Tag: 3BL

December 14, 2023 /3BL/ – Today Bath & Body Works announces its inclusion on Newsweek’s ranking of America’s Greatest Workplaces for Diversity.

Newsweek partnered with data research firm Plant-A Insights for their second annual list of America’s Greatest Workplaces for Diversity. For this large-scale study, the data firm interviewed over 223,000 employees in the U.S. and collected over 1.5 million comprehensive company reviews. Respondents were asked questions about corporate culture, working environment and other subjects at both their own companies and others they were familiar with.

“We’re honored to be recognized on this important list,” says Kelie Charles, Chief Diversity Officer for Bath & Body Works. “We know that diversity, equity and inclusion make us stronger—it’s one of our core values. We strive every day to ensure everyone feels they belong and to foster an inclusive culture where everyone feels valued for who they are, as they are.”

In addition to making Newsweek’s ranking of America’s Greatest Workplaces for Diversity, Bath & Body Works recently has been recognized in several other ways including:

America’s Most Responsible Companies by NewsweekAmerica’s Greatest Workplaces for Veterans by NewsweekAmerica’s Greenest Companies by NewsweekWorld’s Most Trustworthy Companies by NewsweekAmerica’s Greatest Workplaces by NewsweekAmerica’s Best Workplaces for Women by NewsweekAmerica’s Greatest Workplaces for LGBTQ+ individuals by NewsweekMost Trustworthy Companies in America by NewsweekDiversity in Business Award by Columbus Business FirstForbes List of America’s Best Large EmployersForbes List of America’s Best Employers for WomenA Diversity First Top 50 Company by the Diversity Research Institute

For more information about Bath & Body Works’ people and culture, visit bbwinc.com/people.

ABOUT BATH & BODY WORKS

Home of America’s Favorite Fragrances®, Bath & Body Works is a global leader in personal care and home fragrance, including top-selling collections for fine fragrance mist, body lotion and body cream, 3-wick candles, home fragrance diffusers and liquid hand soap. Powered by agility and innovation, the company’s predominantly U.S.-based supply chain enables the company to deliver quality, on-trend luxuries at affordable prices. Bath & Body Works serves and delights customers however and wherever they want to shop, from welcoming, in-store experiences at more than 1,840 company-operated Bath & Body Works locations in the U.S. and Canada and more than 450 international franchised locations to an online storefront at BathandBodyWorks.com.

For more information, please contact:

Bath & Body Works, Inc.: 
Media Relations 
Emmy Beach 
Communications@bbw.com

I never could have imagined that the job opportunity I discovered in a local newspaper would turn into a lifelong career. I’ve grown both personally and professionally during my 36 years with Covia and am grateful for the friendships I have made and opportunities I have been given to follow my passion for finance and collaboration.

The Willingness to Collaborate

I grew up in Connecticut and attended Miami University in Ohio, where I earned a degree in accounting. Shortly after graduation, my husband and I moved to Chicago, IL, where I found a job as an accountant. We lived there for a year, then two years in Toledo, OH and then my husband was given the opportunity to transfer to a position in New York City. Thanks to the ease of public transportation, we were able to find a place to live in New Canaan, Connecticut, a commuter town, and my husband could easily travel into the city for work.

After the move back to Connecticut, I was looking for a new career opportunity when I found an ad in the local paper for an accounting position at Covia. I applied for the job and the rest is history.

When I started at Covia, I was the youngest person in the office at the age of 25. I started off working in accounts receivable/payable as well as sales reporting. It didn’t take long until I was put in charge of additional treasury responsibilities.

I enjoyed working as an accountant and felt content in my role for quite a while, until a massive shift happened about 25 years into my career. Andrew Eich, Covia’s current President & CEO, had just started with the company and had an incredible number of ideas to revolutionize the way we worked. He helped us rethink and rework our current accounting processes and procedures to streamline and improve them. I was inspired and felt reinvigorated to help bring about the changes that Andrew proposed.

At the same time, another important change occurred as Covia formed cross-functional teams – rethinking the way we work as an organization. It was exciting to get all the team members in the same room to learn from each other and their unique functional experiences. This was especially rewarding for me because while I love accounting, I also love working with different functional areas and learning from other’s perspectives. These changes inspired me to pursue new opportunities that have led me to where I am today.

Today, as VP of Project Management Office (PMO), I manage all the key projects for the company relating to executing our strategy. I plan out projects that have a material impact on the company performance, covering a wide range of functional areas. When looking at the strategic direction, you need to determine what projects are going to get you there. That is where project management gets to help.

