Tag: 3BL

Originally published by Health Tech World online

Right now, the global healthcare industry faces a worldwide staffing shortage that is roundly expected to worsen.

A combination of factors is to blame, some pandemic-related – including the tragic scale of COVID-related deaths among healthcare workers – and others structural.

In Europe, where I live, the impact of the shortage has already grown profound:

In France, 30 per cent of hospital doctors — some 9,000 specialists — are missing in the public sector. The staffing shortage is severe enough that hospitals have closed more than 4,300 beds, and at times, have been forced to stop accepting patients in non-emergency departments.In Germany, 22,000 nursing positions are vacant (compared to 3,900 positions five years ago) and 57 per cent of hospitals report having to restrict services due to staff shortages.In Spain, the shortage has meant that nurses currently treat double and sometimes triple the number of patients recommended by the European Union.

Unfortunately, the data suggests that resolution is nowhere in sight; the World Health Organization projects a worldwide workforce shortage in 2030 of some 15 million healthcare workers.

Interestingly enough, I’ve noticed that when we business leaders wring our hands over the crisis, we tend to speak about it foremost in economic terms.

Amid all the necessary business talk, I implore us to not lose sight of our true focus: the real-world impact this shortage is having on patient care.

Let me tell you about the impact on one such patient: my sister, Sylvie.

View the full original content here

Cisco hosted its first-ever Black-owned Partner and Supplier Conference in Atlanta, Georgia on April 25. Word on the street is that it was a huge success, but today I’m checking in with event organizers Tanisha Gordon-Flowers, Sr. Manager, Strategic Alliances, Cisco Capital, Ronnell Nobles, Sr. Manager, Diverse Partner Investments, Andrico Spates, Senior Manager, Global Partner Sales and Business Development, and Bryan Wiggins, Leader, Supplier Diversity, to learn more about how it went.

What were you trying to achieve with this event?

Tanisha: The intent of the conference is really to bring our black owned businesses together as a community to network, share best practices, and provide information to help strengthen their businesses.

Andrico: It was about empowering them to excel with Cisco and beyond. To strengthen their businesses and expose them to what’s possible. Not just with Cisco, but also with each other, which is something that came out of the conference.

“The intent of the conference is really to bring our black owned businesses together as a community to network, share best practices, and provide information to help strengthen their businesses.” — Tanisha Gordon Flowers

Did it meet your expectations?

Tanisha: I thought it was really exciting to watch the participants interact with each other. They were so engaged. I loved when we were in the federal session, and they were banding together as one voice to communicate some of the challenges they were encountering while working in the federal space. They voiced opinions on their experiences and shared best practices. So, I loved seeing that interaction. That was the vision I had. That they would have a space that made them feel comfortable enough to be transparent and to express themselves freely.

Ronnell: I’ll also say that part of this was to show the Cisco commitment to the Black-owned business community. This was really the first time Cisco put together an event of this magnitude just focused on this community. We brought in our executives, we brought in outside speakers, and we focused on the content that was relevant to this audience. So just getting it done the first time was a win. But it’s really the follow up conversations and actions that come out of it that will be the true measure of success.

Bryan: I want to piggyback off one thing that Tanisha said—about the attendees coming together. I wasn’t sure how it was going to work with the incumbent suppliers and aspiring suppliers. And the way that our incumbents sort of embraced and reinforced our message was really great. They were explaining the programs we have to support suppliers, sharing their experiences with them, and encouraging the other businesses to get involved. I was surprised and impressed.

Andrico: The speakers at the event talked a lot about empowerment and excelling. And I think when it comes to the empowerment piece we landed that plane successfully. Now we’re all looking forward to how we will support their success as they move into the future.

What was the most surprising thing about the event?

Tanisha: I was surprised by just how quickly everyone embraced each other. You would never know that these people just met the evening before at the networking event or that morning. I introduced one of our finance partners to one of our channel partners the morning of the conference and it turned out they had met during the networking event the night before and already had an inside joke running like they were old friends.

