Tag: PR Newswire

Report outlines Medline’s efforts to develop a sustainable and resilient healthcare supply chain

NORTHFIELD, Ill., Sept. 4, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Medline today released its annual sustainability report. The report outlines the company’s progress on key sustainability topics in efforts to promote a sustainable and resilient healthcare supply chain that supports healthcare providers and the communities they serve.

“Sustainability is increasingly integrated into our operations and reflected in how we support our customers,” said Medline CEO Jim Boyle. “From our supply chain and logistics to our workforce and the communities we serve, we take a comprehensive approach as we seek to become a more resilient, responsible company.”

In 2024, Medline continued to implement a number of sustainability initiatives in support of its supply chain operations, to help expand renewable energy use and reduce packaging waste, as well as deepen its engagement in the communities where the company operates.

“Sustainability is a vital factor in achieving better health outcomes and building a more resilient healthcare system over time,” said Francesca Olivier, vice president of sustainability for Medline. “We remain dedicated to being a partner that anticipates challenges, embraces opportunities and seeks to create meaningful change for people and the planet.”

Highlights of the report include:

• Completed its first global climate risk assessment: Medline identified key climate risks and opportunities guided by the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) and through the use of qualitative scenario analysis. This assessment provides a framework for consistent evaluation to help establish a formal decarbonization strategy ahead. Going forward, Medline plans to conduct an annual climate risk assessment and will develop climate risk management procedures in alignment with its Enterprise Risk Management framework.

• Expanded its single-use devices reprocessing program: Medline’s ReNewal program is a cornerstone in helping healthcare providers advance their sustainability goals. The service restores devices to their original quality, functionality and sterility in accordance with strict FDA standards. In 2024, the team reprocessed more than 2.2 million medical devices through the program’s own facilities, and also in 2024, Medline added six new FDA 510(k)-cleared product categories to expand reuse across more clinical areas.

• Expanded its Tote-Cart Initiative, optimizing reusable shipping containers to help reduce waste and minimize environmental impact: As part of Medline’s commitment to reducing transportation-related emissions, Medline has a Tote-Cart Initiative to reduce this impact. By consolidating shipments and eliminating underutilized totes and carts, Medline reduces the number of trailers on the road, leading to less diesel fuel consumption and lower greenhouse gas emissions. The program also targets low-volume ship days and eliminates unnecessary delivery routes to help shrink the carbon footprint while maintaining service reliability.

• Achieved the Diamond-level Healthcare Industry Resilience Collaborative (HIRC) Resiliency Badge for manufacturing: As a result of Medline’s relentless drive to create resiliency within the healthcare supply chain, the company achieved this badge. This was based on the company’s focus on demand planning, inventory management, logistics, supply chain visibility, supplier management, risk management and contingency, and operational health and market.

• Piloted a sustainable packaging solution: Medline is identifying opportunities to transition away from plastic air pillows in standard mixed supply boxes to help reduce plastic from customer shipments. In 2024, a pilot program was implemented at Medline’s Grayslake, Ill., distribution center with Ranpak, a global leader in sustainable packaging solutions, that specializes in 100% paper-based materials designed to replace plastic in protective packaging.

• Continued employee charitable volunteer efforts: Medline believes in investing in the communities where its employees live and work to help expand access to care for vulnerable populations. In 2024 in the U.S., employees provided more than 7,200 volunteer hours in support of more than 70 charities.

Click here to download the 2024 sustainability report.

About Medline
Medline is the largest provider of medical-surgical products and supply chain solutions serving all points of care. Through its broad product portfolio, resilient supply chain and leading clinical solutions, Medline helps healthcare providers improve their clinical, financial and operational outcomes. Headquartered in Northfield, Illinois, the company employs more than 43,000 people worldwide and operates in more than 100 countries and territories. To learn more about how Medline makes healthcare run better, visit www.medline.com.

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SOURCE Medline Industries, LP

LAS VEGAS, Sept. 4, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — September 9 to 11, Ampace will return to RE+ 2025 with a defining milestone: the industry’s first mass-produced semi-solid battery cells, set to mark a new era of safer, denser, and more efficient energy storage—from data centers to homes.

This year’s showcase reflects Ampace’s steady progression from pioneering R&D to real-world impact. With over 20 years of expertise in lithium-ion battery technology and a proven track record of zero safety incidents, Ampace continues to deliver solutions that prioritize safety, reliability, performance, and user experience.

