Tag: 3BL

October 18, 2023 /3BL/ – 3BL has named Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) to its annual 100 Best Corporate Citizens ranking, recognizing outstanding environmental, social and governance (ESG) transparency and performance among the 1,000 largest U.S. public companies.

This is the 7th year in a row that Medtronic has been named to the list, jumping to #17 in 2023.

“At Medtronic, we know that every action we take impacts the future of our employees, our business, our communities, and our planet,” said Rob Ellsworth, Director of the Enterprise Sustainability Program at Medtronic. “Our sustainability strategy focuses on the areas where we know we can make the greatest impact. We are on a journey to harness technology to bridge the healthcare divide, build an increasingly diverse, inclusive, and equitable workforce, and protect our planet. Each of us at Medtronic recognizes the immense responsibility and privilege we have as an organization, and as individuals, to improve the global health of patients and our planet.”

The 100 Best Corporate Citizens ranking is based on 184 ESG factors in seven pillars: climate change, employee relations, environment, governance, human rights, stakeholders and society, and ESG performance.

Using a methodology developed by 3BL, all Russell 1000 Index companies are researched by ISS ESG, the responsible investment research arm of Institutional Shareholder Services. There is no fee for companies to be included in 100 Best Corporate Citizens.

To compile the ranking, corporate data and information is obtained from publicly available sources only, rather than questionnaires or company submissions. Companies have the option to verify data collected for the ranking at no cost. Data and information used in the 2023 edition of the 100 Best Corporate Citizens ranking was collected between July 2022 to July 2023.

“Achieving the transformational targets in the Paris Agreement and UN Sustainable Development Goals in this decisive decade requires all companies to truly embed ESG issues into the core of their business,” said Dave Armon, CEO of 3BL. “The 100 Best Corporate Citizens of 2023 are answering the call by demonstrating the societal and bottom-line value of leadership and transparency around ESG topics. They are setting ambitious goals, outlining robust strategies for achieving them, disclosing data to measure progress, and accounting for all stakeholders in business decisions.”

For access to the complete 100 Best Corporate Citizens of 2023 ranking and methodology visit: https://100best.3blmedia.com/

Learn more about sustainability at Medtronic in their 2023 Sustainability Report. 

About Medtronic 
Bold thinking. Bolder actions. We are Medtronic. Medtronic plc, headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, is the leading global healthcare technology company that boldly attacks the most challenging health problems facing humanity by searching out and finding solutions. Our Mission — to alleviate pain, restore health, and extend life — unites a global team of 95,000+ passionate people across more than 150 countries. Our technologies and therapies treat 70 health conditions and include cardiac devices, surgical robotics, insulin pumps, surgical tools, patient monitoring systems, and more. Powered by our diverse knowledge, insatiable curiosity, and desire to help all those who need it, we deliver innovative technologies that transform the lives of two people every second, every hour, every day. Expect more from us as we empower insight-driven care, experiences that put people first, and better outcomes for our world. In everything we do, we are engineering the extraordinary. For more information on Medtronic (NYSE:MDT), visit www.medtronic.com and follow @Medtronic on Twitter and LinkedIn. 

About the 100 Best Corporate Citizens Ranking 
The 100 Best Corporate Citizens debuted in 1999 in Business Ethics Magazine and appeared annually in Corporate Responsibility Magazine for many years. 3BL has managed the ranking since 2018. To compile the ranking, each company in the Russell 1000 Index is ranked according to its transparency and performance on 184 environmental, social and governance factors. 

About 3BL 
3BL’s unrivaled distribution platforms and TriplePundit Brand Studio promote the environmental, social, governance (ESG) initiatives of leading companies, private equity firms, nonprofits and NGOs to a global audience. Learn more here.

The Society of Cosmetic Chemists (SCC) Madam C.J. Walker Scholarship, sponsored by Mary Kay, recently announced its 2023 scholarship recipients. This scholarship signifies SCC’s support of under-represented minorities pursuing higher education in STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) in disciplines related to the cosmetics and personal care industry.

