Tag: 3BL

Originally published in Aflac’s Do Good Newsletter. Click here to subscribe.

Applications for 2025 Child Life Program Grants open now

This year, the Aflac Childhood Cancer Foundation will award up to 15 grants of $1,500 each to Child Life programs in the U.S. that provide support to children with cancer and/or blood disorders and/or their siblings. If you or someone you know works with a hospital Child Life program, you can download the application at AflacChildhoodCancer.org. The deadline for completed applications is 5 ‍p.‍m. ED‍T on Ju‍ly 2‍5.

Apply today

Life beyond ringing the bell

The high school years are a pivotal time in life, and for Katie Rutherford, it was also about surviving. After being diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma, Katie became a patient at the Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Center of Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. Her experience came full circle — today, she works for the center where, seven years ago, she rang the bell that symbolized the end of her cancer treatment journey.

Read Katie’s story

From surviving cancer to finding a career with impact

Ryan Zimmerman began his life with cancer and, growing up, he spent a lot of time at his local children’s hospital. Now, Ryan is a cancer survivor and after learning about Aflac’s mission and work to support those with childhood cancer and blood disorders, he joined the Aflac flock as an IT apprentice.

Read Ryan’s story

My Special Aflac Duck® featured resource: Let’s go to space!

Do you ever wish you could transport yourself or your patient to a calm, happy place? Maybe it’s outer space, the beach or a cozy spot at home. Whatever your itinerary holds in store, you can use the Soundscapes® Spaceship to help visualize a place that brings happiness. My Special Aflac Duck is a comforting companion available free of charge to children ages 3 and up with cancer or a blood disorder like sickle cell disease.

Learn more

Learn about the Aflac Childhood Cancer Campaign

Order My Special Aflac Duck free of charge

© 2025 Aflac Incorporated. All rights reserved. This newsletter is for informational purposes only and is not a solicitation for insurance. Aflac includes Aflac and/or Aflac New York.

Aflac WWHQ | 1932 Wynnton Road | Columbus, GA 31999

‍Z2500435‍
EXP: 06/26

MEMPHIS, Tenn., July 16, 2025 /3BL/ – In honor of World Snake Day, International Paper (IP) and National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) take a moment to recognize how forest restoration is fueling the recovery of one of America’s most iconic serpents, and how NFWF and IP’s Forestland Stewards Partnership is supporting this effort.

The eastern indigo snake is part of the Drymarchon genus of snakes, which comes from the Greek words “drymos” (forest) and “archon” (ruler or lord). This species lives up to its name as it is the longest native snake species in the United States. The eastern indigo snake once flourished in the longleaf pine forests. Its striking glossy blue-black coloring could be seen slithering across the forest floor, but now due to habitat loss, this federally threatened species has been pushed to the brink disappearing from the forests it once thrived. 

However, thanks to a grant from NFWF with funding support from IP and four additional funding partners, efforts to bring this species back are gaining new momentum.

The grant, awarded to The Nature Conservancy Florida Chapter through the Longleaf Landscape Stewardship Fund, is part of a broader, multi-year initiative to restore critical longleaf pine habitat in Southwest Georgia and Florida. These open-canopied forests not only support the indigo snake but are home to many at-risk species like the gopher tortoise, red-cockaded woodpecker, and Bachman’s sparrow.

This funding will also support the care and breeding of eastern indigo snakes at the Orianne Center for Indigo Conservation (OCIC), the world’s first and only facility dedicated to this species. Captive-bred snakes raised at OCIC have been released at The Nature Conservancy’s Apalachicola Bluffs and Ravines Preserve since 2017. And for the first time in 2023, wild-born juveniles were documented on the landscape, signaling a huge milestone in recovery efforts.

“Seeing wild-born indigo snakes for the first time in decades is an incredible milestone,” said Sophie Beckham, Chief Sustainability Officer at International Paper.  “It’s proof that when we invest in both species and habitat, we can reverse declines and rebuild populations from the ground up.”

In tandem, the grant will fund habitat restoration by supporting prescribed burning, hardwood reduction, and the planting of more than 4,900 acres of longleaf pine. These actions help restore the open, sun-dappled understory that snakes and their prey need to thrive.

This support from IP marks its first direct investment in eastern indigo snake recovery. Through NFWF’s Longleaf Landscape Stewardship Fund grant program, IP is also helping restore habitat for other at-risk snake species such as the Louisiana pine snake and northern pine snake.