At RE+ 2025, Ampace is proud to unveil its next leap forward:

1. 10C Semi-Solid LFP Cells ‒ Now in Mass Production Already

In March 2025, Ampace launched its 10C semi-solid LFP battery cells, already powering PU200 systems and PR-S4 deployments worldwide. With a 10C continuous discharge rate and 20% higher energy density, these cells deliver a more efficient energy storage across critical applications.

2. Comprehensive Safety Testing ‒ Delivering Zero-Incident Performance

With 69 million cells delivered—zero safety incidents, zero recalls—Ampace sets the global benchmark for battery safety. Its semi-solid-state technology significantly reduces the risk of electrolyte leakage, delivering a substantial enhancement in overall safety performance. Beyond the lab, Ampace products have also demonstrated their reliability in real-world environments, including rigorous deployment in Chile, further underscoring Ampace’s commitment to safety.

3. U.S. Market Relevance ‒ Advancing Localization for Sustainable Growth

From stabilizing the grid to optimizing space-constrained data centers and enabling EV compatible home storage, Ampace is addressing U.S. energy challenges head-on.

In California, Ampace powered a 500,000-square-foot cold storage facility in Madera, California providing 12-18 hours of daily backup. This ensures stable supply, secure operations for farmers, and lowers 40% annual carbon emissions.

By prioritizing safety in every design, Ampace is committed to industrializing the future of energy, bringing innovative technologies to markets worldwide.

Join Ampace at RE+ to experience how it industrializes the future of energy storage—safer, stronger, and ready for the world.

Booth V11699
September 9-11
The Venetian Expo, Las Vegas

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SOURCE Ampace

• The Summit will bring together representatives from more than 40 countries, over 200 international experts, and 30,000 attendees, consolidating Bogotá as Latin America’s leading hub for sustainability and climate action.
• The Bogotá Chamber of Commerce is leading efforts to integrate sustainability into business strategies, promoting innovation, partnerships, and more competitive and inclusive business models.

BOGOTA, Colombia, Sept. 4, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — From September 9 to 11, Bogotá will host the 2025 International Summit on Sustainability and Environmental Innovation. The event expected to welcome more than 30,000 atendees, over 200 international experts, and 500 institutions from more than 40 countries, consolidating its role as one of the world’s most influential forums on sustainability and climate action.

The Summit is organized by CAR Cundinamarca, the Bogotá Chamber of Commerce (CCB), the Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean (CAF), and Grupo Prisa. It will serve as a global platform where science, politics, and business converge to develop collective solutions to the climate crisis and to address the challenges of building low-carbon economies.

The academic program will feature more than 185 sessions across 12 thematic areas. Topics include energy transition, bioeconomy, climate justice, ecological restoration, water governance, and nature tourism. In addition, the event will host the 6th Meeting of Environmental Authorities, the 3rd Somos Sostenibles Forum, and Vitritur 2025, a tourism fair that will showcase Colombia’s progress in sustainable tourism and green entrepreneurship.

The United Kingdom will be the guest country of honor, accompanied by delegations from Germany, South Korea, the United States, Mexico, Brazil, Spain, and many others. These countries will present experiences, technologies, and innovations to accelerate environmental transformation worldwide.

Ovidio Claros, Executive President of the Bogotá Chamber of Commerce, stated: “The Summit will be the main platform for cooperation between businesses, governments, and civil society around sustainability, innovation, and transformation. Our planet is facing challenges that know no borders, and this Summit is a unique opportunity for learning and global cooperation.”

Beyond discussions, the program will include multisector business rounds, a sustainable technologies fair, and cultural showcases. Circular fashion, sustainable coffee, gastronomy, handicrafts, and nature tourism will demonstrate how local communities can innovate while advancing inclusive and resilient development.

With this global meeting, Bogotá consolidates its position as an international sustainability hub and contributes to placing Latin America as a central actor in building the global climate agenda.

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SOURCE Cámara de Comercio de Bogotá

Pacific Surfliner and California Operation Lifesaver participate in September’s Rail Safety Month

ORANGE, Calif., Sept. 4, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — As California continues to have the highest number of rail-related fatalities in the United States due to highway-rail grade crossing and trespassing incidents*, Amtrak® Pacific Surfliner® is recognizing Rail Safety Month in September as a time to support safety in rail-adjacent communities.

