Tag: 3BL

Originally published on Bloomberg.com

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (‘HKMA’), Bloomberg and the Hong Kong United Youth Association (‘HKUYA’) this week hosted an in-person summit that brought together top student talent, representatives from leading finance and technology companies and senior government officials in Hong Kong. The summit marks the conclusion of a successful inaugural Greater Bay Area (GBA) Fintech Talent Initiative that brought together more than 320 students and supported by more than 20 major international firms and organizations in the region.

Keynote speeches were delivered by The Honourable Paul Chan Mo-po, Financial Secretary of the Government of the Hong Kong SAR, Howard Lee, Deputy Chief Executive of the HKMA alongside remarks from Dave Ho, Executive Vice Chairman, HKUYA, Bing Li, Head of Asia-Pacific, Bloomberg and a video message from Michael Bloomberg, Founder of Bloomberg L.P. and Bloomberg Philanthropies. This was followed up by an afternoon of panel discussions featuring senior leaders and representatives from HSBC, HKEX, Standard Chartered, ZA Bank, Alipay (HK) and Goldman Sachs as well as a GBA career fair hosted by the corporate partners.

At the event, the Honourable Paul Chan Mo-po, Financial Secretary of the Government of the Hong Kong SAR said, “The fintech landscape in Hong Kong is incredibly diverse and dynamic. We are now home to over 800 fintech companies and start-ups, offering a wide range of innovative services such as mobile payments, cross-border transfers, intelligent financial consultancy, wealth management, virtual asset trading, and blockchain.” He added, “This vibrant and diverse fintech ecosystem is a testament to the fundamental strengths of our city. And by collaborating with our sister cities in the GBA, we can create a synergy effect that presents immense potential for further fintech innovation.”

Howard Lee, Deputy Chief Executive of the HKMA added, “With its GDP reaching 12.6 trillion RMB in 2021, development of the GBA heralds massive opportunities for fintech firms and financial institutions. To support this growth, the digitalized financial sector requires multi-disciplinary talent as more types of jobs are created. That is why connecting talent with our future matters. And fintech student programs like this help the younger generation capture new and exciting career opportunities in this vibrant region.”

Throughout the program, university students had the opportunity to meet with leaders and experts from leading financial and technology companies in the region that provided technical training, networking opportunities, bespoke mentorship and other career skills. This initiative forms part of Bloomberg’s global Corporate Philanthropy program, which works with a network of non-profit partners to ensure more individuals from underserved communities have the relevant skills and experience for employment and entrepreneurship.

“We’re committed to making a positive impact in the communities in which we live and work, and our hope is this program will make an important contribution to an industry that will be a catalyst for long-term economic growth in this region,” said Bing Li, Head of Asia-Pacific for Bloomberg. “Over the last 30 years in Hong Kong, our office here has grown to become our largest in Asia and we’re proud to establish a program like this. More than anything else, our hope is the program will create excitement for a career in fintech, while equipping participants with a network of mentors as they enter the workforce. We believe the program can create interest in fintech careers here and bolster the supply of top tier graduate talent to employers in Hong Kong and the wider GBA.”

“Youth talent development is crucial for the growth and sustainability of the fintech industry in the Greater Bay Area. The GBA Fintech Talent Initiative plays a vital role in fostering talent and providing a platform for young people to learn and network in the fintech industry through various initiatives and programs. These efforts not only benefit the individuals but also contribute to the overall development of the GBA fintech ecosystem,” said Dave Ho, Executive Vice Chairman of the Hong Kong United Youth Association.

For more information on future Greater Bay Area Talent Initiatives hosted by Bloomberg, please contact jlee3119@bloomberg.net.

NEW YORK, March 15, 2023 /3BL Media/ – Oxfam and the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction estimates the number of climate-related incidents have tripled in the last 30 years, with over 60,000 deaths globally due to natural disasters. And technologies such as blockchain, the Internet of Things (IoT), big data, and cloud computing are revolutionizing climate change and managing natural disasters. Existing disaster response management systems are wrought with complex, time-consuming IT recovery processes, and companies are finding themselves unable to adjust disaster response systems. This is mainly due to the rapidly changing business and compliance environment, as well as a lack of regular disaster response drills and comprehensive failover testing. When technology is applied intentionally, it can seamlessly support better planning, drive stronger community readiness, and empower communities to be more resilient.

