Tag: 3BL

Abbott’s 2023 Global Sustainability Report tracks progress towards the global healthcare company’s 2030 Sustainability Plan goals to deliver strong sustainability performance across its operations – supporting the company’s central focus of helping more people in more places to live their healthiest possible lives.

Innovating for Access in Health

Innovation is meaningless if it doesn’t reach the people who need it. That’s why expanding access and affordability of care is central to Abbott’s goal to improve the lives of one in every three people on Earth each year by 2030.

The company’s Access and Affordability Design Principles, which have been integrated across Abbott’s businesses since 2022, help identify opportunities to expand the reach of Abbott’s life-changing technologies. Abbott also works across its businesses and in partnership with others to remove the barriers that stand in the way of good health, in communities around the world. A few examples of this work:

Because more than 80% of people who need a pacemaker require pacing in two chambers of the heart, Abbott introduced the world’s first device to offer beat-to-beat wireless communication and synchronization between two leadless pacemakers, each of which is smaller than a triple-A battery – opening access to leadless pacing for millions of people.We announced an agreement that will provide greater access to biosimilar medicines for more people in key emerging markets, together with global biotech leader mAbxience.In Tanzania, Abbott and Abbott Fund worked with the government to expand the reach of emergency medicine to nearly 1.3 million people – the latest results from more than 20 years of partnership. The cover of this year’s report features the program’s 2023 graduates in emergency medicine, reflecting our ongoing commitment to building local healthcare capacity.

Sustainability in Everything We Do

To innovate for greater access and affordability in health, we’ve integrated sustainability principles across our business. This is helping us make solid progress toward the goals outlined in our 2030 plan – from protecting a healthy environment, to building the workforce of tomorrow. A few examples of this work:

In the past year, Abbott achieved a 7% reduction in Scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions, making good progress toward our goal of a 30% reduction from our 2018 baseline, and established a $15 million annual environmental sustainability capital fund to support energy efficiency projects. We reduced our water use by 3% overall, and four sites achieved Alliance for Water Stewardship (AWS) certification. We also increased the number of sites sending zero waste to landfill to 53 globally.In our 2030 plan, we set a goal to create 1 million development and job opportunities for current and future employees and to create opportunities in STEM programs and internships for 100,000 young people. In 2023, we were already exceeding our expected progress – so we’re now doubling those goals for 2030.

See Abbott’s full 2023 Global Sustainability Report for more details on these areas – and to learn more about how we responsibly connect data, technology and care, strengthen our global supply chain and deliver product quality.

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The KeyBank Foundation is investing $250,000 in the United Way of Central New York’s Thrive at Work Program. This new, innovative initiative is meant to help individuals who are employed but face challenges meeting basic financial needs due to limited access to financial resources and support.

Thrive at Work will focus on employees in entry-level or lower-income positions at small- to mid-sized companies in Central New York. Following a six-to-nine month build phase, the program will offer financial education, low-interest loans, one-on-one financial coaching, and free tax preparation services, empowering employees to better manage their finances.

“We applaud the United Way of Central New York for their innovative approach to helping working people in our community overcome challenges and access resources and support that can help them grow financially,” said Stephen Fournier, KeyBank Central New York Market President. “KeyBank’s purpose is to help the communities we serve thrive. Thrive at Work is a program we are proud to help build and support. We look forward to seeing the ways this will help people and communities in Central New York grow.”

“KeyBank Foundation’s investment makes it possible for us to launch this critical program to assist hardworking families who are striving yet struggling to get by,” said Nancy Kern Eaton, United Way of Central New York President. “Far too many people in our community are one financial emergency away from a downward spiral. Helping people manage financial and other crises will keep people focused on work while they continue to move forward in efforts to achieve their dreams and build a more stable future.”

Specifically, Thrive at Work will provide financial stability and resilience for Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed (ALICE) individuals in Onondaga County, who represent 25% of the county’s households. The United Way of Central New York anticipates participants will show significant improvements in financial literacy, credit scores, debt reduction and savings. Additionally, it expects enhanced workplace engagement, reduced absenteeism due to financial stress, and increased job satisfaction.

