Tag: 3BL

On September 21st, 2023, in conjunction with the 78th session of the UN General Assembly, the Women’s Entrepreneurship Accelerator (WEA) organized a high-level event titled “Inclusive Capital: Empowering Women Entrepreneurs on a Global Scale” bringing together leaders to spotlight this critical issue for women entrepreneurs. 

The event was organized in collaboration with WEA-participating UN agencies; UN Women, International Telecommunication Union, International Trade Centre, UN Global Compact, International Labour Organization, UN Development Programme; Mary Kay, Yildiz Holding, and Women Entrepreneurs Act initiative (WE Act) of the Women20 (G20/W20) countries.

In 2022, companies founded solely by women garnered just 2.1% of the total capital invested in venture-backed startups in the US.  Globally, women entrepreneurs face a US $1.7 trillion finance gap limiting their potential to add an estimated US $5-6 trillion in economic value to the economy. 

The event provided an opportunity for all stakeholders within the women’s entrepreneurship ecosystem to discuss women’s challenges to access finance, emphasize the importance of inclusive investing, and generate institutional and corporate commitments to better serve women businesses through applying a gender-inclusive lens to their decision-making.

Major stakeholders from the World Bank (WE-FI), OECD, ITU, UNDP, UNGC, G20/W20, women’s business organizations, BPW (Business and Professional Women) and FCEM (Femmes Chefs d’Entreprises Mondiales), Global Invest Her, converged to explore innovative avenues of collaboration, propelling the cause of women’s entrepreneurship to new horizons. 

Moderated by Virginia Littlejohn, Global Coordinator of the Women Entrepreneurs Act initiative (WE Act) of the Women20 (G20/W20) countries, the event also welcome Faatiha Aayat, young activist as a guest speaker and Nina Tandon, Founder and CEO of EpiBone, as keynote. 

In a resounding display of global solidarity and empowerment, the WEA event brought together 570 on-site attendees and hundreds virtually around the world.

The milestone event was followed by an invitation-only dinner held in the UN Delegates Dining Room supported by 1919 Investment Counsel where WEA was pitched to investors. 

You can re-watch the event here.

NEW YORK, November 16, 2023 /3BL/ – CECP’s CEO Investor Forum, the premier platform that brings CEOs and investors together to discuss Integrated Long-Term Plans, hosted eight CEOs from the world’s largest companies—Siemens US (OTCMKTS: SIEGY), Exelon (NASDAQ: EXC), Nestlé (OTCMKTS: NSRGY), NRG Energy (NYSE: NRG), Mitsubishi Corporation (Americas) (OTCMKTS: MSBHF), BD (NYSE: BDX), Philip Morris International (NYSE: PM), Montrose Environmental Group (NYSE: MEG). They presented to investors representing trillions of dollars in assets under management on November 14 and November 15 in New York and virtually.

The following CEOs shared Integrated Long-Term Plans for sustainable business including material financial, as well as non-financial, metrics around sustainability efforts and risks. It featured Integrated Long-Term Plans for sustainable business from:

Tom Polen, Chairman, CEO &President, BDCalvin Butler, President &CEO, Exelon CorporationTetsuo Kawate, President & CEO, Mitsubishi Corporation (Americas)Vijay Manthripragada, President & CEO, Montrose Environmental GroupMark Schneider, CEO, NestléMauricio Gutiérrez, President & CEO, NRG EnergyJacek Olczak, CEO, Philip Morris International Barbara Humpton, CEO, Siemens USA

The presentations will soon be posted on CECP’s YouTube channel.

More than 60 CEOs to date have presented their Integrated Long-Term Plans at the CEO Investor Forum to an audience of institutional investors, representing $25 trillion in assets under management. The next CEO Investor Forum for climate leaders will be held in New York in November 2024; watch cecp.co for more information.

Key themes from the Integrated Long-Term Plans presentations emerged, including:

ESG is all about how you run your company. Lead with the business case by demonstrating both rational judgment and actions. Grow your license to operate,Focus on workers first. Build a skillset to fuel the transition because we don’t know what is yet possible.Create internal incentives and the commercial business case by putting the why and the how together.The search for climate solutions will be the biggest macro spend in our lifetimes—and investors can be first movers. It’s about competition and economics, not policy.While disclosures are not the full solution, they are a catalyst to change.Corporations can create the market and move markets in support of a longer-term strategy.There’s a demand for urgent systemic transformation, and every day is critical. But there is also a need to celebrate milestones, create confidence, and have patience.What’s the cost of doing nothing? Act with what we have now and don’t let perfect be the enemy of the good.Find a way to operationalize “glocalization” by investing in local communities to ensure broad sustainability.Change customer behavior in support of sustainability and climate. Better understand customers, create more value, and elevate experiences to control and move demand.

“Today’s short-term market expectations create a challenge for companies investing in longer-term sustainable solutions,” said Daryl Brewster, CEO, CECP. “That’s why we created CECP’s CEO Investor Forum and its frameworks for companies to share their corporate purpose and how they will allocate capital, focus R&D, incent organizations, and connect it to how they address the pressing problems faced by the planet and people. It gives investors and others increased confidence that business will continue to play a critical role in handling the long-term risks of climate.”

