Tag: 3BL

CLEVELAND, April 1, 2025 /3BL/ – Owning a home is a pillar of the American dream and a sign of prosperity, wealth and success. It instills a sense of pride and belonging in individuals and communities. But today, the reality for homebuyers and potential homebuyers in America continues to be sobering. KeyBank’s 2025 Financial Mobility Survey found that many believe owning a home is not an attainable goal for themselves nor the average American. Still, those who have purchased a home in the past year have pointed to factors that boosted their confidence and influenced their purchasing decision — such as meeting with a mortgage loan officer to make the dream of homeownership more attainable.

April is Fair Housing Month, a time to examine and highlight ways to make homeownership more accessible and sustainable. While the market for homeownership in America remains tricky to navigate, it is important to note that potential homeowners have access to a variety of financial tools and education and are more capable than they think on their journeys toward homeownership.

Many don’t believe they’ll ever own a home

Forty-six percent of respondents who do not already own a home say that home ownership is not attainable for them or their families, up from 39% last year. Forty-one percent of all respondents, including current homeowners, say that home ownership is not attainable for Americans.

Half (47%) of those who are younger and don’t have a mortgage are spending less to try to take on a mortgage. Despite spending less, 6 in 10 still don’t believe they’ll ever own a home.

Home-buying programs make a difference

Survey respondents said financial education can help them be more confident in the home-buying process. This includes budgeting for a down payment and closing costs for those in the market (48%) or renting (45%) and estimating and managing ongoing homeownership costs for those who recently purchased a home (31%). And, among survey respondents who purchased a home in the past 12 months, 30% say that meeting with a mortgage loan officer to learn about programs that make buying more affordable influenced their decision, up from 19% last year. KeyBank’s Financial Wellness Center can help you understand your current financial standing and the next step of your financial and homebuying journey. 

“Owning a home is a significant milestone, and many potential buyers don’t realize the valuable resources available to help them get there,” said Dale Baker, President of Home Lending at KeyBank. “Banks and financial institutions offer guidance, education, and tools to help individuals navigate the homebuying process with confidence. By building a strong relationship with your bank, homeownership can become a more achievable and sustainable reality.”

Homeownership inspires financial confidence

Those who just purchased a home are most confident in their ability to come up with $2,000 in a month and have the most positive economic outlook for the next 12 months.

Building a relationship with your bank can help

Whether you’re in the market for a new home or looking to improve your current home, your bank can help make homeownership more affordable and sustainable. A Financial Wellness Review with a banker at your local KeyBank branch can help get you started on the path to saving for a downpayment on your first home or a new home.

KeyBank Mortgage Loan Officers are another great resource. They have information on home lending opportunities and programs to help you get started on the journey to homeownership.

It’s also important to remember that even if you are pre-qualified for a certain home purchase price, the monthly payments might not be ideal for your budget. KeyBank’s Mortgage Affordability Calculator can help you figure out a comfortable loan and payment amount. Don’t forget to consider all the parts of a mortgage loan – down payment, principal, interest, property taxes, homeowners insurance and possible PMI.

“A home is more than just a purchase—it’s a long-term investment in your financial future,” said Rachael Sampson, Head of Community Banking at KeyBank. “At KeyBank, we’re committed to helping all homebuyers not only achieve homeownership but also sustain it through expert guidance, financial planning, and ongoing support. From saving for a down payment to managing the costs of homeownership, we provide the tools and insights to help individuals and families build lasting financial confidence.”

Our experts at KeyBank are here to support you at every step of your homebuying journey, from planning to celebrating your success.

About the KeyBank 2025 Financial Mobility Survey: This survey was conducted online by Schmidt Market Research in September 2024, polling 1,000 Americans, ages 18 – 70, with sole or shared responsibility for household financial decisions, who own a checking or savings account. The survey sought to gain insight into financial resiliency and explored respondents’ spending and savings habits, levels of financial confidence and financial resiliency, economic sentiment, and impacts of societal trends and pressures over the prior year.

