Tag: 3BL

GALWAY, Ireland, March 3, 2025 /3BL/ – Medtronic, a global leader in healthcare technology, today announced the launch of Medtronic Spark, a 10-year initiative aimed at propelling one million low-income students into health tech careers. The initiative seeks to help address the growing health tech talent gap through three programs: Medtronic Spark Credentials, Medtronic Spark Innovator Labs, and the Medtronic Spark Scholarship.

By 2030, the tech sector, including health tech, will face a global talent shortage of 4.3 million people. Making matters more urgent, the World Health Organization predicts there will be shortfall of 11 million health workers, disproportionately impacting outcomes for low-income countries and low-income students.

“This initiative, which takes a multifaceted approach to address health tech workforce shortages, reflects Medtronic’s proud 75-year history and unwavering commitment to advancing healthcare and improving lives worldwide,” said Torod Neptune, chairman of Medtronic Foundation. “By investing in future talent, we’re creating a well-trained and capable workforce, ensuring growing healthcare needs will be answered in the future.’’

A new Medtronic and Morning Consult survey found 72% of Americans are concerned about healthcare workforce shortages, more than any other industry. Only 35% of those surveyed say society is prepared to handle these shortages.  

The demand for future talent is clear with the global health tech industry projected to reach $775 billion by 2029 and many young people are ready to take advantage of the opportunity. A global study of 700,000+ respondents found that young people’s highest priority is getting the education, skills and competencies to allow them to enter the workforce and build successful careers.

“We want to ensure that we are not just touching young people’s lives but truly changing the trajectory of their lives with future opportunities in health tech that have potential for lasting generational impact,’’ said Sally Saba, president of Medtronic Foundation.

About the Medtronic Spark initiative
Through Medtronic Spark, which will be focused in locations around the world where Medtronic has an established presence, the company hopes to build on a tradition of creating groundbreaking innovations that have revolutionized patient care. The initiative targets a new generation of workers by offering:

Credentials: A first-of-its kind industry-recognized certification will equip non-degree young adults with in-demand skills for the evolving job market. Expanding alternative pathways into tech careers benefits businesses and workers, as 63% of employers cite skill gaps as a major barrier and 58% of Gen Z supports hiring non-degree graduates.Innovator Labs: Experiencing hands-on innovation opportunities and mentoring in low-income communities can help young people be more prepared for and interested in health tech careers. Currently, only 42% of high school students engage in hands-on STEM activities and only 20% of high school graduates are prepared for college-level coursework in STEM majors.Scholarship: Provide low-income students with a scholarship that goes beyond traditional tuition support. Only 11% of low-income students who receive financial help complete their degrees. The Medtronic Spark Scholarship aims to help address the wide range of barriers needed to successfully complete a degree.

About Medtronic
Bold thinking. Bolder actions. We are Medtronic. Medtronic plc, headquartered in Galway, Ireland, is the leading global healthcare technology company that boldly attacks the most challenging health problems facing humanity by searching out and finding solutions. Our Mission — to alleviate pain, restore health, and extend life — unites a global team of 95,000+ passionate people across more than 150 countries. Our technologies and therapies treat 70 health conditions and include cardiac devices, surgical robotics, insulin pumps, surgical tools, patient monitoring systems, and more. Powered by our diverse knowledge, insatiable curiosity, and desire to help all those who need it, we deliver innovative technologies that transform the lives of two people every second, every hour, every day. Expect more from us as we empower insight-driven care, experiences that put people first, and better outcomes for our world. In everything we do, we are engineering the extraordinary. For more information on Medtronic, visit www.Medtronic.com and follow Medtronic on LinkedIn.

Any forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties such as those described in Medtronic’s periodic reports on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Actual results may differ materially from anticipated results.

Contacts:
Erika Winkels
Public Relations
+1-763-526-8478

Ryan Weispfenning
Investor Relations
+1-763-505-4626

By Nestor Mato

When Latisha Jewett finally walked through the threshold of her new house, the Regions bankers who helped her reach that day were there cheering her on. The dream to have a home for her and her son had become a reality.

