Originally published by GoDaddy

To discover agents verified through GoDaddy ANS or to register an agent, visit GoDaddy.com/ANS.

TEMPE, Ariz., April 9, 2026 /3BL/ — LegalZoom.com, Inc. (Nasdaq: LZ), America’s #1 online legal services company, and GoDaddy (NYSE: GDDY), global leader in domains and tech for small businesses, have entered into a partnership to protect the rapidly expanding agentic open web for small and medium-sized businesses.

AI agents now act as more than simple fact-finding companions. They communicate with one another and complete tasks independently—and occasionally go rogue. As enterprises roll out AI agents across different platforms, users lack a consistent way to verify where an agent came from, who published it, and most importantly, whether it can be trusted.

Agent Name Service (ANS) is an open standard built to help solve this high-stakes challenge. ANS employs the same core infrastructure that powers today’s internet: domain name system (DNS) and public key infrastructure (PKI) certificates. It requires each registered AI agent to be assigned a unique, human-readable name and a cryptographically verifiable identity. This lets agents be discovered, verified and governed across the open web.

LegalZoom and GoDaddy support the ANS open standard

As a driving force behind enhancing the ANS open standard, GoDaddy turned the blueprint into reality with GoDaddy ANS, the first public implementation of the open standard where anyone can publish and verify agents in minutes.

In support of that blueprint, LegalZoom registered its first AI agent, leveraging GoDaddy ANS. The LegalZoom agent is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that integrates LegalZoom’s legal services directly into AI assistants such as Anthropic’s Claude and enables users to connect with real attorneys, scan and share legal documents, and manage legal consultations.

GoDaddy ANS provides cryptographic verification that confirms the agent is legitimately owned and operated by LegalZoom using DNS as the root of trust, so other AI systems can find and verify the LegalZoom MCP agent. By registering the agent on GoDaddy ANS, it can be discovered not just by humans, but other agents as well at internet scale.

“AI agents will transform how legal services are delivered, but their value depends on verifiable identity and human accountability,” said Aaron Stibel, chief customer & business officer at LegalZoom. “Partnering with GoDaddy to publish our MCP Agent on ANS lets LegalZoom deliver trusted legal experiences at scale across the open web. Customers and their AI assistants can confidently discover the real LegalZoom and our attorney-backed solutions that raise the bar on accountability and trust.”

The ANS standard makes the open web safer

Here’s what ANS delivers in practice:

• Publishes each AI agent as a DNS record, discoverable worldwide in seconds
• Enables any person or system to confirm an agent’s origin with a simple DNS query
• Provides cryptographic proof that the agent is bound to a verified domain, so other systems can confirm who operates it
• Works with any ANS-compatible registry, including GoDaddy ANS

“Trust is the currency of online business,” said Travis Muhlestein, chief technology officer of product AI at GoDaddy. “LegalZoom’s partnership and publishing its AI agent through ANS shows how powerful open identity can be. Each organization that registers an agent strengthens the standard and makes the whole AI ecosystem a safer, more open place to do business.”

To discover agents verified through GoDaddy ANS or to register an agent, visit GoDaddy.com/ANS.

About GoDaddy
GoDaddy, the world’s largest domain name registrar, helps millions of entrepreneurs globally start, grow, and scale their businesses. People come to GoDaddy to name their idea, build a website and logo, sell their products and services and accept payments. GoDaddy Airo®, the company’s AI-powered experience, makes growing a small business faster and easier by helping them to get their idea online in minutes, drive traffic and boost sales. GoDaddy’s expert guides are available 24/7 to provide assistance. To learn more about the company, visit www.GoDaddy.com.

About LegalZoom
LegalZoom is a leading online platform for legal services, transforming how individuals and small businesses navigate the legal system. By combining intuitive technology with access to experienced attorneys—whether through our vast independent attorney network or our own law firm—we offer the tools and guidance people need to confidently manage everything from business formation and compliance to intellectual property protection and ongoing business management and legal support.

