When young entrepreneurs have the right support at the right time, ideas turn into businesses. That belief underpins the collaboration between FedEx and Futurpreneur, which extends beyond sponsorship to combine expertise, promotion, and real world business insight to help more entrepreneurs start stronger and scale sustainably. Together, they power Expert Exchange, a free, national webinar series delivered by Futurpreneur and sponsored by FedEx.
Launched in March 2025, Expert Exchange meets early stage founders where they are, providing practical, expert led guidance they can apply immediately. By removing cost and access barriers, the program helps young entrepreneurs build skills, confidence, and momentum during the most critical stages of their journey.
Practical learning with real world impact
Expert Exchange focuses on action over theory, addressing the challenges founders face every day—from sales and marketing to hiring, technology, and procurement. Interactive workshops led by industry experts cover topics including AI, digital marketing, sales strategy, HR, and government contracting. Sessions are offered free of charge in both English and French, ensuring broad, inclusive access to high quality business education.
Strong participation, measurable results
Between March and December 2025, Expert Exchange delivered 32 sessions, reaching 1,461 attendees across all 13 provinces and territories, including more than 1,100 unique founders.
Advancing inclusion across Canada
Expert Exchange is designed to support entrepreneurs from equity deserving communities. Nearly half of participants self-identified as women or non-binary, 38% as Black, and 4% as Indigenous. The program also connects founders to Futurpreneur’s broader ecosystem of mentorship, financing, and long term support.
Looking ahead
Building on a successful first year, Expert Exchange will continue in 2026 with more expert workshops and deeper use of real world case studies, driving lasting impact for Canada’s next generation of entrepreneurs. Want to learn more, click here.
Click here to learn about FedEx Cares, our global community engagement program.
When young entrepreneurs have the right support at the right time, ideas turn into businesses. That belief underpins the collaboration between FedEx and Futurpreneur, which extends beyond sponsorship to combine expertise, promotion, and real world business insight to help more entrepreneurs start stronger and scale sustainably. Together, they power Expert Exchange, a free, national webinar series delivered by Futurpreneur and sponsored by FedEx.
Launched in March 2025, Expert Exchange meets early stage founders where they are, providing practical, expert led guidance they can apply immediately. By removing cost and access barriers, the program helps young entrepreneurs build skills, confidence, and momentum during the most critical stages of their journey.
Practical learning with real world impact
Expert Exchange focuses on action over theory, addressing the challenges founders face every day—from sales and marketing to hiring, technology, and procurement. Interactive workshops led by industry experts cover topics including AI, digital marketing, sales strategy, HR, and government contracting. Sessions are offered free of charge in both English and French, ensuring broad, inclusive access to high quality business education.
Strong participation, measurable results
Between March and December 2025, Expert Exchange delivered 32 sessions, reaching 1,461 attendees across all 13 provinces and territories, including more than 1,100 unique founders.
Advancing inclusion across Canada
Expert Exchange is designed to support entrepreneurs from equity deserving communities. Nearly half of participants self-identified as women or non-binary, 38% as Black, and 4% as Indigenous. The program also connects founders to Futurpreneur’s broader ecosystem of mentorship, financing, and long term support.
Looking ahead
Building on a successful first year, Expert Exchange will continue in 2026 with more expert workshops and deeper use of real world case studies, driving lasting impact for Canada’s next generation of entrepreneurs. Want to learn more, click here.
Click here to learn about FedEx Cares, our global community engagement program.
Welcome to Advancing with Purpose, a new AMD video series featuring the people behind our corporate responsibility efforts.
In this first video, Srilatha (Bobbie) Manne, Senior Fellow, Software Development Engineer at AMD, talks about designing for product energy efficiency and the role it plays in advancing more sustainable computing. She shares how thoughtful design choices can contribute to real-world impact and why building technology with purpose matters.
Through personal stories like Bobbie’s, this series highlights how AMD employees are helping bring corporate responsibility to life across the company.
Welcome to Advancing with Purpose, a new AMD video series featuring the people behind our corporate responsibility efforts.
In this first video, Srilatha (Bobbie) Manne, Senior Fellow, Software Development Engineer at AMD, talks about designing for product energy efficiency and the role it plays in advancing more sustainable computing. She shares how thoughtful design choices can contribute to real-world impact and why building technology with purpose matters.
Through personal stories like Bobbie’s, this series highlights how AMD employees are helping bring corporate responsibility to life across the company.
