Tag: 3BL

NEW YORK and HAMBURG, Germany, July 31, 2025 /3BL/ – The 100 leading Chief Sustainability Officers (CSOs) in the United States and Canada for 2025 are released today.

The list is published by Futur/io Institute, a pioneering organization dedicated to nurturing and inspiring leadership in sustainable innovation and celebrating the most impactful network of CSOs globally.

An extensive database of Fortune 2000 enterprises was compiled with a focus on the trailblazing CSOs and organizations that are a benchmark and pushing ahead to achieve an ambitious NetZero Goal by the year 2040.

Executives stem from a diverse range of industries – excluding consulting groups and fossil fuel industries like oil & gas and related sectors.

Women represent two thirds of the Top 100 CSOs of North America, with 66 women and 34 men featured on the list. US companies are the majority, occupying 94 positions, while Canada has 6 companies present.

The complete list is available online at:

https://www.csoawards.org/north-america/top-100-csos

“We want to shine a light on the importance of these leaders and the role of the CSO, even in times of headwinds. They are beacons in the transition to desirable futures in which business and sustainability initiatives thrive together” stated Harald Neidhardt, CEO & Curator of the Futur/io Institute.

And adding:

“Setting a bold net-zero target for 2040 or better, demonstrates the commitment to global leadership and environmental responsibility. It reassures citizens & investors that their sustainability efforts are here to stay—driving long-term investment, unlocking capital, enhancing future fitness & resilience, and fortifying energy transition.”

To be featured in the Top100 list, the executives must be the highest sustainability representative of the company or group with an executive role, occupy the position for at least a year, and be considered a thought leader.

At a company level, the list includes companies headquartered in the USA or Canada, with an annual revenue of over $1 billion and at least five thousand employees. Oil and gas companies were not considered, in an effort in line with the recent COP29 of the United Nations Climate Secretariat (UNFCCC) to encourage fast divestment from fossil fuels and resource-heavy industries.

The Futur/io CSO Awards Top 100 List is the first step in an initiative that aims to celebrate the leading Chief Sustainability Officers of North America.

The second part is the selection to Top20 nominees for the CSO Awards 2025.

The CSO Awards will culminate at a gala ceremony in New York City on September 22, during the UN General Assembly and Climate Week. The CSO Awards North America are awarded in collaboration with Made in Sustainability and supported by premium partners IntegrityNext and vitra.

The Futur/io four-quadrant model was developed in partnership with scientific research and knowledge partners, such as the Leonardo Centre at Imperial College Business School and Denominator, specialized in human-centric data.

In addition, knowledge partners include ClimateGPT and Rainforest Partnership.

Futur/io Institute—together with its knowledge partners—will narrow down the Top100 list to 20 names, who will be the nominees of the CSO Awards. The final three Award Winners, as well as the special mentions, will only be announced at the gala ceremony and will be selected by a Grand Jury composed of thought leaders in sustainability.

A report including all criteria dimensions and highlighting the Top 20 nominees will be published after the CSO Awards during Climate Week New York.

Top 100 Eligibility Requirements

Company Level

• Over $1 Billion in annual revenues. The CSO Award focuses on major companies where sustainability practices grant the most impact in reducing emissions and contributing to groundbreaking changes, whilst bearing the most challenges.
• Published NetZero goal of 2040 or earlier
• Company headquarters must be based within the USA or Canada
• Company Headcount +5k employees
• The awards do not include oil & gas, defence, and consulting companies, or related industries
• Companies that have published the latest sustainability report by August 8, 2025 (data source must include at least the first quarter of 2024) are eligible to be considered among the 20 nominees for the awards.

CSO Level

• We consider the job titles of Chief Sustainability Officer or equivalent, operating a C-level, Vice president or director position.
• Highest sustainability representative of the company or group with executive roles.
• Only one CSO/equivalent role per group or affiliated companies.
• At least one year in the current position to be eligible for further nomination stage (one year before September 22, 2025).
• Thought leadership ranked by the number of followers on LinkedIn and public appearances.

About Futur/io Institute

We believe in co-creating desirable futures where ideas and innovation drive a regenerative economy that benefits people and the planet within the planetary boundaries.

The Futur/io Institute is a pioneering organization to serve the most impactful network of Chief Sustainability Officers dedicated to transforming businesses to drive positive impact for people, planet and prosperity. We do this through publications, podcasts and convening at inspiring locations like Davos, Basel, Lisbon, Venice and New York.

With a mission to inspire ambition, action and cross-pollination to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals, the institute provides a platform for thought leaders, innovators, and change-makers to shape the futures of business and society.

Futur/io works with organizations like the UNFCCC or corporations in leadership training and curates Executive Programmes to inspire future leaders in sustainable innovation. Each year in Davos, the institute organizes executive receptions and in 2024 debuted the annual CSO Awards to shine a light on the leadership role of Chief Sustainability Officers.

Futur/io is based in Hamburg and works as a think-tank with a selected international and diverse faculty of 100+ leaders in sustainability. The most recent book “Leadership for Sustainable Futures” was published in May 2024 with Murmann Publishers. CEO & curator Harald Neidhardt hosts the CSO Impact Podcast, which launched in June 2024.

futur.io

Website for Additional Info:

https://www.csoawards.org/north-america

Media Contact

Luciana Prestes
Head of Marketing
luciana@futur.io

Our approach to climate change is comprehensive, interconnecting our goals across areas like responsible sourcing, social sustainability, and human rights.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT OUR:

• Strategic approach
• Action plans and progress
• Goals and metrics

HIGHLIGHTS

• Approximately (37)% CO_2e emissions reductions across our manufacturing operations in 2024 (vs. 2018) ⁽²⁾
• Approximately (12)% GHG emissions reduction across our value chain (vs. 2018) ⁽¹⁾

STRATEGIC APPROACH

At Mondelēz International, we are part of a broad movement across our sector that aims to bring about more sustainable ways of growing and operating business. For us, this involves aiming to reduce our environmental impact while helping to support resilience across our supply chains and the communities our business touches.

Our approach also links our carbon emission-reduction goals, our leadership in sourcing ingredients more responsibly, and our commitment to social sustainability and human rights across our value chain. Every element of our approach reinforces the other. Our ingredient sourcing programs are where most of our carbon emissions reduction work and social sustainability efforts live. So as part of our signature sourcing programs for our key ingredients, such as Cocoa Life for cocoa and Harmony Wheat for wheat, we are working towards supporting more resilient landscapes, communities, and robust human rights to help provide lasting economic, environmental, and social benefits for the communities involved.

We focus on areas where we believe we can make the greatest positive difference for the long term. This is why we focus on limiting our environmental impact by contributing to climate change mitigation, across key focus areas within our operations and supply chain. Similarly, we work to identify and manage climate change-related risks which helps us to shape our adaptation strategies as we seek to reduce the impact of climate change both on our organization and on the communities we touch.

CLIMATE RISK MITIGATION -OUR NET ZERO PATHWAY

We’ve been on a path to reduce our carbon emissions for several years and took a key step in 2021 when we set our long-term goal of net-zero GHG emissions across our full value chain by 2050.

We have signed the SBTi’s Business Ambition for 1.5°C, aligning our long-term emissions mitigation goals with the Paris Agreement’s aim of limiting temperature rise. We’ve also joined the United Nations “Race to Zero” campaign to help build momentum toward a decarbonized economy.

In April 2024, the SBTi successfully validated our full value chain goal to reduce absolute end-to-end CO_2e emissions by about 35% by 2030 and to reach net-zero by 2050 from a 2018 base year, including the reduction of absolute gross scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions by 50.4% within the same timeframe, in line with the 1.5oC reduction pathway.^{(1) (2)} This followed a thorough review of our carbon accounting documentation, in line with both the GHG Protocol and SBTi standards and guidelines, as well as our commitment to continue transforming our operations and supply chains while transparently reporting progress. This exercise was developed with the input of multiple functions throughout the business – including Manufacturing, Logistics, Finance and Procurement – as well as collaboration with our external partners and suppliers in building a framework for more consistent carbon reporting across our Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions.

For Scope 1, we identify and report on the combustion of fuels taking place in our own facilities and mobile operations, as well as any fugitive emissions from our sites.

For Scope 2, measuring emissions involves assessing indirect emissions associated with the electricity, heat and steam we buy for our own facilities.