As AI reshapes how legal work gets done, LegalZoom is at the forefront of the human-in-the-loop approach, ensuring that the speed and efficiency of AI is always backed by the judgment and accountability of qualified professionals. With over two decades of experience and millions of customers served, LegalZoom helps individuals and small businesses navigate legal needs with confidence. For more information, please visit www.legalzoom.com.

SOURCE GoDaddy Inc.

Originally published by GoDaddy

To discover agents verified through GoDaddy ANS or to register an agent, visit GoDaddy.com/ANS.

TEMPE, Ariz., April 9, 2026 /3BL/ — LegalZoom.com, Inc. (Nasdaq: LZ), America’s #1 online legal services company, and GoDaddy (NYSE: GDDY), global leader in domains and tech for small businesses, have entered into a partnership to protect the rapidly expanding agentic open web for small and medium-sized businesses.

AI agents now act as more than simple fact-finding companions. They communicate with one another and complete tasks independently—and occasionally go rogue. As enterprises roll out AI agents across different platforms, users lack a consistent way to verify where an agent came from, who published it, and most importantly, whether it can be trusted.

Agent Name Service (ANS) is an open standard built to help solve this high-stakes challenge. ANS employs the same core infrastructure that powers today’s internet: domain name system (DNS) and public key infrastructure (PKI) certificates. It requires each registered AI agent to be assigned a unique, human-readable name and a cryptographically verifiable identity. This lets agents be discovered, verified and governed across the open web.

LegalZoom and GoDaddy support the ANS open standard

As a driving force behind enhancing the ANS open standard, GoDaddy turned the blueprint into reality with GoDaddy ANS, the first public implementation of the open standard where anyone can publish and verify agents in minutes.

In support of that blueprint, LegalZoom registered its first AI agent, leveraging GoDaddy ANS. The LegalZoom agent is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that integrates LegalZoom’s legal services directly into AI assistants such as Anthropic’s Claude and enables users to connect with real attorneys, scan and share legal documents, and manage legal consultations.

GoDaddy ANS provides cryptographic verification that confirms the agent is legitimately owned and operated by LegalZoom using DNS as the root of trust, so other AI systems can find and verify the LegalZoom MCP agent. By registering the agent on GoDaddy ANS, it can be discovered not just by humans, but other agents as well at internet scale.

“AI agents will transform how legal services are delivered, but their value depends on verifiable identity and human accountability,” said Aaron Stibel, chief customer & business officer at LegalZoom. “Partnering with GoDaddy to publish our MCP Agent on ANS lets LegalZoom deliver trusted legal experiences at scale across the open web. Customers and their AI assistants can confidently discover the real LegalZoom and our attorney-backed solutions that raise the bar on accountability and trust.”

The ANS standard makes the open web safer

Here’s what ANS delivers in practice:

• Publishes each AI agent as a DNS record, discoverable worldwide in seconds
• Enables any person or system to confirm an agent’s origin with a simple DNS query
• Provides cryptographic proof that the agent is bound to a verified domain, so other systems can confirm who operates it
• Works with any ANS-compatible registry, including GoDaddy ANS

“Trust is the currency of online business,” said Travis Muhlestein, chief technology officer of product AI at GoDaddy. “LegalZoom’s partnership and publishing its AI agent through ANS shows how powerful open identity can be. Each organization that registers an agent strengthens the standard and makes the whole AI ecosystem a safer, more open place to do business.”

To discover agents verified through GoDaddy ANS or to register an agent, visit GoDaddy.com/ANS.

About GoDaddy
GoDaddy, the world’s largest domain name registrar, helps millions of entrepreneurs globally start, grow, and scale their businesses. People come to GoDaddy to name their idea, build a website and logo, sell their products and services and accept payments. GoDaddy Airo®, the company’s AI-powered experience, makes growing a small business faster and easier by helping them to get their idea online in minutes, drive traffic and boost sales. GoDaddy’s expert guides are available 24/7 to provide assistance. To learn more about the company, visit www.GoDaddy.com.

