Tag: 3BL

Covia’s focus on Safety First extends beyond our Team Members and sites. We take pride in involving our communities, contractors, and customers in discussions about safety, gauging what safety practices are most important our stakeholders. Therefore, when our Chardon, Ohio facility learned about an opportunity to assist their local first responders with a special training opportunity, they were eager to get started. After collaborative planning, Covia was pleased to donate a property that was scheduled to be demolished to the Munson (OH) Township Fire Department. The Fire Department was able to use it for a “live burn”—a training exercise that gives firefighters a chance to practice with a burning structure.

National Fire Protection Association instructors led firefighters from all over Northeast Ohio in the live fire training. The training was staged over two full days in 2022. Leading up to the live training, Team Members worked with the Munson Township Fire Department for months preparing the building and planning for the two 12-hour days of training. In total, it took four months to ensure the structure could be used for the training safely and was in compliance with Ohio regulations.

Firefighting instructors came from as far away as Tennessee and New York when they learned about the event and more than 80 firefighters from around Northeast Ohio participated. “It was the most monumental fire training our township ever had,” Munson Township Assistant Fire Chief Brian Gray told township trustees. “The training was second to none.”

Visit https://www.coviacorp.com/esg/positive-social-impact/ to learn more about Safety & Health at Covia and how it is more than just a skill used at work – it is a habit that translates to every aspect of our Team Members’ lives.

Student teams working together to tackle technical challenges and find innovative solutions are the future of the electronics industry. That’s why the Cadence Academic Network is committed to providing the tools and training needed to accelerate these teams to the finish line. We are passionate about innovation and the push towards a greener more sustainable world, which is a common trend among student design teams.

We support teams developing vehicles that compete across a variety of terrains from water, to land, to air. Let’s take a look at the amazing work being done using a multitude of Cadence tools.

University of Michigan’s Electric Boat (UM-EB) racing team is tackling the technical challenge of redesigning their traditional catamaran vehicle to a hydrofoil vessel. To ensure stability and seamless design, it is critical that the team model and simulate their foils before launching their boat, which they are doing using Cadence CFD Software.

University of Pennsylvania’s Formula SAE team, Penn Electric, is focused on validation and making sure that their circuits are all optimized to be the best that they can be, using Celsius and AWR technologies. Ensuring the electrical components are getting adequate cooling is not only necessary to meet the requirements for the competition, but more importantly, to guarantee the safety of the team members.

The Formula SAE team at Politecnico di Milano, DynamiΣ PRC, is another team pushing the limits of what’s possible, competing internationally with their electric vehicle. Major electrical components were designed with Cadence.

Solar cars are another area for eco-innovation. The solar vehicle team at NC State, SolarPack, and Virginia Tech, Solar Car at VT, are working hard towards a more sustainable future for transportation.

AeroDelft the Delft University of Technology student team, is developing a liquid hydrogen-powered aircraft, revolutionizing the air transport industry to be cleaner for the climate. In order to minimize energy consumption, it was critical for them to optimize their aerodynamic design. This was made possible by Fidelity CFD technology, allowing them to analyze the impact of their design changes. Adding to their mission of moving towards a more sustainable world, they accessed tools with OnCloud, reducing compute and server resources.

Good luck to all the teams this summer at the various competitions! If you are a member of or know a student organization interested in improving their design using the same commercial PCB, CFD, or other system tools our customers use, contact us so we can partner with the next generation of innovators!

To learn more about the ways Cadence is supporting a push towards a greener world, check out the Sustainable by Design – 2022 Environmental, Social, and Governance Report.

By Candace Higginbotham and Jeremy King

Regions Bank unveiled its Shared Value Report, further illustrating how the bank, as well as the Regions Foundation, made meaningful differences for people, businesses, nonprofits and communities throughout 2022. The Regions Foundation is an Alabama-based nonprofit funded primarily by Regions Bank.

The report is more than a collection of data and figures. It reflects how Regions Bank, its associates and the Regions Foundation leveraged time, talents and resources to create more inclusive prosperity. From supporting more affordable housing to building financial wellness and creating new education opportunities, each example in the report shows the genuine commitment of Regions Bank and the Regions Foundation to invest in areas where they are best qualified to make a difference.