As invasive species and development continue to threaten the Southeast’s forests, partnerships like this are critical. That is why World Snake Day is a great reminder that even the most misunderstood animals deserve a place and a future on our planet.

###

About International Paper 
International Paper (NYSE: IP; LSE: IPC) is the global leader in sustainable packaging solutions. With company headquarters in Memphis, Tennessee, USA, and EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) headquarters in London, UK, we employ more than 65,000 team members and serve customers around the world with operations in more than 30 countries. Together with our customers, we make the world safer and more productive, one sustainable packaging solution at a time. Net sales for 2024 were $18.6 billion. In 2025, International Paper acquired DS Smith creating an industry leader focused on the attractive and growing North American and EMEA regions. Additional information can be found by visiting internationalpaper.com 

About the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation 
The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) works with partners to foster sustainable and impactful conservation solutions so that people and nature thrive together. Chartered by Congress in 1984, NFWF has grown to become the nation’s largest conservation foundation.  Since its founding, NFWF has supported more than 7,000 grantee organizations and funded over 23,300 projects that have generated a total conservation impact of $11.3 billion. Learn more at nfwf.org. 

Joleen Ong, Cascale’s senior director of brand and retailer membership, recently joined a panel at the Good Business Forum in New York to discuss how workplace strategies, particularly those focused on women, have translated into tangible business outcomes.

The event, hosted by Good Business Lab, brought together industry leaders to showcase innovative tools, share success stories, learnings, and insights, and catalyze collaborations that drive measurable change. The “Business of Better Work” panel brought together experts from global apparel brands, the UN system, and sustainability coalitions to explore why investing in women-friendly workplaces makes smart business sense.

Ong noted that brands are shifting from one-off CSR initiatives to systemic and long-term investment in women workers. Sharing insights from Cascale collaborator SLCP’s Impact Report, she highlighted that 35 percent of facilities reported a gender pay gap and that only 25 percent of managers are women despite making up 59 percent of the workforce. She emphasized the importance of strong HR management systems — a key area assessed by compliance tools such as the Higg Index, SLCP, and other compliance tools, to successfully achieve gender equity within a workplace.

Reflecting on her experience at Columbia Sportswear Company, Ong shared how she helped establish the ¹Women’s Leadership Initiative — an internal employee resource group — with support from the chief human resources officer and approval from the CEO. The initiative provided a sounding board for how to be more intentional with DEI efforts, mentorship, and internal learning and networking to support career advancement.

²Ong highlighted how facilities with strong social indicators tended to succeed in environmental metrics, noting that gender-inclusive HR systems supported better overall facility management. She pointed out how women in leadership often drive stronger follow-through on ESG initiatives, emphasizing that gendered risks are frequently overlooked in audits unless assessed through a gender lens.

Drawing on her experience as a board member of the menstrual health and education INGO Days for Girls International, Ong highlighted how menstrual stigma and inflexible workplaces that overlook menstrual health needs can contribute to absenteeism and limit opportunities for advancement.³She underscored that Inclusive workplaces are not only more effective but also more sustainable– highlighting the inextricable link between gender equity and climate resilience.

Ong shared challenges that hinder suppliers’ ability to invest in gender equity, including inconsistent trust between sustainability and sourcing teams and misalignment between sustainability goals and purchasing practices. She concluded by underscoring the importance of business cases framed around factors such as return on investment, compliance and reputational risk, and competitive differentiation as key drivers of meaningful investment in gender equity.

¹ Columbia Impact Report 2023 https://d1io3yog0oux5.cloudfront.net/_7243294f6152cc533d813bdcb6c832fb/columbia/db/641/5807/pdf/Columbia_Impact_Report_2023.pdf (pg15)

² Better Work (2022). Gender Equality and Inclusion Strategy 2022–2027 https://betterwork.org/reports-and-publications/global-gender-strategy/

³ Women, Gender Equality and Climate Change: https://www.un.org/womenwatch/feature/climate_change/

What happens when yesterday’s landfills become today’s problem—cracking, leaking, or resurfacing in the wake of poor maintenance or climate-driven disasters? In this episode, we dive into how companies and communities are tackling the legacy of contaminated sites, and the best practices shaping a safer, more resilient future for remediation.

Listen now on:
Apple Podcasts
Spotify
YouTube

Time Stamps
(00:00) Landfills: Out of sight, out of mind?

