Tag: 3BL

International Paper, in partnership with The Global FoodBanking Network and Feeding America ®, believes everyone should have access to the wholesome, nutritious food needed to live a healthy life. IP is proud to partner with GFN and Feeding America to bring attention to the challenges of hunger and food waste during International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste (IDAFLW), which was held on September 29, and World Food Day (WFD) on October 16.

Since 2020, IP has contributed more than $3.6 million and thousands of boxes collectively to GFN and Feeding America. Through the Feeding America network of local food banks, IP has supported family hunger and disaster relief programs in the U.S. and IP’s employees have volunteered during packing events in local communities. With GFN, IP has provided grants to increase the reach of child hunger programs globally. IP supports GFN networks where IP operates in Canada, Chile, Italy, Mexico, Poland and Spain. In Belgium, IP is hosting an ongoing drive to collect food and supplies to support those in Brussels without housing. Together with support from IP and others, food programs served 81 million people around the world in 2022[1].

Food security means having access to affordable, nutritious and culturally appropriate food. That’s why GFN and Feeding America focus on supporting community-led solutions. More than 735[2] million people across the globe face hunger, meanwhile one-third of all produced food is lost or wasted. It doesn’t have to be this way, and locally run food banks can help.

Community-led solutions within the food banking system unite food banks, pantries and people facing hunger to allow for smooth recovery, redistribution and response. Last year, both Feeding America and GFN combined to rescue nearly 4 billion pounds of groceries that were either lost before the market or wasted at the consumer and retail level[3]. The recovered foods went straight to people experiencing food insecurity through their food banking partners. With the resources provided by IP, the two organizations can help safely package and redistribute surplus food to food banks or responsibly redirect expired food that is still safe for consumption to more sustainable options by recovering loss and waste.

International Paper’s Vision 2030 is aligned with the global priorities of the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). Both International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste, observed on September 29, and World Food Day, celebrated on October 16, stem from the United Nations and continue to support goals for zero hunger (SDG 2) and responsible consumption and production (SDG 12).

Customers can rely on IP to deliver sustainable, dependable and innovative packaging solutions that protect and transport foods. Packaging solutions, such as the leak-resistant bliss box, can help prevent food loss before it reaches the consumer. To read more about the benefits of this innovative design, click here.

To learn more about how IP addresses critical needs in the communities where our employees live and work, click here.

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.

[1] Hunger in America | Feeding America and Network Activity Report 2022 | The Global FoodBanking Network

[2] State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2023 report

[3] How Food Banks Reduce Food Loss and Waste | The Global FoodBanking Network and Food Waste in America | Feeding America

The Sappi group delivered historical financial performance in fiscal 2022. The group reported earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of $1,339 million (18% of sales), up from $532 million (10% of sales) last year, while SNA reported EBITDA of $464 million (21% of sales), up from $209 million (12% of sales). SNA’s EBITDA improvement had a direct impact on return on net operating assets (RONOA), which increased from 8.1% to 28.1%. The RONOA growth demonstrates that we have successfully diversified and transformed our business by making strategically sound investments and then delivering returns on those investments.

SNA’s exceptional financial performance reflected the additive impact of both favorable market conditions and execution excellence throughout the organization. Margins expanded across all three of our business segments, driven by strong demand, successful mix management, continued price realization and well-managed operational performance. Together, these positives helped offset increasing inflationary pressures in all areas and the impacts of global supply chain disruptions.

Our packaging and specialities business continued to grow in fiscal 2022, driven by increasing demand for our paperboard and LusterCote products. Our asset flexibility allowed us to shift more production capacity toward the packaging papers business to meet this demand. Despite the continued decline in the overall graphic papers market, we remain steadfastly committed to our graphic papers business and to our customers who value print, and graphic papers remained a key profit contributor. Our pulp business benefited from record high selling prices and was also a key profit contributor.

Looking ahead to 2023 

As we look to 2023 and beyond, we are confident we are well positioned for future prosperity and that our strong financial performance will continue. We remain relentlessly focused on commercial and operational excellence, maximizing the returns on the strategic investments we have already made, while simultaneously investing for the future in high-growth opportunities.

