Tag: 3BL

ATLANTA, December 19, 2023 /3BL/ – Novelis, the leading producer of flat rolled aluminum products and world’s largest recycler of aluminum, announced today it has achieved Performance Standard Certifications by the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative (ASI) at three of its North American manufacturing facilities in Kentucky and New York, USA, and Ontario, Canada. With capabilities in remelting and recycling through to cold mill processing and finishing, these facilities produce a range of rolled aluminum products primarily for the automotive market.  

This achievement recognizes Novelis’ responsible manufacturing practices by ASI, a global, multi-stakeholder, non-profit standards setting and certification organization. Together with the company´s strong focus on the circular economy and industry-leading levels of recycled content across its product range, the certification demonstrates Novelis´ continued commitment to being the aluminum industry leader in sustainability.   

 The certifications for the Guthrie, KY, Oswego, NY, and Kingston, Ontario, plants follow ASI Performance Standard certifications in Berea, KY, Greensboro, GA, and Warren, OH, plants in 2022 to support Novelis’ ability to meet demand for sustainable aluminum. The company has been delivering ASI-certified material since August 2021 in Europe, South America and Asia.    

 “As a part of our purpose of shaping a sustainable world together, we aim to collaborate with our suppliers, customers and partners throughout the entire value chain to participate in these responsible practices,” said Ganesh Panneer, Vice President, Operations, Novelis North America. “This latest certification further demonstrates our steadfast commitment to providing sustainable aluminum solutions to our valued customers.”   

The ASI Performance Standard addresses environmental, social and governance principles for the production of aluminum, assuring that the ASI-certified organization’s production practices are responsible.   

 “The completion of ASI certifications is another example of our commitment to working with our customers to help them achieve their sustainability goals,” said Suzanne Lindsay-Walker, Vice President of Sustainability, Novelis Inc. “Adherence to the standards provides a clear indication of the care that certified companies share regarding environmental, social and governance standards with regard to aluminum manufacturing.”   

Fiona Solomon, Chief Executive Officer at ASI said, “We warmly congratulate Novelis on attaining ASI Performance Standard certifications for three more of their manufacturing facilities in North America. This achievement expands Novelis’ ASI Certification footprint across the region and reinforces their global action toward responsible aluminum production. As automotive manufacturers increasingly adopt aluminum for its light weighting potential and efficiency gains, ensuring positive ESG outcomes is imperative. We commend Novelis for the leadership role it is playing in the sector by continuing to certify its global operations against the ASI Standards.”  

Novelis has made strong progress on ASI certifications throughout its global network.  The regional certification programs are tailored to regional customer requirements.  

Novelis aims to be carbon neutral by 2050 or sooner and to reduce its carbon footprint by 30% by 2026. In addition, the company has targets to reduce waste to landfill by 20%, energy intensity by 10%, and water intensity by 10% by 2026. Increasing the amount of recycled aluminum in its products is at the core of Novelis’ carbon reduction strategy.   

Forward-Looking Statements   
 Statements made in this news release that describe Novelis’ intentions, expectations or predictions may be forward-looking statements within the meaning of securities laws. Examples of forward-looking statements in this news release include plans to obtain ASI certification in all Novelis plants; goals to reduce carbon emissions by 30% by 2026 and be carbon neutral by 2050 or sooner; and goals to reduce waste to landfill by 20%, energy intensity by 10% and water intensity by 10% by 2026. Novelis cautions that, by their nature, forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainty. We do not intend, and we disclaim any obligation, to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Important risk factors which could impact outcomes are included under the caption “Risk Factors” in the company’s Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2023.  

About Novelis   
 Novelis Inc. is driven by its purpose of shaping a sustainable world together. We are a global leader in the production of innovative aluminum products and solutions and the world’s largest recycler of aluminum. Our ambition is to be the leading provider of low-carbon, sustainable aluminum solutions and to achieve a fully circular economy by partnering with our suppliers, as well as our customers in the aerospace, automotive, beverage can and specialties industries throughout North America, Europe, Asia and South America. Novelis had net sales of $18.5 billion in fiscal year 2023. Novelis is a subsidiary of Hindalco Industries Limited, an industry leader in aluminum and copper, and the metals flagship company of the Aditya Birla Group, a multinational conglomerate based in Mumbai. For more information, visit novelis.com.   

SOURCE Novelis Inc.