In this effort, the Los Angeles – San Diego – San Luis Obispo (LOSSAN) Rail Corridor Agency, which manages the Amtrak Pacific Surfliner service, is partnering with California Operation Lifesaver (CAOL), a non-profit entity that works year-round to spread awareness about the importance of safety around train tracks.

“Keeping people safe is an important priority for the Pacific Surfliner,” said Fred Jung, Chair of the LOSSAN Agency Board of Directors. “We are proud to partner with California Operation Lifesaver to raise awareness and provide information on staying safe near train tracks for our Southern California community.”

As the LOSSAN Corridor is the second busiest intercity rail corridor in the United States, supporting commuter, regional and intercity rail service collectively to 41 stations and nearly 4.5 million annual passengers (Amtrak, Coaster and Metrolink), the LOSSAN Agency continues to explore ways to inform riders and the public on how to stay safe.

Follow simple safety rules whenever around train tracks, including:

• Never walk on or along train tracks; it’s illegal and trespassing is highly dangerous.
• Cross train tracks only at designated pedestrian or roadway crossings and obey all warning signs and signals.
• Stay alert around tracks. Don’t do anything that would prevent you from hearing an approaching train, such as listening to headphones or talking on the phone.
• When boarding, remember to stay behind the marked safety line on the station platform and use handholds as you board.
• Report suspicious items, persons or activity immediately to the Amtrak Police Department by approaching a uniformed officer, calling (800) 331-0008, sending a text to APD11 (27311) or calling 911.

The partnership between the LOSSAN Rail Corridor Agency and CAOL will deliver rail safety advertisements across social media, websites and connected television platforms to people who live and travel near the corridor. Using location-based targeting informed by recent data on trespasser fatalities and near misses, the month-long campaign will run from September 1–30 and provide safety tips tailored to local audiences.

Additionally, the LOSSAN Agency is collaborating with officials in the Tri Counties (San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Ventura) to post safety signage in high traffic areas and schools adjacent to the train tracks.

Digital tools are available at PacificSurfliner.com/RailSafety, including activities for kids, lesson plans for teachers and parents and downloadable presentations developed by Operation Lifesaver and CAOL, two non-profit entities that work year-round to promote rail safety.

*According to CAOL and the Federal Railroad Administration.

About the Amtrak^® Pacific Surfliner^®
The Pacific Surfliner travels along a 351-mile coastal rail route through San Diego, Orange, Los Angeles, Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties, serving 29 stations. It is the busiest state-supported intercity passenger rail route in the United States. To learn more and plan a trip, visit pacificsurfliner.com.

About the LOSSAN Rail Corridor Agency
The Los Angeles – San Diego – San Luis Obispo (LOSSAN) Rail Corridor Agency is a joint powers authority overseeing the management of the Amtrak Pacific Surfliner service. Comprised of rail owners, operators, and planning agencies along the 351-mile LOSSAN rail corridor, the Agency strives to improve passenger rail ridership, revenue, on-time performance, operational flexibility, and safety along its service area. The Orange County Transportation Authority provides all necessary administrative support for the LOSSAN Agency and its Board. For more information, visit Lossan.org.

About California Operation Lifesaver
California Operation Lifesaver is an independent non-profit safety education and awareness program dedicated to ending collisions, fatalities and injuries at highway-rail grade crossings and on railroad rights of way in the State of California. 

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SOURCE Amtrak® Pacific Surfliner

ATLANTA, Sept. 4, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — EnviroSpark, one of the nation’s largest charging providers and charge point operators, has officially brought its 2,500th charger online on its own network with another 1,000 network plugs contracted and coming online soon—cementing its role as a key player in expanding access to reliable EV infrastructure across North America. While competitors often tout ambitious deployment targets that remain largely aspirational, EnviroSpark’s milestone underscores a commitment to tangible results: fully installed, operational chargers actively powering drivers today. With over 8,000 plugs deployed for other networks since 2014 and over 1,000 plugs deployed this year alone, the company continues to deliver both speed and substance in meeting the growing demand for EV infrastructure.

