Tag: 3BL

Tinisha Roberts, Senior Manager for Corporate Staff Groups, Performance & Analysis, is one of our many IP team members who we owe thanks for their military service. Tinisha has worked for more than two decades with IP, and served for 12 years, ending her service as Staff Sergeant (E-6).

Tinisha says: “My military experience armed me with many skills related to managing people, dealing with conflict and managerial courage…I encourage veterans starting with IP to continue to tap into their military learnings and bring them forward where they are applicable. The leadership and training they bring to any job will help them support their team in reaching goals with structure and a ‘can do’ attitude.”

Stephanie Tindall, HR Business Partner for NAC, is one of our many IP team members who we owe thanks for their military service. Stephanie served four years in the Army in Air Defence Intelligence / S3 Operations Management Deployment Readiness. Stephanie says: “My military experience helped me learn humility in leadership, agility to make decisions and a team winning mindset,” said Stephanie. “And for those currently transitioning to civilian life, remember to be patient with yourself. Comradery is hard to find outside of your brothers and sisters in arms but those at IP will be your new family to build and grow with.”

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.

About International Paper – EMEA

In Europe, Middle East & Africa (EMEA), International Paper focuses on the production and marketing of fiber-based packaging and pulp, employing approximately 4,200 people. As a leading supplier of high-quality corrugated containers for a multitude of applications, we serve customers throughout the region from our network of two recycled containerboard mills and 23 box plants in France, Italy, Morocco, Portugal and Spain. Pulp production is centered in Gdansk, Poland. Other products available from International Paper in the region include Kraft linerboard and recycled containerboard, as well as pulp.

MIDLAND, Mich., June 12, 2023 /3BL Media/– Dow (NYSE: DOW) received 5 awards in the annual U.S. Customer Experience Awards for 2023. USCXA™, hosted by Awards International in partnership with the Customer Experience Professionals Association, celebrates America’s most outstanding customer experience initiatives and honors companies who have demonstrated exemplary service and customer-centricity.

Dow was recognized in all its nomination categories among 46 U.S. companies and over 100 entries. Dow won the overall award for top-scoring entry and a Gold Award for its Digital Transformation, as well as Gold Awards for Best use of Insight & Feedback, and Best Measurement in CX, and a Silver Award for Best B2B Customer Experience.

“It’s been a 7-year journey of unlearning old ways of doing things and relearning new ways that put customers central to how we design experiences,” said Dan Futter, Chief Commercial Officer at Dow. “We are humbled to receive these prestigious awards. They bear testament to the vision and commitment of our people to build an intentionally customer-centric system of services and behaviors, and to the entire Dow community who turn up every day trying to make it easier, more enjoyable and more effective for our customers to do business with us. We would also like to congratulate the many outstanding companies that applied for and were recognized with awards this year. They are truly inspiring!”

“These recognitions are thanks to many Dow people who had a hand in designing, building and then enhancing our CX best practices, from the early days of our journey until today,” said Riccardo Porta, director of customer experience at Dow. “Receiving external recognition for our CX efforts and results is an important milestone, one that gives us confidence we are on the right path towards achieving our ambition to be the most customer-centric materials science company in the world.”

About Dow

Dow (NYSE: DOW) combines global breadth; asset integration and scale; focused innovation and materials science expertise; leading business positions; and environmental, social and governance leadership to achieve profitable growth and help deliver a sustainable future. The Company’s ambition is to become the most innovative, customer centric, inclusive and sustainable materials science company in the world. Dow’s portfolio of plastics, industrial intermediates, coatings and silicones businesses delivers a broad range of differentiated, science-based products and solutions for its customers in high-growth market segments, such as packaging, infrastructure, mobility and consumer applications. Dow operates manufacturing sites in 31 countries and employs approximately 37,800 people. Dow delivered sales of approximately $57 billion in 2022. References to Dow or the Company mean Dow Inc. and its subsidiaries. For more information, please visit www.dow.com or follow @DowNewsroom on Twitter.

Coffee is a priority ingredient for McDonald’s, offering great opportunity to identify sustainable solutions to help positively impact our planet and supply chain. The McCafé coffee you know and love plays an important role in advancing our sustainable sourcing efforts, benefitting farming communities and supporting a deforestation-free supply chain. Thanks to incredible organizations such as Rainforest Alliance and Conservation International, we sourced 98.7% of our ground and whole coffee from sustainable and certified suppliers. Delicious AND helping the planet!

Here at McDonald’s, our purpose is to feed and foster communities. 

As the leading global foodservice retailer, we believe it’s our responsibility to make our impact on this world a positive one.

We believe in using our influence, size and reach, and engaging with McDonald’s customers, Company staff, Franchisees, suppliers and partners, as a responsible business with a positive impact on communities globally. We’re proud of the work we do to help make a difference – and will continue working to deliver progress in the communities in which we operate.

