Tag: 3BL

Originally published on Illumina News Center

As you read this, a white box the size of a refrigerator is hurtling through space at 17,500 miles per hour (28,000 kph), shooting four lasers at the Earth 242 times a second. It’s called the Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation sensor, or GEDI.

GEDI laser beams travel 250 miles (400 km) down to a forest in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and strike a precisely targeted square of trees just 98 feet (30 m) across. Some wavelengths reflect off the canopy; some penetrate to the branches below; others reach all the way to the ground before bouncing back into space.

This technology is “lidar”—like sonar but using light waves instead of sound waves. In a thousandth of a second, the beams return to GEDI, which compares how much each wavelength was absorbed to build a three-dimensional map of that square, including ground topography, foliage density, and canopy height.

GEDI is one of several instruments mounted on the International Space Station that are taking constant measurements of the world’s forests. Another, ECOSTRESS, uses infrared light to read leaf temperature. A third, DESIS, separates visible light into thousands of specific wavelengths to see exactly what color pattern the leaves are reflecting—from which you can infer details about the tree’s internal structure.

And at the University of Notre Dame Environmental Research Center in Indiana, Professor Nathan Swenson and his students are cross-referencing all this information with genetic sequencing data from trees. By correlating extremely high-resolution images taken from space with the microscopic gene expression patterns of individual leaves, they are creating a map of the forest’s health to a degree never before attempted.

Don’t miss the forest for the trees

How did tree ecologists and genetic researchers come to use data from space? Their partnership is quite novel, and to find out how they got there, it helps to consider how their work used to be done.

Traditionally, ecologists have assessed forest health by going into the field and measuring a few key traits in sample trees, like wood density and leaf mass per area. Doing this can tell you a bit about how the tree responds to environmental changes, but it’s time consuming and not very scalable to the forest at large. So, over the past decade, Swenson has been looking into a new method: sequencing tree transcriptomes.

While genomics chiefly studies DNA, transcriptomics studies messenger RNA molecules, which convey instructions from the DNA to other parts of the cell. An organism’s genome typically doesn’t change throughout its life—but its transcriptome represents a dynamic snapshot of all the cellular processes that are active at a particular moment, and this varies depending on the organism’s current environment.

Swenson ran an experiment: He subjected seedlings in a greenhouse to different drought conditions, and then performed RNA sequencing to see how their genes were responding. The results, he says, ended up more accurately predicting tree health in the wild “than anything else we typically measure in ecology. It’s kind of a quantum leap.” Later studies confirmed a pattern: The ways that trees expressed certain genes under drought accurately predicted that species’ distribution in the wild under the same conditions. “You can’t get this information by measuring something as simple as leaf thickness.”

Not too long ago, this approach wasn’t feasible. Conventional wisdom held that gene expression in the wild is too variable and sequencing it too expensive. “Through time we’ve learned that it’s totally possible,” Swenson says. “We’re now at about a third of the cost that I used to pay per sample. These things are now within reach, and scalable for the types of samples that ecologists need.”

He was onto something. By going from the bottom up—using sample transcriptomes to predict plant response in the wild—he could, as the saying goes, see the trees. But to see the whole forest, and turn those patterns into actionable data, he’d have to go from the top down…the very top.

How inner space met outer space

In 2019, Everett Hinkley, National Remote Sensing Program manager for the U.S. Forest Service, met with Lawrence Friedl, then-director of the Applied Sciences program at NASA. The two of them saw a need for more open conversation between NASA and the government’s land management agencies. How could their organizations work together to address each other’s research needs, share data, and promote the integration of Earth observational data products into operational land management decision support?

The answer was the Applied Earth Observations Innovation Partnership (AEOIP), which now comprises representatives from NASA, the Forest Service, the U.S. Geological Survey, and the Bureau of Land Management.

In parallel with this collaboration, NASA’s Biological Diversity and Ecological Conservation (BDEC) program began looking for opportunities to work with Illumina, since they believe that any aspect of plant health—susceptibility to disease, tolerance to climatic variation, and so on—comes down to genetic variation.

In 2023 they came upon a perfect fit for a BDEC program grant: a proposal from Nathan Swenson to monitor biodiversity by combining space station sensor readings with transcriptome sequences. AEOIP representative Sabrina Delgado Arias, an employee of Science Systems and Applications Inc. at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, agreed that it could complement work being done by the U.S. Forest Service to map not just drought stress and wildfire risk, but the spread of invasive pests as well.