“This milestone reflects the relentless dedication and talent of our incredible team,” said Frank Woodling, CEO of EnviroSpark. “Month after month, we’re breaking our own installation records, not for headlines, but because our loyal customers count on us to deliver. This is what follow-through looks like, and we’re just getting started.”

As the U.S. continues to accelerate EV adoption, the availability of accessible charging stations remains a top concern among drivers. EnviroSpark’s milestone reflects years of strategic investment, innovation, and public-private collaboration aimed at addressing this infrastructure gap.

Frank Blake, former Chairman and CEO of Home Depot and an early EnviroSpark investor, said “Reaching 2,500 chargers is a meaningful achievement. It shows what can happen when a team stays focused on doing the right things the right way. EnviroSpark isn’t just adding infrastructure—they’re quietly building what the future of transportation will depend on. That kind of steady, mission-driven execution is exactly what makes them stand out.”

EnviroSpark’s 2,500 installed chargers span multifamily communities, hospitality properties, retail centers, and public access points. With a mix of Level 2 and DC fast chargers, the company supports a diverse array of drivers and site hosts—many through fully funded models that eliminate cost barriers to deployment.

EnviroSpark helps site hosts deploy EV charging infrastructure quickly and cost-effectively by navigating federal and state incentives, securing utility partnerships, and offering flexible or fully funded models. This full-service approach removes complexity and lowers barriers—enabling faster deployments and long-term reliability without burdening the property owner.

About EnviroSpark
Founded in 2014, EnviroSpark is an industry leader in the turnkey design, installation and operation of EV charging solutions. The company was founded with two missions: to raise awareness around the benefits of electric vehicles and to make EV charging more accessible across the United States and Canada. EnviroSpark is a charge point operator with over 2,500 plugs energized on its own network with an additional 1,000 contracted and coming online shortly, serving partners including IHG Hotels & Resorts, Asset Living, Associa, RangeWater, and First Service Residential. The company also deploys at scale for other charge point operators like Tesla, ChargePoint, and Mercedes-Benz. Responsible for the installation of more than 10,000 charging ports to date in over 40 US states and 4 Canadian provinces, EnviroSpark addresses the pain points of North American property owners and drivers by enhancing EV accessibility in customer-friendly ways. For more information, please visit www.envirosparkenergy.com

Media Contact:
Anna Addcox
Marketing Manager
anna.addcox@envirosparkenergy.com
(352) 275-6688

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SOURCE EnviroSpark Energy

CLEVELAND, Sept. 4, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Brown Gibbons Lang & Company (BGL), a leading independent investment bank and financial advisory firm, is pleased to announce the completion of the recapitalization of Green Infrastructure Partners (“GIP”) at an enterprise value of $4.25 billion with an investment by Energy Capital Partners. GIP is a leading vertically integrated infrastructure company established in 2022 by GFL Environmental Inc., with funds managed by HPS Investment Partners Inc. (“HPS Investment Partners” or “HPS”) and Patrick Dovigi. BGL’s Infrastructure Services investment banking team served as GIP’s financial advisor in the transaction.

BGL’s Infrastructure Services team focuses on businesses that perform essential maintenance, repair, inspection, and construction services for critical infrastructure assets. Our sector-focused bankers offer industry expertise and deep relationships, including a comprehensive understanding of the key drivers impacting service providers to critical transportation, water, power and utility, telecom, and energy markets. To learn more about our experience and capabilities, visit our website here.

All financial information is in Canadian dollars unless otherwise noted.

About Brown Gibbons Lang & Company
Brown Gibbons Lang & Company (BGL) is a leading independent investment bank and financial advisory firm focused on the global middle market. The firm advises private and public corporations and private equity groups on mergers and acquisitions, capital markets, financial restructurings, business valuations and opinions, and other strategic matters. BGL has investment banking offices in Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Los Angeles, and New York, and real estate offices in Chicago and Cleveland. The firm is also a founding member of REACH Cross-Border Mergers & Acquisitions, enabling BGL to service clients in more than 30 countries around the world. Securities transactions are conducted through Brown, Gibbons, Lang & Company Securities, LLC, an affiliate of Brown Gibbons Lang & Company LLC and a registered broker-dealer and member of FINRA and SIPC. For more information, please visit www.bglco.com. 