“Her mortgage is less than her rent. That’s a good thing to have happen, and now she’s in a position to start building her own generational wealth, to have her son in a more stable living situation,” said Mayor Kevin Anderson of the City of Fort Myers while talking to WBBH-TV.

The mayor was joined by local news outlets and the community for a ribbon cutting ceremony for Jewett. And the City of Fort Myers marked this milestone in its Affordable Home Construction Program by unveiling the first single-family home built under the initiative. The program launched to empower families and individuals earning less than 120% of the area median income. It represents a beacon of hope for housing affordability.

Affordable housing initiatives like this change lives and build generational wealth, helping families create stability and security for years to come.

Cynthia Valenti, Mortgage Production Manager for Regions Bank

“This is more than just a house; it’s a home. A foundation for a brighter future,” said Cynthia Valenti, Mortgage Production Manager for Regions Bank. “Affordable housing initiatives like this change lives and build generational wealth, helping families create stability and security for years to come.”

The family benefited from a $10,000 Regions Bank grant and $75,000 in county down payment assistance, structured as a forgivable loan. The home was purchased below its appraised value, and the city did not include the value of the lot in the price.

“The $75,000 in assistance is in the form of a no-interest, no-payment second mortgage that will be forgiven at a rate of 20% per year over the next five years,” said Brian Hafenbrack, Community Mortgage Loan Officer for Regions. “Regions Bank supplied a first mortgage of $161,000 and with the city paying the closing costs, Ms. Jewett achieved her dream.”

The city is already clearing lots for the second and third homes in the program, with a goal of constructing six homes annually. Regions Bank plans to continue its community partnership by offering financing to future buyers, along with grants and resources to make homeownership attainable. The Affordable Home Construction Program is supported by the city’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund. The Trust Fund covers construction costs for homes and supports rental assistance for low-income residents.

“Ms. Jewitt and her son are thrilled and very grateful. She was beaming! Our local councilwoman included toys for her son including a bike,” said Valenti. “Partnerships like this prove that when communities come together, we can address even the most challenging issues. Ms. Jewitt is now a happy and confident homeowner!”

Across Alligator Alley, Regions Bank also helped construct a family’s dream by participating in the Habitat for Humanity of Broward County CEO Build.

Kelley Brown, market executive and commercial banking leader in Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach, traded her briefcase for a hard hat to help nurse Brenda Williams achieve a goal she thought was out of reach.

WSVN-TV was there as Brown and South Florida businesses leaders went to work. The news outlet said Habitat serves a critical need for affordable housing in Broward County. Sandwiched between the ocean and the Everglades, about 97% of the land is already spoken for.

“Participating in the Habitat for Humanity CEO Build is more than just picking up a hammer; it’s about coming together to create opportunities and make affordable housing a reality for those who need it most,” said Brown. “It’s an honor to part of a company and project that reflects the heart of our community.”

For the third consecutive year, Lenovo’s Environmental, Social and Governance Rating score was rated at AAA by MSCI, the international ratings agency. The AAA rating represents the highest possible rating for corporations leading in ESG programs (on a scale of AAA-CCC).

MSCI ESG Research provides in-depth research, ratings, and analysis of the environmental, social, and governance-related business practices of thousands of companies worldwide. Its research is designed to provide critical insights that can help institutional investors identify risks and opportunities that traditional investment research may overlook.

MSCI ESG Ratings are also used to construct the MSCI ESG Indexes, produced by MSCI, Inc. For more information, click here. In alignment with MSCI’s methodology, these ratings demonstrate Lenovo’s ESG strengths relative to the China information technology industry.

MSCI is an index used by many financial decision-makers around the world. In addition to a AAA rating on MSCI’s ESG index, Lenovo was recently awarded a Platinum Medal from EcoVadis, placing it in the top 1% of ESG performance for companies evaluated by EcoVadis around the globe. Learn more about Lenovo’s environmental, social impact and governance initiatives in Lenovo’s latest ESG Report.