For further information: Leila Giancone, +1 315 278 4499

EMERYVILLE, Calif., December 19, 2023 /3BL/ – SCS Global Services, a pioneer and global leader in third-party environmental and sustainability certification, auditing, testing, and standards development, today announced it has become an authorized certification body under the ProTerra certification program. SCS is now one of only two entities to offer certification services under the program.

Certification based on the current ProTerra Standard 4.1 ensures that commodity crops, food, and feed are independently certified and produced to meet robust sustainability criteria and are confirmed to be produced from non-genetically modified sources, for distribution globally. The sectors covered by ProTerra certification include agriculture, floriculture and horticulture, manufactured products, retail, and service industries.

SCS offers all three levels of ProTerra certification covering the following sectors:

Level I: Agricultural production – the cultivation of crops and seeds. The unit of certification includes the entire farm, including non-cultivated areas, and all activities ongoing on-site at the time of certification.Level II: Transport, Storage, Traders and Dealers – organizations that act only as value chain partners will be audited against ProTerra’s non-GMO and traceability/chain-of-custody principles.Level III: Industrial Processing – any operation that transforms the agricultural production output, such as a crushing plant or a food product manufacturer.

ProTerra certification can be applied to a wide variety of agricultural commodities including bananas, fresh coconut, flowers and plants, sugarcane, corn/maize, rice, sunflower, rapeseed, fruits, nuts, palm oil, soy, spices, tea, and vegetables. It is also applicable to service sectors including catering, cereals, food and beverage, transport, wholesale and retail trade.

“SCS Global Services is proud to announce the integration of ProTerra certification into its extensive product portfolio,” said Matthew Rudolf, Vice President of International Business. “With four decades of expertise in sustainability certifications and the deployment of highly skilled, multi-trained teams, SCS reaffirms its commitment to upholding principles such as land use change, best agricultural practices, workers’ rights, and environmental protection. Utilizing cutting-edge platforms and auditing tools, we aim to ensure transparent sustainability practices across all products certified under the ProTerra standard.”

By working through SCS Global Services to earn ProTerra Certification, organizations will be able to demonstrate adherence to ten principles that focus broadly on the environment, social metrics and natural resources such as worker rights and community relations, climate change, good agricultural practices, prohibition on genetically modified organisms, along with traceability across the supply chain.

In addition to ProTerra certification, SCS offers numerous other agricultural certification services, including Bonsucro for the sugarcane sector, ISCC and RSB for bioenergy trade and circular products, and SCS’ own Certified Sustainably Grown®.

For more information about SCS’ ProTerra Certification, visit www.scsglobalservices.com.

About SCS Global Services

SCS Global Services is a global leader in third-party environmental and sustainability verification, certification, auditing, testing, and standards development. Its programs span a cross-section of industries, recognizing achievements in climate mitigation, green building, product manufacturing, food and agriculture, forestry, consumer products, and more. Headquartered in Emeryville, California, SCS has representatives and affiliate offices throughout the Americas, Asia/Pacific, Europe, and Africa. Its broad network of auditors are experts in their fields, and the company is a trusted partner to businesses, agencies, and advocacy organizations due to its dedication to quality and professionalism. SCS is a chartered Benefit Corporation, reflecting its commitment to socially and environmentally responsible business practices. For more information, visit www.scsglobalservices.com.

SCS Media Contact

Eddie Gomez

Latin America Business Development Associate

Email: egomez@scsglobalservices.co

In Part 1 of this series, I looked at the AI landscape, and how we’re embracing technologies and tools as part of our product innovation. In this blog, I examine how AI delivers benefits to our customers through Keysight solutions. We integrate AI/ML as appropriate, across our customer innovation workflows. This spans design, emulation, and test, including hardware, software, and services, and extends to all our market segments. The benefit is ultimately better testing, safer products, and faster time to market.

How AI delivers benefits by vertical

To narrow things down a bit, I’ll focus on five of our major verticals: aerospace & defense, healthcare, automotive, manufacturing, semiconductors, and cellular.

Aerospace & defense

To start with aerospace & defense, Eggplant test automation has the positive impact of what we term ‘non-invasive’ testing, where testing doesn’t require access to the code base. Test automation helps reduce test time and increases coverage of test cases that are critical in regulated industries but doing it non-invasively requires AI and computer vision. For example, NASA’s Orion capsule benefits from this digital twin approach of automated testing.