We’re driving impact by living our purpose. The actions we continue to take today across people, communities and our planet will ensure we’re building a better business and a more trusted brand for generations to come.

Responsible Sourcing 

We’re using our scale and influence to help positively impact our planet, animals and the people in our supply chain especially for our priority ingredients where we can have the greatest impact: beef, soy for chicken feed, fiber, palm oil, fish and coffee. The road between a great McDonald’s menu item and a delighted customer is long and complex. Our global supply chain spans countries, continents and industries. We approach responsible sourcing holistically, understanding that our work impacts the livelihoods of people, the health of our shared planet and the well-being of animals. We believe we must respect them all.

About McDonald’s

McDonald’s is the world’s leading global foodservice retailer with nearly 40,000 locations in over 100 countries. Approximately 95% of McDonald’s restaurants worldwide are owned and operated by independent local business owners.

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Managed by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), CORSIA requires airlines that meet certain qualifying criteria to monitor and report their emissions while also purchasing emission reduction units (from projects generated in other sectors) when these emissions exceed a predetermined baseline.

CORSIA, naturally, has a significant impact on the airlines that are subject to its requirements. However, given the high volume of emissions generated by the airline industry, CORSIA can also have a significant impact on the voluntary carbon market itself. By specifying which credits are eligible for its programme, it can offer signals to the broader carbon credit market on which credits it considers “quality” as well as where large purchases may take place in the future.

So, what is CORSIA signalling to the market and what are the impacts? And how should airlines and other carbon market participants respond?

Recent activity & expected impacts

In March, CORSIA’s Technical Advisory Body (TAB) made public its recommendations for reassessing the standards that were eligible under CORSIA’s pilot phase to decide whether or not they would be eligible under CORSIA’s first phase.

Upon the adoption of the TAB’s recommendations by the ICAO Council, Winrock International’s American Carbon Registry (ACR) and Architecture for REDD+ Transactions (ART) were both approved to supply credits for the first phase, with no project-type exclusions. Meanwhile, the Climate Action Reserve (CAR), the Global Carbon Council (GCC), the Gold Standard, and Verra’s VCS programme were only conditionally approved. Lastly, although previously approved under the Pilot Phase, CDM was not deemed eligible to supply credits for Phase I.

Additionally (pending future decisions by the ICAO Council), only credits with 2021 vintages and above, accompanied by a corresponding adjustment, will be eligible for this phase of the programme. A corresponding adjustment is a mechanism under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement that ensures emission reductions are not double counted. Countries that are seeking to achieve their Paris Agreement greenhouse gas emission reduction pledge may have activities which generate credits that could be sold under CORSIA. However, if the same credit were to be counted toward a country’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) and used to achieve compliance with CORSIA, the credit would have been double counted. The corresponding adjustment mechanism ensures that the allocation of these credits aligns with on-the-ground activity and sales, increasing integrity in the market. At the time of publishing, it is critical to note that no correspondingly adjusted credits currently exist in the market; many governments, however, are putting in place the procedures and infrastructure to be able to execute corresponding adjustments.

In addition to this reassessment, in the coming months TAB will also be assessing any new applications for standards that hadn’t already been approved to supply credits to the first phase. This fall, the ICAO Council will formally consider the recommendations from the TAB following its assessment of new credit standard applications (whereas the review and recommendation of units approved under the Pilot Phase needs no further approval from ICAO).

TAB’s recommendations and the ICAO Council’s review will have a significant influence on the market. First, it will drive up demand for the credits available under the approved standards as, in phases one and two of CORSIA, airlines will be expected to purchase them in large volumes. Additionally, it may signal to non-airline buyers that these are considered “best-in-class” and drive up demand from non-airline credit purchasers too. While in the short term, this will only affect the credits currently available on the market under these standards, as post credits with post-2021 reductions, we can also expect the same drive in demand for those credits as well. (That said, it is worth noting that there are certain credits that are considered high-quality, such as some ICROA endorsed credits, that are not accepted under CORSIA’s because they haven’t applied for eligibility.)

What does this mean for airlines?

Airlines gearing up for the upcoming CORSIA phases should consider structuring their credit strategy around these TAB recommendations and timelines in order to ensure compliance. Not only are airlines expected to make CORSIA-compliant purchases, they must do so in line with CORSIA true-up deadlines.

For compliance with CORSIA’s pilot phase (2021–2023), airlines don’t need to demonstrate compliance until 31 January 2025. For phase I (2024–2026), this deadline is 31 January 2028.. Given that airlines will need to procure large volumes of eligible credits to meet these deadlines, and that demand will be very high as a result, they should aim to purchase credits well in advance of the cut-off dates to avoid procurement risk.

