Tag: 3BL

Hello – I’m Stephanie Conzelman, Stakeholder Engagement Director with Land Betterment. We are excited to share the second interview in the series titled, “Meet the ekō Solutions Management Team.” 

This week, I met with Stetson Schaible, ekō Solutions’ General Manager.  Stetson brings his grit to work every day and said, “We are not only thinking out of the box, but we are thinking out of the planet.” He and the team at ekō Solutions are “blowing the container space out of the water.” Stetson is very proud of the team, their work ethic and dedication to work life balance which might explain why at ekō Solutions, “We do things right, safe, once and on time.” The full interview can be viewed here.

ekō Solutions, a division of Land Betterment a Certified B Corporation, is rapidly growing and now offers a full array of dwelling solutions for commercial, recreational, residential and crisis recovery using customized up-cycled shipping containers. These sustainable and energy-efficient structures combine contemporary design with practicality.

With growth it is so important to have the right team in place in order to move the Company forward in the smartest possible way. I think at the end of this 5-part video series, which will be spread out over the next several months, you will agree with us, that we have an amazing and capable team ready to bring our innovative up-cycled shipping container dwellings to market.

To learn more about ekō Solutions’ products, visit – ekosolutionsllc.com

About ekō Solutions 
ekō Solutions, a Land Betterment Company, is a sustainable development company utilizing innovative, low-cost, up-cycled shipping container structures to provide durable, high-end solutions to the building marketplace while also maintaining the ability to be utilized in a mobile environment. ekō Solutions uses innovative ecological structures to replace legacy inefficient and ineffective methods of living, growing and working. The sustainable craftsmanship of our up-cycled shipping container structures is what separates us from the alternatives. Our structures are suitable for residential, crisis recovery, commercial and recreation use. For more information visit ekosolutionsllc.com and connect with ekō Solutions on LinkedIn and Twitter.

About Land Betterment Corporation 
Land Betterment Corporation, an Indiana Benefit Corporation and Certified B Corporation, is an environmental solutions company focused on fostering a positive impact through up-cycling former coal mining and industrial sites to create sustainable community development and job creation. The Company utilizes a complete solution-based lifecycle program to restore and rehabilitate the environment and revitalize communities in need of change and opportunity. Land Betterment accomplishes this by identifying un-reclaimed, run-down and neglected coal mining and industrial sites, fixing the environment through reclamation and remediation, and then repurposing the land to support a sustainable business that serves the community. Land Betterment firmly believes that with real solutions it is possible for restoration of impacted areas to live side-by-side long term employment, while building sustainable and safe surroundings for communities and our planet. For more information visit landbetterment.com or connect with the Company on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

Contacts

Mark LaVerghetta 
Chief Governance Officer, Corporate Finance 
Land Betterment Corporation 
Phone: 317.537.0492 ext. 0 
Email: info@landbetterment.com

Stephanie Conzelman 
Stakeholder Engagement Director 
Land Betterment Corporation 
Phone: 207.205.0790 
Email: info@landbetterment.com

BOSTON, September 6, 2023 /3BL/ – Vanguard Renewables®, a leading developer of renewable energy projects, is thrilled to announce that Danone North America, a global food and beverage company, has joined the Farm Powered Strategic Alliance. This collaborative movement aims to revolutionize food waste recycling and expand renewable energy production across America. Founded in 2020 by Vanguard Renewables, Unilever, Starbucks, and Dairy Farmers of America, the Alliance has now grown to include 17 industry leaders from various sectors.

The addition of Danone to the Farm Powered Strategic Alliance marks a significant milestone in the pursuit of sustainable solutions for food waste and renewable energy. With a shared commitment to environmental stewardship, the Alliance members are pooling their expertise to drive positive change across industries.

“Danone’s decision to join the Farm Powered Strategic Alliance is a testament to their dedication to sustainability and their recognition of the urgent need to address food waste and renewable energy challenges,” said Neil H. Smith, Chief Executive Officer of Vanguard Renewables. “Together, we will accelerate the transition to a circular economy, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and enable a more sustainable future for generations to come.”

