Tag: 3BL

Originally published by Investment Reports

Shortly after you assumed your role at IBM the company announced its goal of achieving net zero across all its operations by 2030. How does it feel to be at the heart of a team with such an ambitious program?

IBM has a long track record of environmental sustainability. We issued our first environmental policy over 50 years ago, and we have publicly reported on our environmental goals for over 30 years. So, we were excited to complement that previous work by announcing our net zero commitment in 2021 and then making it part of our IBM-impact strategic framework in 2022, while continuing to demonstrate and report on our progress. In June, we published our IBM-impact report addendum, which gives the public an update on where we stand regarding that goal.

On your website, you say that data can save the planet. Can you give us a walkthrough of your most interesting commitments to sustainability and explain how IBM can help its clients or partners become greener?

If you look at our portfolio, you can see that we provide innovative solutions to our clients through both our global markets and consulting arm. One example of this is our Environmental Intelligence Suite, which is an artificial intelligence-based platform that helps our clients monitor, predict, and respond to weather and climate impacts. In other words, our partners are looking to acquire data and gain insight on how to make the best decisions around questions of sustainable operations and practices. For example, through our IBM Sustainability Accelerator, we are currently working with farmers in Malawi and Costa Rica on giving them access to such information to help them make decisions on how to increase their yield, where to plant their crops, and how to optimally time irrigation.

The IBM Sustainability Accelerator, launched in 2022, is a pro bono social impact program that provides the opportunity to help vulnerable communities address environmental challenges, especially those brought on by climate change.

And so, along with a group of global partners, we were able to provide these communities with access to IBM’s Environmental Intelligence Suite, cloud platform, and expert employees to launch solutions related to sustainable agriculture, clean energy access, or water management, among others. Overall, the first cohort of the program was been designed to decrease costs for farmers, upscale digital education on water usage, carbon footprint reduction, and sustainable practices, and promote socioeconomic mobility for agricultural communities. Today, we are also doing similar work with communities to scale clean energy solutions and later this year we will start working on global water management projects.

Other climate change actors have told us that the technology available today is sufficient to reduce current emission levels by about two thirds. Do you agree with this statement? And do you think that the core issue is a lack of incentives for businesses to implement these sustainable technologies?

I am not an expert on the matter, but I do think that incentives make a difference. The Inflation Reduction Act applied in the United States, for instance, is an example of a policy that has influenced American and international companies’ decisions around the implementation of more sustainable technologies. At the same time, I believe that corporations must also be involved in the process and see the benefits of reducing their emissions, not just from an operational and business standpoint, but also in terms of the positive effects sustainable alternatives have on people and the climate.

According to a recent study we conducted, 95% of organizations have set ESG or sustainability goals, propositions, or plans, but only roughly 10% of them have made significant progress on those goals. And we believe that data poses the greatest challenge for many of these corporations. In the case of IBM, we have the expertise to help enable data collection and provide organizations with insight on viable solutions for their sustainability goals.

What other challenges, in addition to data-collection, are complicating companies’ green transition?

Another major concern is ensuring that company employees understand the benefits of a green transition and acquire the skills necessary for realizing it. IBM SkillsBuild program is designed to prepare employees in corporations, nonprofit partnerships, and governments to make data-based decisions and understand the changes involved in a just transition. So, I think that there is a gap that needs to be filled in terms of upscaling and re-skilling for any company to carry out a green transition.

What key developments in IBM and the climate change sector do you see happening in the future?

A lot more companies must start focusing on not just a green transition, but also a just transition. And many of these companies are looking at IBM-launched programs like our IBM Sustainability Accelerator, since it allows them to focus their expertise on solutions that ensure no one is left behind and no vulnerable communities are negatively impacted.

I also think that stakeholder communities, nonprofit partners, and employees will become more vocal with their demands and start shaping the landscape, especially with the advent of new regulations that require transparency on the part of companies in terms of how they report their progress on their sustainability goals.

CHARLOTTE, N.C., December 5, 2023 /3BL/ – DP World, a leading provider of end-to-end supply chain solutions, announces the appointment of Sarah Mouriño as Senior Director of Sustainability for the Americas region. Mouriño will lead the development of DP World Americas’ sustainability strategy, focusing on integrating its environmental, social, and governance (ESG) goals. 

This strategic appointment aligns with DP World’s global commitment to driving sustainable change and innovation throughout the logistics and supply chain industry. Last year, the company announced its global objective of achieving 100% carbon neutrality by 2040 and net-zero carbon status by 2050. 