“We are excited about the resources and education Thrive at Work will bring to our community, said Tamika Otis, KeyBank Corporate Responsibility Officer in Central New York. “This initiative will help working people in our region access the tools they need to help them reduce debt, save money and build wealth.”

Since 2017, KeyBank has made more than $700 million in investments in Syracuse and Central New York, supporting affordable housing and community development projects; small business and home lending to low-to-moderate income individuals and communities, and transformative philanthropy.

ABOUT KEYCORP

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 $187 billion at June 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 Member FDIC.

ABOUT UNITED WAY OF CENTRAL NEW YORK

United Way of Central New York, Inc., is an innovative and collaborative local nonprofit organization that drives solutions to the most pressing human service community needs of Central New York. Through our advocacy and relevant leadership, we provide options for impactful giving and we fund programs and initiatives that help create a thriving community. We are guided by our values of compassion, empowerment, collaboration, leadership, and inclusion. For more information, visit www.UnitedWay-CNY.org United, we do more.

Originally published by Sustridge

“I’m really excited about the potential of AI to really help accelerate our ability to mitigate the impacts of climate change, both in terms of tracking, reporting it, as well as actually helping through initiatives like I just mentioned with our Sustainability Accelerator Program, for example. We’re past the tipping point. The time is yesterday in terms of how we need to act on this stuff. We all need to do our part. So it really excites me. That’s why I’m at IBM.” 

– Jonah Smith, Vice President, Environmental Social Governance Strategy and Programs at IBM

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Grants will support 15 economic development organizations working to attract businesses to the state

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., September 12, 2024 /3BL/ – The Duke Energy Foundation is investing $200,000 in grants to support 15 economic development organizations working to attract business to the state and bolster Florida’s vibrant economy.

“Companies often consider establishing, expanding or relocating their operations to Florida because of the state’s economic strength,” said Melissa Seixas, Duke Energy Florida state president. “It’s a privilege to support innovative strategies that will build on that success and help ensure our economy continues to grow and thrive for generations to come.”

The Orlando Economic Partnership will use a $20,000 grant to develop a tool that will compare Orlando’s key business location factors to those of the 30 most populous large regions in the country.

“The Duke Energy Foundation’s grant will allow us to have a tool designed to generate new business development leads, create jobs and drive investment in the Orlando region,” said Neil Hamilton, Orlando Economic Partnership vice president of market intelligence. “Having access to this data will be invaluable to our economic development efforts, and we are confident it will attract new business opportunities and elevate Orlando’s standing as a top metropolitan area.”

Another grantee, the St. Petersburg Area Economic Development Corporation, will use $12,500 to increase awareness of the city as a business location – highlighting the Historic Gas Plant District – among site consultants.

“The Duke Energy Foundation grant will help the St. Pete EDC capitalize on this inflection point in our community’s growth,” said Mike Swesey, St. Petersburg Area Economic Development Corporation president and CEO. “We are poised to become one of the most desirable cities in the country for businesses, and this grant allows us to tell our story to key decision-makers. We are so fortunate to have the backing of Duke, who continually supports the economic growth that benefits our residents.”

A complete list of grant recipients can be found below, with additional details available here.

City of ApopkaCareerSource Polk/Haines City Economic Development CouncilCitrus County Board of County CommissionersCORE Business CenterCity of DelandCity of EustisFlorida’s Great NorthwestHernando County Board of County CommissionersHighlands County Board of County CommissionersNature Coast Business Development CouncilOrlando Economic Partnership/Foundation for Orlando’s FuturePasco Economic Development CouncilPinellas County Board of County CommissionersSt. Petersburg Area Economic Development CorporationTeam Volusia Economic Development Corporation

For more information about the Duke Energy Foundation, please visit duke-energy.com/community/duke-energy-foundation/Florida.

Duke Energy Foundation 
The Duke Energy Foundation provides more than $30 million annually in philanthropic support to meet the needs of communities where Duke Energy customers live and work. The Foundation is funded by Duke Energy shareholders.

Duke Energy Florida 
Duke Energy Florida, a subsidiary of Duke Energy, owns 10,500 megawatts of energy capacity, supplying electricity to 1.9 million residential, commercial and industrial customers across a 13,000-square-mile service area in Florida.