Ronnell: I will say one other thing that I thought was pretty cool was that the partners we’ve been working with for a while were really advocates for us, throughout. They had taken a degree of ownership of this thing and they were helping some of the newer partners understand best practices and benefits of working with Cisco.

What do you envision for next year? Is this going to happen again?

Tanisha: Absolutely. I think that not only will we have continued support from our executive team, but after hearing about this year’s event we’ll have many more partners or aspiring partners and suppliers who will want to participate next year.

Andrico: I’m hoping we can look at the actions that have been taken between the first conference and the next one. I’d love to see the companies that attended share their achievements so other companies can emulate their success. Our closing speaker emphasized “Empowerment to Action.” We will continue with the empowerment piece, but also celebrate and evaluate the action component.

Bryan: We may wind up having a beginner track next year, because there are more Black-owned businesses that need to receive empowerment messaging and tools.

Andrico: I agree. It would be great to put our partners and suppliers in the forefront of the community. It would be more impactful for the alumni to be running sessions and telling the story.

Tanisha: It was nice to see some of the more experienced partners become mentors in a way to some of the other partners. So, maybe the partners who came this year can be mentors for the next round of folks coming in.

Ronnell: I completely agree. I definitely think there was more partnering than competition at this event—even though a lot of these companies are competing in the same spaces.

“It was nice to see some of the more experienced partners become mentors in a way to some of the other partners.” — Tanisha Gordon Flowers

Any final thoughts?

Bryan: Yes. I just want to thank all the people who helped make this happen but didn’t get credit because they weren’t standing on the stage like we were. The video team, the caterers, the people managing registration. They were almost all from diverse-owned companies and they brought so much value. It takes so many moving parts to put on an event like that and they are the ones who made it happen.

View original content here.

Only 3 percent of the water on the planet is freshwater. And of that, only a half-percent is accessible to humans. The other 2.5 percent remains in polar ice caps, glaciers or underground, or is so polluted it’s useless. So, the water we have is finite, and as the population grows, this becomes a concern. In some places, it already is.

Roughly 2.2 billion people don’t have access to safe water, and nearly two-thirds of the population already face water shortages during at least one month of the year. 

“Many of the problems that we see, and we feel with water nowadays, are a consequence of the climate change that we are living in. And water is the first area where we as human beings perceive climate change so close,” said Dr. Cristina Alonso Alija SVP, Head of Sustainability, Safety, Health and Environment at Bayer. “It’s either too little water, or too much water, or water at the wrong time.”

“We know that agriculture is one of the big impacts in climate change. And usually where you have big impacts, you also have opportunities for big solutions.” – Dr. Cristina Alonso Alija, SVP, Head of Sustainability, Safety, Health and Environment at Bayer

Bayer is a partner of the “RUN BLUE” campaign led by water advocate and athlete Mina Guli. She aims to raise awareness that while human activity and population growth threaten our most foundational natural resource, there are ways that human ingenuity can help us adapt. 

Guli began running the first of her 200 marathons in the spring of 2022 in the lead-up to the United Nations water conference on World Water Day, March 22, 2023. Nearing the end of her journey, she described some concerning things she witnessed as she circled the globe. The Pantanal wetlands of South America are drier than they’ve ever been. Farmers in Turkey work around massive sinkholes that opened due to the overuse of groundwater. The women and girls of India risk their lives each day to fetch water. There is almost no place on the planet that remains untouched. 

“Climate change is water change, and climate risk is water risk,” said Mina Guli.

“Sometimes to make big, global, substantive change, you’ve got to… show people the power of what’s possible.” – Mina Guli, Water Advocate and Athlete

Agriculture uses 70 percent of available freshwater, which must change. Rice — which feeds half the world’s population — uses 30-40 percent of the planet’s freshwater. Growing a kilogram of rice takes 3,000 liters of water. The water-intensive process involves flooding paddies for weed control, but doing so creates a breeding ground for bacteria that, while harmless to the rice, produces methane gas, which harms the climate. 