April 23, 2026 /3BL/ – The Beverage Industry Environmental Roundtable (BIER) has released its 2025 Water, Energy, and Emissions Benchmarking Study, providing a comprehensive, comparable analysis of environmental performance across more than 1,600 facilities globally, offering a clear view of industry progress, operational efficiency, and emerging risk areas.
Now in its 20th year, BIER continues to build on a long-standing benchmarking program, using multi-year data to provide a robust perspective on industry performance trends.
Established in 2006, BIER unites globally recognized beverage companies to advance environmental sustainability through collaboration, scientific rigor, and shared expertise. The benchmarking study is a prime example of this approach in action, providing industry-wide data that supports measurable progress in water stewardship, climate, and operational efficiency.
This year’s study includes data from 2020, 2022, and 2024, representing 15 companies and facilities spanning six continents. Results show that while global beverage production increased by 8% over the reporting period, participating companies achieved meaningful efficiency improvements, including:
3% reduction in water use ratio
4% reduction in energy use ratio
11% reduction in emissions ratio
These findings demonstrate continued progress toward decoupling production growth from environmental impact, an important signal for investors, industry stakeholders, and member companies seeking credible, data-backed evidence of sustainability performance and operational improvement.
The study also highlights the growing importance of water risk. More than 60% of facilities currently operate in areas facing at least medium water risk, with over half projected to face medium to extremely high water stress by 2030. This data underscores the increasing importance of proactive water stewardship, informed decision-making, and cross-industry collaboration in managing long-term operational and environmental risks.
BIER’s benchmarking work supports its broader mission to strengthen collective action within the beverage industry. By providing standardized metrics, transparent insights, and a platform for shared learning, BIER enables member companies to assess performance relative to peers, identify opportunities for improvement, and translate data into actionable strategies that drive measurable environmental performance improvements across the sector.
As sustainability expectations continue to evolve, resources like the benchmarking study are increasingly essential in helping companies move from commitment to implementation and in providing external stakeholders with credible, comparable insights into industry-wide progress.
“BIER’s benchmarking study reflects the value of sustained collaboration across the beverage sector. By bringing companies together around consistent, comparable data, we’re able to move beyond insight to action- identifying practical opportunities, prioritizing investments, and tracking the real progress companies are making on shared environmental priorities.” ~ Erica Pann, Executive Director, BIER
About BIER BIER is a technical coalition of leading global beverage companies working together to advance environmental sustainability within the beverage sector. Formed in 2006, BIER is a common voice across the beverage sector, speaking to influence global standards on environmental sustainability aspects most relevant to the sector, affect change both up and down the supply chain, and share best practices that raise the bar for environmental performance of the industry. By doing so, BIER is able to monitor data and trends, engage with key stakeholders, develop best practices, and guide a course of action for the future. BIER members include Anheuser-Busch InBev, Asahi Group Holdings, Bacardi, Brown-Forman, Carlsberg Group, The Coca-Cola Company, Constellation Brands, Diageo, Heaven Hill Brands, Heineken, Keurig Dr Pepper, Kirin Holdings Company, Limited, Molson Coors, Monster Energy, Ocean Spray Cranberries, PepsiCo, Pernod Ricard, and Suntory Global Spirits. For more information, visit www.bieroundtable.com.
April 23, 2026 /3BL/ – The Beverage Industry Environmental Roundtable (BIER) has released its 2025 Water, Energy, and Emissions Benchmarking Study, providing a comprehensive, comparable analysis of environmental performance across more than 1,600 facilities globally, offering a clear view of industry progress, operational efficiency, and emerging risk areas.
Now in its 20th year, BIER continues to build on a long-standing benchmarking program, using multi-year data to provide a robust perspective on industry performance trends.
Established in 2006, BIER unites globally recognized beverage companies to advance environmental sustainability through collaboration, scientific rigor, and shared expertise. The benchmarking study is a prime example of this approach in action, providing industry-wide data that supports measurable progress in water stewardship, climate, and operational efficiency.
This year’s study includes data from 2020, 2022, and 2024, representing 15 companies and facilities spanning six continents. Results show that while global beverage production increased by 8% over the reporting period, participating companies achieved meaningful efficiency improvements, including:
3% reduction in water use ratio
4% reduction in energy use ratio
11% reduction in emissions ratio
These findings demonstrate continued progress toward decoupling production growth from environmental impact, an important signal for investors, industry stakeholders, and member companies seeking credible, data-backed evidence of sustainability performance and operational improvement.