Vanguard Renewables partners with food and beverage manufacturers to recycle their inedible food waste via Farm Powered® anaerobic digestion, which converts organic waste into renewable natural gas (RNG). This RNG is then used to generate electricity, heat, and transportation fuel, reducing reliance on fossil fuels and mitigating greenhouse gas emissions. By diverting food waste from landfills and transforming it into clean energy, Vanguard Renewables is making a significant impact on the environment while also creating economic opportunities for farmers and local communities.

“We are excited to join the conversation with Vanguard Renewables and other industry leaders in the Farm Powered Strategic Alliance,” said Chris Adamo, VP of Public Affairs and Regenerative Agriculture Policy at Danone North America. “By working together, we can accelerate the understanding and adoption of sustainable practices, reduce food waste, and contribute to a more circular economy. This collaboration aligns well with the intent of our Danone Impact Journey which acts as our blueprint for defining our sustainability priorities and our transformation ambition in our value chain.”

The Farm Powered Strategic Alliance is committed to driving systemic change by promoting sustainable waste reduction and repurposing practices, expanding the supply of renewable natural gas, and supporting generational dairy farmers across America. With Danone’s membership, the Alliance gains a valuable partner with extensive experience in sustainable agriculture and a global presence.

As the Alliance continues to expand its membership, it strengthens its collective impact and paves the way for a more sustainable future. Together, these members are setting a new standard for environmental responsibility and demonstrating the power of collaboration in driving positive change.

For more information about the Farm Powered Strategic Alliance and its members, please visit www.farmpoweredalliance.org.

###

About Vanguard Renewables:

Vanguard Renewables, based in Weston, Massachusetts, is a national leader in developing food and dairy waste-to-renewable energy projects. The Company owns and operates on-farm anaerobic digester facilities in the northeast and currently operates manure-only digesters in the south and west for Dominion Energy. The Company plans to expand to more than 150 anaerobic digestion facilities by 2026. Vanguard Renewables is committed to advancing decarbonization by reducing greenhouse gas emissions from farms and food waste and supporting regenerative agriculture on partner farms through anaerobic digestion. Vanguard Renewables is a portfolio company of BlackRock Real Assets. To learn more about the Company, its energy partners, and the Farm Powered Strategic Alliance, visit www.vanguardrenewables.com. 

About Danone North America:

Danone North America is a leading global food and beverage company operating in three health-focused, fast-growing and on-trend categories: Essential Dairy & Plant-Based products, Waters and Specialized Nutrition. With a long-standing mission of bringing health through food to as many people as possible, Danone aims to inspire healthier and more sustainable eating and drinking practices while committing to achieve measurable nutritional, social, societal and environment impact. Danone has defined its Renew strategy to restore growth, competitiveness, and value creation for the long-term. With 100,000 employees, and products sold in over 120 markets, Danone generated €27.7 billion in sales in 2022. Danone’s portfolio includes leading international brands (Actimel, Activia, Alpro, Aptamil, Danette, Danio, Danonino, evian, Nutricia, Nutrilon, Volvic, among others) as well as strong local and regional brands (including Aqua, Blédina, Bonafont, Cow & Gate, Mizone, Oikos and Silk). Listed on Euronext Paris and present on the OTCQX market via an ADR (American Depositary Receipt) program, Danone is a component stock of leading sustainability indexes including the ones managed by Vigeo Eiris and Sustainalytics, as well as the Ethibel Sustainability Index, the MSCI ESG Indexes, the FTSE4Good Index Series, Bloomberg Gender Equality Index, and the Access to Nutrition Index. By 2025, Danone aims to become one of the first multinational companies to obtain global B Corp™ certification. Learn more at www.danone.com.

CAMBRIDGE, England, September 6, 2023 /3BL/ – GIST Impact, a leading impact data and analytics provider, has joined forces with the Integrated Biodiversity Assessment Tool (IBAT) Alliance to expand investor access to IBAT’s world-leading biodiversity data.