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SOURCE Brown Gibbons Lang & Company

ALTADENA, Calif., Sept. 4, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — For 52 years, hundreds of gardeners faithfully worked the earth at the Altadena Community Garden to grow tomatoes, lettuce and basil. Now they tend its soil to regrow their community. 

When the Eaton Fire swept through Altadena in January, it took more than 6,000 homes and at least 19 lives. It also destroyed many of the places where Altadenans came together to build friendships and share fellowship, like the Altadena Community Garden.

The fire consumed a shed, damaged tools and whipped through the garden’s 84 plots. Areas of the garden that managed to avoid fire were contaminated by toxic ash raining down from the homes and businesses that burned nearby. Pollutants penetrated the once-fertile earth.

Of the garden’s 120 members, 62 lost their homes in the fire. But gardening is part of who they are, and they’re not giving up. They’ll rebuild what they lost, and they intend to come back stronger.

“These people are my community,” said Mary McGilvray, vice president of the nonprofit that runs the Altadena Community Garden, as volunteers rolled wheelbarrows across the bare expanse during a recent Saturday community event at the site.

The event drew a visit from Toni Bailey-Raines, daughter of Al Bailey, one of the Altadena residents who founded the garden in the 1970s. Bailey-Raines, co-host of the Altadena Talks podcast, shared stories of the garden told to her by her father, a chemical and mechanical engineer with a green thumb. The garden represents the diversity and spirit of Altadena, she said, and watching volunteers restore it gives her hope.

“This is therapeutic for me,” she said.

Community volunteers have regularly joined forces with gardeners on the weekends. Their goal: to bring back healthy, toxin-free soil so they can nurture healthy crops from it. That healing process is well on its way thanks to a groundswell of support from neighbors, small businesses and philanthropy – including a generous grant from the California Community Foundation. 

The gardeners are also getting help from some surprisingly powerful allies in sustainable gardening: mushrooms.

Mushrooms are a sort of clean-up crew for polluted environments. That’s the philosophy behind mycoremediation, the use of fungi to remove or neutralize environmental contaminants. Certain types of mushrooms and their root-like networks, known as mycelium, can break down or absorb harmful substances in soil, transforming toxic sites into healthier ecosystems. Mushrooms are the “fruit” of fungi that appear above the soil surface, while mycelium is the underground “body” of the mushroom organism. It’s a biochemical factory producing powerful enzymes and acids that break down complex molecules — like the chemicals in ash from the Eaton Fire.

The Altadena Community Garden’s leaders chose to use oyster mushrooms to “digest” contaminants in their soil and break them down into inert, harmless chemicals, much like mushrooms would decompose rotting wood. 

“This is the largest mushroom remediation project I’ve ever been involved in,” said Joe Nagy, president of the Altadena Community Garden’s nonprofit. To transform the bare land, Nagy immersed himself in remediation techniques, reaching out to L.A. organizations like SoilWise and Metabolic Studio for their expertise in composting and ecological restoration. 

The gardeners began remediation as soon as they could safely return to the site in April. But they couldn’t simply drop mushrooms into the area and let them do their work. The EPA and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers first cleared debris and removed about 4 inches of contaminated topsoil to rid the land of the most pollutants. The gardeners then had the remaining soil tested for toxic chemicals.

Volunteers laid down new earth and 525 cubic yards of compost over the land — enough dirt to fill about 165 Volkswagen Beetles. Finally, they mixed in mycelium donated by a mushroom grower in Long Beach and covered the earth with straw to preserve moisture. Two months later, they would test the soil for toxins once again.

Even neighboring organizations that suffered in the Eaton Fire are helping. After the Altadena campus of the Pasadena Waldorf School was destroyed in the Eaton Fire, the school gave its felled tree trunks to the garden. A neighbor brought a mobile mill to cut the wood into chunks. The gardeners placed the wooden logs on the soil to encourage mushroom growth along the northern edge of the 2.5-acre property, where chemicals from nearby charred homes have seeped into the garden. 

McGilvray walked along that stretch of the garden and pointed out sunflowers and squash and potato seedlings that sprouted from the soil near a chain-link fence. The gardeners planted them, she said, because they’re potent tools in a technique called phytoremediation.