Established in 2021, the scholarship awards $5,000 to two students of a specific under-represented minority of any gender identity, pursuing an undergraduate or graduate degree in a science related field with an interest in pursuing cosmetics.

The Madam C.J. Walker Scholarship was established to honor Walker, the first female, self-made millionaire who made her fortune by developing a line of cosmetics and hair care products for Black women. Mary Kay and the Society of Cosmetic Chemists are committed to providing opportunities for all to pursue their dreams as part of their on-going diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts.

Awardees to-date include:

2023: Winners,Precious Ulel, undergraduate student at the University of California Irvine majoring in Pharmaceutical Science and Xylia Ajose, graduate student at the University of Cincinnati majoring in Cosmetic Science; Finalists,Jada Alcantra, undergraduate student at the University of Toledo majoring in Cosmetic Science & Foundation Design and Destiny Durante, graduate student at the University of Illinois, Chicago majoring in Pharmaceutical Sciences

2022: Winners, Carolina Aguilera Barraza, undergraduate student at Northeastern University majoring in Chemical Engineering and Collette Tamar Gordon, graduate student at University of Southern California majoring in Chemistry; Finalists, Micaela V. Reyes, undergraduate student at York College/CUNY majoring in Pharmaceutical Science and Victoria S. Humphrey, Dermatology Resident Physician PGY2 at Harvard Combined Dermatology

2021: Winners, Imani Elaine Porter, undergraduate student at Hampton University majoring in biochemistry and Joy Rutherford, PhD candidate at The Ohio State University majoring in chemistry

Mary Kay and the Society of Cosmetic Chemists have a long-standing history with members of Mary Kay Inc.’s scientific team serving on the SCC Board of Directors, including:

Dawn Burke Colvin – Sr. Principal Scientist, Product Formulations, Mary Kay Inc. – Director for Area III (2005-2008) Executive Board Secretary (2010), Vice President Elect (2012), Vice President (2013) and President (2014).Dr. Michelle D Hines – Director, Product Formulations, Mary Kay Inc. – Director for Area III (2013-2016), Executive Board Secretary (2017-2019), Vice President Elect (2020), Vice President (2021) and President (2022).

Originally published on GoDaddy Life

Tell us a little bit about yourself and your career at GoDaddy.

I’ve been at GoDaddy for over eleven years and nine of those have been in leadership roles. I’ve worked in Care the entire time from Sales to Support and now in Global Advanced Operations (GOA). I remember joining our Employee Resource Group, GoDaddy Latinx in Technology (GDLIT) from its inception and eventually took over as Co-president for a few years back in 2017 and 2018. I feel such pride and joy having seen GDLIT grow over the years and to see how far we’ve come from those first days.

Why did you get involved in our ERGs?

My first involvement in GDLIT was getting to teach a group of students how to establish an online presence with our Website Builder and domain at one of the local community colleges. This is the first thing that drew me in; being able to give back to the community and being involved in helping our next generation of underserved students understand what it means to have an online presence. If they were able to see young professionals who looked like them have success, then anything could be possible for them.

What are some of your favorite things about working at GoDaddy?

THE PEOPLE. OUR CULTURE. It’s what has kept me here for over eleven years. A large part of the people and culture, for me, can be seen with GDLIT, which has helped me feel comfortable and also challenged me in ways I never thought possible.

What about our workplace or community, if anything, has helped you grow as an individual?

One of the things that’s helped me grow as an individual has been a constant challenge of thought process. At GoDaddy, we do a great job of encouraging everyone to find new ways of doing something and finding alternative solutions when something doesn’t work. This simple thing has challenged my own thought process and career development, which I believe has made me a better leader, husband, father, and person.

Why do you feel it’s important to recognize Hispanic Heritage Month at work?

To me, it is so important to highlight Hispanic Heritage Month at work to bring visibility to who the Latinx Community is and what we are capable of. It’s also an opportunity to educate so many people about the rich history we are a part of. It’s an opportunity for us to share our culture, heritage, and spotlight the influence we have in the world.

What does Latinx In Technology look like in 10 years?

My hope for GDLIT in 10 years…I would love to be in a place where we have allies from all over showing up for us like they do for other groups. That work starts with us.