On March 30, 2023 from 1:00–2:00 pm ET, learn how organizations and companies can work to accelerate disaster response. Speakers include:

Morgan Singer, Digital Empowers Lead, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS)Mark J. Smith, Executive Director for Community Engagement and Partnerships, American Red CrossBryan Knouse, CEO, OWL

This virtual forum is the eighth in a series addressing our most pressing societal challenges as a part of the Digital Empowers program. Through Digital Empowers, Chief Executives for Corporate Purpose (CECP) has partnered with TCS and PYXERA Global to foster cross-sector collaboration using leading-edge technology and digital innovations to make progress on core social issues, such as the transition to a circular economy, food security, the future of work, access to healthcare, and more.

Register here to take part in this important conversation.

CECP Media Contact: 
Katie Leasor 
kleasor@cecp.co

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About Chief Executives for Corporate Purpose (CECP) 
Chief Executives for Corporate Purpose® (CECP) is a trusted advisor to companies on their corporate purpose journeys to build long-term sustainable value and tell their impact stories. Working with CEOs and leaders in corporate responsibility, sustainability, foundations, investor relations, finance, legal, and communications, CECP shares actionable insights with its CEO-led coalition to address stakeholder needs.

Founded in 1999 by actor and philanthropist Paul Newman and other business leaders, CECP is a movement of more than 225 of the world’s largest companies that represent $7.7 trillion in revenues, $37.4 billion in total community investment, 14 million employees, 22.5 million hours of employee engagement, and $21 trillion in assets under management. CECP helps companies transform their strategy by providing benchmarking and analysis, convenings, and strategy and communications in the areas of societal/community investment, employee engagement, environmental social governance/sustainable business, diversity equity inclusion, and telling the story. For more information, visit http://cecp.co.

About Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) 
Tata Consultancy Services is an IT services, consulting and business solutions organization that has been partnering with many of the world’s largest businesses in their transformation journeys for over 50 years. TCS offers a consulting-led, cognitive powered, integrated portfolio of business, technology and engineering services and solutions. This is delivered through its unique Location Independent Agile™ delivery model, recognized as a benchmark of excellence in software development.

A part of the Tata group, India’s largest multinational business group, TCS has over 616,000 of the world’s best-trained consultants in 55 countries. The company generated consolidated revenues of US $25.7 billion in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2022, and is listed on the BSE (formerly Bombay Stock Exchange) and the NSE (National Stock Exchange) in India. TCS’ proactive stance on climate change and award-winning work with communities across the world have earned it a place in leading sustainability indices such as the MSCI Global Sustainability Index and the FTSE4Good Emerging Index. For more information, visit www.tcs.com

About PYXERA Global 
Our goal is simple: to enrich lives and livelihoods worldwide, inclusively and sustainably.

For over thirty years, PYXERA Global has leveraged the unique strengths of corporations, governments, and social sector organizations to create groundbreaking partnerships that leverage the innovation in each to create meaningful change worldwide. For more information, visit https://www.pyxeraglobal.org

Congratulations to our CEO Raul Vazquez for being named a finalist for the Fintech Nexus Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Trailblazer Award. The Fintech Nexus Industry Awards are considered to be the top awards for the fintech industry, and it is a great honor to have Raul be recognized for helping foster an inclusive and diverse workforce and culture at Oportun. 

We want to wish good luck to the other finalists and look forward to the award announcement on May 11th in New York City.

https://lnkd.in/gGdppTYM

CLEVELAND, March 15, 2023 /3BL Media/ – Intelligent power management company Eaton (NYSE:ETN) has again been recognized as one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies in 2023. The latest data and ranking come from Ethisphere, a global leader in defining and advancing the standards of ethical business practices.

“This recognition reflects that we live our values every day. I am exceptionally proud of our employees across the globe who are active, engaged and committed to our culture of integrity and believe that we all own ethics.”

“When we lead with integrity and do business right, we win,” said Joe Rodgers, senior vice president, Global Ethics and Compliance. “This recognition reflects that we live our values every day. I am exceptionally proud of our employees across the globe who are active, engaged and committed to our culture of integrity and believe that we all own ethics.”

Ethisphere created the World’s Most Ethical Companies designation in 2007 to recognize companies that demonstrate exceptional leadership and a commitment to business integrity through best-in-class ethics, compliance, and governance practices. This year, Eaton is one of nine companies to be recognized in the Industrial Manufacturing category. In all, there were 135 honorees spanning 19 countries and 46 industries.

Earlier this year, Ethisphere also recognized Eaton’s commitment to ethics and compliance in its winter edition of Ethisphere Magazine, where Joe Rodgers revealed Eaton’s strategy for building and maintaining an ethical culture. Read the article here.