Healthcare

Healthcare is another example of a highly complex environment, with electronic medical record systems sometimes interfacing with over a dozen data sources. Software quality is paramount, and sadly, only 6% of healthcare executives are confident that they have the coverage in place to fully minimize risk due to manual testing. Keysight has solutions that automate testing and leverage AI to save up to 92% of testing time, resulting in benefits that include freeing up staff time, software with fewer defects, reduced release time, and enhanced data security.

Automotive

Automotive is another industry that will strongly leverage AI in support of autonomous driving developments. If we look at the vehicle surrounded by a cocoon of sorts, combining radar, LIDAR, cameras, and even ultrasound, domain-specific training is critical in creating non-conflicting guidance that aligns across these different technologies. Having the right emulation of these components in digital twin testing and validating with physical cars, delivers safer cars on the roads.

Manufacturing

Customers in validation benefit from Keysight PathWave solutions to detect elusive design defects characterized by glitches and anomalies, prior to mass manufacturing. For example, PathWave Waveform Analytics leverages ML to perform cluster analysis to identify outliers in large datasets, an unsupervised learning technique. Prior to leveraging AI/ML, engineers would print out waveform traces and paste them on the wall. They would then walk from print to print to manually identify the anomalies. This is now automated, with only final checks required.

In a similar fashion, PathWave Manufacturing Analytics identifies anomalies and predicts future failures based on outlier data in the manufacturing stage. It leverages supervised learning that is the result of Keysight’s deep insights into electronic manufacturing.

Semiconductor

Another area of AI integration is how neural network model extraction is integrated into our Keysight EDA Device Modeling solution. To simulate circuits, you need models of components used in the circuit. When a new component is invented, it may take weeks or months to create a model of that component. Using an artificial neural network (ANN) machine-learning algorithm, a model can be created in minutes and can be used in circuit simulation tools.

Cellular

On the wireless front, Nemo drive test hardware permits quicker verification and experience testing of new handsets in new locations. This leads to better 5G network performance today and insights that will power future 6G cellular networks, where an AI foundation will span all aspects of deployment and optimization. This includes efficient spectrum use, low-latency and high-bandwidth connectivity, localization, sensing, and increased reliability. With 6G, fusing physical, digital, and human worlds is expected to be possible with many exciting possibilities over the next decade.

AI is creating a lot of buzz these days and it’s not unwarranted. It’s exciting to see all the different innovations that can improve product innovation and velocity to market.

It is widely recognized that the use of synthetic herbicides and fossil fuels carry adverse effects on both the environment and human health. But these practices are integral and widely accepted as part of agriculture and land management.

According to recent Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) figures, agriculture accounted for 10.6 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions in 2021, exacerbating the global climate crisis. Simultaneously, it is estimated that over 1 billion pounds of pesticides are used in the U.S. each year, posing complex threats to human health, ranging from developmental disorders to cancer. But new technology and innovation have the potential to change all that.

In a recent discussion with Dan Abramson, co-founder and COO of Directed Machines, we explored how his Seattle-based company leverages innovative technology and wireless connectivity to prioritize sustainability to benefit both our planet and our well-being.

What does Directed Machines do?

Directed Machines designs, engineers and manufactures Land Care Robots (LCRs). These are heavy-duty, solar-electric robots that perform various jobs, including mowing, hauling, surveillance, predator control, grading and plowing. We manufacture one model that can be customized in many ways and fitted with different implements to perform all these tasks and more. However, the two most common are mowing and towing. For over four years now, we’ve been selling and deploying our robots across several verticals and use cases, including golf courses, solar farms, transportation departments, farms, nurseries and more.

Part of the Directed Machines mission is about helping the environment. How do LCRs do that?

To our knowledge, Directed Machines is the only company in the world capable of managing vegetation at enterprise and utility scale without using herbicides. Carcinogenic herbicides sicken workers, destroy fragile ecosystems and poison water supplies. They also cause damage to site infrastructure, such as irrigation piping, electrical cabling, solar panels and wind turbines.

One unique feature of our robots is that they can be configured in many ways to fit different customer site characteristics. So, if you have vegetation that’s difficult or impossible for other robots or even humans to reach, you don’t have to resort to harmful chemicals. For example, on customer solar farms, our LCRs efficiently control vegetation beneath solar panels without resorting to herbicides, preserving native grasses, pollinators and more.

Plus, Directed Machines’ LCRs are 100% solar-electric, so they emit zero greenhouse gases. And they are nearly silent, so there is almost no noise pollution.