Additional speakers included:

Sandy Nessing, Vice President & Chief Sustainability Officer, American Electric PowerBeth Bafford, Vice President, Strategy, Calvert ImpactNili Gilbert, Vice Chairwoman, Carbon DirectDaryl Brewster, CEO, CECP Kari Niedfeldt-Thomas, Managing Director and COO, CECPNandika Madgavkar, Chief Growth Officer, CECPKristen Sullivan, Sustainability and ESG Services Leader, DeloitteEmilio Tenuta, Senior Vice President & Chief Sustainability Officer, EcolabAvipsa Mahapatra, Climate Campaign Director, Environmental Investigation AgencyStephen Brown, Senior Advisor, KPMG Board Leadership CenterRobert Eccles, Visiting Professor of Management Practice, Said Business School, University of OxfordMoses Choi, Director, RBC Capital Markets, Sustainable Finance GroupYusuf George, Co-Head of Engagement and Active Ownership, The TCW GroupLeo E. Strine, Jr., Of Counsel in the Corporate Department, Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz 

CECP thanks Exclusive Sponsor S&P and media partners IR Magazine and Responsible Investor for their support of the CECP CEO Investor Forum.

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About Chief Executives for Corporate Purpose (CECP)

Chief Executives for Corporate Purpose® (CECP) is a trusted advisor to companies on their corporate purpose journeys to build long-term sustainable value. Working with CEOs and leaders in corporate responsibility, sustainability, foundations, investor relations, finance, legal, and communications, CECP shares actionable insights with its CEO-led coalition to address stakeholder needs.

Founded in 1999 by actor and philanthropist Paul Newman and other business leaders, CECP is a movement of more than 200 of the world’s largest companies that represent $8.7 trillion in revenues, $47 billion in total community investment, 15.1 million employees, 16 million hours of employee engagement, and $34.1 trillion in assets under management. CECP helps companies transform their strategy by providing research, benchmarking, strategy, convening, and communications in the areas of societal/community investment, employee engagement, environmental social governance/sustainable business, diversity equity inclusion, and telling the story.

For more information, visit http://cecp.co.

CECP Media Contact 
Katie Leasor 
kleasor@cecp.co

PARIS, November 16, 2023 /3BL/ – The Consumer Goods Forum (CGF)’s Food Waste Coalition of Action has today released its first baseline report, presenting operational food surplus and waste aggregated data from sixteen of its retailer and manufacturer members. Based on 2021 data (submitted in mid-2023), compiled by WRAP (Waste & Resources Action Programme), and commissioned by the Coalition, the report marks the next significant step in the industry’s journey to effective reporting and greater transparency on progress.

Marking a clear starting point for reporting progress in coming years, the baseline is part of the Coalition’s ambition to halve food waste in their business by 2030, in alignment with Sustainable Development Goal 12.3 seeking to ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns, by halving per capita food waste at the retail and consumer levels and reducing food losses along production and supply chains. At the launch of the Coalition in 2020, members chose to focus on publicly reporting food waste and loss, aligned with guidance from Champions 12.3. Public reporting increases transparency and accountability, builds consumer trust and sets an example for the wider industry.

The report gathers quantitative data, including the total tonnes of food waste arising in both retailer and manufacturer cohorts, treatment and disposal routes for food waste, and the amount of food redistributed to people or animal feed. Total food waste across the cohort was 2.12 million tonnes, which was made up of nearly 929,000 tonnes of retailer food waste and 1.19 million tonnes coming from the manufacturer side. This data forms the baseline from which to track progress in future years.

Currently, around one-third of all the food produced globally doesn’t get eaten each year – equating to 1.3 billion tonnes. Members of the CGF’s Food Waste Coalition are accelerating efforts to tackle this enormous environmental and social problem – but know that more is needed at every level.

Understanding progress and being transparent is a critical way to reduce food loss and waste. The Food Waste Coalition, led by 21 of the world’s major food companies, is already working to reduce waste by focusing on three priority actions, including measurement and public reporting of food loss data, and collaboration with key stakeholders. Key projects include:

The 10x20x30 Initiative – which targets at least 10 of the world’s largest food retailers and providers to follow the “Target-Measure-Act” approach and engage 20 of their priority suppliers to do the same, thereby halving their food loss and waste by 2030.Engagement on upstream losses – to address food loss at the post-harvest level, by engaging with their suppliers on collaborative, innovative and effective food loss prevention strategies.#TooGoodToWaste consumer engagement campaign – launched in September 2023, it is supporting food industry members to raise awareness, inform and educate, and help consumers reduce household food waste.

The report also looks at qualitative data, presenting a summary of the action that businesses are taking to set a food waste reduction target, work with their suppliers, and support their customers to reduce food waste. All data has been collected via the Global Food Loss and Waste Data Capture Sheet, built by WRAP UK and the World Resources Institute (WRI) and in support of the Food Loss and Waste Standard.

