Tag: 3BL

KeyBank’s Key4Women Central New York Chapter held its annual breakfast forum on Wednesday October 9th at Bellevue Country Club in Syracuse. Theresa Slater, President and CEO of Empire Interpreting Service, was the keynote speaker. Empire is a language service provider serving domestic and international clients. It provides services both on site and in virtual settings for customers in need of Sign Language and/or Spoken Language services. At the forum, Slater shared insight into how she grew the business from her home office in 2003 to a multi-location, multi-faceted language service provider.

Slater was also honored by Key as its 2024 Key4Women Achieve Award Winner. The award honors and recognizes the accomplishments of women business leaders and their contributions to the Central New York Community. It is open to clients of KeyBank and is given annually to a female leader in the region who has achieved a high level of success in her profession, is a community leader, and is a supporter of other women in Central New York. In addition to the award, KeyBank also made a $2,500 donation in Slater’s honor to the WISE Women’s Business Center which supports women entrepreneurs as they dream, launch, and grow their businesses in Central New York.

Key4Women is an avenue of growth and advice for many women business owners and leaders. As a relationship-based bank, Key partners in helping our clients use every tool possible, providing them with access to capital while knowing exactly what best fits their business and financial goals. Learn more and sign up by going to key.com/women.

Learn more about KeyBank’s commitment to helping clients and communities thriveLearn more about how KeyBank can help small businesses

Cisco’s ability to advance ambitious environmental sustainability goals comes from leadership and our next generation environmental sustainability strategy: the “Plan for Possible” — a strategy that defines our key priorities to connect a regenerative future. Importantly, making progress toward these goals requires data and technology — specifically, our Sustainability Data Foundation (SDF). Cisco’s focus on data-driven environmental sustainability contributed to our recognition this week as an Impact Award recipient by SustainableIT.org.

Cisco’s Chief Sustainability Office team had the honor of accepting this award at last night’s SustainableIT.org Impact Awards & Gala, an event that celebrates outstanding contributions to sustainability in IT. This event brought together leaders from across the globe to exchange ideas and inspire change. And Cisco’s SDF was recognized for its success in enabling a data-driven approach to environmental sustainability.

The SustainableIT.org Impact Award is a testament to the hard work and commitment of our team. It shines a spotlight on a critical and driving force behind Cisco’s environmental sustainability journey—the SDF.

The Role of Data in Environmental Sustainability

The creation of Cisco’s SDF was driven by this core idea: to build an enterprise data platform that would serve as the main source for environmental sustainability-related data within Cisco. The SDF consolidates, analyzes, and integrates data from different sources and enables predictive modeling to support our environmental sustainability journey, as well as those of our customers and partners.

Progressing toward net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across our value chain by 2040, supporting customer expectations, and rigorous environmental sustainability reporting requires robust and actionable data and infrastructure to guide decisions across Cisco.

Our SDF does just that, playing an essential role across use cases such as:

Strategy & Performance: Providing insights to better track progress and develop strategies to advance our public environmental sustainability goals.Products & Solutions: Empowering engineers to make design decisions to support environmental sustainability and develop dashboards that provide insights and recommendations for customers.Go To Market: Supporting customer expectations for environmental sustainability-related data on the Cisco products they buy and recognizing its importance in purchasing decisions.Purpose & Reporting: Supporting transparent and rigorous environmental sustainability reporting.

The SDF handles a wide variety and complexity of data and supports the needs of multiple stakeholders — from CSOs to CIOs, product designers to sales teams.

From SDF Concept to Business Impact

Consider a use case that spans both product and go-to-market, a product carbon footprints (PCFs), which estimate the global warming potential of our products.

Our customers request this information from us regularly. In fact, there has been a significant increase in customer requests for PCF data, with requests doubling over the last 12 months. This reflects a growing emphasis on environmental sustainability reporting and transparency in purchasing decisions.

The SDF supports this with a streamlined, automated approach that reduces manual efforts. It allows account managers to upload a list of products and quickly receive formatted, easy-to-read results.