“Regions Bank and the Regions Foundation are supporting real solutions to real issues impacting people in our communities. The Shared Value Report is a reflection of how we’re turning our community engagement strategy into action,” said Leroy Abrahams, head of Community Affairs for Regions Bank and president of the Regions Foundation. “Regions Bank and the Regions Foundation have a clear track record of helping empower more people and more communities to succeed. This report highlights key accomplishments and important milestones – and it reflects a commitment to building on this progress throughout 2023 and beyond.”

Highlights of the Shared Value Report include a three-year look at significant investments from Regions Bank and its associates, as well as the Regions Foundation. Those highlights include: (see figure above)

Specific 2022 investments were also noted, including the following: (see figure above)

The 2022 Shared Value Report, which is published on Regions.com, also includes performance metrics around community development lending, small-business support, financial education, workforce development and affordable housing.

Examples illustrated in the report include sharing how the Regions Foundation helped place families in affordable single-family homes in tree-lined neighborhoods, how Regions Bank associates delivered free financial education seminars to more than 300 people with disabilities – which was in addition to other, year-round financial wellness opportunities for people across Regions Bank’s footprint, and how the bank also provided minority-owned small businesses much-needed access to capital.

The report also notes Regions Bank’s commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI). At Regions, DEI is focused on ensuring everyone has a seat at the table and an opportunity to be heard. This results in a stronger bank that is better positioned to meet the financial needs of the diverse customers and communities where Regions operates. Through internal DEI Networks, associates help strengthen the Regions Bank brand in their markets through their collaboration with local community organizations, they provide programming that fosters the bank’s internal culture of inclusion and belonging and support efforts to attract and retain diverse talent. Further, Regions Bank continues to be recognized as a corporate DEI leader by third parties. In 2022, the bank was named a Best Place to Work for Disability Inclusion, a Best Place to Work for LGBTQ+ Equality and was recognized as a Military Friendly Employer.

“This report tells a story we can all be proud of,” Abrahams concluded. “Regions Bank and the Regions Foundation saw many successes in 2022, but there is much more work to be done. These efforts to advance economic and community development, support education and workforce readiness, and increase financial wellness never let up, and the teams look forward to making even more progress in the years ahead.”

About Regions Financial Corporation
Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE:RF), with $154 billion in assets, is a member of the S&P 500 Index and is one of the nation’s largest full-service providers of consumer and commercial banking, wealth management, and mortgage products and services. Regions serves customers across the South, Midwest and Texas, and through its subsidiary, Regions Bank, operates more than 1,250 banking offices and more than 2,000 ATMs. Regions Bank is an Equal Housing Lender and Member FDIC. Additional information about Regions and its full line of products and services can be found at www.regions.com.

About Regions Foundation
The Alabama-based Regions Foundation supports community investments that positively impact communities served by Regions Bank. The Foundation engages in a grantmaking program focused on priorities including economic and community development; education and workforce readiness; and financial wellness. The Foundation is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) corporation funded primarily through contributions from Regions Bank.

Ninety percent of the world’s population lives within walking distance of a river, making these ecosystems essential to the prosperity and well-being of both people and our environment.

With that in mind, Dow is a founding member of Rivers Are Life, an inspiring new platform that spotlights the restoration of river ecosystems and the people who are working to improve both community and environmental health – one project at a time.

The Rivers are Life film “Keepers of the North” showcases just one of the many ways that collaborators, including the Alliance to End Plastic Waste, are working together to make an impact and demonstrate scalable solutions. In the film, meet Chris Pallister and other members of Gulf of Alaska Keeper, who have rallied a unique team to collect and recycle marine debris.

Meet other river heroes here

WASHINGTON, May 25, 2023 /3BL Media/ – International Paper (NYSE: IP) the leading global producer of planet-friendly packaging, pulp and other fiber-based products, Always®, the leader in global menstrual care, Brooke and Breanna Bennett, Co-Founders of Women in Training, Inc. (WIT), and Feeding America®, the nation’s largest domestic hunger-relief organization, joined forces in Washington, D.C. in advance of Menstrual Hygiene Day to drive awareness of period poverty in the U.S. and to pack 600 Period Care kits for donation to the Greater DC Diaper Bank and Mary’s Center.

Period poverty is the lack of access to period products and education – it affects at least 500 million women and girls globally, even in the most economically developed countries.1 In the U.S., 1 in 5 girls have missed school due to the lack of access to the period products2 – that is more than 3.5 million girls3. It’s an issue that leads to a number of problems like school truancy, reproductive issues, health risks and unnecessary shame.