Innovations such as Bayer’s direct-seeded rice offer a solution that allows planting directly on the fields without flooding the paddies. Bayer partnered with farmers in Bhauwal, India, in a direct-seeded rice program that provides a promising glimpse into the future. The project resulted in higher yields with less water and labor, meaning increased profits for farmers. 

“So, we get a very good quality of crop,” farmer Balwant Singh said.

“Sustainability embraces everything,” said Alonso Alija. “It embraces improving the planet’s health, and embraces improving people’s livelihoods. And improving people’s livelihoods means improving health, improving access to resources, and access to education. And, at the end of the day, being able to choose the life that you want to live.”

At Bayer, we’re working across the agricultural supply chain to create solutions for better water resource management and sustainability to achieve better harvests using less water. From seeds like direct-seeded rice to digital tools like Climate FieldView that help growers understand the best time and place to plant for increased efficiency, we’re committed to innovative agriculture that benefits farmers, consumers and the environment.

View original content here

The United Way of Hancock County in Ohio organized its spring Days of Caring event to bring together more than 900 volunteers to complete 100 service projects in five days.The volunteers logged 3,600 community service hours during the bi-annual event, which equates to more than $114,000 in savings for the nonprofit organizations.The United Way said the consistent level of volunteerism has allowed leaders to include smaller, home projects for residents in need of support through Backyard Mission Trip.

The annual United Way spring Days of Caring event in Hancock County, Ohio, home to Marathon Petroleum’s headquarters, featured another outstanding show of volunteers from the community. There were 900 volunteers working on more than 100 projects during the five-day event. From Awakening Minds Art to the YMCA, organizations benefited from the mass of people ready to work.

“Our extensive network of employee volunteers accounted for 750 of the people who gave their time to these projects this spring,” said Ashley Goecke, Advanced Community and Stakeholder Engagement Representative for Marathon Petroleum. “This is an event that employees look forward to and get excited about doing.”

United Way leaders said the consistent number of volunteers who signed up for the spring Days of Caring and the fall 2022 event has allowed them to include more organizations and more projects, including some for residents through Backyard Mission Trip. This spring, volunteers assembled a gazebo for City Mission of Findlay, washed windows at the Women’s Resource Center, landscaped at the American Red Cross and spread mulch for the City of Findlay. Members of Marathon Petroleum’s Audit Assurance & Advisory Services department volunteered four hours at the Challenged Champions Equestrian Center painting fences and barns.

“Our team laughed and learned about each other while giving back to a great organization.”

“We had a fun experience volunteering and learning about the great things Challenged Champions is doing for families and the community,” said ShaJuan Grace, Advanced Internal Control Auditor at Marathon Petroleum and Findlay Community Action Team Lead. “Our team laughed and learned about each other while giving back to a great organization. We look forward to participating in Days of Caring opportunities in the future.

More Opportunities

The United Way said the Days of Caring events provide a sampling of ways to get involved in the community, but volunteers can take it to another level to make a bigger impact in the community.

“Maybe you want to take a deeper step. Maybe you want to participate on a board or a committee,” said Angela DeBoskey, CEO of  United Way of Hancock County. “Maybe you want to be involved in helping vulnerable children. We can help you find that niche. Just connect with us.”

The United Way of Hancock County is planning the fall Days of Caring for Sept. 18-20. There will be a separate registration later this year for those interested in volunteering.

For more information, contact the United Way of Hancock County.

Did you know that 99% of the global population is breathing unhealthy air? What if it didn’t have to be that way? We believe that the relationship between human health and planetary health is so intertwined that it’s impossible to talk about one without the other. 

Welcome to Season 3 of the Healthy Spaces podcast with Trane Technologies, where we’re exploring how technology and innovation are transforming the spaces where we live, work and play. From building sustainable homes to growing and moving healthy food, we’re connecting the dots for listeners between climate tech and healthier spaces for people and the planet. We’ll talk to engineers, homebuilders, food growers and business leaders about the innovations they’re developing not only to improve comfort and health for people, but also to reduce the carbon footprint of the ecosystems we all depend on to live.