The dashboards enable users to explore the estimated PCF across the manufacturing, transportation, use, and end-of-life stages of the product lifecycle. Beyond this, the dashboards in the SDF provide graphical representations and deeper insights into the PCF data. Moreover, new sets of dashboards are being developed to track changes in PCF results over time, highlighting where improvements have been made and where further action is required.

SDF– Building on Success, Evolving for the Future

When we embarked on the journey to create the SDF, I was inspired to lead this project because I could envision its impact and importance. The focus on use-case-driven design enables us to support business needs and address critical problems. And, in two years, we’ve made tremendous progress. We’ve been able to use the data and dashboards in the SDF to make recommendations and provide insights to our customers and partners. We’ve also been leveraging the data in the SDF to streamline and automate GHG emissions calculations and build models on Cisco’s emissions trajectory towards our 2040 net-zero goal.

The SDF is supporting several key areas of our business. It currently provides data to 25 distinct applications and tools, offers validated insights through user-friendly dashboards, and has been recognized as a critical new component of environmental sustainability success.

In addition to this week’s award from SustainableIT.org, Gartner has cited Cisco’s SDF as a best-practice example, validating the impact and necessity of a robust data infrastructure in the environmental sustainability landscape. I’m incredibly proud of our success and am looking forward to advancing our environmental sustainability goals even further.

Given the growing complexity and demand for environmental sustainability data and its diverse audience, it’s critical that we consolidate datasets and make the data easily accessible and understandable. The SDF aggregates a wide array of data, from product operations and supply chain information to customer usage and third-party emission factors.

Data is a key to our environmental sustainability efforts. The SDF’s continued development is integral to advancing Cisco’s environmental sustainability strategy and supporting others on their sustainability journey. The SDF continues to evolve as we address the needs of our business and our customers.

For those interested in learning more about how data and technology are powering environmental sustainability, visit Cisco’s environmental, social and governance (ESG) Reporting Hub.

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At Trane Technologies, our purpose is to boldly challenge what’s possible for a sustainable world. We believe every job can be sustainability job, and every role is an opportunity for impact. 

Emma Van Fossen connects to our purpose through her work as an energy engineering team lead in our Energy Services business. 

When we think about reducing emissions, we often think of driving less or switching to an electric vehicle. But buildings create emissions, too. In fact, 40% of global greenhouse gas emissions come from buildings. 

Emma’s team identifies technologies and designs solutions to reduce the emissions of buildings like restaurants, stores, hospitals and schools. Emma works with customers to decarbonize—or remove carbon from—buildings, often through electrification—switching from fossil fuels to electricity as an energy source. 

She and her team implement technology like thermal storage systems—when we use ice tanks to store energy like batteries—and strategies like demand management—shifting a building’s heating and cooling needs to off-peak hours. Energy services also helps customers identify renewable energy sources to power their buildings.

Emma uses her skills as an engineer to develop decarbonization plans that help customers increase efficiency, lower costs and reduce emissions. And she loves getting to do this work with a team that really believes in the impact they’re making.

A culture of impact

Sustainability is integrated into every aspect of our business, and it’s how we grow. Our strong sustainability performance is a direct result of our culture, which continues to drive our competitive advantage. We’re committed to creating an inclusive, engaging and uplifting culture where we can all thrive and make a meaningful impact.

We are accelerating action toward our bold 2030 Sustainability Commitments and our net-zero goals, and true progress comes from people across our company taking action every day. 

Explore careers in sustainability at Trane Technologies.

At Trane Technologies, our purpose is to boldly challenge what’s possible for a sustainable world. We believe every job can be sustainability job, and every role is an opportunity for impact. 

Emma Van Fossen connects to our purpose through her work as an energy engineering team lead in our Energy Services business. 

When we think about reducing emissions, we often think of driving less or switching to an electric vehicle. But buildings create emissions, too. In fact, 40% of global greenhouse gas emissions come from buildings. 