These environmental advantages contribute to our customers becoming more conscientious and responsible neighbors, enabling them to cultivate community support for expanding their operations.

Have you seen any changes on customer sites based on their use of your LCRs?

Having worked on sites on where chemicals were previously used, we have observed dramatic positive changes to local ecologies. For instance, biodiversity has increased with new and additional species being introduced. Some creatures have even demonstrated new and adaptive behaviors to engage with our LCRs, including nesting and feeding activity.

We’ve also seen native vegetation, like saw grass, make a comeback, displacing invasive weeds that were able to resist herbicidal poisons.

What is technologically different about the Directed Machines approach?

Today, most autonomous robots designed for agriculture and other forms of land management rely on global positioning systems (GPS). But things like trees, solar panels and other physical barriers can block GPS signals and cause errors. We use machine vision to help our LCRs navigate in areas where GPS doesn’t perform well, like orchards and renewable energy sites. While our stack can use GPS and LiDAR, we have engineered our robots to work effectively in structured environments, day or night, using only color and depth images. The cameras used for color and depth images are about one-tenth the cost of LiDAR sensors and equally as effective with our engineering, this allows us to pass those savings down to our customers without compromise.

Are there economic benefits to customers who use LCRs?

Absolutely! The advancements of machine automation offer opportunities to enhance efficiency and reliability. Our robots are precise, make few errors and operate around the clock, under almost any extreme condition including intense heat, freezing temperatures, dense smoke, storms and pesky mosquitoes. This results in lower production costs … whether you’re producing edamame or energy. Also, important to note, the work performed by our LCRs is fully transparent to our customers, empowering them to facilitate best practices for insurance requirements and regulatory compliance.

Why is wireless connectivity critical to the success of your Land Care Robots and your customers?

We knew that to roll out our LCRs nationwide, we would need to choose a flexible and scalable wireless partner that provides great rural coverage across the country — because that is where our customers are! While our LCRs make all automated driving and operational decisions locally on the robot, we rely on T-Mobile to connect our LCRs for pushing telemetric data, remotely diagnosing robot health as well as software and firmware updates. This is a mission critical safety and insurance net that enables us, when needed, to observe everything from speed and energy consumption to obstacles and dangers, which allows us to better ensure customer success.

What does the future hold for Directed Machines and land care automation?

As we dive deeper into the unique challenges of the verticals we serve, we get better at delivering innovation that answer the call to action. Our tech solutions are increasingly translating into tangible benefits for our renewable energy and agriculture customers, addressing things like site design, time and cost of construction and monitoring the health of infrastructure.

For more, we invite you to click mow, tow and scare to see Directed Machines’ LCRs in action.

Originally published on Illumina News Center

Methane is 28 times more powerful a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide: It’s responsible for a third of global warming. A single cow can produce up to 500 liters of methane a day, or 160 kilograms per year, mostly through eructation (that is, belching). Multiply that by the planet’s 1.4 billion cattle, and it might be a burp, not a butterfly wing, that causes a hurricane on the other side of the world.

Dairy foods continue to have an important role in feeding the world. It’s not the cattle’s fault that, by mass, there’s more of them than any other mammal on earth (including us). Their digestive systems do what they can with the food we allot them. Given all this, what can researchers do to mitigate bovine belching? They can focus on cattle digestive systems. A cow’s methane emissions are influenced by its gut microbiome, and evidence shows that their microbiome composition is influenced in turn by their genotype. Breeding cattle who simply emit less methane than their peers might be ideal—but this research is in its early stages.

How about focusing on cattle feed? Some studies have found that adding the methane inhibitor 3-nitrooxypropanol (3-NOP) to a cow’s diet reduces their methane output by up to 30%, with no apparent negative impact on their health or milk production. But these studies are also relatively recent, and 3-NOP warrants further research before it can be made commercially available at scale.

“That will help, and potentially be a much faster improvement,” says Matthew Shaffer. “Genetics is a long-term game. It takes time for genetics to work through the system. But the benefits of genetics are permanent and cumulative.”

Shaffer is the CEO of DataGene, an initiative of Dairy Australia that’s driving genetic gain and herd improvement in the country’s dairy industry. DataGene publishes three indices that track desirable genetic traits among Australia’s 1.4 million cattle: A Balanced Performance Index, for traits that affect their lifetime contribution to the farm business; a Health Weighted Index, which fast tracks genetic gain for fertility, feed efficiency, and disease resistance; and a Sustainability Index, which fast tracks genetic gain for reduced methane emissions intensity.

