Tag: 3BL

AEG’s LA Galaxy, in partnership with the United States Association of Blind Athletes (USABA), Dignity Health and Anthem Blue Cross, hosted the USA Blind Soccer Men’s National Team’s first ever public demonstration in Southern California at Dignity Health Sports Park on Thursday, Oct. 12. The 60-minute special event included drills, penalty kicks and a chance to be a sighted goalkeeper.

Although blind soccer has been part of the Paralympic Games since 2004, the USA Men’s National Blind Soccer Team will make their debut at the Paralympic games in 2028. Blind Soccer is an adaptation of the world’s most popular sport and is a fast-paced, physical, and technical game.

“The demonstration event in Los Angeles gave fans a chance to meet the USA Blind Soccer Men’s National Team and gain a better understanding about this fast-growing sport,” said Gabe Osollo, Senior Manager of Community Relations for the LA Galaxy. “It is very important for us at the Galaxy to promote inclusivity and we along with the USABA are committed to bringing play equity and accessibility to the world’s largest sport. The USA Blind Soccer team shows that regardless of ability, anyone can thrive while playing sports.”

Blind soccer players need to have speed, strength, and stamina, as well as excellent spatial awareness despite their lack of vision, to be effective on the pitch and play together as a team. Today, blind soccer is played in more than 60 countries and has become the fastest-growing Paralympic sport in the world.

Since its founding in 1976, US Association of Blind Athletes (USABA) has reached more than 100,000 individuals through its multi-sport programming. The organization has emerged as more than just a world-class trainer of blind athletes, it has become a champion of the abilities of Americans who are legally blind. To learn more about USABA click here.

RUEIL-MALMAISON, France, October 26, 2023 /3BL/ – Schneider Electric, the leader in the digital transformation of energy management and automation, today published details of its quarterly sustainability impact performance alongside its third-quarter financial results.

Schneider’s Sustainability Impact (SSI) 2021-2025 program drives and measures company-wide progress towards 11 global sustainability targets, supplemented by locally-led initiatives, which collectively support Schneider Electric’s six long-term Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) commitments. At the end of the third quarter of 2023, the SSI score came in at 5.76, on track to reach the 2023 end-year target of 6 out of 10.

Local highlights during the quarter include:

Solar power solutions installed at a children’s clinic in Kenya gave 20,000 people access to clean electricity and improved the quality of life of the local community.In collaboration with Enactus in Mexico, 60,000 students from over 400 universities and colleges engaged in training initiatives to drive social impact in local communities. As a result, Schneider Electric has now crossed the halfway mark in its goal of training 1 million people by 2025.Schneider Electric and the Gaia Energy Impact Fund II raised €40 million to support renewable energy projects in Africa. This impact investment partnership funds startups and entrepreneurial projects with a strong environmental and social focus.Schneider Electric’s unique contribution to Barcelona’s district cooling project was rewarded with the Best Energy Innovation Award from El Periodico de la Energia.

Additionally this quarter, Schneider Electric received several prestigious global recognitions for its diversity and inclusion policies as well as three global awards for sustainable procurement, upstream decarbonization and people development practices from the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply (CIPS).

Schneider Electric’s SSI performance feeds into its short and long-term incentive plans, underscoring the company’s commitment to sustainable performance. More details on this quarter’s results are available in the SSI Q3 2023 report.

Related resources:

Direct link to SSI Q3 2023 reportThird-quarter 2023 Financial and Extra-financial release.ESG FAQSustainability Disclosure DashboardSustainability.com page link for more

About Schneider Electric 

Schneider’s purpose is to empower all to make the most of our energy and resources, bridging progress and sustainability for all. We call this Life Is On.

Our mission is to be your digital partner for Sustainability and Efficiency.

We drive digital transformation by integrating world-leading process and energy technologies, end-point to cloud connecting products, controls, software and services, across the entire lifecycle, enabling integrated company management, for homes, buildings, data centers, infrastructure and industries.