The key to linking inner space with outer space, it turns out, is leaf reflectance. The way leaves reflect light is strongly correlated with their chemical structure. So from a high enough vantage point, at a fine enough resolution, you could literally map how genetic expression for an entire forest changes over time. Swenson says, “It’s a cool science trick…if you can do it.”

Taking vital signs from orbit

The three space station instruments used by the project each fill in one part of the picture. GEDI’s lidar, which reveals the forest’s structure, can show where trees might be losing branches due to sickness. ECOSTRESS’s infrared sensors take the trees’ temperature, which correlates with how much water they’re retaining and their degree of drought stress. And the color patterns detected by DESIS directly reflect the trees’ chemical structure due to transcriptomic variation.

For example: The emerald ash borer beetle lays its eggs beneath tree bark, and when they hatch, the larvae feed on the tree’s interior. It’s especially harmful in North America and Europe, where ash trees haven’t evolved natural defenses against it. The external signs of an infestation are often too subtle for the human eye—but they are revealed in leaf color pattern.

The same principle holds for oak wilt disease, a fungal infection. By the time an oak shows obvious effects, it’s too late to save it. But the shortwave infrared spectrum reflected by its leaves can show early warning signs.

This work is among the first ever taken of its kind. NASA is currently building a library of spectral characteristics for every plant species in the world, which can ultimately be compared with the recorded genomic variation of that species for even richer insights.

Jeff “Frenchy” Morisette, manager of the Human Dimensions Program at the Forest Service’s Rocky Mountain Research Station and a NASA alum himself, is optimistic about the potential applications his agency could put into practice based on this research. “Genetics is as fine a tool as we have to understand why things are happening at the structural level,” he says.

Bringing together the best technology and expertise across the sciences

The information-gathering phase of Swenson’s project is well underway. With the help of custom tools, expertise, and materials from Illumina, his team at the University of Notre Dame has transcriptomic data from leaf samples collected on site in Wisconsin and Michigan. They’re waiting their turn to download orbital imagery taken from the space station this summer, and they plan to begin building statistical models based on the data this fall.

Linking biological variables to remote sensing information massively expands the scope of their research, and everyone involved through AEOIP is buoyed by the promise it holds for changing the way ecologists work. When it comes to applying these extremely cutting-edge technologies for the sake of improving lives and livelihoods across the world, the possibilities seem endless.

“The problems of today are large scale,” Swenson says. “There are very few people working on this type of problem, and it really excited me to not stay within our silo to answer these fundamental questions, but to bring in the best technology available from multiple disciplines.”

Originally published on U.S. Bank company blog

V3 Sports in North Minneapolis opened a community-inspired health and wellness facility in June and the nonprofit already has more than 900 members.

“Our goal for the year was 600,” said executive director Malik Rucker. “This speaks to the community’s desire and demand for quality facilities in North Minneapolis. There is a need here. We are 92 percent North Siders as far as membership; we are hitting our target audience.”

V3 started in 2007 as a triathlon team that competed locally and at the national level. Through working with students and their families, founding director Erika Binger realized there was a lack of infrastructure for water safety in North Minneapolis.

She and other leaders began to explore how they could create a space for the team to operate in year-round and provide other needed resources to the area. (For more, see the video above.)

North Minneapolis, close to the U.S. Bank headquarters, is a geographic area where the bank is focused on place-based investing, a concentrated, long-term effort that involves community co-design with strategic partners to help build wealth in low-to-moderate income communities and communities of color.

The U.S. Bank Foundation awarded a $100,000 grant to V3 because of its mission to elevate the North Minneapolis community through fitness, wellness and education.

The organization is living out its mission through its 40,000-square-foot, multi-phased, mixed-use facility that includes a 25-yard instructional swimming pool for children and adults, a hydrotherapy pool, a Boys & Girls Club, a fitness center with drop-in childcare, a workforce development center featuring a job training facility, and an entrepreneurial incubator space.

“V3 is a one-of-a-kind facility that creates space for the community to come together, for individuals to grow personally, and to attract business and economic development opportunities to the region,” said U.S. Bank community affairs manager Sofia Terzic.

“The leadership at V3, led by Malik and Erika, has built the vision of V3 by listening to community, which is something we highly value at U.S. Bank,” Terzic said. “They use the facility to elevate community and individuals. We are excited to support V3 as it supports the growth and prosperity of North Minneapolis and its residents.”