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 Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook, and visit illumination for stories about the people and innovations powering our energy transition.

Media contact: Aly Coleman Raschid 
Media line: 800.559.3853

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There are endless possibilities to what a lawn can be, and we believe that caring for it responsibly is essential. Expanding beyond the backyard, the definition of what a modern city can be is also changing. There are walkable cities, 15-minute cities and our personal favorite, sponge cities.

Sponge cities are starting to make headlines in places such as The Los Angeles Times and The New York Times. It’s a concept that is fairly straightforward.

A sponge city addresses the effects of climate change through land use planning and design. It relies on expanding the use of plants, green spaces and natural turfgrass in place of concrete, asphalt and impervious surfaces. Much like a sponge, turfgrass and living plants help absorb rainfall and heat. This helps to retain storm water and enable it to be repurposed. It’s a natural-based solution.

Why are sponge cities getting so much attention? 

As climate change and persistent drought impact regions of the country, people and communities are rethinking how they use water and whether they can take steps to help preserve it. This has led some communities to look at lawns not as a benefit to the environment but rather as a threat. This thinking centers on an unsupported notion that water resources can be better preserved if you remove turf and other living things.

Some communities have gone as far as restricting the use of turfgrass and green spaces, thinking such actions will save water resources. Others have even launched programs that incentivize homeowners to remove their lawns in favor of hardscapes.

The reality is sponge cities are a better approach to dealing with climate change and its impacts.

Why are sponge cities a better alternative? 

Living things bring many more benefits than non-living things, and this is critically important to remember when it comes to dealing with the effects of climate change ranging from excessive flooding to drought. Plants and turfgrass absorb water, while hard surfaces create more water runoff. Sponge cities further support the buildup of groundwater.

Sponge cities also reduce the urban heat island effect that happens when cities replace natural land with streets and other hard surfaces that actually absorb and retain heat. Heat islands can in some cases be 15 to 20 degrees warmer than rural areas at peak times of the day. A sponge city approach can help reduce those temperatures.

What are other benefits to turfgrass beyond the sponge city effect?

There are additional environmental benefits to turfgrass that are less overt. Specific functional benefits of turfgrass include soil improvement and CO2 conversion. In fact, a well-fed lawn removes two times the amount of carbon from the air in a single year than a tree captures in 10 years.

What’s the big takeaway for individual homeowners? 

Consumers should keep in mind that the very definition of a lawn is changing, and there are ways to care for it in a responsible way. Removing turfgrass and plants, and then replacing them with artificial turf and other hardscapes is not environmentally friendly.

How can people do their part to contribute positively to the environment and the sponge city effect?

People can do their part by planting, growing and supporting living things around their homes and yards. You can fill your yard with all types of plants to promote sustainability and biodiversity while reducing flooding and heat island effects.

There are more turfgrass options than ever for people to do this no matter where they live, even if they are in drought areas of the country.

Clover is an alternative ground cover option that requires less maintenance, water, mowing and fertilizer compared to traditional turfgrass varieties. Buffalograss, blue grama, sheep fescue and dichondra are additional ground cover options that can also provide low maintenance, less water or drought tolerant benefits.

Using living things and varieties of plants in people’s yards helps to create a mini version of a sponge city right at home.

Sponge cities, for the win

If it wasn’t clear, sponge cities are clear winners in our book, though we love walkable and 15-minute cities, too.

About ScottsMiracle-Gro 
With approximately $3.6 billion in sales, the Company is the world’s largest marketer of branded consumer products for lawn and garden care. The Company’s brands are among the most recognized in the industry. The Company’s Scotts®, Miracle-Gro®, and Ortho® brands are market-leading in their categories. The Company’s wholly-owned subsidiary, The Hawthorne Gardening Company, is a leading provider of nutrients, lighting, and other materials used in the indoor and hydroponic growing segment. For additional information, visit us at www.scottsmiraclegro.com.

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Las Vegas Sands

LAS VEGAS, September 12, 2024 /3BL/ – Las Vegas Sands (NYSE: LVS) announced that LPGA Tour pro Muni “Lily” He is the company’s newest champion ambassador.