This is designed to provide general information only. All credit products are subject to collateral and/or credit approval, terms, conditions, availability and subject to change. ©2025 KeyCorp. All rights reserved. CFMA #250313-3079428

NOTICE: This is not a commitment to lend or extend credit. Conditions and restrictions may apply. All home lending products, including mortgage, home equity loans and home equity lines of credit, are subject to credit and collateral approval. Not all home lending products are available in all states. Hazard insurance and, if applicable, flood insurance are required on collateral property. Actual rates, fees, and terms are based on those offered as of the date of application and are subject to change without notice.

NMLS #399797. Equal Housing Lender.

ABOUT KEYCORP

In 2025, KeyCorp (NYSE: KEY) celebrates its bicentennial, marking 200 years of service to clients and communities from Maine to Alaska. To learn more, visit KeyBank Heritage Center. Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, Key is one of the nation’s largest bank-based financial services companies, with assets of approximately $187 billion at December 31, 2024.

Key provides deposit, lending, cash management, and investment services to individuals and businesses in 15 states under the name KeyBank National Association through a network of approximately 1,000 branches and approximately 1,200 ATMs. Key also provides a broad range of sophisticated corporate and investment banking products, such as merger and acquisition advice, public and private debt and equity, syndications and derivatives to middle market companies in selected industries throughout the United States under the KeyBanc Capital Markets trade name. For more information, visit https://www.key.com/. KeyBank Member FDIC.

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Client Background

American Outdoor Brands (AOB) was founded in 1992 and is an industry leading manufacturer of outdoor sports and recreation products, with 21 brands of outdoor equipment and accessories for rugged outdoor enthusiasts. With just over 300 employees, they are headquartered in Missouri.

The business challenge

American Outdoor Brands had completed its spin-off from its parent company and was in the process of implementing Microsoft Dynamics 365 as their new ERP system. They also had data in two legacy transactional systems that were being retired – Sage and SAP. AOB needed help building an enterprise data solution that included an analytical model that allowed them to look both back in time and forward into the present day-to-day business operations across all three systems.

During an initial assessment phase, Baker Tilly’s digital team learned about the need to ingest and model legacy data from Sage and SAP, and to combine it with data from Dynamics 365. In the current state, it was difficult to find where data was stored, understand naming conventions and organize the different item numbers and customer identification schemes across disparate systems.

Use cases dictated that the data needed to be structured into a user-friendly data model that provided a holistic picture of sales, purchasing and inventory management across different customers, products, product categories and time ranges. AOB also wanted to deliver self-service analytical capabilities in Power BI for business users. Lastly, they wanted to ensure access to operational analytics from day one of the solution go-live.

Strategy and solution

Baker Tilly’s primary objective was to deliver a fully unified data warehouse and data model architecture that merged the data from Dynamics 365, SAP and Sage systems, providing a single source of truth for reporting and analytics.

The solution was developed using an all-Azure architecture to provide for ease of scaling, low maintenance, simplified integration, streamlined connection to Power BI and cost effectiveness.

Baker Tilly leveraged an automated metadata driven code development framework to fast-track solution creation and allow for simplified ongoing maintenance and updating of code. Baker Tilly also implemented a structured DevOps process to manage the deployment of changes to the solution.

The benefits of the new solution included:

• Unified disparate data into a single enterprise data model, providing a single source of truth.
• The enterprise data solution makes prepared data available from a common repository, saving processing time and reducing manual steps.
• Power BI reporting empowers AOB to make data-driven decisions.
• Timely access to information enables proactive responses to changing market conditions and operational challenges.
• Easier to view and analyze product cost trends, cost of goods sold, quantity ordered and shipped, and customer retention and turnover.
• Improved data governance by translating difficult naming conventions into familiar business terminology in the analytical model.
• Ability to view historical trends in the legacy systems and compare them to what is happening in the business today in D365.
• There are now around 140 internal active users, which will increase over time as the company grows and scales.