Join us to listen, learn and get inspired to create healthier spaces in your community.

June 6, 2023 /3BL Media/ -Thanks to the generous support of Fiserv, Points of Light and INFLUENCE|SG have partnered to share a new research report, Leading Locally: Small Business & Social Change. Building on Points of Light’s body of civic engagement research, this new report explores the expectations, perceptions and ways in which small businesses are taking action to support social issues and their communities. Points of Light will host a special webinar on July 19 at 1 p.m. ET to learn small business insights from Tasha Helm, director of corporate citizenship at Fiserv, and explore key findings from the new research with Derrick Feldmann, managing director of INFLUENCE|SG.

“Small business owners are an untapped resource to drive social impact and can be the key to unlocking deeper relationships with communities. While 41% of owners said they were not sure what their small business could do to help, their knowledge of the community, connections and creativity can make a deep impact locally. We hope this research brings awareness to the critical role small businesses can play in partnering with local nonprofits to create thriving and participatory societies.” — Diane Quest, interim president & CEO, Points of Light

Small business owners are often on the front lines of change, whether responding to a local disaster, supporting a local youth sports league or advocating for policies that help their community and local economy. This group is driving social change, and our research found they want to do more. With its emphasis on the public’s relationship to small business, this report spotlights the following takeaways:

The general public has high expectations of how small businesses get involved in social issues, but small business owners consistently expect even more of themselves than the general public. For instance, half the public and two-thirds of small business owners ranked speaking out as pretty important or essential.Rather than fear of customer backlash, small business owners who are not particularly involved in social issues avoid them because they do not know how to get involved or are unsure how they can make a difference. In fact, nearly half of small business owners responding to the survey felt this way.In spite of this, small businesses are positioned to have a unique influence on their communities and their customers – especially through opportunities to donate when customers make a purchase. Our research found that almost 75% of the public will make donations at the point of sale.Regardless of their involvement in social issues, the general public consider small businesses valuable. Nearly two-thirds of respondents purchased from a small business within the last month.

“Back2Business reflects our Fiserv commitment to leverage business as a force for good in communities across the country. Our investments supporting small businesses helps to strengthen communities and drive economic empowerment by providing needed resources, technology, and solutions to our clients while contributing to a diverse, inclusive ecosystem in which all small business owners can thrive.” — Vivian Greentree, SVP, head of global corporate citizenship and president of Fiserv Cares Fund

ABOUT POINTS OF LIGHT 

Points of Light is a global nonprofit organization that inspires, equips and mobilizes millions of people to take action that changes the world. We envision a world in which every individual discovers the power to make a difference, creating healthy communities in vibrant, participatory societies. Through 145 affiliates across 39 countries, and in partnership with thousands of nonprofits and corporations, Points of Light engages 3.7 million volunteers in 16.7 million hours of service each year. We bring the power of people to bear where it’s needed most. To learn more about Points of Light visit pointsoflight.org.

ABOUT INFLUENCE|SG 

INFLUENCE|SG is a global research and advisory firm focused on helping companies and causes bolster their social change initiatives by informing through new insights and guiding through strategy. We create and drive public involvement in our clients’ social change work. Learn more at isgresearchadvisors.com.

SABIC, a global leader in the chemicals industry, has released its 2022 Sustainability Report, highlighting the company’s continued efforts in driving sustainability through collaboration and innovation.

Titled “Sustainable Growth for a Better World,” the report details the progress SABIC made in 2022 toward key commitments, including advancing the circular economy, ensuring responsible chemicals management, and increasing Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) disclosures. The report reaffirms the company’s progress toward its goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050, bolstered by its continued commitment to investing in innovation and circularity despite significant economic headwinds.