Beginning on International Women’s Day in March, IP launched its award-winning Fighting Period Poverty in Our Communities program by hosting a series of period care packing and donation events across its global operations to raise awareness about period poverty and provide Period Care kits to people who need them the most. Period Care kits include period products donated by Always.

By the end of this year, IP will have hosted 50 Period Care kit packing events, and together with Always, will have provided more than 25,000 Period Care kits to people across the world in 2023.

However, donations alone cannot resolve the systemic issue of period poverty. The stigma surrounding periods can prevent those affected from voicing their needs and prevents potential solutions from being widely discussed and implemented. To date, only 22 states have passed a law to provide free period products in some capacity. There is a need for national change to solve the issue of period poverty. We applaud the leadership of Congresswoman Grace Meng for the introduction of the Menstrual Equity for All Act which would ensure people have access to free period products in federal buildings and schools.

“People are often unaware the impact period poverty is having on so many individuals in their own communities and across the nation. Millions of people in the United States and around the world lack access to period products and are forced to forego educational or employment opportunities because of it,” said Congresswoman Grace Meng. “We cannot thrive as a society or economy without the full participation and education of women, girls, and people with periods in society. That is why I am proud to reintroduce my Menstrual Equity for All Act, a whole-of-government approach that will help ensure affordable access to menstrual products so that we can end period poverty.”

As part of the event, Always recognized and honored International Paper as part of Always Period Heroes which represents people and organizations across the U.S. who have already made significant efforts to address period poverty.

“We’re proud to partner with Always and Feeding America to help address the issue of period poverty and to support the Greater DC Diaper Bank and Mary’s Center,” said Sophie Beckham, vice president and chief sustainability officer, International Paper. “Our Fighting Period Poverty in Our Communities program is part of our ongoing commitment to improve the lives of 100 million people as outlined in our Vision 2030 goals. As a woman and mother to a teenage daughter, I am personally passionate about this issue and resolute in our effort to drive change for women and girls.”

“Always’ brand purpose is built on the ability to foster girls’ confidence, especially during puberty. When someone isn’t properly protected during their period, it puts their confidence, dignity, and education at risk,” said Balaka Niyazee, Senior Vice President of North America Feminine Care at Procter & Gamble. “Our purpose fuels our ongoing commitment to raise awareness of the issue of period poverty, donate products, tackle stigma, and help drive systemic change. As a mother of a 12-year-old daughter, I am motivated to do more so she can enter puberty feeling supported and educated. Always is proud to continue to partner with International Paper and Feeding America – together we are advocating for the Menstrual Equity for All Act so all girls can stay confident and stay in school.”

The fight does not end here. To help #EndPeriodPoverty, we encourage everyone to contact their elected officials here and ask them to show their support for the Menstrual Equity for All Act.

IP was honored with an inaugural award from The American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion for this Fighting Period Poverty in Our Communities initiative.

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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 www.internationalpaper.com.

About Always®

Always®, the world’s leader in menstrual protection, offers a wide range of pads, wipes and liners designed to fit different body types, period flows and preferences. For over 35 years, Always has been supporting millions of young people globally through puberty and confidence education, providing products to those in need and tackling societal barriers to girls’ confidence. Together, Always believes we can create a world where neither periods nor gender get in the way of young people reaching their full potential. Please visit www.always.com for more information.

About Feeding America®

Feeding America® is the largest hunger-relief organization in the United States. Through a network of more than 200 food banks, 21 statewide food bank associations, and over 60,000 partner agencies, food pantries and meal programs, we helped provide 5.2 billion meals to tens of millions of people in need last year. Feeding America also supports programs that prevent food waste and improve food security among the people we serve; brings attention to the social and systemic barriers that contribute to food insecurity in our nation; and advocates for legislation that protects people from going hungry. Visit www.feedingamerica.org, find us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.

About Women in Training, Inc.

One in five American girls and young women skip school or miss work because they cannot afford sanitary pads or tampons to stay healthy and clean during their period. To alleviate period poverty, Women in Training, Inc. (WIT) provides monthly donations of WITKITS – canvas bags containing full pack of Always period products, dental and hygiene supplies to at-risk girls, young women and gender expansive youth. WIT also provides formal educational programs about menstruation and teen pregnancy prevention, and publishes the brochure, “The WIT Guide to the Menstrual Cycle.” For more information, see www.womenintraining.org