In addition, U.S. Bancorp Impact Finance made an investment of $1.8 million in New Markets Tax Credits (NMTC) equity to help finance the first phase of V3’s growth plans and provided a $35,000 grant.

“Our investment provides equitable access to health and wellness resources for North Minneapolis residents and helps to close the opportunity gaps of investment and infrastructure between downtown and North Minneapolis,” said Dan Blocher, Impact Finance senior vice president and business development officer.

Rucker said that NMTCs can be a difficult form of financing but, “we made it work and now look at what’s happening at V3. We are very thankful.”

In addition to U.S. Bank Foundation support for V3, funds have supported other nonprofits doing work in North Minneapolis, including Playworks and Minneapolis Parks Foundation.

The investments made in all three organizations are part of U.S. Bank’s concentrated, long-term focus in North Minneapolis to leverage the bank’s array of products and services to drive lasting impact, help create safe recreation opportunities, and build thriving communities.”

“We are focused on powering potential, and that guides our strategy for community relationships,” Terzic said. “As a crucial neighborhood in our headquarters market, we are committed to supporting North Minneapolis so the community and its residents can thrive.”

According to Rucker, V3 now employs nearly 70 people and as phase two is completed, approximately 100 jobs will have been created.

“The jobs being created and the geographic location are intended to have a spillover effect in bringing economic activity to the Plymouth Avenue corridor – where our facility sits – in North Minneapolis,” he said.

Phase two will add 200,000 square feet and is expected to break ground in approximately one year. Plans include the installation of a 50-meter competition pool used in the 2020 U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials in Omaha, Nebraska, with the intent to create a regional swimming hub in North Minneapolis.

“U.S. Bank is really the only company so far that has walked alongside us – a testament to how the organization listens to the community and invests in businesses,” Rucker said. “Place-based investing is building out a community with community, in community.”

*U.S. Bank Foundation is a tax-exempt private foundation described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. The Foundation is funded primarily through contributions from U.S. Bank National Association and its affiliates and subsidiaries. The Foundation’s mission is to close the gaps between people and possibility in the areas of work, home and play.

Originally published on Illumina News Center

As you read this, a white box the size of a refrigerator is hurtling through space at 17,500 miles per hour (28,000 kph), shooting four lasers at the Earth 242 times a second. It’s called the Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation sensor, or GEDI.

GEDI laser beams travel 250 miles (400 km) down to a forest in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and strike a precisely targeted square of trees just 98 feet (30 m) across. Some wavelengths reflect off the canopy; some penetrate to the branches below; others reach all the way to the ground before bouncing back into space.

This technology is “lidar”—like sonar but using light waves instead of sound waves. In a thousandth of a second, the beams return to GEDI, which compares how much each wavelength was absorbed to build a three-dimensional map of that square, including ground topography, foliage density, and canopy height.

GEDI is one of several instruments mounted on the International Space Station that are taking constant measurements of the world’s forests. Another, ECOSTRESS, uses infrared light to read leaf temperature. A third, DESIS, separates visible light into thousands of specific wavelengths to see exactly what color pattern the leaves are reflecting—from which you can infer details about the tree’s internal structure.

And at the University of Notre Dame Environmental Research Center in Indiana, Professor Nathan Swenson and his students are cross-referencing all this information with genetic sequencing data from trees. By correlating extremely high-resolution images taken from space with the microscopic gene expression patterns of individual leaves, they are creating a map of the forest’s health to a degree never before attempted.

Don’t miss the forest for the trees

How did tree ecologists and genetic researchers come to use data from space? Their partnership is quite novel, and to find out how they got there, it helps to consider how their work used to be done.

Traditionally, ecologists have assessed forest health by going into the field and measuring a few key traits in sample trees, like wood density and leaf mass per area. Doing this can tell you a bit about how the tree responds to environmental changes, but it’s time consuming and not very scalable to the forest at large. So, over the past decade, Swenson has been looking into a new method: sequencing tree transcriptomes.

While genomics chiefly studies DNA, transcriptomics studies messenger RNA molecules, which convey instructions from the DNA to other parts of the cell. An organism’s genome typically doesn’t change throughout its life—but its transcriptome represents a dynamic snapshot of all the cellular processes that are active at a particular moment, and this varies depending on the organism’s current environment.

Swenson ran an experiment: He subjected seedlings in a greenhouse to different drought conditions, and then performed RNA sequencing to see how their genes were responding. The results, he says, ended up more accurately predicting tree health in the wild “than anything else we typically measure in ecology. It’s kind of a quantum leap.” Later studies confirmed a pattern: The ways that trees expressed certain genes under drought accurately predicted that species’ distribution in the wild under the same conditions. “You can’t get this information by measuring something as simple as leaf thickness.”