“The scale of the problem of food loss and waste to our society, economy and planet can be difficult to comprehend. Having this new Coalition baseline by which to measure our progress on food loss and waste each year will not only help us understand just how much work remains to be done, but will help set a clear pathway forwards for action. Since the creation of our Coalition in 2020, we have learned how to target, measure, and act, and we now feel able to help other manufacturers and retailers across the industry do the same.” said Max Koeune, President and CEO, McCain Foods

“Our Coalition is working hard to create solutions to the food waste and loss challenges in our own operations, and our supply chains both upstream and downstream. We welcome the findings of this report, as it represents our commitment to transparency going forwards. We now want to see solid progression along our pathway towards halving food waste, and with a baseline we can now track our collective achievements. We encourage other companies to lean into the challenges, and join us on our journey.” said Ken Murphy, Group Chief Executive, Tesco

“It is now well known that addressing food loss and waste can have a huge impact, not just in reducing hunger but also in mitigating the effects of climate change.” said Sharon Bligh, Director of Health and Sustainability. “Public reporting on food loss and waste is widely recognised as a trigger for rapid and effective action. This baseline report represents a line in the sand for our Coalition, and we are confident that it will help guide our 2030 roadmap to ensure we fully understand the challenges and opportunities to end food waste.”

“We will not tackle climate change if we don’t fix our broken food system, and not least food waste. Were it a country, food waste would be the third largest emitter of greenhouse gases after China and the USA. So it’s incredibly important that the Food Waste Coalition of Action has set a baseline for the businesses involved, and critical that these major food companies work collaboratively towards its goals. Together we can halve the amount that goes to waste each year and make our food systems a more equitable model that feeds people, not bins.” said Harriet Lamb, CEO WRAP

The full publication is available to view here. For more information, visit www.tcgffoodwaste.com.

– ENDS –

About the Food Waste Coalition of Action

The Consumer Goods Forum (CGF)’s CEO-led Coalition of Action on Food Waste brings together 21 of the world’s largest consumer goods retailers and manufacturers with the goal of halving per capita global food loss at the retailer and consumer levels. With its explicit CEO engagement, action-oriented commitments and passion for accelerating sustainable change on a global level, the Coalition is a leader in the effort to reduce food loss in supply chains worldwide by driving action on key issues such as public reporting, full supply chain engagement, post-harvest losses and regional challenges. Together, the Coalition and its members play a powerful role in the effort to reduce waste, reducing stress on the environment, benefitting the global economy and ensuring more food makes it to stores and onto consumers’ tables in the process. For more information about the Coalition, visit www.tcgffoodwaste.com.

About The Consumer Goods Forum

The Consumer Goods Forum (CGF) is the only CEO-led organisation that represents both manufacturers and retailers globally. It brings together senior leaders from more than 400 retailers, manufacturers and other stakeholders across 70 countries. The CGF accelerates change through eight Coalitions of Action: forests, human rights, plastics, healthier lives, food waste, food safety, supply chains and product data. Its member companies have combined sales of EUR 4.6 trillion and directly employ nearly 10 million people, with a further 90 million related jobs estimated along the value chain. It is governed by its Board of Directors, which comprises more than 55 manufacturer and retailer CEOs. For more information, please visit: www.theconsumergoodsforum.com.

For further information, please contact:

Sharon Bligh 
Director, Sustainability and Health 
The Consumer Goods Forum 
s.bligh@theconsumergoodsforum.com

Louise Chester 
Manager, Communications 
The Consumer Goods Forum 
l.chester@theconsumergoodsforum.com

The new office location, at 132 Grand Street, is part of WBDC’s strategic goal to bring more services and support to women-owned businesses in and around Waterbury.

STAMFORD, Conn. November 16, 2023 /3BL/ – The Women’s Business Development Council (WBDC) officially opened the doors to its brand-new office in downtown Waterbury with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on October 17th featuring many prominent government officials and community leaders, including Senator Joan Hartley, Representative Ron Napoli, Representative Geraldo Reyes, Board of Aldermen President Paul Pernerewski, Alderwoman Kelly Zimmerman, SBA Deputy District Director Moraima Gutierrez, and others.

WBDC’s 5,300-square-foot office is on the second floor of the former Webster Bank executive offices at 132 Grand Street, originally built in 1911. The newly renovated space will allow WBDC staff to directly connect with current and aspiring entrepreneurs in and around Waterbury.

“I am pleased to welcome the Women’s Business Development Council to our beautiful downtown,” said Waterbury Mayor Neil O’Leary. “Their strategic location, along with their wealth of experience and dedication to our city, will undoubtedly contribute to our economic growth and the betterment of our community.”

“Having a physical presence in Waterbury is something we have wanted for many years. While we have been working with Waterbury business owners since WBDC was established more than 25 years ago, being right here in downtown Waterbury will allow us to truly engage with the community and have an even greater economic impact,” said WBDC Founder and CEO Fran Pastore. “We are incredibly grateful to DECD, the City, and our partners at Webster Bank for providing the support that helped make WBDC’s Waterbury office a reality.”