Disclaimer: THE USE BY Lenovo OF ANY MSCI ESG RESEARCH LLC OR ITS AFFILIATES (“MSCI”) DATA, AND THE USE OF MSCI LOGOS, TRADEMARKS, SERVICE MARKS OR INDEX NAMES HEREIN, DO NOT CONSTITUTE A SPONSORSHIP, ENDORSEMENT, RECOMMENDATION, OR PROMOTION OF Lenovo BY MSCI. MSCI SERVICES AND DATA ARE THE PROPERTY OF MSCI OR ITS INFORMATION PROVIDERS, AND ARE PROVIDED ‘AS-IS’ AND WITHOUT WARRANTY. MSCI NAMES AND LOGOS ARE TRADEMARKS OR SERVICE MARKS OF MSCI.

About Lenovo 
Lenovo is a US$57 billion revenue global technology powerhouse, ranked #248 in the Fortune Global 500, and serving millions of customers every day in 180 markets. Focused on a bold vision to deliver Smarter Technology for All, Lenovo has built on its success as the world’s largest PC company with a full-stack portfolio of AI-enabled, AI-ready, and AI-optimized devices (PCs, workstations, smartphones, tablets), infrastructure (server, storage, edge, high performance computing and software defined infrastructure), software, solutions, and services. Lenovo’s continued investment in world-changing innovation is building a more equitable, trustworthy, and smarter future for everyone, everywhere. Lenovo is listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange under Lenovo Group Limited (HKSE: 992) (ADR: LNVGY). To find out more visit https://www.lenovo.com, and read about the latest news via our  StoryHub.

As originally published by GoDaddy’s Venture Forward research initiative

2024 saw a huge leap in the adoption of AI and the rollout of new tools, which led to surges in the number of new websites coming online. In partnership with UCLA Anderson economists, the GoDaddy Venture Forward research team sought to understand and, for the first time, quantify the impact that AI and specifically GoDaddy Airo had on local economic outcomes thanks to small businesses. This analysis revealed a correlation between the higher number of customer websites created since GoDaddy Airo’s rollout and both an increase in jobs created and a reduction in unemployment at the local level.

In a world where artificial intelligence (AI) is often portrayed as a looming threat to jobs, a new narrative has emerged, one that highlights AI as a catalyst for job creation and economic growth, and directly because of small and microbusinesses.

New Research Separates Conjecture from Real Impact with AI and Small Businesses 

Throughout 2024, AI captured headlines with predictions about its transformative potential for big business. However, GoDaddy’s latest analysis shifts the focus to the real-world economic outcomes AI is delivering for small businesses. The introduction of GoDaddy’s AI-powered experience, Airo, in 2023 has led to a surge in microbusiness activity – both in terms of publications and traffic, bringing significant economic benefits across the United States.

Small and Microbusinesses Power Economic Growth Through AI Adoption

The research uncovers some compelling findings looking at November 2023-September 2024:

Job Creation: For every website published using GoDaddy Airo, 20 jobs were created per county. The impact varies by region, with rural counties seeing an average of 4.2 jobs, while urban counties experienced a boost of 22 jobs.Economic Impact: The launch of 10 new GoDaddy websites per county correlated with a 0.017 percentage-point reduction in local unemployment rates.Record Engagement: In 2024, microbusiness website activity hit an all-time high, as indicated by a 13% growth in GoDaddy’s microbusiness engagement index from January to September, as measured by UCLA Anderson, surpassing pre-pandemic levels. See Figure 1.

Figure 1 (above) depicts microbusiness activity, indicated by website traffic/engagement. This index grew by 14 points (13%) between January and September 2024 to an all-time high of 122, beating the previous record of 115 during the pandemic, when many small businesses were forced online.

AI Has Helped Impact Small Business

While the conversation around AI often centers on its potential, GoDaddy’s research highlights tangible outcomes, and mindset shifts as captured by the 2024 GoDaddy Venture Forward Annual Report. 

Productivity and Revenue Growth: A significant 72% of small business owners using AI tools like GoDaddy Airo reported increased productivity, while 61% observed higher revenues in the past six months.Lowered Barriers to Entry: The number of websites published surged since the release of AI tools like Airo. Despite these successes, 38% of microbusiness owners cited a lack of knowledge about AI signaling an opportunity for education in 2025.