Eaton is an intelligent power management company dedicated to improving the quality of life and protecting the environment for people everywhere. We are guided by our commitment to do business right, to operate sustainably and to help our customers manage power ─ today and well into the future. By capitalizing on the global growth trends of electrification and digitalization, we’re accelerating the planet’s transition to renewable energy, helping to solve the world’s most urgent power management challenges, and doing what’s best for our stakeholders and all of society.

Founded in 1911, Eaton is marking its 100th anniversary of being listed on the New York Stock Exchange. We reported revenues of $20.8 billion in 2022 and serve customers in more than 170 countries. For more information, visit www.eaton.com. Follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.

Contacts

Drew Horansky
+1 (440) 523-4306
DrewAHoransky@eaton.com

With a new year and a new conference season almost upon us; I wanted to reflect on one of my biggest highlights of 2022 – attending the B-Corp Champions Retreat in Philadelphia.

I’m generally quite familiar with the typical crowd that attends a mainstream sustainability conference – after all, these are people I have worked with for years – many of whom have since become close friends. It’s a mix of corporate leaders and sustainability/ESG champions from some of the largest organizations on the planet, and now an increasing amount of investors too. Last year things finally felt back to some semblance of ‘normal’ – and I’d forgotten how enjoyable it is to be around such inspiring humans in real life.   

When filling in the application form for any of these events, I’ve historically been registered in the ‘Consultant or Service Provider’ category – as opposed to the ‘Sustainability Practitioner’ category. Because while I feel I live and breathe ESG & Sustainability in my day to day, I’m also the one advising clients on what a strong sustainability leader looks like – or qualifying and coaching candidates looking for their next role, as opposed to being the one implementing a sustainability strategy myself.

However, with Acre now a certified B-Corp, I was excited to have the opportunity to attend the recent B-Corp Champions Retreat in Philadelphia. I had been part of a small team at Acre working on the certification process, which took more than two years to complete – a lot longer than any of us could have imagined when we began this journey; we were required to answer around200 externally verified questions, across everything from labor and human rights to energy, waste, supply chains and governance.

And so, the B-Corp Champions Retreat was the first conference I attended in over ten years that felt like an authentic and hard-earned reward. I helped take Acre through this process and so proudly stood in that room, officially part of what is a truly audacious and impactful sustainability movement.

The retreat began with a land acknowledgement led by We are the Seeds, a local organization that celebrates and educates about contemporary Indigenous arts and culture.

Philadelphia sits on the stolen land of the Lenape people – 14,000 of whom still live in the city. The session began with a native song, performed by an indigenous community leader. This set the tone for the rest of the retreat; poignant, authentic, beautiful, respectful, impactful – and very human.

Over the next three days, following a theme of Humanity at Work, we attended sessions on climate justice, fair business, building a movement and racial equity in action.

We also heard from Andrea Chase (who I had the privilege of placing as Dir Sustainability at Arbonne) speak about ‘B Beauty Coalition’, a group of 25 B-Corp beauty companies that have come together to share best practices in addressing key sustainability issues. A great example of true collaboration and leadership – where industry peers may still feel restricted from forging such partnerships due to Legal and Commercial concerns around divulging sensitive information to their competitors.

Most B-Corps are SMEs, but individually – and more so as a collective, the potential to make an impact is not limited by their size. Quite the opposite, in fact.

We heard from a number of incredible and transformative businesses, for example, Hanahana Beauty, MaineWorks and Greyston Bakery. In particular, Greyston is the supplier of all the brownies in Ben & Jerry’s ice cream. The company also has an ‘open hiring’ policy which means: no resumes, no interviews, and no background checks. This potentially life-changing practice means that anyone – from the previously incarcerated to refugees and people on the poverty line – can simply put their name on a list and when a job comes up, they’re hired. No questions asked.

The result? Dramatically reduced hiring costs times, as well as a positive work culture, high levels of loyalty and trust, and pride in the workforce.

The Body Shop also began piloting opening hiring in 2020, which demonstrated 13% increase in productivity and 60% reduction in staff turnover. The company has since expanded the initiative to 3,000 open hiring positions. This is DEI made manifest: Creating true impact across a business while serving the wider community at the same time.

While I heard many examples of true, responsible business in action throughout the retreat – there was only one session on ESG frameworks – led by Navine Karim at Guayaki, and Julien Gervreau from SSF. Guayaki is a certified B-Corp and one of the founding members of the movement, a company where sustainability principles are truly part of their DNA and always have been. During the session, Navine spoke about the impact that regenerative agriculture can have – at source – using techniques that have been employed for centuries in Latin America and maintained to this day. 