As a founding investor of WBDC’s Waterbury office, Webster Bank has committed to providing $300,000 over five years to help WBDC establish a new office to support women-owned businesses in Waterbury. Webster’s contribution, along with funding from the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) and the City of Waterbury, will support the establishment of the WBDC Waterbury office as well as:

Expansion of WBDC’s highly successful technical assistance, business advising, workshops, and courses to Waterbury-based small businesses at all stages of development;Expansion of WBDC’s small business grant programs specifically to Waterbury-based small businesses; andDelivery of WBDC’s industry-specific technical assistance and microgrant programs to childcare providers in Waterbury.

“Webster and WBDC have a long relationship, and as the founding investor of the Equity Match Grant Program, we are thrilled to see how many women and minority-owned businesses have been able to expand and flourish in such a short time,” said Marissa Weidner, Chief Corporate Responsibility Officer at Webster. “We are proud to support WBDC’s expansion in Waterbury and look forward to even more women business owners obtaining the skills needed to help broaden the economic vitality of our communities.”

“Connecting businesses to the financial and technical resources they need to grow and innovate is central to strengthening our state’s economy,” said Alexandra Daum, Commissioner of the Department of Economic and Community Development. “Under the leadership of Governor Lamont, the state has made major investments in organizations like WBDC to help them expand and reach larger numbers of small businesses that may need their services.”

Also speaking at Wednesday’s ribbon cutting were two WBDC Waterbury clients who have received business support as well as small business grants from WBDC. Rayann Lezama (photo), owner of Ray’s of Sunshine Childcare Center in Waterbury, has received grants through WBDC’s Childcare Opportunity Fund, and Lezama has participated in nearly 40 hours of WBDC classes and business advising sessions, which have helped her grow her business. “They say it takes a village to raise a child, and that is certainly true,” said Lezama. “But that’s also true of running a business. WBDC is my village.WBDC has been my biggest supporter. I feel like I can count on them when I need any type of resources.”

Dawn Tedesco, owner of Career Compliance Solutions, recently received a WBDC/Waterbury Small Business Grant to help her grow her consulting business. This grant is really going to help with my marketing and taking my business to the next level,” said Tedesco. “The WBDC team was incredibly helpful in going through the application process.”

Waterbury/WBDC Small Business Grant Program

The opening of the new Waterbury office comes less than four months after the announcement of the Waterbury/WBDC Small Business Grant Program — an innovative grant program aimed to give a boost to established small businesses based in Waterbury. The program makes grants of up to $10,000 available to eligible businesses in the city for clearly defined projects that will have a measurable impact on the business, its growth, and profitability.

For information on the Waterbury/WBDC Small Business Grant Program, including eligibility, application requirements, and resources to aid in the application process, visit https://ctwbdc.org/waterbury.

About the Women’s Business Development Council 

The Women’s Business Development Council’s (WBDC) mission is to support economic prosperity for women and strengthen communities through entrepreneurial and financial education services that create and grow sustainable jobs and businesses across Connecticut. WBDC educates, motivates and empowers women to achieve economic independence and self-sufficiency. Since 1997, WBDC has educated and trained nearly 18,000 clients in all of Connecticut’s 169 towns—helping women to launch, sustain and scale almost 13,500 businesses, create and maintain more than 29,600 jobs in Connecticut, and access more than $52.5 million in capital. Visit ctwbdc.org for more information.

About Webster 

Webster Bank (“Webster”) is a leading commercial bank in the Northeast that provides a wide range of digital and traditional financial solutions across three differentiated lines of business: Commercial Banking, Consumer Banking and its HSA Bank division, one of the country’s largest providers of employee benefits solutions. Headquartered in Stamford, CT, Webster is a values-driven organization with more than $70 billion in assets. Its core footprint spans the northeastern U.S. from New York to Massachusetts, with certain businesses operating in extended geographies. Webster Bank is a member of the FDIC and an equal housing lender. For more information about Webster, including past press releases and the latest annual report, visit the Webster website at www.websterbank.com.

Attached Photo: Waterbury Alderwoman Kelly Zimmerman; Dawn Tedesco, Owner of Career Compliance Solutions and WBDC Waterbury Small Business Grant recipient; Rayann Lezama, Owner of Ray’s of Sunshine Childcare and WBDC Child Care Business Opportunity Fund grant recipient; Waterbury Bd. of Aldermen President Paul Pernerewski; Sen. Joan Hartley; Rep. Geraldo Reyes; Rep. Ron Napoli; WBDC CEO Fran Pastore; Marissa Weidner, Chief Corporate Responsibility Officer, Webster Bank; Margaret Gustafson, Quality Initiative Specialist, CT Office of Early Childhood (OEC); Lynn Ward, President & CEO, Waterbury Regional Chamber; Moraima Guitierrez, Deputy District Director, SBA

Media Contact:
JoAnn Gulbin
Marketing & Communications Manager
203-353-1750, ext. 115

Originally published in International Paper’s 2022 Sustainability Report

Since our people are our greatest competitive advantage, it makes good business sense to attract and retain the most high-caliber talent, to provide that talent with competitive compensation and generous benefits, and to develop their skills with training, educational benefits and advancement opportunities.