“Sarah’s impressive track record and expertise in sustainability initiatives make her a terrific asset to our team. Her expertise in stakeholder engagement, regulatory and policy development, and sustainability reporting will be invaluable as DP World Americas continues to set new standards in sustainable logistics,” said Morten Johansen, Chief Operating Officer, DP World Americas. “We are confident that Sarah’s leadership will significantly propel our sustainability agenda forward.”

With more than two decades of experience in freight sustainability and decarbonization, Mouriño has a robust background in developing and implementing comprehensive sustainability strategies and engaging in global decarbonization initiatives. She has worked in both the public and private sectors across North America and Europe. 

“As I step into this new role, my focus will be on integrating sustainable practices into DP World’s regional business operations, and on ensuring alignment with the global commitment to environmental stewardship and corporate responsibility,” said Sarah Mouriño, Senior Director, Sustainability, DP World Americas.

Mouriño joins DP World from SSA Marine, where she served as Director of Sustainability. Prior to that, she spent time with BSR, the International Maritime Organization, Maersk, and the Port of Seattle. Mouriño holds a BA in Environmental Planning and Policy from Western Washington University and an MA in Public Policy (International Environmental and Maritime Affairs) from the University of Washington. 

– END –

DP WORLD AMERICAS MEDIA CONTACT:

Melina Vissat, Head of Communications, North America
M: (+1) 704-605-6159
E: melina.vissat@dpworld.com

ABOUT DP WORLD:

Trade is the lifeblood of the global economy, creating opportunities and improving the quality of life for people around the world. DP World exists to make the world’s trade flow better, changing what’s possible for the customers and communities we serve globally. 

With a dedicated, diverse and professional team of more than 103,000 employees spanning 75 countries on six continents, DP World is pushing trade further and faster towards a seamless supply chain that’s fit for the future. 

We’re rapidly transforming and integrating our businesses — Ports and Terminals, Marine Services, Logistics and Technology – and uniting our global infrastructure with local expertise to create stronger, more efficient end-to-end supply chain solutions that can change the way the world trades.

What’s more, we’re reshaping the future by investing in innovation. From intelligent delivery systems to automated warehouse stacking, we’re at the cutting edge of disruptive technology, pushing the sector towards better ways to trade, minimising disruptions from the factory floor to the customer’s door. 

WE MAKE TRADE FLOW TO CHANGE WHAT’S POSSIBLE FOR EVERYONE.
Follow DP World on Twitter and LinkedIn.

If you didn’t know Fanny Ochoa was visiting Joe Williams* for hypertension and diabetes assessment, it might take you a few minutes to figure it out.

She weaves conversation into the hour spent in the living room of his Camden, New Jersey home and takes his blood pressure while asking about how he’s been feeling. His daughter called, so he’s happy.

She checks out the meals he’s been getting from a community program and asks him about the pots of boiling water on the stove.

Ochoa is a community health worker for Healthy Neighbor, a joint program by Medtronic LABS and Virtua Health that aims to improve health outcomes in Camden, New Jersey.

Using LABS’ open-source technology platform SPICE, she and two other community health workers on Virtua’s health equity team follow up with patients directly in the community to monitor hypertension and type 2 diabetes.

“People are the core. We know there’s a lot of success in having a people-centered approach enabled by tech,” said Dan Master, director of health equity at Virtua Health. “We see it as innovation.”

That innovation means co-creating and evolving SPICE with community health workers to better achieve clinical and social outcomes for patients – and designing a platform that allows community health workers to be fully present.

They are keenly focused on the whole person, connecting their patients to housing, mental health services, Virtua’s Eat Well Food Farmacy, and – at times – even tracking down refrigerators.

“I need to be present. To pay attention,” Ochoa said. “If my head was buried in a tablet, how would I know he’s boiling water for heat?”

A few blocks over, Karen Fernandez sits next to Marietta Gonzalez* after taking her blood pressure and blood sugar.

The 72-year-old breaks down in tears. She’s lonely, but she says, it’s just part of aging.

Fernandez grabs her hand and tells her she’s not alone.

“It meant a lot to both of us,” Fernandez said. “When you walk into someone’s home – when they open their doors to you and welcome you – you’re doing a service for them, but there’s more to it. In the moment she needed to be heard, I was there to offer comfort.”