The China-born He will work with Sands to promote women’s golf to a broader audience at its resorts and as part of the Sands Cares community engagement program, by highlighting women’s leadership on and off the golf course through inspirational appearances and talks.

She joins fellow pro golfers Collin Morikawa, Minjee Lee and Li Haotong on Sands’ roster of champion ambassadors who work with the company on sports-related initiatives aimed at creating exciting experiences for guests, promoting the company’s resorts and regions on a global stage, and advancing important community causes with high-impact programs.

“I’m excited to work with Sands as one of the world’s top hospitality companies and because of its major presence in Asia where we both have a loyal following,” He said. “We are in sync on our focus to promote women’s golf and bring inspirational opportunities to youth, particularly young women. I look forward to visiting Sands’ resorts and engaging with its guests and communities.”

Born in Chengdu, China, 24-year-old He’s golf journey spans across Canada and California, with her home now in Los Angeles. Boasting a decorated junior golf career, her introduction to the world came at age 16 when she qualified for the 2015 U.S. Women’s Open. A valuable asset to the University of Southern California women’s golf team, He contributed to its triumph in the 2017 NCAA East Lake Finale.

Turning professional at the close of 2017, He secured her first professional victory at the 2018 Prasco Charity Championship on the Symetra Tour. Achieving full status for the 2019 LPGA Tour through the Q-Series, she became an LPGA Tour Rookie. Notably, her exceptional performance in the 2019 Q-Series, shooting eight straight rounds under par, earned her victory as well as her LPGA Tour Card for 2020. In 2022, she once again qualified for the prestigious U.S. Women’s Open.

Beyond the golf course, He has garnered a substantial 890,000+ followers on Instagram, where she shares her journey as a golf athlete and influences in fitness and fashion. Positioned as one of the most marketable and exciting sports stars from Asia, He continues to captivate audiences with her multifaceted talents and unwavering dedication.

“As a successful professional athlete and lifestyle influencer, Lily is a tremendous addition to our team of champion ambassadors,” Sands Chairman and CEO Robert G. Goldstein said. “With her China roots, she will be particularly inspirational in our Asia regions, and we look forward to featuring her in our efforts to showcase successful women’s sports stars as motivating role models.”

About Sands (NYSE: LVS)

Sands is the leading global developer and operator of integrated resorts.

Our iconic properties drive valuable leisure and business tourism and deliver significant economic benefits, sustained job creation, financial opportunities for local businesses and community investment to help make our host regions ideal places to live, work and visit.

Sands’ portfolio of properties includes Marina Bay Sands in Singapore and The Venetian Macao, The Londoner Macao, The Parisian Macao, The Plaza and Four Seasons Hotel Macao, and Sands Macao in Macao SAR, China, through majority ownership in Sands China Ltd.

Sands is dedicated to being a leader in corporate responsibility, anchored by our core tenets of serving people, planet and communities. Our ESG leadership has led to inclusion on the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices for World and North America. To learn more, visit www.sands.com.

Contacts:

Kristin Koca
Sands
702.923.9142
Kristin.Koca@sands.com

Chloe Rothstein
WME
310.866.6917
crothstein@wmeagency.com

Originally published on 3M News Center

Will Jones had a major problem.

His solar-powered car broke down in the middle of the desert as the air temperature reached 119 degrees and the nearest gas station was more than 50 miles away.

Will spent about three years building his solar vehicle alongside three friends in hopes of driving across the United States. They nicknamed the car Sunstrider.

And now, an over-heated electrical board put their dreams in jeopardy.

But Will knew he was surrounded by great people and world-class technology. The group quickly banded together to fix the issue and get Sunstrider back on the road. They went on to complete their journey in the fastest time ever recorded for a solar vehicle.

“It feels surreal,” said Will. “We planned and prepared for years and then actually did it.”

Their achievement received national media coverage as they finished the coast-to-coast route in 13 days, 15 hours and 19 minutes.

The four college students from Michigan had some help from 3M along the way. Select spots of the vehicle were wrapped with a new pioneering technology called 3M Passive Radiative Cooling Film. This film can reflect solar energy and radiates heat back into the sky, helping to keep portions of the car’s surface much cooler.

