Tag: 3BL

Koch Disruptive Technologies (KDT) has led a $32 million Series C round in Silo, the leading provider of modern technology solutions for the supply chain.

Silo’s platform enables distributors and shipper businesses to access financial solutions and data insights, such as accounts payable and accounts receivable automation, inventory management, ledger accounting and financing.

WHY IT MATTERS: A 2023 PwC survey found that while 86% of respondents said their organizations should invest more in technologies that identify, track and measure supply chain risk, only a minority said they’re using them to automate and enhance performance.

Silo employs several AI models to assess a business’s risk and detect anomalies during the funding process and to various components of the perishable supply chain, including underwriting, product taxonomy, document extraction and fraud detection.“Once Silo was in the payment flow, we could pair the data collected from our software with payments products to both underwrite and collect better than any bank,” said Ashton Braun, CEO and co-founder of Silo. “This is the basis for a number of new services Silo is working on within supply chain finance, logistics coordination and internal workflow automation.”

WHY KOCH INVESTED: “What Silo is doing is impressive because they are providing actionable solutions in a complex, competitive market that bring immediate benefits to businesses using their products,” said KDT Managing Director Brendon Durkin. “Given the success they’ve had in perishable foods, we think there is an opportunity to apply their products to other supply chains and commodities. We’re excited to see what they’ll be able to do next.”

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING: “We’re pleased to have built such a strong base of investors who bring a diverse set of expertise to the table. Koch Industries is one of the greatest supply chain companies. Adding KDT to the team validates what we’re trying to achieve and brings additional supply chain expertise as we take Silo to the next level. Pairing that with the existing investor base, which has deep technical and fintech knowledge is very exciting as we expand our impact within the supply chain in 2023 and beyond,” Ashton said.

In an interview with TechCrunch, he explained Silo’s ongoing impact: “These financing programs are helping small- and medium-sized businesses within perishable supply chains scale their operations, find stability in a rapidly consolidating landscape and compete at a level that has historically been set aside for only the elite, larger businesses within the industry. Leveraging a combination of data insights and access to additional working capital, through financing, gives companies the confidence to execute on market opportunities that give them a stronger seat at a rapidly consolidating table.”

IN ACTION: Their customers have seen impressive results, including three Miami-based distributors who experienced a 350% increase in revenue after a year of using Silo Capital and its “Instant Pay” program.

GO DEEPER: Others participating in the round included existing investors Andreessen Horowitz, Haystack Capital, Tribe Capital, Collate Capital and Moore Capital.

It’s also coupled with another $100 million from First Citizens Bank to launch a new funding program called “Cash Advance” to accelerate Silo’s growth of financial services solutions and product development.

Read more about Silo in TechCrunch.

Las Vegas Sands

With a capacity-building investment from Sands Cares, the Asian Community Development Council (ACDC) has created a series of events, awareness programs and engagement initiatives to increase access to medical and social services among Southern Nevada’s diverse Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) community.

Announced in mid-2023, the latest round of Sands Cares funding for ACDC continued support for the Healthy Asians and Pacific Islanders (HAPI) Medical Center and the API Language Link, which provide critical in-language health and social services to the Southern Nevada AAPI community.

Since that time, ACDC has used the Sands Cares investment to create a series of community health and wellness events to boost awareness of the medical center’s services and drive visits. ACDC co-hosted more than 40 events that delivered health screenings, wellness information and 2,000 vaccines to 1,500 clients.

The nonprofit planned events at venues trusted by the Southern Nevada AAPI community, including grocery stores, the Uu Dam Pagoda Vietnamese Temple, Northern Nevada Muslim Community Center and the Martin Luther King Jr. Senior Center. Medical center staff and care providers communicated with attendees in their preferred languages to explain services available to them.

According to ACDC, health and wellness events at these locations have been a successful strategy, driving more than 250 patients in 2023 to seek care at the HAPI Medical Center – in the language with which they feel most comfortable.

ACDC also has pursued expansion of its API Language Link with Sands Cares funding. In 2021, Sands enabled ACDC to launch the language service, which connects Southern Nevada AAPI community members to a variety of social services. With Sands Cares’ most recent investment, ACDC has expanded the language link to include nine language specialists who can provide support in 10 languages.

The API Language Link connects community members to health care services at the HAPI Medical Center and ACDC’s other direct service locations, including a culturally sensitive food distribution warehouse in Las Vegas and a second community resource center in Reno, Nevada.