Emma’s team identifies technologies and designs solutions to reduce the emissions of buildings like restaurants, stores, hospitals and schools. Emma works with customers to decarbonize—or remove carbon from—buildings, often through electrification—switching from fossil fuels to electricity as an energy source. 

She and her team implement technology like thermal storage systems—when we use ice tanks to store energy like batteries—and strategies like demand management—shifting a building’s heating and cooling needs to off-peak hours. Energy services also helps customers identify renewable energy sources to power their buildings.

Emma uses her skills as an engineer to develop decarbonization plans that help customers increase efficiency, lower costs and reduce emissions. And she loves getting to do this work with a team that really believes in the impact they’re making.

A culture of impact

Sustainability is integrated into every aspect of our business, and it’s how we grow. Our strong sustainability performance is a direct result of our culture, which continues to drive our competitive advantage. We’re committed to creating an inclusive, engaging and uplifting culture where we can all thrive and make a meaningful impact.

We are accelerating action toward our bold 2030 Sustainability Commitments and our net-zero goals, and true progress comes from people across our company taking action every day. 

Explore careers in sustainability at Trane Technologies.

The automotive industry, particularly the electric vehicle (EV) sector, is experiencing unprecedented growth. With vehicle demand at an all-time high, Statista expects global auto sales to exceed 77 million in 2024, signaling a major recovery by more than 13 million units from the market’s pandemic-inflicted slump of 2020. 

The global shift towards EVs is another transformative force. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), nearly 20% of all vehicles sold in 2023 were electric, marking a 35% rise over the previous year. Projections indicate that by 2035 more than one in four vehicles will be electric, representing a market share in excess of 50%.

Surely great news for the automotive industry? If only it were that simple…

Logistics networks, particularly traditional methods like Roll-on/Roll-off (RoRo) vessels and multilevel rail transport, have struggled to keep pace. In a recent interview with Automotive Logistics, Christoph Seitz, Global Vice-President for Finished Vehicles at DP World, describes the situation by saying, “The industry is stuck in a capacity gridlock, with capacity returning slowly,” particularly in North America, where rail shortages have worsened the issue.

Our recent 3BL article explored how manufacturing supply chains are adjusting to meet the EV market’s surging needs.  As the global automotive industry continues to rebound, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) are facing significant challenges around supply chain disruption, increasing consumer demand, and logistical bottlenecks.  

In the wake of the pandemic, vulnerabilities in traditional logistics systems—RoRo vessels and multilevel rail transport—became increasingly apparent. Stretched capacity in both methods led to delays and bottlenecks, especially in North America, where multilevel rail shortages caused inefficiencies and rising costs. 

DP World’s CiC: A Sustainable, Flexible Alternative

In response, the automotive industry has shifted its logistics strategies, with OEMs seeking solutions that address these challenges while aligning with their long-term environmental goals. In his conversation with Automotive Logistics, DP World’s Seitz shared how the company is revolutionizing the automotive logistics landscape through its “Cars in Containers” (CIC) solution. The initiative has emerged as a pivotal solution, offering a flexible and sustainable alternative to traditional vehicle transport methods.

The CiC initiative leverages 53-foot intermodal containers equipped with secure, reusable racking systems, allowing up to six vehicles to be transported per container. This method bypasses the capacity constraints of RoRo vessels and rail transport. 

“CiC is a lifeline for an industry that can’t afford delays,” Seitz told the magazine, emphasizing how this approach addresses logistical challenges while promoting sustainability.

By utilizing reusable racking systems and optimizing container space, DP World reduces the number of trips required, thereby lowering CO2 emissions. Eliminating the need to drive vehicles on and off vessels minimizes emissions even further. 

Transforming Logistics with Value-Added Services

In addition to containerization, DP World is transforming its ports and terminals (P&T) network into integrated logistics hubs offering value-added services such as pre-delivery inspection (PDI) and compound management. This strategic shift streamlines the entire logistics process, allowing OEMs to manage their supply chains more efficiently. 