About the Greater DC Diaper Bank

Greater DC Diaper Bank (GDCDB) works to empower vulnerable families and individuals by providing an adequate and reliable source for basic baby needs and personal hygiene products across the Washington, DC metropolitan area. The Monthly is a project of Greater DC Diaper Bank that addresses period poverty by collecting donated tampons and pads, working with more than seventy-five nonprofit organizations in the area to get these products to the people who need them. Learn more information at www.greaterdcdiaperbank.org 

About Mary’s Center

Mary’s Center is a community health center serving over 65,000 people of all ages, incomes, and backgrounds in the Washington, DC metro area for over 30 years. With an integrated model of health care, education, and social services, Mary’s Center offers each participant individualized care on the path toward good health, stability, and economic independence. Learn more at www.maryscenter.org

International Paper Media Contact 

Amy Simpson, 901-419-4964, 
Amy.Simpson@ipaper.com

1 World Bank, 2018 
2 1000 U.S. females, 16-24 y.o., Research Now ‘17 
3 1000 U.S. females, 16-24 y.o., Research Now ’17 & U.S. 2016 Census

VMware solutions have offered intrinsic sustainability since the company’s inception. Virtualization is known for reducing the infrastructure needed to run workloads along with the energy and carbon footprint of the data center. Today, sustainability is a long-term commitment at VMware and a top priority for our customers. While we’re proud of the progress we’ve made, we need to do more, especially to meet the growing demand for compute-intensive technologies like machine learning.

At the end of Earth Month and just before the annual R&D Innovation Offsite (RADIO), 300 individuals from across VMware came together for the company’s first-ever Sustainable Software Development Workshop (SSDW). The Sustainable Software Development Workshop (SSDW) was created to bring together individuals from different areas of the company to explore how VMware can further integrate sustainability into its products and services. This is a rapidly growing space, and together, we not only explored the challenges and opportunities that exist today but laid the foundation for impactful and innovative progress toward future sustainable software development.

First, defining sustainable software

To VMware, sustainable software is about building, managing, and running any workloads (on-prem, multi-cloud, telco cloud, or edge cloud) in a way that minimizes the environmental impact. Examples include:

Core solutions that can help customers advance their decarbonization goals by reducing per workload power consumption. This can be achieved by implementing vSphere host power management, enabling migration to a more energy-efficient data center, reducing the number of physical servers, and reclaiming unused virtual machines (VMs) with Aria Operations.The Green Score, a metric introduced last year in Aria Operations, was introduced to assess the environmental impact of VMware infrastructure in a data center. The Green Score considers various factors such as workload efficiency, resource utilization, virtualization rate, power source, and hardware efficiency, delivering a score ranging from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating greener supply, learner operations, and cleaner demand. This allows data center administrators to identify areas for improvement and optimize their infrastructure for sustainability.Deep Cooling is a software solution that uses AI and big data to optimize cooling in data centers. By analyzing operation metrics, data from the dynamic environment, and energy usage, Deep Cooling dynamically adjusts cooling parameters to reduce energy consumption and costs, saving 18% – 25% of electricity for cooling. In addition, the system requires minimal changes to data center hardware and does not negatively impact normal production during the implementation process.

“It’s not just enlightening to hear the collective voices and ideas from this event, but inspiring to know that sustainability innovation is so important, to so many at VMware”

Nicola Acutt, Chief Sustainability Officer, VMware

Workshop structure and highlights

The Sustainable Software Development Workshop featured 32 speakers across our Cloud Management, Cloud Infrastructure, Customer Experience, Platform Services, Research & Innovation, and Sales groups. The workshop began with an opening address from Kit Colbert, VMware’s CTO, and closed with reflections from Nicola Acutt, VMware’s Chief Sustainability Officer who said, “It’s not just enlightening to hear the collective voices and ideas from this event, but inspiring to know that sustainability innovation is so important, to so many at VMware.”

Throughout the day, there were 21 lightning talks covering four themes:

Product-led growth & productization: One of the core focuses of the workshop was product-led growth. Speakers emphasized the importance of developing sustainable software products that meet customers’ needs and minimize their environmental impact. They discussed strategies for creating energy-efficient applications, optimizing resource consumption, and designing software focusing on longevity and scalability. By aligning business objectives with sustainability principles, organizations can drive growth while minimizing their carbon footprint.Platform thinking: The workshop delved into the concept of platform thinking, which promotes the development of open, extensible software platforms. Speakers explored how building modular, interoperable systems enables collaboration, innovation, and long-term sustainability. They shared best practices for creating developer-friendly platforms, leveraging open-source technologies, and fostering ecosystems that encourage the reuse and sharing of software components. Platform thinking encourages a collective approach to software development, enabling organizations to build on each other’s work and reduce redundancy.Advanced Technology: The event showcased cutting-edge technologies that can revolutionize software development and contribute to sustainability. Discussions revolved around emerging trends such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, blockchain, and edge computing. Experts highlighted how these technologies are harnessed to optimize energy consumption, enhance resource allocation, automate processes, and mitigate environmental impact. By leveraging advanced technology responsibly, we can drive sustainable digital innovation and positively impact the world.From the Field: Real-world experiences shared by industry experts were a vital component of the workshop. Speakers from VMware’s Cloud Management, Cloud Infrastructure, Customer Experience, Platform Services, Research & Innovation, and Sales Business units shared their insights, success stories, and challenges in implementing sustainable software development practices. These firsthand experiences provided valuable insights and inspiration on the need for evolution around sustainability development.

The event was hybrid, with presenters online and in the room. After each session, we facilitated individual reflections and group discussions to share takeaways from the topics covered.

What’s next

VMware’s inaugural Sustainable Software Development Workshop was a resounding success, bringing together VMware’s global community of software developers, thought leaders, and industry experts. This event served as a catalyst for VMware, galvanizing its commitment to sustainability at every layer in the stack. By fostering a culture of sustainability, VMware aims to empower the future of digital innovation, enabling organizations to create software solutions that not only drive growth but also contribute to a greener and more sustainable world. As we reflect on the valuable learnings from the event, we are energized to take the next steps and continue driving positive change across VMware and our ecosystem.

Here are a few key areas we will focus on to build on the momentum: By cultivating partnerships, harnessing feedback, scaling initiatives, and fostering continuous learning and innovation, we are poised to make a lasting impact in the field of software development. Together, we will drive positive change, lead by example, and shape a more sustainable future for the industry.

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Project Name: Charco Bendito

Follow Charco Bendito on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn

Welcome to our series aimed at spotlighting BIER projects. As part of our Member and Stakeholder spotlight series featuring the individual leaders within BIER member companies and stakeholder organizations, our project spotlight series highlights BIER member companies and stakeholder organizations involved in the innovative Charco Bendito project.

Learn how these practitioners and their companies have collaborated to develop and implement this innovative, first-of-its-kind, basin-level watershed initiative addressing three main goals: water accessibility, quality, and availability. Gain insights into key learnings and what inspires each of them to advance environmental sustainability in the beverage sector and collectively, overall.

What is the Charco Bendito watershed project? 

Charco Bendito, meaning “Blessed Pool,” is an innovative, first-of-its-kind watershed collaboration addressing shared water challenges in the Municipality of Tlajomulco de Zuniga, Jalisco Mexico, a part of the Lerma Santiago watershed in and around Guadalajara, Mexico.

Who is involved in the Charco Bendito watershed project? 

The project, initiated in 2020, has been designed and implemented by a team of individuals from BIER member local beverage operations in the Guadalajara area with technical support from Red Bio Terra and public relations support from Bardo Communications. This team works with local stakeholders to realize the project’s goals. Championing the project includes:

ABInBev – locally as ModeloBacardi – locally as Tequila PatronBeam Suntory – locally as Casa SauzaBrown-Forman – locally as Casa HerraduraDiageoKeurig Dr Pepper – locally as PeñafielPernod RicardGrupo Bimbo – Stakeholder – Non-BIER memberMars Stakeholder – Non-BIER member

What does the Charco Bendito project aim to achieve?

BIER companies collaborating on Charco Bendito are keenly aware of the water crisis; as such, project partners are working meticulously and proactively to propagate a water-secure future in the watersheds they operate in.

The project involves seven BIER members and two non-BIER members working collaboratively to conserve 355 hectares as a goal. To date, progress has been made with 125 restored hectares of important land to improve the quality and quantity of water in the region. Key activities include planting native vegetation to increase groundwater levels and reduce soil loss, improving water infrastructure, and increasing awareness about the importance of water to healthy communities.

What is the significance of the Charco Bendito watershed project? What makes it special?

There are many contributing factors that make Charco Bendito a particularly inspiring watershed project. At its core, Charco Bendito is unique because its collaboration is comprised of beverage industry competitors, the local community, and committed local partners, working collaboratively to address complex watershed challenges at the basin level.