The study also highlights the growing importance of water risk. More than 60% of facilities currently operate in areas facing at least medium water risk, with over half projected to face medium to extremely high water stress by 2030. This data underscores the increasing importance of proactive water stewardship, informed decision-making, and cross-industry collaboration in managing long-term operational and environmental risks.
BIER’s benchmarking work supports its broader mission to strengthen collective action within the beverage industry. By providing standardized metrics, transparent insights, and a platform for shared learning, BIER enables member companies to assess performance relative to peers, identify opportunities for improvement, and translate data into actionable strategies that drive measurable environmental performance improvements across the sector.
As sustainability expectations continue to evolve, resources like the benchmarking study are increasingly essential in helping companies move from commitment to implementation and in providing external stakeholders with credible, comparable insights into industry-wide progress.
“BIER’s benchmarking study reflects the value of sustained collaboration across the beverage sector. By bringing companies together around consistent, comparable data, we’re able to move beyond insight to action- identifying practical opportunities, prioritizing investments, and tracking the real progress companies are making on shared environmental priorities.” ~ Erica Pann, Executive Director, BIER
About BIER BIER is a technical coalition of leading global beverage companies working together to advance environmental sustainability within the beverage sector. Formed in 2006, BIER is a common voice across the beverage sector, speaking to influence global standards on environmental sustainability aspects most relevant to the sector, affect change both up and down the supply chain, and share best practices that raise the bar for environmental performance of the industry. By doing so, BIER is able to monitor data and trends, engage with key stakeholders, develop best practices, and guide a course of action for the future. BIER members include Anheuser-Busch InBev, Asahi Group Holdings, Bacardi, Brown-Forman, Carlsberg Group, The Coca-Cola Company, Constellation Brands, Diageo, Heaven Hill Brands, Heineken, Keurig Dr Pepper, Kirin Holdings Company, Limited, Molson Coors, Monster Energy, Ocean Spray Cranberries, PepsiCo, Pernod Ricard, and Suntory Global Spirits. For more information, visit www.bieroundtable.com.
The following is an excerpt from Cisco’s FY25 Purpose Report. Explore the full report to learn more about how we Power an Inclusive Future for All.
As innovation accelerates, the need for strong security, data protection, and privacy has never been more critical.
In a world where nearly everything is connected and generating data, technology holds extraordinary promise to solve our greatest challenges, from improving education to curing disease. But with this opportunity comes increasing vulnerability if security and privacy are not prioritized.
At Cisco, we view security and privacy not as mere checkboxes, but as business imperatives and foundations for responsible innovation. Key to that innovation is governance for secure, trustworthy, transparent, fair, and accountable data usage. This involves embedding security, privacy, and responsible AI by design, advancing zero-trust architecture, and enabling ongoing observability for threat detection.
We are guided by our core principles of trustworthiness, transparency, and accountability. In fiscal 2025, we continued to embrace a holistic approach to security and privacy throughout our operations, data management practices, products, and solutions.
Securing Global Data
Our 2025 Data Privacy Benchmark Study revealed that privacy remains core to customer trust, with 95% of survey respondents saying they won’t make a purchase if their data isn’t properly protected. We apply a Privacy by Design approach that reflects our commitment to using data responsibly and serves as the foundation for how we handle personal, customer, and corporate data. Incorporating Privacy Enhancing Technologies in the design process helps enable responsible data use, manages risks, and gives users more control over their information.
This work comes to life through our Cisco Privacy Center of Excellence (PCOE). While the PCOE initially focused on protecting personal data, in fiscal 2025, its scope expanded to include regulated data, such as “industrial data,” or data generated by connected products, like smart devices. Though this data is driven primarily by commercial considerations, users are also demanding greater visibility and control over their nonpersonal data.
Increasing Data Transparency
In fiscal 2025, PCOE launched data questionnaires to Cisco product developers to gather information about the way data is collected, how the data is used, where the data is stored, and more. Those responses were then used to create public‑facing Offer Disclosures to provide transparency to our customers and stakeholders via the Cisco Trust Portal.
Advancing Cybersecurity Around the World
Data breach incidents surged 70% from 2021 to 2024, with the average data breach costing an estimated US$4.9 million. As a cybersecurity leader, Cisco builds technology to defend against threats and shares our expertise with customers, partners, and communities.