Not too long ago, this approach wasn’t feasible. Conventional wisdom held that gene expression in the wild is too variable and sequencing it too expensive. “Through time we’ve learned that it’s totally possible,” Swenson says. “We’re now at about a third of the cost that I used to pay per sample. These things are now within reach, and scalable for the types of samples that ecologists need.”

He was onto something. By going from the bottom up—using sample transcriptomes to predict plant response in the wild—he could, as the saying goes, see the trees. But to see the whole forest, and turn those patterns into actionable data, he’d have to go from the top down…the very top.

How inner space met outer space

In 2019, Everett Hinkley, National Remote Sensing Program manager for the U.S. Forest Service, met with Lawrence Friedl, then-director of the Applied Sciences program at NASA. The two of them saw a need for more open conversation between NASA and the government’s land management agencies. How could their organizations work together to address each other’s research needs, share data, and promote the integration of Earth observational data products into operational land management decision support?

The answer was the Applied Earth Observations Innovation Partnership (AEOIP), which now comprises representatives from NASA, the Forest Service, the U.S. Geological Survey, and the Bureau of Land Management.

In parallel with this collaboration, NASA’s Biological Diversity and Ecological Conservation (BDEC) program began looking for opportunities to work with Illumina, since they believe that any aspect of plant health—susceptibility to disease, tolerance to climatic variation, and so on—comes down to genetic variation.

In 2023 they came upon a perfect fit for a BDEC program grant: a proposal from Nathan Swenson to monitor biodiversity by combining space station sensor readings with transcriptome sequences. AEOIP representative Sabrina Delgado Arias, an employee of Science Systems and Applications Inc. at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, agreed that it could complement work being done by the U.S. Forest Service to map not just drought stress and wildfire risk, but the spread of invasive pests as well.

The key to linking inner space with outer space, it turns out, is leaf reflectance. The way leaves reflect light is strongly correlated with their chemical structure. So from a high enough vantage point, at a fine enough resolution, you could literally map how genetic expression for an entire forest changes over time. Swenson says, “It’s a cool science trick…if you can do it.”

Taking vital signs from orbit

The three space station instruments used by the project each fill in one part of the picture. GEDI’s lidar, which reveals the forest’s structure, can show where trees might be losing branches due to sickness. ECOSTRESS’s infrared sensors take the trees’ temperature, which correlates with how much water they’re retaining and their degree of drought stress. And the color patterns detected by DESIS directly reflect the trees’ chemical structure due to transcriptomic variation.

For example: The emerald ash borer beetle lays its eggs beneath tree bark, and when they hatch, the larvae feed on the tree’s interior. It’s especially harmful in North America and Europe, where ash trees haven’t evolved natural defenses against it. The external signs of an infestation are often too subtle for the human eye—but they are revealed in leaf color pattern.

The same principle holds for oak wilt disease, a fungal infection. By the time an oak shows obvious effects, it’s too late to save it. But the shortwave infrared spectrum reflected by its leaves can show early warning signs.

This work is among the first ever taken of its kind. NASA is currently building a library of spectral characteristics for every plant species in the world, which can ultimately be compared with the recorded genomic variation of that species for even richer insights.

Jeff “Frenchy” Morisette, manager of the Human Dimensions Program at the Forest Service’s Rocky Mountain Research Station and a NASA alum himself, is optimistic about the potential applications his agency could put into practice based on this research. “Genetics is as fine a tool as we have to understand why things are happening at the structural level,” he says.

Bringing together the best technology and expertise across the sciences

The information-gathering phase of Swenson’s project is well underway. With the help of custom tools, expertise, and materials from Illumina, his team at the University of Notre Dame has transcriptomic data from leaf samples collected on site in Wisconsin and Michigan. They’re waiting their turn to download orbital imagery taken from the space station this summer, and they plan to begin building statistical models based on the data this fall.

Linking biological variables to remote sensing information massively expands the scope of their research, and everyone involved through AEOIP is buoyed by the promise it holds for changing the way ecologists work. When it comes to applying these extremely cutting-edge technologies for the sake of improving lives and livelihoods across the world, the possibilities seem endless.

“The problems of today are large scale,” Swenson says. “There are very few people working on this type of problem, and it really excited me to not stay within our silo to answer these fundamental questions, but to bring in the best technology available from multiple disciplines.”