And that matters because those needs – the social determinants of health (SDOH) – Fernandez said, could otherwise go unnoticed.

The social determinants of health are a set of non-medical factors that influence health, such as transportation, housing, and food security. They drive up to 80% of health outcomes, according to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

And – in countries of all income levels – the lower someone’s socioeconomic position, the worse their health outcomes, according to the World Health Organization. In Camden County, the life expectancy gap is as much as 16 years compared to more affluent neighborhoods just 6.5 miles apart, said Master.

As community health worker Alexis Nieves puts it: “How can people focus on their health when they don’t know when their lights are coming back on, or when they’re going to eat next?”

At Medtronic LABS, we define ‘global health’ as truly global — not only focused on low- and middle-income countries, but on underserved communities regardless of country.

“We’re adapting the models we’re scaling across Africa and Asia to the U.S. through Healthy Neighbor,” said Head of U.S. Programs, Lauren Leccese. “This is an exciting opportunity to innovate with learnings from global community health solutions and local partners.”

That innovation includes using technology, data, community-based care models, community health workers, and evidence-based practices to reduce health disparities in a meaningful, sustainable, and scalable way. 

And that looks like Ochoa, Nieves, and Fernandez meeting patients like Williams in his dimly lit living room to make sure his blood pressure is within healthy range. And that his heat works.

Learn more about how Medtronic LABS develops community-based, tech-enabled solutions for underserved patients, families, and communities across the world.

*Names changed to protect patient privacy

We stand in support of World Mental Health Day.

At Crown, we hold a deep appreciation for our employees, and protecting our workforce’s wellbeing is one of our core values and a crucial aspect of our sustainability program Twentyby30™.

A step towards our goals was made recently at our global Research and Development facility in Wantage, Oxfordshire, UK.

Our Employees’ Wellbeing Group ran a full-day event focusing on many aspects of employee wellbeing, covering a wide variety of topics such as mental health, smoking cessation, neurodiversity in the workplace, physiotherapy, cancer awareness and support, eating disorders, pensions, and much more!

The committee invited a number of external associates to deliver inspiring workshops, raise awareness and encourage engagement in initiatives to improve our physical and mental health.

The open presentations and activities empowered our employees with the knowledge and strategies to better support their wellbeing, tackle daily challenges, and access crucial support resources.

Health and safety are paramount to us, and we take pride in highlighting this impactful event that took place in Wantage. Well done to our UK colleagues for organizing it!

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.

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The Sustainable Supply Chain Initiative (SSCI) is delighted to announce the opening of a stakeholder consultation for FSSC 24000, as it advances to the final stages in the SSCI Benchmark process. Foundation FSSC’s FSSC 24000 Social Sustainability Management System Certification Scheme is currently being benchmarked under the SSCI’s Processing and Manufacturing scope (Social). FSSC 24000 is the fourth SSCI Benchmark applicant to advance to the public consultation stage of the SSCI Benchmark.

The aim of FSSC 24000 is to ensure that social sustainability management system requirements are met, resulting in certifications that assure organisations provide safe and fair working conditions, meet business ethics requirements, and apply due diligence in their supply chain management. FSSC 24000 provides a strategic approach incorporating the Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) cycle and risk-based thinking, which ensures the identification and control of social risk and continuous improvement. This process demonstrates corporate responsibility and facilitates improving the social management systems and performance thus driving impact.

FSSC 24000’s scope of certification includes the manufacturing and processing sector (food and non-food), including its related service provision. The certificate confirms that the organisation’s social sustainability management system is in conformance with the FSSC 24000 Scheme requirements based on the following normative documents:

BSI/PAS 24000:2022 – Social management system requirements (Publicly Available Specification)FSSC 24000 Additional Requirements (as determined by the FSSC Board of Stakeholders)

The FSSC 24000 certification scheme is owned and governed by the non-profit Foundation FSSC and outlines the requirements for the audit and certification of a Social Sustainability Management System of an organisation. More information on the FSSC 24000 Scheme is available on their website.

Why Host Stakeholder Consultations?

This important step of the SSCI Benchmarking Process ensures its transparency and robustness by inviting interested stakeholders to review and comment on the assessment carried out by the SSCI and the independent Benchmark Leader.

How to Get Involved

To participate in the stakeholder consultation, download the Benchmark Report for consultation here. We invite you to email your questions and comments to the SSCI team via email by 15 December 2023.