DP World’s port-centric logistics model minimizes handling and reduces the risk of damage to vehicles during transit. By integrating CiC operations within its P&T locations, DP World offers a comprehensive approach that enhances cost-efficiency and reduces the need for off-site handling.

North America has been the proving ground for the CiC initiative, particularly amid severe rail car shortages. After successfully implementing the solution for a major OEM in Mexico, DP World demonstrated that transporting vehicles by rail or short sea using containers is both operationally and commercially viable. This early success has generated significant interest from other OEMs, prompting DP World to expand its CiC network globally. “We are now densifying our CiC network across regions,” Seitz said, ensuring the ability to address similar challenges worldwide.

Sustainability and Cost-Efficiency: The Perfect Balance

Efficiency in logistics is not just about speed but also about minimizing environmental impact. DP World’s CiC solution strikes this balance by optimizing container space and using reusable racks, which reduce trips, cut costs, and lower emissions. Although reusable racks may seem more expensive than disposable alternatives, DP World’s extensive rack network provides greater cost-efficiency. “Reusable racks can be as affordable—or even less expensive—than disposable ones,” Seitz notes.

This focus on sustainability and cost-efficiency positions DP World’s CiC solution as a superior alternative to traditional methods. By minimizing waste and reducing the carbon footprint of vehicle logistics, DP World contributes to the automotive industry’s broader environmental goals.

Future of Automotive Logistics: Driving Innovation and Sustainability

Looking ahead, automotive logistics is being shaped by trends such as the rise of electric vehicles (EVs), shifting geopolitical landscapes, and evolving consumer demands. DP World is positioning itself at the forefront of these changes by investing in EV battery capabilities and expanding its logistics network to cover the full EV battery supply chain, from transporting raw materials to recycling. “At DP World, our approach to logistics is deeply integrated with our commitment to leading the industry toward a sustainable future,” Seitz remarked.

As the automotive industry continues to evolve, DP World’s CiC initiative and its investments in battery recycling are helping to shape the next wave of innovation and sustainability in vehicle logistics. Through its focus on ESG principles and a commitment to circular economy practices, DP World is driving the future of automotive logistics—one container at a time.

Learn more about DP World and its finished vehicle logistics offerings, click here. To learn more about how DP World is meeting changing needs in the automotive sector through sustainable innovation, read the full interview with Christoph Seitz in Automotive Logistics.

CNH brand, CASE showed off its innovative equipment for the agricultural and construction sector in the 20th edition of the Agro Vidas fair.

This fair is an acclaimed agricultural technology event organized by Fundacruz, the Agricultural Development Foundation, in the city of Santa Cruz, Bolivia’s economic engine in the agribusiness, commerce, manufacturing, construction and services sectors.

The greatest advances in technological research were showcased in the exhibition that brought together more than 300 companies and the most important players in the agro-industrial chain to learn about the latest innovations in the sector, in the region.

At the outstanding stand of SACI (Sociedad Anónima Comercial Industrial), the official distributors in Bolivia, CASE, showed off the CX220C excavator, 721E loader and 575SV backhoe loader. These were the focus of the stand, recognized for their advanced technology, productivity and low operating cost.

“The 20 years of experience of Agro Vidas make this event the most important in Bolivia, generating high flows of farmers from all over the country, in addition to being the most anticipated meeting by the entire commercial sector to present the latest launches in machinery, agrochemicals and agricultural inputs in general. Each fair represents a new opportunity to attract new customers and strengthen the relationship with those who always trust us,” commented Boris Steinbach, Construction Machinery Manager at SACI.

“As every year, we are very satisfied to have participated in this important fair. We were able to exhibit the most representative equipment for the sector and connect with the customers who always choose us, in addition to capturing new business opportunities,” said Mario Rizzi, CASE’s commercial manager for Latin America.

Q&A With Jeff King, Bath & Body Works Group Vice President and Head of ESG 

As a global leader in home fragrance and personal care, we don’t just offer products and experiences — we’re also committed to shaping a future that’s resilient, responsible and filled with possibilities. Our efforts towards integrating our sustainability strategy into our business practices brought us closer to fulfilling our environmental, social and governance commitments, one milestone at a time.