American Outdoor Brands noted our strategic, collaborative approach, which drove innovation and knowledge transfer and positioned them for ongoing sustainability. They continue to review new data sources and additional metrics that they will consider adding to the solution in the future. Lastly, American Outdoor Brands and Baker Tilly are now building a ChatGPT integration to the Power BI data model to enable robust natural language query capabilities over their enterprise data model.

Connect with a Baker Tilly specialist to learn more

In 2006, Tomas Cihlar knew all too well that despite initial successes with combination treatment, HIV was firmly holding ground around the globe and existing therapies were limited. He was 12 years into his virology research career at Gilead and the first daily single tablet regimen for HIV treatment was still awaiting approval. Treatment options for people living with HIV at the time were a raft of daily medications that often carried intolerable side-effects, or the virus became resistant to the medications.

“That’s what kept the research team at Gilead awake and stirred our urgent imperative to create something different,” recalls Tomas, now Senior Vice President, Research Virology.

Ten arduous years later, the researchers made significant progress toward their goal by creating a molecule that has the potential to help revolutionize the fight against HIV.

“In the beginning, if somebody told me that we’d end up where we are now, I would say, ‘You’re a dreamer,’” Tomas says, smiling. “What we ended up discovering was completely novel.”

At the time, most existing HIV drugs worked by interfering with the viral enzymes that HIV uses to multiply and spread throughout the body. But Tomas envisioned a different solution – one that disrupted the viral capsid, the cone-shaped protein structure that holds the genes essential for viral reproduction. Most scientists thought the capsid was too difficult to target, but the Czech-born biochemist was convinced otherwise. “The capsid protects the genetic material of the virus. If you can interfere with that, you could potentially stop the virus,” he explains.

So the team began screening hundreds of thousands of compounds, looking for one that could disrupt the capsid’s function. But the ones they initially found were too weak to be effective as future drugs.

By 2009, the researchers almost reached a dead end when they couldn’t seem to find a solution. But then a poster at a medical conference in January 2010 caught Tomas’ eye and provided an ‘aha moment’ and some new inspiration.

“That breathed new life into the research project and gave us new direction,” he says.

In the six years that followed, Gilead scientists synthesized and tested over 4,000 molecules which led to the discovery of a novel molecule that proved to be remarkably potent at extremely low concentrations. The new molecule, when injected into the human body, was found to be very stable and retained its viral-fighting properties for several months without degrading.

“The Gilead story is a classic tale of innovation, collaboration, resilience and determination and this was definitely a breakthrough point,” Tomas acknowledges.

Fittingly, Breakthrough, The Quest for Life-Changing Medicines is the name of a newly released book about innovation in drug discovery that examines eight medications that have had a significant impact on patients around the world. Written by physician-scientist and biopharmaceutical executive Dr. William Pao, the book devotes a chapter to Gilead’s new HIV medicine, while detailing the improbable journey and numerous obstacles that stood in the way of Gilead scientists.

“There have been a number of medicines for HIV, but this is really transformative,” William says. “It’s a completely different way of thinking about the virus and attacking it. Its discovery also required embracing serendipity, that is, making an insoluble molecule with a long half-life into a subcutaneous medicine.”

As Pao notes throughout his book, the process of drug discovery and development involves many people and many trials.

“Every project in drug development has its ups and downs. Teams persist with resilience and determination not for their own glory, but for the benefits of patients,” he says.

And this Gilead story is no exception.

“The sheer determination of hundreds of people not only in Gilead research and development, but also external partners and all the participants in clinical trials, contributed to the outcome,” says Tomas. “This is a story that really shows people how things can turn out when we set our mind to an ambitious goal and work together to achieve it.”

Results of recent clinical trials show that the drug has the potential to prevent HIV transmission altogether. The company has devised a global access strategy for its supply in low- and middle-income countries if it obtains regulatory approval.

Originally published by Gilead Sciences.