I like to compare project management to throwing a dinner party. The first step to planning a party isn’t setting the table – it’s planning the theme and determining the attendees. The same can be said for project management. It’s crucial to understand what goes into a project and how to tailor it to your needs.

One of my favorite things about my current role is getting to work with others. I really appreciate the openness to be able to pick up the phone and call other Team Members to chat and catch up on what they are working on. This highlights what has evolved the most during my time at Covia – the willingness to collaborate.

Perspective on Project Management

Many projects involve a variety of different work streams. We used to look at many types of projects solely through an engineering lens. That changed with projects like Fort Smith, Kermit wet plant or the Chardon mine move. We know that to properly commission a project, we have to plan holistically, involving procurement, operations, commercial agreements, logistics, and others. We still haven’t gotten everything right, but with each project we do a postmortem look to see what improvements we can make to use with the next project.

Covia always has a lot going on. At any given time, there are many projects, large and small, being managed throughout the company. While I focus primarily on the larger scale projects, the PMO is here to help with any project, and the tool we use, SmartSheets is being utilized now in many of the functional areas of the company.

The Value of Family

Outside of work, I love to spend time with my husband and two adult children. Family has always been so important to me. I am grateful that I was always able to be there for my children – never missing a sporting event. I was heavily involved in the community when they were growing up, participating in several boards as well as volunteering. With my kids all grown up, I’ve been volunteering with a local charity group, Angels and Sparrows, to read to children from a wide range of backgrounds.

Growth on the Horizon

The advantage of having experienced professionals around is that they know their way around the organization and how things work. However, it’s equally important to bring on young talent with fresh perspectives to avoid the risk of doing things the same way they have always been done. I am so excited to see the younger generation at Covia bring their new perspectives that can once again revolutionize the way we work.

In addition to the next generation of Covia Team Members, the potential for new acquisitions and technology on the horizon has me really excited for what’s to come.

Originally published by Progressive Grocer.

By Lynn Petrak.

Albertsons’ Safeway banner collaborated with digital creator and philanthropist Jimmy Donaldson, AKA MrBeast, on a challenge called “Survive in a Grocery Store.” The episode features a contestant who wins $10,000 for each day he lives inside a Safeway store, provided he also chooses $10,000 worth of products to give to a local charity.

See full article on Progressive Grocer and read more about Albertsons Companies and our Recipe for Change on our website.

On Friday, December 8, 2023, AEG’s ASCSC Foundation hosted its 10th annual Women in Entertainment Luncheon in Carson, CA. where more than 300 women and men from the film, television, music, sports, and fashion industries gathered to celebrate the empowerment of women and to honor industry leaders who are making a difference.

This year’s event honored Tina Perry, President of OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network and Earvin “Magic” Johnson, Chairman and CEO, Magic Johnson Enterprises, as “Inspiration Award” recipients for their outstanding dedication to supporting women in the sports and entertainment industries and for giving hope and inspiration to others.

“Our goal with the Women in Entertainment Luncheon is to provide a forum where women leaders can transfer their knowledge and experience to help advance the careers of other women,” said Tamala Lewis, Senior Director of Community Affairs and Foundation at AEG’s Dignity Health Sports Park Center. “I feel incredibly blessed and proud to be a part of an organization like AEG that continues to engage and support events like the luncheon which provides a forum to women pursuing careers in the film, television, music, sports and fashion industries.”

In addition to inspiring keynotes and an in-depth panel discussions, the luncheon featured a special tribute to the 50th Anniversary of Hip Hop with a Salute to the Women Hip Hop whose ‘90s dance moves brought new style to music videos and concerts as hip hop rose to mainstream prominence. The dancers in attendance included Debra, Pluke, Nikita, Tee, Carolyn Brown, Merylin Mitchell, Shane Johnson-Bobb, Saleema Mubaarak, Tamala Lewis, Donielle Artese, Jossie Harris Thacker, Latisha “Tish” Oliver, Laurie Ann Gibson, Leslie Segar “Big Lez” and Tanika Ray.

The event featured remarks by Dan Beckerman, President & CEO, AEG; Qiana Conley Akinro, Senior Executive Director, Recording Academy Los Angeles Chapter; Tamala Lewis, Senior Director Community Affairs & Foundation, Dignity Health Sports Park; Nwaka Onwusa, The Hip Hop Museum; and Katie Pandolfo, General Manager, Dignity Health Sports Park. This year’s speakers included Christy Castillo Butcher, SVP, Sofi Stadium and Hollywood Park Programming; Michele Kajiwara, SVP Sales, Premium & Event Services, AEG; Donyell Kennedy-Mccullough, Dawnn Lewis, Grammy, BMI, American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers & NAACP Award Winning Singer/Songwriter/Actress; SVP, Talent Relations & Casting for Revolt; Inc.; Kiesha Nix, VP Charitable Affairs Los Angeles Lakers & Lakers Youth Foundation; Brieane Olson, CEO, PacSun; Pat Shields, CEO of Black Dot, LLC; Bernardina Vargas, CEO & Editor-In-Chief of The La Fashion Magazine; Johnnie Walker, Founder and CEO of National Association of Black Female Executives in Music and Entertainment.