Given the multi-year obligations of CORSIA requirements, airlines may consider multi-year purchasing agreements (such as a fill-order) to secure their credits. If such a deal spans the reporting obligations of the pilot phase and phase I, airlines should make sure that the standards included in the purchase are aligned with both phases. Under such an approach, it should be noted that despite the CAR, the GCC, the GS, and the VCS only being conditionally approved for phase I, it is likely that they will receive full approval.

That said, it is essential to note that credits that meet the criteria of post-2021 reductions are not currently on the market. While airlines are still able to meet pilot phase purchasing requirements under the agreed standards, they will need to wait for credits eligible for phase I to hit the market. Any fill orders or multi-year deals should be structured with these considerations in mind, and those specifications should be included for the qualifying years.

For effective implementation of any credit purchasing strategy, communication and internal education will be essential. Especially given the nuances of phase I unit availability, airlines will need to communicate expectations to their teams that there will be delays on when these credits become available. Specifically, it is not likely that these credits will be available in a meaningful volume until 2024 at the earliest. Additionally, it is important to note that CORSIA eligibility rules will drive up demand for these credits, which may also increase prices for these units. Airlines should plan to appropriately budget for these increases well in advance.

What does this mean for non-airline credit buyers?

Even though this is a programme aimed at airlines, non-airline credit buyers will also be influenced by these activities. As airlines rush to snap up these credits, demand will increase for these units on an already limited market. Furthermore, players in the voluntary market may see TAB recommendations as an indicator of what is considered “quality”, further driving up demand for CORSIA-eligible credits, as well as the price of such units.

If an entity has structured a carbon strategy that includes CORSIA-eligible credit types, it would be prudent for them to keep an eye on these expected market forces so that they can plan accordingly (adjusting budgetary expectations, communicating updates to stakeholders, and procuring credits well in advance of true-up deadlines).

That said, as mentioned there are quality*-certified credits not considered eligible under CORSIA. In fact, in its recently released guidance on its Core Carbon Principles the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market (ICVCM) noted that, while CORSIA-eligible credits already meet some of its qualifications, CORSIA credits will still need to demonstrate compliance with certain requirements.

Balancing a carbon portfolio with quality non-CORSIA-eligible credits (e.g. Plan Vivo or Puro.earth issued credits) in a portfolio can help buyers weather the budgetary and availability impacts of CORSIA. Namely, planning for the purchase of such credits can enable a buyer to more reliably predict availability and be less affected by price fluctuations.

Similarly, stakeholders for non-airline buyers may have identified CORSIA-eligible credits as a priority for their portfolio for a variety of reasons (e.g. they appreciate the branding, they desired the credits for other reasons but they also happen to be CORSIA-eligible, etc.) If this is the case, strategies may be employed to soften the aforementioned impacts of CORSIA. As mentioned, CORSIA credits may be assessed** under the ICVCM Core Carbon Principles. CORSIA credits that align with the Core Carbon Principles are likely to be more in demand as they have received this additional label. As a result, this may potentially decrease their availability and increase their price. If a buyer is looking to include CORSIA credits in their portfolio – for whatever reason – then proactively procuring these credits while they are still being assessed by ICVCM could help prevent the impacts on demand that alignment with the principles may have. This is especially the case given that ICVCM is still relatively new – we don’t currently know how selective it will be when it comes to CORSIA credits and how it will inform the discussion on credit quality.

Ultimately, credit buyers should have a discussion with their key stakeholders on how they view CORSIA and what it signals to the market about credit quality. Entities with stakeholders who take cues from CORSIA on what to buy should get ahead of the market, and avoid purchasing CDM credits to align with stakeholder preferences. Stakeholders that have a less rigid view on CORSIA signalling should consider increasing the amount of non-CORSIA eligible credits in their portfolio to limit procurement risk.

Final thoughts

We can expect to see shifts in the credit market as these TAB recommendations take hold, and both airline and non-airline credit buyers will be affected by the impacts this guidance has on the market. For further support on navigating this market, or aligning with CORSIA in the long term, reach out to South Pole’s bespoke carbon credit advisory team, or book onto one of our CORSIA workshops.

*South Pole considers standards that are ICROA-endorsed to be considered best-in-class.

**The ICVCM Core Carbon Principles are still relatively new. As the initiative is rolled out, more information will become available on how stringent the framework is and how often CORSIA credits are aligned under the framework.

With this year’s launch of Arrio™, Sappi has created a decorative laminate surface solution that delivers remarkable aesthetics, premium haptics, and scratch and fingerprint resistance for high-wear surfaces. Sappi is the only company that provides high-fidelity, 100% replicated textured finished surfaces that are now available in a flat surface, but will ultimately expand to include a 3D texture library. 

