Originally published by SupplyChainBrain
John Rogula, managing director and leader of the enterprise risk management offering of Baker Tilly, provides a sneak peek at a new supply chain risk-assessment tool from the U.S. Department of Commerce.
Continue reading here
Learn more about Baker Tilly’s Enterprise Risk Management solutions
CLEVELAND, October 28, 2024 /3BL/ – KeyBank’s Key4Women will present “The Ownership Mindset: How to Bounce Back From Anything” a free, one-hour virtual event on Tuesday, November 5th at 1:00 p.m. EST / 11 a.m. MT / 10:00 a.m. PST.
Key4Women’s National Director and Head of Community Bank, Rachael Sampson, will host a conversation with Kerry Siggins, CEO and Board of Director of StoneAge, Inc., discussing how to transform the approach to leadership no matter the role had in an organization. Siggins will share her journey of conquering personal and corporate challenges and imparts actionable insights on cultivating resilience and embracing ownership thinking for effective leadership.
In this webinar, participants learn how to:
Openly embrace flaws and shortcoming to lead to deeper connection and greater success.Address imposter syndrome head-on.Implement an ownership mindset and become and example of responsibility.
“We are thrilled to have Kerry participate in this webinar with us,” said Sampson. “Her experience combined with her knowledge is going to help our attendees’ overcome challenges that have notoriously held them back and put them on the right track to finding success.”
Siggins is the CEO of StoneAge, Inc. a fast-growing manufacturing and technology company based in Colorado. Under her leadership, StoneAge has experience double digit growth, year over year. In 2015, she successfully transitioned the company’s ownership structure to an ESOP, ensuring that all employees share in the success of the company through employee ownership.
For more information, contact key4women@keybank.com or register online by November 4th here.
About Key4Women
Key4Women started in 2005 as a campaign to lend $1 billion to qualified women-owned businesses within three years. The program achieved that in two years and has now generated more than $12 billion in loans to women-owned businesses. Membership in Key4Women is free. In addition to helping women business leaders and owners tap into capital to build and grow their businesses, Key4Women members gain valuable access to a team of local Certified Key4Wome Advisors who advocate, connect and empower women on their journey to financial wellness. For more information, visit key.com/key4women.
About KeyBank
KeyCorp’s roots trace back nearly 200 years to Albany, New York. Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, Key is one of the nation’s largest bank-based financial services companies, with assets of approximately $190 billion at September 30, 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 is Member FDIC.
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CONTACT:
Laura Suter | Regional Communications Manager | 206-343-6953 | laura_suter@keybank.com
Saint-Gobain, a global leader in light and sustainable construction has launched RenuCore™ by CertainTeed, an innovative manufacturing technology that allows construction and demolition recyclers and hot mix asphalt producers to pelletize asphalt shingle waste at the end of their original life to be reused in asphalt paving applications.
Originally developed by Asphaltica and acquired by CertainTeed in 2023, the RenuCore™ pelletizing technology allows CertainTeed to divert shingle materials from landfills and increases the recycled content in hot mix asphalt paving, all while maintaining equivalent performance. The launch comes as Saint-Gobain continues to successfully execute its global Grow and Impact strategy, which includes ambitious sustainability goals, such as a commitment to achieve zero waste-to-landfill across all Saint-Gobain locations.
The innovative recycling process improves the performance grade of recycled asphalt and aims to achieve equivalent durability and longevity of roads compared to hot mix asphalt made with virgin materials. This new technology addresses early challenges in recycling asphalt shingles into hot mix asphalt by pre-treating and pelletizing the shingles, resulting in greater resistance to rutting, shoving, and cracking.
“RenuCore’s launch underscores Saint-Gobain’s commitment to the cross-industry collaboration that will be needed to Make the World a Better Home,” said Carmen Bodden, President of CertainTeed Roofing Products Group. “Whether our products are on a roof or in asphalt paving, we remain committed to CertainTeed’s motto ‘Quality made Certain, Satisfaction Guaranteed,’ as we have done for the past 120 years.”
RenuCore™ will officially launch at the Construction and Demolition Recycling Association’s 10th Shingle Recycling Forum, the premier event for shingle recycling. The forum will take place in Louisville, Kentucky on October 29-30, 2024 and feature remarks from members of the CertainTeed Roofing team.