In May 2024, we released Bath & Body Works’ second annual ESG report detailing our progress towards those commitments. This report included a Q&A with Jeff King, Group Vice President, Head of ESG, who shared updates on our journey and approach to creating meaningful impact for a brighter future.

As you think about the past year, how would you describe the progress made on ESG?

So much of what we do has strong emotional ties — helping people, building resilient communities and taking care of the planet. Because of that, we are often tempted to just hit ‘start’ on developing programs and taking action. In some areas of our ESG work, we are equipped with the right tools, resources and knowledge and you’ll read a lot about this throughout the report. In particular, we’re highlighting our investment in the personal and professional development of our associates and the impact and ingredient work we’ve begun in support of our Thoughtful Products pillar.

For other areas of our ESG work, I’m equally proud of the often harder work to set baselines and boundaries which will allow us to advance our ESG work and execute against our existing and future ESG goals. Our ESG data acquisition work and the design of our sustainable risk assessment tool are prime examples — these initiatives required intensive work and engagement across the enterprise and will enable us to work with multi-stakeholder organizations and suppliers to reduce social and environmental risks in the supply chain in the future. We still have work to do to finalize our baselines, but we believe we are doing the right things to achieve progress in our three ESG focus areas for years to come.

With new ESG standards/frameworks and emerging regulation in non-financial reporting entering the marketplace, how are you preparing for the future of ESG transparency? 

A key update you’ll see in this year’s ESG report is a shift in the data timing parameters — from calendar year in 2022 to fiscal year in 2023 and future years. This was intentional as we now know the expectations are to align the timing of our sustainability reporting to our financial reporting. Although we acknowledge we still have work to refine our data collection processes, and in some cases ensure our data is externally assured, this is the direction we need to go.

At the same time, we’re also thinking of how to make information more digestible for our readers and how we’re identifying the right channels to reach our stakeholders. Last year, we complemented our first ESG report with a complete overhaul of our bbwinc.com corporate site. We started to populate the site with information on ESG that we believe won’t substantially change year-over-year. This allows our ESG report to really focus on what happened and what we accomplished over the past year.

Understanding how important internal support is, how have your internal stakeholders responded and engaged with your new ESG strategy? 

Our associates are at the heart of everything we do, and our ESG work is no exception. The only way we will meet our commitments is by continuing to keep our associates engaged in our journey as they are the ones who will get us to a brighter tomorrow. While the ESG strategy we introduced in last year’s report was new for our company, sustainability was something that already existed at the company and in the hearts of our associates who have an incredible passion for making positive impacts inside and outside of work. The feedback we’ve received from our associates on our ESG strategy has been extremely positive. They celebrated the launch of our first ESG report and continue to ask for updates on ESG, which we’re delivering in creative ways, like digital billboards in our home offices and interactive learning sessions. We are also fortunate to have ESG champions in every corner of the business, aiding us in our journey to integrate sustainability into existing business practices. Their energy, thoughtfulness and dedication to our ESG work constantly inspires me.

How are you thinking about emerging topics, like biodiversity, that are bubbling to the top of sustainability agendas? 

We’ve all heard the phrase ‘the great circle of life,’ which is a simple way of describing the interconnectedness that is biodiversity, which sustains all life. We all have an important role to play in nature and biodiversity preservation to protect precious ecosystems — not just for ourselves, but for our children and future generations. When we were building our strategy in 2022, we thought about biodiversity impacts through the lens of climate change, but to make a meaningful difference, we will need to focus on biodiversity as its own topic because it’s an important part of what I believe will be our shared legacy. So, with our business partners, our ESG team monitors emerging issues like this, and this past year, we worked with the Environmental Defense Fund to develop a better understanding of the risks and opportunities related to biodiversity, as well as water. This research gave us a leading indication of how we can start to strategically think about biodiversity.