An area that made the biggest difference was the driver’s cockpit.

“Not only did it make the cockpit cooler, but it also blocked the sun,” said Danny Ezzo, a member of the four-man team. “The ride would have been way worse without it.”

Today, 3M is evaluating this innovation on warehouses, data centers, bus shelters, animal barns, mass transport vehicles and more. Researchers at Arizona State University have partnered with the city of Phoenix to apply and validate the film’s impact in cooling many public spaces throughout the city.

“What we found from initial studies were some pretty substantial positive results in terms of these coated shelters’ ability to provide a better environment for pedestrians,” said Dave Sailor, director of the School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning and the principal investigator on the project, in an article on ASU’s news center.

The Minnesota Star Tribune profiled the technology after it was applied on the roof of a Minneapolis grocery store and showed a significant savings in refrigeration costs.

The film’s inventor, 3M scientist Tim Hebrink, says improving comfort while reducing energy usage was the driving force in creating the technology.

“My hope is that we cover the roofs of buildings and vehicles all over the world to improve human comfort and save energy,” said Tim. “Everyone can benefit from this technology.”

In my role at Trane Technologies, I’m dedicated to recruiting, retaining and developing talent for growth across our global workforce. Every day, my work is energized by our company’s purpose, to boldly challenge what’s possible for a sustainable world, and by the people who make it possible.

A purpose is only words until you make it real for yourself. We help employees find their own connection to our purpose, whether it’s innovating energy-efficient products, working with our customers to reduce the environmental impact of their business or finding ways to create inclusion and a sense of belonging in the workplace. Our global salaried employees also formalize their connection to our purpose each year by committing to a sustainability goal as part of their annual performance objectives.

Our uplifting, engaging and inclusive culture—a culture of impact that guides over 46,000 people who work in nearly 60 countries—is the foundation for our company and our purpose. It’s a way of being that differentiates us, connects us and helps us grow and advance our 2030 Sustainability Commitments.

Growth through expanded support

In June, I participated in an event with our PRIDE Employee Resource Group (ERG) and experienced our culture of impact firsthand.

Our PRIDE ERG group has been educating team members and supporting LGBTQ+ communities and their families for more than 10 years. Their advocacy recently inspired Trane Technologies to expand family benefits to include domestic partners, adoption services and surrogate and IVF support. This update opened up a whole new world of possibilities for our team members. As one individual shared: “My partner and I couldn’t afford IVF and didn’t think we would be able to have children … until now.”

Our team members challenged what was possible and asked leaders to explore and expand their understanding. As a result, they created new opportunities for their peers to thrive at work and at home.

Growth through innovation

In 2023 our Employee Resource Groups expanded globally, adding 800 new team members, delivered innovative content and engaged their members in a variety of heritage month celebrations, career development discussions, mentoring programs and recruiting and community involvement events.

Because our people share an authentic connection to our purpose, innovation also thrives here. In 2023, we launched 98 new products that are helping our customers dramatically reduce their carbon footprint. These innovative solutions also accelerate our progress toward our signature sustainability commitment, the Gigaton Challenge, the largest climate commitment of any global company related to product emission reductions within a single decade.

Earlier this summer, I participated in the opening festivities for the Trane Technologies Innovation Center in Oberhausen, Germany. The event celebrated the ingenuity of our team members in pioneering heating and cooling solutions for industrial and commercial buildings, advancing electrification and promoting new ideas in cold storage.

The Innovation Center itself shows how we lead by example. The facility runs on an innovative heating and cooling technology we developed that eliminates the need for fossil fuels while also reducing the site’s carbon emissions—the equivalent of the emissions generated by powering 100 homes for one year. This is the kind of people-powered solution that makes a powerful impact on our communities and planet.

The Gigaton Challenge is our pledge to reduce one billion metric tons (one gigaton) of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions from our customers’ footprint by 2030, the equivalent of 2% of the world’s annual emissions. As of 2023, we’ve reduced 157 million metric tons of carbon emissions from our customers’ footprint.