Preparing for the Threats of Today and Tomorrow
As threat actors shift to targeting network infrastructure, we began a multiyear effort to help customers use Cisco equipment more securely and increase resiliency to attacks.
Our commitment to driving resilient infrastructure strengthens the security of Cisco solutions and customer networks, reducing the risk of insecure network configurations and delivering proactive detection and response to safeguard against evolving threats.
To help develop real-world skills, we host hands-on “Capture the Flag” cybersecurity simulations in person and online. In fiscal 2025, more than 40,000 learners around the globe participated, using Cisco products to defend against threats.
We’re also looking to the next frontier: quantum networking and computing. To help organizations safeguard against looming threats, like quantum computers cracking encryption keys, Cisco published resources on Cryptography in a Post-Quantum World and opened our Cisco Quantum Labs facility to provide space for experimentation, education, and training.
Building Trust Through Cisco Talos
Cisco Talos’ mission is to defend Cisco’s customers from the broad threat landscape. Using custom-built detection engines, Talos powers the Cisco portfolio 24/7 — protecting customers across every environment, every event, every day. Talos analyzes up to 886 billion security events per day. To sift through this data, we use ML engines trained on Talos playbooks, with recent AI enhancements including:
SnortML: Created by Talos engineers, SnortML uses deep neural networks, rather than static signatures, to detect exploit attempts with greater speed and accuracy.
Cisco Talos Domain Name System (DNS) Security Service: To help organizations detect DNS tunneling attacks, Talos developed an AI-based DNS Security Service trained on millions of global patterns.
Talos discovered and responsibly disclosed over 200 zero-day vulnerabilities, or previously unknown security threats, in fiscal 2025.
Threat detection cannot be done in isolation, which is why Talos is committed to educating and working with the security community. We collaborate with over 60 law enforcement partners, in addition to developing and releasing free open-source tools. Additional services offered by Talos include Cisco Talos Incident Response, which provides emergency and proactive support, and a comprehensive suite of cloud-based threat intelligence services.
As part of Major League Soccer’s “Greener Goals” initiative, AEG’s LA Galaxy partnered with Heal the Bay on Saturday, April 11, to host a community beach cleanup in Santa Monica.
The cleanup brought together over 60 employees, season ticket holders, and local partners to safeguard Southern California’s coastline, reinforcing a shared commitment to environmental stewardship.
The effort removed 141pounds of debris from the shoreline, including plastic bottles and food wrappers, helping to prevent further ocean contamination.
The event supported Heal the Bay’s mission to keep Greater Los Angeles watersheds healthy and safe. Eyewear brand Goodr, also supported the activation by providing sunglasses for volunteers, ensuring a safe and comfortable experience during the cleanup.
“As we recognize Earth Month, this beach cleanup is a reminder that protecting our coastline starts with showing up for our communities,” said Gia Friedberg, Community Relations Coordinator for the LA Galaxy. “Partnering with Heal the Bay allows us to take meaningful action—bringing people together to care for our environment and preserve Southern California’s beaches for future generations.”
Volunteers from the Galaxy, Heal the Bay, and partner organizations worked side by side, demonstrating how collaboration can drive meaningful local impact while raising awareness around plastic pollution and ocean conservation.
By participating in the beach cleanup, the LA Galaxy continues to support environmental education and action across Los Angeles, empowering individuals to take part in protecting the region’s natural resources.
Bristol Myers Squibb is advancing its efforts to improve equitable access to high‑quality cancer care by applying real‑world insight to where care delivery often breaks down. In a recent case study focused on advanced non‑small cell lung cancer (aNSCLC), BMS worked in collaboration with Tempus to deploy the Tempus Next Pathways program across 13 community‑based health systems. The initiative provided a unified, longitudinal view of the patient journey using de‑identified, near real‑time clinical intelligence, helping to surface where and why patients may fall off guideline‑directed pathways, particularly around biomarker testing.
By illuminating practical barriers to care delivery and variation across settings, including geography and community context, the work supports measurable progress in closing testing gaps and informs BMS’ broader approach to health equity. These insights reinforce BMS’ focus on pairing innovation with accountability, using data to better understand real‑world care and help ensure that advances in oncology reach more patients, including those in historically medically underserved communities.
Tell us a little bit about yourself and your career journey to date.