Especially in the current tight labor market, marketplace competitiveness requires keeping the workforce pipeline filled with top performers, developing their skills for 21st century demands, and keeping them engaged and satisfied.

Attracting superior talent 

Emphasizing external recruiting in all facets of our business — manufacturing, supply chain, finance, etc. — we enhanced our internal processes and maximized our recruiting expertise to better attract and hire talent.

Throughout 2022, our revamped, mobilefriendly careers website and simple application process continued to drive increased application completion rates, resulting in more than 240,000 applicants, nearly doubling the number from 2021.

In 2022, our focus on recruiting enabled us to fill 10,000 hourly vacancies and 1,200 salaried vacancies — all in a highly competitive labor market that was more challenging than in previous years, even pre-pandemic.

Academic recruiting 

International Paper recruits co-op students, interns and recent graduates from more than 45 schools, with a focus on 11 core universities, as well as technical schools across the U.S.

In 2022, our college recruiting efforts resulted in 123 full-time hires, of which 73 were from our internships and co-op programs that provided 226 students. These students have applied their academic learnings to our businesses in engineering, global supply chain, information technology and other disciplines.

In 2022, the American Opportunity Index, which analyzes and scores corporate performance in worker access, mobility and wages, ranked International Paper 9th out of the top 250 U.S. public companies.

Developing employees 

International Paper’s people strengthen our success. We’re committed to helping every employee reach their full potential through a range of training, education and leadership development programs.

To help employees prepare for long-term success, we offer a series of capability-specific training initiatives, including:

Global Manufacturing Training InitiativeFinance Training InitiativeIT University HR UniversitySupply Chain University

Building leadership skills 

In 2022, with an eye on succession planning, we relaunched our global training programs to develop new leaders across the company. Our International Paper LEAD program equips new and experienced first- and second-level leaders with the skills to build an engaged team, develop employees’ skills and enable an inclusive culture.

Another program, our Leadership Institute, encompasses multi-day immersive experiential workshops that build management skills and leadership capacity through skills development, assessment, feedback and coaching. In 2022, we added to the Institute’s course offering with a multitude of new online courses.

In addition, our diversity-focused leadership development programs have proven to be highly effective. Among them: our EMEA Women’s Mentoring Program and SAIL (Shaping Allies and Inclusion Leaders).

Spotlight:

The MyLearning Platform 
IP’s MyLearning platform offers employees on-demand online courses, from new-hire orientation and onboarding to essential skills that improve the way employees think and work together. Last year, 3,245 new e-courses were created and 3.4 million courses were completed by employees, including learning activities to develop technical skills and essential leadership and interpersonal skills.

Retaining talent 

Over the past few years, keeping talented employees has been a challenge for all companies. So we’ve doubled down on our retention efforts, providing not only competitive compensation and benefit offerings, but also continual engagement.

Our highly competitive compensation and benefits package is designed to attract, engage and retain a skilled workforce by rewarding superior performance. As part of our continual evaluation and enrichment of these programs, in 2022 we added benefits for part-time employees and we extended the company’s annual incentive plan available to entry-level employees.

A key component of retention is employee engagement. We believe that everyone — employees, managers and senior leaders — plays a role in creating a culture that values mutual respect, active listening, open communication and contributions from all. We engage employees by:

Enabling them to pursue purpose and meaning by understanding how their strengths fit into the company’s mission and visionSustaining a workplace culture that facilitates efficiency, teamwork and innovationCultivating a sense of pride and commitment through meaningful experiences that are safe, open and trusting and that contribute to personal and professional growth and development

Spotlight: 

The Stewardship Action Network
One way we engage employees is through our Stewardship Action Network (SAN), a voluntary group with a mission to leave the planet in better shape for future generations. SAN’s three objectives are:

Learning 
Educate employees on stewardship concepts and the role they play

Networking 
Connect like-minded employees to share ideas and experiences

Action 
Empower employees as advocates for Vision 2030

About International Paper

International Paper (NYSE: IP) is a global producer of planet-friendly packaging, pulp and other fiber-based products, and one of North America’s largest recyclers. Headquartered in Memphis, Tenn., we employ approximately 39,000 colleagues globally who are committed to creating what’s next. We serve customers worldwide, with manufacturing operations in North America, Latin America, North Africa and Europe. Net sales for 2022 were $21.2 billion. Additional information can be found by visiting InternationalPaper.com.

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One hot August day in Tempe, Arizona, my wife LeAnn and I were sitting with our younger daughter, Bria, in the pleasant front courtyard of the freshman engineering dorm at Arizona State University, Bria’s new home for that year. LeAnn looked at me and asked, “Isn’t that guy walking towards the bridge from Bria’s FTC robotics team?” That was when we happily found out that two members from our first First Tech Challenge (FTC) Robotics team at Black Mountain Middle School had continued to pursue their interest in tech and were current engineering students at ASU!