About LegalZoom
LegalZoom is a leading online platform for legal services, transforming how individuals and small businesses navigate the legal system. By combining intuitive technology with access to experienced attorneys—whether through our vast independent attorney network or our own law firm—we offer the tools and guidance people need to confidently manage everything from business formation and compliance to intellectual property protection and ongoing business management and legal support.

As AI reshapes how legal work gets done, LegalZoom is at the forefront of the human-in-the-loop approach, ensuring that the speed and efficiency of AI is always backed by the judgment and accountability of qualified professionals. With over two decades of experience and millions of customers served, LegalZoom helps individuals and small businesses navigate legal needs with confidence. For more information, please visit www.legalzoom.com.

SOURCE GoDaddy Inc.

SLB’s culture and inclusion efforts have been recognized in two categories at the 2026 World 50 Impact Awards, a program that highlights organizations advancing workplace inclusion.

The company was shortlisted in the Culture Catalyst Team category for its global culture transformation and evolution of its cultural framework and also in the Designed for Opportunity category for an initiative aimed at supporting neurodivergent talent and integrating inclusive practices across the employee experience.

SLB’s commitment to hiring local talent has shaped its cultural diversity. Now in its centennial year, the company continues to cultivate a diverse workforce and an inclusive environment, nurturing a diversity of thought that fuels its technology and digital innovations.

“We’re delighted that our approach to culture and inclusion has been recognized,” says Carlos Sarmiento, director of Culture, Diversity and Inclusion at SLB. “This reflects our ongoing focus on developing global best practices, which are driven by the empowerment of our local teams to build a workplace where diversity is celebrated, and where everyone feels valued and respected.”

Learn more about SLB’s culture here and in the company’s Sustainability Report.

View original content here.

3BL Content Editor: Formatting, Media & HTML Specifications

The 3BL Editor is a structured, HTML-based publishing environment. Formatting is not decorative — it is a technical decision that affects how content is rendered, indexed, and distributed. This guide provides a comprehensive overview of how the editor works, what it supports, and how to maximize performance and discoverability using structured content.

Character Limits

Every field in the editor has a defined limit that affects how your content previews across channels — from email inboxes to aggregator feeds. These aren’t soft guidelines; exceeding them causes truncation downstream.

Character Limits

Field	Limit	Notes
Headline	255 characters	Target 60 for search display
Subheadline	255 characters	Doubles as SEO meta description
Body	No limit	Full article content
Short teaser	280 characters	Used in email distribution previews

Writing a headline under 60 characters isn’t just an SEO best practice — it’s the threshold at which most search engines display the full title without truncation. The 255-character field gives you flexibility, but 60 is the practical target.¹

Supported HTML Elements

Text Structure & Semantics

Well-structured content starts with the right tags. Headings, paragraphs, and text formatting elements do more than control appearance — they signal hierarchy to the systems that distribute and index your content.

• Bold signals importance to both readers and search systems.
• Italic works well for titles or technical terms being introduced.
• Underline is supported but use sparingly to avoid confusion with links.
• Superscript and subscript render correctly for use cases like CO_CO or trademark symbols^TM — both travel cleanly through distribution.

Lists

When sequence matters, use an ordered list:

1. Lead with your most important claim in the headline and H1
2. Support it with evidence in modular, self-contained sections
3. Close with a clear takeaway or call to action
4. Keep each section focused on one idea

When information is parallel but not sequential, use bullets:

• Semantic headings at every major section break
• Descriptive hyperlink anchor text
• Alt text on every image
• Embeds placed within the body, not isolated at the top or bottom

Links

The <a> tag supports href, alt, target, title, and rel attributes. Use descriptive anchor text for both accessibility and search performance. Read more about 3BL’s framework for optimizing content in our 2026 LLM and Generative AI Writing Guide.