The GIST Impact-IBAT partnership comes at a time of increasing investor interest in biodiversity-themed financial products, as well as growing biodiversity reporting requirements as part of new regulations and frameworks, such as the EU’s Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR), France’s Article 29, and the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD).

The new integrated dataset, which combines IBAT’s data on protected areas, Key Biodiversity Areas and threatened species, with GIST Impact’s extensive asset-location database, will help investors better understand the proximity of corporate activities to protected areas and locations important for biodiversity, and identify those sites with the highest potential biodiversity-related impacts.

With this information, investors will be better equipped to identify and manage biodiversity-related risks and opportunities in their portfolios, as well as provide more comprehensive reporting on corporate and portfolio impacts in compliance with the recommendations of the TNFD, SFDR, Article 29 and the Partnership for Biodiversity Accounting Financials (PBAF).

Speaking on the GIST Impact-IBAT partnership, Pavan Sukhdev, CEO of GIST Impact, and former President of WWF International, said: “Nature loss is at the heart of many of our greatest problems today, from climate breakdown and water scarcity, to public health deficiencies and rural poverty. Knowing where biodiversity and ecosystems are still intact, and what we are losing and where, is essential to designing solutions, and that’s where IBAT’s extensive database is invaluable.”

Ed Ellis, Business Manager of IBAT, emphasized the importance of this collaboration in advancing sustainable investment practices, commenting: “By combining IBAT’s world-leading biodiversity data with GIST Impact’s renowned expertise in impact economics and sustainability measurement, we enhance the accessibility and usability of critical biodiversity information for financial institutions. Our partnership with GIST Impact is critical to foster credible disclosure and encourage more responsible investments that contribute to preserving and restoring nature for generations to come.”

Through GIST Impact’s platform, investors will be able to access over 1 million asset location data points, including risk and proximity analysis data for over 3,000 listed companies globally covering 58 sectors, from financial services and IT, to utilities and mining. GIST Impact plans to further expand coverage in early 2024.

IBAT was developed and is maintained by the IBAT Alliance, consisting of BirdLife International, Conservation International (CI), International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and United Nations Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC). IBAT’s data serves as the backbone for organisations whose decisions may affect critical biodiversity.

The partnership draws on GIST Impact’s historic and deep expertise in the economics of ecosystems and biodiversity (TEEB), including over 15 years of experience in measuring and valuing corporate impacts on biodiversity and nature, and CEO Pavan Sukhdev’s leadership of the seminal G8+5 commissioned TEEB report.

For more information about the collaboration between GIST Impact and IBAT, please visit www.gistimpact.com

About GIST Impact

GIST Impact is a leading impact data and analytics provider that has been measuring and quantifying corporate impacts for more than 15 years. GIST Impact’s historic and deep expertise in the economics of ecosystems and biodiversity (TEEB) enriches its clients’ knowledge of their impacts and dependencies on nature.

With a team of 100+ scientists, engineers, data scientists and ecological and environmental economists, GIST Impact codifies this experience within its market-leading impact platforms and datasets, covering 12,800+ companies with geographically precise, time-series data.

GIST Impact works with pioneering companies across all sectors and with investors representing over $8 trillion in assets under management. GIST Impact also partners with some of the world’s largest ESG data providers, business networks, and fintech platforms to enable impact measurement across global markets.

For further information about GIST Impact, please visit:

www.gistimpact.com

For media inquiries, please contact:

Alexandra Downs alexandra@gistimpact.com

About IBAT

IBAT licenses commercial access to the most globally authoritative biodiversity data datasets and derived data layers including the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™, the World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA) and the World Database of Key Biodiversity Areas (WDKBA).

The IBAT platform serves as an increasingly important interface between the private sector and biodiversity conservation, providing fast, easy, and integrated access to critical biodiversity information. By providing this access, IBAT aims to provide a robust scientific basis for risk and opportunity analysis and disclosure.

For more information about IBAT please visit:

https://www.ibat-alliance.org/

For any enquiries on IBAT please contact:

ibat@ibat-alliance.org

The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) returns next week and is set to be larger and more impactful than ever before.