2025 Will Be the Year of Further Measurable Impact

As GoDaddy continues to quantify AI’s economic effects, the research sets the stage for what 2025 might bring. It’s increasingly clear that small businesses, often secondary in AI discussions, are at the forefront of driving substantial change. AI tools like GoDaddy Airo are not only enhancing online engagement but also making significant contributions to job markets and local economies. 

With digital small businesses already creating an average of seven jobs per entrepreneur, AI offers an unprecedented chance to bolster national and local economic growth. As Alexandra Rosen, economist and global head of GoDaddy’s Venture Forward research initiative, aptly puts it, “Economic outcomes don’t happen overnight, and yet, in just under a year, GoDaddy’s research with UCLA shows how small businesses using AI tools are transforming local economies through job creation. The company’s own AI experience, GoDaddy Airo, empowers entrepreneurs to launch their businesses fast, create jobs, and grow local economies.” 

AI adoption is not merely a competitive edge but an economic imperative. As we look to the future, GoDaddy, alongside our UCLA economic partners, is eager to further explore the widespread benefits AI brings, not just for the online presence of small businesses but for their local communities.  

We will continue to post research insights on small and microbusiness entrepreneurs, their adoption and relationship with AI, and the combined and magnified economic impact being made by this combination. 

Read the full report here.

CHARLOTTE, N.C., March 3, 2025 /3BL/ – Discovery Education presents a new collection of engaging, high-quality digital resources to support classroom observances of Women’s History Month. This new suite of standards-aligned, high-quality resources celebrates women’s impactful contributions to history, science, art, and more. The resources within Discovery Education Experience, the essential companion for engaged classrooms, include:

Women in History channel: This special content collection allows students in grades K-12 to learn about remarkable women who shaped history, and discover contemporary stories of women making an impact on the world today. With instructional resources tailored to each grade level, teachers can easily access high-quality videos and activities to inspire and educate their students.Womanica channel: This podcast series from Wonder Media Network offers bite-sized audio biographies of women who have changed history. Students in grades 6-12 will be inspired to be curious by listening to the successes, challenges, and triumphs of remarkable women from a variety of backgrounds, including scientists, actors, teachers, poets, philosophers, scholars, politicians, comedians, and more.IF/THEN STEM Professionals channel: The IF/THEN® Initiative resources inspire students in grades 6-12 by highlighting women in STEM, empowering today’s innovators, and motivating the next generation of pioneers.

Available at no cost, the Women’s History Month collection from the STEM Careers Coalition celebrates the achievements of women leaders in STEM. These dynamic, on-demand resources equip educators with the tools to foster deeper student engagement by connecting classroom lessons to the real world. The free career profile videos and accompanying classroom activities highlight women in a variety of STEM careers, including chemistry, engineering, agriculture, and more. The STEM Careers Coalition is an alliance of industries and non-profit organizations providing 11M+ students with access to STEM resources and career connections since its launch in 2019.

In addition, for users of Mystery Science by Discovery Education, the Celebrating Women in Science and Arts collection offers 5-minute mini-lessons for grades K-5 designed to ignite student curiosity.

“Discovery Education is proud to present this curated content supporting Women’s History Month observances,” said Hailey Adams, Director of Curriculum, Instruction & Student Engagement at Discovery Education. “Through these dynamic and engaging digital resources, educators are empowered to help all students dream big about their own futures.”

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

MISSOULA, Mont., March 3, 2025 /3BL/ – The Biomimicry Institute, a not-for-profit organization co-founded by Janine Benyus in 2005 to empower nature-inspired solutions for a healthy planet, is now accepting applications for the 2025 Ray of Hope Accelerator. This founder-focused program supports startups drawing inspiration from nature’s 3.8 billion years of R&D to address the world’s most pressing environmental challenges. 10 selected startups will receive robust training, networking opportunities, and $15,000 in non-dilutive funding to scale their ventures and further environmental impact. Applications are due by April 25, 2025.