The 10th Anniversary Women in Entertainment Luncheon was presented by the Los Angeles Dodgers, Coca Cola, the Los Angeles Lakers, City National Bank, Corazón and McBride Sisters Collection, and held in conjunction with the National Association of Black Female Executives in Music and Entertainment, Inc. (NABFEME Los Angeles) and Women Helping Women in Entertainment.

AEG’s ASCSC Community Foundation, a 501c(3) organization was established to provide financial and in-kind support for educational, recreational and social service programs which improve the lives of young people in the Greater Southern California region. The foundation has a particular focus on serving the area immediately surrounding Dignity Health Sports Park, located in the City of Carson. The Dignity Health Sports Park staff spends countless hours giving back to our community every year through programs, events, scholarships and youth ticket donations.

The Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC) recently announced that its CEO, Amina Razvi, will leave the organization on December 29, 2023. This decision was made in mutual agreement between Amina and the Board of Directors as the organization enters a new phase of growth and expansion to adjacent product categories. The Board is now looking for a successor to fill this role.

In her blog post, Tamar Hoek, Senior Policy Director Sustainable Fashion, Solidaridad, and Chair of the SAC Board, has shared insights on this change and the opportunities that lie ahead for the SAC. You can read her blog post titled “In Light of the Transition News for Outgoing CEO Amina Razvi, Board Chair Tamar Hoek Details What’s Worth Celebrating and the Potential Ahead for the SAC.”

Name: Massiel Azcona | Regional Sustainability Manager at Grupo Modelo, for the Water Management and Smart Agriculture pillars

Company: Ab In-Bev

Connect with Massiel on LinkedIn

Welcome to our series aimed at spotlighting BIER projects.  As part of our Member and Stakeholder spotlight series featuring the individual leaders within BIER member companies and stakeholder organizations, our project spotlight series highlights BIER member companies and stakeholder organizations involved in the innovative Charco Bendito project.

Learn how these practitioners and their companies have collaborated to develop and implement this innovative, first-of-its-kind, basin-level watershed initiative addressing three main goals: water accessibility, quality, and availability. Gain insights into key learnings and what inspires each of them to advance environmental sustainability in the beverage sector and collectively, overall.

Briefly describe your role and responsibilities and how long you have worked with your company.

My role mainly consists of developing and executing projects aimed at these two goals by 2025:

Sustainable agriculture: Seeks that 100% of our farmers are trained, connected and financially empowered.Water Stewardship: With which we commit that 100% of our communities in areas of higher water stress must have a measurable improvement in the quantity and availability of water.

I have been in this incredible company for 4 years, and my role at Charco Bendito is as a company participating in the project, along with our other allies.

What is your participation within Charco Bendito?

Support with our other partners in the program execution, which translates into an improvement in the quality of life of the community!

What were the main incentives that made Grupo Modelo participate in the Charco Bendito project?

As a company, we have clear sustainability goals related to water management, so it was very easy to decide to get involved in the execution of this transversal project, which brings benefits for the families in the area, but also for the availability of water in the aquifer and the ecosystem in general.

How has Grupo Modelo’s participation in Charco Bendito evolved?

At the beginning, our participation consisted a lot in the co-creation of the idea, but today we can proudly say that we have grown to become a large family of 10 companies, and always seeking to grow and develop our project even more!

Learn more about Massiel Azcona in this BIER Member Spotlight.

Originally published by Walgreens Boots Alliance

At Walgreens Boots Alliance, we believe there is an inextricable link between the health of our planet and the health of our communities, whether impacted by extreme temperatures, natural disasters, airborne diseases or poor air quality. We also believe climate change is caused by human activities and requires swift action to reduce our footprint.

In continued recognition of our efforts to minimize our impact on the planet, positively contribute to society, and maintain good governance practices, WBA has been named to the Dow Jones Sustainability North America Index for the fourth consecutive year. Over the past year, we have made further progress to our Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) goals, including to reduce our scope 1 and scope 2 emissions by 30 percent by 2030 versus our 2019 baseline.