The SDG Summit takes center stage at UNGA this year, a crucial gathering that occurs every four years. This year’s summit holds particular significance for many, including SAP, as it signifies the midpoint toward the 2030 target for implementing the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Adding to the prominence of the agenda is the UN Secretary-General’s assertive Climate Ambition Summit and a trio of high-level health meetings.

As SAP anticipates the start of UNGA 78, we find ourselves at a pivotal juncture in our commitment to corporate social responsibility (CSR). On September 5, 2023, global leaders will converge in New York under the theme “Rebuilding trust and reigniting global solidarity: Accelerating action on the 2030 Agenda and its SDGs toward peace, prosperity, progress, and sustainability for all.”

As a Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI) constituent, the cornerstone of SAP’s social investment strategy rests on recognizing that our responsibility transcends traditional acts of charity. Although the DJSI recognizes SAP as the industry benchmark for social responsibility, UNGA provides a platform to assess and reflect on our journey so far, and also to chart a course that truly accelerates our dedication toward empowering social innovators, nurturing future skills, and paving the way for a collaborative approach to sustainability.

In our experience, the best way to accelerate change is to be open to new approaches, For that we engage with social innovators and young leaders, and also prepare future leaders with the skills needed to be successful in this unpredictable world.

According to the Sustainable Development Report 2023, at the global level, averaging across countries, not a single SDG is currently projected to be met by 2030, with the poorest countries struggling the most. Since the outbreak of COVID-19 in 2020, the report largely attributes this stagnation in progress to societal polarization, populism, and growing geopolitical conflict. The World Bank also paints a concerning picture in this regard, as it details how the spread of COVID-19 caused the single largest annual increase in poverty rates since global poverty monitoring began, as documented in the 2022 Poverty and Shared Prosperity Report. The risks of these goals not being met are extremely concerning as they encompass far-reaching implications for the well-being of people and the planet.

SAP’s commitment spans all 17 SDGs, with a strategic focus on eight key goals:

Good Health and Well-Being (3) | Quality Education (4) |
Decent Work and Economic Growth (8) | Industry Innovation and Infrastructure (9)
Reduced Inequalities (10) | Responsible Consumption and Production (12)
Climate Action (13) | Partnerships for the Goals (17)

Sustainable partnerships — especially those focused on youth — are at the heart of us making progress in our KPIs around the UN SDGs, particularly when it comes to Quality Education.

Our partnership with UNICEF in support of Generation Unlimited (GenU) is one of our largest investments to date. As part of this partnership, SAP’s support will help expand the reach of Youth Agency Marketplace (YOMA), GenU’s signature program, in Kenya, Nigeria, the Philippines, and South Africa, equipping youth with essential skills for employment. This partnership also supports the SAP Educate to Employ initiative, aimed at educating youth in need on skills, knowledge, attitudes, and values to build their competencies for the digital economy. Since the beginning of 2023, more than 500,000 young people have been reached through different communication channels, with more than 50,000 incremental signups on YOMA. Additionally, 400 young people are being selected for training under SAP Educate to Employ.

Further to this, our long-standing partnership with the We Are Family Foundation (WAFF) also stands as a testament to our dedication to collaborative sustainability. Through WAFF’s Youth To The Table (YTTT) program, SAP contributes to inter-generational dialogues that empower young changemakers. YTTT’s role in bringing young individuals to the forefront of pivotal global discussions — including UNGA, COP, and WEF — reinforces our joint belief in fostering meaningful opportunities for youth to influence decision-making processes across sectors.

The youth delegation at UNGA 78 includes an inspiring and diverse panel of changemakers from South Africa, North Macedonia, Brazil, Ireland, the U.S., Brazil, Israel/Palestine, Nepal, and India. If you would like to assist these delegates in their efforts to build a more sustainable world, you can lend your voice to WAFF’s new study on inter-generational leadership by visiting their website. Your contributions can help to derive insights, document challenges, and define best practices for working better together.