ACDC followed a strategy similar to the health and wellness community engagement series to expand its food outreach efforts by planning a series of pop-up events in trusted places where the organization provided food staples and supplies. Venues included the Buddhaya Nandharam Temple, the Wat Buddhica Khmer Temple, the Diwali Food Distribution and a partnership with the Filipino American Educators of Nevada (FAME) for a holiday food distribution event.

API Language Link staff were on site at the pop-up events to educate about the array of services ACDC offers. Through the food outreach series, the nonprofit provided nearly 2,500 families and nearly 6,000 individuals with food supplies.

“Sands Cares has made it possible for us to pursue a robust slate of events in the places where our community members feel most comfortable so we can further establish the HAPI Medical Center and the API Language Link as trusted resources for our communities,” Vida Lin, founder and president of ACDC, said. “We are grateful that Sands understands the need for in-language services to increase access to critical resources. The Sands Cares support we received has helped ensure we reach as many people as possible with the broad array of services we provide.”

ACDC’s mission is to improve the overall well-being of AAPI communities through initiatives spanning food assistance, voter registration, health insurance support, pathways to citizenship and health care. Since 2021, Sands has provided $425,000 to support this mission through the HAPI Medical Center and API Language Link.

The company’s partnership with ACDC is representative of Sands Cares’ focus on providing hardship relief and enabling underserved groups, including diverse communities, to overcome barriers and gain access to critical and empowering services.

To learn more about Sands’ community engagement initiatives, read the company’s latest ESG report: https://www.sands.com/2022-environmental-social-and-governance-report/

Schneider Electric

Government and business leaders, climate experts, and other stakeholders gathering for the COP28 United Nations Climate Change Conference in December know that accelerating the energy transition is more important than ever. We are just 0.3°C away from overshooting pre-industrial targets, according to the World Energy Outlook 2023.

The good news is that more and more companies are making big efforts to reduce their carbon footprints. But what, exactly, are “their” emissions?

The easiest emissions to understand and address are what’s called Scope 1 and 2—those that are directly or indirectly produced by a company’s own operations. These include their energy consumption and the burning of fuel by their fleet of vehicles.

By far the largest part of a company’s carbon emissions, however—more than 70%, according to the UN Global Compact—come from the value chain (upstream and downstream activities). These “Scope 3” emissions come from suppliers’ goods and services, delivering products, using their products, and disposing their products when they reach their end of life.

So, businesses that are serious about decarbonization need to look beyond their own operations and address their entire value chain. And they need to realize that encouraging and helping their suppliers, customers, and other business partners to strive for greater energy efficiency—through electrification and digital and automation technologies—and cleaner energy procurement, is a huge part of the answer.

Recently, I discussed all this with other experts in the field at an FT Digital Dialogues event. I’ve summarized my ideas here to help other business leaders.

Navigating the challenges of Scope 3

Undoubtedly, there’s a lot to gain by increasing energy efficiency in value chains—both to lower corporate and global emissions, and in terms of costs. After all, investing in energy efficiency is investing in a saving. Crucially, when companies in a connected ecosystem decarbonize, the speed of progress increases rapidly.

But Scope 3 emissions are notoriously difficult to tackle. Companies lack direct control over what their supply-chain partners do to lower their energy use and carbon footprint. Their suppliers are often geographically and organizationally disparate. And some may operate in hard-to-abate heavy industries.

There’s also limited visibility when trying to account accurately for emissions from assets or activities that a company neither owns nor operates. Many suppliers are often small-medium enterprises (SMEs) with little or no in-house expertise or resources to prioritize this.

All of this comes amid of lingering post-pandemic disruptions, see-sawing raw materials and energy costs, and escalating geopolitical tensions.

So, how can companies navigate these hurdles?

Rethinking Scope 3 emissions strategies and setting targets

Any company looking to decarbonize across all scopes needs to break the process down into three key stages: strategize, digitize, and decarbonize.

The first step—strategize—involves establishing a baseline and setting strategic ambitions. The second—digitize—is about tracking real-time energy use and carbon impact using digital tools. The third—decarbonize—is about transitioning to renewable energy, electrifying operations, and driving efficiency.

Schneider has researched and mapped out scenarios to reach net-zero emission goals based on technology trends, climate action, and policy changes. We predict that demand-side actions—including optimizing energy use and shifting to electrically-powered processes—will make up around 55% of the carbon reduction required by 2050.