With its durable acrylic surface, Arrio provides extraordinarily detailed, realistic finished surfaces that will eventually support multiple textures and decor colors, gloss effects, varying depths and visible contrast. Sappi’s high-precision manufacturing process generates the exact same surface finish over time without variation or loss of definition. Arrio, which offers a superior surface to conventional melamine in aesthetics and performance, is a perfect solution for decorative and functional surfaces on furniture, work surfaces, kitchen cabinetry and more.

“We are excited to introduce Arrio, which is not a mold that imparts texture, but is the actual finished surface,” says Mark Hittie, Director of Release Business Strategy. “Arrio comes from Sappi’s spirit and core competence: we make texture, we drive texture. It’s another example of Sappi delivering a high-quality and innovative product that outperforms traditional options, reduces cost and opens up a range of possibilities for consumers. We’re also proud that Sappi created Arrio with sustainability in mind. The durable acrylic surface extends product lifetime and does not require application or removal of protective film layers, thus reducing manufacturing costs and waste.” 

Sappi’s forward-looking products and textures continue to leverage state-of-the-art technology from its Westbrook Mill in Maine. Sappi has been at the forefront of technological innovation and evolution in the release paper industry with nearly 80 years of experience creating textures.

Unlike surfaces produced with an excimer process, Arrio will offer a uniquely customizable surface texture, including various flat finishes and textures with multiple gloss levels, such as wood or stone designs. The manufacturing process provides 100% consistency, order to order, in texture, gloss, touch and function. Arrio provides a superior solution over existing concepts because of its endless potential for customization. It also provides superior haptics, including super matte, smooth touch and high-color intensity surfaces, and it is suitable for single-radius wrapping applications. 

Arrio also offers significantly lower investment costs for glued and pressed finished surfaces due to manufacturers’ savings and efficiencies in the handling, shipping and layup processes. Offered initially in a super-matte, fingerprint-resistant and soft-touch texture called Matte Haven on black decor, the Arrio platform will continue to develop with the future addition of texture and decor color options.

At Viatris, we believe that access is incredibly personal. It is fundamental to our mission and a universal need and right, especially important in challenging times.

Given Viatris’ unique portfolio and footprint, we touch all of life’s moments, from birth to end of life, acute conditions and chronic diseases. We see across multiple therapeutic areas to people at the center of their own unique health journey. We are focused on meeting individual needs, whether with a generic medicine, an improved version of an existing medicine or a truly novel therapeutic solution.

We provide medicines on the WHO Essential Medicines List (EML) and the WHO Prequalification List (PreQ), which are important components of scaling access. Essential medicines are those that satisfy the priority health care needs of a population. They can save lives, reduce suffering and improve health. They are selected considering disease prevalence and public health relevance, evidence of efficacy and safety and comparative cost-effectiveness. They are intended to be available in functioning health systems at all times, in appropriate dosage forms, of assured quality and at prices individuals and health systems can afford. The PreQ list allows for U.N. and other multilateral donor procurement, as well as accelerated registration processes in low- and lower-middle income countries.

We go beyond developing, making and distributing highquality medicines. With the needs of people at the heart of what we do, we work to help find solutions that support resilient health systems. We have designed our global operations and supply chain to be a reliable and flexible partner for access across the world, constantly adapting to an ever-evolving landscape.

We pursue holistic approaches to prevention, diagnosis, treatment and disease management. We work to build public health awareness, to support and implement research, to deliver access to health education, and to advocate for public policies that advance sustainable access.

As a global healthcare company committed to truly supporting equity in access to treatment, we advocate for policies advancing efficiency of regulatory systems, creating pro-competitive policy environments and supporting longterm market viability and global supply networks. Unless continuous support for access is prioritized across all policies, limitations on access will persist.

Through global and local engagement, we seek to bring regulatory harmonization and increased effectiveness across geographies, to speed up approval procedures, product registrations and geographic expansion – all part of making quality treatment available faster and often at more affordable prices to patients across the world.

Our Portfolio and Reach in 2022: 

Served ~1 billion patients globally1Sold > 80 billion doses of medicine across > 165 countries and territoriesReached ~ 90% of low- and lower-middleincome countriesHad >250 products on the WHO EML and 62 products on the WHO PreQ ListProvided products that treat the top 10 of the WHO’s leading causes of death globallyLocally available medicines addressed at least half of the top ten local causes of death, across all country income bands, in >100 countries

Advancing On Our Initial Access and Health Goals 

We help address the challenges in preventing and treating both infectious and noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). In 2022, we set initial company-wide goals to expand access and support more resilient healthcare systems. The first goal involves combatting the global HIV/AIDS epidemic, an area in which we have made a strong impact for many years. The second goal centers on strengthening healthcare professional education and training — a vital element to building more resilient healthcare systems and addressing the burden of NCDs, which account for nearly 75% of global deaths annually.3

Our Access Goals:

Provide ARV therapy equivalent to a total of 30 million patients, including more than 2 million children living with HIV/AIDS, between 2022 and the end of 2025.