Are you enjoying this series and want to know more about life at GoDaddy? Check out our GoDaddy Life social pages! Follow us to meet our team, learn more about our culture (Teams, ERGs, Locations), careers, and so much more. You’re more than just your day job, so come propel your career with us.

Facebook — https://www.facebook.com/GoDaddyLifeInstagram — https://www.instagram.com/godaddylife/LinkedIn — https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/godaddylifeTwitter — https://twitter.com/GoDaddyLifeTikTok — https://www.tiktok.com/@godaddylife?

Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) are an important part of a company’s culture. They help build community and engage different perspectives with the goal of encouraging positive change within and outside of the company.

In our Spotlight on ERG series, learn about ERGs across Henkel North America, that include nearly 2,000 employees, and are helping to build an inclusive environment and advance our DEI priorities.

Learn more below about our ERG: The Aerospace Cultural Alliance (ACA).

Henkel’s Aerospace Cultural Alliance aims to spread unity through diversity by highlighting the perspectives and experiences of employees at Henkel’s Bay Point, California site, an adhesives manufacturing facility supporting the aerospace industry. The ERG focuses its activities in three areas: professional development, community outreach and cultural awareness.

Professional Development

The ACA hosts several programs focused on professional development that incorporate views from Henkel employees and customers. The Walkabout is a signature ACA event held every November that gives employees insight into different parts of the business, helping to break down silos that can often form in the workplace. The program provides an opportunity for employees to rotate through different business functions, providing greater awareness into work taking place. The experience culminates in a two-day workshop with a keynote speaker. This year, employees will hear from a leader at one of Henkel’s customers on their insight into the importance and impact of diversity.

Community Outreach

ACA members participate in the annual Contra Costa County Science & Engineering Fair through a grant from Henkel’s Make an Impact on Tomorrow’s (MIT) program. Celebrating its 25th year, the MIT program provides in-kind and financial support for social projects that employees are passionate about. The ERG has been a nine-time participant and three-time silver sponsor of the fair, which reaches local students in Contra Costa County. Each year, the company awards the Henkel Highflyer recognizing a student who created an exciting project related to aerospace science.

Cultural Awareness

The ERG works to build programming that also connects professional development and community outreach with cultural moments throughout the year, including Juneteenth, PRIDE Month, International Women’s Day and more. For Hispanic Heritage Month this year, the group partnered with colleagues from Henkel’s Unidos! Latinx ERG to host two events for Bay Point employees including a group viewing of a virtual professional development event called “Become the CEO of Your Success” with Yvette Regalado, Founder and CEO of Our Wild Success. The groups also hosted Isaac Mizrahi, author of “Hispanic Market Power – America’s Business Growth Engine,” to speak about the importance of diversity from a Hispanic perspective.

The ACA is successful thanks to its members and the strong support it receives from site leadership. The group’s efforts have contributed to employee retention and recruitment efforts and supervisors have reported improved productivity after events like The Walkabout.

“I am very thankful to say that our site looks like what I hope the world will look like eventually. Our work is authentic and has a real impact. We are not just checking a box, we genuinely care about our employees and fostering a culture of inclusion.” 

Rochelle Miller, Innovation Project Manager, Henkel Adhesive Technologies

Originally published on Labcompare.

If you work in a laboratory, you are most likely familiar with how these spaces can often utilize significant amounts of energy, water, chemicals and other materials. This resource-intensive environment can generate sizeable amounts of waste, resulting in a considerable carbon footprint. In fact, the figures regarding the healthcare and life science sectors may surprise you. The pharmaceutical industry emits 55% more greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions than the manufacturing of automobiles, while life science labs use up to nine times more energy and four times more water than the average office building. As such, a commitment to sustainability in this space needs to go beyond installing energy-efficient products and appliances or using LED light bulbs and automatic taps.

The good news is: Sustainability will not only benefit the environment, but can bring a significant return on investment and offer businesses a competitive advantage. Here is how.

Continue reading on Labcompare.