Digital technologies are central to this. Digital makes data visible, and if you can see it, you can track it. They provide businesses with the data they need to adjust and enhance their efficiency across assets, processes, and operations.

Schneider Electric’s Resource Advisor platform, for example, helps track emissions data against key metrics. Zeigo Activate empowers small and medium-sized companies to measure their emissions, build a decarbonization roadmap, and access solution providers. One solution is designed for large companies and the other one for SMEs, thus covering the whole ecosystem.

Making Scope 3 decarbonization progress through collaboration

We’ve been making strong progress on upstream Scope 3 decarbonization with our top 1,000 suppliers. The Zero Carbon Project, launched in April 2021, has a goal to halve their operational carbon emissions by 2025. By helping our suppliers set clear goals and milestones, we’ve armed them with the digital tools, training, and support to get started, and given them access to a community of like-minded firms to share what they learn.

Another concrete example of collaboration is our Energize program. Here, Schneider Electric is advising 16 of the world’s leading pharmaceutical companies on their renewable-energy procurement plans to deliver system-level decarbonization. So far, over 360 participating supplier companies have purchased more than 47,000 megawatt hours of aggregate Energy Attribute Certificates (EACs). The similar Catalyze program also works on a supply chain cohort approach, this time across the semiconductor industry.

Finally, on November 29th, ahead of COP 28, the Alliance of CEO Climate Leaders—CEOs from over 60 major companies, who have committed to reaching net zero emissions by 2050, including Schneider Electric—have launched the Scope 3 Upstream Action Plan. The Plan will see them set targets, encourage suppliers to increase transparency of their carbon footprints, and ultimately disclose and reduce Scope 3 upstream emissions.

On the Scope 3 downstream side, Schneider’s goal is to reduce emissions from the use of our products over their lifetime. We are designing our products and solutions to be more energy and material efficient, requiring less hardware to deliver an outcome, and we provide EcoCare Services to keep products healthy for longer.

Recently, Schneider Electric partnered with ArcelorMittal to use their steel produced from recycled and renewable material to manufacture our electrical products. Thus, we are saving up to 70% of CO2 emissions in the production of our PanelSeT enclosures. We also provide SF6-free equipment and SF6 recovery services to cut emissions from this climate-harmful gas.

Not sure how to begin?

Decarbonizing your value chain is a significant undertaking, and many companies are unsure of what targets are realistic and achievable.

By partnering with Schneider Electric, you can access the support and resources you need to succeed. The urgency of Scope 3 decarbonization is also an opportunity for companies to take ownership, with a trusted advisor by their side, and help their supplier networks do the same.

Cisco was honored last year to win the top spot on People’s 2023 List of Companies That Care, and a key factor was our employee culture of giving back.

We’ve been on a multi-year journey to engage our employees for positive impact at scale. Four years in, the results surprised even us. Not only did we see significant increases in donations and volunteerism to our global communities, but tangible benefits back to Cisco.

“We learned from Cisco’s own business transformation to make giving back a habit.”

Leveraging Business Transformation for Employee Giving

It all started with an audacious goal around 2016 to engage 80% of our employees in giving back annually by the year 2020. We diligently adopted best practices in the field such as offering year-round donation matching, raised annual match amounts to $25,000 per employee, and offered 40 hours of volunteer time off per year. These were an excellent foundation and edged our engagement up to 50%. Good, but not enough.

The breakthrough came when we shifted to learn from Cisco’s own business transformation and re-design around the question: How do we make giving back a habit? We landed on these design principles:

Center on inclusion and make it simple for nonparticipants to take their first give back action. For example, we provided new hires with $15 donation credits to direct to their preferred charity on their first day at Cisco.Leverage digitization to engage at scale. From virtual volunteerism to Webex chatbots that encouraged people to donate, we deployed digital features to keep it top of mind, make it easy to get started, and keep coming back.Follow the data. In near real time, we tested new programs and approaches, tweaked campaigns and communications, and monitored adoption rates all to help us get the best fit for and connection with our people.

We continued to iterate through 2019, and that year we hit our goal with 81% employee participation. Since then, we haven’t looked back. We have been sustaining these rates, including an increase to 85% participation in fiscal year 2023.

Hitting our goal felt like a feat unto itself, but what came out of it was even better—increased social impact and substantial business value. Let’s look at the numbers.