Since its launch in 2020, the Ray of Hope Accelerator has supported 49 early-stage (pre-seed through to Series A) startups from 15 countries – 35% of which are women-led – deploying $750K in catalytic, non-dilutive funding. Building on this momentum, the program is seeking the next 10 high-impact nature-inspired startups for its 2025 cohort. Amanda Sturgeon, CEO of The Biomimicry Institute, is looking forward to welcoming 10 pioneering startups to the 2025 Ray of Hope Accelerator, each leveraging nature’s brilliance to drive regenerative innovation; “We look forward to identifying the next cohort of the Ray of Hope Accelerator, and discover the innovative technologies they will bring to the table. These visionaries have the potential to transform industries, restore ecosystems, and create a more regenerative future for all.”

The nature-inspired solutions the Biomimicry Institute is seeking may be grounded in deep scientific research, evolved from an understanding of biological systems, or enabling bio-inspired solutions. The Ray of Hope Accelerator, in partnership with founding sponsor The Ray C. Anderson Foundation, is particularly interested in solutions that regenerate nature, mitigate climate change, and eliminate the ‘take, make, waste’ paradigm.

The 10 selected companies will participate in a six-month accelerator providing over $50,000 worth of in-kind services, including industry mentorship, science-based storytelling expertise, and connections with corporate leaders and mission-aligned investors. The program also includes a 4 day in-person and immersive Nature Retreat, where founders will deepen their leadership skills, foster community, and cultivate a biomimicry-driven philosophy.

“Our inaugural Ray of Hope Accelerator Impact Report shows just how powerful nature-inspired innovation can be,” said Maëlys Renaud, Program Manager of the Ray of Hope Accelerator. “Five years in, 97% of our portfolio companies are still in operation, and collectively, they have raised over $125 million in funding post-program. This is a testament to the strength of intentional selection and hands-on support. Each year, we uncover visionary founders with game-changing ideas, and we’re eager to see what bold, nature-inspired solutions emerge this time.”

Visit the Portfolio page on Biomimicry.org to explore the full list of Ray of Hope Accelerator alumni.

For more information on eligibility and how to apply, please visit biomimicry.org/innovation/accelerator/.

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About the Biomimicry Institute 

The Biomimicry Institute is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization founded by Janine Benyus in 2005, on a mission to create a nature positive, inclusive, and regenerative world inspired and guided by nature’s genius. The Biomimicry Institute is embarking towards a ten-year vision to dramatically scale the impact that biomimicry is having on some of the biggest challenges facing the world today. Since its founding 20 years ago, the Institute has worked to spread the practice of looking to the solutions developed by living organisms over billions of years to provide insight and inspiration for effective, efficient, and sustainable innovations and approaches to addressing our own challenges. As the Institute embarks on their third decade, they are fully committed to work across sectors and disciplines to spread the wisdom of nature-inspired, actionable solutions across our world. For more information, visit biomimicry.org.

Media Contact: 
Anna Konstantinova 
Biomimicry Institute, Director of Strategic Communications 
anna.konstantinova@biomimicry.org

We’re PSEG Proud to be named one of America’s most JUST companies and to be included in the 2025 JUST 100 list by JUST Capital. We’re honored to be recognized for our work serving our customers, employees, communities, the environment and shareholders.

View original content here.

Mastercard

Starting on January 7, a series of ferocious wildfires erupted in the Los Angeles area, burning more than 40,000 acres and causing roughly $14.8 billion in damages. Within a month, two teams of specially trained Mastercard employees hit the ground to support the American Red Cross’s relief efforts, serving thousands of people from all walks of life whose homes and businesses had been reduced to smoking rubble.

“We all have stories to share, and they are what drive us every day,” says Deann Donohue, an O’Fallon, Missouri-based vice president in the company’s Public Sector Center of Excellence who deployed with the first team of volunteers. “It’s providing supplies to the husband whose wife passed the year before who is hoping to find her urn. It’s listening to the fire brigade medic whose parents called him to say news reporters were standing in front of his place as it was burning down.”

Mastercard launched its disaster relief corps with the American Red Cross in 2019, with 53 employees trained in all aspects of aid distribution, disaster assessment and shelter operations. Today, Mastercard has 687 employees ready to help, some of whom have deployed multiple times, including to Hurricane Helene in North Carolina last year, Hurricane Ian in Florida in 2022 and the western Kentucky tornadoes in 2021.

In the deployment’s spare moments, Donohue and Joe Kaczorowski, a senior vice president for Risk Analytics based in Purchase, New York, shared dispatches from their time in Los Angeles.