With a workforce of almost 50,000 employees, leading apparel manufacturer Gildan is no stranger to the immense talent that it hosts – from employees on the factory floor, to leadership.

In celebration of Women’s History Month, we interviewed one such leader – Andrea Pirie Woodbridge, Chief Financial Officer of Manufacturing, located in Honduras. In her role, Andrea leads the finance function for the manufacturing group at Gildan, driving business performance while balancing costs and output in Gildan’s various facilities around the world. With a dynamic career spanning over 25 years and 5 countries, Andrea’s contributions to Gildan have been influential, both for the business and for its people.

What led you to pursue a career in finance?

I would describe my pursuit of finance as a combination of hard work and serendipity. I graduated from university with a Bachelor’s degree in business, and then acquired a Master’s of Business Administration. As a young professional with a business background, I landed my first ever internship in finance, and from then, there was no looking back.

I went on to work with a large manufacturing company, where I had the opportunity to collaborate with and learn from people from all around the world and support various business functions including marketing, innovation, IT, and manufacturing. As I experienced and learned more, the scope of my role grew, and eventually, I was ready to take on higher level leadership roles.

Can you talk about some of the opportunities and challenges you’ve encountered working in the fields of finance and manufacturing?

Even from very early on in my career, I realized that finance, especially in positions above the managerial level, was a field dominated by men. In my experience, most women would either slow down or completely drop out of the workforce after a certain point due to conflicting priorities and lack of proper accommodations of these priorities. Moreover, in manufacturing and finance specifically, there are often limited opportunities for flexible work, adding even more barriers to women’s development.

To circumvent these barriers, I sought out opportunities to reach the potential I knew I had. I fondly remember when, as a junior employee reporting to a leader, I offered to take responsibility of a task intended for someone at a much higher level. This simple act of asking for an opportunity and then delivering helped accelerate my career. To this day, I continue to employ this strategy of taking ownership and encourage my team to do the same.

Can you tell us more about your experience leading the finance function in Honduras?

In my five years leading finance for the manufacturing group at Gildan, I have constantly been impressed by the sheer amount of talent that our Company attracts, and with my role as a leader, I strive to strengthen the pathways that can allow this diversity of talent to collaborate and thrive.

I create an atmosphere in my teams where employees can bring their true selves to work, where diversity can interact to bring the best out of each individual. In fact, one of the most rewarding parts of being a leader is seeing my teams come up with creative solutions to overcome challenges, something which I believe is possible largely due to our diverse talent.

What does Women’s History Month mean to you, and why do you think it is important to celebrate?

In addition to celebrating the contributions of women across different industries and areas, Women’s History Month is a chance to bring to the forefront gender parity and equity issues that still exist in today’s society and workplace. One size does not fit all, and this celebration allows us to participate in the larger conversation, as well as take collective action to accommodate talent and diversity of all types. After all, diversity encourages innovation and makes groups stronger.

In your opinion, how can we create a workplace that’s more inclusive towards women?

In my experience, inclusivity begins with good leadership, and in this regard, Gildan is impressively ahead of the curve. We have strong female employees at all levels, and it is our role as leaders to nurture this talent by levelling the playing field.

For instance, one of my most effectivities strategies is encouraging candidates, right from the interview stage, to be outspoken and take credit for their work, shedding expectations that society often has from women, and instead creating an environment where they may be their true selves. Small steps such as these can make large differences in fostering inclusive and transparent environments, where employees really thrive on their merit. 

To meet more of Gildan’s employees, visit the Careers page.

DAVIDSON, N.C., March 31, 2025 /3BL/ – Trane^® – by Trane Technologies (NYSE: TT), a global climate innovator, is revolutionizing mission critical operations with the development of two new air-cooled chiller offerings – Magnetic Bearing chillers and Ascend chillers for facility chilled water cooling applications. Trane’s Magnetic Bearing Chiller provides unparalleled cooling capacity to address the escalating capacity needs of data center thermal management systems. Introduction of the Ascend™ chiller platform for data centers provides even greater efficiency for high ambient temperature operations.