CINCINNATI, September 25, 2024 /3BL/ — Fifth Third’s longstanding leadership in sustainability in the financial services sector has earned the bank recognition by USA Today as among America’s Climate Leaders 2024.

The publication’s second annual rankings, published in partnership with Statista, Inc., provide a data-driven metric of companies that have significantly decreased their GHG emissions between 2020 and 2024. The list includes U.S. based companies with more than $50 million in revenue that reported their GHG emissions independently. To make the list, those companies must have reduced their emissions intensity (GHG emissions divided by revenue) by 3% year-to-year.

“Fifth Third has been focused on driving sustainability for more than a decade,” said Pratik Raval, chief sustainability officer for Fifth Third. “We take a three-pronged strategic approach to addressing climate change through leading the transition to a sustainable future, managing climate-related risks, and reducing our environmental footprint. We are proud to be an industry leader in each of these areas.”

Fifth Third has reduced greenhouse gas emissions in the areas of building operations, corporate transport and business travel by 48% since 2014. Fifth Third measures and reports on its corporate greenhouse gas emissions using the Greenhouse Gas Protocol methodology with third-party verification of its calculations. 

In late August, Fifth Third also celebrated five years of 100% renewable power. This effort began with a virtual power purchase agreement with the Aulander Holloman solar facility in North Carolina. In 2023, the solar power generation from the facility was more than 190,000 megawatt hours – enough to power over 25,000 homes, or the equivalent of emissions from over 29,000 passenger vehicles.

Fifth Third has committed to reducing energy usage across its 11-state footprint by 40% by 2030. The bank exceeded that goal last year, achieving a 45% reduction in energy usage through improved use of space and the sustainability of new construction, renovation and facility-related operations and maintenance practices, including adding advanced building control technology to more than 600 locations.

“We are proud to have reduced our portfolio-wide energy usage by 45% over the past decade, and we continue to deploy new technologies and processes to help operate all of our facilities more efficiently,” said Thomas Neltner, director of enterprise workplace services and chief security officer for Fifth Third.

As part of its sustainability commitment, Fifth Third has also set a target of providing $100 billion in environmental and social finance (sustainable finance) by 2030. The bank has provided $37.6 billion in sustainable finance to-date, including $1.3 billion in lending and capital-raising for renewable energy products in 2023, and continues to make progress towards the goal. 

As part of the bank’s commitment to provide transparency and data aligned to industry standards for all its stakeholders, Fifth Third has published its sustainability data in its 2023 Sustainability Report, which aligns with the GRI Index, the SASB standards, and the Stakeholder Capitalism Metrics index. The data is publicly available on Fifth Third’s Investor Relations website.

###

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

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

CONTACT
Amanda Nageleisen (Media Relations)
amanda.nageleisen@53.com

Matt Curoe (Investor Relations) 
matthew.curoe@53.com | 513-534-2345

AI has the potential to significantly bolster sustainability efforts.But we should not view it as a silver bullet — it also has drawbacks.Managing those drawbacks and ensuring the right return on investment in AI tech is key.

Originally published by World Economic Forum

The global community stands at a critical juncture. With 2023 recording the hottest temperatures to date, we are on the verge of surpassing the critical 1.5°C threshold above pre-industrial levels. The climate crisis is intensifying, and without swift, decisive action, we risk hitting irreversible tipping points.

Businesses must step up as key drivers of change. The convergence of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and sustainability presents a unique opportunity to accelerate climate action.

However, while AI is often hailed as a “silver bullet” for addressing climate change, it is important to understand its true potential – and its limitations. AI can help scale and expedite sustainability efforts, but like kryptonite, its energy demands could undermine its benefits if not managed carefully.

So, can AI propel us forward, or will its costs weigh us down?

Continue reading here

As a young gay professional, Terrell Parker spent several years working at the National Minority AIDS Council in Washington, D.C. during his 20s, advocating to help end the HIV epidemic and reduce stigma.

When Terrell moved back home to Indianapolis, he ran into an issue with his insurance that left him unable to get his prescription for pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP – a once-daily medication that helps prevent HIV infection. Despite his new physician submitting three authorizations for PrEP within a three-month period, each authorization request was rejected and considered medically unnecessary.

“As part of my work, I strive to increase access to PrEP so it was ironic that I faced the reality that PrEP wasn’t accessible to me,” Terrell says.