We are hopeful you can join in alongside our collaborative partnerships. After all, they are the bedrock of our progress. UNGA 78 offers an ideal platform for greater collective sustainability efforts. By working closely with governments, NGOs, academia, and local communities, we co-create solutions that address the most pressing global challenges.

The work cannot simply last for two weeks each fall in New York City, it must be embedded into all that we do throughout the year.

As we gear up for UNGA 78, we acknowledge that our social impact journey consists of much more than symbolic gestures. It is about being catalysts of transformation, accelerating social business, fostering future skills, and nurturing collaborative sustainability.

This year’s theme of rebuilding trust and reigniting global solidarity resonates deeply with our chosen SDGs. Let us seize this opportunity to redefine the essence of CSR in the context of accelerating action, progressing toward peace and prosperity, and ensuring a sustainable future for all.

Texas Capital’s collaboration with Texas Heavenly Homes is helping to rekindle The Bottom District’s glory in south Dallas. The 126-acre project is expected to produce 400 homes, assist with economic growth and a renewed community spirit. Hear more from Dick LeBlanc, CEO of Hanover Properties, here.

About Texas Capital

Texas Capital is a full-service financial services firm that delivers customized solutions to businesses, entrepreneurs and individual customers. Founded in 1998, the firm is headquartered in Dallas with offices in Austin, Houston, San Antonio and Fort Worth, and has built a network of clients across the country. With the ability to service clients through their entire lifecycles, Texas Capital has established commercial banking, consumer banking, investment banking and wealth management capabilities. For more information, please visit www.texascapital.com.

Ensada Tractron LLC – Developer of Agribusiness recently lead a tour of a New Holland plant (a brand of CNH Industrial) in Saskatoon, Canada. Though Ensada has organized several international tours for its local farmers in Mongolia in recent years, this particular visit provided a glimpse as to how Mongolia’s agriculture sector can improve sustainable production through precision farming technologies.

More than 40 percent of the country’s grain is grown in the Selenge province. However, crop production has recently been hindered by environmental obstacles, driving a growing interest for agri-tech solutions among the Mongolian farming community.

“In Selenge, farmers face challenges due to limited rainfall and need for an efficient way to conserve water and soil. Seeing farmers here in Canada successfully combat similar issues using New Holland’s tractors, combines, and especially the precision air drills, has been inspiring. These machines enable farmers to practice no-till farming, conserving soil moisture and preventing soil erosion, both of which are critical for our farms back home,” said Batnasan Dorlig, CEO of Shuren Taria LLC, one of the visiting farmers.

At the CNH Industrial facility in Saskatoon, the group was introduced to the cutting-edge production technology behind New Holland’s precision air drills, GPS-guided tractors, soil analysis and crop monitoring technology. Renowned for implementing world-class manufacturing (WCM) processes, the New Holland Saskatoon plant also houses a ground-breaking research and development center.

“New Holland not only understands the needs of farmers but also builds top-notch machinery to fulfil those needs. The production of the air drill was extraordinary – it is truly a masterpiece of technology and engineering. I am excited about the possibility of introducing such effective tools and technologies to Mongolia,” Dorlig expressed.

Originally published by Ericsson.

The new packaging materials designed for Ericsson Remote Radio products are fully recyclable and reduce total plastic content from 20 percent to less than one percentEricsson partners with Deutsche Telekom and Swisscom for initial tests of the packaging solution, with the goal of expanding its use to more products and roll out to more customersThe project is in line with Ericsson’s sustainability strategy and contributes towards the goal of the company to achieve Net Zero across its value chain by 2040

The design team at Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC) in Stockholm has created a sustainable packaging solution for shipping Ericsson Remote Radio products, transitioning from oil-based plastics to wood fiber materials for the packaging inserts.

The goal of the sustainable packaging design project is to reduce the environmental impact of Ericsson’s packaging while securing efficiency in production, logistics and disposal as well as eliminating the risk of contributing to ocean plastic pollution.

The new inserts are fully recyclable and reduce the total plastic content of the packaging from 20 percent to less than one percent. An anti-abrasion coating applied to the wood fiber material also means Ericsson can remove the plastic bag normally used to protect the product surface. The remaining plastic content is the tape used to seal the outer package.