It’s this retention that needs to happen to support the upward trend in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). Based on National Science Foundation (NSF) statistics, the STEM labor force in the U.S. increased by 50% between 2010 and 2019. Now extrapolate this to the need for STEM in 2030 and understand the necessity of our contribution as parents, professionals in STEM, and educators. The best way for us as a nation to support our continuing development and leadership in STEM is to encourage, guide, and educate the young women in our lives during elementary, middle, and high school, as they play a vital role in fueling the trend for STEM graduates.

“Life need not be easy, provided only that it is not empty.”
– Lise Meitner, physicist

Having been in the engineering world for more than 30 years, I always felt that missing equal representation from half of the population just did not make sense. When our daughter started showing interest in science and math in elementary school, we encouraged her by finding exciting ways to channel her enthusiasm. She enjoyed building catapults for the science fair, the VEX IQ robotics summer camp we found for her, and when she started middle school, she wanted to join her school’s First Lego League (FLL) robotics program. In order to support her, I signed up as a co-coach, and the year after, LeAnn and I took on coaching a mostly girls’ team together. By the end of seventh grade, we wanted to create an advanced program for the students at Bria’s middle school to further her and her friends’ enthusiasm for robotics. After analyzing both VEX IQ and FTC, we picked FTC and launched it to add to the FLL program as an option for seventh and eighth graders. During that launch year, LeAnn took the position of Head Coach for both FTC and FLL programs, and I became the coach for one of the two FTC teams.

As we were getting the program off the ground, I approached my employer, Cadence, for support. Cadence has a mission to support nonprofits where employees live and work, as well as support the future of STEM. Our school received a grant to support these robotics teams in their first year. The funds were invaluable not only for the morale of the teams, but were happily used towards the purchase of one of the three robotics kits we obtained for the two teams that year! After six seasons, including the difficult pandemic years, that FTC program is now in its seventh season with three teams, one of which is an all-girls team!

There are many girls interested in science, engineering, and math in elementary and middle schools across the country. Through programs like these, we can engage their curiosity and keep their interest alive, significantly increasing the number of women participating in STEM in the workplace! The valuable contribution of women will be a significant way for us to fulfill the continuously growing need in the STEM workforce.

“Science is not a boy’s game; it’s not a girl’s game. It’s everyone’s game.”
– Nichelle Nichols, former NASA Ambassador and Star Trek actress

Since the Industrial Revolution, the role that science and technology play in our lives has been growing by leaps and bounds. The significant acceleration we saw first with the personal computer revolution of the 1980s and the introduction and proliferation of the internet in the 1990s created many new areas of growth and the consequent need for more and more STEM professionals in the U.S. The same growth continued with the connectivity explosion that smartphones brought between 2005 and 2015, and now we are going through yet another such breakthrough with AI/ML. The tech industry continuously develops a hard-to-satisfy hunger for hardware and software engineers, with microchips prevalent everywhere that are setting the foundation for more and more software. The need for engineers, scientists, and other STEM professionals to fuel this growth sets us at a decision point in history for preparing the next generations. If you work in a technical field and need to hire scientists and engineers regularly, you should start your campaign for 2030 and beyond by taking part in growing the pool of talent to recruit from. Students engaged in STEM are the future!…and it’s our responsibility to support them.

“I’m not a woman at Google but a geek at Google. And being a geek is just great. I’m a geek, I like to code, I even like to use spreadsheets when I cook.”
– Marissa Mayer, former CEO of Yahoo

We can advance our technological growth and improve our impact by working to fully integrate women, 50% of our population, into STEM, where they have been frequently underrepresented in the US. In 2013, a National Public Radio report said 20% of computer programmers in the US are women. While there is no consensus on the reason there are fewer women in computing, it’s our responsibility, as parents, as educators, and as industry professionals, to expand access and engagement in STEM, for our kids, our students, our industry, and our society. By encouraging and enabling expanded diversity in this exciting and stimulating environment, we can also help narrow workforce income gaps by filling higher-paying jobs in the engineering and science fields with a diverse group of women. They will also bring new ideas and new approaches to problems and will have a positive larger impact overall than they will just with numbers.

“If not you, then who? If not now, when?”
– Hillel the Elder, 1st-century philosopher

We need a significant change and this begins with us. Studies show that many more girls are interested in STEM during elementary school than during high school. This interest appears to peak around age 10-11 and then wane throughout middle school and early high school. Most that make it to around age 15 with their enthusiasm in STEM intact end up going the whole way. Consequently, the best time to support STEM learning is the middle school years. These are the years when girls most need active encouragement from everyone around them—parents, teachers, and other industry professionals—in order to be able to fight the trends that turn them off of their earlier interest in STEM.