It soon became apparent during that session that ESG reporting frameworks were a new topic for many in the room. When a slide came up highlighting the alphabet soup of standards that most of us are all too familiar with, a murmur rippled through the room, cameras were whipped out, and notes were hastily scrawled.

For some attendees, acronyms like SASB, GRI & SBTs may have been foreign but that does not mean these companies were not already living, breathing and implementing the equivalent of these standards already in their day-to-day.

I would imagine most businesses at this retreat – including Acre – became B-Corps because they wanted to make their values manifest in a way that felt authentic, transparent and far-reaching.

What makes B-Corps different is that in addition to meeting stringent social and environmental standards, a company must make it their fiduciary duty to become legally accountable to all stakeholders — customers, employees, suppliers, communities and the environment. While the majority of for-profit businesses are generally designed to do the exact opposite.

This is beyond revolutionary to me, and for most larger corporates (with the exception of trailblazers like Danone and, now more recently, AVEDA – part of the Estee Lauder Group), it is extremely hard to achieve.  It’s also far from perfect, as we all know, and is experiencing multiple growing pains and challenges that need to be addressed – but perhaps that’s for another blog.

The journey to becoming a fully embodied sustainable business, from the grassroots up, can be a tough one. The attendees at this retreat have made the decision to embark on that journey and become the change we now so urgently need to see.

I’ll confess I went to this retreat unsure of what I might find – perhaps even feeling cynical after ten years of recruiting in this space. But instead, I came away feeling enlightened, inspired, humbled, deeply moved and in some way transformed.

 

Catherine has been recruiting Senior Sustainability Executives and Non-Executives for over 10 years. Prior to Acre, Catherine worked for a boutique search firm with a focus on the charity and public sector. Catherine also sits on the board of Future-Fit Foundation, a non-profit offering tools to help investors and business tackle key Sustainability and climate change issues. With a passion for board diversity and appointing exceptional leaders at board level, she is also co-author of The Social Board, a paper exploring how to engage board members on key ESG and Sustainability issues. Catherine completed a Master’s at Kings College London in Sustainable Tourism, Development and the Environment in 2001, with a focus on standards and benchmarking in the tourism sector.

 

At Acre, we work with the most aspirational businesses with potential to make real change; from those who are just starting out to those who are well on the journey to crafting a legacy. Our 18 years’ experience in sustainability recruitment, combined with our extensive global network, enables us to provide talent solutions that are designed to deliver this change. Through our unique behavioural assessment technology, we understand the types of people, skills and behaviours required to create impact. We can develop these qualities within your existing teams too. We find talented people and develop their skills to ensure they make a true impact in ambitious, progressive organisations. Acre. Making companies ready for tomorrow

What you need to know: 

Verizon Innovative Learning, the company’s education initiative supporting digital equity and inclusion, has now provided over 3M students nationwide with digital skills training.Verizon Innovative Learning Schools will welcome 32 new Title I schools for the 2023-2024 school year, bringing the program’s reach to 593 schools across the country.Verizon Innovative Learning HQ now includes over 275 lesson plans, 20 AR/VR apps, and over 40 professional development courses.

NEW YORK, March 15, 2023 /3BL Media/ – Today, Verizon announced that its award-winning education initiative focused on supporting digital equity and inclusion for some of the most vulnerable populations across the country, Verizon Innovative Learning, has now provided over 3M students nationwide with digital skills training. The initiative, launched in 2012, addresses barriers to digital inclusion by leveraging technology to help students obtain the skills needed to pursue careers for success in the digital world.

The Verizon Innovative Learning initiative strives to help close the digital divide through key programs and resources, including: Verizon Innovative Learning Schools, Verizon Innovative Learning Labs, Verizon Innovative Learning STEM Achievers and Verizon Innovative Learning HQ. This effort is part of Citizen Verizon, the company’s responsible business plan for economic, environmental and social advancement, which uses leading-edge technology to help drive social impact and create lasting change across communities. Through Citizen Verizon, and the key pillar of Digital Inclusion, the company’s responsible business goals include providing 10 million youths with digital skills training by 2030.

“Creating an equitable education system depends on our ability to connect under-resourced areas with tech tools and education. Through the success of our Verizon Innovative Learning program over the past 10 years, we’ve seen millions of students thrive when those connections are made,” said Rose Stuckey Kirk, Chief Corporate Social Responsibility Officer at Verizon. “These tools open students’ worldviews, showcase new career paths, and create experiences that might not have existed otherwise. Our teams at Verizon are steadfast in continuing this work and helping to ensure that classrooms across the country reap the benefits that this education can provide.”