This launch follows several other recent actions taken by the company to solidify its commitment towards sustainability:
In August, Saint-Gobain enhanced operational practices at its glass mat plant in Charleston, South Carolina, saving over 4,500 MWh of energy.In July, Saint-Gobain announced that it will save over 10 million gallons of water per year through the installation of smart water submetering systems and other equipment upgrades at its CertainTeed Siding facility in Jackson, Michigan.In April, Saint-Gobain achieved Core Living Building Ready designation from the International Living Future Institute for its CertainTeed Innovation Center in Malvern, Pennsylvania.In March, Saint-Gobain announced that its CertainTeed Siding business had reduced manufacturing related emissions by 96% at three facilities in the United States.In February, Saint-Gobain completed the installation of a heat recovery system at its gypsum facility in Vancouver, British Columbia, which will lead to a 15% reduction in Scope 1 carbon emissions.In September 2023, Saint-Gobain signed a 15-year, 100 MW power purchase agreement with TotalEnergies for the purchase of solar power, expected to offset Saint-Gobain North America’s CO2 emissions from electricity by 90,000 metric tons per year.
With over 160 manufacturing locations in the United States and Canada, every current and future member of the company’s team plays a vital role in achieving its sustainability goals. A current list of job openings at all Saint-Gobain locations, including our CertainTeed Roofing facilities, can be found on the company’s career website.
About CertainTeed
With innovative building solutions made possible through its comprehensive offering of interior and exterior products, CertainTeed is transforming how the industry builds. As leaders in building science and sustainable construction, CertainTeed makes it easier than ever to create high-performance, energy-efficient places to live, work and play, so that together we can make the world a better home.
A subsidiary of Saint-Gobain, one of the world’s largest and oldest building products companies, CertainTeed has more than 6,900 employees and more than 60 manufacturing facilities throughout the United States and Canada. www.certainteed.com
About Saint-Gobain
Worldwide leader in light and sustainable construction, Saint-Gobain designs, manufactures and distributes materials and services for the construction and industrial markets. Its integrated solutions for the renovation of public and private buildings, light construction and the decarbonization of construction and industry are developed through a continuous innovation process and provide sustainability and performance. The Group’s commitment is guided by its purpose, “MAKING THE WORLD A BETTER HOME”.
€47.9 billion in sales in 2023
160,000 employees, locations in 76 countries
Committed to achieving Carbon Neutrality by 2050
For more information about Saint-Gobain, visit www.saint-gobain.com and follow us on Twitter @saintgobain
Today we depend on the energy grid for just about … everything.
But from aging infrastructure and spiraling demands to relentless cyberthreats and the added complexities of renewable energy, utilities have no shortage of challenges.
Digital innovations are critical to meeting those challenges. And in myriad ways, Cisco is contributing to an energy future that’s more sustainable, secure, and smart.
“Utilities and energy are critical infrastructure for any country,” said Kelsi Doran, head of sustainability strategy and transformation for Cisco. “And as cyberthreats continue to become more sophisticated, they can become a target for bad actors. If you layer on that they’re working off antiquated systems, the grid could be vulnerable in terms of energy, reliability, and security.”
The U.S. Department of Energy, for example, estimates that much of the country’s electric grid was built in the 1960s and ’70s, and 70 percent of transmission lines are more than 25 years old. So, much of that infrastructure is coming to the end of its useful life. Given the increased demands and threats that utilities face — along with climate-driven disruptions like storms, floods and wildfires — transformation to smarter grids is imperative.
“Forward-thinking utilities are increasingly considering digital technologies as a part of their architectures,” Doran continued. “It enables them to have better visibility into their entire OT network so they can do things like more efficiently balance the load of supply and demand. Utilities are adopting these things not only to accelerate the clean energy transition, but their digital business-model transformation as well.”
One of those forward-thinking utilities is CPFL Energia. Headquartered in São Paulo, it’s one of Brazil’s largest energy suppliers. And it’s taking the transition to its energy future very seriously. That includes sweeping digitization and a deep commitment to renewable sources like wind.
Security is, of course, an overriding concern.
“The energy companies in Brazil are a top focus for the hackers,” said Emerson Cardoso, chief information security officer at CPFL Energia.“And the Brazilian government has enacted regulations that demand better security measures. But Cisco has given us great support, and they are constantly innovating.”
Clean but complex
Renewable energy sources like wind, solar, geothermal, and ocean waves will be essential to reach the net-zero goals being set by many organizations and governments. But incorporating more renewable sources into electricity supplies can create new challenges. Whereas traditional energy is built around centralized power plants driven by coal or oil, renewable sources are more distributed, with wind generators or solar panels spread across wide areas in sometimes remote places.