To compound matters, it was during this same period that he discovered he was living with HIV. “I was always proactive about prevention and treatment and felt like I was an HIV expert, so I couldn’t believe this was happening,” he recalls.

Terrell shared his journey and underscored the resilience needed to navigate HIV healthcare barriers when he spoke earlier this year at Gilead’s inaugural Global Health Equity Summit – part of the company’s commitment to improve health equity and advance access to care.

“I feel I can offer a unique perspective on the benefit of taking PrEP, what’s it’s like to be living with HIV, and now being on treatment to help keep my HIV undetectable,” explains Terrell.

Today Terrell works as the Chief Operating Officer at the Indiana Youth Group (IYG), the longest-running LGBTQ+ center in the United States. IYG offers services to LGBTQ+ youth in the Indianapolis metropolitan area, including assistance in accessing PrEP and testing for HIV and sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Last year alone, 10 young people were diagnosed with HIV through the program and then assisted with access to treatment.

The organization also focuses on eliminating stigma through its judgment-free environment and its focus on addressing the social determinants of health that prevent young people from getting the care and support they need.

“We want to make sure we support every aspect of their lives and empower them to use the prevention tools available,” he says.

Mental health therapy is one such tool available to anyone ages 12 to 24, regardless of their ability to pay. Community-wide educational sessions are available to IYG clients as well as programs that help support caregivers navigating their child’s LGBTQ+ identity.

The center’s long-term goal is to expand so every child within the state can live within an hour of an LGBTQ+ resource center, as well as to open centers in neighboring states.

“The reality is that stigma looks different regionally, and it also looks different in each community,” says Terrell. “That’s why it’s important to broaden our reach and open centers like this that are accessible for youth throughout the state and beyond.”

Originally published by Gilead Sciences

Climate change is both an urgent issue needing immediate action and a topic that requires long-term planning for positive transformation. Balancing these two horizons can be a challenge and key to making progress is defining a north star. Three years ago, Cisco announced its north star: a goal to reach net zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across our value chain by 2040, and in 2022 that goal was approved by the Science-Based Targets initiative (SBTi). In 2023, we revealed The Plan for Possible, Cisco’s next generation environmental sustainability strategy. Aligned with the work we will do to reach net zero, one of the key pillars in our strategy is accelerating the transition to clean energy.

As we celebrate our three-year anniversary, we want to highlight some of the progress we’ve made so far and look ahead to what solutions might be available to help us, and the planet, on our journey to net zero.

Our journey so far

In alignment with climate science, our net zero goal encompasses our value chain, which includes both our suppliers’ and our customers’ use of energy. Here are a few ways Cisco has been addressing this and actions you may consider to reduce your organization’s footprint:

Direct operational emissions: We are increasing the energy efficiency of our buildings, with a focus on electrification, to reduce emissions from our operations. We have also been working to transition our vehicle fleet to electric vehicles (EVs).Indirect operational emissions: Cisco joined the RE100 initiative, which brings together businesses committed to sourcing 100 percent renewable electricity. Beyond helping us address our own goals, joining RE100 supports our ambition to increase clean energy access and contributes to private sector demand for renewables.Value chain emissions: We also set a goal that 80 percent of Cisco component, manufacturing, and logistics suppliers by spend will have a public, absolute GHG emissions reduction target by fiscal year (FY) 2025. As of FY23, 92 percent of these suppliers have a public, absolute GHG reduction goal.

Note: Direct operational emissions are Cisco’s Scope 1 emissions; indirect operational emissions are Cisco’s Scope 2 emissions; value chain emissions are Cisco’s Scope 3 emissions, as defined by the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol. Learn more about how corporate GHG emissions are calculated in this blog.

What the future may bring

In our work to advance Cisco’s net zero goal, we are encountering many new opportunities that could potentially help other companies, countries, and even individual cities reach their net zero goals as well. Here are a few notable examples:

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and sustainability: As AI adoption spreads across different sectors, it opens numerous opportunities for climate change mitigation and adaptation through predictive analytics, data analysis, and machine learning. For example, AI can help reduce energy and water use through real-time monitoring and control.Climate technology investments: Climate technology aims to find innovative solutions to climate change, like smart grids that monitor and manage the distribution of electricity more efficiently, and devices that capture CO2 emissions. Climate investing has grown over the past few years, with more than 330 new sustainability, ESG (environmental, social, and governance), and impact funds launched from 2019 through 2022. Globally, annual clean energy technology investments are expected to exceed $900 billion by 2030, helping to spur innovation.Accelerating the transition to clean energy: Clean energy adoption is on the rise. Wind and solar energy overtook fossil fuel power in the EU for the first time for the first six months of 2024, and the International Energy Agency (IEA) now projects that demand for certain fossil fuels will peak this decade even without any new climate policies. Increasing the use of renewables, improving energy efficiency, reducing methane emissions, and enhancing electrification can achieve over 80% of emissions reductions needed by 2030.