(00:46) Meet the hosts and guests

(01:19) Biggest risks of modern landfills

(02:41) New Zealand’s legacy landfills: A case study

(09:54) Australia’s best practices in landfill management

(16:59) Climate change and its impact on landfills

(22:28) Innovations and global knowledge sharing

(32:15) Key takeaways with the hosts

“The  relationship with landfills is an interesting one. They’re a necessary evil. We all use them to a greater or lesser extent. But I think there’s an element that we don’t want to think about them. We don’t want them to be there. We just want somebody else to deal with them, basically.” – Paul

“ Our landfill space has been relatively well regulated. That’s not to say that we don’t have historic landfills that are sort of forgotten, or our legacy sites…But basically what we’ve got in Victoria is some of the highest standards for landfill design, siting design, operation and rehabilitation in the country. A lot of other states and even other countries use our standards as their default.” – Andrew

We recently donated a retired PSE&G 2013 Freightliner M2106 aerial truck to Mercer County Technical Schools – mctsnj to give students real-world experience as they prepare for careers in skilled trades.

We’re proud to work with several technical schools throughout New Jersey to ensure those interested in skilled trades have the resources and support they need to thrive.

Learn more: http://spr.ly/60474sMfH

View original content here.

Complimentary Webinar

Beyond the Checklist: Building Responsible Sourcing Programs that Work

September 10, 2025 | 12:00 PM ET / 9:00 AM PT

REGISTER

Take your responsible sourcing strategy beyond compliance and toward real-world impact.

Sustainable, ethical supply chains are no longer just a goal; they’re a business imperative and competitive advantage. Forward-thinking companies have moved beyond checklists and basic compliance, turning responsible sourcing into a strategic business advantage that strengthens relationships, reduce risks, and drives brand value.

Whether you’re launching a new initiative or enhancing an existing program, this engaging webinar will guide you in building responsible sourcing strategies that deliver measurable, meaningful results.

Join experienced experts from SCS Global Services as we explore how to:

• Develop comprehensive sourcing programs tailored to your company’s goals and supply chain realities
• Conduct targeted risk assessments to focus efforts where they matter most
• Strengthen supplier relationships through engagement and shared priorities
• Implement traceability systems that verify ethical and sustainable practices
• Benchmark and improve your sourcing policies using global best practices
• Design and implement second-party audits that align with your values and desired outcomes
• Integrate environmental, social, and animal welfare standards into sourcing decisions

With over 40 years of experience across sectors such as coffee, dairy, cocoa, produce and more, SCS brings deep expertise and proven tools to help you transform your sourcing strategy into a driver of trust, transparency, and long-term business growth. Starbucks, Ferrero, and Driscoll’s and many other industry leaders have worked with SCS to advance their sustainable and ethical sourcing practices.

Join us and discover how to build a responsible sourcing program that works across your entire supply chain.

REGISTER HERE FOR THE WEBINAR

By registering, you will get access to the webinar recording.

For inquiries, contact:

Shyama Devarajan 
Senior Marketing Analyst, SCS Global Services 
sdevarajan@scsglobalservices.com

As kids go, Monica Santamaria was always on the move. 

“She absolutely loved swimming, volleyball, decorating and painting,” said her father, Roberto. “Her passion was contagious. She wore us out in a good way. We never saw any hints of physical problems. She was perfectly healthy.”

That all changed when Monica turned 6.

Her parents noticed her body curved to the left when she walked, and a similar curve began forming in her back. Doctors in Monica’s hometown of Managua, Nicaragua did a variety of tests and eventually diagnosed her with scoliosis, a severe and painful curvature of the spine that sometimes afflicts children, generally girls, during growth spurts.

“We had never heard of scoliosis and so the news was devastating,” Roberto remembers. “The more we learned, the more frightened we became.” 

Monica experienced many symptoms: back pain, pain in her lower limbs, cramps, fatigue, headaches, and trouble sleeping. Suddenly the girl with so much energy and love for sports couldn’t participate in gym class or play games that might hurt her back.

“I felt sad because I had so much fun doing those things but then I couldn’t,” Monica said. “Sometimes I had to play by myself because the teachers didn’t want my classmates to hurt me accidentally.” 