Day 1: Getting the assignment

It’s a stark 2 a.m. wake-up for the Purchase-based volunteers, including Kaczorowski, to make the flight out to Los Angeles. A group of 20 volunteers from different offices across the U.S. are doing the same for this first deployment; another dozen employees will fly out next week to relieve them.

Upon arrival, the volunteers join the Red Cross disaster response operation’s stand-up meeting to hear the game plan for the week ahead. “I’ve already received comments about how they like the energy and collaboration we bring to the mission,” Kaczorowski writes. “So it’s exciting to feel welcomed here.”  

At the hotel, it’s bittersweet to meet new volunteers and see familiar faces from both Red Cross and Mastercard offices. Some of these same volunteers were from the Hurricane Helene response in western North Carolina last fall.

“I remember from my very first deployment resettling Afghan refugees in Texas that a woman told me that people talk about time differently in the Red Cross,” Kaczorowski writes. “It’s not, ‘How many years have you been involved?’ It’s ‘How many deployments have you done?’ It’s really inspiring to see the shift in the concept of time within our own Mastercard team with so many having done multiple deployments now.”

Day 2: On the ground

With more than four active fires, the recovery work scatters volunteers across the county.

Donohue is stationed at UCLA Research Center close to the Palisades Fire, where FEMA and other organizations are offering services ranging from temporary housing to mental health care to help reprinting Social Security cards and birth certificates.

Across the city, Kaczorowski is stationed at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium shelter, which is serving as a Red Cross sanctuary for those in need. The Mastercard team is focused on consolidating residents from multiple ballrooms into a single ballroom to make operations more efficient and ensure an accurate count of shelter residents. That means trying to find those assigned to the cots and, if they’ve already found a new place to move, formally checking them out of the shelter, bagging what is left behind and storing the items in case they return for them.

The enormous ballroom serving as the infirmary also is emptying out, requiring another consolidation. “This involved everything from moving crates of belongings, to wheeling people in hospital beds to the new location and helping them set things up in the new room,” Kaczorowski writes. “Overall, once we got going, there was very little down time.”

Day 3: A heavy heart

Today, Donohue is at an Altadena grocery store, one of the only buildings left standing in the community. She is handing out PPE kits for those re-entering their neighborhood. “It was emotionally harder today; most residents were going back to just ashes but were looking for anything left,” she writes.

Kaczorowski is taking on a new role at a new station in the Pasadena Civic Auditorium and spends the day using his Mastercard expertise to help with data and reporting, tracking volunteer assignments and rental cars for the Red Cross. “We talked about challenges, and I even got to see how they thoughtfully handled interactions with distraught clients who came to talk to them.”    

Days 4 and 5: Lifted spirits

Donohue is back in Pacific Palisades, and it’s the city’s first rainy day since the fires started. She spends the day at the Palisades Recreation Center, a brick building left standing in the middle of ashes, where she meets a couple who grew up in her neighborhood back in St. Louis. “We laughed and cried together — she said it was one of the first times being back that she was able to smile, and it truly touched me.”

Kaczorowski goes back to consolidating shelter spaces that had started to clear out when the day is happily interrupted by the arrival of rock icon Neil Young, who has arrived to play “Heart of Gold,” uplifting the shelter one string at a time, and his wife, actress Daryl Hannah, who brings along two miniature horses. “Everywhere I look,” Kaczorowski writes, “I see our team doing little things all over to create comfort and build bonds — both within the team, but especially with the residents.”

Day 6 – The first deployment ends, but the impact is lasting

As a new team of Mastercard employees makes its way to California, the first team’s members are wrapping up their last deployment day, reflecting on their time.

Donohue is reminded why she volunteers: “As I spend the week listening and being present for those impacted, I’ve realized just how important the Red Cross and their volunteers are. It’s helping the brother-in-law of a man with dementia who drove in from out of state to start paperwork for resources, and giving water and hugging the couple looking to see if their daughter’s grave was still standing around the corner. It’s about supporting each other in times of need.”