Leveraging Employee Giving for Social Impact

Not surprisingly, engaging at scale grew our employee volunteerism and giving exponentially. From 2016 to 2020 when we first hit 80%, we saw a 176% increase in volunteer hours and a 150% increase in employee donations and matching.

And each year that we’ve hit 80%, we have sustained record levels of contributions, providing a total of $130 million to over 7,000 nonprofits over the past four years. When you look closely at the nearly one million actions taken over these years, you see meaningful stories of change, like:

400 employees and friends hiking the Camino de Santiago trail in Spain to raise funds for global cancer charitiesSix Cisco engineers designing and installing a network for homeless shelters in San Jose, California, so residents can access information and resources for a better lifeCisco employee Daniel volunteers every week to take live calls with the Trevor Project to support LGBTQ+ youth experiencing crisis

Leveraging Social Impact for Business Value

Cisco’s purpose is to Power an Inclusive Future for All, and at the heart of this is the belief that doing good for the world is good for business—and we have the data to prove that it is.

With the help of Cisco’s Research and Intelligence team, we conducted a longitudinal study to explore the relationship between giving back at Cisco and individual, leader, and team performance data. We examined the first three years of Cisco’s 80% engagement data—who gave back, what they did, and how frequently—against performance data to analyze business factors like attrition, promotion, bonuses, and recognition.

The results were eye-opening. Compared to employees who did not take any community impact action, those who took at least one per year stayed longer at Cisco, had higher bonuses, had higher odds of promotion, and received more recognition from others.

The same held true for specific subgroups like teams, leaders, and new hires. For example, when a team collectively engaged in giving back, the whole team had higher rates of promotion and higher recognition.

Particularly compelling was that when leaders engaged in giving back, their team was more likely to give back as well. Such leaders had 20% lower attrition rates for their teams than their non-engaged counterparts.

Doing Good for the World is Good for Business

When we put these elements together—social impact and business value—this is the foundation for building a purpose-driven employee culture. Our journey has helped us demonstrate that making a positive impact to our world also makes an incredibly positive impact for Cisco.

And like any good story, the end is just the beginning. While we continue to engage at scale, we also invite our broader ecosystem of business partners, customers, and suppliers to join us. Check out our Partnering for Purpose blog stories for examples and contact us to share your story.

View original content here.

January 23, 2024 /3BL/ – 2023 has been another great year for Allen & York, specialists in Green Executive Search & Recruitment. We’ve celebrated 30 years in business, reached an incredible 30,000 followers on LinkedIn and continued to grow the green economy by placing talent with many valued, existing clients and some fantastic new clients: delivering great hires where they’re needed most.

Our specialist recruitment areas include Environment, Renewable Energy, Sustainability & ESG, Health, Safety and Wellbeing, and Green Tech and Climate Change. We have and continue to place great hires all over the world, helping to create a skilled, diverse workforce.

Our CEO and Founder, Mark Allen has a story or two about Environmental & Sustainability recruitment, but we wanted to ask him why he founded Allen & York and how he was feeling 30 years on.

“I founded Allen & York 30 years ago because I could see there was a need for a specialist recruitment consultancy like ours. The world was just starting to wake up to the realisation that the planet couldn’t continue its current trajectory. I was motivated and passionate to make a difference – I felt like a facilitator of positive change and growth within the fledgling environmental sector. The people and businesses operating in this space at the time; we all felt like pioneers. It was new, exciting, and felt that what we were doing was incredibly important. I wanted to play my part. Allen & York was one of the first, if not the first, environmental recruitment consultancies in the world. And so, a new industry was born. 

Over the years, Allen & York have helped thousands of people find the right roles with purposeful organisations. We will help thousands more in the future. Our client base is global and diverse. Over the years we’ve worked with big-brand corporates, consultancies, not-for-profits, and NGOs. Each role receives our utmost care and attention. Because of this, we’ve built – and continue to build – lifelong relationships with our clients, which I am hugely proud of. 

Thirty years on I feel just as motivated to continue this journey. The challenges remain, maybe even more so now than they did 30 years ago, but with challenge comes opportunity and we will take the opportunity to continue to make a difference.” 

So, what’s been your proudest professional achievement so far? 

“There’s not been a single achievement – the last 30 years have been an absolute pleasure. I would have to say I’m most proud of the people at Allen & York and what we have achieved together. A huge thanks to everyone who has contributed to our story – those who have left their legacy – thank you. You know who you are and how grateful I am. They helped build the foundations on which Allen & York stand today. To the current team and their continued efforts to deliver on what I set out to achieve, and to the new faces yet to join us who will help continue to make a difference. 