“Next-gen microprocessors are expected to exponentially increase rack density, elevating demand for efficient, higher capacity and higher ambient air-cooled chillers,” said Steve Obstein, Vice President and General Manager, Data Centers & High-Tech, Trane Technologies. “Building on our leading platforms, in close collaboration with our customers, gives us the ability to redefine the standards of cooling efficiency, capacity, and environmental sustainability for data center owners and operators, helping them stay ahead of rapidly advancing thermal management needs.”

Magnetic Bearing Chiller Helps Maximize Cooling Capacity 
with a Reduced Footprint

The new air-cooled chiller, based on Trane’s proven Magnetic Bearing compressor platform, produces up to 850 tons, 3MW at data center conditions on a single unit frame. The new chiller helps maximize cooling capacity per square foot of unit footprint, often allowing for a reduction in the number of chillers needed onsite and helping to enable lower installation costs. Replacing multiple chillers with a single larger capacity chiller can help reduce sound transmission to the local environment, helping reduce the impact in sound sensitive locations.

Trane Ascend Chiller Enables Higher Ambient Temperature Operations 

Through the extended capabilities of the Ascend screw-compressor chiller platform, Trane is leading with solutions that meet customer needs to address escalating ambient temperatures from greater heat density generated by modern GPUs and AI adoption. Expansion of the Trane Ascend Air-Cooled Chiller with integrated indirect free cooling, supports data center uptime with efficient operation at up to 145F. Free cooling reduces reliance on mechanical cooling, and helps reduce energy consumption and operational costs.

Designed for Higher Efficiency and Serviceability

The new air-cooled chillers use refrigerants with lower global warming potential, supporting reduced energy costs and carbon footprints. Both chillers are equipped with Trane’s Symbio® 800 unit controller with AdaptiView™ user interface, offering secure enhanced connectivity, flexibility, and serviceability. Trane supports operations and uptime throughout the lifecycle of the data center with thousands of local service experts across North America, strategically located in proximity to customers, and Smart Service options for proactive monitoring, predictive maintenance, and improved thermal management systems.

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About Trane 
Trane – by Trane Technologies (NYSE: TT), a global climate innovator – creates comfortable, energy efficient indoor environments through a broad portfolio of heating, ventilating and air conditioning systems and controls, services, parts and supply. For more information, please visit www.trane.com or www.tranetechnologies.com. 

© 2025 Trane. All Rights Reserved.​​​​​​​ 
All trademarks referenced in this document are the trademarks of their respective owners.

Originally published by Beyond the Bottom Line with Bert Miller

In this episode of Beyond the Bottom Line, Bert Miller sits down with Scott Northcutt, Senior Vice President of HR at Bacardi, who shares his 15+ year journey helping build one of the world’s most iconic spirit portfolios while maintaining its family-owned culture.

Scott reveals how Bacardi, still completely family-owned, uses the original 1862 yeast strain and keeps its recipe under lock and key – known only to two people. Learn how this commitment to quality drives everything from innovation to talent development.

ABOUT SCOTT NORTHCUTT: 

With over 15 years at Bacardi, Scott has been instrumental in developing the company’s talent strategy and cultural evolution while maintaining its family-owned values and premium brand positioning.

Listen to the full episode here or watch the video version of the podcast here

CINCINNATI, March 31, 2025 /3BL/ – Nearly 50 small businesses across the U.S. have been awarded $5,300 grants from the Fifth Third Small Business Catalyst Fund to broaden financial access and help drive future growth.

The Small Business Catalyst Fund empowers small businesses across Fifth Third’s 11-state footprint to grow and create jobs in their communities and to build a more equitable small business ecosystem. The grants are the first awards from the $7.85 million fund, which Fifth Third (NASDAQ: FITB) launched last fall in partnership with the Community Reinvestment Fund, USA (CRF).