From desperation to hope

Scoliosis can often be treated through spine surgery, but such care is not available in Nicaragua. The Santamarias learned through their spine specialist about the medical missions of SpineHope, a U.S. based nonprofit that brings together surgeons, donated medical and surgical equipment, and teams of volunteers to take scoliosis treatment to various countries, including Nicaragua.

“It’s the most altruistic thing I’ve ever seen,” said Toby Hernandez, a sales rep in the Medtronic Cranial and Spinal Technologies Operating Unit who volunteers with SpineHope. “These children, these families, have no other options. They’re desperate. When they learn their child is going to get help, it’s a very emotional moment. Everybody in the room is crying, including us.”

The volunteer teams typically take two to four mission trips every year. Three missions are planned for 2025. Each trip involves prepping, packing, shipping and setting up an entire, functioning operating room in another country — roughly 30 bins of precision medical equipment and spine implants.

“It’s hard work, but it’s life-changing work and it’s all for these families and these children,” said Whitney Scurlock-Wood, a Medtronic spinal sales representative who has volunteered with SpineHope for the last four years. “Seeing the difference we make in people’s lives is just amazing. I take away something from every mission trip I go on.”

The team often performs several procedures on each mission. Occasionally, SpineHope’s case assessment concludes the patient should be brought to the U.S. for surgery, and that’s what happened with Monica.

“It didn’t hurt anymore”

For a month before surgery, Monica wore a halo-gravity traction device, which is a way of gently stretching the spine before surgery. Doctors attached a metal ring to Monica’s head and slowly added weights to a pulley system to apply traction to her spine. Eventually the system weighed 35 pounds, almost half of Monica’s body weight. But the process reduced her spine curvature by almost 50 percent, from 127 degrees to 73 degrees, and prepared her for the surgery.  

Then, volunteer surgeons used donated Medtronic spine products in the procedure to straighten her curved spine.

Several Medtronic volunteers participated in the eight-hour operation.

Monica’s recovery started almost immediately.  “The medical assistants helped her stand up the day after surgery and she took her first steps,” Roberto said. “It was incredible. Amazing.” 

Seven days later, Monica left the hospital, no longer in pain and walking on her own. “It didn’t hurt anymore and I could do the things I liked to do again,” she said. 

Today, Monica is back to swimming, playing volleyball, skating, and painting — activities she always loved but had to limit due to her condition. Her mood changed drastically; her smile is back and she’s happily looking forward to a life full of new possibilities.

“I’m grateful to everyone on my care team for everything they’ve done for me,” Monica said. “They gave me my life back.”

Medtronic has partnered with SpineHope ever since its formation in 2008—helping change the lives of more than 200 young patients.

“Medtronic is so committed to doing the right thing for the right people, Hernandez said. “It’s amazing and inspiring to be a part of it.”

Learn more about Medtronic.

Editor’s Note: The information in this article is not a substitute for talking to your doctor. Always talk to your doctor or other qualified health care provider about your medical condition and the risks and benefits of available treatments. This patient’s story is based on one individual’s experience. Not all patients will experience similar results.

With hurricane season ramping up and severe weather events becoming more frequent, businesses across sectors face increasing pressure to proactively prepare for potential disruption.

In our recent webinar entitled, “Disaster Preparedness: Practical Strategies for Business Continuity,” Lauren Corbett-Noon, Consumer and Industrial Goods Segment Leader at Antea Group, moderated a discussion on this topic featuring Noel Russ, Incident Management (AIM) Service Leader, and Marshall Stageberg, Meteorologist.

In this webinar, they shared practical insights on how organizations can strengthen their weather resilience strategies. Below, here are four key takeaways to help your organization prepare, protect, and respond more effectively.

To listen to the full webinar, click the link: Webinar: Disaster Preparedness: Practical Strategies for Business Continuity by Antea Group USA

1. Contingency Planning Requires Ownership

A plan sitting on a shelf isn’t a preparedness strategy—it’s a missed opportunity. Organizations are finding it beneficial to go beyond writing emergency response and business continuity plans. At the minimum, these plans must be:

• Up to date and reviewed regularly
• Assigned to a responsible owner within the company
• Practiced through regular drills with employees and responders
• Backed by employee training and accessible in both digital and hard copy formats

Not keeping your contact information, site details, or procedures up to date can cause serious delays, lead to regulatory penalties, and make these resources useless during an emergency.