“Utilities have to now handle all different types of energy, whether it’s traditional or nuclear or hydro or solar or wind,” said Mary de Wysocki, Cisco senior vice president and chief sustainability officer. “It goes from a very centralized model to now much more decentralized. That’s where networking, IOT sensors, and AI/machine learning come in, to give visibility and early warning signals that enable preventative management before an outage or threat arises.”
Renewable sources can also be less consistent than traditional sources. After all, the sun goes behind clouds and the wind sometimes weakens. But artificial intelligence and machine learning can help there as well, by optimizing generation and storage of energy in response to the fluctuations in supply and demand.
“Renewable energy can be intermittent,” Doran added. “It’s not the same steady output that you can plan for in a fossil fuel plant. Instead, we get energy when the sun shines or the wind blows. And so, we need the right tools to be able to ramp up supply to match demand and peak load. And this, again, is where digital technology allows us to have visibility into how much energy is being consumed, and then ramp up the right level of energy to support that demand.”
Complex but secure
All those distributed endpoints must be secured, since cybercriminals will exploit any vulnerability. Denise Lee, vice president for Cisco’s Engineering Sustainability Office, stressed that security can also be undermined when too many vendors and solutions are deployed, adding to the complexity.
“There’s very few vendors out there that have the end-to-end architecture and portfolio that Cisco does,” she stressed. “And the security element to everything we do is inherently built in. When you start with a foundation of secure networking, it is much easier to build an ecosystem of solutions for various interconnected systems.”
Cisco has longstanding partnerships and customer relationships in the energy industry. And that deep experience translates into products, services, and support that can help guide energy utilities through this critical juncture in their histories.
Cardoso and his teams are staying ahead of the curve with solutions like Cisco Cybervision, Extended Detection and Response (XDR), Digital Network Architecture (DNA) software, and the Identity Services Engine (ISE).
As an example, he cites the automated alerts he receives from wind generators hundreds of miles north of São Paulo.
“Even with low bandwidth in that location,” Cardoso said, “CyberVision keeps a steady solid link with its communications. So, we’re in constant communication with how they are functioning and alerted when we need to be.”
Andrew Blair, lead telecoms engineer for ScottishPower Renewables, knows about challenging environments for wind generators, in his case the turbulent North Sea.
“The offshore environment is a very unique place with very unique challenges,” he explained. “We need a tried and tested network infrastructure that covers all elements of our operations and maintenance and provides a secure way for those elements to communicate. And that’s exactly what Cisco developed with us.”
ScottishPower Renewables relies on Cisco solutions like CyberVision, Cisco Validated Designs for Power Utilities and Renewable Energy, and Cisco Ultra-Reliable Wireless Backhaul, as well the company’s rugged industrial routers and Ethernet switches.
Cardozo vouched for that ruggedness when he described one case where heavy rains and flooding — increasingly common in Brazil due to the effects of climate change — failed to stop Cisco gear from functioning and generating data.
“The water completely covered the equipment in the substation,” he recounted, “but when we got there the next day the Cisco technology was still working, and the sensors were still sending data. It’s very strongly built equipment.”
Embracing the smart energy future
One thing is certain: energy demands will continue to rise especially as power-hungry technologies like AI continue to proliferate. By some estimates, a generative AI search platform uses 850 percent more energy than a simple internet search.
“As we move from the newness and panic of AI, we can get more pragmatic about the applications and implications for supporting AI,” Lee said, “we need to be much more practical and responsible about how we deploy that infrastructure.”
Given its deep and longstanding relationships in the energy industry and constant innovation, Cisco can play a major role in our planet’s energy future.
“What differentiates Cisco in this space,” said Doran, “is our unrivaled security expertise, our end-to-end portfolio, especially in our networking solutions, our automation, our management capabilities, and of course our IoT expertise as well. We can provide that connectivity, that visibility, that security across the entire grid network.”
Doran mentioned Cisco’s investments and innovation in everything from AI and quantum computing to wave energy and carbon capture solutions — all of which can contribute to a future that’s more secure, clean, and resilient.
But for a global energy industry that’s grappling with rapid change today, Cisco will continue to be on the front lines, helping utilities meet real-world challenges.
“From the control-center operations to the substations, which are really the backbone of grid infrastructure,” Doran explained, “and then routing the traffic across the grid all the way to those last-mile networks that connect people like you and me, as well as corporations, Cisco’s full suite of solutions can help customers connect it all, modernize their networks, and secure them.”
Given the relentless pace of change — and continued pressures from the climate crisis — the need for further energy transformation and innovation will only increase.