We are the most local of global companies. We are advocates of open standards and partnership ecosystems that are passionate about our shared Meaningful Purpose, Inclusive and Empowered values.

www.se.com

Research platform Glow, the founding partner of the Social Responsibility Score (SRS), has released 700+ brand sustainability benchmark reports online. This extensive dataset covers the largest US, UK, and Australian brands across 15+ categories. The data has been made available through Glow’s research publication store.

Report data
The sample reports provide insights into the sustainability performance of brands and their key competitors, utilizing SRS data. The SRS service captures consumer perceptions of brands’ social, environmental, and governance behavior and can be used to measure any brand in 64 markets globally. In addition to consumers, SRS can be used to assess the views of other stakeholders, such as employees and investors.

Reports are accessible across more than 15 industries/categories in each market, including automotive, food and grocery, finance, telco, and travel. Major global brands, including Google, Adidas, Toyota, McDonald’s, Coca-Cola, and sustainability leaders such as Patagonia, Dove, and Ben & Jerry’s, are all covered in this data set. The reports can be accessed at https://portal.glowfeed.com/store.

The data enables brands, advisors, and consultants to evaluate if a brand is receiving the recognition it deserves for its ESG efforts.

“This is a useful data set for anyone wanting to place a value on the sustainability efforts of businesses because it indicates whether current and potential customers appreciate those efforts”, says Mike Johnston, Managing Director of Data Products at Glow.

Julia Collins, Founder and CEO of Planet FWD, comments, “Even as the climate crisis deepens, we are seeing more and more progressive brands engage in ‘greenhushing’ for fear of reprisals. With six years to 2030, now, more than ever, we need the leading brands to celebrate their achievements and encourage others. We also need brands who haven’t been in the fight to set climate goals and strategies. I hope this data encourages businesses to review their progress for both commercial reasons and ethical ones.”

SRS Metric available under license
The SRS metric is being made available for use by any business under license from Glow. The SRS metric is already integrated with a number of leading solutions through a range of measurement partners. Businesses wanting to use the metric can register online for more information.

Tim Clover, Glow CEO comments:
“There is a proven commercial benefit from investing in sustainability. While many businesses have active ESG programs, most fail to measure stakeholder response to these efforts, which can lead to resource misallocation, employee disengagement, and consumer switching. Every business should be empowered to quantify their progress in the eyes of stakeholders, so we are making the SRS metric available to all under license.”

For more information on licensing, visit srsmetric.com

-Ends-

Media Enquiries:
For more information, or to arrange an interview with Tim Clover, CEO of Glow please contact PR@glowfeed.com

About Glow:

Glow is a research technology (‘restech’) company founded in Australia, with offices in the UK, Hong Kong and the US.

Glow is on a mission to make consumer research faster, more transparent, and easily accessible so that businesses can make better decisions that fuel their growth and support their stakeholders and the planet. Glow is a proud member of the data for good movement which encourages businesses to use data to help better the world.

Glow was the SRS metric’s founding partner, using its platform and resources to launch the benchmark data set. The metric is available for licensing by any business.

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On September 13, as Mary Kay Inc. marked its 60th anniversary, the iconic beauty brand took its celebrations to the heart of the nation’s capital. Hosting a “Mary Kay Day on the Hill” in Washington DC, the company showcased its commitment to advocating for women’s entrepreneurship and empowerment at the highest levels.

The event was more than just a celebration—it was an opportunity for Mary Kay’s Independent Beauty Consultants, both seasoned and new, to connect directly with their members of Congress and share their personal entrepreneurship journeys, highlighting the unique circumstances that led them to start their own businesses with Mary Kay. Their stories served as powerful testimonials, educating policymakers on the significance of the Mary Kay opportunity in their respective Congressional districts.

It was also an opportunity to highlight Mary Kay’s impact in the community through the company’s support of key initiatives which advance women’s status to build more inclusive and resilient societies.

Discussions included:

the global partnership of the Women’s Entrepreneurship Accelerator (WEA) incepted by Mary Kay in 2019, bringing together 6 UN Agencies, governments and the private sector to create an enabling ecosystem for women entrepreneurs around the world;the company’s support of increasing access to STEM educational opportunities for young women, andthe impact of the Mary Kay Ash Foundation since its launch in 1996, which has contributed more than $92 million to organizations on the frontlines of domestic violence response and cancer research for cancers affecting women.

Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett (TX-30), who attended the breakfast reception, underscored the importance of civic engagement, the need for women’s entrepreneurship, and increased labor market participation.

Sheryl Adkins-Green, Mary Kay’s Chief Experience Officer, paid tribute to Mary Kay Ash’s vision from 60 years ago. She reflected on the company’s journey, from its inception just weeks after Mary Kay Ash lost her husband, to its current global impact under the leadership of CEO Ryan Rogers, Mary Kay Ash’s grandson. The theme of “Then, Now, Always” resonated throughout her speech, emphasizing the company’s enduring commitment to changing lives worldwide.

The day was packed with meetings with Mary Kay representatives and Independent Beauty Consultants engaging with over 50 Congressional offices to speak about the importance of women’s entrepreneurship and empowerment to create strong and inclusive societies.

October 26, 2023 /3BL/ – Ceres welcomes the harmonized Principles for Climate-Related Financial Risk Management for Large Financial Institutions from the Federal Reserve Board of Governors (Fed), Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).

“We are encouraged by the Fed, OCC, and FDIC’s joint effort to release the first federal guidance for large banks on managing climate-related financial risk,” said Steven Rothstein, managing director of the Ceres Accelerator for Sustainable Capital Markets at Ceres. “Climate risk permeates capital markets, posing immediate threats to banks of all sizes, business models, and geographies – as well as the communities they serve. With proper implementation, these Principles will help improve consistency and strengthen risk management at large banks, promoting the resilience of individual institutions and our financial system, strengthening the stability of the U.S. financial system.”

Ceres’ reports consistently show financial institutions are exposed to both the physical impacts of climate change and the risks associated with the transition to a net zero economy. The Principles offer a framework of high-level practical and familiar steps that banks and non-bank systemically important financial institutions (SIFIs) can take within their current risk management practices, encompassing six areas:

Governance – how bank boards should understand and oversee these risks and implement risk managementPolicies, Procedures, and Limits – how management should incorporate these risks to align with bank strategy and risk appetiteStrategic Planning – addressing the potential impact of these risks on bank financial condition, operation, and business objectives over various time horizonsRisk Management – developing and implementing processes to identify, measure, monitor, and control exposure to these risks within existing frameworksData, Risk Measurement, and Reporting – incorporating these risks in internal reporting, monitoring, and escalation processes to facilitate timely and sound decision-makingClimate-Related Scenario Analysis – providing a comprehensive and forward-looking perspective applied alongside existing risk management practices to evaluate the resiliency of a bank’s strategy and risk management to the structural changes arising from these risks

The Principles also describe how banks can address climate-related financial risks in traditional risk categories including credit risk, liquidity risk, operational risk, and legal and compliance risk – although the agencies note the Principles will “neither prohibit nor discourage financial institutions from providing banking services to customers of any specific class or type.”

However, the Principles have several key shortcomings, including limiting the principles to banks with over $100 billion in assets, not explicitly requiring banks to consider and take action to reduce or limit impacts on LMI and other disadvantaged communities, and not discussing transition plans, among others. Ceres recommendations for the Principles were outlined in comment letters to the OCC, FDIC, and Fed in 2022 and 2023.

Ceres encourages the Fed, OCC, and FDIC to take additional steps to support this guidance and recommends the actions outlined in our 2023 Climate Risk Scorecard.

“While this announcement is a helpful step forward, the U.S. still lags behind its global peers,” Rothstein added. “We eagerly await the next steps these agencies take to ensure the safety and soundness of our banks and financial system in the face of these unprecedented and insufficiently understood risks, including through the issuance of binding regulation on implementing climate-related financial risk management practices.”

Ceres is a nonprofit organization working with the most influential capital market leaders to solve the world’s greatest sustainability challenges. The Ceres Accelerator for Sustainable Capital Markets is a center of excellence within Ceres that aims to transform the practices and policies that govern capital markets to reduce the worst financial impacts of the climate crisis. It spurs action on climate change as a systemic financial risk—driving the large-scale behavior and systems change needed to achieve a net zero emissions economy through key financial actors including investors, banks, and insurers. The Ceres Accelerator also works with corporate boards of directors on improving governance of climate change and other sustainability issues. For more information, visit ceres.org and ceres.org/accelerator and follow @CeresNews.