2. Don’t Wait to Vet and Contract Response Partners

When disaster strikes, time is critical. Pre-qualifying and contracting with emergency response vendors in advance enables rapid mobilization and can reduce costs.

It is important to have agreements in place with remediation, restoration, specialized clean up, and security contractors before an event occurs. Doing so allows your organization to:

• Lock in rates and establish scopes of work
• Vet contractor safety records and insurance
• Receive priority response during regional crises
• Avoid costly delays and inflated post-disaster pricing

3. Use the Right Tools to Monitor and Forecast Weather Risk

Understanding your site-specific risk is the first step to effective forecasting. Geography literacy and knowledge of forecast timescales are critical for interpreting weather data and acting early.

Organizations can use trusted tools to monitor evolving risks. Such organizations include:

• National Weather Service and National Weather Service Point Forecasts for official daily forecasts
• National Hurricane Center for storm tracking
• National Water Prediction Center for flood modeling
• Storm Prediction Center and AirNow for wildfire, severe weather, and air quality

By combining long-, mid-, and short-range forecasts with real-time alerts, businesses can activate protocols based on weather triggers tied to their contingency plans.

4. Protect Your People, Equipment, and Facilities

When extreme weather threatens, the top priorities should be safety, operational continuity, and minimizing asset damage. Key strategies include:

• Employee protection: Know when to shelter in place vs. evacuate, and make sure all personnel understand the plan
• Equipment relocation: Move vehicles, tanks, and mobile assets prior to the arrival of an impending storm to avoid unnecessary losses
• Facility hardening: Take proactive steps such as clearing drainage, elevating equipment, sealing vulnerable areas, and upgrading HVAC systems, including filters, for wildfire smoke

Simple measures like staging assets in advance or having backup generators can yield significant cost savings and reduce downtime.

Frequently Asked Questions 

Q: What are the impacts of some of the budget cuts to NOAA?

A: While core weather forecasting services from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Weather Service remain unaffected, budget cuts have limited the availability of specialized forecasts and event planning support from local offices due to staffing shortages. Recent hiring approvals are expected to help restore some of these capabilities over time.

Q: If you had to pick two plans to concentrate on, which would you choose?

A: The two most essential plans to focus on are an Emergency Response Plan, which addresses all potential facility risks, and a Business Continuity Plan, which addresses operations so they can recover quickly after a disruption. Both of these plans help identify critical functions, evaluate internal and external threats, and often encompass elements of other preparedness plans.

Q: What is involved with having an emergency response plan drill?

A: An emergency response drill is a valuable opportunity to test communication, coordination, and plan effectiveness by involving key responders such as contractors, Emergency Medical Technician (EMTs), and local authorities. Drills help identify gaps, allow others to review and challenge the plan, and support continuous improvement through post-drill evaluations.

Looking Ahead

Preparedness is not a one-time activity; it’s an ongoing process of planning, training, monitoring, and refining. By taking steps now, organizations can significantly reduce both the human, operational, and financial impacts of extreme weather events.

If you have questions, our team is here to help! Reach out if you want help assessing your weather-related risks or building out your response strategy today!

A letter from Dirk Van de Put
Chair & Chief Executive Officer, Mondelēz International

A flaky croissant to accompany your morning coffee. A crispy biscuit for a mid-day break. A delicious bite of chocolate to wind down your evening. All over the world, snacking remains an important part of people’s lives – a dependable constant in an everchanging world. At Mondelēz International, we’re honored that consumers welcome our iconic chocolate, biscuit, and baked snack brands into their homes – and we are playing our part in our aim to have a positive impact on people and our planet.

Like many other companies, we’re closely tracking and planning around a dynamic operating environment. Against a backdrop of continued market and geopolitical uncertainty, stubborn inflation, and record input costs for key ingredients like cocoa, our Values and Purpose continue to guide us. Our more than 90,000 colleagues around the world remain committed to empowering people to snack right – by providing the right snack, for the right moment, made the right way.⁽¹⁾ 

Accordingly, we continue to prioritize Sustainability as the fourth pillar in our long-term Strategy – alongside Growth, Execution and Culture. We continue to believe that helping to drive positive change at scale across the communities our business touches is an integral part of value creation. Simply put, we believe that more sustainable business is, and always will be, good business.