Bringing digital learning skills to under-resourced classrooms

Verizon is continuing to expand its Verizon Innovative Learning Schools program and will welcome 32 new Title I schools from 11 new school districts for the 2023-2024 school year, including schools in Chicago, Detroit, Kansas City and Memphis among Page 2 others. The addition of these schools brings the program’s reach to 593 schools nationwide and will benefit an estimated 18,000 additional students for the upcoming school year.

In partnership with long-time nonprofit partner Digital Promise, the program works to improve the quality of and access to digital learning for students in under-resourced schools by equipping students and teachers at select Title I schools across the country with free technology, internet access and innovative STEM learning programs. The Verizon Innovative Learning Schools program also provides schools with extensive teacher and administrator training focused on effectively integrating technology into the classroom, ongoing support, and the opportunity to engage in powerful teaching and learning strategies that leverage technology.

“Digital equity is about more than just handing a device to a student or improving internet access,” said Jean-Claude Brizard, president and CEO of Digital Promise. “To truly achieve digital equity, we must support teachers with the training on how to effectively leverage the technology for powerful learning experiences, and that is what the Verizon Innovative Learning Schools program does. We are proud to continue our partnership with Verizon through this powerful program.”

Next-gen learning for all 

Verizon Innovative Learning HQ, an award-winning, free education portal that makes the next-gen learning tools of the overarching Verizon Innovative Learning initiative available to all K-12 educators nationwide, now includes over 275 lesson plans and 20 corresponding augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) apps. Launched in Page 3 2021, the education portal offers a curated collection of lessons, ranging from supplemental turnkey lessons to yearlong design thinking courses, created by leading education partners including the J. Orin Edson Entrepreneurship + Innovation Institute at Arizona State University. Educators can leverage immersive AR and VR learning experiences in a variety of content areas, from history to biology to engineering, that can be accessed with any device.

Verizon Innovative Learning HQ also provides educators with extensive training and resources, which now includes over 40 professional development courses, many aligned with microcredentials, enabling them to learn new skills and feel confident integrating technology into the learning experience. The site was built in partnership with trusted education partners such as Discovery Education and McGraw Hill, among others. Educators can visit Verizon.com/Learning to sign up at no-cost.

Providing connectivity to all communities 

Working to provide connectivity to families in need both inside and outside of the classroom, Verizon participates in the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), a U.S. government program run by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to help low-income households pay for internet service, through the Verizon Forward Program. With ACP eligibility and the Verizon Forward Program, customers can get free home internet service – no hidden fees or annual contracts, and no equipment charges or data caps. You are eligible for ACP if you (or someone in your household) participate in certain government assistance programs, such as the Free and Reduced-Price School Page 4 Lunch Program. Learn more about the Verizon Forward Program by visiting www.verizon.com/home/free-verizon-internet/.

Beyond access: advancing digital equity 

To further the conversation on advancing digital equity, Rose Stuckey Kirk, chief corporate social responsibility officer at Verizon, will join Jean-Claude Brizard, CEO and president of Digital Promise, D’Andre Weaver, chief digital equity officer at Digital Promise and Joseph South, chief learning officer at ISTE, for a LinkedIn Live discussion on March 15 at 2PM ET. To register and listen in, visit here.

To learn more about Verizon’s efforts to bridge the digital divide, visit CitizenVerizon.com.

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE, Nasdaq: VZ) was formed on June 30, 2000 and is one of the world’s leading providers of technology and communications services. Headquartered in New York City and with a presence around the world, Verizon generated revenues of $136.8 billion in 2022. The company offers data, video and voice services and solutions on its award-winning networks and platforms, delivering on customers’ demand for mobility, reliable network connectivity, security and control.

Verizon Innovative Learning, Verizon’s award-winning education initiative, is celebrating over a decade of commitment to addressing barriers to digital inclusion for students and teachers. Since 2012, the initiative has committed $1 billion in market value to support digital equity, reaching over 3 million students. Verizon Innovative Learning provides free technology, internet access and innovative learning programs to students in under-resourced communities – enabling students to develop the skills, knowledge and confidence needed to build an innovative workforce of the future. In 2021, Verizon launched Verizon Innovative Learning HQ, a next-gen online education portal that provides free access to immersive XR educational experiences to all educators, including K-12 teachers, nationwide. A key initiative under Citizen Verizon, the company’s responsible business plan for economic, environmental and social advancement, Verizon Innovative Learning is helping to drive the company’s goal to provide 10 million youths with digital skills training by 2030. Learn more at CitizenVerizon.com.