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Content Sanitization & Unsupported Elements

The editor automatically removes unsupported or unsafe elements on save. The most common ones teams run into:

• Special characters, emojis, and math symbols
• <div> (except for specific oEmbed use cases)
• <span>
• <video>
• <audio>
• <iframe>

Formatting that looks correct in the editor can degrade silently on downstream endpoints. A table that renders cleanly on 3BL Media may lose its header row on a wire service. Test every rich element against your full distribution stack before publishing.

---

Rich Media: Embeds & Images

Video Embeds

oEmbed is supported for YouTube, Vimeo, DailyMotion, and Spotify. Place embeds within the body of the article for the best rendering consistency across endpoints.

Images

Supported formats are PNG and JPEG only, with a maximum file size of 100MB. Every image should include descriptive alt text.

---

Rich Content & Performance Considerations

Rich content affects rendering behavior, how information is consumed by search engines, accessibility, and consistency distributed across channels.

• Your headline should clearly communicate what the content is about in less than 60 characters.
• Use the description to add context about why this topic matters and why your organization is positioned to speak about it.
• The first header (H1) should mirror your headline, using words that communicate authority or nod toward search intent.
• Secondary headers (H2, H3) help break up your content — more readable to both humans and robots than a long unbroken block of text.
• Keep each section modular, with one clear idea per section.
• Add descriptive alt text to images to help visually impaired readers and AI systems interpret the visuals you use.

The 3BL Content Editor gives marketing, communications, and PR teams the creative flexibility to produce rich, multimedia-driven stories — while ensuring content is structured, sanitized, and distributed consistently across 3BL’s network of 79 partner sites.

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¹Based on Google’s standard search result title display behavior as of 2026.

 

 

Talk to our team 
 

At the 2026 International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) Officer Safety and Wellness Symposium, the Motorola Solutions Foundation and the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) addressed a critical gap in officer support: the need for specialized care tailored to the unique needs of first responders. 

The session, “Seal of Approval: Culturally Competent Residential Treatment Centers for Law Enforcement,” moved beyond general wellness discussions to give agencies a reliable method for identifying facilities they can trust. Because officers often experience traumatic events on the job, it’s crucial that departments have verified, vetted resources ready. The goal of the “Seal of Approval” is to provide a list of facilities that offer clinical care while also fundamentally understanding the unique psychological and operational demands of a career in policing.

A rigorous vetting process

To establish a “Seal of Approval,” PERF conducted an exhaustive review of six residential treatment centers previously vetted by the National Fraternal Order of Police (FOP). This was a deep dive, involving more than 60 interviews with facility executives, medical providers and officers who had personally completed the programs.  

A multidisciplinary panel

The session brought together experts to examine the recovery process from every angle, including:

• Clinical leaders: A police psychologist and a treatment facility founder specializing in first responder care.
• Operational experts: A retired law enforcement executive managing a treatment center.
• Research personnel: A PERF moderator who visited each vetted facility to see first-hand what culturally competent care for first responders looks like.

These speakers offered insights on the entire treatment lifecycle, covering everything from initial intake and confidentiality protocols to specific treatment modalities and long-term aftercare.

A legacy of collaboration

This session is the latest result of a 20-year partnership between the Motorola Solutions Foundation and PERF, and reflects the work published in PERF’s latest Critical Issues in Policing Series. For more than two decades, the Foundation has supported PERF’s commitment to researching and developing solutions to the most pressing challenges in modern policing.

“Our partnership with the Motorola Solutions Foundation has stood by us as we tackle the toughest issues in policing,” said Chuck Wexler, executive director of PERF. “With this ‘Seal of Approval,’ we are doing more than just discussing wellness – we’re ensuring that when an officer reaches out for help, the hand reaching back belongs to someone who truly understands the unique sacrifices of this profession.”  

Steps for agency leaders

Supporting your team requires a proactive approach to mental health. Agency leaders looking to strengthen their wellness culture can take these three actions:

1. Educate staff on what “culturally competent” care means so they properly evaluate treatment options.
2. Formalize a relationship with at least one vetted residential center before a member of your team needs it.
3. Distribute the “Seal of Approval” report throughout your agency to show that specialized, high-quality support is accessible.