Phytoremediation is the use of plants to remove, neutralize or stabilize contaminants, making it a perfect plant-based partner to mycoremediation. It works because plants naturally interact with the environment through their roots, stems and leaves, absorbing nutrients. And just as they absorb nutrients, they can absorb contaminants. Sunflowers are especially powerful: They can absorb heavy metals like arsenic. After the 1986 Chernobyl disaster in Ukraine, sunflowers were planted to help remove radioactive cesium and strontium from contaminated soils and ponds.

At the Altadena Community Garden, the sunflowers also stand as a reminder of the lush plants that once grew from the land, a welcome sign of hope and progress. As mushrooms spurt across the property and squash seedlings shoot their thick leaves skyward, the gardeners prepare to lay down a new irrigation system. After that will come new planter boxes.

Just as Altadena slowly prepares to rebuild, with the hope of retaining the character that makes it unique, so do the farmers of the Altadena Community Garden.

“Our goal is to get our gardeners back to gardening in January,” McGilvray said. “We need it. We need this place back.”

CONTACT: Gilien Silsby, Director of Media Relations, California Community Foundation, 213-500-8673

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SOURCE California Community Foundation

• Investments of USD 12.8 billion by 2028 in infrastructure, security, and education
• Enormous potential in the heart of Africa: untapped mineral resources, unspoiled nature, and a young population eager to learn
• Opportunities better than ever before: political stability combined with a comprehensive development plan for the country
• International Investment Round Table in Casablanca with presentation of the national development plan and 24 specific investment projects

BANGUI, Central African Republic and CASABLANCA, Morocco, Sept. 4, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — The government of the Central African Republic is launching a billion-dollar investment program covering all sectors and regions of the country. Investments totaling USD 12.8 billion, combined with extensive government reforms and incentives for businesses, are set to trigger an upswing for the country in the heart of Africa. A total of 543 specific projects have been defined for the period up to 2028. The aim is to massively reduce the poverty rate, build 2,300 kilometers of paved national roads, lay 3,000 kilometers of fiber optic cable, and increase the electrification rate from 4% to 38%. The basis for this future program is the “National Development Plan 2024-2028.” Next week, the plan will be presented to the international public for the first time at an International Investment Round Table in Casablanca, Morocco.

“We are determined to unlock our country’s largely untapped potential by accelerating economic growth, building resilient and sustainable infrastructure, improving basic public services, and providing incentives for investors,” emphasizes Prof. Faustin Archange Touadéra, President of the Central African Republic. “The aim is, on the one hand, to set in motion a genuine dynamic of development and structural change in the country at the economic, social, and environmental levels and, on the other hand, to reduce poverty and improve the well-being of our population.”

The Central African Republic is considered one of the least developed countries in the world. However, much has changed since President Faustin-Archange Touadéra took office in 2016: the pacification of the country was followed by political stabilization and the renewal of state institutions. Economic indicators have also developed well: the inflation rate was 1.5% in 2024, the currency is stable, and economic growth is increasing steadily (2024: +5.1%). In the Global Soft Power Index 2025, the Central African Republic ranks 18th among African countries and 2nd in the Central African region.

Untapped potential – mineral resources, forests, arable land

The Central African Republic is a landlocked country surrounded by six direct neighbors: Chad to the north, Sudan and South Sudan to the east, Cameroon to the west, and the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Republic of Congo to the south. Through the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), the CAR has access to 1.3 billion people.

The CAR has around 15 million hectares of arable land, of which only 5% is currently cultivated. The tropical climate with abundant rainfall, fertile soil, and large water resources is extremely favorable for the cultivation of cassava, corn, rice, peanuts, cotton, coffee, cocoa, sugar cane, sesame, and oil palm. Cotton and industrial crops in particular have strong export potential.

A good third of the country’s territory is forested, which is about 23 million hectares of forest. Precious species such as mahogany, sipo, sapelli, and iroko are not uncommon. Local wood processing, ecotourism, the development of forests as carbon sinks, and FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certification offer significant opportunities.

A World Bank analysis identified more than 470 mineral deposits, including diamonds, gold, uranium, lignite, iron, copper, limestone, columbite-tantalite, manganese, oil, nickel, and columbite-tantalite (coltan).

“The Central African Republic has considerable potential. To harness this potential, we must invest in human capital. This means bringing important infrastructure closer to the population – especially schools and health services. The National Development Plan is about laying the foundation for a forward-looking vision,” says Prime Minister Félix Moloua. “We are now creating the conditions for success – and inviting our partners to participate.”