Additionally, the governance and finance of the collaboration support the project’s green infrastructure restoration activities, including reforestation and conservation, and promoting equitable water access and connection for the population of San Lucas Evangelista by 2023 by investing in improving water quality through green infrastructure and water quality monitoring.

Municipal President from Tlajomulco de Zúñiga, Salvador Zamora Zamora, sums up the unique aspects of the project, “The local community is key to the success of this project, which is of great importance because it improves water conditions in an area of high cultural and ethnic significance. This project is unprecedented, and we acknowledge, and thank this group of companies for sharing a common vision.”

How to learn more about the Charco Bendito watershed project? 

Due to its innovative, collaborative, and results-generating nature, the Charco Bendito watershed project has been garnering much well-deserved attention. With presentations at the recent United Nations Water Conference and and an upcoming presentation at World Water Week on August 21, 2023, there are several ways to continue learning about the project, including:

Read more on BIER’s websiteVisit the Charco Bendito websiteFollow Charco Bendito on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedInListen to the Charco Bendito Podcast “Conversando el agua” on SpotifyView Charco Bendito on YouTubeRead: A corporate water strategy manifesto: We can and will do betterLearn how Charco Bendito aligns with BIER’s principles of World Class Water Stewardship

Finally, stay tuned for the upcoming Member and Stakeholder Charco Bendito-specific spotlights showcasing how these practitioners and their companies have collaborated on this innovative, first-of-its-kind, basin-level watershed initiative.

The swearing in of elected public officials is usually a cause for a well-attended celebration. However, the city of Monterey Park held a quiet, private ceremony in late January to swear in its new mayor, Jose Sanchez, and mayor pro tem, Thomas Wong. Even family members were restricted from attending out of respect for the tragedy that occurred just one week prior: a mass shooting during the city’s Lunar New Year Festival that killed 11 people and severely injured nine others at the Star Ballroom Dance Studio.

Wong, a policy engagement advisor for Southern California Edison for more than five years, was preparing for his new role with the city when he was called on to help coordinate police response, media inquiries and recovery resources after the shooting.

Since then, the community has been eager to connect in person. Recent public events in Monterey Park have had more attendance than usual.

“I think there’s a hunger and desire to have these community spaces so we can come together to heal, support and enjoy each other’s company. It has been helpful for us as a community to support each other by simply being physically in the same space,” Wong said.

May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, a significant occasion for many cultures to convene and celebrate the community’s diversity following Lunar New Year.

At SCE, Wong builds relationships with large business associations, nonprofits and community leaders to advance clean energy, climate and environmental priorities and policies . Giving back to his community is a priority, and he has been involved in public policy long before working for the company as a Monterey Park City commissioner and a San Gabriel Valley Municipal Water District board member.

During SCE’s 17th annual AAPI Heritage Month Celebration, Wong presented the Community Impact Award to Brandon Tsay for confronting and disarming the gunman during the shooting at the nearby Lai Lai Dance Studio. Tsay has since focused on turning the tragedy into positive action and impact for the Monterey Park and AAPI community.

“The Brandon Tsay Hero Fund is to rebuild and heal after this tragedy, so I’ve partnered with the Asian Pacific Community Fund to develop a couple of projects and initiatives to draw awareness and make an impact in the AAPI community,” Tsay said.

The work that we do at SCE is personal to me. We’re committed to enabling the state’s efforts to reduce emissions and improve air quality. We’re leading the transformation of the electric power industry focusing on clean energy, the grid of the future and customer choice. SCE recognizes that the progress toward a clean energy future will be successful only if it is equitable and accessible for everyone, including our most vulnerable communities.”

Larry Chung, SCE Vice President

The celebration also recognized the Asian Business Association with the Gwen Moore Diversity Award, Asian Pacific Community Fund and Asian American Professional Association with the Community Partnership Award. Larry Chung, SCE vice president of Local Public Affairs, presented GreenWealth Energy with the Clean Energy Champion award for its partnership with SCE’s Charge Ready program.

Chung began his career in government promoting electric vehicle charging infrastructure years ago when EVs were more of a concept than reality.

“The work that we do at SCE is personal to me. We’re committed to enabling the state’s efforts to reduce emissions and improve air quality. We’re leading the transformation of the electric power industry focusing on clean energy, the grid of the future and customer choice,” Chung said. “SCE recognizes that the progress toward a clean energy future will be successful only if it is equitable and accessible for everyone, including our most vulnerable communities.”

Learn more about Edison International’s commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion in its annual DEI Report.