Abdulrahman Al-Fageeh, SABIC CEO said, “Megatrends that have been unfolding slowly are now emerging as forces of change, affecting our industry in new ways. At SABIC, our future depends on our ability to meet the needs of tomorrow’s customers and communities. Given the pace of change and the challenges in our world, we redoubled efforts to drive innovation and collaboration in 2022 in order to maximize our contributions across the wider value chain, industry and beyond.”

He added, “SABIC is undergoing a complex transformation to ensure sustainability is at the core of everything we do, from our portfolio to our people. While we see challenges on the horizon, we remain both focused on this exciting phase of sustainability ahead and confident that SABIC is well positioned to lead the industry forward.”

Innovation for growth 
2022 was marked by SABIC’s continued commitment to sustainability-driven innovation to fuel growth. Its petrochemicals and agri-nutrients business tapped feedstock optimization to increase flexibility and competitiveness, prioritizing segment-driven and process innovation to enhance its growth opportunities, as well as its reliability, capabilities, and cost efficiencies. In its Specialties business, technology proved pivotal to creating a competitive edge and differentiation through unique market solutions.

This approach enabled SABIC to debut a series of new offerings in 2022, including BLUEHERO™, an expanding ecosystem of materials, solutions, expertise, and programs to help improve structural battery components to accelerate the world’s energy transition to electric power and address the global challenge of climate change.

Recognizing the breadth of environmental challenges facing the industry, SABIC also scaled up its efforts to uncover breakthrough solutions by joining forces with others across the value chain. SABIC launched new collaborations, including a partnership with BASF and Linde to build the world’s first demonstration plant for large-scale electrically heated steam cracker furnaces. This new technology has the potential to reduce the CO2 emissions of one of the most energy-intensive production processes in the chemical industry by at least 90% by using electricity from renewable sources instead of natural gas.

Other collaborations SABIC started in 2022 include a pilot project with technology company Finboot, advanced recycling pioneer Plastic Energy, and packaging specialist Intraplás. The collaboration explores the use of blockchain technology in supporting end-to-end digital traceability of circular feedstock in customer products.

In 2022, SABIC progressed its plans to significantly upscale volumes of its TRUCIRCLE™ circular materials globally , culminating in its announcement of a target to process one million metric tons of TRUCIRCLE™ materials annually by 2030.

Progress in the path to carbon neutrality 
In line with its Carbon Neutrality Roadmap, the 2022 report also highlights progress made against SABIC’s plans to decarbonize all owned operations across five pathways – energy efficiency; renewable energy; electrification; carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS); and green/blue hydrogen.

The report affirms that SABIC continued to lower its intensity-based performance in 2022, although its absolute emissions increased by 2% compared to 2021, as a rise in production led to a proportional increase in Scope 1 emissions. The company is set to make major headway on projects tied to energy efficiency, renewable energy, initial electrification and CCUS in the coming years, keeping it on track to meet its interim target of a 20% reduction of absolute greenhouse emissions (Scope 1 and 2) by 2030. For example, SABIC’s polycarbonate plant in Cartagena, Spain, is set to become the world’s first large-scale chemical plant to run on 100% renewable power in 2024 and reduce CO2 emissions by as much as 70KT.

Meanwhile, the other two pathways in SABIC’s Carbon Neutrality Roadmap – electrification and green/blue hydrogen – remain essential to the company’s long-term plan to become carbon neutral by 2050.  Besides SABIC’s joint development of an electric cracking furnace the company is forging industrial strategic partnerships for hydrogen hub development and off-taker agreements.

Strengthening Social Impact
Even in an economically turbulent year, SABIC continued to invest in communities around the world. In 2022, the company put US$ 28.9 million toward 124 global CSR programs in 20 countries that benefited over 160,000 people.

SABIC has significantly widened its disclosures in recent years, particularly on matters tied to governance, as detailed in its 2022 Annual Report. Reporting on the company’s environmental footprint has also grown to encompass parameters including water withdrawal, water discharge, and water consumption accounting across manufacturing sites.

Access the full report www.sabic.com or via this link.