Media Contact: Diane May, dmay@ceres.org, 617-247-0700 ext. 220

Energized by Edison

By Taylor Hillo ENERGIZED by Edison Writer

Baking to the beat of trap music, the Cody brothers are serving up a funky fusion of pizza and hip-hop at their new restaurant, Pie Trap Pizza.

What started as a backyard hobby is now a bustling brick and mortar in Covina.

“I was always cooking pizza at home. I love to eat pizza, so I was always experimenting with new recipes on the weekends,” said Paul Cody, co-owner of Pie Trap Pizza. “I was more like the taste tester on the side,” added older brother and co-owner, Shaun Cody, a former USC and NFL defensive lineman.

Meshing two classic culinary cultures, the pizza joint offers Detroit-style square and New York-style round pizza. Each slice is an homage to hip-hop lingo, with names such as Notorious P.E.P.

To prepare for Pie Trap’s grand opening, the Codys attended a pizza expo, where the PizzaMaster, an electric deck oven, caught their eye.

“A lot of pizza-makers that we followed were involved in using PizzaMasters, so we started investigating electric ovens,” said Shaun. “First, we had to figure out if we could even get that amount of electricity in here, and since we did, it has been amazing.”

The duo then worked with Southern California Edison’s Foodservice Technology Center, where they tested electric oven options.

“Since our core work focuses on testing electric foodservice equipment and identifying high-efficiency units, we’re in a unique position that allows us to see the latest and greatest equipment the industry has to offer,” said Oliver Ta, SCE Foodservice Technology Center engineer. “We allow local restaurateurs and chefs to demo the equipment before they commit to purchasing a piece of equipment that will be the workhorse of their operation.

Some pizza chefs are reluctant to give up their traditional gas ovens. “It’s all just a bunch of hullabaloo. They’re stuck in their ways,” Paul said.

“We feel like we’re on the tip of the spear,” said Shaun. “A lot of pizza places are trying to catch up now, and we feel like we jumped out ahead of the curve.”

While deciding between gas and electric, the brothers were concerned with the power and price tag attached to an eco-friendly oven. Both surprised them.

“With the volume we are doing, the quality of pizza would probably go down with a gas oven,” Paul said. “When you pull a pie out and put it on the deck, it will lose heat. To put another pie in, you have to wait for it to heat back up and get to temperature, but with this one, it takes maybe two minutes.”

“We didn’t know how something using that much electricity could not be pricey, but we were surprised at how affordable it was when we got the bill,” Shaun said.

While the brothers have fully embraced an electrified, greener future, their taste in music remains “trapped” in the ‘90s.

For more information on the Foodservice Technology Center or SCE’s vision for a clean energy future, visit energized.com/cleanenergy.

Originally published on Built From Scratch

Years before The Home Depot began selling Halloween products, company co-founder Arthur Blank wrote in Built from Scratch, “If we can’t be the best in a category, we don’t carry it.” Fast forward to today, where The Home Depot sets the pace for its dedicated Halloween fanbase.

Beyond product, a community of Halloween-loving customers has made this holiday something truly special. These are passionate doers who set their alarm clocks for the wee hours of the morning in mid-July to get first dibs on the latest props when Halloween products launch on homedepot.com. These are also customers who shop in stores, filling their carts with oversized boxes and ultra poseable skeletons. But how did it all begin?

Halloween arrived at The Home Depot in 2013, on store endcaps merchandised with 40+ products. Several of the products were pumpkin-focused, a nod to the company’s previous harvest-themed offerings, and there was an assortment of 42” inflatables. One of the stars of the 2013 lineup was an oversized air blown singing pumpkin that played Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.”

In response to growing demand, stores were stocked with 120 products and more than 650 were available online by 2015. The company’s exclusive Home Accents Holiday brand expanded its assortment of animated characters, specialty and projection lighting, and décor, in the years that followed. Larger props like a life-sized skeleton horse, an animated skeleton T-Rex dinosaur and a variety of dragons – from inflatable to smoke-breathing – created buzz.