“Today there are so many places around the world where that grid isn’t smart, it isn’t modern,” de Wysocki concluded. “And with the extreme weather we’re seeing and the fact that so much of work and life are powered by the grid, I feel Cisco can be a critical enabler — to that smart, modern, clean grid, powered by the network, and providing a ton of data and observability in a super secure way.”
View original content here.
Today we depend on the energy grid for just about … everything.
But from aging infrastructure and spiraling demands to relentless cyberthreats and the added complexities of renewable energy, utilities have no shortage of challenges.
Digital innovations are critical to meeting those challenges. And in myriad ways, Cisco is contributing to an energy future that’s more sustainable, secure, and smart.
“Utilities and energy are critical infrastructure for any country,” said Kelsi Doran, head of sustainability strategy and transformation for Cisco. “And as cyberthreats continue to become more sophisticated, they can become a target for bad actors. If you layer on that they’re working off antiquated systems, the grid could be vulnerable in terms of energy, reliability, and security.”
The U.S. Department of Energy, for example, estimates that much of the country’s electric grid was built in the 1960s and ’70s, and 70 percent of transmission lines are more than 25 years old. So, much of that infrastructure is coming to the end of its useful life. Given the increased demands and threats that utilities face — along with climate-driven disruptions like storms, floods and wildfires — transformation to smarter grids is imperative.
“Forward-thinking utilities are increasingly considering digital technologies as a part of their architectures,” Doran continued. “It enables them to have better visibility into their entire OT network so they can do things like more efficiently balance the load of supply and demand. Utilities are adopting these things not only to accelerate the clean energy transition, but their digital business-model transformation as well.”
One of those forward-thinking utilities is CPFL Energia. Headquartered in São Paulo, it’s one of Brazil’s largest energy suppliers. And it’s taking the transition to its energy future very seriously. That includes sweeping digitization and a deep commitment to renewable sources like wind.
Security is, of course, an overriding concern.
“The energy companies in Brazil are a top focus for the hackers,” said Emerson Cardoso, chief information security officer at CPFL Energia.“And the Brazilian government has enacted regulations that demand better security measures. But Cisco has given us great support, and they are constantly innovating.”
Clean but complex
Renewable energy sources like wind, solar, geothermal, and ocean waves will be essential to reach the net-zero goals being set by many organizations and governments. But incorporating more renewable sources into electricity supplies can create new challenges. Whereas traditional energy is built around centralized power plants driven by coal or oil, renewable sources are more distributed, with wind generators or solar panels spread across wide areas in sometimes remote places.
“Utilities have to now handle all different types of energy, whether it’s traditional or nuclear or hydro or solar or wind,” said Mary de Wysocki, Cisco senior vice president and chief sustainability officer. “It goes from a very centralized model to now much more decentralized. That’s where networking, IOT sensors, and AI/machine learning come in, to give visibility and early warning signals that enable preventative management before an outage or threat arises.”
Renewable sources can also be less consistent than traditional sources. After all, the sun goes behind clouds and the wind sometimes weakens. But artificial intelligence and machine learning can help there as well, by optimizing generation and storage of energy in response to the fluctuations in supply and demand.
“Renewable energy can be intermittent,” Doran added. “It’s not the same steady output that you can plan for in a fossil fuel plant. Instead, we get energy when the sun shines or the wind blows. And so, we need the right tools to be able to ramp up supply to match demand and peak load. And this, again, is where digital technology allows us to have visibility into how much energy is being consumed, and then ramp up the right level of energy to support that demand.”
Complex but secure
All those distributed endpoints must be secured, since cybercriminals will exploit any vulnerability. Denise Lee, vice president for Cisco’s Engineering Sustainability Office, stressed that security can also be undermined when too many vendors and solutions are deployed, adding to the complexity.
“There’s very few vendors out there that have the end-to-end architecture and portfolio that Cisco does,” she stressed. “And the security element to everything we do is inherently built in. When you start with a foundation of secure networking, it is much easier to build an ecosystem of solutions for various interconnected systems.”
Cisco has longstanding partnerships and customer relationships in the energy industry. And that deep experience translates into products, services, and support that can help guide energy utilities through this critical juncture in their histories.
Cardoso and his teams are staying ahead of the curve with solutions like Cisco Cybervision, Extended Detection and Response (XDR), Digital Network Architecture (DNA) software, and the Identity Services Engine (ISE).
As an example, he cites the automated alerts he receives from wind generators hundreds of miles north of São Paulo.