Together we’ve created a company which is trusted by a diverse, cross section of organisations, from large, global, world-leading brands who have complex recruitment needs and very specific requirements, to smaller SMEs without the ready access to internal resources to support their hiring. Those ambitious and talented smaller organisations that are on the way up and just starting their journeys. We have worked closely with many such organisations and watched with pride as they have grown and flourished over the years. Indeed, nothing gives us greater satisfaction than to help such organisations when they most need it. 

We are incredibly proud to have supported all these organisations and helped them shape their teams with talented people who are making a difference.” 

Finally, looking to the future, what’s next for Allen & York?

“We’ll continue to strive to improve, learn and adapt and ultimately to be a first –choice recruitment partner and thought leader in our principal sectors, at the forefront of developments within the industry. 

With the momentous steps taken at the recent COP28 and the desire of the nations to transition away from fossil fuels, Allen & York will be there to support, inspire and add value to our client’s recruitment strategies. We aim to continue to grow and diversify, meeting the needs of our clients. We’ll continue to champion ethical best practice – working with purpose-led organisations to find purposeful people is what we’ve been doing for 30 years, long may that continue!” 

At Allen & York, we’ve built a vast network of talent, managed by dedicated professionals. Whether you’re a big-brand corporate, a consultancy, non-profit or NGO, we can help you hire and deliver value through your recruitment process. To find out how we can help you find the right person for the right role, contact one of our experienced and knowledgeable consultants for an informal, confidential chat on 01202 888986 or email hello@allen-york.com 

www.allen-york.com 

International Olympic Committee news

We must make sport available to all children, regardless of their personal situations and backgrounds, and the Olympic Games are the perfect way to inspire them, says two-time Olympic champion Aksel Lund Svindal.

The Olympic Games are the greatest stage in sport. For everyone involved and for everyone interested in sport, excitement and entertainment. Everyone comes together from different sports and cultures.

As an athlete, there is this crazy mix of the Games being the most important competition of your career, but on the other side you are getting a bigger perspective and feeling a part of something greater. Sport is beautiful, showcases some great values and is extremely inclusive. Nothing has the potential of the Olympic Games when it comes to showing this to a united world.

I was born and raised in the Oslo region of Norway and skied with my family as a child, then more and more with local ski clubs. When I was 15, I moved five hours north of Oslo to start school at a ski resort called Oppdal. They had a special programme for ski racing. I made my way through the different levels and started racing in World Cups regularly at the age of 19. I’m proud to say that I lived my dream, racing at the highest level for 17 years.

It’s the memories that really put a smile on my face – small and big moments from competition, training, travels and friendships. It’s hard to single out specific events – to me it is the sum of what I achieved, but just as much who I did it with and how we did it.

I still get goosebumps looking at the images from the Olympic Winter Games Lillehammer 1994. I think I was a bit young to get inspired in a “I’m going to win a gold medal” kind of way, but it made me proud to be a skier and to be Norwegian. I don’t think Norwegians have ever felt so united and proud, but at the same time never as inclusive and welcoming to guests who came from around the world to join the Olympics. What is unique about the Games is that they have the capability of reaching everyone. Having a whole nation’s attention is unique, especially when it’s something positive and inspiring.

The Winter Youth Olympic Games (YOG) Lillehammer 2016 were also a great event for the sports community in Norway and in general for the Lillehammer region, and I would love to see Norway host the Winter Olympics again in the future.

Our country has a strong culture for winter sports, and I would like to give a lot of credit to the local clubs. They do a great job of making sports available to kids and very inclusive for everyone, and at the same time manage to stimulate the kids who are more ambitious. When you combine that with a culture in elite sports, like the one we have built in the Alpine skiing team, then you’ve got a winning combination. At 36 I retired. Today I work on some projects in ski resorts and I’ve started a skiing programme for kids in the Oslo region, where the goal is that every 10-year-old gets six days of skiing for free through a programme that’s connected with the schools.

Sadly there has been a lot of negativity around the Olympic Games lately. I’m not going to say if that’s right or wrong, but I will say that it’s sad and it threatens the possibility and position that the Olympic Games have to show the way and inspire millions of people in a united world.