Companies are increasingly being regulated to lower their greenhouse gas emissions and produce net-zero strategies. In some cases, reducing emissions is relatively straightforward. Once you start diving into what achieving net zero actually entails, however, the waters can get pretty murky. In response, one of the global leaders in business software and technology, SAP, is stepping up to help companies reach their ambitious climate action goals.

The complexities, for the most part, involve Scope 3 emissions. Scope 1 emissions are those created from direct business activities and Scope 2 covers the emissions from the generated electricity, steam, heating and cooling functions associated with the business. Scope 3 emissions, which account for the vast majority of emissions in most companies, cover those created across entire value chain of an organization — all the way upstream to the raw materials, and all the way downstream to consumer end use and disposal.

Multinational corporations with hundreds or thousands of suppliers around the world run into significant challenges when trying to track, measure and report their Scope 3 emissions. These challenges aren’t insurmountable, but they do require strong relationship-building with suppliers and support from digital technologies.

Global technology company SAP is uniquely positioned to help companies with their Scope 3 emissions. Having almost 90 percent of the world’s financial and goods flows touch an SAP system, including nearly all carbon flows, SAP has access to the supply chain data that companies are looking for in their Scope 3 accounting. SAP is converting this unique position into sustainability solutions that ease the hurdles that businesses encounter when trying to manage these challenging emissions.

What are the challenges with assessing Scope 3 emissions?

We can break down the main challenges associated with Scope 3 emissions into three categories: understanding what and where to report, collecting emissions data, and organizing and using the data. Each phase of the process presents its own set of difficulties.

Understanding what and where to report. For organizations new to Scope 3 reporting, the first step is figuring out what they need to report. Identifying which jurisdictions and reporting frameworks require Scope 3 disclosures, understanding the different requirements of each disclosure, and identifying which emissions are most material to the organization are three of the most significant challenges in this phase.

The International Sustainability Standards Board standards, set to take effect in 2024, are expected to become the global standard for sustainability reporting and should finally bring some clarity to the regulation migraine. Most jurisdictions are expected to adopt this standard moving forward. But as of right now, the lack of uniformity across frameworks and across jurisdictions is one of the most frustrating aspects of Scope 3 reporting for organizations.

“When I speak to C-level executives, the problem is the lack of standardization and the insecurity about accurately measuring and baking sustainability into business cases,” says Sebastian Steinhaeuser, chief strategy officer at SAP.

Collecting Scope 3 emissions data. The next phase is collecting data, and this is where things can get quite complicated. The main challenges with collecting emissions data are identifying all suppliers, getting accurate primary data, finding secondary data or industry averages when primary data is unavailable, and managing industry-specific issues.

Sifting through extensive supply chains to identify all suppliers and find the required emissions data is an incredibly painstaking task. For companies that have thousands of suppliers all over the world, this might be nearly impossible, and at best, it’s immensely time-consuming.

SAP’s Sustainability Data Exchange allows companies and suppliers to effectively share standardized emissions data across business networks. Meanwhile its Sustainability Footprint Management solution calculates and manages the entire range of value chain emissions, producing audit-level data that is ready for use in the various reporting frameworks.

Whether trying to tackle this problem on your own or by employing a data management system like SAP’s, the most important thing is to build strong relationships with suppliers. It’s critical that suppliers understand the importance of their role and the benefits they enjoy by providing accurate, granular emissions data.

Organizing and using Scope 3 emissions data. Companies that employ a carbon emissions data management system can make great strides in managing their Scope 3 emissions data. Receiving data in many locations and compiling it all in one place, avoiding critical errors in manual data collection, receiving data at different timeframes from suppliers, and having to manage data submitted in different formats can all provide substantial headaches for sustainability teams.

Beyond collecting and organizing critical emissions data, the key is to use the information to optimize and ultimately reduce emissions.

“Technology gives business leaders the needed data transparency to make more sustainable business decisions,” Steinhaeuser says. “Having the ability to work with verifiable data across supply chains will change the way business works and accelerate climate action.”

With significant penalties on the rise for non-compliance and greenwashing, companies need to be sure the data they report is 100 percent accurate. Any errors or oversights in this phase can spell disaster for a company’s regulatory compliance and public image.