In 2020, amid a global pandemic, there was a turning point. The arrival of the 12-Foot Giant Skeleton as part of the Grave and Bones collection changed the game forever. “Skelly,” as this giant is now affectionately known, became a viral internet and media sensation during the pandemic, with Skelly flooding streets around the country. Customers were aware of The Home Depot’s presence in the Halloween marketplace and took notice. Senior Merchant Lance Allen, the mastermind behind Skelly and many giant props, reflects on the rise of Skelly and the successful growth and innovation of this category.

“For Skelly, we knew the moment we sampled him that we had created one of the best Halloween items ever. To see his massive size and his eyes following you around the room, it left an exciting impression months before he made it to stores or online. Then, he went on sale and the viral videos started happening. We’re thrilled that The Home Depot has continued to offer him to our customers with such great quality and incredible value.”

– Lance Allen, Senior Merchant of Decorative Holiday

While Skelly may have increased awareness of The Home Depot’s Halloween lineup, there were other factors at work to ensure that customers would keep coming back for more.

“The Home Depot’s success and growth in the Halloween category has a couple of key drivers. The first is the unique approach of our team to design and develop exclusive items. We simply don’t settle for off-the-shelf, generic items for our customers. We partner with the best vendors in the business to create jaw dropping items that push the limits of size, animation, and realism at incredible values,” according to Lance.

“As a company we also lead the market with the integrated shopping experience for our customers,” says Lance. “Customers can not only research and buy the items online, but they can also find them on display with associates happy to walk them through the newest seasonal releases. Our customers trust the quality of our products and they know we’ve spent an extensive amount of time developing them. They have great relationships with their stores, and they go back year after year. Other companies might pop up for a couple of months and then disappear – they know that isn’t the case with The Home Depot.

Keep up with all the latest Home Depot news! Subscribe to our bi-weekly news update and get the top Built from Scratch stories delivered straight to your inbox.

Taking the leap into pet adoption may be easier than you think with Baker Tilly’s pet adoption benefit that provides up to $500 for any animal adopted from a shelter or animal care facility.

Research shows that pets can provide a sense of companionship, reduce stress, and even help children with emotional and social skills – surely some top reasons our pet adoption benefit is so popular. Hear from two team members who have recently used this benefit to add a new pet to their lives.

A new character in the house

For Berlyn Wall, senior audit associate, a new dog means a new work-from-home companion.

“I had discussed getting a second pet with my husband, David, for a while, then one day he drove by a rescue and met this gentle giant of a dog,” she said. “He’s such a goofball, and he doesn’t realize how big he is.”

She and David decided to name him Remus to match the Harry Potter moniker of their black lab mix, Bellatrix.

With a new dog in the family, the biggest change has been the amount of dog food needed. But to her, he’s worth the extra expense.

“We were so glad to hear about the pet reimbursement benefit — whoever said money doesn’t buy happiness never adopted a dog!” she laughed. “Having a furry friend to greet you at the end of the day makes it all worth it.”

Life as a dog dad

From a young age, Partner Matt Prentiss had a passion for rescuing animals. His mother worked with an animal rescue and the family often had rescues in their home.

“We had dogs from all over, including some who came from really tough circumstances,” he said. “Rescues have so much love to give, you can see how much they appreciate and care for you.”

Matt and his wife, Erica, have learned a lot about what it takes to train, raise and care for a puppy. Their dog Howard (aka Howie) was found abandoned in a dumpster before being brought into an animal rescue. He was just six weeks old when they met him.

Rescuing a pet gives you an amazing sense of accomplishment,” Matt said. “Watching Howard go from wobbling and falling all over the place, to learning how to run and play with other dogs really brings a smile to our faces every time.”

Learn more about life at Baker Tilly: https://www.bakertilly.com/page/life-at-baker-tilly

By the Black & Veatch Insights Group

Across the U.S., a myriad of challenges is intensifying scrutiny about the resiliency and reliability of the ever-aging grid infrastructure.