“Even with low bandwidth in that location,” Cardoso said, “CyberVision keeps a steady solid link with its communications. So, we’re in constant communication with how they are functioning and alerted when we need to be.”
Andrew Blair, lead telecoms engineer for ScottishPower Renewables, knows about challenging environments for wind generators, in his case the turbulent North Sea.
“The offshore environment is a very unique place with very unique challenges,” he explained. “We need a tried and tested network infrastructure that covers all elements of our operations and maintenance and provides a secure way for those elements to communicate. And that’s exactly what Cisco developed with us.”
ScottishPower Renewables relies on Cisco solutions like CyberVision, Cisco Validated Designs for Power Utilities and Renewable Energy, and Cisco Ultra-Reliable Wireless Backhaul, as well the company’s rugged industrial routers and Ethernet switches.
Cardozo vouched for that ruggedness when he described one case where heavy rains and flooding — increasingly common in Brazil due to the effects of climate change — failed to stop Cisco gear from functioning and generating data.
“The water completely covered the equipment in the substation,” he recounted, “but when we got there the next day the Cisco technology was still working, and the sensors were still sending data. It’s very strongly built equipment.”
Embracing the smart energy future
One thing is certain: energy demands will continue to rise especially as power-hungry technologies like AI continue to proliferate. By some estimates, a generative AI search platform uses 850 percent more energy than a simple internet search.
“As we move from the newness and panic of AI, we can get more pragmatic about the applications and implications for supporting AI,” Lee said, “we need to be much more practical and responsible about how we deploy that infrastructure.”
Given its deep and longstanding relationships in the energy industry and constant innovation, Cisco can play a major role in our planet’s energy future.
“What differentiates Cisco in this space,” said Doran, “is our unrivaled security expertise, our end-to-end portfolio, especially in our networking solutions, our automation, our management capabilities, and of course our IoT expertise as well. We can provide that connectivity, that visibility, that security across the entire grid network.”
Doran mentioned Cisco’s investments and innovation in everything from AI and quantum computing to wave energy and carbon capture solutions — all of which can contribute to a future that’s more secure, clean, and resilient.
But for a global energy industry that’s grappling with rapid change today, Cisco will continue to be on the front lines, helping utilities meet real-world challenges.
“From the control-center operations to the substations, which are really the backbone of grid infrastructure,” Doran explained, “and then routing the traffic across the grid all the way to those last-mile networks that connect people like you and me, as well as corporations, Cisco’s full suite of solutions can help customers connect it all, modernize their networks, and secure them.”
Given the relentless pace of change — and continued pressures from the climate crisis — the need for further energy transformation and innovation will only increase.
“Today there are so many places around the world where that grid isn’t smart, it isn’t modern,” de Wysocki concluded. “And with the extreme weather we’re seeing and the fact that so much of work and life are powered by the grid, I feel Cisco can be a critical enabler — to that smart, modern, clean grid, powered by the network, and providing a ton of data and observability in a super secure way.”
View original content here.
MARYVILLE, Tenn., October 26, 2024 /3BL/ – Clayton®, a leading national builder of single-family attainable housing, has partnered with the Arbor Day Foundation to plant 60,000 trees as part of the legacy coal mine reforestation project in Kentucky and West Virginia, including the New River Gorge National Park and Preserve, as part of its larger partnership to plant 4.47 million trees by 2025.
This innovative reclamation project aims to restore native forests on former coal mine lands, enhancing biodiversity and combating invasive species across public lands, including the National Park, to help Clayton in its commitment to build a sustainable future.
“Reforestation is important in the National Park because public lands provide benefits to all of society,” according to Michael French, Director of Green Forest Work. “National parks provide a community with clean air, clean water, carbon sequestration and recreation. It’s important to the community to restore these impacted forests and undo damage that was done years ago.”
This reforestation project will restore over 96 acres of land, helping to sequester 17,222 metric tons of carbon dioxide, prevent 7.8 million gallons of water runoff and remove 59.83 tons of air pollutants.1
“As a national homebuilder, we recognize the importance of environmental stewardship and being a force for good in the communities we serve, ” said William Jenkins, senior director of environment and sustainability at Clayton. “We are proud to partner with the Arbor Day Foundation – their experience and partner network help to ensure Clayton supports scaling native species forest restoration in areas across the country, like the New River Gorge National Park and Preserve.”