Read PERF’s full report, Call for Help Treatment Centers for Police Officers here.

Recently, Angela Parker, Co-Founder and CEO of Realized Worth posed a sharp question on LinkedIn: what is the point of a conference anyway?

For years, the standard CSR conference playbook was built around a familiar formula: strong production, polished panels, practical takeaways, sponsor visibility, and enough inspiration to send people home feeling energized. But Angela is right, at a time when many professionals are navigating fatigue, fear, scrutiny, and real uncertainty about how to lead, it is not enough.

Across industries, people are not showing up to gatherings simply looking for content. They are showing up carrying tension. They are asking harder questions about what leadership requires now, what courage looks like inside institutions, and how to move forward when the old scripts no longer fit. Conferences are out of touch when they ignore that reality.

As an organizer of one of the largest corporate social impact events in the U.S., the Engage for Good Conference, here are three shifts I believe every modern impact-focused gathering must make.

1. Name the real tension in the room

Too many conferences still operate as if their role is to smooth over discomfort.

Whether the issue is political backlash, economic pressure, public mistrust, burnout, shifting stakeholder expectations, or internal misalignment, attendees can feel the gap between the world they are living in and the one being presented from the stage. When that gap is too wide, even the most polished programming loses credibility.

Leaders build trust by naming and acknowledging the tension. It requires courage, and event organizers should model it and set the tone that this is where uncomfortable truths are welcome.

A conference earns relevance when it reflects reality. Conferences need to create space for all of us to witness how the current moment is being experienced from managers and leaders to executives and team members.

2. Design for candor, not just content

For years, success in many conference settings has been measured by the quality of the speaker lineup or the polish of the stage. Big titles and celebrity speakers draw attendees, but they also are bound by what their PR and legal teams allow them to say publicly.

In the age of AI, information is not scarce anymore. Insight is.

People can access thought leadership anywhere. What they cannot easily access is a room where leaders speak honestly about tradeoffs, failures, risks, and decisions still in motion.

That kind of candor has to be built into the foundation of an event.

It means speakers should go beyond case study generalities and talk about what made the work difficult. It means talking about failures, accountability, and responsibility. It means asking better questions. It means creating smaller spaces for meaningful exchanges. It means building time for attendees to pressure test assumptions, compare notes, and wrestle with complexity alongside peers. It means debate that thrives on healthy friction.

A polished keynote may inspire people for an hour. A candid conversation can change how they lead for the next year.

3. Activate the head and the heart

The best gatherings reconnect people to purpose.

In social impact, we spend a lot of time focused on: strategy, measurement, stakeholder management, execution, and navigating constant change. While this work matters, the strongest leaders also make space for the heart work. They remember what brought them to this work. They reconnect to the communities they care about, their guiding values, and the deeper reason they continue to lead through difficulty.

The most valuable gatherings offer rigorous thinking and evoke genuine emotion. They help people sharpen their judgment, but they also help them reconnect to conviction. Because in moments like this, people need more than new ideas–they need the courage to keep going.

Many of us chose this work because we believed we could help build something better for our communities and for the world around us. A truly meaningful conference should help people remember that and return to their work with both greater clarity and deeper resolve.

The old conference model was built for a different era. Today’s leaders need something more honest and more useful.

They need gatherings that can hold complexity and invite candor. Gatherings that help people do the heart work alongside the hard work. Gatherings that do not just inform, but reconnect people to purpose.

That is the point of a conference now.

Muneer Panjwani is CEO at Engage For Good.

Note: This previously appeared in Fast Company on March 25, 2026.

ATLANTA, April 9, 2026 /3BL/ – At the recent Super South Summit for Sustainable Innovation and Impact, BoldImpact^™ ATL convened an influential panel of women leaders shaping the future of sustainability in Atlanta and beyond.