For Scope 3, we measure the indirect emissions generated within our value chain, such as the emissions generated from materials and services we buy, emissions generated from activities associated with fuel and energy, and emissions generated from finished goods storage and transportation, as well as business travel and investments.

We also strive to support cross sector sharing and collaboration when it comes to common challenges in decarbonizing supply chains. We actively participate in a number of global organizations focused on supply chain improvements, including the Toward Net Zero Coalition of Action (TNZ) and the Forest Positive Coalition of Action (FPC) as part of our membership with the CGF.

We are implementing the SBTi reduction pathway following distinct phases as shown in Figure 1 above. (Find out more on SBTi’s website.)

STRATEGIES FOR REDUCING CARBON

At Mondelēz International, we focus our strategic efforts on three prominent drivers of carbon emissions at play in the food and beverage sector: the changing use of land, including deforestation; emissions related to farming; and use of fossil fuels. That’s why we regard deforestation-free, regenerative agriculture and the avoidance of fossil fuels as key focus areas to help cut our emissions.

To effectively bring these three strategies to life, we have identified our main focus areas and created reduction roadmaps for each which includes, shifting our ingredient supply chains away from sources where deforestation occurs; focusing on regenerative agriculture that uses ecological principles to sustain and restore degraded soils; and embracing renewable energy sources and low- impact, more sustainable packaging.

Completeness & Consistency in Determining Carbon Footprint Reporting ⁽¹⁾

To help make our carbon footprint reporting more consistent, we expose our data to external verification and align our internal processes with the GHG Protocol standards. As part of this, we published our formalized Carbon Accounting Manual during 2023. And we continued to increase the internal processes we use to promote consistency of approach, in the form of a growing range of Standard Operating Procedures.

We continue to keep our carbon inventory up to date, now including the recently acquired Chipita Global S.A. and Ricolino. Starting in 2024, Mondelēz International partnered with Watershed to improve the GHG accounting process allowing for greater data granularity and streamlined calculation.

Overall, our emissions continue to reduce over the years as we continue transitioning our materials to a number of new customized emissions factors, allowing us to reflect the strategic efforts following our three focus areas to reduce our emissions.

Our end-to-end emissions are aligned with SBTi guidelines where we focus our initiatives on our most impactful and actionable GHG emissions across the value chain (approximately 90% of our end-to- end CO_2e emissions in base year 2018).⁽¹⁾

CLIMATE RISKS & RESILIENT COMMUNITIES

Operating at a global scale means we can have a meaningful positive impact by encouraging practices that respect land rights, and by investing in innovation and technology to increase transparency and measure impact at scale across our supply chain.

Identifying and managing climate change-related risks is part of our ERM process, enabling us to expand and deepen our understanding of our impact on the planet, informing our strategies and ultimately sharpening and enhancing our approaches.

We are in the process of reviewing our approach to assessing environmental dependencies, impacts, risks, and opportunities in alignment with evolving standards and regulations. For this, we collaborate with third-party expert Risilience and their partner, the Centre for Risk Studies at the University of Cambridge. Risilience specializes in providing the methodology and climate modelling platform that, in combination with their own data and assumptions, drives informed decision-making and impact analysis through climate-related risk assessment and scenario analysis.

The platform offered by Risilience provides several configurable models that quantify the impact of various physical and transition risks under different emission pathways. These emission pathways range from a 1.5oC of warming to >4oC of warming as compared with pre-industrial levels. Physical risks include the increasing frequency of extreme weather events and natural disasters, effects on water availability and quality, and biodiversity loss. These can increase risks to the global food production and distribution system, and to the safety and resilience of the communities where we live, work, and source our ingredients. They could also further decrease food security for communities around the world. Transition risks include increased focus by federal, state, and local regulatory and legislative bodies around the world regarding environmental policies relating to climate change, regulating GHG emissions (including carbon pricing or a carbon tax), energy policies, disclosure obligations and sustainability, including single use plastics.

The analytical output results of this tool are aligned with TCFD’s (and similar) reporting requirements, which may be used as a foundation for future climate-related regulatory disclosure requirements.

We continue to monitor this space so that our approach remains relevant and transparent, and we continue to strive to provide our stakeholders with relevant information on climate-related issues. We report on our metrics and goals annually in our Snacking Made Right reports and CDP questionnaire disclosures.

For more details please read our Annual Report

STRATEGIES FOR CLIMATE RISK ADAPTATION

Looking at climate physical and transition risks, we strive to help support communities and landscapes to adapt and become more resilient. We do this through three key strategies :

1. Enhancing social sustainability and respecting Human Rights 
   Resilient communities are better positioned to drive their own development. We strive to make sure that the rights of people in our value chain are respected and promoted, and that the communities where we operate are more resilient. To this end, we focus on key areas for greater impact, including addressing Human Rights risks in sourcing key commodities, and working to improve living wages and due diligence in our own operations.

2. Aiming to seek no deforestation across primary commodities by 2025
   Deforestation is a risk because of its contribution to global climate change as well as its impact on indigenous peoples
   and local communities, and ecosystem services in affected areas. Therefore, we believe it is important to take action to help reduce deforestation and promote more sustainable land use practices which respect human rights, including land rights, in line with our Human Rights Policy

   Our goal is to seek no deforestation across our primary commodities following an approach starting with our European business in accordance with EU regulations and rolling out to our other regions by December 31, 2025, in accordance with SBTi guidance. The cutoff date was December 31, 2020, in accordance with EU regulations and SBTi guidance. This is the date after which deforestation is counted against a company’s supply chain, meaning that products have to be produced on land that has not been subject to deforestation or forest degradation after December 31, 2020. In specific cases, e.g., where specific certification standards exist, we may apply cut-off dates set by those respective standards if they are the same or earlier in time. For cocoa and palm oil, two commodities we source that are considered at-risk when it comes to deforestation, we engage with our key suppliers to supply only deforestation-free cocoa and palm oil to Mondelēz International. We also call on our suppliers to take efforts to end deforestation in their supply chains. While focus lies on cocoa and palm oil, we also consider soy1, pulp, and paper in our deforestation-free approach.

   Ending deforestation needs sector-level transformation. We support an approach in which key players along the value chain work collaboratively to tackle systemic issues at the industry, country and landscape-level.

   Our full deforestation position is available on our website.

3. Increasing regenerative agricultural practices

   To help improve agricultural resilience, we’re working to transform agricultural production into regenerative systems while reducing carbon. We focus on agroforestry landscapes, biodiversity, and regenerative farming practices across our key ingredients, including cocoa and wheat. This involves participation in sector- wide initiatives and coalitions with multiple stakeholders.

ACTION PLANS AND PROGRESS

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT THROUGH OUR OPERATIONS & INGREDIENT SOURCING

RAW MATERIALS – COCOA

We engage with key suppliers to promote sourcing of deforestation-free cocoa.

• Read more about our deforestation position on our website

We also address challenges of climate change and deforestation in the cocoa supply chain through Cocoa Life by working with partners to advance the ambitions of the Cocoa and Forests Initiative.

Particularly as supply of cocoa has been hindered largely due to weather with lower production causing a rise in the price of this important ingredient, we have continued our Cocoa Life focus to support our goal of a thriving cocoa sector that collaborates to tackle interrelated system issues.

Cocoa Life Actions to Protect and Restore Forests

As part of Cocoa Life, we believe in conserving the land and forests for today and for tomorrow. As part of our integrated approach, we focus on helping to protect and restore forests and seek no deforestation on Cocoa Life farms.

Two key elements drive our cocoa emissions reduction: agroforestry and farming practices. Therefore, through Cocoa Life, we are working with partners and governments to help farmers grow more resilient farms through trainings on agricultural and environmental practices. These trainings are delivered to raise awareness, to build farming skills and to encourage activities that help increase cocoa yields while avoiding farm expansion into protected areas. We also help promote agroforestry techniques through planting non-cocoa trees to protect crops from excessive sun and heat. These trees also promote biodiversity and can provide farmers with additional income. By the end of 2024, we distributed ~10,665,000 economic shade trees, trained ~178,000 farmers in Good Agricultural Practices and trained ~571,000 community members in Good Environmental practices.⁽⁴⁾

We are also applying farm mapping to monitor deforestation for communities. Farm mapping enables us to assess deforestation risks in our supply chain and gain a deeper understanding of farming community needs and farm boundaries. By the end of 2024, we have mapped more than 237,000 Cocoa Life farms.⁽²⁹⁾

Promoting Cocoa Agroforestry

Carbon removals are key to meeting our carbon objectives as we cannot rely only on carbon reduction. We continue to remain in line with the GHG protocol and continue our efforts while we wait for the GHG Protocol’s Land Sector and Removals (LSR) guidance. We have started a carbon booster project focusing on carbon removals to help sequester carbon from the atmosphere and have a bigger positive climate impact. This project focuses on agroforestry and in particular tree planting to sequester carbon. In some countries, this project also includes financial incentives (Payments for Environmental Services – PES) paid to farmers for the number of trees planted (Cameroon) or the survival rate of trees (Indonesia).