“Our record financial performance reflects the culmination of our business transformation of the past few years combined with both favorable market conditions and strong organizational execution,” says Annette Luchene, Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. “It’s critical for SNA to maintain our strategic momentum and continue to execute our long-term plan while carefully managing rapidly changing business conditions. We remain always focused on delivering Sappi’s Thrive25 strategy and goals.”

International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste reminds us of the sobering fact that an estimated 17 percent of total global food production is wasted (according to the United Nations). Today is a challenge for all of us to stop food loss and waste.

One way to stop waste is to leverage all parts of animals and plants that may otherwise go to the landfill. From celery stalks to imperfect bananas – like those used to create NuBana™ Green Banana Powder – Griffith Foods strives to curb food loss and waste.

Griffith Foods

At Griffith Foods, our purpose defines who we are, what we do, and why we exist, highlighting what makes us distinct and authentic in the marketplace. We help our partners meet the evolving needs and desires of consumers in ways that respect and sustain the planet. Our care and creativity mean we’ll find the right mix of global reach and local impact to serve the earth and nourish all of us who call it home.

Our Sustainability Platform of People, Planet, and Performance guides how we behave, conduct business, and treat people, ensuring that everything we do leads to responsible growth for our entire ecosystem.

People
We take care of our employees and the communities in which we do business.

Planet
We all share one Earth, and we take environmental action to responsibly care for it. 

Performance
We operate ethically and strategically to create a positive impact for our business and for all of those with whom we interact.

View original content here.

Alibaba Cloud is turning the Hangzhou Asian Games greener and more inclusive with AI-powered tools, the cloud computing company said on Thursday.

The company launched a sustainability web application to encourage eco-friendly behavior inside the three Asian Games’ villages and a sign language interpreter to help individuals with hearing impairments access the Asian Para Games.

The Asian Games, between Sept. 23 and Oct. 8, as well as the Asian Para Games in the last week of October, are held in Hangzhou this year, home to Alibaba Cloud’s headquarters.

“Cloud-based technology helps drive the sustainable and inclusive development of the Asian Games. We want to leverage the power of technology, in collaboration with our partners, to drive more individuals to participate in our efforts to make the Games greener and more accessible to all,” said Jingren Zhou, Alibaba Cloud Intelligence’s Chief Technology Officer.

The sustainability web application has built up an incentive mechanism that rewards athletes, reporters and staff inside the Asian Games’ villages for more environmentally friendly behavior.

Across the Asian Games’ villages, participants can scan a QR code to record their low-carbon activities in the web application, ranging from not using plastic bags at supermarkets, to taking a photo of their clean plates at the dining hall to reduce food waste. They can accumulate the points and redeem them for limited-edition Asian-Games-themed pins and low-carbon products.

Consumption-based emissions from the production of goods and services and household activities contributed around 53% of carbon dioxide emissions in China in 2019, according to research [in Chinese] from the Chinese Academy of Sciences published in 2021.

Alibaba Cloud also deployed its sustainability platform Energy Expert to help cut emissions in the production of Asian Games-licensed products and the daily operations of stores inside the Asian Games’ villages.

For example, the AI-powered platform helped optimize the carbon footprint of the Hangzhou Asian Games’ mascots through its prebuilt calculation model leveraging public emission factors, datasets and proprietary datasets.

By advising the factories to increase the use of solar power and adopt more eco-friendly designs, Energy Expert helped slash one of the three mascots’ carbon footprint by 0.15 kg per item.

“Alibaba Cloud has proven expertise in supporting organizations and sports events’ sustainability initiatives with digital technology,” said William Xiong, Vice President of Alibaba Cloud Intelligence and General Manager of Enterprise Service Cloud.

The web application has attracted over 310,000 visits to participate in low-carbon activities across the Asian Games villages, and it has recorded over 7 tons of carbon reduction through the activities since the opening of the Asian Games villages on September 16.

Sign Language Avatars

To help hearing-impaired individuals access the Asian Para Games, Alibaba Cloud rolled out a digital avatar named Xiaomo to facilitate two-way translation between sign language and Chinese spoken language.

Individuals with a hearing impairment can access the digital avatar on a mini-app on payment platform Alipay. Powered by a visual recognition algorithm and motion-tracking technology, the digital avatar can capture sign language and translate it into the spoken word with a language translation model.

The digital avatar can also translate speech into sign language, driven by a deep neural network. It builds on a Chinese sign-language translation dataset that Alibaba Cloud compiled over two years. It contains 25,000 signs gathered and annotated from sign-language practitioners and hard-of-hearing people across China’s Zhejiang province.

During the Asian Para Games in Hangzhou, participants with hearing loss can tap the mini-app to communicate with volunteers to ask for assistance, for example when asking for directions, medical aid, or shopping for daily necessities.

Alibaba Cloud said the digital avatar also has the potential for use beyond the Asian Games, including assisting individuals with hearing impairments to address their needs in public services, such as for medical aid, legal assistance and banking services.

According to the World Health Organization, there’re over 1.5 billion people, accounting for nearly 20% of the global population, with hearing loss.

Please refer to https://www.alizila.com/esg/ for additional information about Alibaba’s sustainability efforts. 

View original content here.

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

Matthew Coghlan| Financial Sector Engagement Manager—Walk Free

Climate change is traditionally regarded as an environmental issue. But climate change also threatens human rights, with material implications for investors.

Climate change is one of the most pressing challenges of our time, but it’s often seen as strictly an environmental cause. We believe that needs to change. That’s because climate change is also a human rights issue that threatens everyone’s lives and livelihoods, while putting the most vulnerable people at risk of human trafficking and modern slavery.

What’s more, neglecting to account for climate-related modern slavery threats may present material financial risks to investors. AllianceBernstein recently partnered with Walk Free, an international human rights group working to accelerate the end of all forms of modern slavery, on a report, Bridging ESG Silos: The Intersection of Climate Change and Modern Slavery, that explores climate-related modern slavery risks in depth.

Making the Climate Connection to Human Rights 

Around 50 million people were living in modern slavery on any given day in 2021. But despite this shocking figure, the connection between climate change and modern slavery isn’t well-understood. The World Bank predicts that by 2050, 216 million people will be forced to migrate within their own countries solely because of climate change. This forced migration will make them more vulnerable to the risk of human trafficking and modern slavery.

We’ve made recommendations and developed tools to help investors assess, disclose and manage climate-related modern slavery risks. The first step is to identify the risks.

Physical and Transition Risks to Human Rights

Climate change poses two primary sources of risk to human rights:

Physical risks. Acute physical risks relate to “sudden onset” events such as storms and bushfires. Chronic physical risks involve gradual long-term changes, or “slow onset” events, including drought, desertification, rising sea levels and ocean acidification.

Sudden- and slow-onset events can destroy homes, infrastructure, food and water sources, and livelihoods. People affected by severe weather events can find themselves working in poor job conditions or forced to migrate in search of new work. This increases their susceptibility to human traffickers and can also result in labor exploitation.

Transition risks. The shift from high-carbon fossil fuels to decarbonized, renewable energy sources creates two types of transition risk:

Phasing out fossil fuels can affect workers who either lack the skills for the green economy or are not in the right location. This increases their vulnerability to poor working conditions and human trafficking.Phasing in renewable energy can create human rights risks in the project-implementation and supply chain stages, such as land acquisition, resource extraction, material processing and equipment manufacturing. Examples include reported practices of child labor in cobalt mining and forced labor in polysilicon production.

Climate-related modern slavery and human rights risks can also create risks to businesses and investors. These include legal risks (running afoul of modern slavery disclosure law or human rights due diligence), reputational risks (harming a brand by falling short of client, shareholder and customer expectations) and operational risks (destabilizing a company’s operations and supply chains).

These risks can result in legal fees, fines, penalties and declining shareholder value—and could divert resources from a firm’s core business activities (Display).

Of course, the transition to renewable energy also presents opportunities to improve economic and social outcomes. Related technological innovations can help communities adapt better to weather events, while creating clean energy jobs and opening new avenues for economic development. But the transition is bumpy—particularly in emerging markets where the vulnerability of fossil fuel industry workers might be greater—and investors should be aware of the risks.

Climate Change and Human Rights Risks: Real-World Examples

To put human rights risks from climate change into context, consider two real-world case studies, one related to physical risk and the other to transition risk.

Case Study: Super Typhoon Haiyan

Super Typhoon Haiyan killed 6,300 people and displaced 4.4 million others when it struck the Philippines in November 2013. The hardest-hit region, the Eastern Visayas, was one of the country’s poorest, and its people were among the most susceptible to human trafficking. 

The super typhoon forced tens of thousands of residents to flee devastated areas, with many heading to the capital city of Manila. In the wake of the storm, reports of human trafficking surged, with 54% of surveyed villages reporting children working in dangerous conditions and 39% of villages reporting a spike in the number of child-labor cases.

Case Study: Extracting Cobalt for Renewable Energy

Cobalt is an important mineral used in lithium-ion batteries, which power the renewable-energy industry. But serious human rights violations have been reported in cobalt mining. It’s estimated that at least 35,000 children are working in cobalt mines worldwide. These mines frequently operate illegally, and miners are exposed to toxic dust, which can lead to hard-metal lung disease.

Companies that use modern slavery—either directly or indirectly—in renewable-energy supply chains could face legal consequences, including fines, penalties or lawsuits. In 2019, a US class-action lawsuit was filed against five major technology companies, alleging they knowingly benefited from the use of child labor in their cobalt supply chains. Beyond litigation risks, increased regulatory scrutiny can bring more stringent supply chain reporting requirements and audits, with severe penalties for non-compliant firms.

A Game Plan for Investors to Identify Risks

The relationship between climate change and human rights risks can be opaque. Given the high stakes, we believe that investors should take a systematic approach to identifying climate-related modern slavery risks and ensure that their due diligence includes:

Identifying whether a company’s most labor-intensive operations are located in regions susceptible to slow- and sudden-onset climate-related eventsAssessing how companies located in high-risk regions account for labor considerations, such as the risk of large-scale migration following sudden-onset climate-related events, or the risk of forced labor in renewable energy supply chainsUnderstanding how companies located in high-risk regions conduct human rights due diligence to identify modern slavery risks, and how firms work to reduce those risksExploring how companies engage and collaborate with employees, suppliers, customers and affected communities to assess and address the impact of decarbonization plans

Climate change can have complex, far-reaching human rights repercussions beyond its environmental impact. We believe that these risks can and should be an integral component of investors’ fundamental research. With awareness and tools that include relevant frameworks and supplementary metrics, investors can improve risk assessments and make better-informed capital allocation decisions.

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

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

Learn more about AB’s approach to responsibility here.

WASHINGTON, October 17, 2023 /3BL/ – Fairtrade America, the U.S. branch of Fairtrade International, today announced it is backing calls from banana producers and farm workers for fair prices and decent incomes – or banana producers risk going out of business.

In order to deliver on its promise to secure fairer prices for farmers and workers, Fairtrade recently undertook its annual public consultation and extensive cost of production study involving more than 165 farmers, traders and retailers. As an outcome, the organization updated the Fairtrade Minimum Price across 16 banana growing countries and introduced a brand-new Fairtrade Living Wage Differential.

“Price plays a critical role in creating fairer terms of trade for farmers and workers,” said Fairtrade International’s senior advisor for bananas Silvia Campos. “The price we pay for bananas at the supermarket checkout has a ripple effect all the way back up the supply chain to the workers and farmers who grow them. As the saying goes, price is everything, especially as these producers face inflated costs outside their control.”

Fairtrade is the only global standard that offers a sustainable path to living wages, living incomes and resilient banana supply chains. Only Fairtrade offers the three elements that play a crucial role in the trading of bananas: a newly-updated Fairtrade Minimum Price, a Living Wage Reference Price, and a brand-new Fairtrade Living Wage Differential. Together, these cost-focused elements are designed to make both living wages and resilient banana supply chains a reality.

“We found that banana production costs have shifted significantly in key areas,” continued Campos. “For example, wages – which account for around half of all production costs – have risen by nearly 15 percent. Fairtrade continuously monitors these changes and adjusts prices to reflect the realities of banana producers on the ground.”

Fairtrade’s unique model of minimum pricing and premium has acted as a vital safety net for banana producers since its introduction in 1996. The Fairtrade Premium alone has brought more than $259M USD in Fairtrade Premium to banana growers since 2015. Fairtrade International is the only certification in the world to have 50 percent producer governance and is proud of its farmer-centered approach to decision-making.

“This mechanism [Fairtrade] represents a significant step forward in ensuring sustainability and fairness in the banana industry, encompassing key elements such as fair labor standards, environmental sustainability and social responsibility,” said José Antonio Hidalgo, executive director of the Association of Banana Exporters of Ecuador AEBE and coordinator of the Banana Cluster of Ecuador. “The new Fairtrade mechanism establishes a Fairtrade Minimum Price that not only covers the Fairtrade Base Wage (seventy percent of the Minimum Living Wage) and labor costs, but also includes environmental and social costs, as well as those necessary to address all of the industry’s phytosanitary challenges such as sigatoka, moko and TR4 prevention. This comprehensive approach recognizes the complex nature of banana production, ensuring that producers can meet their financial obligations while achieving social and environmental sustainability.”

Fairtrade is also offering its commercial partners a package of reporting and monitoring tools and continuously updated technical data. They’ll be able to measure and visualize how their commitment to pay a fairer price is helping workers earn a living wage as well as supporting farmers and large-scale farming operation owners to pay for sustainable practices on their farms.

The comprehensive new offer reasserts the indispensable role price plays in building sustainable supply chains and reaching global sustainability goals. It also allows businesses to more directly invest in their supply chains and meet the increased demands of consumers for products that respect people and the planet.

“At Equifruit, we’ve had a 100 percent Fairtrade brand promise since day one. In order to assure fairness within our banana supply chains, it is crucial that we operate within a framework where we are not setting the rules nor marking our own progress. Fairtrade Standards are clear and minimum pricing is reviewed annually to reflect the cost of sustainable production,” shared Kim Chackal, director of sales and marketing at Equifruit. “The pricing that retailers are accustomed to is unsustainably low for banana farmers. The Fairtrade framework gives us confidence in the transparency and traceability of our business model.”

A Ripe Market for Fairtrade Bananas

Through the 2023 Fairtrade America Consumer Insights report conducted by independent insights consultancy, Globescan, Fairtrade America learned that – despite increases in the cost of living in the U.S. – nearly 80 percent of consumers who know Fairtrade are willing to pay more for a product to ensure producers are paid a fairer price and 86 percent of them trust Fairtrade.

The study also found a shift in consumer perceptions around the value of certified bananas. On average, U.S. shoppers today are willing to pay $0.60 USD more per pound for Fairtrade bananas.​ The tolerance for higher banana prices also increased from 43 percent to 66 percent in the past two years. Today, 61 percent of consumers are aware of the Fairtrade Mark, and 2 in 3 shoppers familiar with Fairtrade prefer to shop at retailers that carry certified products.

“Climate change, workers rights and living wages are more top of mind than ever for U.S. shoppers. The time is right to create meaningful change throughout the supply chain,” urged Amanda Archila, executive director of Fairtrade America. “ We are optimistic that with a continued focus on fairer prices that address the urgent needs of banana producers, we can create a banana industry that will last for years to come.”

About Fairtrade America

Fairtrade America works to rebalance trade, making it a system rooted in partnership and mutual respect rather than exploitation. It’s about businesses, shoppers, farmers and workers all working together so we can all experience the benefits of trade. Fairtrade America is the U.S. branch of Fairtrade International, the original and global leader in fair trade certification with more than 30 years of experience working for fair trading practices in more than 30 countries across the globe. A non-profit 501(c)3 organization, Fairtrade America is part of the world’s largest and most recognized fair trade certification program —part of a global movement for change. Learn more at fairtradeamerica.org, and by connecting with Fairtrade America on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.

Newsweek has included Whirlpool Corporation on its list of America’s Greenest Companies for 2024. This recognition for Whirlpool highlights the company’s continued commitment to sustainability through innovative products and efficient operations.

“We are honored to receive this recognition from Newsweek which is a testament to the company’s long standing commitment to environmental sustainability. Our employees work every day to improve life at home for our consumers by delivering products that are water and energy efficient without compromising performance,” said Pam Klyn, Whirlpool executive vice president of corporate relations and sustainability. “We take proactive steps to ensure we’re doing all we can to protect the environment in the communities where we operate and the planet as a whole.”

Whirlpool has a long history of environmental stewardship.

In 1970, the company pioneered sustainability efforts in the home appliance industry with the creation of the Internal Office of the Environment.Currently, all of Whirlpool Corporation’s large manufacturing sites have achieved Zero Waste to Landfill gold or platinum status in 2022, meaning at least 95 percent of waste from operations is recycled.Whirlpool also has invested in two wind VPPAs that match nine U.S. appliance plants’ energy needs with renewable energy, and reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 45 percent from 2016 to 2022.Sustainability innovation can be seen in products as well. Most Whirlpool Corporation dishwashers are 3 to 4 times more water-efficient than hand washing, saving over 2,500 gallons of water per home each year¹.

The company also is committed to our local communities.

Through Habitat for Humanity’s BuildBetter with Whirlpool program, 250 climate-resilient and energy-efficient homes will be built in the U.S. by the end of 2024.Looking to the future, Whirlpool has made a global commitment to reach net zero emissions in its plants and operations by 2030.

The America’s Greenest Companies 2024 ranking is based on research and analysis of publicly available sustainability data (as of July 31, 2023) of the top 952 US organizations that meet the European Union’s sustainability standards and have a minimum market capitalization of $5 billion. To create the list, Newsweek partnered with market data research firm Plant-A Insights and GIST Impact, a leading impact data and analytics provider. The companies were evaluated and scored on more than 25 parameters based on the following 4 categories: greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, water usage, waste generation, and sustainability data disclosure and commitments.

Click here to see the full list of America’s Greenest Companies in 2024.

¹Based on favorable water and energy use comparison against KitchenAid Model No. KDTM354ESS, which was compared to manual handwashing among 40 study subjects using conditions and assumptions set forth in Gabriela Y Porras et al 2020 Environ. Res. Commun. 2 021004. Assumes 215 cycles/year.

View original content here.

In celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, our Latin American Network for Diversity (LAND) employee resource group in North America hosted a keynote session featuring a panel of Latino leaders at Kimberly-Clark.

During the session, the leaders shared why bringing your authentic self to work matters and how Hispanic culture plays a role in supporting their teams and business objectives. The leaders also engaged and inspired the audience to recognize their capacity to dream big, be adaptable and resilient, learn how to recognize the benefits of cultural competency and tap into their innate optimism, all while approaching their professional lives.

A big thank you to these talented leaders for their support of our Hispanic Heritage Month celebrations!

About Kimberly-Clark Corporation
Kimberly-Clark and its trusted brands are an indispensable part of life for people in more than 175 countries. Fueled by ingenuity, creativity, and an understanding of people’s most essential needs, Kimberly-Clark is committed to its purpose of Better Care for a Better World. The company’s portfolio of brands, including Huggies, Kleenex, Scott, Kotex, Cottonelle, Poise, Depend, Andrex, Pull-Ups, GoodNites, Intimus, Neve, Plenitud, Sweety, Softex, Viva and WypAll, holds No. 1 or No. 2 share position in approximately 80 countries. Kimberly-Clark use sustainable practices that support a healthy planet, build strong communities, and ensure its business thrives for decades to come.

To keep up with the latest news and to learn more about the company’s 150-year history of innovation, visit kimberly-clark.com or follow Kimberly-Clark on Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn.

Ilonkis Lum first joined the Hispanic Organization for Leadership & Achievement (HOLA) employee resource group (ERG) to meet people outside of her team at Boston Scientific, where she’s a Senior Product Owner in the Product Information Management group. But Lum has gotten more than that out of her membership: She’s also learning how to communicate better with her colleagues, making her a stronger performer at work.

“English is not my native language,” says Lum. “When I get nervous, my accent may come out and I often speak faster in meetings. It makes it challenging for people to understand what I’m saying.”

With the support of her ERG, though, she’s picked up tips for sidestepping such language barriers. “We focus on slowing down during public speaking,” she says. “Taking a moment to reset can really help you to facilitate a meeting better and to articulate things in a better way.”

Through two recent initiatives in particular, HOLA is working to ensure that all employees at Boston Scientific have the resources they need to feel they belong, and can succeed, at the company.

Breaking down language barriers

The HOLA Coaching program was launched two years ago to help employees improve their language skills through six sessions a year with Laura Mathis, an executive communications coach. Discussion topics include speaking persuasively and how to be more concise.

The program fulfills a pressing need in the Boston Scientific community: The company has many employees who do not speak English as their first language, not only at its many sites around the world, but also in the United States.

“When English is not your first language, there can be a lot to learn about pronunciation,” says Lorena Trujillo Castillo, a packaging graphics specialist based in Heredia, Costa Rica. “Through this program, I’ve improved my presentation skills. I’ve learned that I should speak a little louder and not be afraid to show my personality in meetings.”

Each hour-long “Learning Café” held by Mathis is recorded and made available to all Boston Scientific employees. The opportunity to make a difference at the company worldwide inspired Castillo to get involved with the program beyond simply participating: In 2023, she ran the Coaching program.

“I wanted to help others whose first language is not English – not just the Latin community, but also people in regions across the globe,” she explains.

Being empowered to learn and grow

In 2022, HOLA started a mentoring program exclusively for the ERG’s group leads, who are all employee volunteers. The aim was to help them feel confident in their roles and own their paths to leadership within the company.

This year, the program has opened to all company employees, but the goal remains the same: providing people with educational seminars and mentoring to foster career growth.

In each of six sessions a year, attendees learn about a key development area – from building your brand to learning to delegate – from a Boston Scientific leader. They then split up into groups to meet with mentors who have significant experience at the company. Mentees are encouraged to continue relationships with their mentors outside of these sessions.

While the skills covered are pertinent to all employees, many of the experiences shared by company leaders have particularly resonated with the program’s Hispanic participants, says program leader and engineer Brian Luis, whether they involve dealing with imposter syndrome or determining the best next steps in their career.

“We’ve had Jeff Lemaster, vice president of VarithenaTM sales and marketing, talking about living on the border between Texas and Mexico and how that has affected his professional experiences,” says Luis. “Ebony Travis, director of Global Well-being and HR Policy, spoke of learning to own both the Black and Latina sides of her identity, including at work. This program wouldn’t be possible without our senior leaders and their willingness to reveal personal insights. It shows they really care about this company, and it makes our mentees feel not just empowered, but valued, heard and seen.”

Boston Scientific is committed to fostering a diverse, equitable and inclusive workplace where all our employees can bring their authentic selves to work and thrive personally and professionally. See our objectives and progress to date in our recently released 2022 Performance Report.

View original content here.

Originally published in Crown Holding’s 2022 Corporate Responsibility Report

As evidenced by our Twentyby30™ program objectives and progress, the manufacturing sector is critical to global sustainability and drives more environmental and social initiatives than many people realize.

Manufacturing, by nature and necessity, drives innovation. We build and utilize complex systems to transform elements into dynamic, tangible products that are used globally. The same core attributes that aid our success in product development—technological prowess, problem-solving and the drive to work smarter—make us more adept at uncovering energy and resource savings and keep us closely in tune with our operational resources and the effect those have on the environment. In addition, the sheer size of our organization means that even a small switch to a more energy-efficient or ecofriendly option can create a sizable impact, aiding global sustainability initiatives and inspiring other sectors outside of ours through our own proof points.

This often positions the manufacturing sector not only as an early adopter of sustainable solutions or opportunities for leaner operations, but as a sustainability trailblazer.

Taking on Greater Ownership

Beyond recognizing the domino effect that activity in our industry can create for others, it is imperative that we understand our own closer waves of impact. When we designed our Twentyby30™ program, we aimed to not only practice greater accountability in our own operations but to look outward and account for our interactions across the sector. As a major packaging manufacturer with global reach, we recognize the opportunity to encourage responsible behavior beyond ourselves. Through our various business units, we touch many industries and their supporting supply chains. With every product, we are one entity among a larger network of material suppliers, brand manufacturers, distributors, retail stores, consumers and recycling/waste systems, working together to advance toward a more sustainable future.

When we draw the lines of our ownership in the value chain, we consider the fact that we enable the creation of consumer goods and connect people with critical items used around the world every day. We aid brands in delivering sustainable, safe, reliable, highquality products in markets like food and beverage, household and personal care and beyond. Knowing that the packaging we manufacture will change hands several times on its way to the consumer, we must maintain strong ethical standards throughout each stage. Additionally, it is our responsibility to contribute to consumer education around their packaging decisions and interactions to foster a Circular Economy.

To learn more about Crown Holdings’s commitment to corporate responsibility, visit our sustainability webpage.

For full details about Crown Holdings’s 2022 Sustainability Report, visit here.