Media Contact:
Lindsay Clarkmead, Sustainability Communications, T: +34 648 246 318

View Full Report

Originally published in Henkel’s Sustainability Report 2022

We consistently and successfully implemented our sustainability strategy once again in 2022. Here are some examples from different fields of action:

Publication of the sustainability strategy: 2030+ Sustainability Ambition Framework

Henkel further developed its sustainability strategy in 2021. In March 2022, we published the new 2030+ Sustainability Ambition Framework, in which Henkel defines additional, new ambitions, taking into account global developments. The purpose of the framework is to help make the economy and society even more sustainable in the future.

Solidarity with Ukraine

In 2022, one focus of our volunteer program and emergency aid efforts was on activities in support of Ukraine. The comprehensive aid package included a cooperation with the Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) Habitat for Humanity. In collaboration with that NGO, Henkel colleagues from all over Europe carried out a construction project to build homes for refugee families in Romania. In partnership with the Fritz Henkel Foundation, Henkel also launched an extensive solidarity program for Ukraine with a total volume of around six million euros.

10-year renewable energy contract with IGNIS

Henkel and Spanish energy company IGNIS concluded a 10-year virtual Power Purchase Agreement for the supply of renewable energy. This agreement will ensure the supply of around 200 GWh per year of renewable energy to our European sites.

Henkel CEO joins WEF Alliance of CEO Climate Leaders

Henkel CEO Carsten Knobel joined the WEF Alliance of CEO Climate Leaders. Its goal is to accelerate the transition to Net Zero and drive progress on tackling climate change.

Launch of the Sustainability at Heart program

Our training programs for employees in the area of sustainability have been expanded to include a holistic engagement program: the Sustainability at Heart program. The objective is to more comprehensively inform and empower our employees in the future and to further support our joint active engagement.

Investment in innovation fund for sustainable packaging

Henkel invested in a new fund from Emerald Technology Ventures as part of its corporate venture capital activities. The packaging fund offers access to a wide range of startups in areas ranging from material and technology innovations to recycling solutions, with the aim of driving the development of advanced materials and industrial technologies for sustainable packaging.

Increased traceability rate for palm-based raw materials

In 2022, we increased the traceability rate to the mill from 84 percent to 89 percent as part of a survey on the transparency of our supply chains for palm-based raw materials. This brings us closer to our goal of full traceability.

Relaunch of the Schauma hair care brand

Schauma brand shampoos and conditioners were relaunched in 2022. In addition to the solid pieces packaged in a recyclable folding paper box, the PE bottle bodies now consist of 50 percent recycled plastic and the PET bottle bodies consist of at least 98 percent recycled plastic. The packaging also has a reduced weight and the caps are made from 25 percent recycled plastic.

Development of our innovative and technological strengths

In 2022, the Adhesive Technologies business unit further strengthened its collaboration with customers on the topic of sustainability. We created a special platform for cross-industry exchange and the identification of effective partnerships as part of the Innovation & Sustainability Days event. Customers and partners also had the opportunity to experience the newly opened Henkel Inspiration Center in Düsseldorf, where they are able to collaborate with more than 650 Henkel experts from research and development to explore forward-looking solutions.

Learn more in Henkel’s Sustainability Report 2022

Kimberly-Clark today published its annual sustainability report, including an update on the company’s progress toward its 2030 sustainability strategy and goals. The goals address the social and environmental challenges of the next decade with a mission of improving the lives and well-being of 1 billion people in underserved and vulnerable communities around the world – while safeguarding natural systems and reducing the company’s environmental footprint by 50 percent in key areas, including plastics, forests, water and climate.

“I’m proud of what our teams around the world have accomplished in the last year and to be part of a company that has never wavered in providing care for our people, our communities and our planet since it was founded 150 years ago,” said Mike Hsu, Chairman and CEO at Kimberly-Clark. “Our 2030 sustainability goals are critical to our purpose of Better Care for a Better World, and our sights are set on achieving them.”