Generally, research and practitioners expect agroforestry to provide a wide range of environmental, social and economic ecosystem services:

• Income diversification for farmers: Trees planted are usually a mix of fruit and timber trees. If the tree is a source of income it is less likely the farmer will cut it down for wood.
• Soil conservation (improves soil quality and reduces soil erosion, increases soil fertility).
• Biodiversity preservation.
• Natural barrier to pests (when planting along the borders of the plot).
• Helps crops become more resilient to climate change and extreme climatic events.

We launched the carbon booster project in Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, India, Indonesia and Brazil in 2023 and in Nigeria and Cameroon in 2024. While we continue to plant trees, we also see climate challenges – low rainfalls in India or El Niño in Brazil pose a higher risk of tree mortality.

We currently use field monitoring for tree survival rates to confirm they are still sequestrating carbon. As we scale tree planting in the coming years, we intend to assess how to monitor tree survival leveraging remote sensing data to support the field monitoring.

Understanding Our Impact on Forests

We work with Satelligence, a remote sensing company, to help us understand the impact on natural forests of Cocoa Life farmers and communities. Satelligence applies satellite imagery to detect forest cover changes that can indicate likely deforestation events, and machine-learning to measure deforestation rates. Following sector practices in 2024, the methodology was adjusted to expand the scope to secondary forests in addition to primary forests. The new definition improves forest detection and helps us better protect already degraded area where forests have newly regrown in addition to primary forests.

In alignment with our Cocoa and Forests Initiative ambitions, we look at deforestation signals from 2018 until the latest available data (2024). In 2024, the analysis focused on our impact on forests in Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire and Nigeria.

Overall results in West Africa (Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria) show approximately 2.5% deforestation on or closely around Cocoa Life registered farms^.(3) The satellite monitoring results show near no deforestation on or closely around Cocoa Life registered farms in Côte d’Ivoire (~0.6%) and Ghana (~2.2%) since 2018. In Nigeria, the new detection approach indicates a level of approximately 19% with most detected occurrences located on potential secondary forest or agroforestry areas versus primary forest which was the focus of our 2023 analysis. We are in the process of engaging with supply chain partners to better understand what triggers the occurrences and, if required, follow up to do checks on the ground and assess the opportunity to rehabilitate impacted areas as appropriate.

Understanding the Carbon Emissions Impact

Building on our work from 2022, we’re continuing to expand our list defining customized emission factors that will help us to understand our carbon emissions intensity, which helps to quantify the carbon reductions resulting from the Cocoa Life program.
In doing so, we’re using data to translate our interventions in deforestation prevention and agroforestry as well as farming practices into custom emission factors. In our major sourcing countries, this approach is resulting in lower emissions per tonne of product than we would obtain with generic emission factors.

Working in Collaboration Across Landscapes

As we seek forest protection and restoration, we work with farming communities, peers, sector partners and governments to drive solutions on a landscape level. This includes the CFI and multistakeholder landscape initiatives, such as the Asunafo-Asutifi landscape partnership in Ghana.

As part of Cocoa Life Indonesia’s activities in Aceh and North Sumatra, we help protect and restore forests in the Leuser Ecosystem landscapes.

RAW MATERIALS – DAIRY

To better maximize our efforts, we have taken a two-pronged approach to help reduce carbon intensity in dairy: We work directly with farmers supplying our core brands Cadbury Dairy Milk, Milka and Philadelphia, and we closely collaborate with strategic processors. Thanks to first tracking their CO_2e emissions and then developing action plans to reduce them, some strategic suppliers have successfully completed their baselines and are delivering lower carbon intensity compared to their base year.

Europe at the Helm of Dairy GHG Reduction Programs

We are working with several of our dairy suppliers in Europe on ambitious farm-level GHG reduction programs with the goal of reducing CO_2e emissions from baselines that Mondelēz International began establishing in 2018.

Our goal is to gain a clear picture of GHG emissions and sustainability efforts across our shared value chain. We work with dairy suppliers, industry experts, and our carbon accounting partner, Quantis, to review the tools and methodologies used for measuring GHG emissions. This helps us to accurately assess our baseline and measure progress. A robust baseline, based on farm-level data, highlights environmental hotspots and solutions most relevant for our supply chain.

In 2024, we kicked off phase 2 of our baselining efforts to cover more of our Europe supplier base and began to track annual progress for the baselines validated in phase 1.

In Italy, our local supplier Fattorie Osella has taken another significant step forward in dairy sustainability. After becoming the first dairy company in Italy to obtain animal welfare certification for ~100% of its milk suppliers since 2016, Fattorie Osella has launched a three-year carbon reduction journey with xFarm Technologies. Through this collaboration, 17 farmers are expected to gain access to their on-farm carbon footprints, enabling them to design a tailored roadmap for reducing on-farm CO_2e emissions. Farmers will have access to an online platform that helps digitalize their operations and make informed sustainability decisions.

Australia on Its Way

Australia is on the dairy emissions-reduction journey, partnering directly with Cadbury dairy farmers in Tasmania. In 2024 Mondelēz Australia completed baselines for on-farm carbon footprints and are now looking at ways to partner with farmers to develop reduction strategies for the short, medium, and long term.

Emerging Technologies & Innovations in Dairy

Our Research & Development (R&D) organization continued our collaboration with the Scienta Group, a science and innovation consultancy, to stay informed on developments and support us in achieving our ambitions. This partnership has been instrumental in exploring the longer-term technical landscape, assessing the implementation readiness and efficacy of existing technologies,
and identifying new areas for exploration through opportunities in academia and industry collaboration. Moreover, our work with Scienta has identified early Technology Readiness Level (TRL) technologies, which we will explore during 2025 to better understand how they can be leveraged to deliver against our plan.

As part of our efforts with the Scienta Group, we are proud to have supported and secured approval for a European Institute of Innovation & Technology (EIT) Food-funded project. This initiative focuses on exploring the application of the Marginal Abatement Cost Curve (MACC) to better understand the environmental and economic impacts of various dairy farm typologies across Europe.

In addition, we have secured a Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) with Queen’s University Belfast, further enhancing our internal expertise in assessing end-to-end emissions on farms as technology interventions are implemented. These collaborations reflect our commitment to innovation and progress as we work towards a more sustainable future.

Collaborating Across the Dairy Sector

In 2024, we continued our partnership with the Sustainable Agriculture Initiative Platform (SAI Platform) and its Sustainable Dairy Partnership (SDP) to collaborate within the industry. This includes our efforts to scale the adoption of the SDP in Latin America.

Through the SDP, we have worked to promote sector alignment on the reporting of sustainability topics and continuous improvement on key dairy issues. Along with a variety of stakeholders, processors and national programs (altogether representing about 30% of the global dairy volume), we are working to raise the bar in dairy sustainability. By recognizing existing programs, we are striving to avoid duplicating efforts, allowing more resources to help create positive impact at farm level. In 2024 we began to explore the option of using SDP data for baselining eligible suppliers. We intend to continue this work in 2025.

By collaborating with producers, processors, and buyers like ourselves, we hope to support a more sustainable future for dairy.

RAW MATERIALS – PALM OIL

Our aim to seek no deforestation is building upon the company’s POAP, which was first issued in 2014. We take into account learnings and experience realized in our Company’s efforts to collaborate with suppliers to source deforestation-free palm oil and applies those learnings across primary commodities. In the future, this plan will also take into account current and impending regulation, as well as insights from external frameworks such as the SBTi and collaborative organizations such as CGF FPC and CGF POCG.

Sourcing palm oil more sustainably means for us switching from broadly RSPO credit sourcing in prior years to sourcing RSPO physical certified starting in 2025. In conjunction we are also adopting NDPE’s IRF and require our suppliers to submit NDPE IRF profiles annually.

Shifting to deforestation-free sourcing supports our carbon footprint reduction.