International Olympic Committee news

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has issued two guides to assist global sports, business and cultural event organisers and their stakeholders in monitoring, measuring and evaluating the social, economic and environmental benefits of their events using robust and evidence-driven methodology.

The guides were developed by the OECD in consultation with academics and experts, event hosts, future Organising Committees for the Olympic Games (OCOGs), foundations, governments, policy-makers and international organisations including the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the World Health Organization (WHO).

The new guidelines are being pioneered by the IOC and OCOGs to enable consistent and reliable assessment of the legacy of different editions of the Olympic Games.

“This gives us a credible, third-party-developed framework to measure the impact of the Olympic Games for host communities and territories,” said Dr Tania Braga, the IOC’s Head of Olympic Games Impact and Legacy.

“Until now there have been a lot of recommendations for measuring impact which were not aligned with each other. The OECD has harmonised those recommendations, in consultation with its country members and third parties, to help hosts work out when, what and how to measure.”

Paris 2024 will be the first Olympic Games to benefit. The Paris 2024 Organising Committee has worked with the IOC and the OECD since 2021 to adapt the guidelines to the context of Paris and France, while helping to produce key performance indicators (KPIs) that can be used to measure, monitor and evaluate the impact of future global events.

“It is very important to think about this topic from the very beginning,” said Marie Barsacq, Executive Director of Impact and Legacy for Paris 2024. “Organising spectacular Games is important, but it is also important to organise responsible Games – socially, economically and environmentally. We really want the Games to benefit a large population by addressing key societal issues such as education, inclusion, health, equality and solidarity.”

The guides address some of the difficulties around monitoring by offering tools to calculate credible economic impact multipliers, including, for example, the concept of “net injection” to account only for the investments that come from outside and are spent inside the host territory – disregarding investments that would have been made irrespective of the event. There is a recommendation to update estimates at regular intervals before the Games and to assess the real impact after the Games.

“One problem we had in the past was that there were estimations made before the event, but no evaluation afterwards to see what had been delivered,” explained Dr Braga.

The guides recommend that event organisers work with host governments to capture quality data, with the possibility to leverage OECD support. The different contexts and legacy objectives for each edition of the Games are taken into account.

“Events measure different things, and even when they measure the same things, they do it in different ways,” said Dr Martha Bloom, Policy Analyst in the Culture, Creative Sectors and Global Events Unit at the OECD. “This makes it really challenging to compare between events of different types and the same event over time or in different locations. It is difficult to identify what works and what doesn’t work, which then hampers the ability to learn from past mistakes and improve practice. These guides build on work that is already out there, to find common approaches to measure the impact of major events.”

“Global events can have a significant impact on local development,” said Karen Maguire, Head of Division for the Local Employment and Economic Development Programme at the OECD. “Yet measuring in a consistent, reliable and comprehensive way can be challenging. This guidance provides an overview of approaches to impact assessment, discusses the issues, challenges and considerations to be made in conducting impact evaluations, and offers a set of actions which event hosts can take to improve impact assessments. In doing so, the guides support the OECD Recommendation on Global Events and Local Development, which helps countries and future hosts bring greater local benefits and legacies from global events.”

The guides have also been welcomed by WHO. Dr Fiona Bull, Head of the WHO’s Physical Activity Unit, said: “This is a significant step forward to meet our shared goals in achieving the outcomes from mega events.”

Towards the end of this year, Paris 2024 will update the estimates carried out in 2017 with real data, and bring in variables that have changed over time, such as inflation.

It is a requirement for all Olympic hosts to follow the guides, starting with the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games 2030, for which a host has yet to be elected, and the Olympic and Paralympic Games Brisbane 2032.

The IOC will update potential Olympic hosts on the guidelines so that these can be integrated into future socio-economic impact studies.

The guides can be found here:

How to measure the impact of culture, sports and business events: A Guide Part IImpact indicators for culture, sports and business events: A Guide Part II

Webinar: Webinars and Workshops – Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (oecd.org)

Saskia Kort-Chick| Director of Social Research and Engagement—Responsibility

Ariel Avgar, PhD| David M. Cohen Professor of Labor Relations, Law and History, and Senior Associate Dean for Outreach and Sponsored Research—ILR School at Cornell University

A new psychological contract is transforming the modern workplace, highlighted by an increase in collective actions and changing employee expectations.

A central feature of the employment relationship is the set of expectations that employers and workers have of one another. Sometimes less visible are the expectations that workers have of their employers. It’s all part of a psychological contract between employers and their workers. We are currently undergoing a fundamental change in the core foundation of the existing psychological contract—one that is likely to have material implications for investors.

