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BXP’s environmental, social, and governance (ESG) strategy aligns with our mission to envision, develop, and manage exceptional properties that enhance client success, strengthen communities, and advance opportunity. We believe that responsible real estate ownership, investment, and management contributes to progress on economic, social, and environmental issues. In 2022, we remained focused on measurable social and environmental impacts.

Our industry plays an important role in maintaining the economic vitality of our cities and communities, mitigating the climate crisis, and creating diverse and inclusive workplaces. As a long-term investor in our people, our properties, and our communities, we are proud of our leadership position in sustainability and continued progress towards our ESG goals.

2022 highlights include:

Remaining on track to achieve carbon-neutral operations by 2025Committing to setting a science-based target to achieve net-zero across all emissions Scopes by 2050Achieving our energy and water reduction targetsIssuing an additional $750 million of “Green Bonds”Executing actionable diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives and goals

BXP will host its second annual ESG Investor Update on Wednesday, May 31, 2023 at 2:00 PM Eastern Time. The webcast will be moderated by Doug Linde, President, and will include presentations by Ben Myers, as well as the Co-Chairs of BXP’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Council: Amy Gindel, SVP, Finance & Planning, and Blake Levy, VP, Construction. The webcast will be accessible in the Investors section of our website at www.bxp.com.

About BXP ESG
BXP’s commitment to ESG leadership has been recognized by numerous industry groups and rankings, including BXP’s inclusion as #3 on Barron’s 10 Most Sustainable U.S. REITs list. BXP was named to Newsweek’s America’s Most Responsible Companies 2023 list, ranking first in its industry and 29th overall out of the 500 companies included on the list. BXP was recently recognized for Best ESG Program by Commercial Property Executive and was again named ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year – Sustained Excellence, as well as a Best in Building Health winner by the Center for Active Design. BXP was recognized as an inaugural Platinum level Green Lease Leader by the Institute for Market Transformation and the U.S. Department of Energy and was the recipient of Nareit’s prestigious Leader in the Light Award.

About BXP
BXP (NYSE: BXP) is the largest publicly traded developer, owner, and manager of premier workplaces in the United States, concentrated in six dynamic gateway markets – Boston, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington, DC. BXP has delivered places that power progress for our clients and communities for more than 50 years. BXP is a fully integrated real estate company, organized as a real estate investment trust (REIT). As of March 31, 2023, including properties owned by unconsolidated joint ventures, BXP’s portfolio totaled 54.5 million square feet and 192 properties, including 15 properties under construction/redevelopment. For more information, please visit our website at www.bxp.com or follow us on LinkedIn or Instagram.

Media Contact
Laura Sesody
Senior Vice President, Corporate Marketing & Communications

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Business Resource Groups (BRGs) are voluntary, employee-led groups that serve as a resource for members and their employers by fostering a diverse, inclusive workplace aligned with organizational mission, values, goals, business practices and objectives. They play an integral role in creating a culture that promotes an environment of understanding, acceptance and inclusion among all employees.  

Research from Great Place to Work® tells us that employees who trust that they will be treated fairly, regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation or age, are nearly 10 times more likely to look forward to going to work, and over five times more likely to want to stay a long time at their company. Other benefits of BRGs include the development of future leaders, increased employee engagement and expanded marketplace reach. 

Business Resource Groups may also be known as:  

Employee Resource Groups Diversity & Inclusion Councils Affinity Groups Employee Networks 

Business Resource Groups are made up of employees who share common interests and lived experiences; membership in any group is typically open to any interested employee. These groups come together to foster professional growth and provide a collective voice to management and decision makers around social issues, community needs and company policies.  

Initiatives and events led by Business Resource Groups help support the company’s business goals, innovation, philanthropic efforts and commitment to workplace diversity and belonging. Business Resource Groups may sponsor a speaker series, career development seminars, volunteer activities, panel discussions and social networking events to which all employees are invited. Additionally, each BRG might make community outreach an integral part of its mission. 

Involvement in a Business Resource Group is a valuable opportunity to develop internal relationships and make connections across the company. BRGs will often set up chapters for each group throughout a company’s footprint to ensure there is participation across different geographies. Being a member of a BRG also provides employees with cross-cultural competence: the ability to discern and take into account one’s own and others’ world views to be able to seize opportunities, make decisions and resolve conflicts in ways that optimize cultural differences for better, longer lasting and more creative solutions.  