RAW MATERIALS – WHEAT

We also work to help curb our supply chain footprint through our Harmony sustainable wheat program.

Our strengthened charter, Harmony Ambition 2030, includes 20 mandatory farming practices plus 17 best practices, built in close collaboration with agronomic experts, NGOs and, of course, our wheat supply chain. To help mitigate climate change, our Harmony Regenerative Charter focuses on the following objectives:

• Optimizing the use of nitrogen fertilizers, the main source of greenhouse gas emissions in wheat production, and a source of soil health degradation;
• Diversifying crop rotation by introducing leguminous crops;
• Keeping the soil covered between crops to help improve soil structure, store carbon and reduce the need for fertilizers; and
• Reducing tillage to limit erosion, improve water retention and enhance soil health.

We kick-started Harmony Ambition 2030 with a test-and-learn model in France. Participating farmers sowed Harmony wheat under our Regenerative Charter for harvest 2023. Encouraging results in France helped us to apply learnings to a wider European roll-out over the coming years, starting with Belgium for harvest 2024, Central Europe for harvest 2025 and finishing with Spain and Italy for harvest 2026.

Strong Data Reporting System to Measure Our Impact

Harmony has developed a strong and unique data reporting system on farming practices that allows for full traceability from Harmony wheat storage to factory. Our aim is to calculate and monitor a set of economic and agro-environmental performance indicators, such as nitrogen use efficiency, greenhouse gas emissions and pesticide use. Key results are shared with wheat supply chain partners to fuel a continuous improvement approach, and our charter is reworked to further reduce our environmental footprint.

To confirm our Harmony-labeled products comply with requirements of the charter, certified third-party organizations (SGS, Bureau Veritas) conduct annual verifications. All mills and storage bodies as well as about 10% of partner farmers are audited every year with over 285 audits performed in 2024.

In 2024, we decided to go further and kicked off a project to launch a new digital platform, developed by the technology company Improvin’. With the detailed farm-level data in the Harmony data platform, we will be able to more effectively track the overall progress of the program including factors such as reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Designed with user simplicity in mind, the Harmony data platform features an intuitive interface and built- in compatibility with many Harmony partners’ existing tools, including Farm Management Systems.

The platform’s advanced machine learning capabilities, using modeled data from sources such as satellite imagery, streamline the reporting process, allowing farmers to validate information rather than having to enter data manually. Furthermore, the Harmony data platform offers farmers valuable feedback on their performance and tailored support to enhance their regenerative practices.

This Harmony data platform will be rolled out across Europe starting in 2025, covering more than 1,260 farms in seven markets by 2026: France, Belgium, Spain, Italy, Poland, Czechia and Hungary. In 2025, the French and Belgian Harmony partners will be the first to gain access to the new platform.

MANUFACTURING

We’re focusing on increasing both our energy efficiency and our use of renewable energy (with a focus on electricity), so that we can go further in reducing our carbon emissions and our costs. In 2024, about 54% of the electricity we used in our manufacturing sites was renewable, compared to around 45% in 2023.⁽⁵⁾

We are also continuing to make adjustments to how we operate. We are leveraging improved processing designs for enhanced efficiency. For example, we are replacing some natural gas baking ovens with low-carbon fuels or electricity.

LOGISTICS OPERATIONS

Outbound logistics activities (from manufacturing plants to customers) represent about 4% of our total company CO_2e emissions.⁽¹⁾ Most of our operations are outsourced, thus partnering with our suppliers is crucial to help deliver our net-zero emissions ambition. The main contributor to our emissions is truck transportation.

We are working to reduce the emissions across our logistics operations across a range of activities. Efforts include investing
in new and energy-efficient mobility solutions, as well as switching to renewable energy sources in our warehouses. We’re also optimizing routes, reducing travel distances and improving the ways in which we use trucks and containers.

Electric transportation continues to be piloted in a variety of markets, including China, the U.S.and Brazil and also in 2024 piloted for the first time in Czechia.

In Europe, we run a program called Design to Transport which aims to enhance our transportation efficiency by improving vehicle utilization. Three pillars of this program are pallet height optimization, pallet loading optimization (e.g. double stacking) and our Pack Light Right program, which optimizes truck space utilization and drives air reduction in transport. The program initiated in 2023 and continued to thrive into 2024, successfully eliminating over 1,000 trucks annually that transit between our manufacturing facilities and distribution centers.

PACKAGING

We continue to strive to make our packaging more efficient in line with our strategy. This means working toward reducing the virgin plastic material used in our packaging, while not compromising the quality and integrity of our products. We have deployed packaging sustainability design requirements across our global business.

These requirements are aligned with industry guidelines – such as the CGF’s Golden Design Rules – to promote consistency with latest leading practices. By designing our packaging to be recyclable, evolving to more sustainable materials and increasing our use of recycled content, we are working toward improving carbon intensity across our packaging portfolio.

SUPPLIER PARTNERSHIP PROGRAMS

In the last year, we have continued to build two major partnerships that are helping us better understand our broader Scope 3 emissions, while recognizing their level of alignment with our net- zero plans.

First, we continue working with EcoVadis, a leading provider of business sustainability ratings and second, we continue to partner with the Supplier Leadership on Climate Transition (Supplier LOCT), a consortium of world-leading businesses aiming to reduce supply chain emissions. Through this approach we are supporting our top suppliers in evolving or (where applicable) creating their Scope 3 footprint, setting CO_2e reduction goals, and reporting outcomes in line with the SBTi.

INNOVATION

During 2024, we’ve worked on many areas of innovation, which are aimed at helping us reduce our carbon emissions. Key examples include:

• Conservation in Cocoa: We completed the first, comprehensive study of biochar’s potential as a carbon dioxide removal technology in a smallholder cocoa farming in collaboration with the Alliance of Biodiversity International and CIAT (Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical). The results showed potential to simultaneously achieve decarbonization of cocoa, while also improving soil fertility, water retention, fertilizer use efficiency, and productivity. The most viable technologies and scaling models were identified and evaluated. Also, the community-based Payment for Ecosystems Services (PES) model developed under the Landscape for Sustainable Livelihoods (C4SL) pilot project in Ghana, has reduced the deforestation growth curve by over 70% compared to business-as-usual which means the conservation of about 7,000 tonnes of CO2 equivalent together with improved water recharge and hectares of biodiversity. Additionally, we registered two high-yielding, resilient cocoa clones in Indonesia and established 4 budwood gardens in Sumatra, each with a capacity to distribute approximately 35,000 – 50,000 seedlings.
• Wheat Regen Ag Pilot: Developing a three-year baseline alongside Michigan State University Extension to initiate a regenerative agriculture program in the 2025 planting season, looking at the use of regenerative agriculture in wheat for Triscuit recipes. Also, Mondelēz International enlisted a Monitor, Reporting and Verification (MRV) partner to monitor, record and verify regenerative agricultural practices, as well as a crop warranty provider to help decrease risk during the transition to regenerative practices once the program begins.
• Wheat Breeding Program: We have been able to register two new soft wheat varieties in China, marking a significant milestone in our sustainability journey. Local sourcing is a critical enabler for our initiatives in China, and these varieties not only meet
  our quality standards but also lay the foundation for working towards our longer-term goal of net zero emissions by 2050.
• Sustainable Futures Investment: Through our Sustainable Futures platform we have invested in eAgronom, a start up company that supports the transition to regenerative agriculture by helping farmers improve soil health, reduce carbon emissions and enhance financial resilience through sustainable practices. With over 1 million hectares already under sustainable farming practices, eAgronom enables farmers to access carbon credit markets, helping create additional revenue streams while helping strengthen their ability to adapt to climate-related challenges.
• EcoDesign Development: R&D colleagues throughout our business now have access to a digital EcoDesign tool to help them build reduced environmental impact into product and process innovations, reformulations and portfolio shifts. We also use our eQoPack, a packaging assessment tool developed by Quantis to help us design more sustainable packaging.
• Reformulation Research: We are piloting a digital dashboard to help us capture the carbon-reduction potential available through reformulation. We also funded a project with The National Food Lab, Inc. to test the potential for taking dairy ingredients out of selected baked products with minimal impact on cost, taste or nutrition.

WHERE OUR CARBON FOOTPRINT COMES FROM

Similar to other food manufacturers, we see about 70% of our footprint driven by raw materials.⁽¹⁾ Cocoa and dairy are the two largest contributors to our footprint driven by our portfolio followed by: palm oil, sugar, wheat, other oils, nuts, and all other ingredients.