“If you are offered a seat on a rocket ship, don’t ask what seat! Just get on.”
– Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook

There are many seats on this rocket and there are many ways to facilitate girls’ interest in STEM. Many programs such as FIRST (robotics), Science Olympiad (science and engineering), Cyberpatriot (programming), VEX Robotics Competition, and Girls Who Code—to name a few—are already in existence. These are all volunteer-led, volunteer-organized, and volunteer-populated programs with the critical bottleneck of not enough volunteers. Therefore, one of the key actions you can take as parents to show your commitment to your daughters and their friends is to volunteer to be a coach, mentor, or helper at these organizations and events. Keep in mind that you can best motivate them by demonstrating what is important to you by donating your time to them and others like them. And like LeAnn and I tell all the parents all the time, you do not need to be an engineer to be a coach or mentor. Those students are already competent engineers, they just may not know it yet. They need our organizational skills, presence, and guidance so that they can build, code, learn, and grow.

We are busy at work and in life, but this can be part of the time you share with your kids and their friends as they grow. As educators, encourage your students and their parents to get involved with these programs and help parents organize such programs at your own schools. The key resource volunteers need from teachers and school administrations is often logistical help in terms of a regular team meeting place such as a classroom and a teacher sponsor. And my fellow engineers and STEM professionals: Visit middle schools and excite them about science and technology; about your work and about future possibilities. They especially need to see women role models! They need to see what they can become and that it’s possible. Be those role models for them at career events and at STEM programs or be the partners to those role models. Just like the two JPL Space Systems Engineers that Bria met at the San Diego STEM Fair many years ago—they were the main drivers for the Dawn spacecraft.

“When I was in high school, I was certain that being an astronaut was my goal. Sally Ride was making her first flight into space and she had a real impact on me.”
– Karen Nyberg, NASA astronaut

Engineering at its basis is problem solving and science originates from our curiosity and desire to learn. At the end of every year of robotics, if the students finish the season with their problem-solving skills enhanced, their curiosity to learn further vetted, and their desire to continue doing STEM increased, LeAnn and I consider it a success. This year we are excited to finally have enough girls interested to have an all-girls FTC team and they are doing amazingly well!

Our ask from you is to choose how you can help women pave the way to our future in STEM. Be a coach, mentor, organizer, educator, sponsor, and most importantly, be a positive role model! Come up with creative ways to volunteer in the next three months for at least one activity that promotes STEM to middle school girls.

For Thanksgiving this year, our family will be in Arizona because our Astronautics Engineering sophomore has her exams the following week. The whole family is looking forward to the road trip and Thanksgiving! We hope you also get to enjoy similar occasions.

LIMA, Peru, November 16, 2023 /3BL/ – DP World, a leading global entity in end-to-end supply chain solutions, continues to cement its commitment to environmental sustainability by integrating 15 new electric cranes into its expanding operations at the Port of Callao, Peru. The move is a significant step towards sustainable port operations as the company works towards its ambitious decarbonization targets.

DP World augmented its existing fleet with three Super Post Panamax quay cranes and 12 yard cranes. Standing 45 meters and 18 meters tall respectively, with loading capacities of up to 80 tons and 41 tons, these cranes will help increase the terminal’s loading and unloading capacity while advancing environmental consciousness.

“Our investment in these electric cranes is a reflection of our unwavering dedication to environmental stewardship. By improving our infrastructure at the Port of Callao, we are not just enhancing operational efficacy but also making significant strides towards our ultimate aim of carbon neutrality,” said Nicolas Gauthier, CEO, DP World Peru.

Muelle Bicentenario Project: Pioneering Sustainable Growth

The integration of these electric cranes is a critical component of DP World’s $400 million Muelle Bicentenario Project. This ambitious expansion, set to be completed by April 2024, is expected to increase the terminal’s capacity by 80%, allowing for an annual handling of up to 2.7 million TEUs.

A Strategy Rooted in Decarbonization

Emphasizing DP World’s broader sustainability strategy, these cranes are fully powered by electricity, aligning with the company’s global objective of achieving 100% carbon neutrality by 2040 and net-zero carbon status by 2050. The company is actively pursuing the electrification of its port and terminal equipment, investing in renewable energy sources, and exploring alternative fuels, vessels, and vehicles across its extensive portfolio. 

Advancing Towards a Greener Future

DP World continues to make progress in reducing its environmental footprint in Peru. Earlier this month, the company announced that it would receive its first international I-REC Standard certificate verifying its use of 100% renewable energy, which has already contributed to a 30% reduction in overall carbon emissions in Peru.

“Since 2021, we’ve obtained all our electricity from exclusively renewable energy. The addition of these new electric cranes is a pivotal step on our journey towards minimizing our environmental impact,” Gauthier said. 

DP World is actively continuing its electrification efforts; the company has ordered 20 electric terminal tractors for the Port of Callao and 19 electric inter-terminal vehicles for the Port of Caucedo in the Dominican Republic. At Brazil’s Port of Santos, the company is replacing 22 diesel RTGs with electric versions that will be powered through an overhead cable system, similar to electric buses, which will slash the terminal’s diesel consumption by up to 60%.

– 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.

The Pontiac Fire Department has a rich history and a busy team. Nearly 150 years old, Pontiac FD was established in 1877 and provides fire, rescue, and emergency medical assistance for the northern Illinois city’s 11,800 residents.

Pontiac FD extends its services to the city and the surrounding rural areas, referred to as the Pontiac Rural Fire Protection District.