BRGs may lead awareness or community engagement activities that correspond to their common interest such as organizing a professional clothing drive for women transitioning into civilian careers during Women’s History Month. More often than not, BRGs are involved in supporting a company’s philanthropic activities and it is important to ensure they are integrated into goals, policies and procedures related to a company’s employee volunteer program and collaborate with the team leading corporate social impact efforts as needed. 

Corporate Examples 

AT&T and Dow annually bring together members of their employee resource groups and business leaders for an opportunity to learn together, build connections and create social impact. Each conference includes acts of service that provide lasting benefits to the host community and in-person and virtual participants.  

At Bank of America, one in four employees is a member of at least one Employee Network worldwide, which helps employees develop personally and professionally, build strong ties with communities and address issues that matter. One of these networks, IGEN, supports diversity by bridging gaps across generations within the workplace. During the pandemic, members of IGEN in the UK volunteered regularly to address community isolation in partnership with The Cares Family, a charity whose mission is to bring people together across generations, backgrounds and experiences to build community and connection. 

Employee Resource Groups support Dell’s global cultivating inclusion pillar. Through their ERGs and Culture, Diversity & Inclusion Champions, they create meaningful professional connections and employee engagement. ERGs partner with leadership on corporate observances including Black History Month and International Women’s Day. To celebrate the International Day of the Girl in 2021, members of Dell’s Women in Action ERG participated in a Girls Empowerment Pro Bono Consulting Workshop. This virtual workshop connected ERG members across the U.S. with seven nonprofit organizations facing capacity-building challenges.  

As part of Intel’s RISE (responsible, inclusive, sustainable and enabling) strategy, their nearly 40 ERGs are part of the engine that drives community and inclusion. Part of each group’s charter is to volunteer in local communities. In fact, in 2020, members of the Pacific Islanders of Intel ERG were made aware of a critical need for COVID-19 clinics to address a desperate situation for Oregon’s community of Pacific Islanders: their infection rates were 12 times higher than those of white Oregonians. The ERG reached out to county officials and local nonprofits to organize and lead clinics specific to this demographic which provided testing and vaccinations for thousands of Islanders, along with food and other services.

When I think about this year’s Earth Month theme – Invest in Our Planet – I immediately view it through the lens of ESG investing and how sustainability is the biggest lever we have as a society to create lasting value. Sustainability trumps them all because, for the first time in human history, we have an opportunity, and some would say an obligation, to change everything.

It calls on us to look at everything we make and everything we do and improve it for the long-term benefit of humankind.

We need to make products and technologies last longer, we need to make them more circular, we need to reduce our carbon footprint, and we need to learn to manufacture and grow everything in the most responsible way possible. And if we can make things better, cheaper, faster, and maybe even “cooler” in the process, we can create new markets for sustainable products.

The World Economic Forum has done fundamental research into sizing the transition opportunity. They split the work into eight categories, including circularity, renewable power and heat, and switching our fuels. And these market opportunities here are gigantic—so much so that they’re not measured in billions but in trillions.

In fact, according to a report by Boston Consulting Group and the World Economic Forum, the opportunity is worth more than $25 trillion.1 To put that in perspective, that is more than 25% of the current global gross domestic product.

Sustainability is a transformative opportunity, and our planet needs investment now. But where does a chemistry company like Chemours fit in here?

To answer that question, I’d like to underscore chemistry’s fundamental role in reaching a sustainable future. Changing everything – moving to lower carbon fuels, decarbonizing our built environment, enabling the green technology innovations of the future – is impossible without innovations in chemistry, material science, or process engineering.

This work can’t be done from Silicon Valley or Wall Street. It’s happening in American cities like Corpus Christi, Texas, Fayetteville, North Carolina, and New Johnsonville, Tennessee. And in Altamira, Mexico, Villers-Saint-Paul, France, Dordrecht in The Netherlands, and other corners of the world.

These are places where the best chemists, operators, and engineers in the world are rolling up their sleeves to seize and drive opportunities that have sustainability as a core tenet.

They’ve brought Opteon™ low global warming potential refrigerants and thermal management solutions to our homes, cars, and the cold chain that keeps food fresh and medicine safe. And they’re driving the hydrogen economy forward with Nafion™ ion exchange membranes that enable the energy transition with the production of green hydrogen. And with Ti-Pure™ titanium dioxide pigment, they’re showing the industry what having the ambition to be the most sustainable titanium dioxide enterprise means for our manufacturing sites, customers, and communities.

We’re not just talking about sustainability; we’re doing something about it. We’re investing both in new product developments and technologies to help manufacture those products more responsibly. In Fayetteville, NC, we’ve invested in technologies that have decreased overall emissions of fluorinated organic compounds by 97% on our path to a greater than 99% reduction, and the site has dramatically reduced its carbon emissions as well.

And Chemours’ has made substantial progress against our 2030 goal to generate more than 50% of our revenue from products that contribute to the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs). Today, greater than 47% of our revenue makes a specific contribution to the UN SDGs, and we have a clear pathway to achieving our goal well inside the target date of the end of this decade.

But we have more work to do, and the natural question is, where do we go from here?

I believe that we have the obligation – to ourselves, each other, our families, and society – to help drive the sustainability revolution. We are responsible for looking at everything we do, every product we make, and thinking about how it can contribute to a more sustainable future. Because it all starts with us, it all starts with chemistry, and it’s further enabled by partnerships.

We need everyone’s help – public and private, industry and academia – because we all have a role. Working together, we can help maximize our impact on the world and prove how sustainability is our biggest tailwind as a society.

Jonathan Lock is Chemours’ Chief Development Officer and helps to chart the company’s growth trajectory, including leading Chemours’ sustainability efforts. Interacting with Chemours’ shareholders, Jonathan offers a transparent view into the company’s current and future growth plans. Read more about our Corporate Responsibility Commitment here.

1 Boston Consulting Group Climate & Sustainability Perspective September 2022: The 25+ trillion Greentech prize

CNH Industrial brand Case IH has announced its latest CSR initiative in India: “Unnat Kaushal Sugarcane Harvester Operator Training.”

Introduced in collaboration with the Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) agricultural education center in Baramati, Maharashtra, the program will support sugarcane harvester operators across the country. It aims to encourage sustainable sugarcane farming by training farmers on the optimal use of their harvesting equipment to improve overall efficiency and maximize machine uptime.

The five-day training program will educate 300 operators between 18 and 35 years old. It is geared towards providing them with employability skills and bridging the industry’s skilled work force gap. The first cohort contains 150 farmers from villages in the Baramati, Kolhapur, Satara and Sangli districts.

Sandeep Gupta, Agriculture Sales and Dealer Development Leader, CNH Industrial India, said, “At CNH Industrial, we are committed to making a positive impact in the agricultural industry. With the Unnat Kaushal program, we aim to equip sugarcane harvester operators with the necessary skills and knowledge to operate their equipment efficiently. It will lead to increased productivity, minimized costs, and ultimately, a sustainable farming system. We hope to impact many more farmers in the region through this initiative.”

The program is a part of CNH Industrial’s constant endeavours to educate farmers and operators, especially in the rural regions of India. Last year, as a part of their various CSR initiatives, the company trained 600 farmers in Haryana and Uttar Pradesh on topics such as financial literacy, farm mechanization, biomass management and state agricultural subsidies.

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At American Airlines Hangar 2 on the north side of Chicago O’Hare International Airport, a team of aspiring aviation maintenance technicians (AMTs) from the Aviation Institute of Maintenance (AIM) Chicago campus have been hard at work practicing for the 2023 Aerospace Maintenance Competition (AMC). Under mentorship from two seasoned American Airlines AMTs, the team has been preparing to go head-to-head with other student teams from across the country in more than 25 events. American is sponsoring the AIM team as part of its ongoing partnership with the school to train the next generation of aviation maintenance professionals.

This year’s AMC, held in Atlanta April 18-20, is in conjunction with Aviation Week’s MRO Americas and brings together teams from schools, airlines, military, general aviation, repair and maintenance organizations and space to compete against each other in real-life maintenance scenarios. In addition to the AIM student team, American is sponsoring six teams of aviation maintenance professionals from around the system along with two additional student teams.

Sustainable solutions are often written off as too expensive or out of reach for business leaders. What’s more, businesses are creatures of habit — they have their processes and stick to them. But as the energy transition demands fleets take on new and diversified energy sources and responsibilities, sustainability has grown to mean so much more than just protecting our environment.

For fleet managers looking to pursue fleet sustainability that also accounts for longevity and efficiency, here are six ways fleets can embrace holistic sustainability in the face of the changing transportation landscape.

1. Try alternative fuels:

Alternative fuels such as electricity, hydrogen, and biofuels offer significant environmental benefits compared to traditional fossil fuels. Electric vehicles, for example, have no tailpipe emissions and are becoming increasingly cost-competitive with traditional vehicles. Fleet operators can also consider using hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, which emit only water vapor, or biofuels made from renewable sources such as waste cooking oil or plant-based materials.

2. Use fuel-efficient vehicles: 

Another way for fleets to reduce their environmental impact is by using fuel-efficient vehicles. This can include hybrid electric vehicles or plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, which combine the benefits of electric power with the range of traditional fossil fuels. Hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles also offer a sustainable option. In addition, fleets can also consider using vehicles with advanced fuel-saving technologies, such as aerodynamic designs, low rolling resistance tires, and engine start-stop systems.

3. Adopt Mobile Fueling:

According to GeoTab, each fleet vehicle drives an average of 2.2 off-route miles for each gas station trip. At an average of 183 gas station visits annually per fleet vehicle (according to Booster’s customer data), those miles pile up to create significant emissions.

Booster’s mobile fueling service significantly reduces these emissions through the elimination of individual gas station trips. Mobile fueling omits the need for the gas station errand by delivering fuel directly from the terminal to fleet vehicles wherever they park overnight. In fact, Booster’s mobile fuel delivery service can save up to 587 lbs of CO2 per diesel vehicle annually by reducing gas station trips. 

4. Optimize routes and schedules: 

By optimizing their routes and schedules, fleets can reduce their energy consumption and environmental impact. This can include using software — like Booster’s proprietary routing software — to optimize delivery routes to minimize idle time, reduce fuel consumption, and increase productivity. Fleets can also consider scheduling deliveries during off-peak hours, when traffic is lighter and energy demand is lower. 

5. Implement driver training programs: 

Driver behavior has a significant impact on fuel consumption and emissions. Fleet operators can implement driver training programs to encourage more fuel-efficient driving practices, such as avoiding rapid acceleration and excessive idling, maintaining a consistent speed, and reducing unnecessary weight in the vehicle.

6. Monitor and analyze data:

Finally, fleets can be more sustainable by monitoring and analyzing data on their fuel consumption and environmental impact. This can include using telematics devices to track vehicle performance and identify areas for improvement, such as reducing idling time or improving fuel efficiency. Fleets can also use data analytics tools to analyze fuel consumption patterns and identify opportunities to optimize routes, schedules, and vehicle usage.

For fleets needing easily accessible data, Booster’s fleet data portal offers actionable insights into gallons pumped, emissions saved, dollars spent on fuel, and more.

Cleaner, Greener Fleet Solutions

As the entire economy continues to adopt cleaner, greener solutions, fleets are doing the same. Not only will this lighten their impact on the environment, but it will also help them to achieve longevity and efficiency in their business and fleet operations. Along the path of the transportation sector’s energy transition, data analysis, alternative fuels, and mobile fueling will be key methods of boosting sustainability.

Enbridge’s goal to be the “first-choice partner” for Indigenous Nations interested in pursuing energy infrastructure opportunities is taking shape.

Listening. Learning. Adapting. Understanding that the word “partnership” may mean something different to each and every Indigenous Nation on the continent. Understanding the need for deeper, better relationships between project proponents and Indigenous groups than anything seen in the past.

Greg Ebel, recently appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of North America’s leading energy infrastructure company, shared this hopeful and plausible vision today in Vancouver at the sixth annual Values Driven Economy conference, presented by the First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC), where he spoke in front of leaders of more than 130 Indigenous communities across Canada.

The FNMPC’s mandate includes working toward the economic well-being of members by focusing on environment, benefits and ownership opportunities from major projects. A fireside chat with Ebel, who became Enbridge President and CEO in January following the retirement of Al Monaco, was among highlights of the first day of the conference. Today’s discussion alongside Mark Podlasly, Director of Economic Policy at FNMPC, was entitled Examining Today’s Highest Standards of Indigenous-Industry Partnership.

Over the past several years, Enbridge has pioneered a structure for Indigenous equity ownership in major infrastructure projects. The efforts and the lessons learned have helped define the company’s values, Ebel said.

“We want to build partnerships with Indigenous Nations. We continue to listen to and learn from Indigenous leaders and communities, and that’s informing how we engage communities in B.C. and across North America,” he said.

Momentum is building. Clear commitments and actions are laid out today in Enbridge’s Indigenous Reconciliation Action Plan, a document that charts the company’s journey of reconciliation. Of the company’s more than 12,000 employees, nearly all had undertaken the company’s Indigenous awareness training by the end of 2022.

And equity ownership agreements have successfully been forged:

Partners in Enbridge’s proposed open access CO2 transportation and storage hub (the Wabamun Hub) near Edmonton include four Treaty Six First Nations that could own up to a 50% interest in the project.No less than 23 Indigenous Groups—through Athabasca Indigenous Investments—now own an 11.57% stake in seven Enbridge-operated pipelines in Alberta’s Athabasca region, an agreement reached over an industrious six-month span last year “through a lot of listening and flexibility” culminating in what Ebel described as “one of our most proud moments as a company.”

Enbridge, working hard to lead the energy transition, is open to more equity partnerships across North America, Ebel said, reiterating the clear understanding that every one of them may be different.

“We won’t assume that everyone wants the same thing,” he said. “We see ourselves as leaders in the energy transition, and (see) Indigenous partnerships as critical to achieving that transition.” 
 

Earth Month provides me with an opportunity to reflect on my experiences in sustainability, and more specifically, how they have shaped my career and led me to Wells Fargo as the company’s first Chief Sustainability Officer. As I look back, I see how the core themes of community, values, and impact have remained consistent throughout my career — and are especially relevant today.

During my time in Madagascar with the Peace Corps, I began to truly understand the importance of community, values, and impact. I gained new perspectives as a volunteer collaborating with a local group of women to create a women’s cooperative where artisans could sell sustainably made goods. I also worked with community members to find ways to transition the local economy away from slash and burn subsistence farming to viable economic activity associated with the newly designated national park and reserve areas. It required new approaches, such as building scenic hiking trails through the park instead of treacherous, but quick trading routes.

We worked together to find profitable uses of their own resources, such as marketable items made from local, fast-growing grasses. It was crucial that any economic growth stemming from the new ecotourism industry be aligned with the values of the community and that the positive impacts were shared across the many stakeholders involved, primarily the women and their children. This approach provides an important context to “sustainability,” underlining the fact that it must be able to be sustained through generations.

I drew from my experiences in Madagascar as I entered the next chapter of my career, which brought me to environmental and sustainability work with major corporations such as Vivendi Universal and Colgate Palmolive. Though an ocean away from my work in Madagascar, success in my new roles depended on the lessons I learned during my time abroad — how to engage with the local community, align in values, create positive impact, and find solutions that remain sustainable for generations.

Eventually, my path led me to Wells Fargo. I appreciated Wells Fargo’s role as a leader in building sustained economic opportunity within local communities. I could see the positive impact that Wells Fargo’s efforts to support homeownership and invest in small businesses had on underserved communities.

During my time as Wells Fargo’s Environmental and Social Impact manager, I collaborated with internal and external stakeholders to develop an approach for Wells Fargo to integrate its understanding of clients’ environmental and social risk management practices into its own practices. Much like in the local community I worked with in Madagascar, I found people who were interested in working together toward the same goal of economic and sustainable growth.

Today, as Wells Fargo’s first Chief Sustainability Officer, I have the responsibility of finding and supporting opportunities across the company that achieve positive, sustainable impacts. While this role may be new, sustainability at Wells Fargo is not. Our operations — including our buildings and functional activities — have been carbon neutral since 2019 and are becoming more sustainable with the growth of our clean energy contracts and company-owned solar power facilities. We have also made tremendous strides in meeting goals for waste and water reduction.

There is so much going on across our core businesses and throughout Wells Fargo relating to sustainability. I’m proud to work with leaders across the company who are growing business in sustainable finance throughout Wells Fargo by helping our clients and customers reach their own sustainability goals.

Since setting our sustainability goals in 2021, we’ve not only made significant progress in supporting the transition to a resilient, equitable, and sustainable future — but we’ve also uncovered growth opportunities for Wells Fargo’s business.

We deployed approximately $68 billion in 2021 toward our goal of $500 billion by 2030, funding a growing demand for products and services in this space. Whether it is $14.4 billion in tax equity financing to renewable projects across the U.S. or our two Inclusive Communities and Climate bonds totaling $3 billion, Wells Fargo is finding new opportunities while helping our clients and customers meet their sustainability goals. We’re in the middle of an energy transition that continues to evolve, and teams across the bank are working to meet our customers’ needs.

Wells Fargo also has a strong commitment to helping our most vulnerable communities have equal access to opportunities in the transition. We are creating positive impacts through our work with nonprofit Elevate in Chicago to decarbonize low-income housing and the Tides Foundation to build climate-resilient community centers.

I hope you join me to celebrate what we have accomplished so far and look to what we can accomplish in the future. I am confident that we can all be a part of the tremendous positive impact that sustainability can have in the communities where we live and work.

Written by: Robyn Luhning

Back-To-M·A·C was created over 30 years ago to reduce the environmental impact of its packaging by recycling or recovering as much of the brand’s iconic packaging as possible, and M·A·C continues to evolve and improve the program today.

Once consumers are finished with their M·A·C products, they can drop off clean, empty containers in designated green Back-To-M·A·C collection boxes located in participating M·A·C stores and at retail counters all year around. Most M·A·C primary packaging, such as eye shadow pots and lipstick cases, can be returned as part of the Back-To-M·A·C program. (Some exclusions apply.) Visit www.maccosmetics.com/back-to-mac to learn more about Back-To-M·A·C and find a participating location near you.

By Noor Lobad

Originally published by Women’s Wear Daily on March 30, 2023

MAC estimates more than 660,000 pounds of product will be collected each year through the program, and that between 220,000 and 440,000 pounds will be recycled in the U.S. this year with Close the Loop.

Continue reading here.

For the second year in a row, firefighters from Marathon Petroleum’s Los Angeles refinery took part in the Fight For Air Climb at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.In its 16th year, the unique event which challenges participants to climb hundreds of stairs in the coliseum to raise money and awareness for the American Lung Association.The proceeds raised support lung disease research, educational programs and advocacy efforts.

Firefighters from Marathon Petroleum’s Los Angeles refinery returned to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum this year to take part in a unique climbing event, Fight For Air Climb, that challenges people to take the stairs at iconic venues.

In February, members of the refinery’s fire department took part in the 16th annual event along with hundreds of other participants to raise money and awareness for the American Lung Association’s mission to end lung diseases, including COVID-19.

“It was an honor to take part in an event like this to not only raise money, but also awareness for those suffering from lung disease,” said Mike Martinez Sr., who along with his son, Mike Martinez Jr., both firefighters at the Los Angeles refinery, climbed the coliseum stairs for a second year in a row. 

“There’s something about that feeling when you reach the top, knowing that’s how someone battling lung disease might feel like every day.”

For this father-son duo, the climb is personal. “Lung cancer took my father in 2016,” said Martinez Sr. “Participating helps me carry on his legacy, with my son climbing alongside to remember his grandfather.”

The Martinezes were joined by first-time participants from Marathon Charlie Vanisi, Brian Santos, Esteban Esqueda and Michelle Lee, all of whom completed the 2,500-step climb. Some of them did it in their full firefighter gear.

“There’s something about that feeling when you reach the top, knowing that’s how someone battling lung disease might feel like every day,” said Lee. “Individually, I can only do so much monetarily but having the support of our company made the climb’s purpose that much more worth it.”

For a second year in a row, the Los Angeles refinery made a $3,000 donation to the cause as a sponsor of the event.

The Los Angeles refinery fire department, which has 150 firefighters, is not only trained to respond to a potential emergency event at the facility, but they also provide training and assistance to local fire departments.