We look forward to expanding upon this work in the future and continuing to keep up with emerging issues to ensure that we’re staying true to our commitment to take care of the things that matter most.

To learn more about our ESG journey and to read our latest report, visit bbwinc.com.

Leidos participated in a ribbon cutting ceremony at Dover Air Force Base (AFB) in Delaware to commission the first of 168 electric vehicle (EV) charging points for the Department of the Air Force.

Why it matters: The event marked a major milestone providing the Defense Innovation Unit with multi-base EV Charging as a Service solutions, a key pillar in the company’s Electrify the Mission initiative.

Launched in 2022, the initiative is part of the company’s strategy to deploy advanced commercial energy solutions to help the U.S. government accelerate key energy security, resilience, and sustainability goals, which includes transitioning the Department of Defense toward a fully zero-emission light duty fleet.

The project was the perfect opportunity to leverage the experience Leidos has honed over decades in the utility sector.

Collaborating with an exceptional team of government leaders, we beat our own expectations, designing efficient power infrastructure to enable scalable implementation.

Paul Grimes, Vice President for Energy Infrastructure, Leidos

Background: Over the course of 11 months, Leidos designed efficient power systems, broke ground on multiple sites, installed and commissioned charging ports at three military bases including Dover AFB, and integrated FedRAMP-accredited digital and physical interfaces.

The project also saw the successful deployment and validation of the company’s budget-neutral EV Charging as a Service business model, a first for the U.S. government, and leveraged partnerships with world-class companies including ChargePoint and Shoals Technologies Group.

“With this capability, the Air Force now has a fully integrated, budget-neutral, and cybersecure solution that assures mission continuity as non-tactical vehicles transition to EV,” Grimes added.

Please contact the Leidos media relations team for more information.

With added options, Green Source Advantage Choice helps large businesses access renewable energy on Duke Energy’s grid

CHARLOTTE, N.C., October 24, 2024 /3BL/ – Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK) has received approval for Green Source Advantage Choice (GSA-C) in North Carolina, a program that provides the opportunity for large business customers to support renewable energy development by supplementing their power usage with 100% renewable, carbon-free generation.

“Green Source Advantage Choice builds upon the success with our legacy Green Source Advantage program that has allowed large business customers to make decarbonization a long-term part of business plans,” said Kendal Bowman, Duke Energy North Carolina state president. “We started with stakeholder discussions in 2022, and it has been a priority to develop an offering that meets the needs of customers while working within the regulatory framework.”

Duke Energy’s foundational Green Source Advantage (GSA) program supports renewable energy development by providing large nonresidential customers the opportunity to offset their power purchases by securing renewable energy from new projects connected to the local Duke Energy grid. The GSA-C program builds upon that with key modifications, including up to 5,000 megawatts (MW) of capacity – more than five times the capacity that was available under the original versions of the program. GSA-C provides large business customers with a path toward having 24/7 clean energy and enables them to count the renewable energy generated to satisfy their sustainability goals.

The program incorporates key new features including an additional bill credit option and the ability for customers to increase the capacity they can apply to match 100% of their energy usage. As a voluntary program, GSA-C is fully funded by participating large business customers, with no cost to customers who choose not to participate.

GSA-C continues to offer large business customers the flexibility of selecting and negotiating all price terms directly with a renewable supplier of their choice, including securing clean energy environmental attributes (CEEAs) generated by that renewable facility. CEEAs are comprised of both the renewable energy certificate (REC) and the carbon emission reduction attribute associated with renewable energy generation. Customers will have the option of combining battery storage at the renewable facility, and the customer and developer may choose a mutually agreeable contract length.

GSA-C offers customers several options, including:

Bring Your Own Purchased Power Agreement (PPA) – The continuation of the traditional “Bring Your Own PPA” option is currently available and offers 250 MW of capacity annually. 
 Resource Acceleration Option (RAO) – The RAO is available and modeled on the Bring Your Own PPA option but offers an additional 300 MW of capacity every two years. 
 Work with Duke Energy – A new ‘easy option’ allows customers to collaborate directly with Duke Energy on new facilities that will be coming online and operational in the future. These facilities can be Duke Energy-generated or operated and maintained by a third party. With planning and construction of these new projects underway, additional details on this option will be available in the coming months.