Similarly, Kaczorowski is overwhelmed with appreciation for having the opportunity to give back. “Volunteering with disaster relief is not for the faint of heart — but the reward for me was more than worth every minute. I met so many amazing people, from all walks of life, all over the U.S. and all with one purpose and passion — to give back. We will be bonded for life, and I can’t wait to serve with them all again.”

Originally published by Mastercard

Follow along Mastercard’s journey to connect and power an inclusive, digital economy that benefits everyone, everywhere.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is taking the world by storm, and for good reason. AI can help automate mundane tasks, improve operational efficiency and enhance human decision-making. 

Some of its benefits extend to investing as well. We believe that powerful AI tools such as natural language processing (NLP) may help active managers deliver better investment outcomes by alerting them to negative environmental, social and governance (ESG) news before it becomes widely disseminated.

The Fallout When Bad News Breaks 

From environmental disasters like oil spills and chemical leaks to social issues such as child labor to governance failures like executive misconduct, negative ESG news can severely damage a company’s reputation, erode investor confidence and undermine financial performance. 

Our research indicates that, while positive ESG news has quickly boosted company returns, negative ESG has done just the opposite. Companies with negative ESG events have underperformed their peers—not just on the first day the news broke, but for weeks after (Display). For stocks associated with negative ESG news, returns over the 10-day holding period shown annualize to –7.3% in excess return (–1.2% for fixed income); for stocks associated with positive ESG news, returns over the 10-day holding period shown annualize to 6.2% in excess return (0.2% for fixed income).

Natural Language Processing Changes the Game

Clearly, if asset managers could uncover ESG-related controversies faster than their peers, they’d have an investment edge. But that’s easier said than done. Manually sifting through mountains of corporate filings and news articles is not just cumbersome and time-consuming; it’s also a Sisyphean task that must be repeated daily. 

That’s where NLP technology comes in. 

NLP is a field of AI that enables algorithms to understand, interpret and generate human communication. NLP applications have evolved dramatically since their advent in the 1950s, progressing from simple pattern matching—such as recognizing the phrase “thank you” and responding with “you’re welcome,” or counting the number of occurrences of a given word in a text—to more sophisticated techniques that involve deep learning and contextual understanding. 

The result is a technology that is highly accurate and nuanced in its understanding and generation of human language, with the power to process and analyze vast amounts of raw data quickly and efficiently.

Putting NLP to Work: Controversy Alerts

We’ve built a powerful NLP tool that serves as a complement to our fundamental analysis. Incorporating the latest large-language models, this tool transforms the daunting task of sifting through thousands of company and news reports into an efficient and insightful process that flags potentially material ESG issues in real time. 

Our tool monitors companies around the world, screening global news in multiple languages for controversies across a wide range of topics, including modern slavery, child labor, discrimination, tax scandals, executive pay and corruption. Furthermore, the tool is scalable, screening for developing ESG controversies across hundreds of companies simultaneously and providing timely alerts before negative news impacts the market. 

It understands financial jargon, is trained in ESG-specific knowledge, and can assess tone and context, with the goal of evaluating the sentiment around a particular ESG news item with respect to a specific company. The tool extracts relevant information from the news sources, creates a summary and highlights what it deems most important for our analysts to evaluate. And it includes links to the original articles, allowing analysts to verify the information quickly. 

For example, our NLP tool flagged a large mining concern with operations in Central America, alerting us to alleged poor treatment of employees and community members that compelled local governments to file lawsuits. Eventually, the company’s local mining permits were pulled, and it had to abandon operations in the area after investing nearly US$10 billion in the project. Fortunately, our tool had alerted us to these risks ahead of the government’s punitive actions.

The Bigger Picture: Integrating Our NLP Tool

Of course, AI and other tools are no substitute for sound fundamental analysis, which is why negative ESG news alerts don’t necessarily keep us from taking a position. The news may represent headline risk with which we’re comfortable or that we find is already priced into valuations. 

As always, it’s up to our investment teams to assemble relevant data, including NLP alerts, into a bigger picture. Ultimately, our NLP tool is just one resource—albeit a valuable one—within a broader fundamental analysis that helps us make an informed decision about a company. 

What’s more, NLP allows our analysts and portfolio managers to devote less time to tracking down data and more time to thinking critically about it—and to putting it to use on behalf of our clients.