VERIZON’S ONLINE MEDIA CENTER: News releases, stories, media contacts and other resources are available at verizon.com/news. News releases are also available through an RSS feed. To subscribe, visit www.verizon.com/about/rss-feeds/.

International Women’s Day (IWD) is a moment to celebrate the many accomplishments of women while recognizing the work still to be done to achieve equality in the workplace. The inclusive mindset of IWD should guide how we approach representation all year long. I find this especially important as we look at the role women play in technology and how women’s experiences can shape business practices.

Gender Parity in Technology

Today, women are underrepresented in technology and leadership roles. Yet some of the most important contributions to technology have been by women – whether Ada Lovelace, regarded as the first computer programmer, or Katherine Johnson, whose work made landing on the moon possible. One of my favorite examples of a female innovator in history is Beatrice Shilling, who developed an ingenious idea to change the performance of Britain’s fighter planes during World War II. In what was a man’s world, her engineering ingenuity saved lives and helped the Allies win the war.

We must continue to encourage female innovators like Beatrice, Ada, and Katherine to pursue careers in science, technology, and engineering. What we do today to ensure equity will have a lasting impact, and I’d like to think the past generations of trailblazers would be thrilled to know that the most talked about technology these days (ChatGPT) was created by a woman, Mira Murati, the CTO of OpenAI.

At Expedia Group, we’re committed to achieving gender balance across all roles and levels. Our technology leaders like CTO Rathi Murthy; Shiyi Pickrell, Ph.D., SVP of Data and AI; Karen Bolda, SVP of Product and Technology; and Reena Patil, SVP of Partner Products, are doing fantastic work developing industry-leading products for travelers and partners while being role models for future technology leaders.

Life Experiences of Women Help Shape Businesses

Women undergo experiences throughout their lives that can disrupt their careers — from facing systemic discrimination to carrying a higher load of caregiving responsibilities to physical changes such as pregnancy and menopause that impact their ability to show up at their best. Businesses must support women by raising awareness, providing resources, making structural changes, and creating a supportive working environment for women in all phases of life.

At Expedia Group, our inclusion business group (IBG), Women at Expedia Group Learning and Leading (WELL), leads important conversations around these topics and drives meaningful changes. As a result of employee feedback, we’ve enhanced our benefits offering: we’ve increased employee access to fertility planning and treatment, removed the one-year waiting period for our new parent benefit, and continue to support new parents as they return to work. WELL also honed in on intersectionality with our other IBGs for our Own Your Dreams program, a professional development initiative to offer advice on personal branding, navigating, and networking at Expedia Group for women and IBG members from a variety of backgrounds and perspectives.

At Expedia Group, we put inclusion at the center of our business practices. We’ve updated our interview, hiring, and performance review processes with equity, bias mitigation, and accessibility in mind, factors that often place women at a disadvantage. This is an important step in our goal to lessen our binary pay gap and increase the representation of women at every level across our entire organization. Look for our annual I&D report in the coming months for more details.

As we celebrate International Women’s Day, let us honor and recognize the countless contributions and achievements of women throughout history and today. Let us also recommit ourselves to the ongoing work left to do.

May this day serve as a reminder to uplift, support, and amplify the voices of women everywhere.

What is the biggest challenge facing working women today, and how can employee resource groups (ERGs) help address it? Courtney Hering, Kimberly-Clark’s business development manager and co-chair of the company’s Women’s Inclusion Network (WIN), recently answered this question during a conversation with female ERG leaders Kia Wilson from Verizon and Mary Young from LinkedIn as part of the Women’s CoLab ‘Good For People, Good For Business’ ERG panel.

Courtney also shared insights she has gained from both participating in and serving as a leader of WIN, the pivots WIN has made to effectively reach female employees across all levels in an ever-changing environment, how to ensure that an ERG’s mission and vision are aligned with the needs of the broader organization, and more.

Check out the full ERG panel here.