“At Fifth Third, we are committed to increasing financial access and mobility in all of the communities we serve,” said Kala Gibson, chief corporate responsibility officer for Fifth Third. “These inaugural grants from our Small Business Catalyst Fund will help locally-owned businesses across our footprint continue to grow and thrive. Small businesses form the foundation of our communities – and when they succeed, we all succeed.”

The Small Business Catalyst Fund helps small and micro business owners obtain working capital when traditional lending is not an option by connecting them with potential capital options offered by trusted Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs). The program utilizes an innovative funding model that combines grants, micro loans and small business loans ranging from $5,000 to $750,000 to small businesses at various stages of maturity.

“Small businesses are essential to the success and vibrancy of communities across the country, yet many face significant challenges in securing the financing they need to grow,” said Alexis Dishman, SVP & Chief Lending Officer for CRF. “In collaboration with Fifth Third Bank and our CDFI partners, CRF aims to expand financial opportunities and accelerate small business momentum through the creation of this innovative fund.”

Grant recipients include The Country Meat Co. Marketplace in Cincinnati’s Avondale neighborhood. Locally-owned and operated, The Country Meat Co. Marketplace became the Avondale community’s first grocery store in 17 years when it opened in February.

“Fifth Third’s support will help ease food related financial strain for members of the Avondale community as well as providing access to nutritional education and essential support,” said co-owner Tennel Bryant.

The Small Business Catalyst Fund is funded by the Fifth Third Foundation, the Fifth Third Bank Community Development Corporation, and Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors. CRF administers the fund’s grants and small business loans and works alongside two regional CDFI microlending partners who focus on microloans and technical assistance: Ohio-based Economic & Community Development Institute (ECDI), and New York-based Ascendus.

Fifth Third has a proven track record of prioritizing financial access and community development through its Neighborhood Program, which creates and implements innovative place-based strategies to effect positive change in nine historically disinvested neighborhoods across the Bank’s 11-state footprint. Fifth Third launched its neighborhood program in 2021, taking a place-based approach to community development where the Bank works with a lead partner organization and other local organizations to build ecosystems that drive real change through both financial and social investments. This collective ecosystem approach is focused on identifying solutions to key challenges in partnership with the community, with the goal of creating lasting, transformative change.

A full list of grant recipients and more information is available at www.SmallBusinessCatalystFund.com.

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About the Fifth Third Foundation

Established in 1948, the Fifth Third Foundation was one of the first charitable foundations created by a financial institution. The Fifth Third Foundation supports worthy causes in the areas of health and human services, education, community development and the arts in the states where Fifth Third Bank operates.

About Fifth Third

Fifth Third is a bank that’s as long on innovation as it is on history. Since 1858, we’ve been helping individuals, families, businesses and communities grow through smart financial services that improve lives. Our list of firsts is extensive, and it’s one that continues to expand as we explore the intersection of tech-driven innovation, dedicated people and focused community impact. Fifth Third is one of the few U.S.-based banks to have been named among Ethisphere’s World’s Most Ethical Companies^® for several years. With a commitment to taking care of our customers, employees, communities and shareholders, our goal is not only to be the nation’s highest performing regional bank, but to be the bank people most value and trust.

Fifth Third Bank, National Association is a federally chartered institution. Fifth Third Bancorp is the indirect parent company of Fifth Third Bank and its common stock is traded on the NASDAQ^® Global Select Market under the symbol “FITB.” Investor information and press releases can be viewed at www.53.com. Deposit and credit products provided by Fifth Third Bank, National Association. Member FDIC.

About Community Reinvestment Fund, USA

Founded in 1988, Community Reinvestment Fund, USA (CRF) is a national non-profit organization with a mission to improve lives and strengthen communities through innovative financial solutions. CRF has injected more than $3.6 billion to stimulate job creation, economic development, and support community facilities. To learn more about CRF, visit www.crfusa.com.