‘Ambition28’ – investor conference kicks off future program

Under the title “Ambition 28,” the CAR government is inviting international investors to an Investment Round Table in Casablanca for the first time on September 14 and 15, 2025.

“The Round Table in Casablanca marks the start and sets an example for stronger international cooperation between the government of the Central African Republic and private and public partners,” said Prof. Richard Filakota, Minister of Economy, Planning, and International Cooperation.

During the two-day conference, President Touadéra and leading government officials will present the contents of the National Development Plan in detail. Representatives from the World Bank, the African Development Bank, the European Commission, the UN, the Arab Development Bank for Africa, the International Monetary Fund, the International Finance Corporation (ICF), and the host country, the Kingdom of Morocco, will emphasize in their keynotes the importance of international partnerships for the country’s economic transformation. Panels will highlight investment opportunities in energy, agriculture, mining, infrastructure, digitalization, and tourism. Twenty-four specific projects will be presented.

The National Development Plan 2024–2028

“The National Development Plan is a turning point in our country’s history. The conference is the necessary catalyst for this, bringing global players, financiers, and institutions together to work closely toward an economically strong future,” says Filakota. “We are not looking for handouts. We are looking for fair partners who recognize opportunities, want to do good business, and have the courage to write Africa’s next success story together with us.”

The National Development Plan is the Central African Republic’s holistic strategy for the long-term transformation of the country. It focuses on security and the rule of law, human capital, infrastructure, value creation in productive sectors, climate resilience, and ecological development.

Further information on the Round Table:

https://ambition28-rca.org/

Further information on the CAR’s National Development Plan:

https://ambition-journal.org

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SOURCE Ambition28 – Central African Republic

MONTREAL, Sept. 4, 2025 /PRNewswire/ – SRTX, the Canadian materials innovator behind Sheertex®, today announced the appointment of Sophie Boulanger as Chief Executive Officer. Boulanger, one of Canada’s most influential entrepreneurs in the retail sector, brings over two decades of leadership experience in strategy, operational performance, and value creation across retail and consumer goods.

Boulanger co-founded and led BonLook, a trailblazing direct-to-consumer eyewear brand that transformed the Canadian optical industry through a hybrid digital-physical model and modern frame collections celebrating diversity. Under her leadership from 2011 to 2022, BonLook scaled rapidly to a national presence, opening 40 stores in four years, employing more than 400 people, and ultimately achieving a successful strategic acquisition by FYidoctors in 2021.

With a proven track record of scaling brands and driving transformative growth, Boulanger is well-positioned to lead SRTX as it accelerates its strategy to expand globally, strengthen its wholesale and private-label partnerships, and deliver long-term value through sustainable innovation.

“SRTX has built one of the most innovative materials companies of our time, with Sheertex redefining durability in fashion and apparel,” said Sophie Boulanger, CEO of SRTX. “I am honoured to join the company at such a pivotal stage and look forward to working with our talented team and world-class investors to expand our reach, scale our operations, and continue shaping the future of sustainable textiles. I also want to recognize Katherine Homuth, whose vision and entrepreneurial drive built the foundation for SRTX’s success. I am excited to carry that legacy forward.”

SRTX Lead Investors BDC Capital, Export Development Canada, H&M Group, and Investissement Québec stated: “We are excited to welcome Sophie Boulanger as CEO. With her entrepreneurial mindset, operational expertise, and vision for consumer-centric growth, she is very well positioned to lead SRTX into its next chapter. Sophie Boulanger brings an excellent track record in scaling brands, creating shareholder value, and building strong teams. We are confident she will accelerate SRTX’s mission to transform the apparel industry.”

The SRTX Board and team thank Timothy Leyne, who has served as Interim CEO over the past months for his leadership and contributions during this pivotal stage of the company’s growth. This leadership change comes on the heels of SRTX’s recent US$40 million fundraising round, led by its largest shareholders: BDC Capital, Export Development Canada, H&M Group, and Investissement Québec. The funding will support the company’s strategy to scale its Montreal-based operations. In 2023, SRTX expanded into a 300,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art facility in Pointe-Claire (Montreal), a highly automated, vertically integrated plant. This facility is unique in the apparel industry and enables SRTX to continuously reduce unit costs while scaling production of its market-leading Sheertex tights.