Load demands are rising due to growing consumer electric vehicle (EV) charging networks, enterprise fleet electrification, cloud computing and manufacturing growth. Extreme climate events – flooding, droughts, ice storms, hurricanes and wildfires – are causing outages and damaging aging infrastructure that for more than a generation has been the sector’s biggest headache. Utilities are grappling with integrating renewable energy onto the grid.

Talk of upgrading and hardening the grid has been a hot topic for decades. Now, the need is edging closer to an inflection point in an industry with an array of competing interests, many of them carrying a considerable price tag.

Black & Veatch’s 2023 Electric Report — expert analyses of survey results from more than 650 U.S. power sector stakeholders — highlights the industry’s widening awareness of what’s needed to strengthen distribution and transmission systems in a rapidly decarbonizing world. Along the way, the report highlights the sector’s strategies for addressing headwinds such as disruptive high-impact, low-frequency events that test grid reliability and resilience, how digitalization of systems comes into play, and how priorities in grid modernization are being addressed.

The biggest takeaway: Being proactive – not reactive – always is the winning strategy.

High-Impact, Low-Frequency Events

Extreme weather events – from Texas ice storms to New Jersey hurricanes and California wildfires – are widely accepted as grid-impacting emergencies that often vary by region but demand the attention of the power and utility Industries. Over the past decade, the frequency and impact level of extreme weather events has increased, and it’s more acknowledged that such events are inevitable. The energy system’s ability to better absorb impact and recover quicker in the wake of these occurrences is a significant part of the investment impetus for bolstering system resiliency.

When asked if resiliency is being given more consideration in investment decisions due to high-impact, low-frequency events, more than eight in 10 respondents — 83 percent — answered “yes.” More than half of that pool responded “definitely.”

While the majority of respondents said they are taking extreme climate events into consideration, less than half (48 percent) have incorporated high-level or long-term climate risk analyses into their resilience planning. Still, it’s encouraging to see momentum rising, with 13 percent more respondents planning to address climate risk modeling over 2022’s survey.

In the world of risk management, it’s no small matter. According to a Black & Veatch eBook, “Three Climate Modeling Considerations for Utilities,” natural disasters have caused $1.4 trillion in damage in the recent years. Utilities that leverage climate modeling and data analytics can better prepare for future extreme weather events.

Supply Chain Issues Aren’t Improving

Despite the end of the pandemic, procurement challenges — supply chain issues — remain rampant due to the sheer volume of work. Seven in 10 respondents said their organization’s resilience and reliability projects are impacted by the availability of components for transmission and distribution improvements. This data — up from 66 percent in 2022 — validates that the supply chain remains a significant obstacle to deploying much-needed grid modernization projects.

Drilling deeper, 30 percent of respondents report that their enterprises are delaying resilience and reliability projects because they cannot get firm pricing or project financing – or they have equipment concerns. Specific to how their utility has addressed supply chain challenges, half of respondents say they’ve delayed projects because of them — below only contingency planning (67 percent) and selected different vendors (51 percent). Only 4 percent said they either didn’t experience or didn’t choose to address supply chain issues.

Delayed solutions mean the situation will worsen as infrastructure continues to age and load continues to grow.

Renewable Energy is Growing, but Integration Lacking

As the world presses to lower its carbon footprint, deploying more low-carbon energy is a great step in combating climate change. But the absence of an effective way to efficiently manage interconnections is causing quite a strain on the grid. As detailed in a Black & Veatch whitepaper, “Five Trends Energy Utilities Can’t Ignore When Preparing for the Future,” infrastructure improvements and capacity upgrades are needed to harness the resiliency and reliability benefits of renewables.

Contrary to what the industry saw in prior decades when load growth on the grid was stagnant, there’s now a notable increase. Some 83 percent of respondents reported emerging and/or significant impacts from new load additions. Although 30 percent anticipate significant impacts while 18 percent don’t, almost all respondents agreed that load growth is affecting their network resiliency and reliability.

Respondents also expressed little confidence that queue reform, contemplated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), will positively impact renewable interconnections; only 12 percent said “definitely yes.” Pessimism lingers within the industry that regulation can solve this issue at a time when hundreds of gigawatts in the queue cannot connect to the grid. As long as the industry is slow to integrate renewables, decarbonization efforts and generation additions needed to maintain reliability increasingly are at risk.