Thinking in these terms—not gross emissions, but emissions intensity—is another way to tackle the methane problem. Say you have two cows of the same weight, diet, and gross emissions, but every day one produces 20 liters of milk and the other 30 liters. The higher-producing cow dilutes their methane output across more production throughout their lifetime. “If you need to supply 100 liters of milk, you get it with less methane,” Shaffer explains. “But with increased production comes other consequences, on fertility and other traits.” For example, a longer-lived cow also has a reduced emissions intensity, because the first two years before she can begin producing milk constitutes a smaller percentage of her life. “That’s why emissions intensity is balanced within our index: so we don’t cause other issues by chasing only production.”

Genomic sequencing has enabled dairy farmers to make breeding decisions much faster, with greater accuracy, based on genomic breeding values. No longer do they have to wait to see how productive, fertile, or hardy a bull’s progeny are before they decide whether to use that bull for further breeding: These genomic breeding values can be calculated for animals as soon as they’re born. This reduces the time between generations and, according to one estimate, saves bull breeding companies up to 92% of their costs.

Australian dairy farmers looking to order top-quality bull semen can use DataGene’s apps to rank animals based on these indices, to fit their particular needs. They can also sequence their female animals simply by taking a small tissue sample, usually from an ear. They send the sample to a genomic service provider, who genotypes it and returns a genomic breeding value for that cow. Equipped with these values, farmers can make more informed decisions about which animals to keep in their herd.

“We couldn’t do what we do without DairyBio, who provide a lot of the research and work closely with Illumina to add SNPs to their systems,” Shaffer says, referring to the genetic markers that this genotyping looks for.

DataGene’s next big project is aggregating vast amounts of new sequencing data into their Central Data Repository (CDR). “We’re connecting the CDR to various equipment manufacturers to bring new data we’ve never seen before,” Shaffer says. “Some of it will be milking machine information from robots; some will be information from companies we don’t currently have access to. It’s really important to expand the CDR, which will enable us to produce better tools and analytics for farmers.”

It’s not always the case that a company CEO starts out on the “shop room floor” in the same industry. But Shaffer grew up milking cows by hand on his grandmother’s farm; his first paying job was as a milker on a larger farm. “So I’ve got milk in my veins, as it were,” he jokes. But that means this work holds great personal meaning to him. “What gets me up every morning is the desire to enable farmers to make better decisions and breed better animals, and the corollary impact that has on the environment and on people’s health.”

With the strength of knowledge from all these tools, breeding a more sustainable cow is not just a good idea—it’s a mooovement.

Originally published in Nielsen’s 2023 ESG Report

What motivates you in your role as a DE&I leader?

Sandra Sims-Williams: Three years ago, I joined Nielsen with a clear idea of what I was going to do as a DE&I leader. My previous work and experiences gave me a strong sense of what makes a successful DE&I strategy. 

Then, the COVID-19 pandemic started, just a few weeks into my Nielsen tenure, and changed the entire landscape in terms of engaging and supporting people. We all had to become more human at work, because you couldn’t walk away from what was going on. We were all sitting in front of the computer, staring at these boxes and pretending that we are having human connection, when we were all feeling isolated and uncertain about the state of the world. At the same time, we had to connect with people in their most human form and where they are coming from on multiple dimensions—not just a day-to-day work context, but also what’s going on behind that computer screen in their homes, their families, their communities. 

That leadership experience through the pandemic has continued to motivate and drive me as a DE&I leader. Our company and managers need to recognize what representation and inclusion really mean, so we can create an environment where people feel included and supported as their whole selves; and where they can fully bring their talents and experience to the work we do.

Nielsen’s values are Inclusion-Courage-Growth. How do you live those values as a leader?

Sandra Sims-Williams: I didn’t always have—or give myself—the space where I could show my vulnerabilities and challenges at work. But after the murder of George Floyd in 2020, I couldn’t ignore my feelings. I talked to my CEO, peers and team members about the sleepless nights and hard days, especially in the immediate aftermath, and especially as the mother of a Black son. By being transparent with my own feelings and thoughts, other leaders felt they too, had permission to share their feelings and experiences—some for the first time. To me, that humanity is what living our values of Inclusion, Courage and Growth is all about. As leaders, that’s how we have to model those values.