Our Progress: In 2022, we made progress toward our goal by providing treatments for approximately 8 million patients, including almost 600,000 children living with HIV/AIDS.

Impact 100 million patients via HCP education and outreach regarding prevention, diagnosis and treatment options for cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer and other important chronic conditions to improve outcomes through the NCD Academy by the end of 2025.

Our Progress: More than 19,000 individuals have an NCD Academy account, representing approximately 48.6 million patients impacted.2

Sources

1The number of patients served is an estimate calculated using internal sales data (global volume of doses sold in 2022 in all markets as aligned with IQVIA standard units), divided by estimated per patient usage, which is based on treatment dose, treatment duration, and treatment adherence as estimated by Viatris Medical Affairs based on approved label indication and instructions for use, current international guideline recommendations, and common usage in clinical practice. Patients using multiple Viatris medicines may be counted as multiple patients. Certain adjustments were applied in consideration of announced divestitures and to account for acceptable alternatives to the patient usage factors noted above, and rounded to the nearest hundred million. Estimates may be subject to reassessment.

2Patient reach calculated by multiplying the number of HCP learners by the average number of patients treated, as self-reported by HCP learners upon registering for NCD Academy. Patient reach includes unique patients as well as repeat patient encounters. As of January 2023.

3WHO HIV and AIDS Fact Sheet

View the full 2022 Sustainability Report here.

“Just as the creation of shareholder value requires performance on multiple dimensions, sustainable development is also a multidimensional challenge.” These words by Prof. Stuart Hart and Mark Milstein underscore their sustainable value framework.[i] “Yet,” they continue, “most managers frame sustainability not as a multidimensional opportunity, but rather as a one-dimensional nuisance.”

The idea of sustainable value, therefore, is to show how “the multiple challenges associated with global sustainability, seen through the appropriate business lenses, can help to identify strategies and practices which improve performance in all four quadrants of the shareholder-value framework. This, in turn, facilitates the creation of sustainable value for the firm.”

Interestingly, they begin by looking at the basic components of shareholder value, which they illustrate through a matrix with four quadrants. The two axes represent time (today versus tomorrow, i.e. the short-term versus the long term) and place (internal versus external, i.e. within the firm versus beyond the firm). This results in four distinct dimensions of performance crucial to generating shareholder value: cost and risk reduction (today, internal); reputation and legitimacy (today, external); innovation and repositioning (tomorrow, internal); and growth path and trajectory (tomorrow, external).

Hart and Milstein use the same axes as their shareholder value matrix (today-tomorrow, internal-external) to create a sustainable value matrix. By making innovation both socially inclusive and environmentally sustainable, they argue that significant business and societal value will be created. Hence, the first dimension (today, internal), driven by trends in pollution, consumption and waste, advocates the strategy of pollution prevention, by minimising waste and emissions from current facilities and operations, which in turn will reduce cost and risk.

The second strategy (today, external) is driven by civil society, transparency and connectivity. The focus is product stewardship, by engaging stakeholders and managing the full life cycle of today’s products, which will enhance reputation and legitimacy. The third strategy (tomorrow, internal), driven by market disruption, technology trends and the ecological footprint of companies, is clean technology, by developing and deploying next-generation solutions, which will accelerate innovation and repositioning.

The final strategy (tomorrow, external), driven by population changes, poverty and inequality, is called sustainability vision, by creating a shared roadmap for meeting unmet needs, resulting a growth trajectory. This links directly to Hart’s previous work on BOP markets. Hence, sustainable value is created by bringing together BOP market needs with best environmental practices. This resolves two dilemmas. The first is that only the rich can afford to be sustainable, which smacks of elitism, privilege, and even racism. And the second is that, without the billions of poor having access to sustainable options, the world (including the rich countries) will never achieve sustainability anyway.

Turning this sustainable value ideal into practical reality requires what Hart, together with Clayton Christensen, has called “The Great Leap” of driving innovation from the base of the pyramid.[ii] Others have called this “frugal innovation,” a term popularised by Navi Radjou and Jaideep Prabhu.[iii] Some trace the concept back to Mahatma Gandhi’s approach to technology in the 1930s and 1940s; others point to “frugal engineering” that was coined by Carlos Ghosn when he was joint CEO of Renault and Nissan in 2005.

For Radjou and Prabhu, they were looking for a way to describe the kind of “do more with less” innovation that they encountered in India and other emerging markets. When they asked people how they would define this frugal, flexible, inclusive innovation, they would use the Hindi word “jugaad.” The power of Hart and Millstein’s sustainable value concept is that it is not only about economic, social or environmental benefits, but all three simultaneously. When Radjou was asked in an interview how frugal innovation might do the same thing, he gave the following example of how sustainability, frugality and decentralisation work.[iv] 

One of the Fab labs in Barcelona decided to look at the issue of pollution in the city. So they conceived, designed and manufactured a device which has two components – one part has sensors which sit outside your window and pick up levels of nitrogen, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, noise and sunlight, and the other part fits into your computer so that is where the sensor sends the data through very low-energy, low-frequency radio signals. Now this data is sent through the Internet to a central server where data from other citizens who also have this device can then be processed. This data, which gives us information on the noisier parts of Barcelona or a particularly high level of carbon monoxide in the air, can then be used to lobby with the local government to make a difference.