References to specific securities discussed are not to be considered recommendations by AllianceBernstein L.P.

The views expressed herein do not constitute research, investment advice or trade recommendations, and do not necessarily represent the views of all AB portfolio-management teams and are subject to change over time.

Learn more about AB’s approach to responsibility here.

The need for sustainability is everywhere, including where we work.

Sustainability is an important consideration for businesses—and with good reason. From rising global temperatures to unprecedented levels of plastic pollution, we are constantly reminded of the importance of this topic

“I’m fortunate to meet with a lot of big companies every week—and this topic comes up in all my interactions,” says Snorre Kjesbu, SVP and GM of employee experiences at Cisco.

He is also fortunate in being able to help these companies out. As the person in charge of a portfolio of collaboration technologies enabling remote working and virtual meetings, he is already instrumental in helping to cut greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions linked to business travel.

As of 2023, 12 percent of travel volume worldwide was for business, but the level is falling thanks to videoconferencing. The technology is also helping cut emissions linked to commuting, by allowing more people to work from home.

Cutting corporate carbon footprints is “the right thing to do,” says Kjesbu. “It’s right that we use the scarce resources of the planet correctly.”

But sustainability is also often good for the bottom line. Research from an industry body called the Energy Efficiency Movement shows the industrial sector could save $437 billion by 2030 by applying efficiency measures such as digitizing machinery and processing data in the cloud.

“There is often a view that being sustainable costs more money, but that’s not the case when it comes to efficiency,” says Energy Efficiency Movement communication and marketing lead Lisa Bounoure. “Efficiency offers clear return on investment.”

For Kjesbu, this quest for efficiency does not stop at helping cut the GHG emissions involved in corporate meetings. Cisco, which has a goal to reach net zero GHG emissions across its value chain by 2040, is also striving to improve the lifecycle efficiency of its products.

As an example, 52% of the plastic in the Cisco Collaboration devices product line is post-consumer recycled (PCR) plastic. Kjesbu says that replaces the use of 154 tonnes of virgin plastic with plastic removed from the waste stream, an amount of plastic equal to 7 million rubber ducks per year.

The ENERGY STAR®-certified phones are also designed to require minimal amounts of metals, so even the top-end models in the series only weigh around a kilogram. Less weight means less energy is required to ship the phones in bulk, reducing supply chain costs and emissions.

In addition to using fewer materials in manufacturing, office devices are being designed to consume less energy throughout their lifecycle.. The new Cisco Board Pro, for instance, has been engineered to consume85-89 percent less power in standby mode versus Display Off.

Cutting standby power might not seem like a big deal, but all the devices currently in sleep mode around the world account for 1 percent of global carbon emissions, or about a third of the amount caused by aviation in 2023. And cutting these emissions can have a multiplier effect, says Kjesbu.

“If you use less power in sleep mode, it also means you generate less heat and so you don’t need to cool buildings as much,” he notes.

But the real prize for office sustainability is to amplify such multiplier effects with digital technology. Smart building systems can determine whether a work area is being used and—if not—shut down lighting and heating systems automatically, potentially saving massive amounts of energy.

According to the Energy Efficiency Movement, more than 40 percent of the energy used in a typical commercial building is for heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC)—and around 35 percent of it is wasted.

However, a digital building management system with artificial intelligence can help cut HVAC emissions by up to 40 percent, while slashing 25 percent off operating costs.

This is a remarkable sustainability gain, but Kjesbu has another sustainable office equipment design trick up his sleeve: making things last longer. “If you design products that last longer, you will buy fewer and have a smaller footprint,” he says.

“It’s a big difference if a product lasts four years or seven years,” he adds.

In taking sustainability to heart, Cisco is staying ahead of a growing workplace trend.

Sustainability is an increasingly important factor in office design,” says John Stephan, a building products and services deal advisory partner at the accountancy firm BDO.

“From building materials to office-based technologies, we are seeing a growing appetite for options that reduce waste and emissions,” he says.

As far as the planet is concerned, that is a healthy appetite indeed—and one that conscious corporations such as Cisco are happy to satisfy.

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