About Kimberly-Clark 
Kimberly-Clark (NYSE: KMB) and its trusted brands are an indispensable part of life for people in more than 175 countries. Fueled by ingenuity, creativity, and an understanding of people’s most essential needs, we’re committed to our purpose of Better Care for a Better World. Our portfolio of brands, including Huggies, Kleenex, Scott, Kotex, Cottonelle, Poise, Depend, Andrex, Pull-Ups, GoodNites, Intimus, Neve, Plenitud, Sweety, Softex, Viva and WypAll, holds No. 1 or No. 2 share position in approximately 80 countries. We use sustainable practices that support a healthy planet, build strong communities, and ensure our business thrives for decades to come. To keep up with the latest news and to learn more about the company’s 150-year history of innovation, visit kimberly-clark.com

March 15, 2023 /3BL Media/ – Direct Relief is increasing access to donated medicine to people who need it to keep chronic disease at bay but don’t have the means to pay for it. The program, called ReplenishRx, could eventually help tens of thousands of additional patients get the medicine they need to control diseases like diabetes and hypertension.

ReplenishRx is an enhanced version of a program that provided 91,000 prescriptions to more than 23,000 patients in 2022. ReplenishRx makes it easier for free clinics, community health centers, and charitable pharmacies to enroll in the program themselves, and in turn, makes it easier for providers to enroll individual patients.

ReplenishRx is a streamlined option for pharmaceutical and medical technology manufacturers to donate their products directly to safety net organizations that care for people without health insurance or other means to pay for them.

ReplenishRx provides free medicine only for people lacking any health insurance and with household income at or below 300% of the Federal poverty line. Neither patients nor private insurance companies, nor the government are billed for the medicine. People eligible for ReplenishRx assistance do not qualify for health coverage from their state’s Medicaid program and cannot afford to purchase health insurance.

Pharmaceutical companies or foundations donating medicine to ReplenishRx include AbbVie, Eli Lilly and Company, Johnson & Johnson Patient Assistance Foundation, Medicines360, and Sanofi Cares North America.

“Lilly is deeply committed to expanding access to our medicines,” said Patrik Jonsson, Executive Vice President; President, Lilly Immunology and Lilly USA; and Chief Customer Officer. “We appreciate that Direct Relief’s ReplenishRx program not only reduces administrative burdens on safety-net clinics but also streamlines the process so that patients with limited resources can get the medicines they need, when they need them.”

Lilly and Sanofi both donate insulin through ReplenishRx.

Direct Relief set up its original Replenishment program in 2008 to streamline availability of medicine to uninsured patients at safety net clinics that primarily serve uninsured patients, including Federally Qualified Health Centers and free and charitable clinics and pharmacies. The program was designed to make it easier for patients to get medicine, while improving delivery and management of inventory for safety net clinics and pharmaceutical manufacturers. It helps clinics and charitable pharmacies provide a steady supply of vital medicine to patients lacking insurance, without the need to apply to individual Patient Assistance Programs (PAPs) offered by pharmaceutical companies.

Pharmaceutical manufacturers ship donated medicine to Direct Relief’s warehouse in Santa Barbara, California. Direct Relief manages clinic enrollment, distribution logistics, and compliance oversight of the health clinics. The clinics enroll patients based on strict eligibility guidelines, track all inventory received from Direct Relief, dispense prescribed products to eligible patients, and report product usage back to Direct Relief. Direct Relief’s ReplenishRx enables manufacturers to reach a growing network of safety-net organizations.

“The program provides a consistent, steady supply of medication for patients who have no insurance, who are low-income and have diabetes or another chronic disease,” said Marisa Barnes, who runs the ReplenishRx program at Direct Relief. “We’re reducing the amount of paperwork that’s required to participate, which means more clinics and more patients will be able to take part in the program. We’re anticipating rapid growth, particularly in the provision of insulin.”

Traditional PAPs are most often used by individual patients, who seek out programs for specific drugs, apply themselves for admission and then apply for annual renewals. Many safety-net providers help patients submit and manage the paperwork or do it on their behalf. Each patient, including those enrolled by clinics, requires a separate application from each drug maker. Clinics often rely on volunteers to help patients manage the paperwork.

Direct Relief acts as a single point of contact between each clinic and all the pharmaceutical makers it works with. Each clinic requests all its donated medicine once a month for its eligible patients from Direct Relief, and each pharmaceutical company deals only with Direct Relief to distribute its donated medicine to enrolled clinics. Rather than having to continuously request refills for each drug, enrolled healthcare organizations each month report how much of a medicine they have used, and Direct Relief sends them the same amount of the drug again in a single monthly shipment.

ReplenishRx enables patients to receive medicine at the clinic during the same visit when it is prescribed, reducing the risk that the patient won’t follow through to obtain and take the medicine, and thus improving overall health outcomes.