Winter sports face the same challenges that affect everyone living on this planet – climate and exclusion. The first one is maybe obvious as rising temperatures mean less snow; we are all aware. But I also see a trend where the world is getting more divided – between countries but also in the local municipalities.

Sport is still inclusive but we need to make sure we keep it that way and make sport available to kids, regardless of their family situation, skill level, cultural background and the income level of their parents.

And the Olympic Games should work as an inspiration for all these kids. Maybe because they want to take part one day and be an Olympian, or simply because they’re proud of the country they live in or to be a representative for the world of sport. The more noise and politics that come with the Olympic Games, the further they become removed from something with which kids feel a true connection.

Aksel Lund Svindal competed in four editions of the Olympic Winter Games, making his debut at Turin 2006. He won four medals in all, including the men’s super-G gold at Vancouver 2010. In his fi nal Games at PyeongChang 2018, Svindal became the oldest Olympic gold medallist in Alpine skiing with victory in the men’s downhill at the age of 35.

Albertsons Companies today announced its annual application process for diverse-owned suppliers. As part of the company’s ongoing commitment to fostering diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging, the Albertsons Cos. Supplier Diversity Program is designed to discover, support and give diverse-owned suppliers the opportunity to expand their business with Albertsons Cos. and its stores.

“At Albertsons Cos., we are committed to providing opportunities for diverse entrepreneurs and businesses to successfully grow their brands and sell their products on our store shelves,” said Monique Lanaux, GVP and Chief Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging Officer. “Through our Supplier Diversity Program, we are building an inclusive culture in our stores that values diversity and reflects the many communities where we live and serve.”

The application process is open now to diverse-owned suppliers, which include small and mid-size businesses that are at least 51 percent owned, controlled and operated by women, Black, indigenous and people of color, LGBTQ+, veterans or people with disabilities who can offer products that appeal to the varied preferences of Albertsons Cos.’ diverse customer base.

The Albertsons Cos. Supplier Diversity Program also works closely with diverse business owners to overcome challenges and various barriers including access to working capital. For many small and medium-sized businesses, obtaining working capital is critical to growing their operations. Through Albertsons Cos. continued partnership with C2FO, diverse-owned brands can receive early payment terms on approved invoices, unlocking fast and flexible access to low-cost capital.

Last year, nearly 500 businesses submitted applications for the Supplier Diversity Program and more than 60 diverse-owned brands were selected to meet with the Albertsons Cos. merchandising team. As a result, six diverse-owned brands, Blue Elephant, Catalina Crunch, Mr. Kooks, Partake Foods, Radius and Watcharee’s, were added to the more than 200 certified diverse suppliers already selling their products nationwide at Albertsons Cos. stores including Albertsons, Safeway, Vons, Jewel-Osco and Shaw’s.

Diverse business owners interested in having their products considered to sell in one or more Albertsons Cos. stores, including Albertsons, Safeway, Vons, Jewel-Osco, ACME and Shaw’s, should submit their application online here by Feb. 2. Diverse suppliers who are selected to meet with the Albertsons Cos. team will be notified by Feb. 16 and appointments will be scheduled for early April.

See original press release here and read more about Albertsons Companies and our Recipe for Change on our website.

ALSIP, Ill., January 22, 2024 /3BL/ – Griffith Foods is proud to announce the addition of two global directors, Michelle Egger and Madeline Patterson Smith. These new roles will play a pivotal role in advancing the company’s 2030 Aspirations and purpose-driven strategy.

Michelle Egger:

Michelle is reporting to Jim Thorne, President, Nourish Ventures, and Senior Vice President, Partnerships and Strategy. Her responsibilities include spearheading the development and implementation of a comprehensive partnership and ecosystem strategy globally. Michelle will collaborate closely with leaders across Griffith Foods, Nourish Ventures, and our partners in the start-up community, NGOs, and the food systems value chain to develop strategies and accelerate the implementation of Griffith’s positive impact on people and planet. She joins Griffith Foods from BIOMILQ, where she was the Founder and CEO of the start-up focused on revolutionizing early-life nutrition. Before her last role, Michelle worked at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and General Mills. She has a food science degree from Purdue University, an MBA from Duke University, and has been recognized as one of Forbes 30 Under 30 and CEO of the Year for North Carolina in 2022.