“The Arbor Day Foundation is lucky to have a lot of great corporate partners, like Clayton,” said Dan Lambe, CEO of the Arbor Day Foundation. “These partners help us drive impact, drive scale and plant trees in forests and neighborhoods of greatest need. This work helps us change lives for people across the planet.”
These efforts are part of a broader partnership between Clayton and the Arbor Day Foundation aimed at planting trees in forests of great need. Clayton partners with the Arbor Day Foundation to identify strategic locations impacted by environmental degradation by planting trees to restore vital ecosystems and foster a long-term, sustainable impact. In September 2024, during Climate Week NYC, Clayton was honored to become the first home builder to join the Evergreen Alliance, a collective of engaged leaders in corporate sustainability. This program is part of the Arbor Day Foundation’s broader mission to foster environmental sustainability through conservation and reforestation initiatives.
Since 2022, Clayton and the Arbor Day Foundation’s partnership has resulted in more than 4.2 million trees planted, supporting the restoration of more than 8,300 acres of forestland.
Learn more about Clayton’s commitment to sustainability at
https://www.claytonhomes.com/social-responsibility/.
1 *Metrics projected over 40 years and reported by the Arbor Day Foundation, configured using USDA Forest Service i-Tree Tools.
About Clayton
Founded in 1956, Clayton is committed to opening doors to a better life and building happyness® through homeownership. A Berkshire Hathaway company, Clayton is a leading single-family, values-driven home builder dedicated to attainable housing, sustainable practices, and creating a world-class experience for customers and team members. The company’s portfolio includes a comprehensive range of site-built, modern manufactured, Tiny, CrossMod® and modular housing. In 2023, Clayton built more than 52,000 homes across the country. For more information, visit claytonhomes.com.
CrossMod is a registered trademark of the Manufactured Housing Institute.
LEED is the registered service mark of the U.S. Green Building Council.
About the Arbor Day Foundation
Founded in 1972, the Arbor Day Foundation is the largest nonprofit membership organization dedicated to planting trees. Together with our partners, we have helped plant more than 500 million trees in neighborhoods, communities, cities and forests throughout the world. Our vision is to lead toward a world where trees are used to solve issues critical to survival. Through our members, partners and programs, the Arbor Day Foundation inspires people across the globe to plant, nurture and celebrate trees. More information is available at arborday.org.
New Holland, a brand of CNH, showcased some of its outstanding equipment at the 136th edition of the Rural Expo in Argentina
Equipment for the agricultural and livestock segment was exhibited, along with the most innovative digital agriculture solutions.
“Being in the city, Expo Rural represents a unique opportunity for the little ones to learn about the production processes and take their first steps in the world of the countryside,” said Juliano Mendonca, marketing manager of New Holland.
Visitors had the opportunity to get on the exhibited equipment and got to know the “irons” of the Argentine countryside up close. In addition, the digital agriculture sector was of great interest to families, as they could live the virtual reality experience and play at being a combine harvester pilot. A specialist from the brand was available to explain how this simulator works, which was used to train technicians without the need to use real equipment.
New Holland’s “Women in Campaign” program, which seeks to make visible the role of women in the countryside, also had its space at Expo Rural. Those interested, subscribed to the MEC website, were able to participate in exclusive talks with their ambassadors and meet the women who are part of this project.
Originally published in Southern Company’s 2023 Sustainability Summary
Providing clean, safe, reliable and affordable energy to customers is fundamental to Southern Company’s mission. Our growing portfolio of zero-carbon resources plays an integral role in helping us meet these objectives. Our greenhouse gas reduction goals are to achieve 50% reduction from 2007 levels by 2030 and to reach net zero by 2050, consistent with the commitments of the Paris Agreement. Our goals are specific to Scope 1 emissions as they comprise approximately 70% of our GHG emissions profile, and we have the most direct ability to influence our emissions reduction trajectory through infrastructure transition. Reducing Scope 3 emissions, which represent approximately 30% of our GHG profile, is also an area of focus across our electric and natural gas utilities.
Effective Execution of Decarbonization Strategies
Through 2023, Southern Company has reduced Scope 1 GHG emissions by 49% relative to our baseline year of 2007.We completed the expansion of Plant Vogtle in 2024 – Units 3 and 4 are the first new nuclear units to be constructed in the U.S. in more than 30 years – and the Vogtle site is now the largest generator of clean energy in the United States.Since 2007, we have reduced the number of units in our coal generating fleet from 66 to 15 and expect to further reduce our coal fleet by the mid-2030s.By 2030, we expect to have over 20,000 megawatts (MW) of renewable and storage resources in our portfolio, a 4X increase since 2015.2Southern Company Gas is deploying a wide range of solutions to reduce GHG emissions, including enhanced leak detection and repair technologies, renewable natural gas programs and collaborative efforts to advance GHG reductions across the natural gas value chain.