Designing *plastic-free packaging for heavy-duty electronic products (in this case typically weighing between 24-36kg) requires an innovative approach. Working with two suppliers, Nefab and DS Smith, Ericsson has developed two designs that incorporate the new materials while retaining the high structural integrity required to protect the product during shipping.

Mats Pellbäck Scharp, Head of Sustainability at Ericsson, says: “Packaging is part of our supply chain target of halving emissions by 2030, and removing plastics contributes to our climate and other environmental ambitions. The Ericsson design team has shown that it is possible to remove plastics from packaging for complex and heavy telecom gear while maintaining essential product protection.”

Saskia Günther, Head of Corporate Responsibility, Swisscom, says: “Swisscom has ambitious climate targets and is therefore working across the entire value chain to enable reductions – including, for example, the packaging of its own products and those of our partners. Collaboration with key suppliers has a special role to play here, not only to improve our own climate footprint, but also to accelerate the transformation across the ICT industry.”

Melanie Kubin-Hardewig, Head of Corporate Responsibility at Deutsche Telekom says: “Deutsche Telekom has set ambitious circularity goals for 2030.  We focus on the entire lifecycle of our products and everything we buy from our technology suppliers. We have already taken out all single-use plastics in the packing of our own ‘T’-branded devices. The collaboration with our technology suppliers on innovative ways of sustainable packaging is therefore an essential next step.”

In addition to eliminating plastics and being fully recyclable, calculations show that the carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) impact of the new packaging from cradle to grave reaches a balanced or better result compared to existing solutions.

The global effort to reach Net Zero and new legislation and taxes on plastic packaging (initially in the EU, Canada and India) will require an industry-wide shift in the types of materials used in global supply chains.

Ericsson hopes that following the successful trials with Swisscom and Deutsche Telekom, executed by its COSMOTE subsidiary in Greece, the new packaging solution will be rolled out to more customers in the coming months, as well as expanded to cover more hardware products in the future.

The plastic-free packaging initiative is part of Ericsson’s sustainability strategy, which includes the objective to achieve Net Zero across the company’s entire value chain by 2040. Circularity is an important tool for this goal, but also in making sustainable material choices.

NOTES TO EDITORS:

*The sustainable packaging solution has 99 percent fiber-based materials, facilitating recycling and reducing plastic waste in our supply chain. The 100 percent corrugated inserts reduce the packaging size by 15 percent and 20 percent, respectively compared to conventional plastic inserts.

Originally published on Aflac Newsroom

ATLANTA, September 5, 2023 /3BL/ — NFL Hall of Fame receiver Calvin “Megatron” Johnson stopped by the Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Center of Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Friday, Sept. 1. The former Georgia Tech star was in town to help kick off Aflac’s Kickoff for a Cause game tonight at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta where the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets will face the Louisville Cardinals.

Johnson, along with Aflac U.S. President Virgil R Miller, visited with children, families and health care providers, while posing for photos and delivering Aflac ducks. He also delivered My Special Aflac Ducks® to several patients who are dealing with cancer and sickle cell disease. My Special Aflac Duck is a robotic, comforting duck that helps children 3 and over cope with cancer or blood disorders like sickle cell disease. To date, Aflac has given more than 24,000 My Special Aflac Ducks to children with cancer or sickle cell in the United States, Japan and Northern Ireland.

“Calvin Johnson is one of the most elite football players who ever played the game as well as a great ambassador for community and families going through a tough time,” Miller said. “Aflac, and the Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Center are pleased that he took time out of his day to put smiles on faces for people when they need the positive energy that he brings.”

Johnson will be available later today at the Aflac Fan Fest at Mercedes-Benz Stadium where, along with the real Aflac Duck, he will meet and greet fans, before attending the game as a guest of Aflac. Johnson, who played for the Detroit Lions, was a first ballot Hall of Fame inductee in 2021 and a College Football Hall of Fame inductee in 2018.