At the same time, we recognize that analysts, policy makers, and other stakeholders around the world are evolving their expectations, standards, and guidelines for sustainability reporting. As we navigate a broad range of perspectives, we continue to share our progress through this annual Snacking Made Right Report. I’m pleased to share that we are making meaningful progress toward our goals, and I encourage you to learn more in the following pages, including reviewing our full-year 2024 sustainability data.

I’m proud of our team for staying focused and agile in challenging times. The progress detailed in this report would not be possible without our dedicated and passionate people; our strong partnerships with suppliers, customers, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs); and our multiple collaborations with industry coalitions, including the Consumer Goods Forum (CGF) and the World Cocoa Foundation (WCF).

As we progress in 2025, we remain focused on executing with excellence against our long-term growth strategy, including continuing to invest in our focused approach to creating a more sustainable business at scale.

Our team is at its best when we are united and clear about what we need to do. With the right strategy, the right brands, the right geographic footprint, and the right people – I’m confident that we remain solidly positioned for long-term, sustainable growth.

A letter from Christine Montenegro McGrath
Chief Impact & Sustainability Officer, Mondelēz International

Since our inception as a Company, we have set measurable goals for advancing more sustainable business practices, focused on where we believe we can have the biggest impact at scale. We have clear roadmaps and strong execution plans – and we remain confident in our ability to make progress against the goals we set.

While numerous stakeholders express changing points of view about the best way to define and evaluate sustainability programs and goals, I’m proud of the consistency of our approach. And I’m proud of the strong progress we continue to achieve against our sustainability goals in 2024, as a result. A few highlights:

• Despite immense challenges facing the cocoa sector, in 2024 we continued to advance our leadership in more sustainable sourcing of critical ingredients. 
  – Today about 91% of the cocoa volume used in our chocolate brands is sourced through Cocoa Life (through a mass balance approach), our signature cocoa sourcing program, which aims to help lift up the people and restore landscapes where cocoa grows.⁽²⁾
   
• We made continued progress in helping to combat climate change. 
  – Our end-to-end footprint GHG emissions reduced across our value chain by approximately (12)% compared to our 2018 baseline or approximately (9)% compared to emissions in the prior year.⁽³⁾
   
• We continued advancing our packaging strategy aiming for a more circular economy for packaging. 
  – Approximately 96% of our packaging is designed to be recyclable.⁽⁴⁾ 
  – We are pursuing more sustainable sourcing of flexible packaging, while better understanding the challenges facing enhanced sustainable sourcing of rigid plastic materials.
   
• And we continue to invest in ways to empower consumers to make more mindful snacking choices that fit into their healthy, active lifestyles.
  – Approximately 84% of our snacks revenue now comes from Mindful Portion Snacks – that is, snacks that are packaged in individually wrapped mindful portion serving sizes, or with clear mindful portion recommendations on pack.⁽⁵⁾

We believe that driving against these and other sustainability goals – detailed in the coming pages – is a supporting driver to enabling our long-term growth, accelerating our leadership position in snacking, and advancing a business that will remain resilient for many years to come. At the heart of our efforts lies the winning growth culture we continue to create in support of our people. Ever humble, but determined, we remain focused on making an impact where we think people and our planet need it most, and I am encouraged by the results of this focus resulting in the 2024 progress made against our goals.

The world is changing rapidly, demanding that we change with it. We continue to adapt while remaining focused on investing in our growth strategy – regularly re-examining our plans and roadmaps in light of a challenging, dynamic environment. Now is the time to stay focused, keep going, and act in line with our Purpose, Mission and Values:

• Love our consumers and our brands.
• Do what’s right.
• Grow every day.

Focusing on collaboration across all stakeholders remains at the heart of our sustainability strategy. I’m grateful to work alongside talented, dedicated teams at Mondelēz International, as well as passionate partners in the supplier, customer and NGO communities. I’m proud of the opportunity to learn from each other, challenge ourselves, and co-create impactful solutions. Together, I’m confident that we will continue to deliver sustainable business growth and long-term value for our many stakeholders.

View the full 2024 Snacking Made Right Report. 