Having a trusted emissions data management program will not only hugely reduce a company’s workload, but it will also give them the peace of mind that the data they are reporting is auditable, accurate and complete.

The SAP transactional carbon accounting approach

To effectively reduce emissions, companies need to work with the most accurate data available. However, not all suppliers are able to provide such data yet. This is where a transactional carbon accounting can help companies get the most accurate snapshot of their emissions profile and drive change by leveraging their financial management systems.

“Only 9 percent of companies have a comprehensive view of their greenhouse gas emissions and their impact across the entire value chain,” Steinhaeuser says. “We need to account for carbon with much more precision and control by using actual data values across our business operations and supply chains in sync with financial flows.”

Incorporating a hybrid strategy allows companies to focus first on the areas of their supply chain that produce the most emissions, work to reduce those emissions, and then transition to a broader scope of the supply chain, incorporating more supplier-contributed primary data.

With all of the complexities and challenges involved with Scope 3 emissions, taking a targeted approach that slowly builds the wealth of primary data will allow for continued improvement and greater accuracy in a company’s Scope 3 profile. This approach will not only satisfy regulators, but it will also provide investors and other stakeholders with confidence that businesses understand where their emissions are coming from, and that they are doing all they can to reduce them, one step at a time.


This article series is sponsored by SAP and produced by the TriplePundit editorial team.

Image credit: NASA/Unsplash

Originally published on 3M News Center

3M officially opened its doors to the new 3M™ Skills Development Center, a 15,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art training facility in St. Paul, Minnesota. The 3M Skills Development Center is dedicated to educating and upskilling technicians across all experience levels on the most updated automotive collision repair and refinishing processes through intensive, hands-on training.

“With rapidly changing vehicle technology and a shortage of qualified collision repair technicians, investment in training is crucial to today’s aftermarket”, said Dave Gunderson, president, 3M Automotive Aftermarket Division. “Whether technicians are here to deepen their skills, challenge their own experiences or learn from experts to broaden their knowledge of collision repair, we want the 3M Skills Development Center to be the source of continuing education for industry leaders.”

As the industry rapidly evolves, body shops have seen increasingly complex repairs and pressure for higher productivity and faster throughput. The need for qualified collision repair technicians is significant, yet the industry faces challenges in attracting and retaining talent. According to research from FenderBender, 34 percent of shop owners believe finding qualified technicians is the single biggest challenge they face, while TechForce projects a shortage of over 100,000 collision technicians by 2026. A firm foundation of knowledge, rooted in rich teaching and training, is critical for shops to adapt. Shops with properly trained staff can realize increased profit margins as experienced technicians can complete jobs faster, more efficiently, and with fewer errors.

The 3M Skills Development Center further builds on 3M’s commitment to investing in training for skilled trades. The facility complements the company’s suite of online training programs available through the 3M™ Collision Repair Academy, offering a dedicated physical space for technicians to experience comprehensive and hands-on training courses led by seasoned collision repair experts.

Core to the 3M Skills Development Center are multi-day training courses for technicians that are focused on body repair, paint preparation and refinishing. And with an eye toward bringing new talent into the trades, each summer the 3M Skills Development Center also hosts vocational technical instructors from across the country for intensive training courses on proper OEM repair procedures. Leading instruction at the 3M Skills Development Center is a dedicated and passionate staff of seasoned collision repair veterans who bring over 85 years of combined industry experience and expertise in OEM repair procedures and requirements, with 60 of those years spent working on the shop floor as technicians.

With the new, dedicated training facility and training staff, 3M will be able to accommodate over 100 training sessions annually, providing hands-on education to over 1,000 technicians and associated industry professionals – ranging from seasoned experts looking to enhance their comprehensive understanding of the latest OEM specs and repair Standard Operating Procedures, to students who are exploring careers in collision repair and attending vocational training for the first time.