Click here to view a video of the AAPI Month Celebration.

Lenovo’s Product Diversity Office was formed in 2020 to ensure that Lenovo’s emerging technologies work for people of all backgrounds and abilities. While the team works to eliminate bias, they also look for improvements that provide a competitive user experience for people with disabilities. “At every meeting, I emphasize that it’s the responsibility of all Lenovo employees to consider the perspectives of our diverse customer base whenever we evaluate a product or make a design recommendation,” shared Ada Lopez, Manager of the Product Diversity Office (PDO). “We don’t always have users testing product accessibility in person with us, but the consideration of our users’ diverse abilities and needs is ever-present.”

The team recently heard from one such user, Brent Skinner, a software engineer who has faced a lifetime battle with progressively worsening visual impairment (VI).

Brent’s vision challenges began early. “I had my first pair of glasses when I was nine months old,” he says. “My eyes weren’t focusing properly so the doctors used prisms to precisely direct the light onto my retinas.” When asked how his parents managed to keep a pair of unwieldy goggles on their baby, Skinner jokes, “I couldn’t talk at that stage, but I provided my parents with a lot of informative and unignorable user feedback: I screamed and cried every time they took the glasses off.”

Doctors eventually diagnosed Brent with retinitis pigmentosa, a degenerative disease that has slowly but inexorably eroded his ability to see. “I have blind spots that my brain fills in,” he says. “Unfortunately, it doesn’t fill them in with what’s actually there. I used to tell people that I could see a paper clip across the room, but I might trip over an elephant if I tried to walk over and pick it up.”

During the early stages of his 34-year career with Kodak and its subsidiaries, the impact of the disease was minimal. “My eyes were getting worse, but it was happening so slowly that I just kept making small adaptations,” he says. Indeed, his decision to begin using a Lenovo Yoga 730 instead of his prior PC was motivated by the need for better accessibility.

“First, the Yoga’s touch screen was a huge help,” he says. “On the other PC I was having a hard time locating the cursor or the pointer. That may not seem like a big issue to sighted users but finding that thin blinking light can be enormously problematic and frustrating for the visually impaired. I was wasting a ton of energy I might have devoted to my job simply trying to find the place where I should start typing and resume working. When you’re developing creative ideas and getting into a flow, stopping for mundane reasons like finding the pointer is intolerably disruptive. For someone with normal vision, this is like having the computer shut down every couple of minutes. How effective are you going to be under these conditions?”

With a characteristically mischievous grin, he adds, “Who knows how many potential Nobel Prize winning ideas slipped through my fingers as I was trying to track down that inconspicuous pointer!”

A second accessibility plus was the placement of the power button, which sits alone on the side of the Yoga keyboard so it cannot be confused with anything else. “Again, this might seem trivial to sighted users, but it isn’t,” Skinner says. “I recently used a friend’s non-Lenovo PC. I had to have a sighted user help me turn it on because their power button is in the top row of the keyboard—between the Delete key and the Page Down key. That can cause all manner of headaches. It may be a simple fix. But I want to work with a company that cares enough about inclusive design to make that fix.

“I’ve noticed that Lenovo’s ThinkPad has a similarly clear design,” he adds. “In that case the power button is set off to the right of the keys, and it’s the only round button on the keyboard, so the user can’t miss it.”

“The third accessibility feature that served me well was the backlit keyboard,” Brent says. “Obviously, this won’t help someone who is blind, but as my eyes got worse, being able to illuminate the keys and adjust the brightness level was extremely helpful: it increased the contrast between the keys and the rest of the keyboard. Again, there isn’t going to be one set of interventions that works for all VI users. It’s a matter of providing the right support at the right time to meet the individual’s specific needs. And in a degenerative disease, those needs are going to change over time—sometimes drastically.”

“The fourth accessibility feature was the Yoga’s on-screen keyboard,” Brent says. “It provides a fallback solution when the user’s eyes are no longer acute enough for the backlighting to work. The bigger keys and better contrast enabled me to keep working efficiently during this stage of my downward trajectory. A PC with a standard keyboard would have been essentially unusable at this point.”

After all the accessibility features, Brent adds that “The Lenovo computer was simply a better and more economical machine. I’d have switched even if my eyes were perfect. It has more power and a faster processor with quicker data retrieval. I spend hours compiling code, and the Yoga has made my work more efficient. Back then the Yoga also supported USB-C connections, and while my other PC did not. The USB-C connections allowed me to daisy chain peripherals together in ways that I needed. I also like having a solid-state drive, and the RAM was extremely affordable. A sighted coworker enthusiastically endorsed the Yoga, so I felt confident purchasing it simply as a computer upgrade. I’ve never been tempted to switch back!”