The remaining approximately 30% is broken out across internal manufacturing linked to the production of our products plus related upstream fuel and energy related activities, packaging used to keep our products safe and protected during transportation and handling, logistics operations linked to storage and transportation of finished goods, and various other categories including emissions related to external manufacturing, investments, services, business travel, and small categories.

Our end-to-end footprint has reduced by approximately (12)% compared to our 2018 baseline or approximately (9)% compared to emissions in the prior year.⁽¹⁾ Our Scope 1 and 2 emissions continue to decrease, reflecting our progress in renewable electricity and energy efficiency. We reduced our Scope 1 and 2 (market-based) emissions by approximately (28)% compared to our 2018 baseline and approximately (2)% compared to emissions in the prior year.⁽¹⁾

In the past we have been focused on reducing the carbon emissions across our manufacturing operations by 10% from a 2018 base year which has been successfully achieved thanks to our strategic approach in our operations though electrification, transitioning to renewable energy, and efforts towards more energy efficient processes. Our focus moving forward will be shifting to the reduction of absolute Scope 1 & 2 emissions by 50.4% by 2030 against a 2018 base year.

Our Scope 3 emissions have decreased by approximately (11)% compared to our 2018 baseline, or approximately (9)% compared to emissions in the prior year as we continue to capture the positive effects of our various roadmaps, with the biggest impact coming from cocoa.⁽¹⁾ Our carbon reduction strategy is based on our focus areas, which each have a distinct roadmap.

View the full 2024 Snacking Made Right Report. 
 

^{(1) 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.}

^{(2) Our near-term goal aligns with the latest standards and guidelines including the current SBTi Net Zero Standard (from March 2024) and the current SBTi FLAG (Forest, Land and Agriculture) Guidance (from December 2023) by setting near-term targets in line with limiting warming to 1.5°C.}

^{(3) Reported information for the period from January 1, 2024 to December 31, 2024 for West Africa includes Côte d’Ivoire, Nigeria and Ghana.}

^{(4) Reported information for the period from January 1, 2024 to December 31, 2024 covers Brazil, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Ecuador, Ghana, Indonesia, India, and Nigeria unless otherwise stated (which differs from prior years).}

^{(5) Reported information includes all divestitures to date and the following acquisitions (which were not included in previous years): Chipita, Clif bar, Give & Go, Gourmet Foods, Ricolino and Tate’s Bake Shop except for Evirth (subject to future data integration). We have recalculated our base year 2018 (where applicable) and most recent years (2023 and 2024) for year-over-year comparison. Reported information is verified by an independent third-party and available in our ESG Reporting & Disclosure Reporting Archive.} 

TOKYO, July 30, 2025 /3BL/ – Federal Express Corporation, one of the world’s largest express transportation companies, has helped bring the beauty of nature and the power of creativity to children from care homes in the Greater Tokyo Area. The Back to Nature program, organized by the local nonprofit Mirai no Mori and held in Mitake in western Tokyo, offered FedEx volunteers a unique opportunity to connect with children through a day of immersive, nature-based craft activities.

During this one-day program, participants worked collaboratively to gather materials along the Tama River, and brainstorm ideas to create distinctive works of nature art. The volunteers encouraged the children to explore their creativity while sharing insights on the importance of environmental stewardship.

“At FedEx, we are committed to investing in the well-being of our communities, and enhancing the local environment,” said Kei Alan Kubota, managing director of FedEx Japan. “We believe that experiences in nature not only boost creativity and teamwork but also instill a lasting sense of environmental responsibility. These values will benefit these children throughout their lives, nurturing them into thoughtful and engaged members of society.”

In Japan, about 23,000 children live in care homes due to various circumstances. ^[1] The Back to Nature program is designed to provide empowering experiences and learning opportunities for these children through outdoor activities such as hiking, forestry, and rafting. These activities aim to equip the children with the confidence and resilience needed for a successful transition into adulthood, particularly after they leave the care system and must navigate life independently. This initiative is part of the FedEx Cares global community engagement program.

To learn more about FedEx Cares initiatives, visit here.

^[1] Japan Children and Families Agency

Click here to learn about FedEx Cares, our global community engagement program.

NORTHAMPTON, Mass., July 30, 2025 /3BL/ – As political and legal scrutiny mounts in the U.S., many companies are scaling back public communication around their sustainability efforts. But according to new research from 3BL, the real risk isn’t saying too much, it’s saying nothing at all.

Our report, “Say Less, Risk More: Sustainability Silence is Undermining Trust,” draws on media analysis and original polling to expose a growing crisis of confidence in corporate sustainability claims. The findings signal a clear warning: greenhushing may feel safe, but it’s undermining public trust and putting market share on the line.

Download here.

This new analysis paints a complicated picture. While public dialogue around sustainability is declining, consumer expectations have not. Americans across the political spectrum say they want businesses to maintain their efforts, regardless of changing political winds. Silence (even if motivated by legal caution or perceived risk) increasingly reads as inaction to the public.

A Few Key Findings From the Report: 

• A Decline in Corporate Voice: Media mentions of top U.S. companies tied to sustainability topics dropped nearly 10% in the first four months of 2025 compared to the same period last year.
   
• Consumers Still Expect Business to Lead: Even in a shifting political landscape, most Americans expect the role of business in sustainability to grow or remain the same.
   
• Trust Is Slipping: Nearly a quarter (23%) of consumers now say they “rarely” or “almost never” trust what companies say about their sustainability goals, up from just 15% in December 2023.

A Wake-Up Call for Communicators

The findings suggest that companies that pause their communications risk eroding hard-earned trust, alienating values-driven consumers, and falling behind competitors that continue to show up. What matters most isn’t perfection, it’s progress, transparency, and consistency.

The full report, including sector-specific insights and communications recommendations, is now available.

Click here to download the report. 

About 3BL 
3BL is the leading sustainability and social impact communications partner, connecting organizations’ stories of purpose and progress with the audiences who matter most.

3BL partners with over 1,500 companies – from global corporations and mid-sized enterprises to NGOs and nonprofits – to elevate their reputations as players in the world of responsible business. We do this through unrivaled news and content distribution, bespoke storytelling support, and our digital media division, TriplePundit.

Paulo Freire, Brazilian educator and philosopher, once said, “Education does not change the world. Education changes people, and people change the world.”

This quote captures the spirit of key events at the 29^th Annual American Chemical Society Green Chemistry & Engineering Conference, held in June 2025 in Pittsburgh—where the message was clear: education lays the foundation, but it is collaboration and community that truly catalyzes lasting change.

As a Platinum Sponsor, MilliporeSigma, the U.S. and Canada Life Science business of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, partnered with Beyond Benign to foster a green chemistry community that empowers educators to transform chemistry education for a sustainable future through key events that demonstrated the value of partnership to catalyze change in chemistry education.

Catalyzing Change in Chemistry Education

At the panel, “Catalyzing Change in Chemistry Education,” Jeffrey Whitford, Vice President of Sustainability & Social Business Innovation at MilliporeSigma, and Dr. Amy Cannon, Co-founder and Executive Director of Beyond Benign, led a dynamic discussion with:

• Dr. Lloyd Bastin, Professor, Departments of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Widener University
• Dr. Glenn Hurst, Professor, Green Chemistry Education, University of York
• Dr. Flavia Zacconi, Associate Professor, Department of Organic Chemistry, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile

They shared practical strategies for integrating green chemistry into higher education. Key takeaways and actionable insights included:

• Sign Beyond Benign’s Green Chemistry Commitment (GCC): Signing the GCC can spark department-wide change, serving as a catalyst to move green chemistry from individual efforts to institutional priorities. For the panelists, the GCC sets a clear framework for curriculum development, visibility and long-term sustainability goals.
• Leverage Community Through the GCTLC: Joining Beyond Benign’s Green Chemistry Teaching and Learning Community (GCTLC) connects educators worldwide to a free platform for shared resources, mentorship and collective momentum—making change less isolating and more achievable.
• Start Small, Scale Strategically: Change begins with one lecture, one lab or one policy. Small wins—like replacing a reagent or introducing green metrics—can snowball into broader departmental or institutional transformation.
• Break Down Disciplinary Silos: The panelists shared success in integrating green chemistry across departments—from political science, engineering, environmental studies and beyond. Interdisciplinary collaboration creates new pathways for sustainability education.
• Showcase Impact and Demonstrate Value: Quantify environmental and economic benefits—such as reduced CO₂ emissions, water savings from new lab setups or decreased hazardous waste—to gain administrative buy-in and drive broader adoption.
• Normalize Green Chemistry as a Core Learning Goal: Shift green chemistry from an optional add-on to an embedded learning objective. When it becomes part of departmental identity, it reshapes student expectations and institutional culture.
• Commit to Continuous Improvement and Storytelling: Use the GCC’s annual reporting structure to reflect, improve and highlight success stories. The GCC program drives continuous improvement and accountability through regular reporting and engagement to encourage adoption of green chemistry in higher education.