As Kimberly-Clark looks to the next 150 years, the company is committed to building on its legacy and providing care with the intention to be even better in the areas that deliver value to its stakeholders. It is delivering better products through innovation and the development of more sustainable solutions; supporting a better planet by being stewards of the climate and natural ecosystems; fostering a better workplace by building a culture of integrity and belonging through its commitment to inclusion, equity, diversity, well-being and human rights; and contributing to a better society by partnering with changemakers to help uplift communities.

Key highlights of the company’s 2022 results include:

Better Products: Kimberly-Clark continued to advance more sustainable solutions, including expanding its range of biodegradable baby wipes made with plant-based fibers and investing in reusable period and incontinence products. In addition, the company reached 5.1 percent of recycled content in its plastic packaging, moving Kimberly-Clark closer to its 20 percent recycled content goal for 2025.
 Better Planet: By year-end, Kimberly-Clark achieved an absolute reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of 42 percent and a 9.4 percent energy efficiency improvement versus the 2015 baseline. In addition, the company continued to address water scarcity in water-stressed locations, achieving a 42.1 percent reduction in consumption against its 2015 baseline.

Last year, more than 160 energy conservation initiatives and process and building efficiency improvements were deployed at the company’s manufacturing sites around the world, yielding approximately 36,000 MTCO2e in emissions reductions. Executed by local engineering and process teams, these projects included lighting systems retrofits, installation of heat recovery systems and higher-efficiency electrical motors, control and distribution equipment upgrades, and optimization of compressed air systems, vacuum systems, chillers, and HVAC systems.
 Better Workplace: Leading with inclusion, Kimberly-Clark is building an organization that leverages its diversity as a competitive advantage. The company is a global organization that mirrors the consumers it serves around the world.  

Board of Directors – Six of 12 directors are women, and four are ethnically diverse.  

Executive Leadership Team – 31 percent are women, and 54 percent are people of color.  
 Better Society: Kimberly-Clark’s essential and well-known brands bring its purpose to life through social impact programs designed to enhance the lives of its consumers and communities. The company’s brand-led partnerships with hospitals, educational organizations and nonprofits have helped to advance the well-being of 88.9 million people cumulatively since 2015.

This includes Huggies® Más Abrazos, an educational platform that holds new parents’ and caregivers’ hands as they navigate the unknown, from the first steps of pregnancy through the first years of their child’s life. Through free articles, podcasts and videos, Más Abrazos provides answers about pregnancy, the birthing process, feeding, attachment, child development, health and wellness, and a host of other topics. Expanded to its current robust format in 2022, the platform has reached more than 4.6 million people throughout Latin America.

“We’re committed to making lives better while safeguarding the world’s natural ecosystems and biodiversity. Kimberly-Clark’s purpose aligns our business motivations with our sustainability vision – it’s how we show up every day and do what’s right for both people and planet,” said Lisa Morden, Vice President of Safety, Sustainability and Occupational Health at Kimberly-Clark. “We are proud to partner with global NGOs and international organizations such as World Wildlife Fund (WWF), Plan International, WaterAid and UNICEF to strengthen communities by supporting sustainable practices and reducing barriers that limit accessibility to proper health, hygiene, education and sanitation.”

This year marks 23 years of partnership between Kimberly-Clark, the Kimberly-Clark Foundation and UNICEF. In 2022, Kimberly-Clark expanded its partnership to support UNICEF’s newborn health and early childhood development program in China, with a goal to reach more than 14 million newborns, children, and caregivers. The program will support initiatives to improve maternal and child health and development outcomes by partnering with national health agencies to establish new centers of excellence to train health providers in labor and delivery care, support early childhood development services, enhance trainings through new virtual platforms, and create a comprehensive capacity building strategy.

“Our partnership has uplifted millions of lives as we support maternal and child health, as well as empower women and girls with critically important menstrual hygiene education,” said Michael J. Nyenhuis, President and CEO, UNICEF USA. “Kimberly-Clark shares our vision for a world where every child has an opportunity to thrive, and the company continues to be an important partner as UNICEF drives systems change around the globe – positively impacting generations to come.”