Developing Durable Solutions for the Future
Electric Utilities
We continue to transform our business as we build a diverse energy portfolio, develop innovative programs and services for our customers and research new clean energy technologies. Since issuing our Implementation and Action Toward Net Zero report in 2020, which outlined our goal of achieving net-zero GHG emissions by 2050, we have made significant progress in reducing GHG emissions across our business.
Over the past five years, energy industry fundamentals have changed meaningfully, including fuel price volatility, rapid projected demand growth in our southeastern service territories, supply chain dynamics and legislative incentives, among others. In addition, the issuance of new federal environmental regulations in April 2024 impacts the energy mix needed to reliably serve our customers beyond this decade. As we strive to effectively meet our customers’ future needs, we continue to enhance our planning processes, which routinely consider a host of factors, including environmental impacts, safety, reliability, resilience and affordability, as well as broader social and economic community impacts. Infrastructure decisions made as part of our planning and regulatory processes impact our ongoing evaluation of Southern Company’s GHG reduction goals.
As we look to the future and aim to reach net zero by 2050, many of the factors noted above will influence the energy resource mix needed to serve customers. While the proportion of each resource may shift over time, the following key tenets remain consistent given our view of current and emerging technologies and economic attributes:
Continued assessment of coal-fired generating assetsThoughtful use of natural gasFurther growth in our portfolio of clean energy resourcesEnhanced demand response, energy efficiency initiatives and distributed energy resources (DER)Negative-carbon solutionsContinued investment in R&D of emerging clean energy technologies
Another critical element of our net-zero transition will be continued investment in transmission and distribution systems to support resiliency, reliability and the intermittent nature of renewable resources. As we propose and seek approval of new generating resources and energy-saving programs, our plans also include the related infrastructure necessary to deliver the continued growth in clean energy to customers.
Federal Regulatory Compliance
In 2024, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission issued new reporting requirements and regulations that we expect will likely impact the electric utility industry. Southern Company and our operating companies have engaged in constructive dialogue with each agency during the rulemaking processes through company meetings, industry meetings and formal comment processes. Our advocacy has centered on ensuring an orderly transition to net zero that also prioritizes reliability and affordability for our customers.
Subject matter experts across our company continue to evaluate the rules, including the opportunities and challenges to our mission of providing clean, safe, reliable and affordable energy. In the coming months, we expect our planning, regulatory and compliance teams to refine scenarios that incorporate potential impacts of the new rules and other factors, such as increasing customer demand. Our leadership, with oversight by the Board of Directors, will review and make determinations around infrastructure investment, retirement and conversion options that we can propose to our state regulatory commissions through established resource planning processes.
Spotlight: Southern Power’s Expanding Solar Footprint
In April 2024, Southern Power announced its 30th solar site, the South Cheyenne Solar Facility, entered commercial operation, becoming Southern Power’s first site in Wyoming. With this addition, Southern Power’s operational footprint expanded to 15 states. Southern Power also announced the 180 MW expansion of the Millers Branch Solar Facility. With the addition of South Cheyenne and the expansion at Millers Branch, Southern Power’s renewables portfolio will total 5,450 MW across 30 solar and 15 wind facilities. These projects align with Southern Power’s overall business strategy of strengthening its wholesale business by acquiring and developing generating assets that are covered by long-term contracts with counterparties with strong credit support.
“We are thrilled to announce the expansion of our Millers Branch Solar Facility. This renewable energy expansion represents a clean, innovative solution to help a diverse group of customers achieve meaningful progress on their own sustainability objectives. It’s one more example of how Southern Power is building the future of energy and meeting the evolving needs of our customers and communities.”
– Robin Boren, President, Southern Power
You remember epidemiologists, don’t you?
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, epidemiologists provided their expertise, whether it was to learn about the latest viral variant or advice on whether to go to the gym.
As we navigate a post-pandemic world, that guidance is still vital. What should the world be doing to stay prepared for the next outbreak or pandemic threat? What known viruses pose risk? What actions should be taken when a new virus is spotted?
The Abbott Pandemic Defense Coalition surveyed more than 100 of the world’s experts in virology, epidemiology and infectious diseases to bring their latest thinking forward.
Our own virus hunter, Mary Rodgers, breaks down the report and answers some of the top questions below.