Nielsen has been going through many changes, both inside our company and in the industry. How do the Business Resource Groups support our transformation?

Sandra Sims-Williams: Nielsen is in a period of rapid learning and transformation, just like the broader media and technology industries. As we transform our culture to be even more focused on our clients and growth, our 200+ BRG leaders are the “culture meters” for where we are today and how we create our future. They help our company leaders better understand the business priorities and challenges facing our employees around the world—what they need, where we’re leading and where we need to keep up.

They are also our “cultural transformers.” Our BRG leaders have the courage and motivation to create the type of culture that we need to succeed as a business and where people can show up to achieve their fullest potential. With intention and authenticity, BRG leaders model the mindsets, behaviors and actions of our values (Inclusion, Courage and Growth) and Growth Culture (Transformation Obsessed, Learn-It-Alls Not Know-it-Alls, Outside-In and One Company) and inspire the same in others.

What’s one thing that surprised you in your role recently?

Earlier this year, the Corporate Citizenship team moved into my organization, and I now lead both DE&I and ESG efforts at Nielsen. It was clear to me that bringing these functions together could help us to better manage key risks, and cultivate more compelling and impactful opportunities for collaboration—for our people, our business and the communities we serve. But what’s been surprising to me and my team is how quickly the combination of these functions has already deepened our company’s broader conversations around topics like environmental justice.

For example, for Earth Day in 2023, we held a virtual volunteering event where almost 40 employees learned more about the environmental impact of waste on chronically marginalized communities. It’s clear that climate change is having an impact on already vulnerable communities in a quicker and stronger way than many people anticipated, and the connection between the conversations about environmental and social inequities will be more important than ever before. And I’m inspired and motivated by the role that Nielsen can play to generate awareness and education about these inequities throughout the media ecosystem.

What is next for DE&I across Nielsen?

As a global leader in audience measurement, data and analytics, diversity continues to be our differentiator. We recognize the unique role we play to influence change in our industry, in our communities and around the world. That includes not just greater representation and inclusion, but ensuring that it is authentic representation that creates greater awareness and empathy. The media and advertising industries are powerful forces for our understanding of other people and experiences. Nielsen has a central role to play in using our insights to foster that understanding. This year, we’re focusing our impact across the three pillars of our DE&I strategy: People + Culture, Business and Community, to systematically integrate inclusion and accountability into the full employee experience. For us to succeed, our work and the rest of the company must stay rooted in our values—Inclusion, Courage and Growth.

To learn more, download the 2023 Nielsen ESG Report here.

CAMDEN, N.J., December 19, 2023 /3BL/ – Subaru of America, Inc. today announced the return of Subaru WinterFest for its annual mountain tour tailored to ski and snowboard enthusiasts, music fans, pet lovers and anyone seeking snow-filled fun. The automaker has renewed its partnership with POWDR, the leading adventure lifestyle company with multiple mountain resort destinations throughout North America, and is introducing new charitable initiatives to the event series at six locations this year.

“Our search for fun and adventure doesn’t hibernate during the winter,” said Alan Bethke, Senior Vice President, Marketing at Subaru of America, Inc. “Working with POWDR on WinterFest celebrates our collective passion for the outdoors, benefits worthy charitable causes, and brings together the Subaru community against the backdrop of some of the country’s most picturesque mountain locations.”

WinterFest events will feature free live music performances sponsored by Harman Kardon. Acclaimed artists Cold War Kids, The Ballroom Thieves, Yonder Mountain String Band, Kind Hearted Strangers, BoomBox, Simba Sax and more are set to headline this season’s tour.

“POWDR is proud to continue our multi-faceted, national partnership with Subaru, and especially to make this season’s WinterFest series an incredible experience for attendees,” said Meghan Matschke, Vice President of Partnerships at POWDR. “We’re thrilled to bring together stellar bands, new activations, and support for charitable causes to Subaru enthusiasts and snow lovers once again.”

As part of its commitment to being “More Than a Car Company,” Subaru will make a donation for every Subaru information form received at WinterFest to select charities including those supporting avalanche rescue dogs, increased access to the outdoors, and more. In addition, Subaru and POWDR have established a brand-new joint community investment fund aligned with the values of the Subaru Love Promise and POWDR’s Play Forever commitment to support important community and environmental initiatives.