One panelist summed it up succinctly: “Drop seeds in every conversation.” This simple act can help normalize green chemistry and showcase its potential for innovation, institutional transformation and competitive advantage.

Bridging Industry, Academia and Community

In the session, “Bringing Industry, Academia and Community into the Classroom: Promoting Experiential Green Chemistry Education for Environmental and Community Health,” Dr. Ettigounder Ponnusamy, Fellow & Global Manager of Green Chemistry at MilliporeSigma and on Beyond Benign’s Advisory Board, showcased case studies where students engaged in real-world green chemistry research. Insights included:

• Experiential Learning Drives Engagement: Projects grounded in real-world challenges helped students connect theory to practice and deepen understanding.
• Community Ties Strengthen Purpose: When student work contributed to local sustainability efforts, it fostered a deeper sense of motivation and social impact.

These insights aligned with recent research from the Royal Society of Chemistry, which found that 81% of young people believe schools and colleges should teach about climate change and sustainability.

Also featured in the session was a joint presentation by Areej Nitowski, Green Chemistry Education Manager, MilliporeSigma, Dr. Omar Villanueva and Dr. Amy Cannon from Beyond Benign, and Melissa Hackmeier, Global Head of Employee & Community Engagement, MilliporeSigma, titled, “Catalyzing Change in Chemistry Education: Transformative Partnerships to Amplify Impacts.” The presentation highlighted how cross-sector partnerships between industry, academia and non-profits can drive systemic change in green chemistry education—ensuring alignment with workforce needs while empowering students to innovate safer, more sustainable solutions.

In that same spirit of collaboration, MilliporeSigma and Beyond Benign co-hosted a Student-Faculty Social Event on Sunday evening of the conference, creating a relaxed space for community building and dialogue. With trivia, laughter and new introductions, the event brought together participants across roles and institutions, reinforcing the importance of relationships in catalyzing lasting change.

MilliporeSigma and Beyond Benign: A Model for Scalable Impact

Through their long-standing partnership, MilliporeSigma and Beyond Benign are breaking down barriers to green chemistry education by expanding access to the tools, training and support educators need to bring sustainability into the classroom—and into the lab.

Their shared goals are within reach:

• They are now just eight signers away from achieving their goal of 250 GCC signers by the end of 2025.
• To date, 1.6 million students have been exposed to green chemistry principles in their coursework, surpassing their 2025 goal of 1.4 million ahead of schedule and progressing towards their 2030 target of 15.5 million.

Educators ready to take the next step can find more information on how to sign the Green Chemistry Commitment by visiting Beyond Benign’s GCC webpage. Those interested in joining the GCTLC platform can register for an account on its website.

Artificial intelligence is transforming electronic design workflows—but not evenly. While some teams are racing ahead with AI-powered optimization, others remain stuck in the trenches, struggling to find the right version of a file or understand how a reused IP block is behaving in a new context.

The difference isn’t talent. It isn’t budget. It’s data.

Many engineering teams are still battling fragmented design environments. Their data lives across multiple tools, formats, and directories. Version control is inconsistent. Metadata is unreliable. IP reuse is more trial-and-error than strategy. In this kind of chaos, AI-enhanced workflows can’t thrive. They stumble.

That’s why structured, contextualized, and accessible design data has become the new baseline. It’s not just about getting organized. It’s about unlocking the full potential of the semiconductor development process—from smarter reuse to predictive verification and generative layout.

This article explores what happens when you move beyond cleanup and into capability: how smart design data turns digital exhaust into design intelligence, and how it sets the stage for a new era of competitive advantage.

From Files to Intelligence: The Evolution of Design Data

At many semiconductor companies, “design data” is still treated like a digital filing cabinet. Files are stored, versioned (often manually), and eventually archived. But when data is structured—with contextual metadata, relationship tracking, dependency mapping, and naming standards—it becomes something more: a living, queryable model of your design ecosystem.

This evolution transforms data from a passive artifact into an active source of intelligence. It allows engineers, managers, and even AI models to navigate not just what was built, but how and why it evolved. It introduces history, intent, and trust into every downstream task.

Consider a few practical examples:

• A digital designer looking for a PLL block isn’t browsing folders. They access a curated, filtered list of verified IPs, complete with usage history, test coverage, process compatibility, and performance metrics.
• A layout engineer receives AI-generated constraint recommendations that reflect prior schematic-layout relationships—with embedded awareness of process rules, physical limitations, and historical design tradeoffs.
• A verification engineer opens a failing test case and, with a few clicks, traces it back to the IP version, recent modifications, related regressions, and the teams currently reusing that block elsewhere.

In each case, the intelligence isn’t coming solely from a model. It’s coming from the data. Because the data is clean. Connected. Contextualized.

Five Capabilities Unlocked by Smart Design Data

1. Intelligent IP Reuse
   The promise of IP reuse is often undermined by uncertainty. Is this IP current? Was it verified? Where else has it been used? Without answers, reuse becomes a liability.

Smart design data answers those questions. It links every IP block to its lineage, test history, project context, and usage footprint. Engineers gain confidence. Reviewers gain traceability. And organizations gain leverage—reducing redundant work, accelerating time-to-market, and embedding knowledge across generations of designs.

1. AI-Guided Constraint and Layout Suggestions
   AI is only as smart as the examples it learns from. Poorly structured design data yields generic, low-value output. But when historical designs are captured with consistent structure, tagging, and hierarchy, AI can surface real, usable suggestions: constraint blocks, floorplan proposals, routing strategies, and even process-specific optimizations.

This capability transforms layout from a manual bottleneck into a collaborative dialog between engineer and AI. It reduces revision cycles. It preserves design intent. And it scales expertise across teams.

1. Predictive Verification and Debug
   Verification consumes a massive share of the design timeline—and when it fails, it often fails late. But when test results, coverage metrics, and design changes are linked through structured data, AI can begin to see failure patterns before they fully manifest.

Suddenly, verification isn’t just a pass/fail gate. It’s a feedback loop. Engineers receive early signals. Root causes are identified faster. And post-silicon surprises become far less frequent.

1. Faster, Context-Rich Design Reviews
   Today, many design reviews still rely on slide decks and screenshots. Discussions are driven by recollection and opinion, not data.

Structured design environments change that. Reviewers can instantly compare revisions, view change propagation across hierarchies, and audit compliance with design standards. Redlines are data-backed. Approvals are traceable. And review cycles become faster, fairer, and more focused.

1. Enterprise-Wide Design Intelligence
   The benefits of smart data don’t stop with engineering. Product managers want to understand reuse rates and risk exposure. Executives want to benchmark site-to-site performance. Quality teams want traceability for compliance.

When design data is structured and centralized, these questions are no longer painful. They’re answerable. Dashboards become real. Metrics become reliable. And the entire organization becomes more data-informed.

From Friction to Flow: The Human Impact

Engineers often accept daily friction as part of the job. Hunting for the right file. Asking Slack who last touched a design. Revalidating reused blocks. Manually syncing changes across branches. These tasks aren’t innovative. They’re exhausting.

Smart design data eliminates much of this friction. Version history is automatically tracked. Tool outputs are instantly linked to inputs. IP reuse doesn’t require trust—it provides it. The result is flow: engineers staying in focus, staying in tools, and spending more time on innovation and less on archaeology.

Flow doesn’t just improve productivity. It improves satisfaction. It turns reactive workflows into creative ones. And it makes engineering a better experience.

Redefining Integration: More Than APIs

Too often, “EDA integration” means another dropdown menu or export format. But the new generation of design data platforms—like Keysight SOS—redefines integration as embedded intelligence.