Working together toward net zero

Progressing toward net zero is a task that requires the collective effort of individuals, businesses, and governments. We are proud to be leading this important work for Cisco, and to be collaborating with partners, customers, suppliers and other stakeholders to turn the vision of a net zero future into reality.

Visit Cisco’s ESG Reporting Hub to learn more about our environmental goals.

View original content here.

As the modern world continues to progress faster each year, we are facing both societal challenges and opportunities for creating a more sustainable world. Climate change, nature loss, social inequality, and public health are some of the most pressing issues of our time, and they require bold and collaborative action from all sectors of society. We believe in the power of partnerships to find the best solutions to big challenges. By working together with our customers, regulators, policymakers, and communities our products can help enable important applications that deliver on societal goals, such as transitioning to clean energy, advancing electronics and electrifying transportation, progressing a greener and more inclusive future, and helping improve lives everywhere.

That’s why we are leaning in and deepening our commitment to sustainability, putting it at the center of everything we do, from the way we operate our facilities, to the way we innovate our products, to the way we engage with our stakeholders and employees. We organize our sustainability strategy around four pillars: Environmental Leadership, Innovation & Sustainable Solutions, Community Impact, and Greatest Place to Work. These pillars are built upon our values, inspired by our vision, and guide our actions and decisions every day. We know we cannot achieve our goals alone, and that is why we are strengthening our partnerships as a way to accelerate progress. I want to highlight just a few examples of the progress that makes us proud and the partnerships that we know will allow us to go even further:

Under the Environmental Leadership pillar we are focused on reducing our environmental footprint and enhancing our positive impact. We set an ambitious target for 2030 to reduce our Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions by 60%, and we are thrilled that Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) recently approved our near-term target. Our Scope 3 target for 2030 to reduce by 25% per ton of production was also approved by SBTi, and we look forward to providing further detail on that goal in next year’s report. In this report, we celebrate that we have already achieved a 52% reduction in our Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions since 2018, and we are sharing our decarbonization roadmap to 2030 and beyond. Looking toward the future, we recognize that we must go beyond climate and understand our intersections with nature. That is why we partnered with the Wildlife Habitat Council in 2023 to begin assessing our impacts and dependencies on nature and continue that partnership through the launch of a Chemours’ signature initiative aimed at natural habitat renewal across our sites.

Through the Innovation & Sustainable Solutions pillar, we are developing and delivering products and solutions that enable our customers and end-users to achieve their own sustainability goals. We have already demonstrated that 48% of our revenue comes from products that make a specific contribution to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs). For example, our Nafion™ membranes play a vital role in hydrogen production, fuel cells and energy storage – three transformative energy areas. Through the Clean Hydrogen Partnership, an innovative public-private collaboration that brings together the U.S. Department of Defense, the University of Delaware, Chemours, Plug, and the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), we expect to further advance membrane performance in order to drive down the cost of clean hydrogen production and improve efficiency in converting hydrogen to energy. Further, the Center for Clean Hydrogen at the University of Delaware, supported by investment from Chemours and part of the Clean Hydrogen Partnership, will enable real-world fabrication and testing of hydrogen technologies at commercial scale.

In the Community Impact pillar, we are making a positive difference in the communities where we live and work. In 2023, we awarded more than $5.6 million in grants for initiatives that increased access to STEM skills, advanced safety, and created more sustainable environments within our communities – bringing our total investment since 2018 to more than $24 million. Our partnership with Discovery World Museum in Parkersburg, West Virginia, will provide a hands-on entry point to STEM concepts, activities and experimentation for young visitors. The Chemours grant helps fund Science Saturdays, supplies admission passes for underserved children and families, and gives Chemours volunteers the opportunity to share their passion for STEM with the next generation of problem-solvers while creating a pipeline of future talent for our industry.

Finally, under the Greatest Place to Work pillar, we are committed to living our values and the safety and wellbeing of our employees. We celebrate having 15 global regions certified as a Great Place to Work® in 2023, covering more than 92% of our global workforce. We also added an eighth Employee Resource Group (ERG) in 2023 with the launch of the Native American Employee Network. Our ERGs act as internal partners to help us recognize and celebrate the strength that lies in our diversity.