A key design theme in the 3M Skills Development Center is its flexibility. The modular layout of the facility can be readjusted to adapt to the needs of the students and partners in attendance. Recognizing the value of a hands-on, kinesthetic learning environment, the facility’s traditional classroom space for instruction is complemented with a hands-on work environment that represents 70 percent of the building’s overall square footage, and features workshop stations with 24 drops for electrical and air service. This is accompanied by a 35-foot GFS XL paint booth with 3-stage filtration, among one of the largest automotive paint booths available on the market, and capable of accommodating 16 painters simultaneously. The facility also features a space dedicated to welding, with a dozen stations individually equipped with fume extraction hoods.

“The 3M Skills Development Center takes our training to a new level and helps give technicians the capabilities they need to upskill their talents and exceed value for their shops,” said Jason Scharton, senior manager, Global Expertise Delivery, 3M. “We firmly believe that the best trained teams deliver the best results. Nurturing your talent through continued training and education is an invaluable return on investment.”

3M’s roots to the city of St. Paul and involvement with the collision repair industry dates back over a century. As the 3M Skills Development Center was built on land that housed the first company operations outside of Duluth and Two Harbors, it was imperative for 3M to add design features that showcase the company’s deep connection with the local community. In putting the finishing touches together on the facility, 3M commissioned four Minnesota-based artists – Adam Turman, Rock ‘CYFI’ Martinez, Biafra and Wundr – to conceptualize and produce distinct murals inspired by 3M history, local culture, and the collision technicians the facility will serve.

“With the way the collision repair industry is changing, training is very important to me so I can keep up-to-date with new materials and processes and offer the most knowledge I can to my students,” said Bree Downs, an auto body collision repair instructor at Seward County Community College who recently attended a four-day vocational technical instructor training at the 3M Skills Development Center. “With the knowledge I gained at the 3M training, I will be able to teach my students the most current repair methods. When they enter the workforce, they will be able to complete the repairs in the most efficient and effective way possible.”

Southwire’s 12 for Life® is pleased to partner with Carroll County Schools to open a new Industrial Maintenance Lab to its students.

“The Industrial Maintenance Lab is a great opportunity for our students to be able to pick up a skilled trade that is in high demand — not only by Southwire but also for all industry needs,” said Derrick Autrey, plant manager of Southwire’s Copper Rod Plant and former plant manager of 12 for Life in Carrollton, Ga. “The students that complete this training and receive the lab certification can take the skills they learn to any industry and have a distinct advantage. I’m excited to see what the future holds with this addition to the facility.”

12 for Life, a collaborative partnership that began between Southwire and Carroll County Schools in 2007, provides classroom instruction, on-the-job training, key work and life skills, mentoring and employment opportunities. Through the program, students are motivated to stay in school, graduate and move ahead to become successful, productive members of the communities in which they live. Due to its growth and success in the west Georgia area, a second site for 12 for Life was added at Southwire’s campus in Florence, Ala., in 2010.

“12 for Life has proven to be a gamechanger for our students,” said Scott Cowart, superintendent of Carroll County Schools. “They have the opportunity to get experience, learn job skills, earn a paycheck and have a job waiting for them when they graduate. Southwire and other local industries have a critical shortage of skilled industrial maintenance technicians, and this expansion allows our students to be trained to help meet this need. It’s a win for everyone.”

To prepare students for a future career in industrial maintenance, 12 for Life recently started offering training opportunities that cover various industrial maintenance topics, including pneumatic systems, mechanical systems, electric motors and more. Students who participate in industrial maintenance courses will receive both computer lessons and hands-on training with several machines.

“The words ‘exposure’ and ‘engagement’ come to mind when describing the purpose of 12 for Life’s Industrial Maintenance class,” said Joel Grubbs, 12 for Life site supervisor for Carroll County Schools. “In January, we started class with 15 students, and we quickly observed how eager they were to learn the skills necessary to secure a job in the field of industrial maintenance. Offering this lab to our students exposes them to that career path, and they are seeing for themselves that the technology skills they learn in the lab allow them to repair and maintain the machinery that they’re using as operators.”

To learn more about 12 for life, click here. For more information about Southwire’s commitment to its Giving Back, visit https://www.southwire.com/sustainability/giving-back.