All told, the survey data confirms that U.S. energy utilities agree on their main resiliency and reliability challenges: high-impact climate events, supply chain obstacles and inefficient mechanisms to spur grid deployment that supports generation interconnects. Fortunately, many utilities also are embracing relevant solutions such as climate risk modeling, infrastructure improvements and grid modernizations.

Grid-modernizing pursuits promise high returns on infrastructure investments through improved reliability and reduced operating costs — if these investments are strategic. Passed in late 2021, theInfrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) — also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law— continues to influence these improvements and associated regulations; nearly $65 billion has been allotted to fund grid upgrades nationwide. But Black & Veatch’s survey data also revealed that utilities need more guidance (potentially from expert advisory partners) on how to secure funding and strategize when and where to spend it.

In many ways, fate favors the proactive, knowing that challenges to resiliency and reliability aren’t going away any time soon.

Measuring recycling value

In line with our ambitions and strategy to grow recycling of all materials in collected carton packages, in addition to measuring carton package collection, we are also monitoring how the materials get effectively recycled. We are doing this by estimating a global gross effective recycling rate, deducting the non-recycled polyAl from the volume of cartons collected for recycling.

In 2022, we estimate the global gross effective recycling rate5 to be 20%, which equals to 1 million tonnes of materials in post-consumer carton packages effectively being recycled. This can be compared to a 25% global carton package collection rate6.

To increase the effective recycling rate, we are focusing on putting in place polyAl recycling capacities and develop end markets for recycled polyAl. In 2022, 1.2 million tonnes of carton packages were collected and sent for recycling. Out of that, the estimated amount of polyAl sent to recyclers was more than 100 kilo tonnes. 
READ MORE

Our company is producing transportation pallets made entirely from recycled plastics. Part of the recycled plastics that we use comes from the recycling of beverage cartons. Recycled polyAl from beverage cartons presents functional characteristics that are similar to recycled polyolefins, while offering the extra advantage of a shiny look. 

Samuela Niboli, 

Plant manager of Valsir Recycling Division

Accelerating recycling locally 

Our dedicated team of 70 recycling experts stationed at locations around the world works to activate, accelerate, and transform the collection and recycling of carton packages. Every day, they collaborate with recyclers, local authorities, and customers to provide insights on efficient collection and sorting schemes, and to co-invest with industrial partners in the recycling value chain. In 2022, there were approximately 200 recycling facilities for carton packages.

Recycling facilities that we collaborate with worldwide

103 fibre 
Fibre recycling facilities recycle fibres by hydrapulping

61 polyAl 
PolyAl recyclers recycle polyAl by injection moulding, for example

36 integrated 
Integrated recyclers recycle both fibre and polyAl (separately or together)

Working with industry associations 

We collaborated with the Alliance for Beverage Cartons and the Environment (ACE) on the ‘Design for recycling’ guidelines for carton producers alongside other industry players. The guidelines provide producers of beverage cartons with technical guidance to identify the materials compatible with existing recycling processes and how the recyclability of paper-based beverage cartons can be optimised.

ACE and EXTR:ACT highlight that collection is precondition to the recycling of any material. While local authorities usually drive and control waste collection infrastructures, Tetra Pak supports them by advising on most efficient collection schemes, and invests in increasing recycling capacities and end markets for recycled materials from used carton packages.

We are an active member of 4evergreen, an alliance representing the entire lifecycle of European fibre-based packaging, from mono-material corrugated cardboard to composite food and beverage packaging. The goal of 4evergreen is to reach 90% recycling rate for all fibre-based packaging by 2030 in Europe. In 2022, the alliance released an initial draft of the Recyclability Evaluation Protocol, a test methodology established to ensure the suitability of packaging recycling in standard paper mills, as well as Circularity by Design Guideline for mono-material packaging processed in standard mills. In 2023, the alliance will publish guidance for multi-material packaging processed in specialised mills.