Growth through creating opportunity

We need talented people to solve the world’s most pressing challenges, grow our company and increase our impact. We also believe that investing in a diverse workforce is an essential catalyst for growth. Diverse teams tap into a broader range of perspectives and solutions, leading to increased innovation—the force behind our continued success.

To broaden the field of candidates for our global workforce, we have to challenge some of our traditional assumptions. In the United States, for example, hiring practices that rely on prior, specific industry experience or a four-year degree automatically exclude a significant pool of skilled talent, including more than half of women, over 60% of Black talent and over 60% of rural workers.

By removing degree requirements where it makes sense and challenging the idea that industry experience is always required, Trane Technologies is increasing our access to talent and opening new pathways for people to advance their careers. To date, we have removed the four-year degree requirement for more than a dozen roles across the company, including in business-critical roles such as account managers, plant supervisors, maintenance managers and transportation planners.

Trane Technologies was also named the first manufacturing partner to join the Tear the Paper Ceiling coalition led by Opportunity@Work. Through this effort, we actively work to create more opportunities for workers who are Skilled Through Alternative Routes (STARs).

To further address the skilled labor gap and build a diverse service technician workforce, we launched the Trane Technician Apprenticeship Program (TAP) in 2023. Registered through the U.S. Department of Labor, the TAP is a robust, nationwide, four-year paid program designed to attract and retain aspiring HVAC technicians, regardless of experience or education.

Our best is yet to come

Hiring and keeping the best talent in our industry isn’t just a nice idea; it’s critical for us to continue to grow and innovate for the future. My goal for current and future team members is to feel supported by our culture, connected to our purpose and inspired to make a difference every day.

One person, one team, one bold action at a time—this is how we create a culture of impact, and this is how we grow.

“In the past, we would be amazed at the decision of a married girl who is considering delaying her first birth, because it would seem foolish for her to do so. Today, we see that it is very well-founded for her to do so. Suppose it is a girl who studies at school – she will need time to assimilate her studies.” – Female community member, exposed to intervention, Djeda

Globally, around 13 million girls under the age of 20 give birth annually. Child marriage is linked with early pregnancy and birth, especially in the developing world where 90% of adolescent pregnancies happen in girls that are already married. Niger and Bangladesh are not the exception. Niger has the highest fertility rate worldwide with 7.6 children per woman. Bangladesh has a legal marriage age of 18 but the enforcement of this law is low, leading to a median age of marriage of 15.8 years old. This makes IMAGINE a vital project to address contraceptive use and pregnancy choices among adolescents.

IMAGINE was a CARE and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (2017-2022) program. Overall, the program took place from 2017 to 2022 in Niger and Bangladesh, it was a 3-year intervention period but the program in a whole was over seven years.

In 2017, CARE embarked on formative research, consisting of a qualitative study and a market analysis in both countries to:

Understand the barriers and facilitators that influence a married girl’s ability to delay pregnancy.Identify alternative futures that could motivate girls, families, and communities to support this pregnancy delay.

Following these aims and guided by a human-centered design, a multi-disciplinary team of CARE staff identified, polished, and prototyped potential solutions through building a holistic intervention package for each country. After the baseline study, the project launched in January 2019 and ended its implementation in October 2021.

What changed?