“We are on track and remain committed to achieving our goals,” says Alethia Jackson, senior vice president of ESG and chief DEI officer, WBA. “Additionally, as one of the world’s leading innovators in health and personal care products, we continue to find ways to reduce our footprint, such as expanding owned-brand product categories to ensure they are made from recycled or natural materials and continuing to decrease the amount of waste sent to landfill or incineration.”

The Dow Jones Sustainability North America Index comprises North American sustainability leaders as identified by S&P Global Corporate Sustainability Assessment (CSA). It represents the top 20% of the largest 600 North American companies in the S&P Global Broad Market Index (BMI) based on long-term economic, environmental and social criteria.

For the seventh year in a row, Lenovo employees have grown their annual volunteer-led month of service. The Love on Month of Service is a dedicated time of year in which employees are encouraged to volunteer in their communities. Projects are planned and executed by a team of more than 100 employee project leaders who have identified nonprofits that are aligned with the Lenovo Foundation’s mission of empowering underrepresented populations through access to education and technology.  Since the program’s beginning, Lenovo’s philanthropic team has aimed to grow the annual volunteer project by at least one metric each year, whether it be number of beneficiaries, volunteer instances, hours logged, or participating offices. The 2023 global event stretched for 4 weeks during September and Lenovo’s dedicated employees once again delivered annual growth in number of volunteer instances (+32%) and hours volunteered (+56%).

“No one is being “volun-told” to participate in Love on Month of Service,” commented Sydni Behm, Global Program Manager for Lenovo philanthropy whose leadership has overseen much of the program’s growth. “Each year we start out wondering if this will be the year when impact or participation plateaus, but employees around the world continue to show up, give back to their communities, and grow this program as a grassroots initiative.”

Employees at Lenovo are encouraged to volunteer 8 hours per quarter through the company’s global volunteer benefit and can log their volunteer hours on the Love on platform. When they track their time, they receive volunteer rewards that can be donated to their favorite cause and during Love on Month of Service, employees’ Love on Platform rewards were doubled.

Love on Month of Service not only galvanizes Lenovo’s global workforce in corporate citizenship, but it also aligns with recent research about the benefits of volunteerism in the workplace. Volunteerism of any type has been shown to reduce stress and improve wellbeing, while volunteerism in the workplace can be an effective team and morale builder. These insights were reinforced through Love on Month of Service’s survey data: 72% of the project leaders responding to the survey felt more engaged as a Lenovo employee after the program, and in the volunteer survey, 87% of all volunteers felt a sense of pride for to be part of a company that supports volunteerism and 70% of volunteers felt that Love on Month of Service benefitted the perception of Lenovo as a corporate citizen in their local community.

While the global growth and metrics of the program are something the entire workforce can be proud of, the stories of unique projects can be the most inspiring takeaway from the annual event. Explore the month in photos and videos shared on We Are Lenovo Instagram Stories and read about Lenovo’s social impact champions on StoryHub. You can read more about Lenovo’s social impact goals in the most recent Environmental, Social and Governance Report.

Authored by Garrick Gibson, Donald N. Bernards

Baker Tilly’s podcast series specifically for professionals in the multifamily housing industry.

On this episode of BuzzHouse, hosts Don Bernards and Garrick Gibson sit down with Founder Emily Ramsey and Director John Cramer of Ramsey Historic Consultants (RHC), a Chicago-based historic preservation consulting firm specializing in the research and evaluation of properties for historic preservation financial incentives. Together, the group speaks on the importance of preserving historic buildings and how RHC is helping developers navigate the complexity of applying for state and federal historic tax credit incentives.

Special guests

Emily Ramsey | Ramsey Historic Consultants

Emily Ramsey is an expert in historic preservation tax incentive programs. Between 2008 and 2014, she served as Senior Associate for MacRostie Historic Advisors, where she prepared National Register nominations, local landmark designation reports, and applications for properties seeking historic rehabilitation tax incentives. She has prepared successful National Register nominations, landmark reports, and tax credit applications for a wide range of historic properties, including industrial loft buildings, post-war housing complexes, schools, apartment hotels, downtown office skyscrapers, hotels and military housing.

John Cramer | Ramsey Historic Consultants

John D. Cramer, LEED BD+C, is a Chicago-based architecture and preservation design consultant. He manages architecture and preservation design, historic rehabilitation tax credit, Section 106, National Register and local landmark nomination, research, and advocacy projects for private architecture and consulting firms and heritage and preservation nonprofits.

Listen to more podcasts in this series

Originally published in Alkermes September 2023 Corporate Responsibility Report

Employee engagement remained a top priority for the Company throughout 2022. As many of our office-based employees have adapted to a hybrid work model, we’ve continued the innovative communications strategies developed throughout the COVID-19 pandemic to keep employees connected and informed, including:

Frequent Leadership Communications: Facilitated regular engagement between the Company’s management team and employees, including quarterly Company town hall meetings and local office leadership team initiatives.