In all cases, the idea is to creatively simplify and redesign traditionally complex, expensive products to be highly affordable. There are numerous examples, from Limbetless’s additive manufacturing personalised bionics and prosthetics, to G.E.’s hand-held ultrasound scanners. What makes sustainable value distinctive from generic frugal innovation is that it adds the environmental dimension. A good example might be the HANS Solar Briefcase and PowerPack, which emerged from billionaire Manoj Bhargava’s Stage 2 Innovations, a $100 million investment fund for sustainable development.

[i] Hart, S.L. & Milstein, M. (2003). Creating sustainable value, Academy of Management Executive, 17(2).

[ii] Hart, S.L. & Christensen, C.M. (2002). The great leap: driving innovation from the base of the global pyramid. MIT Sloan Management Review 44 (1): 51–56.

[iii] Radjou, N. & Prabhu, J. (2015). Frugal innovation: how to do more with less. London: Profile Books.

[iv] Aulbur, W. (2016). In conversation with Navi Radjou and Jaideep Prabhu. Thinkers.in, October 24.

Originally published in GoDaddy’s 2022 Sustainability Report

Talent Management

We’re fostering a culture of learning and engagement.

GoDaddy’s foundation rests upon the incredible people who devote their time, talent and energy to working here. That’s why we take a human- centered approach focused on individual, whole- person needs, and we are continually evolving.

In the remote and hybrid work environments of today, we foster employee connections and community through two of our successful employee engagement programs — the GoDaddy Fun Fund provides a budget for employees to enjoy morale-boosting opportunities for themselves and their teams. We also have Everyday Champions, our global recognition program that enables connection across our global workforce, allowing employees to recognize and celebrate their coworkers’ successes.

Awards and Honors

Comparably 2022 Awards: Best Company for Career Growth  BestCompaniesAZ: Arizona’s 2022 Most Admired Companies

Employee Feedback

At GoDaddy, we love to learn from our employees. Through GoDaddy Voice — our annual employee engagement survey — we ask employees for their feedback to understand what is working and to identify opportunities for improvement.

In 2022, we conducted GoDaddy Voice with a new vendor and survey platform. This enhanced our data quality and reporting abilities, and we are thrilled to continue to deepen our understanding of our employees’ experiences.

Our GoDaddy Voice survey elicits an exceptionally high level of employee participation, and we believe it serves as proof that our employees know we listen to them and value their input. In 2022, 86% of our employees participated in GoDaddy Voice, revealing insights such as:

90% believe colleagues treat each other with respect.84% feel comfortable being themselves at work.

Learning and Development

Learning and development at GoDaddy centers on activating the exponential power of our people. In 2022, we launched a new career action planning template, held quarterly career workshops and started a career spotlight podcast series to showcase career stories of our own employees. We believe that people should never stop learning and expanding their potential, and we strive to create relevant and impactful learning experiences to help them develop their skills, enhance their knowledge and grow their careers.

Here are a few examples from 2022:

The Care and Services Learning Summit: A summit focused on global leadership, coaching and change management 
 GoDaddy Learning Days: Two full days of learning dedicated to professional development, inclusive engagement and GoDaddy’s business 
 LinkedIn Learning: A digital library offering more than 16,000 courses covering a wide range of technical, business, software and creative topics 
 Decision Lab: A decision-making simulation dedicated to fostering better and faster decision-making to drive better outcomes and contribute to our business goals 
 Elevate: A focused yearlong leadership training program that connects GoDaddy Guides 
in Care and Services with opportunities to develop operational excellence and build leadership skill sets

Leadership Training

Strong leadership means strong teams. We offer several pathways for leaders to develop their skills, including:

New Manager Onboarding: A required four- week course for new managers to introduce the high standards required for those in GoDaddy management positions and provide resources to help them succeed 
 Manager and Leadership Development: Ongoing support through a suite of courses covering topics such as leading virtually, leading through change, giving feedback, coaching and having difficult conversations 
 Lift Manager Development Program: A six-month program for Care and Services managers to enhance key leadership traits that enable leaders to achieve great results with their team

Performance Reviews

We value transparency in all areas of our business, and that extends to both feedback 
and introspection. Our performance review process includes formal midyear and year-end reviews. At these times, employees and managers discuss goal setting, career development, and performance insights and peer feedback.