CONTACT         

Amanda Nageleisen (Media Relations)
amanda.nageleisen@53.com
Matt Curoe (Investor Relations)
matt.curoe@53.com | 513-534-2345

Giving back to society is more than just a commitment at MilliporeSigma, the U.S. and Canada Life Science business of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany—it’s a core part of the company’s culture. In 2024, MilliporeSigma’s employee volunteer program, SPARK™, empowered employees to make a meaningful impact in communities worldwide. Through both skills-based and general volunteer efforts, more than 4,100 employees across 29 countries dedicated over 29,900 hours to sparking curiosity in more than 108,700 students.

As the demand for experts in the rapidly expanding STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) fields continues to rise, the Curiosity Labs™ program plays a vital role in bridging this gap. In 2024, the program introduced two new lessons (Green Chemistry and Designing Dyes) to a record 15,297 students with the support of 792 dedicated volunteers. With 10 lessons in the program library, the company plans to announce an additional lesson for 2025 in April.

In addition to supporting STEM education, SPARK™ encourages employees to engage in other impactful initiatives that strengthen their local communities. One of the most successful efforts in 2024 was the annual Global Food Drive, where employees from 61 sites across 21 countries united to fight food insecurity. Through this initiative, employees helped provide 400,979 meals to individuals and families in need—demonstrating how small acts of service can create a lasting difference.

To learn more about SPARK™ and other employee volunteering programs from MilliporeSigma, visit the company’s sustainability & social business innovation page.

CHARLOTTE, N.C., March 31, 2025 /3BL/ – Discovery Education offers a new collection of engaging, high-quality instructional materials for Financial Literacy Month, which is observed annually in April.

The financial literacy resources within Discovery Education Experience, the essential companion for engaged K-12 classrooms, include:

• Financial Literacy channel: This curated collection of resources empowers students to venture into the world of money management.
• Econ Essentials channel: Created with Futures Fundamentals, Econ Essentials introduces students to the basics of economics and financial principles through timely real-world connections and hands-on learning. This collection of standards-aligned instructional materials, which include videos, collaborative activities, and self-guided learning modules, are also available at no-cost here.
• Fix-It: Money: In this lesson, students in second grade practice using irregular past tense verbs and irregular plural nouns while learning about money.
• Making Money: Math Student Investigation: Students build their conceptual understanding of constant rate of change and slope through inquiry, discussion, and real-world application. In this student assignment, middle school students investigate how to graph proportional relationships and compare the slope of a line while comparing weekly earnings for different part-time jobs.
• Career Connect: Available to users of Discovery Education Experience, educators can invite a financial services professional to a virtual classroom visit through Career Connect. This new tool promotes student curiosity by connecting classroom learning to real-world applications and potential careers. Through Career Connect, educators request virtual classroom visits from industry professionals, selecting from an array of job types, industries, languages, and locations. Then, students meet directly with diverse industry professionals, such as Discover, U.S. Bank, and more.

In addition, for users of Mystery Science by Discovery Education, the How Money is Made mini-lesson inspires student curiosity.

Available at no cost, the new resources from Pathway to Financial Success in Schools with Discover include a documentary and classroom resources. Created for middle school students, the DE Docs: Money Mastery is an engaging and educationally rich 20-minute video that makes building financial literacy accessible and approachable. The complementary elementary classroom video resources cover important topics such as saving, balancing spending, how people get paid, and taxes in age-appropriate videos and classroom activities.

“Financial literacy is a building block of success. Financial Literacy Month is an opportunity to bring more awareness to the importance of financial literacy. We’re proud to always offer high-quality instructional materials that engage students in this important topic,” said Kyle Schutt, Senior Director of Instructional Design at Discovery Education.

For more information about Discovery Education’s award-winning digital resources and professional learning solutions, visit www.discoveryeducation.com, and stay connected with Discovery Education on social media through X, LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook.

