Tag: 3BL

Donation Supports February “Feed the Love” hunger relief campaign

BATTLE CREEK, Mich., April 6, 2023 /3BL Media/ – Kellogg Company and Albertsons Companies, one of the largest food and drug retailers in the United States, have joined forces for the third consecutive year to tackle the ongoing issue of hunger in the communities they serve.

Kellogg has donated $75,000 to Albertsons Companies Foundation’s Nourishing Neighbors Initiative, a charitable program of the Albertsons Companies Foundation benefiting the hunger-relief efforts of food banks, pantries and hunger-relief charities in communities served by the Albertsons Cos. family of stores. The donation is part of Albertsons Cos. Foundation’s “Feed the Love” in-store promotional campaign during the month of February and will enable these charities to provide approximately 300,000 meals to those in need.1

“Kellogg’s customers are some of our strongest allies in our efforts to create better days for those facing hunger. We are proud to partner with Albertsons for the third consecutive year, creating a difference for families by providing approximately 300,000 meals,” said Michael Ross, Customer Team Lead, Kellogg Company. “We aspire for a world with zero hunger and that can only happen when we work together.”

Food insecurity exists in every county in the United States2, affecting more than 34 million people2, including 9 million children2. In 2021, 53 million Americans utilized food banks.2

“Albertsons Cos. and Kellogg share the belief that everyone, especially children, should have access to nutritious food every day,” said Christy Duncan Anderson, President and Executive Director, Albertsons Cos. Foundation. “We’re proud to be one of the largest contributors to food banks and hunger-relief programs in the neighborhoods we serve3, and we’re able to do this because of our generous customers like Kellogg Company.”

Kellogg’s donation is part of its Better Days Promise environmental, social and governance (ESG) strategy, which aims to create better days for 3 billion people by 2030. Since 2015, Kellogg has fed more than 219 million people facing hunger and reached more than 4.3 million children through feeding programs.

[1] 1 meal = $0.25

[2] https://www.feedingamerica.org/hunger-in-america

[3] https://www.feedingamerica.org/partners/food-and-fund-partners

About Kellogg Company

At Kellogg Company (NYSE: K), our vision is a good and just world where people are not just fed but fulfilled. We are creating better days and a place at the table for everyone through our trusted food brands. Our beloved brands include Pringles®, Cheez-It®, Special K®, Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes®, Pop-Tarts®, Kellogg’s Corn Flakes®, Rice Krispies®, Eggo®, Mini-Wheats®, Kashi®, RXBAR®, MorningStar Farms® and more. Net sales in 2022 were over $15.3 billion, comprised principally of snacks as well as convenience foods like cereal, frozen foods, and noodles. As part of our Kellogg’s™ Better Days Promise ESG strategy, we’re addressing the interconnected issues of wellbeing, climate and food security, creating Better Days for 3 billion people by the end of 2030. Visit www.KelloggCompany.com.

About Albertsons Companies 

Albertsons Companies is a leading food and drug retailer in the United States. As of December 3, 2022, the Company operated 2,270 retail food and drug stores with 1,720 pharmacies, 402 associated fuel centers, 22 dedicated distribution centers and 19 manufacturing facilities. The Company operates stores across 34 states and the District of Columbia with 24 banners including Albertsons, Safeway, Vons, Jewel-Osco, Shaw’s, Acme, Tom Thumb, Randalls, United Supermarkets, Pavilions, Star Market, Haggen, Carrs, Kings Food Markets and Balducci’s Food Lovers Market. The Company is committed to helping people across the country live better lives by making a meaningful difference, neighborhood by neighborhood. In 2021, along with the Albertsons Companies Foundation, the Company contributed nearly $200 million in food and financial support, including approximately $40 million through our Nourishing Neighbors Program to ensure those living in our communities have enough to eat.

Read the original press release or learn more about our Recipe for Change on our website.

Originally published on Built From Scratch

Reducing The Home Depot’s environmental impact is essential to our efforts to build a better business, workplace and world. Home Depot’s chief sustainability officer Ron Jarvis has spent more than two decades driving sustainability improvements at The Home Depot. Here he offers insights into our progress.

Who drives ESG at The Home Depot? 

Many associates and business leaders throughout our enterprise! They take pride in improving their departments and businesses in multiple ESG aspects. Our leadership understands that an effective environmental, social and governance strategy cannot happen in isolation. It is not the sole responsibility of a corporate ESG team. Rather, our ESG strategy must reflect The Home Depot’s core values, and it must be embedded in all aspects of how we run our business. Everybody owns it.

How have associates helped drive ESG progress at The Home Depot? 

One of our eight core values is Do The Right Thing, which drives our associates to find new ways that our organization can reduce its environmental impact. This can be seen through our packaging team who looks for ways to reduce the package footprints and ways to use more sustainable materials for our private-label products. Another example are our associates who work to find ways to upcycle the packaging waste in our stores and supply chain into new products like Trex composite decking.

How is The Home Depot helping customers increase the sustainability of their homes and businesses? 

Our Eco Actions program, which builds on our original Eco Options program that we launched in 2007, helps our customers take on more sustainable DIY projects and choose greener products that can save water, conserve energy or are formulated to reduce certain chemicals. Products can only qualify for this distinction if manufacturers provide third-party verification of environmental claims that meet our program’s requirements. This program also offers customers green project ideas and tips, for example, how to grow an organic garden.

In addition, we encourage our customers to drop off used compact fluorescent light bulbs and rechargeable batteries for recycling. In 2021, we collected 1,162,800 pounds of recycled batteries, a 24% increase since 2014.

We also help our customers go greener in ways that may be less apparent to them. For example, we offer circularity-centered products like our Home Depot-branded moving boxes, made from 100% post- consumer recycled paper fiber, as well as composite deck boards made from recycled plastic waste from our stores. We continue to make progress on our goal to exclude expanded polystyrene (EPS) foam and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) film from our private-brand product packaging by the end of 2023.

When customers rent tools from us, they help avoid the environmental impact of new product manufacturing. Another example: Our stores have cut electricity consumption 50% since 2010, providing our customers a lower energy intensive shopping environment.

Is sustainability a competitive advantage for The Home Depot? 

Overall, we believe good business decisions drive sustainability.

Examples of this can be seen through the investments we’ve made to create the most efficient supply chain in home improvement. These investments have helped us reduce the number of trucks needed and distance traveled to get our products from our supplier to our customers, while also reducing fuel emissions. Another example of this is our store investments, part of which included transitioning stores to LED lighting, which helped us reduce operating costs and electricity consumption.

We also believe that by working with our suppliers to bring innovative and sustainable products to market, we help our customers create more sustainable homes and workplaces. Our efforts to drive innovation can be seen in every aisle of the store, and we believe this is a key differentiator in the market.

We also want to see sustainability be the norm for our entire industry. We are encouraged when we see other retailers take big swings and do innovative things that push all of us to do a better job of protecting the planet, and we hope the innovation that we bring through our operations and products motivates others to do the same.

Keep up with all the latest Home Depot news! Subscribe to our bi-weekly news update and get the top Built from Scratch stories delivered straight to your inbox.

Originally published on Rayonier.com.

WILDLIGHT, Fla., April 6, 2023 /3BL Media/ – Ebony Presha recently spent a week at Alabama A&M University talking about forestry with students at the historically Black school.

Many of the bright students the Rayonier Human Resources Specialist met were working on biology or environmental science degrees but didn’t know about corporate forestry as a career path. Most of them hadn’t even heard of Rayonier.

But after talking to Ebony, several applied for the company’s forestry internships and scholarships. Those face-to-face conversations made all the difference.

A Focus on Inclusion and Diversity in Forestry

Ebony’s role at Rayonier is focused on creating greater awareness of forestry career opportunities and expanding diversity within the industry. This is a much-needed change in the industry, she says, because the vast majority of corporate forestry’s employees are white males.

“I’m passionate about attracting underrepresented candidates to forestry,” says Ebony. “As the company becomes more culturally diverse, it becomes more marketable in all areas. And it opens the doors for different ideas and new relationships.”

Ebony has worked in HR for almost 20 years, the last six of which she spent running her own staffing business. She recruited for companies around the U.S., often targeting candidates from underrepresented groups to create more diverse company cultures.

She understands the barriers companies face in expanding diversity.

Raising Awareness About Career Paths Outside the Mainstream

“Students from underrepresented groups–a lot of times their story is more focused on survival,” says Ebony. “You know, ‘Let’s just get the basic education and possibly learn a trade,’ and then that’s it. A lot of it is a lack of information. They don’t have the knowledge of careers outside of the mainstream. Their parents and teachers don’t have the knowledge of these types of careers to present to the students.”

Some students she met on the Alabama A&M trip knew about forestry, but the only career path they’d been exposed to was to work for a government-based forest entity. They didn’t know about the rewarding careers offered in corporate forestry.

Other students wondered how they would pay for graduate school and were excited to hear about scholarship opportunities.

Ebony is happy that students from underrepresented groups seem eager to learn about forestry. But she says it’s also important to create an inclusive environment, one that welcomes people from diverse backgrounds.

An Inclusive Work Environment is Critical for Diversity in Forestry

In her time as a staffing consultant, Ebony saw many companies lose new hires due to less inclusive work cultures.

She says this is an issue the forestry industry needs to continue working on too. Some of the young candidates she’s reached out to have decided not to pursue corporate forestry careers because of negative experiences in internships and entry-level positions.

“One young African-American woman I spoke with was second-guessed, overlooked and even faced comments about her hair,” Ebony says. “She vowed she would never go back into corporate forestry after that.”

Ebony also met a young African-American man who worked in an entry-level position. While working by himself in the woods, he was intimidated by people driving by and yelling racial slurs at him.

While she hasn’t been subject to this kind of work environment, Ebony says she has had to reassure family members that she is safe.

Ebony’s grandmother was worried about her when Ebony toured a Rayonier forest. Her grandmother grew up in the South where she was afraid to be alone in the woods due to racially-motivated violence.

“I told her ‘It’s 2023,’” Ebony says. “But her fear from when she was younger, it still exists today. I didn’t have any fear in the woods–except for snakes. I felt hope in those woods. It’s not the same woods my grandmother knew.”

Hopes for an Industry-Wide Change

Ebony’s hope for the future is that forestry becomes more inclusive for all employees.

“I feel that Rayonier is a leader in diversity and inclusion in forestry,” Ebony says. “I haven’t seen this effort elsewhere. I’m hopeful that in time–because this does take time–that we will see change industry-wide. I hope to be able to say, ‘Wow, there’s so much opportunity for younger, underrepresented communities to come into forestry, learn and make it even better.’”

Community First Fund was founded by Black and Latino community visionaries with a dream to provide much-needed capital to low-income entrepreneurs and community organizations serving the poor in South Central Pennsylvania. These leaders created community development loan institutions (CDFI) – some of the first to form across the country – to address the opportunity gap and make capital accessible to all residents. To date, Community First Fund has provided $487 million in loans and investments across central and eastern Pennsylvania, 71% of which has gone to businesses owned by people of color.

Over the last decade, there has been a notable increase in Black, Hispanic, Latino, and Asian residents in Pennsylvania, presenting an opportunity to rebuild a racially equitable local economy. Learn how Truist Foundation’s $2.25 million grant to Community First Fund’s Economic Justice Fund, which provides capital to Black and Latino entrepreneurs across Eastern and Central Pennsylvania, is helping small business owners—like Mamie Sardnee, owner of Woodland Produce in Philadelphia—grow their businesses and achieve their dreams.

To learn more about the transformative power of access to capital, read the full story here.

About Truist Foundation

Truist Foundation is committed to Truist Financial Corporation’s (NYSE: TFC) purpose to inspire and build better lives and communities. Established in 2020, Truist Foundation makes strategic investments in nonprofit organizations to help ensure the communities it serves have more opportunities for a better quality of life. Truist Foundation’s grants and activities focus on building career pathways to economic mobility and strengthening small businesses. Learn more at truist.com/foundation.

Originally published on Illumina News Center

The Nasdaq closing bell in New York City signifies the end of a full day of trading on the stock market, a day of transactions made to benefit shareholders and companies, and propel business forward. Fittingly, Illumina representatives rang the closing bell on March 30, the day before the company completed its first 25 years in business.

In attendance were Illumina Chief Commercial Officer Susan Tousi, Chief Marketing Officer Kathryne Reeves, Chief People Officer Aimee Hoyt, and Head of Region for the Americas Nicki Berry. Joining these executives at the Nasdaq MarketSite in Times Square were Illumina employees—including some who have 25 years of service—and select customers.

Tousi rang the bell and spoke about the many genomic milestones and scientific achievements Illumina has made in the last quarter century, such as its ability to sequence 20,000 human genomes with one instrument in a single year.

“The more than 9,500 researchers and clinicians we serve are using these incredible advances in science to transform human health in ways that were unimaginable 25 years ago,” she said. “Like diagnosing rare disease in a matter of days. Or catching the deadliest cancers at Stage 1 or Stage 0… or using genetics to fight climate change.”

She concluded: “This is the Genome Era. And our employees, our customers, and our partners are leading it. Together, we’re going to unlock the potential and the power of the genome to improve human health. And that is reason to celebrate!”

To read about the 25 greatest impacts in Illumina’s 25 years of innovation, click here.

Originally published in Essence Magazine

By Jasmine Browley 

Growing up, many of us were taught that hard work would beget great fortune. That being a good steward would lay the groundwork for a beautiful life. Teresa White is a living example of that formula and after more than 20 years, she’s reaping the fruits of her labor.

A labor of love to be exact.

She’s the first woman and first African-American to serve as president of Aflac U.S., the supplemental insurance firm worth nearly $40 billion.

She’d first joined the company in 1998 as a vice president leading payroll administration, policyholder administration, and overseeing new business operations. By the end of her tenure, left an imprint that led to 65 percent of Aflac’s 5,700 employees being women, and nearly 50 percent people of color. 

Continue reading the full article here

CLEVELAND, April 06, 2023 /3BL Media/ – KeyBank Community Development Lending and Investment (CDLI) KeyBank provided $83 million for the acquisition and rehabilitation of Woodway Square Apartments (Woodway), a 240-unit, affordable, family project located in Austin, Texas.

Construction financing is being arranged by KeyBank’s CDLI group with an equity bridge loan of approximately $18.2 million, a $40 million private placement construction to permanent loan provided and Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) equity of $24 million.

The sponsor/developer Dominium is a prolific affordable housing developer, with headquarters in Plymouth, Minnesota and regional offices in Atlanta, Dallas, Minneapolis, and Phoenix.

Woodway is a 240-unit, garden-style community for individuals and families earning no more than 60% of the area median income. The property includes twelve-buildings with 60 one-bedroom units, 138 two-bedroom units, and 42 three-bedroom units. The affordable community includes on-site management, a community room, playground, and swimming pool. The property will undergo a rehabilitation with a total project cost of $72 million.

The project received local support and engagement through the Section 811 Project Rental Assistance (PRA) program which provides project-based rental assistance for low-income persons with disabilities linked with long term services. The program is made possible through a partnership between the State Agency and the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) and creates the opportunity for persons with disabilities to live as independently as possible.

Anna Belanger of KCDC and Kelly Frank of CDLI structured the financing.

About KeyBank Community Development Lending and Investment 
KeyBank Community Development Lending and Investment (CDLI) finances projects that stabilize and revitalize communities across all 50 states. As one of the top affordable housing capital providers in the country, KeyBank’s platform brings together construction, acquisition, bridge-to-re-syndication, and preservation loans, as well as lines of credit, Agency and HUD permanent mortgage executions, and equity investments for low-income housing projects, especially Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) financing. KeyBank has earned 10 consecutive “Outstanding” ratings on the Community Reinvestment Act exam, from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, making it the first U.S. national bank among the 25 largest to do so since the Act’s passage in 1977.

About KeyCorp 
KeyCorp’s roots trace back nearly 200 years to Albany, New York. Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, Key is one of the nation’s largest bank-based financial services companies, with assets of approximately $189.8 billion at December 31, 2022. Key provides deposit, lending, cash management, and investment services to individuals and businesses in 15 states under the name KeyBank National Association through a network of approximately 1,000 branches and approximately 1,300 ATMs. Key also provides a broad range of sophisticated corporate and investment banking products, such as merger and acquisition advice, public and private debt and equity, syndications, and derivatives to middle market companies in selected industries throughout the United States under the KeyBanc Capital Markets trade name. For more information, visit https://www.key.com/. KeyBank is Member FDIC.

Over 764,000 high school students have taken Fifth Third Bank’s financial education and entrepreneurship courses over the past five years. Powered by EverFi, Fifth Third Bank Finance Academy®’s digital courses are designed to empower students with the skills to make financial decisions that lead to successful lives with courses covering baking basics, budgeting, credit scores and reports, insurance and business plans. Students completed over 1.7 million hours of learning.

Since 2017, Fifth Third Bank Finance Academy® leaders have played a significant role by driving education and engagement with students in over 250 virtual and in-person events through a long-standing scholarship program, which has delivered over $350,000 in scholarship wards funded.

Fifth Third Bank Finance Academy® is one of the Fifth Third Bank L.I.F.E. (Lives Improved through Financial Empowerment®) programs offered at no charge to people at every age and stage of life. Other signature programs include the Fifth Third Bank Young Bankers Club® and the Fifth Third Financial Empowerment Mobile, or eBus,

Covia is a leading provider of diversified mineral solutions to the oil and gas, glass, ceramics, coatings, metals, foundry, polymers, construction, water filtration, sports and recreation markets. The company is committed to being more than just a leading provider of high-performance mineral and material solutions. Covia believes that the company can make a positive difference in the world. This belief is what drives the commitment to environmental, social and governance (ESG) strategy.

In 2021, Covia formally introduced the company’s 2030 ESG Goals: Goals that Inspire. The 10 goals were broken into our three core areas – Environmental Stewardship, Positive Social Impact and Responsible Governance & Ethics.

Environmental Stewardship – Covia commits to fostering sustainable, responsible initiatives to keep our planet’s water, air, and land clean for generations to come.Social Impact – Covia ensures Team Members have a safe work environment with opportunities to grow and improve. Covia recognizes that it is more than just a company; it is part of the communities in which it operates, and Team Members takes pride in that connection.Responsible Governance & Ethics – Covia values sound corporate governance practices, a sustainable business model, and conducting business activities ethically.

The company’s 2030 ESG Goals were developed by Covia Team members across the company and drives tangible and measurable progress in areas where we can make the most impact.

This commitment and strategy drive meaningful progress to make a positive difference for Covia’s people, the planet, and communities. More information about Covia’s goals and metrics can be found at CoviaCorp.com/ESG/.

Mastercard today announced it is accelerating efforts to remove first–use, PVC plastics from payment cards on its network by 2028. This move further reinforces the company’s sustainability commitments and scales the accessibility of more sustainable card offerings for consumers seeking a way to reduce the environmental impact of their wallet.

From January 1, 2028, all newly–produced Mastercard plastic payment cards will be made from more sustainable materials – including recycled or bio-sourced plastics such as rPVC, rPET, or PLA1 – and approved through a certification program, in a first move for a payment network. The company will support its global issuing partners through the transition away from virgin PVC.

Mastercard launched its Sustainable Card Program in 2018. Since then, over 330 issuers across 80 countries have signed up, working in partnership with major card manufacturers to transition more than 168 million cards across its network to recycled and bio-based materials. Today’s announcement further accelerates these efforts, while also complementing the company’s work to deliver innovative, digital-first card programs that fully eliminate the need for a physical card offering.

The rule change will see all newly made cards certified by Mastercard to assess their composition and sustainability claims; this certification will then be validated by an independent third-party auditor. Once a card has been validated it can be imprinted with a Card Eco Certification mark.

“At Mastercard we are leading and shaping our industry’s collective pursuit of a more sustainable, more environmentally conscious future,” said Ajay Bhalla, President of Cyber & Intelligence at Mastercard. “As our customers respond to increased consumer desire to make more eco-friendly choices, we are making a firm commitment to reducing our environmental footprint – for the benefit of people, planet and inclusive growth.”

Mastercard established its sustainability efforts more than a decade ago with a focus on financial inclusion, data responsibility and the environment. Through its network it collaborates with partners to bring new environmental innovations and initiatives to market, such as our Priceless Planet Coalition, Carbon Calculator as well as the Sustainable Card.

“Mastercard is committed to advancing climate action and reducing waste by driving our business toward net zero emissions and leveraging our network and scale to accelerate the transition to a low-carbon, regenerative economy,” said Ellen Jackowski, Chief Sustainability Officer for Mastercard.

In 2018, through Mastercard’s Digital Security Lab, the company launched the Greener Payments Partnership with card manufacturers Gemalto, Giesecke+Devrient and IDEMIA to reduce the use of first-use PVC plastic in card manufacturing. Mastercard’s participant banks span more than 80 different countries worldwide. It launched the Mastercard Card Eco-Certification (“CEC”) scheme in 2021.

Comments from partner banks:

Taylan Turan, Group Head of Retail Banking and Strategy, Wealth and Personal Banking at HSBC, said:

“Today’s announcement from Mastercard is a huge step for financial services. New sustainable materials, such as rPVC, offer our sector a clear way to accelerate its efforts to build a more sustainable future.

“As part of our net zero strategy at HSBC, we’ve already introduced recycled plastic payment cards across 28 of our global markets and embedded the requirement to use sustainable materials for all debit, credit and commercial cards in our product governance; removing 85 tonnes of plastic that would have ended up in landfill.

“This level of impact couldn’t be achieved without strong partnership; I am so proud for us to be a part of a movement which is gathering momentum across the world.”

Michael Battagliese, Head of Payment Solutions, Senior Vice President at Bank of the West said:

“We believe that conducting business sustainably is simply the right thing to do. That’s why we partnered with Mastercard on our 1% For The Planet Checking Account debit cards, which are designed to reduce the impact of first-use PVC on the environment.

“We’re proud to have been one of the first banks in the US to be a part of the sustainable cards program and we’re pleased Mastercard is on a path to make all payment cards with more sustainable materials.”

Helen Bierton, Chief Banking Officer at Starling Bank said:

“This initiative is a welcome next step in the journey to a sustainable future. As one of the first banks to remove first-use PVC from our debit cards, we know how important this is to our customers.”

“We recognise this can only be achieved with strong partnerships and support for the efforts by Mastercard to widen the programme to its entire network.”

Driving a more sustainable future

Tackling the global climate crisis will take all of us. Mastercard can have the biggest impact by activating our global network to create collective action. Through this network, we are collaborating with partners to bring new environmental innovations and initiatives to market, such as our Priceless Planet Coalition, Carbon Calculator and Sustainable Card Program. And we’re partnering across the public, private and social sectors to drive the next generation of climate innovation. Our Sustainability Innovation Lab serves as an R&D center for sustainable digital products and a platform to co-create with partners.

1 rPVC, rPET, or PLA are examples of alternative plastics that are most commonly used in packaging, construction materials, and recycled bottles.

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