Saving money and making family planning decisions. For example, in the treatment group in Bangladesh, 99% of adolescents knew where to access family planning (97% control). And 62% of participants in both groups have savings.Adolescent girls use contraceptives. In Niger, 34.1% subscribed to contraceptive use in the treatment group, in comparison to the control group (19.1%). Also, the treatment group had higher knowledge of places to access family planning (FP) and visits to community health workers (CHWs) to discuss FP, in comparison to the control group.Giving birth and using contraception goes hand in hand. Adolescents who gave birth have a higher percentage of contraceptive usage in both treatment and control group. For example, in Niger the modern contraceptive use among adolescents who gave birth from the treatment group was 33% (20% control) versus 13% (4% control) among the ones that have not gave birth.But in both countries, there is a still unmet family planning need among adolescents who gave birth. The unmet needs among this population in Bangladesh’s treatment group is 22% (26% control). And among the ones that have not given birth is 8% in the treatment group (13% control group).Let’s talk. The knowledge on key issues like early pregnancy risks, delaying childbirth, and/or income generation increased from baseline to endline among the treatment group. At the same time, the belief of myths related to FP decreased.Economic reasons were an incentive for delaying becoming parents. In Bangladesh, respondents reported financial stability as a key factor in delaying birth. Also, the treatment group showed improvement in family planning perceptions and reproductive health knowledge.Social norms are changing. There was an increase in respondents supporting delayed birth compared to previous years. And at the same time a positive change in supporting girls when wanting to engage in income-generating activities outside of the home.People live longer, healthier lives. More contraceptive access = less Disability-Adjusted Life Year (DALYs). In Niger the increment in contraceptive use prevented 1548 DALYs. DALYs are the sum of the years of life lost to due to early mortality (YLLs) and the years lived with a disability (YLDs) due to a disease or health condition.The IMAGINE program is cost-effective. The GDP per capita in Niger is $594. Yet the IMAGINE program had a cost per DALY of $552. According to the threshold recommended by the WHO, any cost per DALY lower than 3 times the GDP in a country is cost effective. Therefore, the program would still have been cost effective even if it were 3 times more expensive.

How did we get there?

Girls’ collectives addressing sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) topics, decision-making, basic financial literacy communication skills, gender and social norms, collective action, and leadership with 15-25 girls per village. These collectives linked girls with community health workers (CHWs) and women role models. With the additional option of joining Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLA) groups.Vocational training. CARE worked with the private and public sector to provide training for adolescent girls in a variety of key market systems. For example, in Niger these were on cowpea processing and refinement, goat breeding and management. In Bangladesh, enterprises included cotton and jute handicraft production, and mobile phone retail and repair, for example. After the training was completed, CARE worked with partners to create market linkages for girls through internship opportunities, craft fairs, professional associations, and ongoing mentorship.Health worker transformation activities not only addressed key gaps in health workers skills such as FP methods and counseling skills, but also promoted reflexivity on how their biases can impact the way they provide SRHR services to adolescent girls. In both countries, health care workers reported a greater sense of ownership and motivation of their work, which led them to see their role from “simple” service providers to girls’ health advocates.With the aim of empowering couples in planning their future family, couples’ counseling in Bangladesh was established. This addressed many goal settings like family and financial planning, communication, and negotiation, SRHR, and social norms reflection, to empower couples to create a shared vision for their family.Fada Groups in Niger worked with trained local male facilitators to address the health and economic benefits of delayed first birth, communication skills, and gender and social norm transformation with young men and husbands from the villages.In Niger, because of the Social Analysis and Action (SAA), CARE led community stakeholders to challenge social norms related to early birth through self-reflection and action planning. This to build norms encouraging married adolescents to access essential health services like family planning.

What did we learn? Providing adolescent girls with contraceptive information and access can lead to decreasing the nationwide DALYs, while at the same time being cost-effective for the country. In Niger, it showed an investment of $552 per DALY achieved. This is considerably better than the WHO standard.

More key lessons are:

Being a mother and wanting to plan? Yes. Being a mother and accessing FP methods is still a high unmet need that needs to be addressed among health programming so women and couples can plan birth spacing properly.Discussing sexual and reproductive health is still a challenge. For example, in Niger the self-efficacy to use and discuss family planning showed a negative change among treatment and control group from baseline to endline. The discussion around family planning is still challenging due to reasons such as prevailing social norms, health workers attitudes etc.Re-think and adapt your Theory of Change (ToC) to the population targeted based on the context’s realities and needs. For example, in the scenario of Bangladesh, the ToC needed to change from targeting married adolescent to targeting unmarried ones.Since changes, especially in relation to gender and social norms, do not happen overnight, the timespan of a program like this one need to be increased.Change the focus of the outcome, from delaying birth to birth spacing, which is more commonly supported: in Niger, girls almost unanimously declared that taking part in income generating activities and being young mothers were not mutually exclusive facts. The reproductive burden girls seemed to feel was related to infrequent or too many births.