This year’s tour will highlight the Wilderness family of adventure-ready Subaru vehicles, and attendees will have the opportunity to test the latest gear from renowned brands such as Nordica, Cardiff Snowcraft, Mammut, Thule, Dynamic Wax, and Luno while also learning from experts at Leave No Trace. Guests can refuel at the Hydro Flask ‘Wilderness Café’ with coffee from Alpine Start, craft hot cocoa, and Kate’s Real Food organic energy bars. There will also be snow-themed lawn games and Solo Stove hangout zones at every stop to keep guests warm, smokeless, and full of delicious s’mores. Harman Hut, an Americana-inspired ‘listening and warming’ hut, will provide guests with an opportunity to tune into Harman Kardon’s latest portable Bluetooth products in a cozy atmosphere complete with indoor fire and special giveaways.

As a special treat for some lucky Subaru owners all Subaru Winterfest events will feature exclusive ‘on-mountain’ experiences, intimate music sessions, VIP parking privileges and exclusive gifts (subject to availability).

The full schedule for Subaru WinterFest 2024 can be found below:

WeekendResortHeadline ArtistFebruary 2 – 4Killington Resort, VTYonder Mountain String BandFebruary 23 – 25Copper Mountain, CO(To be announced)March 2 – 3Eldora Mountain Resort, COThe Ballroom ThievesMarch 23 – 24Sierra-at-Tahoe Resort, CA*Kind Hearted StrangersApril 5 – 7Snowbird, UTSimba Sax and BoomBoxApril 12 – 14Mt. Bachelor, ORCold War Kids

*Sierra-at-Tahoe is not a POWDR-owned or operated resort

For more information on Subaru WinterFest locations, please visit www.subaruwinterfest.com and follow #SubaruWinterFest on social media.

About Subaru of America, Inc. 
Subaru of America, Inc. (SOA) is an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Subaru Corporation of Japan. Headquartered at a zero-landfill office in Camden, N.J., the company markets and distributes Subaru vehicles, parts, and accessories through a network of more than 630 retailers across the United States. All Subaru products are manufactured in zero-landfill plants and Subaru of Indiana Automotive, Inc. is the only U.S. automobile manufacturing plant to be designated a backyard wildlife habitat by the National Wildlife Federation. SOA is guided by the Subaru Love Promise, which is the company’s vision to show love and respect to everyone, and to support its communities and customers nationwide. Over the past 20 years, SOA and the SOA Foundation have donated more than $300 million to causes the Subaru family cares about, and its employees have logged nearly 88,000 volunteer hours. As a company, Subaru believes it is important to do its part in making a positive impact in the world because it is the right thing to do. For additional information visit media.subaru.com. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.

About POWDR 
POWDR is an adventure lifestyle company that inspires every human being with cool experiences in awesome places. POWDR’s awesome places include Copper Mountain and Eldora Mountain Resort in Colorado; Killington and Pico Mountain in Vermont; Boreal Mountain Resort and Soda Springs in the Lake Tahoe region of California; Mt. Bachelor in Oregon; Snowbird in Utah; and SilverStar Mountain Resort in British Columbia, Canada. POWDR also empowers and inspires the next generation of action sports enthusiasts through summer camps, mountain experiences, and mountain centers under the Woodward brand that incorporate dynamic programming and innovative environments: Woodward Park City, Woodward PA, Woodward Copper in Colorado, Woodward Tahoe, Woodward West in Stallion Springs, CA. POWDR fuels a balanced life full of adventure through a collection of experiences from the mountains to the valleys. Sun Country Tours in Oregon is POWDR’s river rafting outfitter and Powderbird, based out of Snowbird in Utah, is POWDR’s heli-adventure operator. POWDR is headquartered in Park City, Utah. For more information, please visit www.POWDR.com.

###

Diane Anton, Subaru of America 
Corporate Communications Manager 
856-488-5093 
danton@subaru.com

Adam Leiter, Subaru of America 
Corporate Communications Specialist 
(856) 488-8668 
aleiter@subaru.com

Nikki Marshall, POWDR 
Director of Communications 
(504) 644-7335 
nmarshall@powdr.com

In a significant move towards a more sustainable future, DP World and the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) are joining forces to accelerate the use of renewable energy and decarbonize the ports, maritime, and logistics sectors. 

IRENA is an intergovernmental agency that promotes the widespread adoption and sustainable use of all forms of renewable energy in the pursuit of sustainable development, energy access, energy security and low-carbon economic growth and prosperity.