The Importance of Psychological Contracts at Work

Irrespective of industry, workers and their employers operate within the context of a general psychological contract—informal, implicit, trust-based agreements about reciprocal commitments and expectations. Although they’re stable in the short run, these unwritten contracts evolve and shift over decades.

Traditionally, psychological contracts have been internally focused. Employers were willing to offer their employees job security, competitive pay and mobility within the firm in exchange for effort, commitment and company loyalty.

Owing to competitive pressures, psychological contracts in the developed world began to change in the late 1990s. In an effort to adapt to changing employer needs, the terms of the psychological contract were revised to include providing transferable job skills and real-world experience in exchange for effort and employee engagement.

At the same time, companies weakened job security and abandoned long-term commitments like defined benefit pension plans. Firms also shifted their focus from job security to employability security. Perhaps not surprisingly, employee loyalty declined as these pacts became less relational and more transactional.

The New Values-Based Psychological Contract 

Today, the psychological contract at work may be undergoing another once-in-a-generation change. Emboldened in part by the tight labor market of recent years, employees are using their newfound leverage to craft a new contract—one that focuses more on worker expectations than merely on employer needs.

Key among these expectations is that employers take a firm stand on political and value-based debates. These include issues like social justice; diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI); human rights; sexual harassment; and a range of political issues, such as voting rights. As a result, the boundary between work-focused activities and social causes is blurring in ways that are upending existing organizational models.

A case in point: In 2021, leaders of more than 100 firms issued public statements voicing opposition to voter suppression efforts in the US—due in part to pressure from their own employees. And, following nationwide protests and social movements during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, many companies responded with enhanced investments in DEI initiatives.

As part of the new psychological contract, workers also expect employers to allow for individual expression and to accommodate family commitments and work-life balance. Increasingly, this includes flexible work arrangements, which would’ve been unheard of only a few years ago. The shifting power dynamic is prompting employers to accede to workers in fundamentally different ways.

And what happens when employees’ needs aren’t being met? This is perhaps the most impactful dimension of the new psychological contract—an expectation for collective representation in the workplace.

Collective Actions Are on the Rise

In many parts of the developed world—particularly the US—collective actions are gaining steam. This has taken on different forms, including a resurgence in traditional unions; representation petitions within industries not historically associated with unions; and even the growth of employee resource groups. In some cases, the movement is still in the early stages. In recent years, a number of well-known companies such as Uber Technologies, Lyft, Starbucks and Amazon have seen an uptick in collective actions.

In fact, since the pandemic, there has been a 40% increase in worker activism—primarily in the form of petitions to unionize. According to the National Labor Relations Board, Starbucks alone saw more than 7,000 employees file for union elections by July 2022—up from near zero just one year earlier. As a result, 360 Starbucks stores have unionized to date.

To be sure, the US is still well behind its contemporaries, however, making it an exception in its low union membership and coverage rates. This divide stems in part from less-restrictive legal frameworks in Europe and, in some cases, the involvement of European unions in the administration of social benefits like unemployment insurance. By contrast, right-to-work laws and a host of other factors have created structural barriers in the US that have contributed to declining union membership over the past 50 years.

But even with these barriers, the US is seeing a resurgence in collective action, sometimes within the traditional union model, and sometimes in alternative collective representation forms (Display).

One of the hallmarks of the shifting psychological contract is the increase in collective action taken by workers outside of the traditional union model. Thus, even where unions are not being formed, groups of employees are gathering collectively to discuss issues that affect the entire organization. Sometimes, these take the form of employee resource groups comprising employees with a shared set of interests. Other times, workers may collectively place pressure on employers to act on political or social issues.

Investors Should Take Heed of Collective Actions

Tension between employers and workers is nothing new. As the labor market weakens or strengthens, it’s normal to see workers’ power ebb and flow. But in our view, the new psychological contract is more than a response to cyclical economic conditions. It reflects a confluence of social, political, generational and, yes, even economic forces that should give it staying power—even when the labor market weakens.

And given today’s evolving psychological contract, traditional labor-relations tools and processes may no longer be sufficient. Across industries, companies are under pressure to develop new organizational strategies aimed at addressing the new set of employee expectations. This is upending the delicate balance between workers and their employers.