Employees are also able to evaluate their own performance via self-evaluations. From our GoDaddy Voice survey, we found that:

77% of employees indicated that they had meaningful discussions with their managers about career development.83% of employees stated they received feedback that helps to improve their performance.

A critical aspect of our performance management approach includes company-wide processes that are intended to help reduce variance in performance assessments between groups with different genders, ethnicities, socioeconomic backgrounds, ages and so on. This involves ensuring that we assess both 
the work that people complete and how they complete it in alignment with our inclusive values. It also includes focusing on action and outcomes as opposed to style and personality, ensuring consistency in feedback and offering equal evaluation time.

EMPLOYEE EDUCATION BENEFITS 
The education and advancement of our employees is important to us. We support many of our employees by sponsoring their attendance at conferences and seminars, and we provide full-time employees with up to $5,000 per year (depending on geographic location) toward approved tuition costs through our education reimbursement program.

Benefits

Compensation at GoDaddy includes a range of thoughtfully curated benefits to attract and retain top talent and to support our human-centered approach. In 2022, we selected Lyra Health/ICAS as our new global employee assistance provider. Lyra Health/ICAS provides several confidential support options, including virtual and in-person therapy, coaching and unlimited access to self-care apps to help navigate difficult topics such as stress, anxiety, depression, substance use and relationship challenges.

Additional benefits in many of our locations include:

A first-class benefits package offering comprehensive medical, dental, vision and disability plans401(k) and IRA retirement plans, with generous employer matchingAn equity plan and employee stock purchase program to promote a sense of company ownership among our employeesProfessional development opportunities and tuition supportGlobal wellness days, dedicated days for employees to disconnect and prioritize wellbeingFamily benefits, such as a day care subsidy, paid parental leave, foster care assistance, adoption assistance and fertility coverageEmployee donation matching programs and paid time off for volunteer opportunities

A full list of employee benefits can be found on our Culture web page.

EMPLOYEE MATCHING AND PAID VOLUNTEER HOURS 
On a first-come, first-served basis, each GoDaddy employee can access up to $1,500 annually to match their donations to eligible nonprofit organizations 
and/or to reward eligible nonprofit organizations $35 per hour for every hour the employee volunteers with the organization. GoDaddy also provides employees with 20 hours of paid time off annually to volunteer — and through this program, we documented more than 4,500 volunteer hours in 2022 alone.

About This Report 
Unless otherwise noted, the GoDaddy 2022 Sustainability Report outlines our environmental, social and governance (ESG) strategies, activities, progress, metrics and performance for the fiscal year that ended on December 31, 2022. This report references the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Standards and includes select Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) Standards metrics for the Internet Media and Services sector.

GoDaddy is committed to regular, transparent communication about our sustainability progress, and to that end, we will share updates on an ongoing basis through our website and will continue to publish an annual Sustainability Report.

To learn more, please read our 2022 Sustainability Report.

Originally published in FedEx’s 2023 ESG Report

This year, FedEx celebrates its 50th year of operations—and 50 years of transforming the world by connecting people and possibilities.

I am proud to have been a part of this team for more than three decades and energized by our mission to move FedEx and the world from now to next. We have always been a company of action, and we remain committed to solving problems by finding solutions that go beyond business and benefit all humanity.

In the face of today’s pressing challenges, our purpose—to connect people and possibilities— matters more than ever. Whether collaborating to combat climate change, building teams that reflect the communities we serve, or ensuring integrity in all we do, we are innovating to deliver a more vibrant, inclusive, and sustainable future for all.

The success of our efforts is built on our sound environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices, which are aligned with our company strategic focus. We have reported on our environmental and social impact since 2009 and remain steadfast in transparently sharing our progress in three areas that are central to everything we do—our principles, our planet, and our people.

Our principles

We run our business with an absolute commitment to safety, ethics, integrity, and reliability in our global operations, as well as in how we manage supply chain relationships, advocacy, data, and cybersecurity practices. Guided by the FedEx Code of Conduct and reporting channels, we maintain a culture of accountability for team members, suppliers, and customers.

Our planet 

Our commitment to acting responsibly and resourcefully also drives our efforts to reduce our carbon footprint and build a more sustainable future. We are taking bold action to tackle climate change and invest in solutions to achieve our goal of carbon neutral operations globally by 2040. We have reduced our emissions intensity on a revenue basis by nearly 50% over the last 13 years, even as our average daily package volumes grew by 142%. We are determined to make even greater progress as evidenced by our ambitious goal.

Through our Reduce, Replace, Revolutionize strategy, our investments in three critical areas —vehicle electrification, sustainable energy, and carbon sequestration—have sparked exciting advancements. We continue to expand our zerotailpipe emissions fleet in the United States with the first-ever vehicles from General Motors’ BrightDrop, and we doubled the number of electric cargo bikes in use across Europe.