These platforms:

• Connect directly with leading design and verification tools
• Interpret data hierarchies, netlists, and metadata in ways software systems cannot
• Synchronize changes across teams, projects, and workflows—in real time

This kind of integration is invisible. Engineers don’t log into it. They work inside it. And when integration works like this, data becomes part of the process—not an afterthought.

Smarter Inputs, Smarter AI

AI doesn’t replace engineers. It amplifies them. But only when it has good inputs. And in the world of chip design, those inputs aren’t just gigabytes—they’re context, history, and structure.

Structured data allows AI to:

• Learn from validated patterns, not just raw files
• Propose edits with awareness of dependencies and constraints
• Deliver insights that are actionable, not abstract

Without structured data, AI becomes generic. With it, AI becomes transformative.

The future of design isn’t fully autonomous. It’s augmented. And smart data is the foundation that makes that augmentation intelligent.

Force-Fit or Purpose-Built? Why the Right Tool Matters

Many semiconductor companies are still trying to retrofit general-purpose software development tools into semiconductor design workflows. Traditional version control systems like Git or other general-purpose version control systems work well for code, but struggle to accommodate the hierarchy, scale, and metadata complexity of chip design. AI compounds this mismatch. Models trained on data designed for software outputs produce brittle or misleading results when applied to silicon.

Force-fitting a dev tool into a design flow creates more problems than it solves. Hierarchies get flattened. Dependencies go untracked. IP reuse becomes opaque. Engineers spend more time working around the tool than with it.

In contrast, purpose-built design data management platforms are optimized for the reality of semiconductor development. They understand IP-centric design. They respect hierarchy. They track relationships across projects and design stages. And, critically, they surface the kind of structured, validated, and contextual data that AI needs to operate reliably.

When you switch from a forced fit to a purpose-built solution, the benefits compound. You not only reduce friction and risk—you unlock new value. AI becomes more accurate, more relevant, and more trusted. Engineering cycles accelerate. Collaboration improves. And your organization moves from struggling to scaling.

Strategic Readiness: Not Just Cleanup—Advantage

It’s tempting to think of data structuring as a hygiene project—important, but invisible. But in reality, structured design data is a strategic differentiator.

It enables faster launches, fewer re-spins, smarter staffing, better collaboration, and ultimately, more innovative products. It empowers leadership with visibility. It empowers engineering with confidence. And it empowers AI with the one thing it truly needs: meaning.

In the era of AI-enhanced EDA, success will not be dictated by who has the flashiest model or the biggest compute cluster. It will be dictated by who has the smartest foundation.

That foundation is design data. Structured. Searchable. Secure. And ready for what’s next.

If your design environment is still fragmented, now is the time to change that. Structure isn’t just about control—it’s the unlock for AI, reuse, speed, and scale. Stop force-fitting yesterday’s tools into today’s challenges.

Build your foundation for tomorrow.

Start organizing. Start optimizing. Start with Keysight SOS.

Request a trial today

By Nestor Mato

Healing happens one note at a time.

That is why Guitarists for Good, a nonprofit that provides free instruments to homeless shelters and nonprofits serving people experiencing housing insecurity, continues to share the love of music.

“We’re not just giving away guitars—we’re giving people a lifeline, a creative outlet, a moment of peace, and a reminder that they matter,” said Sandy Green, president and CEO for Guitarists for Good. “Every donated instrument carries a message: you are not forgotten.”

Last year, Regions Bank shared her story. Green launched the nonprofit after experiencing firsthand how picking up a guitar helped her through a period of grief. What began with the hope of placing “one guitar in one shelter” has grown into a nationwide effort.

Guitarists for Good recently played it forward with their biggest gig yet at the New Orleans Mission.

“This was a record-breaking delivery of 39 instruments—guitars, ukuleles, and even a keyboard— in collaboration with The Guitar Center Foundation and Regions Bank,” said Green. “The support goes beyond funding. When Regions associates volunteer as local liaisons for our Guitar Delivery Team, shelters don’t just receive instruments—they receive a visit from a caring, neighbor who isn’t just dropping off guitars, but striking a chord of hope.”

The bank’s collaboration with Green first began when she met Terry Hoey, Raleigh market executive for Regions. They got to know each other during a pickin’ circle, where musicians get together to play. Now, Regions associates in Louisiana have also joined the band.

“It’s inspiring to see this mission grow and reach people here in New Orleans,” said Graham Ralston, New Orleans Market Executive for Regions Bank. “There are big hearts in the Big Easy, and this is a great example of people working in harmony to help provide joy.”

With this donation, Guitarists for Good has now reached 35 states and given over 750 instruments.

“It was heartening to see this donation enrich the lives of the recipients,” said Nicole Cosse Dupre, New Orleans mortgage production manager for Regions Bank. She took part in the latest delivery mission. “The experience was equally impactful on me. Hearing the testimonies of how some residents turned into staff members highlighted the importance of community outreach.”

Beyond providing music, the instruments offer a sense of dignity, identity, and normalcy.

“We are grateful to Regions Bank and Guitarists for Good for donating instruments, a gift that brings healing and hope to the lives of those we serve,” said Deonne Beard, New Orleans Mission Development Coordinator. “These are people overcoming homelessness, addiction, abuse, and more. Investing in the power of music sends a powerful message to our residents: you are seen; you are valued.”

Play it Again: Another GfG Donation by Kim Borges Two Regions leaders in Little Rock also recently shared the joy of music thanks to Guitarists for Good. This time, instruments were donated to Immerse Arkansas, a nonprofit providing programs, services and support to youth aging out of foster care. Commercial Banking Leader and Little Rock Market Executive Rodney Abston and Mortgage Regional Production Manager Keith Smith delivered six guitars, a keyboard, a Cajon drum and ukeleles. “Sandy is a true blessing,” said Jamie Middleton, community engagement manager with Immerse Arkansas. “We’re so grateful to her for gifting us the instruments and to Rodney and Keith for experiencing the heart of Immerse. We’re already looking forward to our first jam session!” And Abston and Smith are looking forward to Regions becoming more involved following their visit. “Immerse Arkansas is providing counseling, direction and, in some instances, a home for youth who have no other support system,” said Smith. “We enjoyed learning more about the much-needed work they do. You never know whose life will be forever impacted by being exposed to music because of Guitarists for Good’s generous gift.”

Originally published on GoDaddy Resource Library

By Mark McCaffrey, Chief Financial Officer at GoDaddy

Throughout my time at GoDaddy, I’ve had the pleasure of meeting some pretty remarkable entrepreneurs. I’ve heard stories of passion-driven leaps of faith, unexpected pivots, creative problem-solving and the kind of perseverance that turns ideas into something meaningful.

I recently chatted with Rachel and Andrew Szczerba, the husband-and-wife duo behind The Szczerba Group, a real estate team based in Wilmington, Delaware. As business owners, parents and partners, Rachel and Andrew’s story is one of balance and intention.

Rachel began her career teaching in New Jersey, while Andrew worked in sales after a stint in the NFL. They met at a real estate convention in New Orleans, bonded over their shared ambition and eventually decided to plant roots in Wilmington as both husband and wife and business partners. It was a move that made sense personally and professionally — according to GoDaddy Small Business Research Lab data, Wilmington is one of the most entrepreneurial cities in the U.S.

The pair launched The Szczerba Group in 2020, mere months before COVID-19 turned the housing market on its head. As people spent more time in their homes and interest rates dropped, the demand for housing skyrocketed. Weekday showings suddenly felt like busy Saturday open houses, and 20 offers per home became the new norm.

Yet the chaos revealed their complementary strengths as they navigated interest-rate swings, inventory shortages and historically tight timelines (all while welcoming two children, I must add!). As Andrew thrived in the field, Rachel doubled down on tech, testing five other website building platforms before landing on GoDaddy.

As an almost 100% referral-based business, first impressions are critical. Rachel built theszczerbagroup.com herself, incorporating clever additions like downloadable buyers’ guides and individual property pages with customized QR codes — turning yard signs into digital brochures. Their website, paired with 5-star reviews and a memorable brand, tells prospective clients they’re in capable hands right off the bat.

Rachel and Andrew have no plans to slow down. They hope to expand into higher-end property listings and thoughtfully build the systems and processes needed to support growth — all without sacrificing the personalized, white-glove service their clients have come to expect.

Conversations with customers like the Szczerbas shape how we innovate at GoDaddy. Their experience underscores a truth I’ve seen many times: technology can’t replace entrepreneurial grit — it amplifies it. By making digital tools intuitive and support accessible, we empower entrepreneurs to build, grow and do what they love.