Under the terms of a new cooperation agreement, the two organizations will pool their expertise to identify and implement decarbonization solutions across the sector, leveraging DP World’s extensive network and influence to foster sustainable practices globally.

This partnership isn’t just about making a statement; it’s a commitment to address pressing environmental concerns while also setting a new standard for the industry.

The urgency of this initiative cannot be understated. The maritime sector is one of the most challenging industries to decarbonize. But DP World is making significant strides, employing smart electrification and other innovative approaches to shift towards renewable energy sources and improve energy efficiency. 

This groundbreaking collaboration is a testament to the power of public-private partnerships in accelerating the transition to renewable energy.

The Future of the Supply Chain: Resilience and Sustainability

The future of trade by embedding resilience and sustainability at every stage of the supply chain. DP World’s participation is not just about reducing emissions within their operations; it’s about influencing the entire industry to adopt sustainable practices. This vision aligns with IRENA’s mission of promoting the widespread adoption of renewable energy for sustainable development, energy security, and low-carbon economic growth.

DP World’s commitment to becoming carbon neutral by 2040 and net zero by 2050 underlines their dedication to this cause. At COP 27 last year, the company announced that it had joined the Green Shipping Challenge and committed to investing up to $500 million to cut CO2 emissions by nearly 700,000 tons over the next five years. 

DP World’s journey towards sustainability is already yielding results. In 2022, global carbon emissions were down 5%, with a 4% reduction in energy consumption. This is partly due to their efforts in electrifying operations and pioneering the use of low-carbon fuels like Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO). Their UAE operations have notably achieved a nearly 50% reduction in carbon emissions; the Jebel Ali port is now running on 100% renewable energy provided by the local utility.

This partnership between DP World and IRENA is more than just a collaboration; it’s a roadmap for others in the industry. By leading with innovative solutions, such as electrification, low-carbon fuel use, and synthetic natural gas, DP World is demonstrating that sustainability and efficient global trade can go hand-in-hand. Their efforts serve as a model for other industry players, proving that with commitment and collaboration, a greener, more sustainable future for global trade is within reach.

For more information on DP World’s sustainability strategy and their transformative journey, visit DP World’s Sustainability Page.

KeyBank teammates in Rochester, NY recently collected and donated more than 100 hats, coats and gloves for YWCA of Rochester & Monroe County. This effort, which was employee driven, will help support the women and children the YWCA serves.

Recently, KeyBank invested $200,000 in YWCA of Rochester and Monroe County to help expand efforts to help homeless women and families find appropriate housing and improve financial stability. YWCA has been providing safe, quality housing to women in the Rochester community for 140 years and is the only agency within Monroe County that provides a full continuum of housing options targeting women, from emergency shelter services to permanent housing.

Learn more about KeyBank’s commitment to helping clients and communities thrive

Ardagh Group and Crown Holdings, Inc. are continuing their efforts to raise aluminum beverage can recycling rates through Can Manufacturers Institute (CMI) by financing a robot from artificial intelligence and robotics company EverestLabs.AI for a California recycling facility. Caglia Environmental, which sorts single-stream recyclables at its Fresno, CA, material recovery facility (MRF), will place the robot on its “last chance line” (the material destined for landfill) to capture more than 1 million additional used beverage cans (UBC) per year.

As Caglia’s plant maintenance manager Corey Stone put it, “We put the robot on the last chance line and have it focusing on aluminum beverage cans so that it’s picking ‘gold’ out of the trash.” In exchange for the lease financing, Caglia is providing a 50-percent revenue share with CMI. This robot lease provides a no-risk, no-cost way for a MRF to get additional can capture equipment.

CMI research has concluded that without the vital revenue from UBCs, most MRFs would not be able to operate without a change to their business model. This lease program is the latest in CMI’s comprehensive approach to spur the installation of additional can capture equipment in MRFs. It started with foundational research in 2020, a grant program with The Recycling Partnership in 2021, tools for MRF operators in 2022, and additional grants and this lease program in 2023. Visit https://www.cancentral.com/cansdriverecycling to learn more information.

About Crown Holdings, Inc.
Crown Holdings, Inc., through its subsidiaries, is a leading global supplier of rigid packaging products to consumer marketing companies, as well as transit and protective packaging products, equipment and services to a broad range of end markets. World headquarters are located in Tampa, Florida. For more information, visit www.crowncork.com.