Originally published on Illumina News Center

People unfamiliar with the world of rare diseases might assume that someone with a genetic disorder received their diagnosis at birth. Unfortunately, this is almost never the case. There are at least 250 million people worldwide (including up to 30 million in the US) living with a rare disease, and although 80% of these are genetic or have a genetic component, most will go undiagnosed for years—and some, for a lifetime.

This is the frustrating and agonizing journey commonly known as the diagnostic odyssey. In the United States, this odyssey can last up to eight years. It often involves multiple specialists, unnecessary and sometimes invasive testing, and psychological suffering for both the child and their caregivers. Despite guidelines that support genetic testing in this population, less than 8% receive any genetic tests, including the vulnerable children who are cared for in intensive care units.

Even when genetic testing is offered, it is frequently low-resolution technologies—such as chromosomal microarray or targeted gene panel tests—that have relatively low rates of diagnosis. Perhaps most problematically, these tests may be ordered serially, with each subsequent test only being ordered after the former is negative, adding complexity, time, and cost to the diagnostic odyssey.

What if, early in a patient’s journey, their health care provider ordered whole-genome sequencing (WGS) as a first-tier test for them, rather than work through an iterative process with traditional genetic tests? What if a child could receive a diagnosis in a few weeks instead of months or years? What if the doctor was able to receive information that otherwise would have completely eluded them?

A 2023 meta-analysis found that on average, 34% of patients received a diagnosis with genome sequencing, and of those patients, on average, 61% experienced a change in clinical management. Changes in management may include therapies that address the underlying cause of the disease, medications that reduce symptoms, surgical options, increased monitoring or, in some instances, the decision to proceed with palliative care.

For newborns in intensive care units, a genetic answer can mean the difference between life and death. Features associated with an undiagnosed genetic disease may be subtle or absent in infants. This presents challenges for standard genetic testing, leaving patients at risk of missing a critical window for diagnosis. Recent work by Illumina’s scientists, and its collaborators at five sites across the United States, has shown that patients who get access to WGS are twice as likely to have a change in management and are more likely to get the precision care they need to live long and healthy lives.

“The challenge has changed from ‘Can we do this?’ to ‘How do we do this at scale?’ We want as many patients as possible to have access to this technology, and we need to help doctors and administrators understand that this technology is readily available today,” says Ryan Taft, PhD, Vice President, Scientific Research at Illumina. “We’re hoping to close the awareness and education gap and accelerate access for families.”

This month, Illumina launched the microsite End the Odyssey. Its goal is to educate health care professionals treating patients with a suspected genetic disease and encourage them to consider comprehensive genetic testing with WGS when appropriate.

“We’re excited about educating health care professionals about the power of genomes, working with them to find answers for patients and restoring hope,” says Taft.

Read more on whole-genome sequencing and the diagnostic odyssey:

Bridging the diagnosis gap for Canada’s Indigenous children
Addressing the genomics education gap
Three moms move mountains to help kids with rare disorders
Working to solve rare disease and support patients
Greenwood Genetic Center: Answering the unanswered
Rarebase is on the hunt for therapeutic opportunities
How one children’s hospital is transforming care for kids in Dubai
Baby Fitz’s life-saving diagnosis through whole-genome sequencing

Do you feel a bit lost when people refer to certain environmental sustainability topics and aren’t sure where to start when it comes to learning more? Sustainability 101 is a blog series that you can turn to for information about different environmental terms that may come up at work, during discussions with friends, and even at your annual holiday gathering.

According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), climate science says we must limit warming to no more than 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels to avoid the worst impacts of climate change. And, according to the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), “In order to limit warming to 1.5°C and avoid the worst effects of climate breakdown, global emissions must be halved by 2030.” To help reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, many companies are trying to figure out what their carbon footprint is so they can start making changes.

Carbon accounting, or GHG accounting, is the process in which an organization estimates the total amount of GHG emissions that are generated through its activities within a set of boundaries. The predominant standard used to guide these estimations is the GHG Protocol Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard, first launched in 2001.The GHG Protocol establishes comprehensive global standardized frameworks to measure and manage GHG emissions from private and public sector operations, value chains and mitigation actions.