“Direct Relief’s Replenishment Program streamlines the process of participating in manufacturers’ patient assistance programs for our low-income, uninsured patients,” said Jennifer Buxton, Acting Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer of Cape Fear Clinic Inc. in Wilmington, N.C. “But, perhaps more importantly, it removes the treatment delay by allowing our clinic to keep inventory on hand that is immediately available for use.”

“Direct Relief’s Replenishment Program has been a complete game-changer for NC MedAssist’s Free Pharmacy Program,” said Dustin Allen, Chief Operating Officer & Director of Pharmacy Operations at NC MedAssist in Charlotte, N.C., the only statewide nonprofit pharmacy in North Carolina. “By ordering medications via a single interface as opposed to four separate ones, it not only cuts down on time needed for order placement but also ensures consistent delivery of medications.”

The original Replenishment program required participating pharmacies to use pharmacy software that many of the smallest healthcare organizations lack. Under ReplenishRx, enrolled organizations can upload the necessary information from their electronic health record systems, allowing a wider degree of participation.

Direct Relief has also made it faster and easier for small healthcare organizations to enroll in the program. Under the original program, it could take eight months to a year for an organization to develop and document the standard operating procedures needed to ensure compliance with donation program requirements, which differ among pharma companies. Direct Relief has now developed a Standard Operating Procedures manual that healthcare organizations can integrate into their processes.

ReplenishRx is just one of the many ways Direct Relief provides support to health centers, free and charitable clinics and charitable pharmacies. Direct Relief’s core Safety Net Program donates medicine and medical supplies to more than 1,300 health clinic and charitable pharmacy locations. The program allows them to request donations of specific drugs, which Direct Relief allocates according to available supply and the number of patients each organization serves. In 2022, the Safety Net Program donated medicine with a wholesale value of $258 million. All the medicine Direct Relief donates to these organizations can be dispensed only to low-income patients lacking any health insurance.

Originally published on U.S. Bank company blog

For the eighth consecutive year, U.S. Bank has been named one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies by the Ethisphere Institute, a global leader in defining and advancing the standards of ethical business practices.

“Our employees have gone above and beyond to support our communities and customers.” said Andy Cecere, chairman, president and chief executive officer. “They work hard to earn and keep our customers’ trust, and this honor belongs to them.”

Ethisphere recognized 136 honorees that span 22 countries and 45 industries. U.S. Bank is one of five honorees in the banking category.

“Acting with integrity is who we are as a company,” said Katie Lawler, global chief ethics officer. “Our commitment to the communities we serve and the care our employees show for each other inspires me.”

The World’s Most Ethical Companies assessment is based on Ethisphere’s Ethics Quotient® framework. It includes more than 200 questions on culture, environmental and social practices, ethics and compliance activities, governance, diversity and initiatives to support a strong value chain. The process captures and codifies the leading practices of organizations across industries and around the globe. This year, the question also gauged how applicants are adapting and responding to the global health pandemic, environmental, social, and governance factors, safety, equity, and inclusion and social justice.

“Today, business leaders face their greatest mandate yet to be ethical, accountable, and trusted to drive positive change,” said Ethisphere CEO Timothy Erblich. “We continue to be inspired by the World’s Most Ethical Companies honorees and their dedication to integrity, sustainability, governance, and community. Congratulations to U.S. Bank for earning the World’s Most Ethical Companies designation.”

About U.S. Bank
U.S. Bancorp, with nearly 70,000 employees and $573 billion in assets as of December 31, 2021, is the parent company of U.S. Bank National Association, the fifth-largest commercial bank in the United States. The Minneapolis-based bank blends its relationship teams, branches and ATM network with mobile and online tools that allow customers to bank how, when and where they prefer. U.S. Bank is committed to serving its millions of retail, business, wealth management, payment, commercial and corporate, and investment services customers across the country and around the world as a trusted financial partner, a commitment recognized by the Ethisphere Institute naming the bank one of the 2022 World’s Most Ethical Companies. Learn more at usbank.com

About Ethisphere 
Ethisphere® is the global leader in defining and advancing the standards of ethical business practices that fuel corporate character, marketplace trust and business success. Ethisphere has deep expertise in measuring and defining core ethics standards using data-driven insights that help companies enhance corporate character and measure and improve culture. Ethisphere honors superior achievement through its World’s Most Ethical Companies recognition program and provides a community of industry experts with the Business Ethics Leadership Alliance (BELA). More information about Ethisphere can be found at: https://ethisphere.com.

Contact:

Cheryl Leamon, U.S. Bank

651.435.7460, cheryl.leamon@usbank.com

Anne Walker, Ethisphere

Anne.Walker@Ethisphere.com