Where do we go next? IMAGINE enable us to believe of a world where contraceptive use can support female empowerment. This being translated into female economic participation, birth spacing, but mostly on women deciding when to become mothers. This program also brings a novel approach of including men and couples in the interventions to challenge and exercise the re-thinking of social and gender norms to achieve gender equality for girls and women. 
Overall, IMAGINE provides a gender and social lens, but also a cost-effectiveness one, that should be analyzed and took in future programs and projects. This shows how sexual and reproductive health is extremely linked to the different social, cultural, and economic spheres running any country. 
Want to learn more? Click here to learn more from the reports, CARE Shares page, and here for the technical resources.

FRANKFURT, Germany, September 11, 2024 /3BL/ – LyondellBasell (LYB) is investing in a new closed-loop preparation center in Lich, Germany. This sophisticated recycling center is transforming plastic waste into high-quality feedstock for high-performance materials, supporting the circular economy and contributing to industry sustainability goals. This new recycling center brings the collective expertise of a service provider, a university supporting the process and analytics used and the dedicated team at LYB.

The closed-loop preparation center supports the LYB integrated hub strategy, bringing together existing assets with new advanced sorting and recycling capabilities to create operational scale, reduce cost and capture value from plastic waste. This new center marks a significant leap in waste processing capabilities for durable goods, such as automotive and white good appliance parts. The requirements for recycling durable goods once they’ve reached their end-of-life are complex. The materials need to be stripped of any paint, metal and other additives to get to a plastic suitable for a high-quality feedstock.

“These efforts are unlocking new ways of recycling durable goods into new materials for high-quality applications,” said Frank Nöltgen, Vice President of Advanced Polymer Solutions Europe at LYB. “By investing in sorting, recycling and the development of proprietary recycling technologies, we are taking significant steps towards a sustainable future.”

The recycling center employs mechanical recycling to transform end-of-life automotive and appliance plastics, such as bumpers and trim, into high-quality recycled materials. These recycled materials will be incorporated into the LYB CirculenRecover product range, offering more sustainable solutions based on recycled content for demanding applications in the automotive and white goods sectors, including structural parts, interior components, and visible applications.

“We are excited to support automotive and durable white goods manufacturers in achieving their sustainability targets,” added Erik Licht, Director New Business Development of Advanced Polymer Solutions Europe at LYB. “This closed-loop preparation center ensures that valuable plastic materials are kept in circulation, reducing reliance on virgin resources and enabling products with a lower carbon footprint compared to virgin products.”

The Lich recycling center is expected to reach commercial scale in the fourth quarter of 2024. This investment aligns with the company’s ambitious goal to produce and market at least 2 million metric tons of recycled and renewable-based polymers annually by 2030.

About LyondellBasell

We are LyondellBasell – a leader in the global chemical industry creating solutions for everyday sustainable living. Through advanced technology and focused investments, we are enabling a circular and low carbon economy. Across all we do, we aim to unlock value for our customers, investors and society. As one of the world’s largest producers of polymers and a leader in polyolefin technologies, we develop, manufacture and market high-quality and innovative products for applications ranging from sustainable transportation and food safety to clean water and quality healthcare. For more information, please visit www.lyb.com or follow @LyondellBasell on LinkedIn.

Forward-Looking Statements

The statements in this release relating to matters that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements. Actual results could differ materially based on factors including, but not limited to, our ability to meet our sustainability goals, including the successful expansion and operation of the facilities described, the ability to increase production of recycled and renewable-based polymers to meet our targets and forecasts and our ability to procure feedstock to meet these goals. Additional factors that could cause results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements can be found in the “Risk Factors” section of our Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023, which can be found at www.lyb.com on the Investor Relations page and on the Securities and Exchange Commission’s website at www.sec.gov. There is no assurance that any of the actions, events or results of the forward-looking statements will occur, or if any of them do, what impact they will have on our results of operations or financial condition. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they were made and are based on the estimates and opinions of management of LyondellBasell at the time the statements are made. LyondellBasell does not assume any obligation to update forward-looking statements should circumstances or management’s estimates or opinions change, except as required by law.

LYB Media Contact: 
Chelsea Clark 
Business Communication Manager – Advanced Polymer Solutions 
+13302852686 
Chelsea.Clark@lyondellbasell.com