Click here to read the full survey report.
So Dr. Rodgers, is the world prepared for another pandemic?
We asked this exact question – and 90% of those working in this field said we are the same or better prepared. So this is good news. There wasn’t always that big of a consensus among the survey respondents. Experts were split down the middle on whether they thought there was a bigger potential for a large-scale outbreak from a new pathogen (50%), like we saw with COVID, or changes in a known disease (50%), like H5N1, or bird flu.
What should we think about bird flu? Should we be concerned?
H5N1 is a highly pathogenic avian influenza, so it’s a virus the scientific community has been watching for decades, especially how it has been infecting animals.
In the survey, we asked the experts to think about the profile, or key characteristics, a pathogen would have to determine its potential to spark a widescale outbreak. “Highly transmissible,” “a novel virus with no countermeasures” and “silent transmission” were the top characteristics. “A known pathogen that’s now drug resistant,” “high morbidity” and “high mortality” were much lower.
We can think about this within the context of bird flu. Right now, the virus is not highly transmissible between humans, and countermeasures (tests, treatments and vaccines) do exist. So there’s consistent guidance from the public health community that the risk of transmission to humans remains low but we should be monitoring.
That’s why surveillance programs to watch for spikes or signals of outbreaks are so important.
Are testing programs like that already happening for new or existing viruses?
They are, but more are needed. Experts in the survey listed surveillance programs to identify emerging pathogens as the No. 1 gap in which we should prioritize investments to be better prepared.
There are several types of surveillance programs: there’s active surveillance, such as looking for symptomatic cases in health systems or traveler-based surveillance at airports or ports.
There are also passive surveillance programs, like wastewater surveillance, to have ongoing data of known viruses like COVID-19 or influenza. Countries can determine what surveillance programs will best support their communities in being prepared.
We’re seeing a lot of headlines about mosquito-related diseases like West Nile virus and EEE. Are these climate-related? How should we think about the risk of these outbreaks?
The changes in climate don’t cause disease outbreaks, but they can accelerate it, like kindling for a flame. Warmer weather and extreme weather events like flooding can mean more disease-carrying animals are moving closer to where people live.
One fascinating finding from the survey was that, with the climate changing, more focus should be put on mosquito-borne diseases. Sixty-one percent of respondents listed mosquito-borne pathogens as the most likely to pose a greater threat to human health as the climate changes compared with ticks, avian or animal pathogens. And 92% said it’s important to track insect ranges due to the effect on infectious disease outbreaks.
Dengue virus, a mosquito-borne pathogen, has been in the headlines this past year in large part due to the high level of cases in Latin America and Asia, as well as advisories issued on the potential for the virus to spread to more regions like the U.S. and Europe.
Members of the Abbott Pandemic Defense Coalition are doing research to see how a changing climate could impact where diseases spread. Understanding where viruses are located, how they are spreading and which ones might turn into outbreaks can help countries have testing in place to prevent further spread.
What keeps you up at night when it comes to being prepared?
The public health community has a tough job – how to effectively communicate the need to be prepared for the next unknown.
In terms of worries, the top responses experts gave us were: the need for increased trust among the public, continued investment in public health testing systems and the ability to track and identify potential emerging viruses and outbreaks worldwide.
There are many organizations around the world doing this kind of testing surveillance, including the Abbott Pandemic Defense Coalition. We are seeing examples of countries that are continuing testing programs to help reduce the spread of infectious diseases impacting their communities – including HIV, hepatitis and those that cause acute febrile illnesses, like malaria or dengue.
These programs are addressing health challenges today while keeping these countries prepared for potential outbreaks of the future.
The good news is that this survey suggests that the biggest challenge does not lie in the need for new technologies. Instead, we can take all we’ve learned during the COVID-19 pandemic to build a robust, resilient and enduring system that’s focused on identifying and guiding the response to emerging threats around the world.
Albertsons Companies’ Mid-Atlantic Division celebrated Italian Heritage Month with a special Festa Italiana event at ACME in Havertown, PA was an absolute blast! From Chef Scott Brown’s mouthwatering cooking demos to the delicious tastings of De Cecco Pasta, Mutti Tomatoes, Rosina Foods, San Pellegrino, and Talenti Gelato, every moment was filled with Italian flavor and fun. A live band and DJ kept the vibes high while a caricature artist captured some amazing memories. Plus, giveaways, raffle prizes and special in-store savings made it a day to remember.
See original post on Instagram and read more about Albertsons Companies and our Recipe for Change on our website.