Madeline Patterson Smith:

Madeline is reporting to Kim Frankovich, Global Vice President of Sustainability. Her primary focus is on assisting Griffith Foods in achieving the company’s 2030 Aspirations with a focus on creating sustainable food system networks, fostering a nutritious and sustainable product portfolio, and serving the underserved. Madeline was previously at BCW, a global communications agency owned by WPP, where she led ESG and sustainability strategy and reporting for international clients across industries. Formerly, she worked in marketing advisory and as a freelance writer, and a speaker on sustainability communications in business. Madeline has a Bachelor of Arts in international studies from Rhodes College and is a GRI Certified Sustainability Professional.

“We are excited to invest in talent like Michelle and Madeline to help Griffith Foods drive positive global change,” said Jim Thorne. “We believe through partnership and transparent reporting, we can create sustainable change together with our ecosystem of suppliers, customers, and communities across the food system”, said Kim Frankovich.

Griffith Foods 
For food companies around the world, Griffith Foods is a global product development partner specializing in high-quality food ingredients. Driven by our purpose to Blend Care and Creativity to Nourish the World™ we are committed to helping our customers create better products – and a better, more sustainable world. Headquartered in Alsip, Illinois, USA, Griffith Foods operates in over 30 countries in North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia. We specialize in building strong partnerships with our customers to create great food consumers love. Join Griffith Foods in Creating Better Together™ www.griffithfoods.com

The COP28 gavel has finally slammed down with the focus on a key word: transition.

After days of intense negotiations between world leaders at the two-week UN climate summit in Dubai, the clock is now ticking as the fossil fuel industry faces the inevitable end after a deal was agreed to transition away from using fossil fuels.

While it wasn’t a historical moment when the agreement was reached, the nails are slowly being driven into the coffin of global emissions, marking undeniable progress.

COP – Conference of Parties – has been holding discussions for 30 years and this is the first time in that period such a deal has been struck, calling on all nations to focus on a fossil fuel transition – that is, moving away from using oil, coal and gas.

It is hoped member states will stop relying on fossil fuels, in favour of renewable energy (an agreement, by more than 100 countries, was reached to triple renewable capacity by 2030). While the commitment to phase out fossil fuels wasn’t taken up, this deal nods to a more promising future with collaborative efforts moving in the right direction.

This year’s COP President Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber was met with cheers and applause after sealing the agreement, which also revisited loss and damage for vulnerable countries impacted by climate change, by setting up a new fund specifically for this.

Many nations were initially up in arms when the text in the draft deal avoided using the term ‘phase-out’, over fears some countries may use loopholes to continue to emit fossil fuels.

Kaisa Kosonen, Senior Political Advisor at Greenpeace International, said: “The signal that the fossil industry has been afraid of is there: ending the fossil fuel era, along with a call to massively scale up renewables and efficiency this decade, but it’s buried under many dangerous distractions and without sufficient means to achieve it in a fair and fast manner.

“You won’t find the words ‘phase out’ in the text, but that’s what the equitable transition away from fossil fuels in line with 1.5°C and science will necessitate, when implemented sustainably. And that’s what we’re determined to make happen, now more than ever.

“The outcome leaves poorer countries well short of the resources they will need for renewable energy transition and other needs. For the many goals of the agreement to be realised, rich countries will need to significantly step up financial support and make fossil fuel polluters pay. Only last year the fossil fuel industry made $4 trillion in profits, and they need to start paying for the harm and destruction they have caused.

“This is not the historical deal that the world needed: It has many loopholes and shortcomings. But history will be made if all those nearly 130 countries, businesses, local leaders and civil society voices, who came together to form an unprecedented force for change, now take this determination and make the fossil fuel phase out happen. Most urgently that means stopping all those expansion plans that are pushing us over the 1.5°C limit right now.”

Andy Cartland, Founder & Director, Acre said: “While there are inevitable disappointments in major agreements such as this, and the majority of countries hoped for a phase-out of fossil fuels, we cannot deny this is a progressive step.

“We have waited three decades for something as promising as this to come from a COP summit and now it is down to each country to immerse themselves in achieving this crucial transition to help the world reach net zero by 2050.”

At Acre, we work with the most aspirational businesses with potential to make real change; from those who are just starting out to those who are well on the journey to crafting a legacy.

Our 18 years’ experience in sustainability recruitment, combined with our extensive global network, enables us to provide talent solutions that are designed to deliver this change.

Through our unique behavioural assessment technology, we understand the types of people, skills and behaviours required to create impact. We can develop these qualities within your existing teams too.