In the coming years, we believe investors will need to reconsider how companies address employment and labor relations. Traditionally, firms have managed their workforces with an eye toward company-specific concerns. But as employees become more vocal in their expectations, investors should expect the line between external public relations and internal labor relations to become hazier.

Investors will also need to come to terms with the scale of unionization, which is no longer occurring on a one-off basis. Collective actions are likely to continue expanding into industries not traditionally associated with organized labor. This trend could materially affect labor costs, organizational structures and operational strategies.

It could also benefit employers. Across many decades, voluntary turnover in unionized organizations has been shown to be lower than with non-union employers, while productivity is also higher in a number of different settings and industries.

Regardless, collective actions are here to stay, and the demarcation lines between labor and management are shifting in ways that few could have imagined in decades past. With the boundaries blurring, investors will need to sharpen their focus.

The authors would like to thank Roxanne Low, ESG Analyst with AB’s Responsible Investing team, for her invaluable contributions. 

The views expressed herein do not constitute research, investment advice or trade recommendations and do not necessarily represent the views of all AB portfolio-management teams. Views are subject to change over time.

Learn more about AB’s approach to responsibility here.

I had the opportunity to host the American Forest & Paper Association at Georgia-Pacific Packaging & Cellulose’s Toledo, OR containerboard mill and Juno waste recovery facility. Juno technology was a 2022 recipient of AF&PA’s Better Practices, Better Planet 2030 Innovation in Sustainability award for its ability to significantly increase recovery rates. Paper fibers, plastics, and metals can be recycled and circulated back into the economy with this technology.

As our tour moved through the paper mill, I was struck by our industry’s long history of stewardship and recycling. Used papers have been recycled into new paper products for over 100 years (Toledo has been processing OCC since 1976). Markets for recovered paper emerged as a result of private sector efforts to reduce cost, increase efficiency, and meet customer demands. Today, it’s estimated that more than 90% of the corrugated boxes in the United States are recovered for recycling. Juno is one example of ongoing experimentation and innovation to find additional value in our waste stream. Efforts in our Consumer Business in mixed paper processing is another.

Georgia-Pacific LLC will continue to discover new technologies to create more value for our customers while using fewer resources, minimizing waste, and improving the environmental performance of our products and processes.

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By Susanna Black – illumination Contributor

Walk through the door of the Maxton Operations Center in Robeson County, N.C., and you’ll hear the unmistakable Lumbee Tribe dialect echoing through the halls – a way of speaking as unique as the Lumbee people, and one you won’t find anywhere else.

“We can travel to do work in Florida, Indiana, Alabama, you name it, and people know we’re from Robeson County because of our accent,” said Larry Trent Roberts, a Duke Energy line-worker. “You can pick us out anywhere. That’s my people.”

Roberts is part of a 14-person line crew that works out of the Maxton office; 12 identify as Lumbee and have lived in the area their entire lives, along with the rest of the staff at the operations center, like Heather Oxendine.

“I can go back 10 generations and my family was here,” said Oxendine, a customer delivery area operations support manager. “I’m sure most everybody here can probably do the same.”

The Lumbee ancestors – survivors of tribal nations like the Hatteras, the Tuscarora and the Cheraw – settled in the Robeson County area several centuries ago. Today, the tribe is still there and has more than 55,000 members living, working and contributing to the community.

“We have doctors, lawyers, teachers, politicians – and linemen,” said Roman Leviner, a senior journeyman line-worker. “To give back to our hometown is something we take very seriously, and Duke Energy gave us that opportunity.”

Line work is the only job Mitchell Chavis has ever known. He started with Carolina Power & Light right out of high school. Now, he’s working on his 42nd year at Duke Energy.

“When I was thinking about taking the job, my uncle told me I should do it and I would have a long career,” Chavis said. “He was right. It’s a fulfilling, exciting job.”

Chavis – known as “the mayor” around town – and his team say Duke Energy has a legacy of hiring community members. Tony Tew, a customer delivery supervisor, said Maxton, the largest operations center in the east zone, is also one of the most desirable work locations.

“It’s full of names like Locklear, Chavis, Lowery – Lumbee names – that joined the company at other locations,” Tew said. “But they’re itching to get on that transfer list back to Maxton – back home – as soon as they can.”

Once they’re in, the team says people stay for the long haul. It’s rare to see turnover – and they credit that to their family atmosphere, a quality that comes from their Lumbee culture.