 

^{(1) 2024 reported information as of December 31, 2024.}

^{(2) Goal and reported information for cocoa volume sourced is based on a mass balance approach, which means that the equivalent volume of cocoa needed for the products sold under our chocolate brands is sourced from the Cocoa Life program. Reported information for the period from January 1, 2024 to December 31, 2024 includes volumes from cocoa producing countries Brazil, Côte d’Ivoire, Ecuador, Ghana, Indonesia, India, and Nigeria unless otherwise stated (which differs from prior years). Excludes markets where Mondelēz International does not sell chocolate brands. Excludes organic certified consumer offers for Green & Black’s. Reported information is verified by an independent third-party and available in our ESG Reporting & Disclosure Reporting Archive.} 

^{(3) In the reporting year 2024, our annual GHG emissions were accounted following the GHG Protocol Corporate Standards and using the operational control approach. Reported information following Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) guidelines for near-term target excludes Capital Goods, Upstream Transportation and Distribution of Raw Materials, Employee Commuting, Downstream Transportation at Customer, and End of Life Treatment.The long-term target excludes these same categories, except for Upstream Transportation and Distribution of Raw Materials and Employee Commuting. We have recalculated our base year 2018 and most recent years (2023 and 2024) inventory following the GHG Protocol Corporate Standards. Recent updates incorporate acquisitions Chipita and Ricolino. The footprint includes all acquisitions and divestitures to date except for Evirth. For more details, please see the Carbon Accounting Manual. Reported information is verified by an independent third-party and available in our ESG Reporting & Disclosure Reporting Archive. In the context of the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), an “absolute target” refers to a reduction in total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by a specific percentage or amount, measured against a baseline year, rather than a reduction per unit of production or activity.}

^{(4) 2024 reported information covers the period from December 1, 2023 through November 30, 2024. Our annual reporting cycle for this metric differs from previous years as we migrate to calendar year reporting. Reported information utilizes forward looking volume estimates. Reported information is verified by an independent third-party and available in our ESG Reporting & Disclosure Reporting Archive.}

^{(5) Reported information from January 1, 2024 to December 31, 2024 measures the percentage of net revenue that comes from products that are either individually wrapped mindful portion units (≤200 calories) or have a mindful portion label/information per stock keeping unit, and includes any products with verified product specifications within biscuits and baked snacks, chocolate, and candy categories, and does not include Halls products, semi-final products not sold to consumers, bulk products for wholesale, beverages, meals, gums, gifting, seasonal or festive products, licensing/royalty revenue, private label products and products with small printable areas.}

Tapestry’s purpose is clear: to stretch what’s possible in fashion while staying true to our heritage of craftsmanship, quality, and innovation. Today, Tapestry is proud to share a bold step forward in that journey—an expanded partnership with Gen Phoenix, a pioneer in sustainable recycled leather fiber materials.

With a new three-year supply agreement and an increased equity stake in Gen Phoenix to 9.9%, Tapestry has nearly quadrupled its initial investment from 2023. This investment is part of Gen Phoenix’s $15 million Series round, led by Material Impact, and it reflects our belief in the power of innovation to drive both purpose and profit.

Tapestry’s relationship with Gen Phoenix began in 2022, and it’s grown into a model for how brands and material innovators can co-create sustainable solutions. Together, the companies have developed next-generation materials that honor the legacy of leather—so central to our brands Coach, Kate Spade, and Stuart Weitzman—while transforming it through circular processes.

This isn’t just about sourcing materials. It’s about building a resilient, future-ready supply chain that aligns with the values of today’s consumers. Gen Phoenix’s platform enables circularity at scale, delivering high-quality materials that meet our expectations for style, performance, and impact.

“As a global leader in quality leather goods, we see significant opportunity to be a catalyst for next-generation materials,” said Scott Roe, Tapestry’s Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer. “This partnership reinforces our commitment to leading the fashion industry in sustainable innovation.”

Tapestry’s expanded investment helps Gen Phoenix accelerate its mission in meaningful ways:

• Scaling production at its U.K. facility, with capacity for over 60 million square feet annually
• Expanding into new categories and global markets
• Advancing R&D to commercialize a fully circular leather solution using post-consumer and end-of-life waste

“This expanded partnership marks a major milestone—not just for Gen Phoenix, but for the future of sustainable materials,” said John Kennedy, CEO of Gen Phoenix. “Together with Tapestry, we’re proving that circular innovation can meet the demands of global brands without compromise. It’s a powerful example of what happens when you combine material innovation, leather heritage, shared values, and a commitment to scale.”

For Tapestry, this means greater supply chain resilience, continued product excellence, and deeper alignment with the values of the next generation of consumers.

Tapestry is excited about what’s ahead and looks forward to continuing this journey with Gen Phoenix to redefine what sustainable luxury can be.