Kimberly-Clark’s annual sustainability report and accompanying disclosures demonstrate the company’s progress through stories that highlight its work around the world as well as key data and metrics prepared with reference to the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) disclosures. The reporting covers the time frame of Jan. 1, 2022 through Dec. 31, 2022. For more information on the topics in this report, please visit the sustainability page on Kimberly-Clark.com.

UNICEF does not endorse any company, brand, product, or service.

The Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth

While spending time in Nairobi’s Kibera, Africa’s largest informal settlement, entrepreneurs Zahid Mitha and Edoardo Biraghi kept noticing a pattern inside the small retail stores known as dukas. Shoppers often could afford to buy only very small amounts of some essentials — sometimes as little as a cup of washing powder at a time.

But that meant they were actually paying more per cup. As anyone who has ever shopped at warehouse clubs knows, buying in bulk gets you discounts, thanks in large part to less packaging. Buying goods in small, prepackaged containers means paying more.

Mitha, 33, and Biraghi, 34, who for the previous four years had been building internet-enabled dispensing and supply chain tech to distribute condoms and HIV testing kits, thought they knew a way to use technology to eliminate this so-called poverty tax — by helping customers purchase only as much of a good as they needed.

Their company, Novek, is now piloting an Internet of Things-enabled machine that allows Kibera shopkeepers to accurately dispense as little as a few cents’ worth of washing powder into reusable containers and sell it at the same price as if it were being sold in bulk — increasing sales and profit margins for store owners while reducing single-use plastic, a major contributor to water pollution.

“We believe that if we improve both the product small business owners deliver to customers and their incomes, we will ultimately drive economic prosperity for everyone,” Mitha says.

Dubbed the “Silicon Savannah,” Kenya has become a hotbed of innovation as entrepreneurs like Mitha take advantage of its extensive high-speed internet, deep mobile phone penetration, and widely used digital payments infrastructure to develop products and services to strengthen the economy, improve everyday life and create opportunities for more people.

Calculating that Kenyans spend over $300 million a year on washing powder, Mitha says Novek is already drawing interest from multinational consumer-goods companies looking for more reliable and greener ways to reach customers.

By using IoT — which allows machines equipped with sensors and software to use the internet to connect with other devices — manufacturers can track their product from the time it leaves the factory to when it is sold in Kibera’s tin-roofed kiosks, giving them real-time insights into a retailer’s inventory and triggering restocking, which makes the supply chain more resilient. It could help them reduce the plastic used to package tiny quantities of washing powder — which can make up some 20% of the cost — and pass those savings back to low-income consumers through cheaper prices.

Novek has been able to speed up the research and development needed for its detergent dispenser machines so they’re ready for shopkeepers to test thanks to a grant from the Strive Community Innovation Fund, which last year awarded a total of $1 million to eight enterprises focused on creating ways to strengthen small businesses’ digital capabilities. Strive Community is part of a portfolio of programs launched by the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth with Caribou Digital.

Designed to save space in cramped shops while being simple to use, the IoT machines can dispense amounts as small as a few ounces and pull in penny-conscious shoppers. The hope is that by bringing in more customers, the shops will do better and help the whole economy thrive.

For Kibera shopkeeper Brian, the bright yellow dispenser Novek recently installed in his shop is already proving a hit with customers and tripling the amount of detergent he sells each week.

It’s also a way he can help cut down on plastic packaging, which invariably ends up being burnt in Kibera’s massive garbage dumps or clogging its already polluted streams.

“Customers here are attracted by new things in the market, and technology is something that really piques their interest. The more curious they are, the more word spreads,” he says. “They prefer the machine-dispensed soap because it gives them more for their money than the prepackaged sachets.”

Mitha says Novek’s dispensers can eventually be used with many products, such as sugar or honey, in low-income areas around the world.

“The vision here,” he says, “is that this is viable everywhere in the world where people buy small quantities of goods. The scope is global.”

Originally published by The Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth

Check out more content from The Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth