Tag: 3BL

OVERLAND PARK, Kan., March 21 2023 /3BL Media/ — Black & Veatch, a global leader in critical infrastructure solutions, has announced Silas S. Dulan III as an Associate Vice President and the company’s Global Director of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion. Dulan will work with company leaders to advance commitments to creating and sustaining a diverse, inclusive and equitable workplace.

Dulan previously served in various DEI-related leadership roles, most recently as Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at electric utility company Evergy. Dulan’s experience includes facilitation of companywide training and education, extensive work with employee resource groups and boards of directors, and improvement of diversity in hiring.

“Silas will be a key contributor to further strengthen our collaborative, inclusive and innovative culture where we value and respect one another’s differences and continually enhance how we work together as employee-owners,” said Black & Veatch Chairman and CEO Mario Azar. “In an industry where complex challenges demand innovative solutions, real value is driven by the unique skills, backgrounds and experiences of all our professionals.”

As part of its DEI focus, Black & Veatch has increased leadership diversity while driving DEI principles further into the organization’s hiring practices and training. One example includes a new program that matched professionals representing historically marginalized communities with Black & Veatch leaders who provide support, advocacy and career development guidance. In addition, the company recently launched a DEI knowledge builder learning series with courses for all professionals to build empathy, understanding and a culture of inclusion.

As Black & Veatch continues to identify meaningful DEI metrics, it remains committed to creating an inclusive workplace for all employee-owners, including those represented through its many company-sponsored Employee Resource Groups.

“As an employee-owned company, our people are at the heart of everything we do,” said Joy Johnson, interim Chief Human Resources Officer for Black & Veatch. “DEI is fundamental to our hiring process and employee experience. We believe every individual has a unique perspective and we are committed to fostering an environment where everyone can be part of the solution and feel equipped to make a difference.”

Editor’s Notes: 

Black & Veatch earned a perfect score in the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s 2022 Corporate Equality Index, earning “Best Place to Work for the LGBTQ Equality” for the fourth consecutive year.To learn more about Black & Veatch’s DEI initiatives, click here.For a high-resolution headshot of Silas S. Dulan III, click here.

About Black & Veatch 
Black & Veatch is a 100-percent employee-owned global engineering, procurement, consulting and construction company with a more than 100-year track record of innovation in sustainable infrastructure. Since 1915, we have helped our clients improve the lives of people around the world by addressing the resilience and reliability of our most important infrastructure assets. Our revenues in 2022 were US$4.3 billion. Follow us on www.bv.com and on social media.

Media Contact Information:

MEGHAN LOCKNER | +1 201-977-1628 | locknerm@bv.com 
24-HOUR MEDIA CONTACT | Media@bv.com

As previously seen on Skytop Strategies and published with permission.

50,000 Entities

We estimate that more than 50,000 entities (companies, not-for-profits, and government bodies) generate data on their ESG (Environment, Social, and Governance) performance. They talk about how they treat their employees, what goes into their products, their impact on climate change, and many other topics.

Many Types, Factors and Data

We currently track more than 13,000 different types of ESG factors and ingest more than 10 million pieces of data per month. However, we do not get to see a lot of “dark data”—the ESG information that is shared between suppliers and their customers or between companies and regulators. We also do not see all the reports that go up and down the chain within an entity or the opinions that are offered on ESG data by auditors and assurance firms. We suspect there could be 50 million pieces of ESG generated per month—or more!

Paper, Spreadsheets and Modules

Most entities that emit ESG data have built systems to capture it. Initially, data was tracked on paper or in a spreadsheet. Nowadays, many larger entities have added modules to their software systems to capture and process data and other modules to aggregate it and prepare it to be reported.

It Takes Time and Money

Generating data, capturing data, preparing it, and auditing or assuring it all take time and money. Middle-sized ($50 million to $100 million revenue) companies have one to three full time staff handling “sustainability” issues. These people are paid $50,000 or more, each. Producing an annual sustainability report for larger entities can easily cost over $100,000. Software tools for capturing ESG data can cost over $100,000 and many thousands of dollars more to operate. Assurance for a sustainability report could cost $50,000. Getting one’s auditors involved could add $50,000 to $100,000 to an annual report process.

A Cost of More Than $20 Billion

Let’s put the average annual cost of creating ESG data at $200,000 per entity. If 50,000 entities are creating data, the total cost may be $10 billion. If we include suppliers and smaller companies, another 200,000 to 2,000,000 entities may be spending money to create data. This could mean creating ESG data is already costing the world more than $20 billion. Is this money well spent? Is ESG reporting a net value creator or a net value destroyer?

Not Necessarily Driving Change

It is easy to argue that measuring ESG factors could encourage companies to uncover sustainability-related opportunities. If a company is emitting a lot of carbon, it could lay out a plan to cut its energy use. If a company’s managers aren’t behaving ethically, it could strengthen its internal controls. However, it seems that many of the ESG factors that companies are producing do not tie to or drive change and action. For instance:

A. Measuring something doesn’t automatically lead to finding benefits. Changes in measurement methods (for instance due to changes in regulatory guidance) could swamp the effect of actual changes.

B. Improvement in one area might generate poor performance in another. Allowing remote work (good for human management issues) might reduce opportunities for employees to contribute to and learn from a company’s culture. Volunteering time to serve the community (good for encouraging community support) could create conflicts with employee attitudes and beliefs (if for instance, the supported organizations were faith based).

C. Simplifying an issue to a number doesn’t translate into impact. Ensuring that a company’s board has a balanced representation of genders and races may be desirable. But, board members also need skills and sensitivity that can’t be measured solely by their gender or color. Simple number or percent based targets may not fully capture the progress an entity may be making in the quality of its board.

Focus on Impact and Value

We often hear calls for more reporting of more indicators by more entities. Some want this data rigidly standardized, integrated into an entity’s other reports, and included in a formal audit and review process. Following this path will further increase the cost of ESG reporting. Isn’t it time to step back and focus instead on its impact and value? “Material” should not be defined as “something that matters to investors. It should instead be defined as “something that makes the world better.” It may be sensible to:

1. Encourage industry groups to collaborate with their members to pool data and search for industry-centric improvements. 
2. Encourage government regulators to mandate reporting indicators only if they can be shown to directly generate “public good.” 
3. Ask standards bodies to stop producing standards that are not tied to specific objectives that have positive impact on society.

Increasing Impact

People responsible for ESG reporting have told me that some of what they do is pointless, fill in the box, and cover your a**. They want to increase their impact and help change the world. Let’s give them room to do the job they signed up for by allowing them to spend money on things that really matter. Let’s focus ESG reporting on value creation rather than valueless paperwork.

 

Bahar Gidwani is CTO and Co-founder of CSRHub. He has built and run large technology-based businesses for many years. Bahar holds a CFA, worked on Wall Street with Kidder, Peabody, and with McKinsey & Co. Bahar has consulted to a number of major companies and currently serves on the board of several software and Web companies. He has an MBA from Harvard Business School and an undergraduate degree in physics and astronomy. He plays bridge, races sailboats, and is based in New York City.

About CSRHub

CSRHub offers one of the world’s broadest and most consistent set of Environment, Social, and Governance (ESG) ratings, covering 50,000 companies. Its Big Data algorithm combines millions of data points on ESG performance from hundreds of sources, including leading ESG analyst raters, to produce consensus scores on all aspects of corporate social responsibility and sustainability. CSRHub ratings can be used to drive corporate, investor and consumer decisions. For more information, visit www.CSRHub.com. CSRHub is a B Corporation.

Suppliers of Whole Foods Market are empowering microentrepreneurs, primarily women, with economic opportunity. These generous brands fund microloans for entrepreneurs living in poverty so they can start or expand a small business, often home-based. With a small loan of around $200, an entrepreneur can purchase essential needs for their small enterprises, such as products for a food stand, equipment for a sewing business, or tools for a small-scale farm.  Profits from their microbusinesses provide these entrepreneurs the opportunity to lift themselves and their families out of poverty, one loan at a time.

Celebrating the economic achievements of women in March

Every year, we celebrate the economic achievements of women microcredit clients in March during Women’s History Month. Supporting brands are invited to help further our mission by funding additional microloans. Brands that donate $25,000 in March to fund microcredit are recognized as members of Whole Planet Foundation’s Poverty Is Unnecessary Fund. This month’s generous donors include Schmidt’s, Lundberg Family Farms, MaryRuth’s, SheaMoisture and So Delicious.

Schmidt’s

Jaime Schmidt started making natural products in her Portland kitchen back in 2010. She felt frustrated with the lack of effective natural products in the marketplace, so she decided to make her own. Today, this woman-founded company, in partnership with Whole Planet Foundation, is paying it forward by helping fund microloans for women microentrepreneurs around the globe. With their renewed support, Schmidt’s is funding additional microloans for those living in poverty around the global. To date, Schmidt’s has helped fund more than 2,290 income-generating opportunities for entrepreneurs, primarily women.

Learn how you can help support our mission at wholeplanetfoundation.org.

The following is an excerpt from the 2022 Cisco Purpose Report, published on December 8, 2022.

The Internet is a critical lifeline to jobs, education, and socialization for many people. Yet today, about half of the world’s population remains unconnected.

Powering an Inclusive Future for All means addressing the barriers that keep people from accessing the Internet, including cost, skills gaps, and lack of networking infrastructure. But access is just the beginning. Once people are connected to the Internet, we want to create an experience that helps meet their needs. We are making improvements across our product portfolio to help ensure more people are not only connected, but also have trust in digital solutions with product features that set them up for success.

Our impact: Unlocking the value of digitization

Since 2015, Cisco has collaborated with government leaders, industry, and academia to support the delivery of national digital agendas through the Country Digital Acceleration (CDA) program. Over the last two years the pandemic has accelerated the adoption of digital technologies; however, it has also highlighted the stark digital divide that exists across society and within different socioeconomic groups. Through CDA, we are supporting countries to embrace digital and deliver connected and inclusive societies. To date, CDA has over 1100 active or completed projects in 44 countries.

For example:

In South Africa, we are expanding Cisco Experience, Design, Go-to-Market, Earn (EDGE) Centers. EDGE Centers function as incubators for business knowledge, speed up entry to market, and ultimately create new jobs for the local economy. They provide small- and medium-sized businesses with state-of-the-art Cisco communication and collaboration technology, as well as training and enablement programs to support the growth of local businesses.Despite strong privacy and cybercrime laws, Italy is one of the world’s top targets of cyber attacks. Cisco established a first-of-its-kind cybersecurity co-innovation center in Milan. The center will promote research and innovation, train the next generation of cybersecurity professionals, and create a local innovation ecosystem.In Switzerland, the region of Jura is making e-government services accessible to citizens, particularly those who have never used e-services before or can’t easily access them from home. Cisco has partnered with local leaders to deploy two interactive kiosks in the town of Porrentruy to help ensure all citizens have access to the services they need.Citizens in remote and rural regions in Mexico have limited access to specialist medical consultants. Cisco partnered with Médica Sur, a private healthcare group, to pilot “Doctor in a Box,” a mobile medical kit that can be deployed in isolated parts of the country. By making digital patient services mobile, we have expanded the medical coverage of one of Mexico’s most advanced hospitals.

Inclusion by design in Cisco products

As a collaboration platform, Webex offers multiple ways for people to connect. We continue to invest in and develop more inclusive features for this portfolio of products. For example, Webex Control Hub, which provides real-time analytics for all Webex services, uses a color palette that provides accessibility for colorblind users. High-contrast features in the Webex app and meeting platform make work easier for low-vision users. Real-time closed captioning and translation into over 100 languages during meetings helps those with language or auditory barriers, leading to greater participation and retention, especially when Webex is used for remote learning.

Bringing connectivity to communities

Today, broadband infrastructure has been installed across most of the United States. But even in places where broadband exists, there are regions where large portions of the population experience the digital divide. These “broadband deserts” are home to 82% of the country’s historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs).

Lack of connectivity has implications for people’s ability to seek education and employment, access healthcare, and connect with others. To address this disparity—and as part of our Social Justice Action 8: Commit to HCBUs, Cisco is installing broadband service on the campus of Claflin University in Orangeburg, South Carolina. The installation’s location makes for an outsize benefit. Not only is South Carolina one of the states with the highest number of households without broadband access, Claflin is located right next to South Carolina State University, another HBCU. The new equipment will provide connectivity to both universities and will extend nearly two miles into the surrounding community.

Once complete, this pilot may serve as a model for other HBCUs that do not have access to government funding. Cisco is fully funding the Claflin installation, and the Student Freedom Initiative is providing support to extend this work to other colleges and universities. This work is just one aspect of Cisco’s efforts to support HBCUs and the AA/B community as a whole.

Scott McGregor, Lead, Cisco Social Justice Action 8, shared, “Throughout their history, HBCUs have been not only a source of education, but also a pillar of their communities. Providing connectivity is a way that they can continue to play this role.”

To learn more about the progress we’re making to power a more inclusive future, visit our Cisco ESG Reporting Hub, where you can read our 2022 Cisco Purpose Report.

SAN ANTONIO, Texas, March 21, 2023 /3BL Media/ – Solidia Technologies®, a leading provider of decarbonization technologies and sustainable solutions to the construction and building materials industries, is expanding production capacity of its proprietary Supplementary Cementitious Material (SCM), a key component used in concrete, at its headquarters in San Antonio, Texas. Solidia’s high-performing, engineered SCM product improves the durability, workability, and overall properties of concrete while mineralizing captured CO₂ to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 30% to 40%. With significantly more production capacity and proximity to key customers, suppliers, and partners, the expansion continues the company’s move from research and development into commercialization.

Over the past year, the Solidia team has made tremendous strides optimizing the product to achieve the desired attributes, consistent quality, and high performance required for end-use applications. This enables Solidia SCM to be used at much greater cement replacement levels than fly ash and other existing alternatives in most concrete applications. With those improvements, Solidia has invested to increase capacity, with production beginning at the facility in mid-2023.

“Our achievements in R&D have enabled us to invest in expanding annual SCM production capacity to ~1,000 tonnes,” said Pradeep Ghosh, Solidia’s Senior Director of Strategy and Business Development. “This will allow us to supply key stakeholders, like ready-mix suppliers and government entities, with material for testing, trials, and projects.”

The expanded capability is also a first step toward addressing the supply chain challenges ready-mix producers are experiencing with cement and existing SCMs such as fly ash. Fly ash, a byproduct of coal-fired power plants, is the most common SCM, but with coal-fired plants continuing to be retired, concrete producers may face increasing shortages. Most importantly, the expansion helps advance Solidia’s cement and CO2 mineralization technologies that collectively lower concrete’s overall carbon footprint by up to 50%.

“Increased production capacity is a significant milestone for advancing Solidia’s SCM technology and combined with our commercial focus on carbon-mineralizing concrete products represents our strong commitment to reduce the construction industry’s carbon footprint,” said Russell Hill, Ph.D., Solidia’s CEO. “The expansion of our SCM production will allow us to provide a higher-performing, higher-quality, more consistent product to concrete producers and customers.”

For more information, visit www.solidiatech.com.

# # #

About Solidia Technologies® 
Based in San Antonio, Texas (USA), Solidia Technologies® is a leading provider of decarbonization technologies and sustainable solutions to the construction and building materials industries. Investors include Imperative Ventures, Zero Carbon Partners, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments), Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Prelude Ventures, PIVA Capital, John Doerr, BP, OGCI Climate Investments, Bill Joy, Kleiner Perkins, BASF Venture Capital, Holcim, Total Carbon Neutrality Ventures, Air Liquide Venture Capital (ALIAD), and other private investors. Recognition includes Fast Company 2021 World Changing Idea; Solar Impulse 1000 Efficient Solution; Global Cleantech 100; Inc.’s Top Start-Up to Watch 2020; Best Place to Work in NJ; BP Advancing Low Carbon accreditation; ERA Grand Challenge finalist; Sustainia 100; NJBiz Business of the Year; and R&D Top 100. Follow Solidia on LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.

PITTSBURGH, March 21, 2023 /3BL Media/ – PNC Bank and Chip Ganassi Racing (CGR) announced the launch of Women In Motorsports Powered by PNC Bank with Chip Ganassi Racing, a new campaign to drive awareness and support for gender equality and economic inclusion for women in the workforce. The initiative includes a thought leadership video content series showcasing female industry leaders and an internship designed to accelerate career pathways in motorsports for women.

Women In Motorsports brings an additional educational component to PNC’s active sponsorship with CGR, by providing a platform to fuel dialogue about the increasing importance of women as decision makers and influencers with employees, customers and race fans across the country.

“While women continue to make inroads in careers dominated by males, such as motorsports, tech and finance, much work remains in achieving greater access to highly skilled jobs and equal pay,” said Debbie Guild, PNC head of Enterprise Technology and Security. “Cultivating opportunities to build out the next pipeline of female innovators, entrepreneurs and business leaders is critical to closing the economic gender gap. We all recognize that a diverse workforce can spark innovation in the workplace and influence economic inclusion for all. This program shines a light on this business imperative.”

Through a unique video series, the Women In Motorsports campaign will highlight women in the CGR organization who have excelled in the field of motorsports. These women include: IMSA engineer Danielle Shepherd, INDYCAR engineer Angela Ashmore and INDYCAR mechanic Anna Chatten.

Additionally, CGR will facilitate the inaugural Women In Motorsports internship program engaging a select group of female college students in on-site learning and career-development experiences during the 2022 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season. The internship is open to eligible women attending a university, college or other higher education institution in the U.S. and includes a paid stipend and academic credit where applicable. The application portal opens at 9 a.m. ET, March 8, and closes at 5 p.m. ET, March 22. Chip Ganassi Racing will select the cohort and notify participants by April 1, 2022. For more information or to apply, visit wim.chipganassiracing.com.

“Teaming up with PNC to launch Women In Motorsports reflects our commitment to help advance opportunities for women in the sport,” said Chip Ganassi, CGR team owner. “We’re excited to highlight the achievements of our team members and share a behind-the-scenes look at their contributions to this championship organization, which will hopefully help pave the way for female students to develop specialized skills in areas such as racing operations and engineering to information technology and athletic training, to name a few.”

Guild leads a broader corporate effort at PNC to champion equitable opportunities for women in the workplace. She, alongside other PNC and Chip Ganassi Racing representatives, will participate in unique Women In Motorsports-themed initiatives, chiefly in cities hosting the INDYCAR race circuit. These will include special events and other opportunities to engage audiences with the interns, CGR female staff, and CGR driver and six-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Scott Dixon.

“We have the capabilities and resources of a big bank, but our Main Street Bank model allows us to be intentional in how we impact the communities where we live and work. We believe that acknowledging, respecting and supporting women’s ambitions, goals and priorities helps drive financial equality. It’s a philosophy that we’ve been focused on for more than 20 years,” said Guild.

PNC’s long-standing support for women and female financial decision-makers is evident across the organization, from a dedicated platform for Women’s Business Development to nearly 4,000 PNC-certified women’s business advocates active in their communities and committed to providing valuable resources for business development. This support is also demonstrated through Women Connect, PNC’s internal employee business resource group with more than 11,000 members; Men As Allies, a program through which male employees support the advancement of their female colleagues; and Women’s Leadership Development, a program to help prepare high-performing female employees for leadership roles.

PNC also recently launched a purpose-driven initiative, Project 257sm: Accelerating Women’s Financial Equality to help close the 257-year economic gender gap identified by the World Economic Forum’s 2020 Global Gender Gap Report. This focus embodies PNC’s commitment to making a positive difference by leveraging the power of its resources to help all move forward financially. PNC has been a partner of CGR since 2013. The relationship has expanded over time, with PNC becoming the primary sponsor of the No. 9 PNC Bank Honda driven by Dixon, who holds the record for the most wins among active INDYCAR drivers.

Chip Ganassi has been a fixture in the auto racing industry for over 30 years and is considered one of the most successful and innovative owners in motorsports. Today, his teams include four Honda cars in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, two Cadillac Dpi’s in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and one GMC Hummer EV in Extreme E. Overall, his teams have 21 championships and more than 230 victories, including four wins in the Indianapolis 500, eight Rolex 24 At Daytona victories, and wins in the 12 Hours of Sebring and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Ganassi boasts state-of-the-art facilities in Indianapolis, where INDYCAR, IMSA and Extreme E teams are located, and a corporate office in Pittsburgh. For more information, visit www.chipganassiracing.com.

PNC Bank, National Association, is a member of The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE: PNC). PNC is one of the largest diversified financial services institutions in the United States, organized around its customers and communities for strong relationships and local delivery of retail and business banking including a full range of lending products; specialized services for corporations and government entities, including corporate banking, real estate finance and asset-based lending; wealth management and asset management. For information about PNC, visit www.pnc.com. 

CONTACTS: 
PNC 
Maria Pasic 
(312) 342-1565 
maria.pasic@pnc.com 
@MariaPasicPNC

CHIP GANASSI RACING 
Will Erickson 
(612) 990-3452 
werickson@ganassi.com 
@CGRTeams

Originally published on TriplePundit.com

Back in 2011, Facebook set an ambitious target to meet 100 percent of its energy needs with renewable sources. It took 10 years to build the infrastructure and programs, but in 2020, the company now known as Meta crossed the finish line. Meta now has a robust renewable energy portfolio spanning six countries and 20 U.S. states that produces as much energy as the company’s global operations consume.

“Our renewable energy projects are diverse and driven by where we have an operational footprint,” Amanda Yang, Meta’s head of renewable energy for Americas West and the Asia-Pacific, told TriplePundit. “One of our primary values is ensuring that we are adding new renewable capacity in the areas in which we operate. Right now, we are focused on direct operations, where we have a 100 percent renewable energy commitment, but we also have a goal to support the broader value chain.”

Meta’s portfolio includes more than 9 gigawatts of contracted renewable energy capacity — equivalent to the energy consumption of about 3 million U.S. households — and it’s bringing new renewable projects online as its global operations expand.

Meta’s clean energy projects create positive economic impacts, research shows

When deciding on new renewable projects, Meta takes a number of different factors into account, such as: proximity to the company’s data centers and the potential for positive economic impact in local communities.

“We partnered with an independent research firm in 2021 to evaluate the economic impacts of our renewable energy projects,” Yang explained. “The study focused on 5.5 gigawatts of renewable energy across the U.S. Over 40,000 construction jobs were created as a part of that portfolio and $4.2 billion in GDP. Operations of the new renewable projects create over $150 million in GDP annually.”

On a long-term basis, Meta’s renewable energy projects sustain nearly 1,000 operations jobs in the U.S. annually, the economic impact analysis found.

“Our projects represent billions of dollars in investments, and there is a multiplier effect of benefit to local communities,” Yang continued. “When you have construction workers on site, they need housing and to eat, and that creates real local economic activity.” An estimated 270 on-site jobs are created for every 100 megawatts of renewable energy that Meta contracts, and every on-site job supports an additional 1.6 jobs in the broader community, according to the analysis.

Transparency is key

In order to ensure transparency and accountability, Meta utilizes renewable energy credits, or RECs, to verify its renewable energy creation. Every megawatt-hour of energy created by a Meta project generates a REC, and the RECs certify and authenticate that the electricity generated came from a renewable source. Each REC has its own unique serial number, allowing it to be tracked. Meta retires its RECs at the end of each calendar year, meaning the renewable energy has been used, it cannot be bought or sold, and the company retains ownership of the REC forever.

This type of transparent verification is important. “Every year, we report on our renewable energy use in our annual sustainability report,” said Yang, “and that data goes through a third-party verification process.”

Even before clean energy projects produce their first megawatt of energy, they must go through permitting and due diligence processes. “We have a diligence process for our project partners,” explained Yang. “A big piece of our internal vetting process is ensuring we are selecting project and development partners who are well versed, with appropriate expertise and have done projects in those regions before, and who know how to work with the right external agencies.” Before a renewable energy project can be approved, project developers must demonstrate that the new energy source can integrate seamlessly with the existing local energy grid.

Renewable energy projects power social change

“When evaluating new projects, we think about the economic benefits and how those can positively impact local communities,” Yang said. “A lot of our projects are located in areas below the national poverty line, and the economic impacts are incredibly helpful.”

For example, Meta recently announced a 720-megawatt portfolio with the independent power producer Silicon Ranch, which includes seven new solar projects in Georgia and Tennessee. “Silicon Ranch is focused on sustainable, community-driven development and regenerative agriculture. Our new projects are focused on agricultural areas,” Yang said. “Our partners can continue to use the land for useful agriculture purposes, and some are making pollinator habitats among the solar fields for honey.”

Meta is also focused on helping the labor force transition to clean energy. In 2022, the company partnered with Greenbacker Renewable Energy to bring the 104-megawatt Graphite Solar project to rural Utah. “The renewable energy market is growing, so it provides an opportunity for people to transition to jobs in a new industry,” Yang told us.

Meta also partnered with a developer in Virginia to bring 160 megawatts of solar power to the grid, helping to power its data center in the state, and establish a clean energy scholarship fund. The scholarship seeks to grow the local clean energy workforce by financially assisting graduating seniors from area high schools who have an interest in working in renewable energy in Virginia.

Leading the way for decarbonization

Meta’s renewable energy vision is not yet complete. Although the company accomplished its goal of supporting 100 percent of global operations with renewable energy, “ultimately we are focused on continuing to evolve our approach to how we can help accelerate grid decarbonization,” Yang said. “Where we can, we are partnering with our utilities, developers, and policymakers to make this happen.”

Last year was difficult for the entire renewable energy market, due to supply chain disruptions and inflationary impacts. However, Yang says that Meta is not deterred.

“Overall we want to make sure our efforts in renewable energy can be scaled for other corporate buyers,” she said. “In our view, together we can increase our impact. We want to see the entire industry shift in the direction of decarbonization and maximizing emissions reductions. For example, we recently teamed up with some of our peers to establish an alternative Emissions First accounting system for renewable energy investments.”

As Meta continues to aggressively grow its renewable energy portfolio, it is paving the way for other businesses to expand their decarbonization efforts, too.

This article series is sponsored by Meta and produced by the TriplePundit editorial team.

Image credits: Pedro Henrique Santos/Unsplash

As published in Qualcomm’s 2022 Corporate Responsibility Report

Growing a global company on a planet with finite resources demands fresh thinking. We’re working to be a positive and creative force in protecting the environment by continually looking for ways to conserve water, minimize energy consumption, lower emissions and reduce waste.

We conduct our operations and activities in a manner designed to provide and maintain safe, healthful and productive working conditions, protect the environment and the communities in which we work and conserve natural resources.

We work together to fulfill relevant and applicable legal and other requirements and strive to continually improve our resilience and environmental, health and safety performance.

We believe that environmental sustainability is extremely important, with significant social and economic benefits that require collective action and leadership from our Company and other corporate citizens.

The Governance Committee of our Company’s Board of Directors provides oversight on corporate responsibility matters, including sustainability and climate-related issues. The Company’s ESG Leadership Committee is composed of executives and senior management from across the Company, including HR, Legal, Government Affairs, Supply Chain, Risk and Compliance, Investor Relations, Operations and Finance. Our ESG Leadership Committee provides guidance on global corporate responsibility issues that are most important to our Company and our key stakeholders so that corporate responsibility remains a central and visible component of our business strategy. This Committee reports at least annually on our corporate responsibility policies, programs and performance, including climate change and water-related issues, to the Governance Committee of our Board of Directors.

Learn more in Qualcomm’s 2022 Corporate Responsibility Report

March 21, 2023 /3BL Media/ – Planet Water Foundation is responding to the recent United Nations (U.N.) call for an urgent response to accelerate clean water access to all by deploying a combination of 22 clean drinking water systems, sanitization systems, and water-health education programs across six countries during its World Water Day programming spanning March 15 to March 22.

According to recent United Nations (U.N.) data, the world is seriously off track on achieving the 2030 U.N. Sustainable Development Goal (SDG 6) of achieving water and sanitation for all. The data shows that governments must work, on average, four times faster to meet the goal on time.[1] To meet this goal, the U.N. recently announced its Water Action Agenda 2023, intended to accelerate current global projects and rapidly deploy new solutions.[2] In response to this global declaration for immediate action, Planet Water Foundation, through its World Water Day 2023 commitment partners, are providing 22 multi-solution deployments across Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Philippines and Vietnam.

Planet Water’s 2023 World Water Day deployments are turnkey community-based solutions that improve outcomes for young children around safe drinking water, hygiene intervention and sanitization. Safe drinking water and hand-washing access are delivered through Planet Water’s AquaTower, water-health and hygiene behaviors are introduced and reinforced through its education programs, and each school receives an AquaSan, Planet Water’s surface disinfection system that meets World Health Organization standards.

“Global organizations with a commitment to social responsibility programs (CSR) are awakening to the need for clean drinking water access and partnering with Planet Water Foundation at a record pace because our solutions are single-day community engagements paired with long-term visibility into their success,” said Mark Steele, CEO and Founder of Planet Water Foundation. “We thank our returning World Water Day program partners and welcome our newest partners that are expanding our capabilities and reach in 2023.”

Planet Water Foundation’s 2023 World Water Partners include: Airnov Healthcare, BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company), Capital One Philippines, Cole Haan, Electrolux, Kimberly-Clark de México, Gen, Ludacka Wealth Partners, MetLife Foundation, Spiro, The Starbucks Foundation, Valmont Industries, Inc., Watts Water Technologies, and Xylem.

ABOUT PLANET WATER FOUNDATION

Planet Water Foundation is a non-profit organization focused on bringing clean water to the world’s most impoverished communities through the installation of community-based water filtration systems and the deployment of hygiene education programs. Planet Water Foundation projects are focused on children, schools, and rural/peri-urban communities across Asia and Latin America. Since 2009, Planet Water has deployed more than 1,700 projects that provide clean water access to more than three million people across 26 countries. For more information, visit www.planet-water.org

For further information, please contact: 
John Deotrakul – john@planet-water.org 
 

[1]  https://www.unwater.org/news/world-water-day-2023

[2]  https://sdgs.un.org/conferences/water2023/action-agenda

Originally published on U.S. Bank company blog

The four young women on the Computer Glitz team wowed U.S. Bank leaders in 2018 when they presented their idea of a mobile app that taught people how to buy and sell stocks.

Five years later, we caught up with some of the former Eagan, Minnesota, team members to see what they’re up to — and how being involved in Technovation, a high school program that taught them how to use technology to solve problems, shaped their plans for the future.

Spoiler alert: They’re pursuing careers in STEM, which stands for science, technology, engineering and math.

Since their time in the mobile app competition, the girls have gone on to major in areas of medicine, computer science and cybersecurity in college.

“Technovation is the reason I wanted to pursue computer science in the first place,” said alum Ashley Chen.

Technovation is a tech education nonprofit that encourages middle- and high-school girls to explore STEM careers. For six years in a row, teams fill the U.S. Bank boardroom each spring to pitch executives their ideas, ranging from water preservation to suicide prevention and cultural literacy. The partnership with Technovation is one of several at U.S. Bank to increase the representation of women in tech; the bank is also a longtime sponsor of Girls Who Code, Girls Inc. and Girls with Impact.

During their time in Technovation, Chen, Clare Dixon and Prapthi Jayesh Sirrkay worked on a number of projects, including:

An app that teaches people to buy and sell stocks through game playA college application app specifically for technical and community collegesA donation app that would help nonprofit organizations pick up donations from donors at a scheduled time and locationA mentorship app that connects experts with girls interested in STEMAn artificial intelligence hand detection software that could improve communication for hard-of-hearing individuals in commercial settings

Prapthi Jayesh Sirrkay 

Prapthi Jayesh Sirrkay is a sophomore at the University of Minnesota, majoring in genetics, cell biology and development on the pre-med track. She is currently involved in cardiovascular research and plans to become a physician.

Jayesh Sirrkay’s passion for the STEM field was inspired by her time in Technovation. “Technovation was a great experience because it inspired me to pursue my goals despite the significant disparity between men and women in the medical field,” she said.

Ashley Chen

Today, Ashley Chen is finishing up her sophomore year as a computer science major at the University of Minnesota and eventually plans to get a PhD in computer science. At school, she is a part of Code the Gap, a student organization dedicated to teaching underrepresented minorities in middle school and high school how to code.

Technovation has had a big impact on where Chen is today.

“Before Technovation, I had zero interest in coding,” she said. “I thought it was hard and boring. However, Technovation allowed me to get first-hand experience with coding and helped me discover I really liked it.”

She stays connected with Technovation by volunteering for some of its coding events as a mentor.

Clare Dixon

Clare Dixon is currently a senior at Eagan High School and is attending UW-Platteville in the fall of 2023 to pursue a bachelors degree in cybersecurity.

“Technovation brought out my ideation skills on how to solve problems and identify solutions that have already been created to see if there is a gap in the market,” she said.

Dixon credits her Technovation experience with helping her learn how to work in a fast-paced team environment.

To learn more about Technovation, go to technovationmn.org