We are proud of what we have achieved so far, and we know that there is still more work to do. Guided by our values, we are constantly looking for ways to improve our performance, increase our impact, and strengthen our partnerships. 

Read the full Chemours 2023 Sustainability Report

 For more about Chemours and its 2030 Goals, visit our site.

September 25, 2024 /3BL/ – The Biomimicry Institute, a nonprofit organization committed to advancing a Nature Positive, inclusive, and regenerative world inspired and guided by nature’s genius, today announced the launch of its ambitious 10-year strategy at New York Climate Week.

Amanda Sturgeon, CEO of The Biomimicry Institute, commented, “Our new strategic plan acknowledges the critical urgency of today’s environmental and societal challenges, yet we approach these issues with optimism and enthusiasm. We are confident that biomimicry can play a transformative role in creating a Nature Positive future, where our solutions not only address these challenges but do so with a sense of joy and hope, aligning human systems with nature’s wisdom”

This new plan directly addresses three critical global challenges: climate change and biodiversity loss, the disconnection between humans and nature, and the pervasive ‘take-make-waste’ culture.

The Biomimicry Institute seeks to harness natural strategies, encouraging human systems to learn from living systems in order to develop innovative, sustainable solutions. The organization’s programs and AskNature Hive platform supports this endeavor by enabling professionals across various fields— business, designers, innovators, educators, and others—to integrate nature’s genius into their work to solve pressing global issues.

During New York Climate Week, the Institute will unveil its new 10-year strategy at an immersive event at the COOKFOX Architects Office. In conjunction with the strategy, a new website will launch to showcase this vision while providing a comprehensive guide to the future of biomimicry and the role it plays in building a sustainable world.

“This strategy is a significant step for the Biomimicry Institute, amplifying our mission to inspire and empower others to design in harmony with nature, fostering a future where human systems support and sustain the natural world,” said Kent Snyder, Board President of the Biomimicry Institute.

As the Institute looks to 2035, it aims to achieve several key disruptive outcomes through its strategy. Nature-inspired knowledge will guide the transition to a Nature Positive future. Human-built environments and working landscapes will offer ecological benefits comparable to those provided by healthy ecosystems. Nature-inspired Nature-based solutions will become central to addressing climate change and biodiversity loss, while new materials and processes inspired by nature will support the growth of a regenerative economy. By integrating Indigenous wisdom with Western science, the Institute also aims to rekindle humanity’s appreciation of and connection to nature.

For more information on the Biomimicry Institute and to learn how to support the vision, visit biomimicry.org.

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About the Biomimicry Institute 

The Biomimicry Institute is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization founded in 2005 that connects individuals to enable a nature-positive, inclusive and regenerative world inspired and guided by nature’s genius. To advance the solution process, the Institute offers AskNature.org, the largest free, living database of biological strategies for sustainable innovation. Recently, the Institute launched the AskNature Hive, a globally engaged community designed to foster collaboration and innovation with members dedicated to a Nature Positive future. The organization also runs the Ray of Hope Accelerator, which supports nature-inspired startups in scaling systemic solutions to the world’s most pressing environmental challenges. The Institute also launched a new collaborative initiative called Design for Transformation, which will pilot technologies that convert discarded clothes and textiles into biocompatible raw materials.. For more information, visit www.biomimicry.org.

Media Contact:

Director of Communications

media@biomimicry.org

Originally published by Robert Nieminen on BUILDINGS.com

[Editor’s note: This is the first installment of a two-part report on the inaugural IWBI Healthy Buildings Summit held in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 16th. Read the second installment.]

If you’re reading this, the chances are high you’re in an indoor environment, given that we spend 90% of our time indoors. Now, take a deep breath.

How certain are you that the air in your building is clean or at least not going to make you sick? Unless your facility is equipped with indoor air quality sensors, you’re probably not sure.

That’s a problem more significant than many building owners and facilities managers realize. And it’s a challenge that was addressed head on at the inaugural International WELL Building Institute (IWBI) Healthy Building Policy Summit held at the Georgetown University McCourt School of Public Policy in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 16, for which BUILDINGS served as a media sponsor. The McCourt School’s new building, designed during the COVID pandemic, has achieved LEED Platinum designation and was the perfect backdrop for the event, which was the first public gathering in the space following its ribbon cutting ceremony.

Continue reading here

Read the second installment of this two-part series.