Reflected on Current Events: Shared perspectives from senior leadership on rapidly evolving social discourse and geopolitical events.

In-person Social Events: Hosted social events on campus for employees to enhance connections and camaraderie.

Enhanced Employee Resources: Provided employees with information, support and ongoing guidance to help navigate the evolving COVID-19 environment.

In October 2022, Ken Duckworth, Chief Medical Officer of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), and a person living with bipolar I disorder co-hosted a Q&A event at our Waltham facility to discuss NAMI’s first book, You Are Not Alone: The NAMI Guide to Navigating Mental Health. Together they discussed the challenges of living with and caring for people with serious mental illness, as well as the perspectives shared in the book by more than 130 people with lived experience.

Learning & Development

Leading@Alkermes

The Leading@Alkermes program is a practical approach to management and leadership with a focus on best practice tools. This six-month program is designed to support managers at Alkermes through a combination of monthly modules, peer circles and independent exercises. Since the program’s launch in 2020, nearly 200 employees have graduated from this program.

Leadership in Action

Leadership in Action is a series of panel discussions focused on established leadership behaviors and designed to guide and align our leadership principles. We hosted two Leadership in Action events in 2022, which garnered attendance from more than 250 employees at the Director level and above.

LinkedIn Learning

As part of our commitment to ongoing professional development, Alkermes has provided all employees with access to LinkedIn Learning, an online learning platform with more than 16,000 courses taught by real-world experts. The platform is embedded within our performance management system to support managers and employees during annual performance review and Individual Development Plan discussions. As of the end of 2022, 89% of employees had activated an account and engaged with the platform.

Peer Appreciation and Recognition

We strongly believe in sharing and recognizing success as a team. Our RISE recognition program connects our employees across all locations and enables our employees to acknowledge and commend colleagues for outstanding performance through peer-to-peer recognition. Employee accomplishments are also celebrated company-wide through featured stories on ARC, our internal employee portal.

Employee Benefits and Wellness

Our HR team has an ‘open door’ policy to promote a healthy exchange of ideas and encourage employees to provide feedback on our programs and practices on an ongoing basis. We also regularly benchmark our HR practices against industry standards to ensure that we can compete for and retain strong talent. Our benefits and other resources are designed to support the physical, financial and emotional well-being of our employees and their loved ones, regardless of what stage of life or careers they are in. We made key enhancements to our benefits offerings in 2022 including:

Physical

Partnered with our medical plan provider to provide a user-friendly wellness incentive app, offering up to $400 annually per employee in financial rewards. U.S. employees are rewarded for completing yearly wellness tasks such as wellness exams or on-site biometric screenings, as well as engaging with a variety of wellness content.Refreshed on-site offerings related to fitness and health by bringing back monthly massage clinics for employees in Ohio and providing year-end chair massages for employees in Dublin and Massachusetts, in addition to organized fitness activities like yoga, Pilates and distance running training programs.Hosted on-site vaccination clinics for employees in Massachusetts to receive flu and COVID-19 vaccines.

Emotional

Expanded reimbursements to include mind and body wellness programs such as meditation, therapy and wellness subscriptions.Supplemented on-site physical wellness activities with holistic virtual health coaching and meditation clinics.Hosted virtual webinars as part of a broader “Mental Health Wellbeing Day” in Dublin; topics included supporting friends with mental health concerns, mindfulness, relaxation techniques and tips for beating fatigue.

Financial

In addition to our market-competitive total rewards packages, as outlined below, expanded both company paid and supplemental life insurance for all U.S. employees in 2022.Increased healthcare rewards package and introduced a dental plan to our Irish healthcare policy.

Recognizing the value of our employees and their important contributions to the achievement of our business objectives, we offer comprehensive total rewards pay and benefits packages, including bonus opportunities at all levels tied to individual and company performance, and for employees at certain levels, company equity opportunities. We also offer healthcare and retirement savings plan benefits, paid time off, tuition reimbursement, life and disability insurance and other benefits designed to support healthy lifestyle choices, financial wellness and work-life balance.

Prioritizing Mental Health in the Workplace

In 2022, Alkermes was awarded the Bell Seal at the Platinum Level from Mental Health America. Presented to less than 110 companies annually, The Bell Seal is a nationwide employer certification awarded to companies who work to “create mentally healthy workplaces” and was awarded to Alkermes following a thorough evaluation of our policies and practices aimed at creating a workplace that values and supports our employees’ mental health.

Read more