I currently reside in Arizona, but I’m originally from Detroit, Michigan, which is a big part of who I am and the work ethic I carry. I attended the University of Arizona and also graduated from Regency Beauty Institute with a cosmetology license. This experience allowed me to explore my creative talents and develop strong, client-focused skills.
In addition to my professional career, I’m a small business owner and the founder of Foure Corners, an event and networking company dedicated to bringing people together, creating meaningful connections, and helping entrepreneurs and professionals build community. My background blends business, creativity, environmental awareness, and leadership. I love creating spaces—both professionally and personally—where people can grow, collaborate, and feel supported.
Prior to joining GoDaddy Commerce, I built my career in the waste and environmental services industry, serving as an Account Executive for the Northern California area. In this role, I was responsible for driving new business growth through proactive prospecting—identifying leads, cold-calling potential clients, and selling a full range of services including garbage pickup, recycling programs, and specialized disposal solutions for commercial, industrial, and municipal customers. Alongside new business acquisition, I managed a diverse portfolio of existing accounts, focusing on customer retention by addressing service issues quickly and maintaining strong, long-term relationships.
What stood out to you about the interview process or the people you met?
One of the things that really stood out to me during the interview process was how authentic and engaging everyone was.
Every conversation felt less like a formal interview and more like a meaningful discussion about how we support businesses.
That told me a lot about the culture.
What I also appreciated was hearing how passionate the team is about helping entrepreneurs succeed through GoDaddy. Working in merchant services, I know business owners need more than just a payment processor—they need a partner who understands their challenges and can offer solutions that truly help them grow. It was clear from the people I met that this team genuinely cares about that mission.
Another thing that stood out for me was the energy and collaboration I saw throughout the process. Everyone seemed aligned around the same goal—helping customers succeed while supporting each other as a team. That’s the kind of environment where I know I can bring my best work, continue growing, and make a real impact on the businesses we serve.
What’s your approach when you’re helping a customer who’s not sure what they need or where to start?
When a customer isn’t sure what they need or where to start, I approach the conversation as a consultant rather than just a salesperson. My first step is to ask targeted questions to understand their business—how they currently accept payments, whether they sell in person, online, or both, and what challenges they’re experiencing with their current setup.
Working with small businesses through GoDaddy Payments, I’ve learned that many owners simply need clarity around their options. Once I understand their needs, I position solutions that directly support how they operate and help them grow. For example, if they’re looking to streamline in-person payments, I’ll highlight how a POS or smart terminal can simplify transactions and give them better visibility into their sales.
I also focus on educating the customer on the value, whether that’s saving time, improving the checkout experience, or consolidating tools into one platform. By connecting the product to real business outcomes, it helps the customer feel confident moving forward.
My goal is to guide them from uncertainty to a clear solution; while building trust and making sure they feel supported throughout the process. When customers feel that you truly understand their business, they’re much more comfortable making a decision.
What’s one piece of advice you have for someone joining GoDaddy as a Care Sales Guide?
My advice would be to stay open to learning and always look for ways to refine your approach. Every customer and every business is different, so being adaptable and learning from each interaction really helps you grow in the role. The more you take time to understand the challenges business owners face, the better you’ll be at guiding them toward the right solutions.
I’ve found that staying curious about their business and taking the time to educate them on tools that can help them grow makes a big difference. When you approach the conversation that way, you naturally become more of a partner or advisor—and that’s what ultimately leads to stronger relationships and better results.
What do you enjoy doing outside of work?
Outside of work, I really enjoy experiences that bring people together. Traveling is a big one for me. My family and I have a tradition of taking an annual trip together each year, which is something I really look forward to. This April we’re traveling to Accra, Ghana, and I’m especially excited about that trip because it’s a chance for us to connect with family, experience our culture, and create new memories together.
I’m also a big sports fan, especially football. I’m a loyal Detroit Lions fan, so I love attending sporting events and being part of that game-day atmosphere.
I genuinely value giving back to my community, so I volunteer whenever possible. When it’s time to unwind or spend quality moments with friends and family, I love bowling and golfing. Both activities help me relax and offer a fun, social way to stay connected.
Overall, those things help me maintain a good balance outside of work and keep me energized.
Are you enjoying this series and want to know more about life at GoDaddy? Check out our GoDaddy Life social pages! Follow us to meet our team, learn more about our culture (Teams, ERGs, Locations), careers, and so much more. You’re more than just your day job, so come propel your career with us.