Over the past year, Brent’s vision has continued to deteriorate. He is now restricted to a mere two degrees of central vision (essential for reading and recognizing faces) with an acuity of 20/200, which meets the definition of “legally blind” and means that what a normally sighted person can see at 20 feet Brent sees as if he were 200 feet away.

“I’m new at being blind,” he says stoically. “I haven’t developed the skills and intuitions that someone would have if they’d been blind since infancy. I don’t read braille, for example, and I’m not yet adept with screen readers and other tools. But I’m speaking with one of the Lenovo PDO’s accessibility consultants about the problems I’m encountering, and the solutions Lenovo offers. I’m encouraged that he’s willing to address my questions and listen to my suggestions and feedback.”

“At the end of the day, I’m looking for a hardware company that cares enough about blind users to provide us with the technology we need to stay productive,” he concludes. “Based on my experience, Lenovo is that company.”

CINCINNATI, May 25, 2023 /3BL Media/ – Cintas Corporation (Nasdaq: CTAS) has again been recognized for its ongoing commitment to fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace as Forbes has named Cintas to its Best Employers for Diversity 2023 list.

Championing diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives for more than 20 years, Cintas has applied its award-winning commitment across five strategic pillars: talent acquisition, career development, employee-partner business resource groups, training and communication. The company also puts a heavy focus on diversity and inclusion in its award-winning supplier diversity program and its philanthropic initiatives.

“Our focus on diversity and inclusion isn’t new for us at Cintas,” said Todd Schneider, Cintas President and CEO. “These foundations are commitments we’ve embraced since Dick Farmer founded the company and it means a lot to us that our employee-partners’ opinions were central in being recognized by Forbes as a Best Employer for Diversity. We are deliberate about fostering a workplace environment where our employee-partners feel valued and respected, and encouraged to grow and develop their careers with us.”

Forbes’ Best Employers for Diversity 2023 list was determined in partnership with global research firm Statista. More than 45,000 Americans who work for large companies were surveyed anonymously and asked to rate their own companies on a variety of criteria including age, gender, ethnicity, disability and LGBTQ+ equality, as well as general diversity. The top 500 companies were included in the list.

“We believe that a diverse and inclusive workplace is essential for the long-term success of our business and our employee-partners,” said Max Langenkamp, Cintas Senior Vice President of Human Resources and Chief Diversity Officer. “We’re committed to a workplace culture where all of our employee-partners feel empowered to bring their whole selves to work, feel valued and respected for their unique perspectives and experiences, and feel a sense of belonging and purpose while contributing to our collective success.”

In the last year, Cintas has been well-recognized as a result of its DEI and workplace commitments:

2023 Forbes America’s Best Large Employers2023 Newsweek America’s Greatest Workplaces for Diversity2023 Newsweek America’s Greatest Workplaces for Women2022 Disability Inclusion Index’s Best Place to Work for Disability Inclusion2023 Military Friendly Company, including honors as a Bronze Designated Military Friendly Employer, Military Spouse Friendly Employer, Military Friendly Brand and Military Friendly Supplier DiversityCompete Sports Diversity LGBTQ+ Corporate Change Champion Award

The company has also been honored as one of Fortune’s World’s Most Admired Companies, and one of Newsweek’s America’s Most Trustworthy Companies and America’s Most Responsible Companies.

“We feel fortunate to be recognized again for our workplace practices,” Langenkamp said. “We’re appreciative of the positive response that these honors generate, especially when they reinforce so many of our corporate values.”

Cintas Corporation
Cintas Corporation helps more than one million businesses of all types and sizes get Ready™ to open their doors with confidence every day by providing products and services that help keep their customers’ facilities and employees clean, safe, and looking their best. With offerings including uniforms, mats, mops, towels, restroom supplies, workplace water services, first aid and safety products, eye-wash stations, safety training, fire extinguishers, sprinkler systems and alarm service, Cintas helps customers get Ready for the Workday®.

Headquartered in Cincinnati, Cintas is a publicly held Fortune 500 company traded over the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol CTAS and is a component of both the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index and Nasdaq-100 Index.

Media Contact
Lizz Summers, Director of Corporate Affairs, summerse2@cintas.com, (513) 972-2859