ABOUT AFLAC INCORPORATED

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE: AFL), a Fortune 500 company, has helped provide financial protection and peace of mind for more than 67 years to millions of policyholders and customers through its subsidiaries in the U.S. and Japan. In the U.S., Aflac is the No. 1 provider of supplemental health insurance products.1 In Japan, Aflac Life Insurance Japan is the leading provider of cancer and medical insurance policies in force. In 2021, the company became a signatory of the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI). In 2022, the company was included in the Dow Jones Sustainability North America Index for the ninth year, the World’s Most Ethical Companies by Ethisphere for the 17th consecutive year, Fortune’s World’s Most Admired Companies for the 22nd time and Bloomberg’s Gender-Equality Index for the fourth consecutive year. To find out how to get help with expenses health insurance doesn’t cover, get to know us at aflac.com or aflac.com/espanol. Investors may learn more about Aflac Incorporated and its commitment to corporate social responsibility and sustainability at investors.aflac.com under “Sustainability.”

Media contact: Jon Sullivan, 706.573.7610 or jsullivan@aflac.com 
Analyst and investor contact: David A. Young, 706.596.3264 or dyoung@aflac.com

1 LIMRA 2021 US Supplemental Health Insurance Total Market Report

Aflac | Aflac New York | WWHQ | 1932 Wynnton Road | Columbus, GA 31999

SOURCE: Aflac

This year, if needed, our mobile command center is ready to assist in restoration efforts should a tropical system hit our area. The response vehicle can operate at or near the most impacted location a disaster area, with satellite-based communications equipment giving our operations personnel a link to the outside world when oftentimes such capabilities have been knocked offline.

View the video above to tour of the Entergy mobile command center.

The mobile command center has seen field testing earlier this year following tornadoes in Mississippi and severe weather in Texas. Now, with the peak of hurricane season upon us, this mobile information-gathering platform is standing by to travel to impact zones just as soon as the winds of a landfalling storm pass through and it’s safe to begin supporting restoration efforts.

Stay informed:

Be sure to stay informed throughout the restoration process using the following resources:

Download our free Entergy app.Sign up for text alerts by texting REG to 36778.Visit the Entergy Storm Center website and View Outage page.Follow us on Twitter or Facebook.

T-Mobile is always looking for ways to make a positive impact with our network, even long before we launched the country’s first and only nationwide 5G standalone (SA) network. As the 5G era comes to fruition we’ve been busy innovating with partners across industries to bring the technologies of tomorrow into the present.

The things I’m reading on the page I can see them — and really touch them in virtual reality — so it connects the dots for me.” 

MOREHOUSE COLLEGE STUDENT

One area of innovation that I am particularly proud to be a part of is leveraging 5G to make the teaching and learning experience more accessible and immersive for students and teachers. Listening to teachers, students and schools, we’ve heard the rising excitement and need for technology incorporating extended reality (XR), like virtual and augmented reality (VR and AR), into their curriculums. To match the demand, we’ve been hard at work with our partners to integrate our 5G network into these new technologies. And the fruits of our labor are starting to ripen.

Our students reported a 92% increase in STEAM knowledge, and most said they would consider a Metaverse career. Thanks to T-Mobile’s sponsorship & Kai XR’s programming, our students know their dreams are possible.”

MERCEDES HARRIS, HOUSTON ROTARY CLUB

Now you may be wondering: “Schools have Wi-Fi, so why is 5G needed?”

When implementing XR learning programs with thousands of schools in small towns and urban areas across the country, our partners found that school Wi-Fi systems sometimes can’t handle the requirements needed to reliably run XR programs. How can students collaborate in virtual laboratories or on VR fieldtrips if the content lags due to poor connectivity? XR needs fast speeds and ultra-low latency to work as intended. And then you also need to account for the complex permission and security systems schools set up that make it difficult to connect in the first place.

5G is expanding classroom walls and allowing students to engage in programs and experience unique learning environments designed specifically to spark their interest in education. Perhaps the best part is that due to the nature of 5G, these programs can be taken practically anywhere there is a signal — and with the country’s largest and fastest 5G network — we’re uniquely positioned to reach more students across the country than ever before.