In 2022, we invested nearly €30 million7 in different projects around the world to further increase the collection and recycling of used carton packages worldwide. Going forward, our ambition is to invest up to €40 million8 in collection and recycling projects around the world in support of our three goals: 

Contribute to achieving a 70% recycling rate carton package target in the European Union by 20309.Fulfil national recyclability criteria in all countries we sell packaging.Fulfil Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s (EMF) Global Commitment10.

To deliver on these goals, we have defined three different areas of focus dependent on market conditions:

Driving higher recycling performance In countries with an already mature waste management sector, we support systemwide action and cooperation, advocate for efficient legislation to guide optimized collection systems, and contribute to the acceleration and scaling of sorting and recycling capacities.Advancing and transforming the recycling value chain In countries with already existing waste management infrastructure, we facilitate the transformation and optimisation of the sector, including adequate recycling capacity, building structural advancements in waste collection and sorting capabilities, and help to prepare for potential future Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) schemes.Activating collection and recycling In countries with a primarily informal waste management sector, we initiate new collection programmes, contribute to establishing sufficient recycling capacity, and build circular economy awareness. See the map to explore collection and recycling initiatives in 2022.

Collection and recycling initiatives

Driving higher recycling performanceAdvancing the recycling value chainActivating collection and recyclingSupporting workers in collection and recycling

READ MORE about each initiative

Furniture made from recycled carton packages

In 2022, we collaborated with Dutch design firm, Aectual, to create a series of furniture made entirely from polyAl. Launched at the Milan Design Fair in June 2022, the Aectual x Tetra Pak concept line includes stylish and functional stools, planters, wall panels, window screens and more – all 3D printed. The products are created using less materials, there’s no stock and production is on demand. After use, products are returned, shredded, and reprinted to create new products – reducing up to 600% of material over a 50-year period. Our recently opened offices in Tokyo, Japan, and in Dublin, Ireland, have several pieces of Aectual furniture, and this product line will also be used in our offices in Sweden, Singapore, and Italy in 2023.

Aectual developed and is commercializing a range of design furniture made from the recycled plastics and aluminium content of carton packages. We are expanding the use of these products in our offices. It is part of our Future Work Experience strategy to ensure that we live up to our promise to protect food, people and the planet in our workplace every day. 

Sudhir Saseedharan, 

FREM Director of Workplace Experience & Real Estate

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View the full FY22 Sustainability Report here. 

1 Based on a global carton recycling rate of 25% and Tetra Pak sales of 193 billion packages, we estimate the 1.2 million tonnes of carton packages collected for recycling includes approximately 48 billion Tetra Pak carton packages. 

2 For the reported carton packages collected for recycling we use, where available, official publicly available data from renowned sources such as governmental agency, registered recovery organization, nationwide industry association, NGO etc. reported on a regular basis using a consistent approach.

3 Paper-based carton packages are recyclable where adequate collection, sorting and recycling infrastructures are in place

4 The non-fibre component of carton packages is known as polyAl, which designates the layers of polyolefins and aluminium being used as barrier against oxygen and humidity to protect the food content in aseptic carton packages. 

5 We estimate the gross effective recycling rate by deducing the non-recycled polyAl from the weight of carton package bales sent to recyclers. Any additional contaminants, impurities and moisture are not taken into account in this measure. 

6 Reported carton packages collection rate is based on the share of cartons collected and sent for recycling versus cartons deployed. We use, where available, official publicly available data from renowned sources such as governmental agency, registered recovery organization, nationwide industry association, NGO etc. reported on a regular basis using a consistent approach.

7 Both operational and capital expenditures. Capital expenditures are a company’s major, long-term expenditures while operating expenditures are a company’s day-to-day expenditures. 

8 Both Operating Expenditure (OPEX) and Capital Expenditure (CAPEX). 

9 Collection increase depending on supporting policy implementation per EU member country. 

10 The Global Commitment is led by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, in collaboration with the UN Environment Programme. Through the Global Commitment, businesses and governments commit to change how we produce, use, and reuse plastic. They will work to eliminate the plastic items we don’t need; innovate so all plastic we do need is designed to be safely reused, recycled, or composted; and circulate everything we use to keep it in the economy and out of the environment.” Source: https://ellenmacarthurfoundation. org/global-commitment-2022/overview