“The biggest tradition we have as Lumbee is keeping family first,” Leviner said. “We teach and raise our children to be that way, so it’s no wonder it rolled over to our workgroup. We truly care about each other and are always looking out.”

Those values extend to customers. Whether the team is putting up new power poles or working to restore power, representing Duke Energy at a community powwow or in a parade, they are eager to inform and educate people about Duke Energy and the work they do to keep the lights on.

“To go above and beyond and help people during tough times,” Tew said, “is what it’s all about.”

If you look for the Maxton team on their off days, chances are you’ll find them together, among the freshly plowed fields and never-ending pine trees, taking advantage of everything their tribal land has to offer.

“There are no cities around here,” Leviner said. “We just live a good country life, hunting and fishing, and that’s how we like it.”

Mitchell Chavis said the power lines are an important piece of that tribal landscape, too – and he’s proud to be their caretaker.

“When you ride down the road, I don’t care where you go, you’re looking at the power lines,” Chavis said. “They’re all around us, and once line work is in your blood, it’s there to stay.”

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Originally published in the SEE® Impact Report 2022

SEE® (formerly Sealed Air) drives efforts and collaboration across the value chain for circular business models that support the creation of solutions that can recover and recycle materials. Through these actions, SEE contributes to consumer waste diversion efforts and the supply of material for future reuse, including the company’s own use of recycled content.

2025 Sustainability and Materials Pledge

By 2025, SEE commits to design or advance 100% of its packaging solutions to be recyclable or reusable, eliminate waste by incorporating an average of 50% recycled or renewable content into our solutions, and collaborate on recycling technology and infrastructure.

In 2022, solutions designed for recyclability or reusability accounted for approximately 51.5% of the material weight sold. Recycled or renewable content accounted for 17.3% of the material weight sold. In 2022, net sales generated from products defined as recyclable, designed for recyclability, or reusable were $1.9 billion.

Modification of Our 2025 Sustainability and Materials Pledge

SEE is committed to leading the charge in designing innovative sustainable packaging solutions and enabling the circularity that our customers, channel partners, and consumers demand. SEE has made great progress to advance or design more than 51% of its portfolio to be recyclable or reusable and to incorporate an average of 17% recycled or renewable content into our solutions. We are now forecasting that both the market demand and the material supply to achieve our pledge are taking longer than anticipated. This is due in large part to the slowed development of the necessary infrastructure for recycling of flexible plastics and the availability of food-grade recyclate that meets customer requirements for price and performance. For this reason, we are assessing our current pledge status in preparation for revising our stated objectives.

Materials and Certification

Raw Materials

Suppliers provide raw materials, packaging components, contract manufactured goods, equipment, and other direct materials such as inks, films, and paper. Our principal raw materials are polyolefin and other petrochemical-based resins, as well as fiber-based materials. Raw materials typically represent approximately one-third of our consolidated cost of sales. We also purchase corrugated materials, cores for rolls of products such as films and BUBBLE WRAP® brand cushioning, inks for printed materials, and blowing agents used in the expansion of foam packaging products.

Certified Fiber Sources

SEE operates four paper manufacturing facilities that have each received Forest Stewardship Council certification and Sustainable Forestry Initiative certification for the raw fiber-based materials used in the products produced there. These certifications ensure that products come from responsibly managed forests. Additional SEE manufacturing facilities producing paper and corrugated products are certified by the Sustainable Forestry Initiative in North America and by the Forest Stewardship Council in Europe.

Certification of Recycled Content

The International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) is a globally applicable sustainability certification system that covers all sustainable feedstocks. Recycled or bio-based products that are certified to the ISCC Plus standard provide companies, brand owners, and consumers with the assurance that sustainability requirements are met. SEE maintains ISCC Plus-certified facilities in the U.S., the U.K., France, and Italy.

SEE Sustainability and Materials Pledge Disclaimer

SEE internally tests its products for recyclability in alignment with published relevant guidelines. Such testing does not imply and should not be interpreted as an endorsement of products or certification of results. SEE recognizes that claims of recyclability require the actual collection, sortation, and recycling of products. In the case of flexible plastic packaging, the recycling infrastructure for post-consumer flexible plastics is still developing. Until such time as a collection, sortation, and recycling infrastructure is available to a minimum of 60% of the residents of a geographic region, SEE recommends designating select materials as designed for recyclability, with the disclaimer that the degree of recyclability will vary depending on the scope and availability of flexible film collections, sortation, and recycling programs.

Read the full SEE Impact Report 2022