We are also harnessing the unmatched power of our data insights to increase sustainability throughout the value chain. FedEx® Sustainability Insights is a revolutionary new tool developed by FedEx Dataworks that enables customers to access near real-time emissions data. The tool is designed to provide new levels of transparency to our customers and create a feedback loop for making our own operations more efficient.

Our people

One of our biggest competitive advantages is our culture. Our team members around the world are committed to the Purple Promise: “I will make every FedEx experience outstanding.”

We are focused on making FedEx an outstanding place to work by fostering a diverse and inclusive team that reflects our operations globally. Our diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) commitments are aligned with our shared culture values and guided by the absolute belief that everyone deserves to be themselves and see themselves at FedEx. To highlight one example of this belief in action, FedEx team members who identify with a minority group held 36% of U.S. management roles in FY22.

Additionally, we continue to provide opportunities for all team members to advance in their careers at FedEx. More than 33,000 frontline team members are learning new skills through our Purple Pathways program, which won the American Transportation Association DEI Change Leader Award this year. And thousands of team members are earning certificates and degrees through tuition assistance and access to free online courses.

Our efforts to provide fulfilling employment and advancement opportunities, to build community and allyship through affinity groups and resource teams, and our relentless focus on safety and wellbeing has consistently earned FedEx recognition as one of the world’s best places to work.

Where now meets next 

This is a pivotal moment for FedEx. We have spent the last 50 years developing solutions that have made the world stronger, smarter, and better. We won’t stop now. As one FedEx, continuing to do our part to build a brighter, more inclusive world will be one of our most important deliveries yet.

Read more

Making corporate reports accessible for public analysis has long been at the heart of G&A’s mission. With a new announcement from the EU, more companies than ever may be sharing their sustainability disclosures in a centralized way.

This summer, it will be 16 years since a small team of us launched Governance & Accountability Institute as a new consultancy specializing in helping clients achieve leadership in corporate sustainability and sustainable investing. Carrying on some of the work of our former crisis management consultancy, we gathered and analyzed all types of corporate reports.

Our library room had shelves bulging with full-color annual reports and special reports on topics of interest to investors and other stakeholders. A small special section we began in the early 2000s slowly filled up with reports on corporate environmental performance. The earliest of these followed the initial guidelines (G1) of the then-new Global Reporting Initiative. In 2000-02 there were at most a few dozen such “GRI Reports.”

The pace rapidly picked up and by 2010 our team was gathering a dozen or two new “ESG” or “sustainability” or “responsibility” or “corporate citizenship” reports each week. We hunted them down and featured each week’s new reports in this newsletter. The job of gathering was not easy; many companies simply published their sustainability or CSR reports with little fanfare, not even a news release.

As our database of this new type of report grew, and we shared our analysis of them, GRI invited G&A Institute to be its data partner for the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Republic of Ireland. We gathered the corporate reports published in these countries, conducted deep-dive analysis, databased the results, and shared top-line results publicly via GRI’s global database of reports. We did that for over ten years, until GRI ended its data partner program in 2020. Our internal work in gathering and analyzing corporate reports continues, however.

The universe of reports that we have gathered over the years – numbering in the thousands now – are important internal resources for the G&A team as we serve our corporate clients, especially in helping firms create their own award-winning sustainability reports that capture wide attention. We are still at it, gathering dozens of new reports every week and building superior corporate reporting and disclosure databases.

We were reminded of the absence of another central resource for corporate reports by the EU’s announcement last week that an agreement has been reached to establish an online European Single Access Point (ESAP) for all European corporate disclosures.

This is moving forward under a Capital Markets Union Action Plan to be agreed by the 27 member states of the EU, each of which has its own country-focused plan for managing reporting standards. The European corporate reports will be structured to respond to the forthcoming CSRD (Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive), the SFDR (Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation), and the EU Taxonomy Regulation.

Attorney Jon McGowan, writing about the agreement in Forbes, explains that the ESAP will be rolled out in stages, as is happening with EU regulations for expanding corporate ESG/sustainability disclosure and reporting.

In the U.S., will the Securities and Exchange Commission develop a similar system to capture and share corporate sustainability disclosures? If the SEC releases its Final Rule on corporate disclosure of climate-related financial reporting, will it similarly require all reporters to provide their published results to a central database?

McGowan posits that while the SEC rule is expected to focus on disclosures related to the sustainability actions of a publicly-traded company, with the information designed to better inform investors, the European model for capturing and sharing corporate reports could lead the way to a user-friendly interface in the U.S. as well – helping companies to share their reports broadly to their stakeholder constituencies.

We’ll be watching the European ESAP rollout of ESAP in the coming months for signals of coming changes for U.S. companies as well.

This is just the introduction of G&A’s Sustainability Highlights newsletter this week. Click here to view the full issue.