“We definitely have some unique challenges being our area’s full-time fire and EMS department. With that come a lot of responsibilities,” notes Chief Jacob Campbell.

“We are all-encompassing as far as hazard response. We cover fire suppression, technical rescue, hazardous material, and EMS at the paramedic level, which we call Advanced Life Support Transport Agency. We also cover all the water rescues in our area as well. So, we are tasked with doing it all.”

Enbridge’s Flanagan Terminal, a lynchpin of our North American liquids pipelines system, depends on the Pontiac Fire Department as its primary responder in case of a fire. During a recent training exercise at the terminal, Pontiac FD discovered a faulty hose used for onsite fire suppression, and the fire department’s annual budget did not cover the cost of replacing the hose.

At Enbridge, safety is not just a core value—it’s the foundation of everything we do. Through our Safe Community First Responder Program, which provides funds for equipment, training and education to emergency response organizations near our operations, we made a $6,000 grant to Pontiac FD to purchase a new hose.

Chief Campbell is proud to give back to the community where he grew up. “This is my hometown,” he remarks. “Several generations of my family were born in Pontiac.”

As he’s climbed the ranks of Pontiac FD, the admiration Campbell holds for his fire department and town has continued to grow and radiate. Pontiac became a key stop on a number of regional railways starting in the 1850s, and featured on the itinerary for Route 66, one of America’s most famous roads stretching from Chicago to Los Angeles, for several decades; Pontiac is currently home to the Illinois Route 66 Hall of Fame.

“I was born and raised in Pontiac, and several generations of my family have served the community—it’s pretty rewarding to be a part of a community with such a rich history. I grew up with most of these people, and I’m very proud to represent the community I grew up in,” he shares.

As Pontiac FD looks to the future, and the addition of several new employees, Chief Campbell is hoping to rejuvenate training opportunities specific to oil tank fires for his staff in Texas. “It’s something that I’m going to try and help start up again for our new personnel,” he says.

CSRHub is excited to announce our recognition as one of the top 10 ESG platforms in a recent Sustainability Magazine article. Sustainability Magazine rated CSRHub #4 on the list. We were pleased to share room on the list with many of the data firms we partner with. We support, complement, and complete the hundreds of ESG ratings sources we receive data from.

In today’s world, organizations are inundated with data, making it increasingly important to assess sustainability impact using reliable ESG metrics. We were chosen due to our big data CSR solutions and credible consensus ESG ratings that offer valuable insights into the sustainability profiles of private and public entities. Our comprehensive ESG database and tools play a significant role in helping organizations achieve their sustainability goals.

See how CSRHub can guide you to your sustainability goals today!

About CSRHub

CSRHub offers one of the world’s broadest and most consistent set of Environment, Social, and Governance (ESG) ratings, covering 50,000 companies. Its Big Data algorithm combines millions of data points on ESG performance from hundreds of sources, including leading ESG analyst raters, to produce consensus scores on all aspects of corporate social responsibility and sustainability. CSRHub ratings can be used to drive corporate, investor and consumer decisions. For more information, visit www.CSRHub.com. CSRHub is a B Corporation.

This past year, 2023, was marked with significant urgency to address issues of climate change, biodiversity loss, water conservation, plastic pollution, deforestation, and more. While ambitious environmental targets and sustainability commitments have been made by companies, organizations, governments, and the like, there is a deepening recognition that these challenges, oftentimes, are interconnected and that the path toward solutions is interconnected as well.

Long before climate action, deforestation, energy, and water became standardized headline news, coalitions, non-profit organizations, and other like-minded stakeholder groups have proactively addressed these concerns. Now, emerging at the helm, these same organizations are guiding and collaboratively working with others on best practices and knowledge sharing to steer companies on their sustainability journey to fulfill the promises made to decarbonize, improve watershed health, reduce plastic waste, and embrace regenerative agriculture.

Collaboration has been the cornerstone of The Beverage Industry Environmental Roundtable’s success. For the past 17 years, BIER has been the model of industry collaboration and has continuously advanced the development of sustainable solutions through beverage industry-specific data collection, methodologies, standard-setting, best practice sharing, and thought leadership. We have not done this alone. In addition to working collaboratively with the BIER members, it is BIER’s stakeholder groups that we wish to acknowledge.

In honor of the U.S. Thanksgiving Holiday, BIER would like to acknowledge the work of our honorable stakeholders. We thank them for being an integral part of the solutions needed to advance environmental sustainability within and beyond the beverage sector.

You’re invited to learn more about these organizations and discover the inter-connected nature of their work as it relates to promoting collective change, sector actions, and alignment to advance environmental sustainability.

Forum for the FutureWorld Resource InstituteThe Nature ConservancyIFRSWorld Business Council for Sustainable DevelopmentCEO Water MandateCarbon Disclosure Project, (CDP)Product Environmental Footprint (PEF)Global Environmental Management Initiative (GEMI)CERESGRIAIM ProgressUnited Nations Global CompactWorld Wildlife Federation, WWFClosed Loop PartnersDow Jones Sustainability IndicesTask Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCDF)