling carbon credits within the dairy value chain. This means:

Dairy farmers of all sizes now have the opportunity to implement on-farm sustainability interventions, measure the impact and participate in third-party verification for their greenhouse gas emissions reductions. The resulting carbon credits can be offered for sale in Athian’s livestock carbon insetting marketplace.Companies in the dairy value chain (such as consumer-packaged goods companies and food retailers) can then purchase those carbon credits as contributions towards achieving their Scope 3 emissions reduction goals.With the purchase of these credits, economic value is returned to the farmer via the sale while supporting the U.S. dairy industry progress towards their own environmental commitments of greenhouse gas neutrality by 2050.1Over the long term, this marketplace will expand to other livestock & poultry.

“Athian’s first carbon credits for dairy are an exciting and crucial step as they demonstrate the ability to tangibly quantify and verify greenhouse gas emissions reductions and create monetary value for farmers for their efforts,” said Paul Myer, CEO of Athian. “This marketplace, specifically designed for the animal protein industry, is different than traditional offsetting carbon marketplaces because it keeps the value—economic value as well as positive environmental value—in the animal protein value chain.”

Empowering Farmers with Economic Opportunities

Despite widespread awareness of carbon markets by farmers, only 3% of farmers are participating in these markets today, according to a recent survey cited by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).2 Creating an inset market model that works with recognized supply chain partners makes it easier for farmers to measure and implement rigorous verifications, will help break these barriers to entry and accelerate progress.  

“As a co-creator and seed investor in Athian, we’re excited to see the company reach the milestones that will bring new value to farmers and help them advance toward climate-neutral farming,” said Jeff Simmons, President and CEO of Elanco Animal Health. “As a leader in animal health, we’ve focused first on delivering enteric methane reduction solutions to producers. If the entire U.S. dairy industry leveraged this intervention, it would avoid 4.7 million metric tons of CO2e emissions annually from enteric, feed and manure emissions. This is a game changer for value creation throughout the food chain, and it’s just the start. Environmental sustainability needs to be grounded in farmer profitability.”

Elanco also developed UpLook™, an insights-based engine designed to measure and monitor greenhouse gas emissions. The tool utilizes on-farm data and peer-reviewed science to identify key drivers of an operation’s carbon footprint and track the progress of their sustainability efforts. UpLook connects seamlessly to Athian’s cloud-based verification system to help farmers quantify their reduction efforts and certify carbon credits for sale.

Enabling The Value Chain to Achieve Sustainability Goals

Food companies and retailers have made public commitments to collectively reduce more than 100 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. Despite the progress in corporate target-setting, the reduction of Scope 3 emissions, which typically come from the production of raw materials like milk, has been a significant challenge. The creation of Athian’s insetting livestock carbon credit marketplace provides companies in the animal protein value chain the opportunity to make meaningful progress toward their Scope 3 greenhouse gas reduction goals.

Athian and Elanco are participating in the Reuters Transform Food USA 2023 event on Thursday, November 2, 2023, to speak more about this transformation.

Enteric methane reduction carbon credits are now available for purchase through Athian’s insetting carbon marketplace. Visit www.athian.ai to learn more and connect directly with Athian.

Additional Resources:

https://www.athian.ai/knowledge-hub

ABOUT ELANCO
Elanco Animal Health Incorporated (NYSE: ELAN) is a global leader in animal health dedicated to innovating and delivering products and services to prevent and treat disease in farm animals and pets, creating value for farmers, pet owners, veterinarians, stakeholders, and society as a whole. With nearly 70 years of animal health heritage, we are committed to helping our customers improve the health of animals in their care, while also making a meaningful impact on our local and global communities. At Elanco, we are driven by our vision of Food and Companionship Enriching Life and our Elanco Healthy Purpose™ Sustainability Pledges –all to advance the health of animals, people, and the planet.

ABOUT ATHIAN
Athian’s key mission is to help the beef and dairy value chains capture and claim carbon credits generated through on-farm sustainability efforts by aggregating, verifying, and certifying greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions, and monetizing those reductions for the producer through the sale of carbon insetting credits. 

1. https://www.usdairy.com/sustainability/environmental-sustainability

2. USDA Releases Assessment on Agriculture and Forestry in Carbon Markets | USDA

Media Contact
Season Solorio
+1.765.316.0233
season.solorio@elancoah.com

Investor Contact
Kathryn Grissom
+1.317.273.9284
kathryn.grissom@elancoah.com

GREENFIELD, Ind., February 7, 2024 /3BL/ – Athian (athian.ai) announced the establishment of the first-of-its-kind voluntary livestock carbon insetting marketplace, with the first accepted protocol aimed at reducing enteric methane emissions and improving feed utilization by using innovative feed management products from Elanco Animal Health (NYSE: ELAN). This new carbon marketplace creates an opportunity for farmers to monetize their greenhouse gas emission reductions.

Athian is verifying its first farms and creating, certifying and selling carbon credits within the dairy value chain. This means:

Dairy farmers of all sizes now have the opportunity to implement on-farm sustainability interventions, measure the impact and participate in third-party verification for their greenhouse gas emissions reductions. The resulting carbon credits can be offered for sale in Athian’s livestock carbon insetting marketplace.Companies in the dairy value chain (such as consumer-packaged goods companies and food retailers) can then purchase those carbon credits as contributions towards achieving their Scope 3 emissions reduction goals.With the purchase of these credits, economic value is returned to the farmer via the sale while supporting the U.S. dairy industry progress towards their own environmental commitments of greenhouse gas neutrality by 2050.1Over the long term, this marketplace will expand to other livestock & poultry.

“Athian’s first carbon credits for dairy are an exciting and crucial step as they demonstrate the ability to tangibly quantify and verify greenhouse gas emissions reductions and create monetary value for farmers for their efforts,” said Paul Myer, CEO of Athian. “This marketplace, specifically designed for the animal protein industry, is different than traditional offsetting carbon marketplaces because it keeps the value—economic value as well as positive environmental value—in the animal protein value chain.”

Empowering Farmers with Economic Opportunities

Despite widespread awareness of carbon markets by farmers, only 3% of farmers are participating in these markets today, according to a recent survey cited by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).2 Creating an inset market model that works with recognized supply chain partners makes it easier for farmers to measure and implement rigorous verifications, will help break these barriers to entry and accelerate progress.  

“As a co-creator and seed investor in Athian, we’re excited to see the company reach the milestones that will bring new value to farmers and help them advance toward climate-neutral farming,” said Jeff Simmons, President and CEO of Elanco Animal Health. “As a leader in animal health, we’ve focused first on delivering enteric methane reduction solutions to producers. If the entire U.S. dairy industry leveraged this intervention, it would avoid 4.7 million metric tons of CO2e emissions annually from enteric, feed and manure emissions. This is a game changer for value creation throughout the food chain, and it’s just the start. Environmental sustainability needs to be grounded in farmer profitability.”

Elanco also developed UpLook™, an insights-based engine designed to measure and monitor greenhouse gas emissions. The tool utilizes on-farm data and peer-reviewed science to identify key drivers of an operation’s carbon footprint and track the progress of their sustainability efforts. UpLook connects seamlessly to Athian’s cloud-based verification system to help farmers quantify their reduction efforts and certify carbon credits for sale.

Enabling The Value Chain to Achieve Sustainability Goals

Food companies and retailers have made public commitments to collectively reduce more than 100 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. Despite the progress in corporate target-setting, the reduction of Scope 3 emissions, which typically come from the production of raw materials like milk, has been a significant challenge. The creation of Athian’s insetting livestock carbon credit marketplace provides companies in the animal protein value chain the opportunity to make meaningful progress toward their Scope 3 greenhouse gas reduction goals.

Athian and Elanco are participating in the Reuters Transform Food USA 2023 event on Thursday, November 2, 2023, to speak more about this transformation.

Enteric methane reduction carbon credits are now available for purchase through Athian’s insetting carbon marketplace. Visit www.athian.ai to learn more and connect directly with Athian.

Additional Resources:

https://www.athian.ai/knowledge-hub

ABOUT ELANCO
Elanco Animal Health Incorporated (NYSE: ELAN) is a global leader in animal health dedicated to innovating and delivering products and services to prevent and treat disease in farm animals and pets, creating value for farmers, pet owners, veterinarians, stakeholders, and society as a whole. With nearly 70 years of animal health heritage, we are committed to helping our customers improve the health of animals in their care, while also making a meaningful impact on our local and global communities. At Elanco, we are driven by our vision of Food and Companionship Enriching Life and our Elanco Healthy Purpose™ Sustainability Pledges –all to advance the health of animals, people, and the planet.

ABOUT ATHIAN
Athian’s key mission is to help the beef and dairy value chains capture and claim carbon credits generated through on-farm sustainability efforts by aggregating, verifying, and certifying greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions, and monetizing those reductions for the producer through the sale of carbon insetting credits. 

1. https://www.usdairy.com/sustainability/environmental-sustainability

2. USDA Releases Assessment on Agriculture and Forestry in Carbon Markets | USDA

Media Contact
Season Solorio
+1.765.316.0233
season.solorio@elancoah.com

Investor Contact
Kathryn Grissom
+1.317.273.9284
kathryn.grissom@elancoah.com

Originally published on Built From Scratch

The Home Depot is proud to be recognized on Fortune’s 2024 Most Admired Companies List. The company ranked #1 in the specialty retail category for the second year in row and #19 overall, moving up one spot from the previous year.

Fortune worked with Korn Ferry to compile this list, reviewing 1,500 businesses and determining the best-regarded companies across 52 industries. The team surveyed executives, directors and analysts to rate enterprises in their own industry on various criteria, from investment value and quality of management and products to social responsibility and ability to attract talent.

Thank you to our associates, suppliers and nonprofit partners for their hard work, which led to this distinction. To learn more about how the company is doing its part, read about our economic impact or review the latest ESG report.

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.

Originally published on Built From Scratch

The Home Depot is proud to be recognized on Fortune’s 2024 Most Admired Companies List. The company ranked #1 in the specialty retail category for the second year in row and #19 overall, moving up one spot from the previous year.

Fortune worked with Korn Ferry to compile this list, reviewing 1,500 businesses and determining the best-regarded companies across 52 industries. The team surveyed executives, directors and analysts to rate enterprises in their own industry on various criteria, from investment value and quality of management and products to social responsibility and ability to attract talent.

Thank you to our associates, suppliers and nonprofit partners for their hard work, which led to this distinction. To learn more about how the company is doing its part, read about our economic impact or review the latest ESG report.

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.

We were proud sponsors and partners to last week’s impactful Black Professionals & Leaders Dinner held at Arizona State University. 

The dinner, presented by the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated Zeta Alpha Chapter, allowed us to support efforts to bridge the gap between black undergraduate students and working professionals.

This event provided the space for these students to engage with working professionals across multiple industries and help them to better understand the journey from college to professional working life.

Our own LaDonna Corn MBA, MPA and Gretchen E.F. Williams, MBA represented Northern Trust on the night and joined the students for the dinner and shared their perspectives on life at Northern Trust and their own careers to date.

Their key messages for the students on the night were “your mind is very important and as you think so you are, believe in yourself” and to “never give up on your dreams and understand you might have to pivot sometimes, but it does not impact who you are”.

Learn all about the opportunities in the graduate and student space at Northern Trust here.