VR powered by T-Mobile 5G allows us to democratize access to visceral experiences that empower students to build connections with current and compelling problems and abstract up to math models & equations from there, rather than memorizing procedures in a sterile vacuum. With recent advances in spatial computing, we finally have the opportunity to teach STEM disciplines how they should be taught: through one’s own life experiences.”

ANURUPA GANGULY, CEO AND FOUNDER OF PRISMS VR

Here’s how the companies we are working with are helping students engage with new technologies and STEM education leveraging 5G:

Kai XR

We started working with Kai XR in 2021 when they joined the T-Mobile Accelerator program, a yearly developer cohort aimed at driving innovation with support from T-Mobile engineers and 5G connectivity.

Recently, Kai XR worked with Harris County Juvenile Detention Center in Texas to provide students with educational learning objectives using T-Mobile 5G connected devices to improve digital literacy, demystify in-demand technologies like XR, provide hands-on opportunities with emerging tech and decrease recidivism for students in the center through exposure to career pathways.

Two hundred students completed the program, with 84% expressing interest in learning more about the metaverse and advanced and emerging technologies and 95% expressing interest in a metaverse career.

Kai XR is active in schools in Georgia, California and Alabama reaching thousands of students with its learning platform. 

VictoryXR

A 2022 T-Mobile Accelerator participant, VictoryXR is active in 135 schools across the country, with 90 unique courses taught at higher education institutions. VictoryXR uses its platform to create virtual classrooms, campuses and laboratories using AR and VR headsets connected to T-Mobile 5G to provide students with unique learning environments they might otherwise not have access to.

With its virtual environments VictoryXR covers topics such as history, anatomy, chemistry and biology, opening the door for students to collaborate together in near real-time, whether that be on a virtual field trip to Egypt or analyzing a cadaver, VictoryXR paired with 5G enables entirely new classroom experiences.

It restores joy in the education system when you see student achievement increase by 11.9%. It makes you rethink what your other approaches have been in the past and why did we wait so long to do something this transformative.” 

DR. MUHSINAH MORRIS, MOREHOUSE COLLEGE

Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy

Using the VeyeZER™ GRAPH application for the Microsoft HoloLens 2 device, the Barbara Bush Foundation is pilot testing a somewhat different approach to XR learning. This solution seeks to improve adult literacy by performing a series of reading skill assessments, tracking eye movement and compiling statistics to allow practitioners to create customized learning programs for participants to improve their literacy, once again leveraging 5G to maintain low-latency and reliable connectivity.

After pilot testing the solution with adult learners at sites in Charleston, South Carolina and Albuquerque, New Mexico, the Foundation’s team—led by researchers from the University of New Mexico—has determined that this technology shows great promise. With additional refinement, it has the potential to equip educators with rapid, high-frequency access to critical, personalized data that will help learners increase their literacy levels, opening the doors to new opportunities that may not have been previously available.

Challenges associated with measuring literacy levels and progress are among the many barriers that prevent adult learners from engaging in literacy programs. By allowing for more rapid, frequent assessments of literacy skills compared to some of the more traditional, time-intensive methods, this solution has the potential to greatly reduce barriers to participation as well as support improved outcomes for the learners in adult literacy programs.”

ANDREW ROBERTS, INTERIM PRESIDENT AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, BARBARA BUSH FOUNDATION FOR FAMILY LITERACY

Prisms of Reality

Earlier this year, we shared how Prisms VR is helping close the opportunity gap in math and science for students without access to reliable internet by pairing T-Mobile 5G with its VR learning programs.

Today, Prisms VR is active in 36 states, improving student test scores, engagement and interest in STEM topics, all while delivering a superior immersive VR experience nearly impossible to perform on school Wi-Fi systems due to latency, network restrictions and bandwidth.

The future of learning

With 5G, these companies are bringing new experiences and equal learning opportunities to students across the country without needing to worry about connectivity issues. The future of the classroom has never looked more promising than it does now.

John