Held at the Georgia Aquarium, the session, “From Vision to Velocity: Women Leading Atlanta’s Sustainability,” brought together leaders from a cross-section of Atlanta’s sustainability ecosystem – from the world’s busiest and most efficient airport, to a global supply chain, a leading educational institution, local entrepreneur and manufacturer and the city’s community-based ambassadors.

“Sustainability is shaped every day by leaders like the women on this panel who bring vision, curiosity, determination, and commitment in ways that positively impact our resilient future,” noted Marianne Faloni, Founder and CEO of BoldImpact ATL. “It starts with people who choose to see the world differently – and act on it.”

This dynamic conversation highlighted how sustainability leadership is evolving – requiring strategies that translate bold ideas into scalable solutions. Panelists echoed this sentiment: sustainability and profitability are no longer competing priorities – they go hand in hand.

Opening the session, Sree Kancherla, Chief Growth and Innovation Officer at HeneKom Group, reflected on the role of women leaders, “Women leaders bring a grounded understanding of impact – thinking about what we create, who it serves, and how it affects the world beyond us.”

BoldImpact ATL’s Marianne Faloni moderated the panel, “From Vision to Velocity: Women Leading Atlanta’s Sustainability,” featuring:

• Jennifer Chirico, PhD, Associate Vice President of Sustainability, Georgia Institute of Technology
• Sandra Leyva Martinez, Head of Sustainability – Americas, CHEP (a Brambles company)
• Tia Robinson, Founder/CEO, Vertical Activewear
• Dr. Quinta Warren, Senior Director of Sustainability, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport
• Michelle Wiseman, Executive Director, Atlanta Sustainability Ambassadors (City of Atlanta Mayor’s Office of Sustainability and Resilience)

Together they delivered candid insights on the skills required to lead sustainability initiatives today, the realities of gaining buy-in, and the innovations taking shape in Atlanta today.

A Defining Moment for Atlanta

As Atlanta prepares to welcome the world for the 2026 World Cup, these leaders emphasized that sustainability efforts underway today are designed to extend far beyond this global event.

What do they want the world to learn about Atlanta during the World Cup 2026? Panelists painted a compelling collective portrait: a city with a civically engaged community; an airport built for the next 100 years; a research university where innovation and sustainability share a campus; a supply chain operating as a circular system; and a manufacturing sector that proves sustainability and style can coexist.

About BoldImpact™ ATL

BoldImpact^™ ATL is a culture-driven non-profit organization catalyzing sustainability ambition into bold, measurable outcomes across Metro Atlanta. Real impact – bold impact – happens when we convene leaders, connect sustainability initiatives, break down silos, and amplify the work that is shaping Atlanta and beyond.

###

Media Contact:
Lynne D. Filderman
Chief Strategy Officer
BoldImpact ATL
lynne@boldimpactatl.org

CHARLOTTE, N.C., April 9, 2026 /3BL/ – Wells Fargo announced a $6 million philanthropic investment in Charlotte, North Carolina, reinforcing the company’s long‑standing commitment to the city. Focused on West Charlotte, the new funding will support six nonprofit organizations working across housing, workforce training, and small business growth to deliver coordinated, community‑driven solutions. The announcement was made at an event hosted at Johnson C. Smith University.

The grant announcement builds on Wells Fargo’s broader community engagement in Charlotte, where the company has its largest employee base. Between 2020 and 2025, Wells Fargo and the Wells Fargo Foundation invested more than 
$48 million in philanthropic initiatives in the Charlotte region, and employees have volunteered more than 675,000 hours in the local community.

“Wells Fargo’s deep roots in Charlotte drive our commitment to fuel economic growth for our customers, employees, and the communities we serve across North Carolina,” said Jason Rosenberg, Wells Fargo’s Head of Public Affairs. “This investment in West Charlotte will support expanded housing options, more capital for businesses, and access to workforce development in the community.”