We find talented people and develop their skills to ensure they make a true impact in ambitious, progressive organisations.

Acre. Making companies ready for tomorrow.

Originally published in Dow’s 2022 INtersections Progress Report

By focusing on improving representation across multiple dimensions of diversity, we are cultivating an innovative workplace driven by a wide range of experience, ideas and expertise. Our talent attraction, recruitment and selection processes are designed to ensure a fair process and attract the best and brightest people to Dow. Below are examples of programs and practices aimed at attracting diverse talent.

Global Inclusive Hiring Standards Deliver Diverse Outcomes 

Equitable practices include:

Posting all open rolesDiverse candidate slate for open rolesDiverse interview panel for hiringStructured interview process

2022 Outcomes: 93% of all required open roles posted internally 

78% gender diverse slates; 

79% U.S. ethnic diverse slates 

89% gender diverse panels; 

90% U.S. ethnic diverse panels 

98% of interviews used the structured interview process

The Dow Diamond Symposium offers U.S. minority undergraduate students the opportunity to network with Dow leaders and gain professional career advice. In 2022:

58 students attended31 internship and full-time offers were extended26 students accepted job offers – a 40% increase compared to the 2021 offer acceptance rate

The BEST Symposium introduces Black, Hispanic and Native American U.S. doctoral and postdoctoral scientists to careers in industrial research and opportunities at Dow. In 2022:

30 participants attended20 full-time job offers were extended15 job offers were accepted

Dow Partners with Manufacturing Institute’s 35×30 Campaign 

Dow sponsored and supported the Manufacturing Institute (MI) in launching the 35×30 campaign, focused on increasing the percentage of women in manufacturing from 29% to 35% by 2030. The program is designed to change perceptions by engaging face-to-face with students and teachers with more than 1,000 female mentors connecting into four-year universities, community colleges, high schools and middle schools. The 35×30 campaign also broadens the talent pipeline by supporting women throughout their studies by creating an alumnae-funded scholarship, with management supported by an alumnae council and executed by the MI by 2025.

Developing Diverse Talent 

One of our top priorities is developing diverse talent and equipping leaders and employees with the tools they need to succeed. We have a wide range of professional development programs that support the growth and meet the career aspirations of our employees, including the following:

EMEAI Female Sponsorship Program

Dow launched a second wave of the Female Sponsorship Program in EMEAI. This program is specifically designed to help accelerate Dow’s female talent for senior management levels and to take on critical leadership roles. The self-nominated candidates are evaluated based on various criteria, including career aspirations, commitment to professional growth and demonstration of Dow’s cultural attributes: Trust, Transparency, Empowerment and Accountability. During each wave of the program, 60+ women from the EMEAI region are matched with senior Dow leaders (sponsors) for engagement and coaching sessions for two years. The program also includes two online professional developmental components: INSEAD Executive Education Program and the SWE Advance Learning Center. This program is playing a significant role in increasing female job satisfaction and retaining talent in the region. Results for Cohort 2 (2020-2022) included1 :

28% of participants were promoted43% of participants increased their scope of responsibilities42% of participant subset said that the tools available to them directly support their development

Advocacy-inAction (AiA) Sponsorship Program

AiA is a 15-month program that pairs Black protégés with senior leader advocates to help them achieve their fullest potential in the workplace. The program completed its second cohort in 2022. In total across two cohorts:

77% of all (47) participants received at least one promotion7 participants accepted people leadership roles for the first time87% of participants are still with Dow

Champions for Change (C4C) Sponsorship Program

C4C is an 18-month program for Asian talent that pairs each participant (sponsee) with senior-level leaders (champions) to provide coaching and guidance to overcome systemic and personal barriers and to foster advancement into leadership roles. The first cohort results included:

12 participants received at least one promotion or role change97% of participants feel their champion is equipping them for the next career level 94% of participants are still with Dow

Dow’s Connector Programs

Our connector programs help employees expand their networks, inspire professional growth and foster diverse connections to build cross-functional and cross-business relationships. In 2022:

1,400 participants were attracted to our Peer Allies program at all job levels in the United States and Canada120 new connections were built through PRISE Connections – a collaboration between RISE and PR!MEWe launched the Wazobia Program, a peer-to-peer mentoring program pairing African-heritage participants with mentors across the EMEAI region

1 This data reflects the numbers for the employees as part of the INSEAD-SWE streams

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