Defining and quantifying GHG emissions

GHGs were first defined in 1997, under the Kyoto Protocol, and were limited to a set of six individual GHGs or classes of GHGs: carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs), and sulphur hexafluoride (SF6). Nitrogen trifluoride (NF3) was added later for a total of seven gases that organizations following the GHG Protocol Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard report on.(1)

The defined standards set through the GHG Protocol are important because they give companies the same standard to follow when they report on emissions. This in turn makes it easier for people to compare companies’ performance.

In general, GHGs are reported in units of carbon dioxide equivalents or CO2e. CO2e is a way of combining the seven gases into one unit, by looking at their effects on our environment over 100 years. If you think of GHGs as a currency, think of CO2e as being the one currency everyone uses, and you can swap currencies based on their exchange rate or so-called “emission factors”. Emission factors allow us to convert various activity data into GHG emissions and combine them into our one unit, CO2e.

As an example, if you consumed 100 kWh of electricity, to estimate the emissions you would multiply that data by your emission factor. If we used the 2023 emission factors from the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), we would multiply the 100 kWh by 0.386 kg CO2e/kWh which means you would generate 38.6 kg CO2e.

As a reminder, emissions of organizations are classified into 3 scopes:

Scope 1: Direct emissions from operations owned by the company. Examples: Heating fuel used in company buildings, fuel use in company vehiclesScope 2: Indirect emissions from the generation of purchased electricity, steam, heating and cooling. Example: Electricity used in company buildingsScope 3: All other indirect emissions that occur in a company’s value chain. Examples: Employee business travel and commuting, supplier emissions, emissions from transportation and distribution of product, emissions from use of sold products

Prior to quantifying an organization’s GHG emissions, it’s important to understand the time boundaries reported on across the Scope 1, 2 and 3 inventory per the GHG Protocol. While Scopes 1 and 2 look at emissions from the reporting year, categories in Scope 3 can look at past, present, or future years.(2) The GHG Protocol takes a lifecycle perspective, which means for certain categories, like “Scope 3, Category 11: Use of Sold Products,” an organization accounts for all of a product’s lifetime emissions in the year it’s sold.

Estimating GHG emissions

Carbon accounting is based on estimations. In general, there are three primary methods of estimating GHG emissions: Activity based, spend based or a hybrid approach that uses both.

Activity based: Emissions are estimated by collecting primary data and multiplying the value by the relevant emission factors. Examples of primary data include energy or fuel consumed or amount of material purchased.

It can also be estimated from secondary data, which is data that is not from specific activities within a company’s value chain. Some examples include average data, proxy data or industry average data.(1)

Spend based: Emissions are estimated by determining the amount of money spent on an activity and multiplying the value by the relevant secondary data emission factors. Emissions factors can be from an environmentally-extended input output (EEIO) database, or they can be more supplier specific, based on reported emissions and revenue information. (1)

Hybrid: Emissions are estimated by first following the activity-based approach and then using the spend based approach if there are gaps. This increases the coverage of the potential in-scope emissions sources. (1)

Improving our data

One of the goals of GHG accounting is to use primary data as much as possible, but it’s not always easy to access that data. For Scope 1 and 2, primary data is typically available, but in Scope 3, an organization is often reliant on secondary data. This can be a challenge when trying to understand how various investments or design choices are helping to reduce GHG emissions.

Cisco has set a goal to reach net zero GHG emissions across our value chain (Scopes 1, 2, and 3) by 2040, and we have also identified two near-term targets on the way to that larger goal. We are continually working to improve our data, provide accurate emissions estimates and drive GHG emission reductions.

Information regarding Cisco’s environmental, social, and governance (ESG) initiatives, goals and commitments, our latest impact, as well as policies and additional disclosures for specialized audiences, can be found in our 2022 Cisco Purpose Report and supplemental information in our ESG Reporting Hub.

1 https://ghgprotocol.org/sites/default/files/standards/Scope3_Calculation_Guidance_0.pdf (pg. 14, 17, 21)

2 https://ghgprotocol.org/sites/default/files/standards/Corporate-Value-Chain-Accounting-Reporing-Standard_041613_2.pdf (pg. 33)

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