To Rachel and Andrew: thank you for trusting GoDaddy to support your business. We’re honored to be in your corner.

Franklin Templeton once again demonstrated its commitment to community service through its 19th annual Impact Days, a global initiative that unites employees in volunteerism and philanthropy.

This year, more than 1,000 employees around the world showed their generous spirit completing 117 volunteer projects. From distributing school bags to children or preparing and serving meals to supporting organizations like Habitat for Humanity, volunteers made a visible impact while reaffirming their commitment to service.

June was exciting, and there are many great stories to share. This article covers global initiatives only. 

Missing Maps Project

Franklin Templeton employees participated in the ninth annual Missing Maps project, a virtual global volunteer opportunity to map areas missing from maps, which helps disaster relief efforts. Franklin Templeton donated to Save the Children for each participant who logged at least 60 minutes of mapping in June.

Global CAN Competition

The annual food drive and CANstruction competition brought creativity and generosity together, with employees from nine locations collecting over 4,000 cans and other dry food items. Teams built sculptures from the donations, with Short Hills, NJ office winning the photo contest for their “Ben’s Diner” sculpture and Mexico City winning the video contest with their rendition of the Angel of Independence. Each winning team received a donation to a local charitable organization of choice.

Andrew Kleinwaks from Short Hills shared, “Each year we try to raise the bar—not just to challenge other offices, but to challenge ourselves. The bigger our structure, the greater the benefit for the recipient of our CANstruction materials.”

The firm’s annual fitness charity challenge saw 305 employees from 79 teams log over 44 million steps to raise funds for a meaningful cause. Together we walked an incredible 44,487,794 steps—totaling approximately 21,064 miles (33,899 km). That is roughly the distance from New York City to Tokyo and back—twice! To honor the dedication of employees, Franklin Templeton donated to Save the Children in recognition of this achievement.

Freerice Challenge

Additionally, employees participated in the Freerice online trivia challenge, donating over 2.29 million grains of rice through the World Food Program.

Global Involved Day

Impact Days concluded on June 24 with Global Involved Day, where employees proudly wore their volunteer T-shirts to celebrate a month of meaningful service. From Poznan to Kuala Lumpur, the spirit of giving and community was evident across the globe.

About Franklin Templeton
Franklin Resources, Inc. [NYSE: BEN] is a global investment management organization with subsidiaries operating as Franklin Templeton and serving clients in over 150 countries. Franklin Templeton’s mission is to help clients achieve better outcomes through investment management expertise, wealth management and technology solutions. Through its specialist investment managers, the company offers specialization on a global scale, bringing extensive capabilities in fixed income, equity, alternatives, and multi-asset solutions. With more than 1,500 investment professionals, and offices in major financial markets around the world, the California-based company has over 75 years of investment experience and $1.6 trillion in assets under management as of June 30, 2025. For more information, please visit franklintempleton.com and follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook.

Originally published on Tork Newscenter

Tork, an Essity brand, has achieved a significant milestone with an estimated 1.2 billion people in 2024 traveling through buildings that use the Tork Vision Cleaning data-driven cleaning technology. Tork Vision Cleaning utilizes real-time data to optimize restroom cleaning operations, while ensuring that hygiene and customer satisfaction are prioritized. Up to 40% of cleaning time in offices and large venues is spent on the restroom¹.

This milestone is reached as Tork Vision Cleaning celebrates 10 years since launch. At that time, it was a true pioneer for the cleaning industry, leading the way in introducing such digital solutions. Using the Internet of Things sensors in restroom dispensers and people counters, notify cleaners when dispensers require refills and how many users have entered a restroom, signaling when it’s time to clean. Businesses using this technology report that dispensers are full 99% of the time. Currently, Tork has more than 100,000 connected devices that send more than 1.3 million messages a day to cleaners working with Tork Vision Cleaning.

Restrooms are often the busiest rooms in a building with 82% of people saying they visit the restroom at least 2-3 times per typical workday². They are also a significant concern for facility managers, being the single biggest source of complaints in office buildings³. Maintaining good hygiene standards for employees is an important consideration for business success. Managers say they have reduced complaints by 75% as a result of using Tork Vision Cleaning, 68% say they improved efficiency and 97% report improvements in hygiene within their facilities⁴.

“Tork Vision Cleaning is a technology that meets today’s expectations for digital connectivity across facilities. With the number of ‘smart’ connected buildings increasing, this solution has the direct market experience to provide data that empowers cleaners, reduces restroom user complaints and increases cleaning efficiency,” said Pablo Fuentes, president of Essity’s global Professional Hygiene business. “That’s why we are seeing a growing demand for Tork Vision Cleaning, especially in high-traffic spaces like airports, stadiums and in large office buildings.”

For facility management companies, Tork Vision Cleaning can bring added value to their operations. The Facilities Management Director of a large corporate headquarters building in Paris managed by Sodexo, shares how they have successfully installed and operated the digital technology from Tork.

“Implementing Tork Vision Cleaning has transformed our operations for Sodexo at a big Parisian headquarters. Initially, at this site, we aimed to optimize our cleaning teams’ productivity in the high-traffic event areas. When Tork Vision Cleaning was installed in part of the site, we saw complaints continue to come from areas without Tork Vision Cleaning. Extending the solution across the entire site with 1,300 devices led to up to 90% fewer complaints, significant time savings for cleaning staff, and improved service quality. Our client is in the technology sector, always on the lookout for innovation, even in cleaning and facility management. The Tork solution, seen as the leader in connected cleaning, is ideal for this client. This technology reduces staff stress and enhances the overall user experience.

The Tork brand is the global leader in professional hygiene, offering dispensing systems, refills for hand towels, toilet paper, soap and sanitizers, napkins and wipers for use in commercial environments like office buildings, restaurants, passenger terminals, stadiums, healthcare facilities and manufacturing sites.

Five of the world’s busiest airports now use the data-driven cleaning technology from Tork⁶. One in three people who avoid using airport restrooms also limit how much they spend to eat and drink in the airport – an important revenue source for airports⁵. Airport operators are also reporting a rise in cleaning staff vacancies and one in four anticipate recruitment challenges for cleaning staff. Tork Vision Cleaning provides data to airports that enables them to direct cleaning staff to the restrooms that are most used and in need of cleaning, and to divert staff from less visited restrooms, ensuring the places people use the most are clean and fully stocked with hygiene products.

To learn more about Tork Vision Cleaning, visit torkglobal.com/us/en/visioncleaning

¹BCG IoT discussion, 2024 

²Data from the 2024 Tork Insights Survey of 6,000 individuals 18-65+ and 900 respondents representing businesses in the United States, Mexico, UK, Germany and France.
³Statista: North America; Average across 2017 to 2021; 185 respondents; Building service contractors/commercial cleaning providers.
⁴Based on survey results conducted in November/December 2023 of 69 managers using Tork Vision Cleaning in 18 countries globally.
⁵IPSOS survey of 3,000 people who had recently visited a high-traffic venue in the USA, UK, Germany, France, Poland or Sweden, conducted in 2016.
⁶Based on Airports Council International (ACI) July 2024 total passenger data.

For additional information please contact: FHTork@fleishman.com

About Tork
The Tork brand offers professional hygiene products and services to customers worldwide ranging from restaurants and healthcare facilities to offices, schools and industries. Our products include dispensers, paper towels, toilet tissues, soap, napkins and wipers, but also software solutions for data-driven cleaning. Through expertise in hygiene, functional design and sustainability, Tork has become a market leader that supports customers to think ahead so they’re always ready for business. Tork is a global brand of Essity and a committed partner to customers in more than 110 countries. To keep up with the latest Tork news and innovations, please visit www.torkglobal.com/us/en/.

About Essity
Essity is a global, leading hygiene and health company. Every day, our products, solutions and services are used by a billion people around the world. Our purpose is to break barriers to well-being for the benefit of consumers, patients, caregivers, customers and society. Sales are conducted in approximately 150 countries under the leading global brands TENA and Tork, and other strong brands such as Actimove, Cutimed, JOBST, Knix, Leukoplast, Libero, Libresse, Lotus, Modibodi, Nosotras, Saba, Tempo, TOM Organic and Zewa. In 2024, Essity had net sales of approximately SEK 146bn (EUR 13bn) and employed 36,000 people. The company’s headquarters is located in Stockholm, Sweden and Essity is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm. More information at essity.com.