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About Discovery Education
Discovery Education is the worldwide edtech leader whose state-of-the-art, K-12, digital solutions support learning wherever it takes place. Through its award-winning multimedia content, instructional supports, innovative classroom tools, and corporate partnerships, Discovery Education helps educators deliver equitable learning experiences engaging all students and supporting higher academic achievement on a global scale. Discovery Education serves approximately 4.5 million educators and 45 million students worldwide, and its resources are accessed in over 100 countries and territories. Inspired by the global media company Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. Discovery Education partners with districts, states, and trusted organizations to empower teachers with leading edtech solutions that support the success of all learners. Explore the future of education at www.discoveryeducation.com.

Contacts
Grace Maliska
Discovery Education
Email: gmaliska@dicoveryed.com

Joyce Tsoi, senior director of the Decarbonization Program at Cascale, recently presented at the virtual Komar Supply Chain Sustainability Forums in Vietnam and Cambodia. The event brought together Komar Brands’ Tier 1 and 2 suppliers and featured presentations from industry experts on supplier best practices and brainstorming sessions on environmental and product sustainability initiatives.

Tsoi kicked off her presentation by giving an overview of Cascale’s origins and its vision to convene stakeholders across the industry on a pre-competitive basis to develop a common approach to measuring sustainability. After an overview of Cascale’s growth in membership and evolution, Tsoi highlighted Cascale’s strategic pillars — Combat Climate Change and Support Decent Work for All — as critical to the organization’s renewed focus.

Decarbonization remains a critical focus for the industry. In Vietnam and Cambodia alone, we’ve seen only 27 companies committed to set science-based targets (SBTs), and out of those, 12 companies have validated targets from the apparel, footwear, and textile sector. From Higg FEM data insight, we need to continue to strive for significant actions in South East Asia. Without significant actions and progress, the economic, environmental, and social impacts will continue to escalate.

Tsoi shared Cascale’s efforts to combat climate change and accelerate industry-wide decarbonization through the new Industry Decarbonization Roadmap (IDR), developed in partnership with Apparel Impact Institute (Aii) and with the support of RESET Carbon. She noted how science-based targets (SBTs) and science-aligned targets (SATs) provided a focused first step for companies embarking on their decarbonization journey, complementing the broader IDR roadmap. IDR is a bold, industry-wide initiative to tackle supply chain emissions at scale, aiming to decarbonize global manufacturing from tier 1 finished production assembly, tier 2 material production to tier 3 raw material processing facilities.

Central to IDR, Tsoi highlighted the Manufacturer Climate Action Program (MCAP) framework and how Cascale works with manufacturers to commit and set SATs for validation, evaluate their climate risks, develop a decarbonization plan, and communicate progress with stakeholders. She detailed the program’s benefits, including peer-to-peer learning, best practice sharing in the industry, as well as technical advisory support, training, and guidance. She shared how capacity-building programs – such as MCAP – enable knowledge and skills to be scaled to support manufacturers step-by-step in their target-setting process to support developing their decarbonization plan.

In tandem, Tsoi emphasized the importance of leveraging tools such as the Higg Facility Environmental Module (FEM) in establishing a firm environmental foundation for effective action. With this accurate energy and carbon baseline measurement, companies can determine their focus on tangible energy and carbon reduction opportunities, develop an action plan to take necessary actions, and achieve meaningful progress. Delving deeper into the Higg FEM, Tsoi shared key insights on its adoption in facilities in Vietnam and Cambodia, which showed a significant growth, with more facilities recognizing the Higg FEM as a core tool for measuring environmental performance.

Lastly, she noted the critical value of responsible purchasing practices in moving the industry forward, highlighting Cascale’s recent purchase of key assets of Better Buying Institute (BBI) as a testament of its commitment to advance responsible purchasing practices across the consumer goods industry.

Tsoi concluded her presentation by inviting attendees to register for the Cascale Forum, which will take place May 14-15 in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The two-day event will bring together manufacturers, suppliers, brands, retailers, and key industry stakeholders to drive actionable solutions for decarbonization, environmental performance, responsible purchasing practices, and audit fatigue.