“The revenue from the sale of clean energy environmental attributes (CEEAs), or carbon-free attributes, means that Green Source Advantage Choice not only provides a valuable solution to our customers but allows all of our retail customers to share in the advantages of clean energy benefits – regardless of whether they participate in the program,” said Bowman.

Later this year, Duke Energy also plans to file Clean Energy Connection with the North Carolina Utilities Commission (NCUC). The proposed is a subscription-based community solar program that will allow for an additional way for customers to meet their sustainability goals.

Similar programs have also been approved and are underway in South Carolina.

More information: Green Source Advantage Program – Duke Energy (duke-energy.com)

Duke Energy

Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK), a Fortune 150 company headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., is one of America’s largest energy holding companies. The company’s electric utilities serve 8.4 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky, and collectively own 54,800 megawatts of energy capacity. Its natural gas utilities serve 1.7 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Ohio and Kentucky.

Duke Energy is executing an ambitious clean energy transition, keeping reliability, affordability and accessibility at the forefront as the company works toward net-zero methane emissions from its natural gas business by 2030 and net-zero carbon emissions from electricity generation by 2050. The company is investing in major electric grid upgrades and cleaner generation, including expanded energy storage, renewables, natural gas and nuclear.

More information is available at duke-energy.com and the Duke Energy News Center. Follow Duke Energy on X, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook, and visit illumination for stories about the people and innovations powering our energy transition.

Contact: Logan Stewart 
24-Hour: 800.559.3853

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Originally published on Aflac Newsroom

The journey after a cancer diagnosis often involves juggling schedules, managing treatment plans and trying to glean as much information from health care providers as possible — not to mention the emotions that one must process. Simply put: It can be a lot to manage. You can probably multiply that by 10 when it involves a child.

That’s one reason why Aflac created My Special Aflac Duck® — first and foremost, it’s a comforting companion for children ages 3 and over facing cancer or sickle cell disease. It’s also designed to be a helpful tool for communication for children, parents and caregivers during what can be, for many, a time of stress. In fact, My Special Aflac Duck was recently the focus of a three-year clinical study spearheaded by researchers at Emory University and conducted at eight hospitals across the country. The study, which included 160 patients, their families and health care professionals, was released in April, showing that My Special Aflac Duck helps pediatric patients with cancer cope with treatment-related distress and anxiety.

The My Special Aflac Duck program is more than just a cuddly robot — it also comes with a suite of resources to help provide education, comfort and joy throughout the treatment process. In fact, with the help of the My Special Aflac Duck creators, Empath Labs, Aflac recently expanded their online Resource Hub, which now includes:

Ways to play: This outlines all of the functions and features of My Special Aflac Duck and the app; facilitation cards for meditation, communication, medical play, etc.; and printable activities designed for play, relationship-building, empowerment and mindfulness — they also help provide distraction in busy environments.Information for medical professionals: Health care providers can review interactive use case guides to explore how My Special Aflac Duck can be used in different settings.FAQs and other support: This section provides answers to commonly asked questions and helps point readers in the right direction for more information.

My Special Aflac Duck is a robotic and cherished companion that uses medical play and realistic motions, and it emulates emotions to interact with children as they navigate their cancer or sickle cell disease journey.

As part of Aflac’s commitment to children and families facing pediatric cancer and blood disorders — one that spans nearly three decades and more than $184 million — the company has given, free of charge, more than 32,000 My Special Aflac Ducks to children with cancer or sickle cell in the United States, Japan and Northern Ireland.

Learn more about Aflac’s commitment to children with cancer and blood disorders at MySpecialAflacDuck.com.

Aflac WWHQ | 1932 Wynnton Road | Columbus, GA 31999

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