Grant recipients and community impact

The $6 million philanthropic investment from the Wells Fargo Foundation includes grants to six nonprofits:

Housing access

• Freedom Communities: Supporting the creation of 12 affordable rental units for workforce program participants, helping promote housing stability and economic mobility
• Lakeview Neighborhood Alliance: Supporting construction of 15 accessory dwelling units (ADUs), expanding affordable rental options, and enabling home repairs, solar installations, and energy upgrades

Workforce development

• CodePath: Expansion of CodePath’s industry-aligned computer science courses, career services, and interview preparation into programs at UNC Charlotte and Johnson C. Smith University, with plans to expand to additional institutions across the region

Local business growth

• CLT Alliance Foundation: Supporting assessment of small business needs and launching readiness programs with a focus on West Charlotte
• ASPIRE Community Capital: Investment in the Financial Empowerment for Growth initiative to help 24 business owners work toward sustainable growth
• West Boulevard Neighborhood Coalition: Establishing Three Sisters Market, the first full‑service grocery store in more than 30 years for West Boulevard Corridor, expanding access to fresh food

“Philanthropic investments like this, backed by Wells Fargo’s long-standing support of Charlotte, help translate community vision into measurable progress,” said Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles. “Supporting housing access, workforce training, and local businesses in West Charlotte strengthens the city as a whole.”

“Community development means that each person is doing what they can to lift their neighbors up,” said Governor Josh Stein. “Wells Fargo’s $6 million investment will support meaningful work on affordable housing, workforce development, and financial literacy.”

“West Charlotte is a community defined by resilience, leadership, and possibility,” said U.S. Rep. Alma Adams. “With Wells Fargo’s investment, local leaders can advance their vision and position the community for long‑term success.”

“Wells Fargo’s $6 million investment in West Charlotte is a strong example of how public-private partnerships can expand opportunity and strengthen communities across North Carolina,” said U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis. “By supporting housing access, workforce development, and small business growth, this effort will help more families achieve stability and economic mobility. I appreciate Wells Fargo’s continued commitment to Charlotte and look forward to the lasting impact these investments will have on the region.” 

“Wells Fargo’s investments in the Charlotte community will help families find affordable housing, provide opportunities for individuals to learn new skills, offer more resources to local businesses, and bring a new grocery store to West Charlotte,” said U.S. Sen. Ted Budd. “I am grateful that Charlotte is home to strong partners like Wells Fargo who are working to better the community they call home.”

Energy is rapidly moving from the background of port operations to the center of global trade strategy.

In a recent Forbes Business Council article – “Ports And Power: Why Energy Security Is Becoming A Port Strategy” – Morten Johansen, COO of DP World in the Americas, outlines how energy security is emerging as a defining factor for ports, supply chains, and nearshoring decisions.

The shift reflects a broader global trend. As volatility in energy markets increases and electrification accelerates across logistics, ports are facing new pressures — and new opportunities — to rethink how they power operations.

A Structural Shift in How Ports Compete

The article points to a clear evolution: ports are no longer competing on location and capacity alone.

Instead, three converging dynamics are reshaping the landscape:

• Energy volatility is impacting trade reliability, with price swings and supply constraints affecting operations in real time
• Electrification is accelerating across port equipment and infrastructure, increasing dependence on consistent, high-quality power
• Grid limitations are emerging as a constraint, particularly as demand outpaces investment in energy infrastructure

Together, these forces are pushing energy strategy to the forefront of operational and investment decisions.

From Logistics Hubs to Energy-Enabled Ecosystems

As outlined in the piece, ports are evolving into more complex, integrated systems where managing energy is as critical as managing cargo.

This includes a growing focus on:

• Diversifying energy sources, including on-site generation
• Improving visibility into energy demand and usage
• Supporting customers’ expectations around resilience and emissions

In this model, energy becomes a core enabler of both efficiency and decarbonization.

Why It Matters for Business Leaders

For companies evaluating supply chains, corridors, and nearshoring opportunities, energy is becoming a key decision factor.

The article highlights a shift in how leaders assess logistics ecosystems, placing greater emphasis on:

• Reliability and resilience of power supply
• Exposure to energy cost volatility
• Ability to support long-term sustainability goals

In short, energy strategy is becoming inseparable from supply chain strategy.

Read the Full Perspective

As global trade continues to evolve and disruptions persist, the role of energy in shaping competitive, resilient logistics networks will only grow.

For a deeper look at how these trends are unfolding — and what they mean for business leaders — read Morten’s full article in Forbes Business Council: “Ports And Power: Why Energy Security Is Becoming A Port Strategy”

GENEVA, April 9, 2026 /3BL/ – The Tire Industry Project (TIP) today announced the publication of a scientific study that introduces one of the most advanced models for understanding the movement and concentrations of tire and road wear particles (TRWP) in land and freshwater. The mass balance model as it is known presents a methodology to track and predict with high spatial granularity how TRWP move through watersheds – areas of land where rainfall and surface water drain into a river, lake or estuary – across diverse climates and regions.

TRWP are particles unintentionally generated at the frictional interface between the tire and roadway during vehicle use. As scientific and regulatory interest in these particles grows, tools that can generate reliable TRWP data are an essential prerequisite to understanding how they move through different environments. TRWP flow through waterways in particular remains an understudied topic.

The newly released model is designed to use global and local datasets and open-source modeling frameworks such as the ERA5 global climate dataset by the Copernicus Climate Change Service and the Wflow catchment hydrology model by Deltares, a water solutions research consultancy. Validated against field measurements from watersheds on three distinct continents — the Seine River basin in France, the Chesapeake Bay basin in the United States, and the Yodo River basin in Japan – the modeling approach is applicable at a watershed-scale in regions with varying watershed characteristics, climates and stormwater management systems.

Results of applying the model to the three above watersheds show substantial differences in how much TRWP reach surface waters, with amounts reaching estuaries ranging from 2% to 18%, depending on factors such as watershed basin size, level of urbanization, climate and stormwater management infrastructure. The study further indicates that factors like improvements in stormwater systems can reduce TRWP transport to surface waters by up to a half, underscoring the value of infrastructure-based mitigation measures.

“Having a robust, reproducible model for TRWP transport and fate that can be applied worldwide is essential for advancing both scientific understanding and practical solutions,” said Nicolas Tissier, Research Director at TIP. “Our role at TIP is to support rigorous, transparent science that helps researchers, policymakers, and industry make evidence-based decisions. By making this model open access, we aim to support broader collaboration across the scientific community around TRWP in the environment, and to enable the development of more effective mitigation strategies.”

The newly published model is a refinement of earlier work and extends the modeling approach to a global scale. The next phase of development is already underway, aiming to make the model accessible to users beyond the scientific community.

-ENDS-

Notes to editors:

The study Management-oriented modeling of tire and road wear particle fate and transport in the terrestrial and freshwater environment with a global perspective was published in the journal Water and is available to read here.

The study was authored by Jos van Gils (Deltares), Hélène Boisgontier (Deltares), Lora Buckman (Deltares), Steffen Weyrauch (Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research—UFZ), Thorsten Reemtsma (UFZ and University of Leipzig), Timothy R. Barber (ERM), and Kenneth M. Unice (TRC Companies).

About TIP

Formed in 2005, the Tire Industry Project (TIP) is a voluntary CEO-driven initiative with a mission to anticipate, understand and address global environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues relevant to the tire industry and its value chain.​

TIP acts by commissioning independent research of the highest standards, collaborating on sectoral solutions and engaging with external stakeholders. ​

TIP is part of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), bringing together 10 leading tire companies that represent more than 60% of the world’s tire manufacturing capacity. ​

In 2025, TIP marked its 20th anniversary—a milestone that reflects its long-term commitment to advancing scientific knowledge and fostering collective industry action to improve sustainability across the tire value chain.​

For more information, visit The Tire Industry Project.