About SRTX
SRTX, a Certified B Corporation (B Corp), is best known for its first technology, the patent-pending Sheertex® Rip-Resist knit, made from one of the world’s strongest polymers that has disrupted hosiery through impossibly strong tights. Named one of TIME’s Best Inventions of 2018, SRTX’s mission is to drive the durability and sustainability of apparel products by building new materials and software to enable better, more sustainable textiles.

sheertex.com @sheertex

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SOURCE SRTX Inc.

Variant Impact Fund (IMPCX) expands global access to private credit across 27 countries and nine impact themes including financial inclusion, clean energy and efficiency, affordable quality housing, and gender lens investing

PORTLAND, Ore., Sept. 4, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Variant Investments, an alternative credit investment manager with nearly $3 billion in assets under management, today published its 2025 Annual Impact Report for the Variant Impact Fund (IMPCX), outlining the Fund’s approach to capital deployment in lender finance and asset-backed lending across financial inclusion, equitable growth, and responsible consumption.

The report highlights the Fund’s expanding reach and commitment to economic impact in line with market-rate returns. With $86 million in assets as of July 31, 2025, IMPCX aligns with globally recognized frameworks, including UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and spans nine IRIS+ themes across 32 investment strategies. Across the portfolio, investments delivered measurable outcomes, including financing the construction of over 800 affordable housing units, enabling more than 1.6 million in loans to primarily underserved individuals and small businesses, and completing 1,640 energy-efficiency retrofits.

The Fund’s capital has been deployed across a range of impact themes aligned with the SDGs and as defined by the IRIS+ categories, including:

Financial Inclusion: Financial Inclusion, Gender Lens, Racial Equity
Equitable Growth: Access to Quality Education, Affordable Quality Housing, Resilient Infrastructure
Responsible Consumption: Clean Energy, Energy Efficiency, Sustainable Agriculture

“Interval fund structures like Variant’s Impact Fund help serve as a practical solution to real-world market considerations of managing liquidity alongside longer-term horizon impact investments. This year’s report provides both the numbers and the stories that bear witness to the tangible and meaningful impact that our Fund is creating, while supporting investor calls for liquidity and capital alignment,” said Drake Hicks, Vice President, Head of Impact and chair of Variant’s Impact Investing Committee. “Investing capital that helps communities thrive around the world underscores the meaningful convergence of financial return and social good, and our multi-year record helps make the case that this is possible.”

Highlights from the 2025 Variant Investments Annual Impact Report:

• Fund Growth and Global Reach — Variant Impact Fund’s assets under management reached nearly $86 million as of July 31, 2025, enabling capital deployment that touches 27 countries across an array of impact themes and investment strategies.
• Closing the Private Credit Financing Gap — Variant’s impact strategy mobilizes private credit where access to standard financing may be unavailable, inefficient, or too costly, unlocking pathways to job creation, education, healthcare, and long-term economic mobility. Every dollar deployed created real improvements in lives and communities.
• Impact Centered Human Stories — Beyond data points, the report spotlights the personal stories behind the numbers — such as Kenyan entrepreneur Jane Njoroge, who expanded her hardware business, hired employees, and purchased health insurance for her family thanks to a Zanifu-backed loan. Similarly, through Castellan’s 100% affordable housing development in California, displaced wildfire victims are finding stability after years of transition. Together, these stories illustrate how IMPCX-backed initiatives translate financial capital into opportunities that transform lives.
• New Leadership — Variant recently hired Drake Hicks as Vice President, Head of Impact, who is responsible for spearheading Variant’s impact investment process, expanding engagement with impact-focused stakeholders, and refining Variant’s multi-step impact framework to continue elevating global practices and standards.
• Investor Perspectives — Institutional partners emphasized the distinctive value of Variant’s mission-driven approach. Gary Community Ventures highlighted Variant’s alignment with affordable housing, upskilling and financing for under-represented entrepreneurs, noting the “high-quality discipline, diligence and bespoke approach” of the team. Variant’s investment in 3rd Creek underscores the challenge of finding public market products that contribute toward positive changes in people’s lives and environmental sustainability.
• Community Engagement — In 2024, Variant joined Impact Capital Managers (ICM), reinforcing its commitment to scaling private capital for social good. The firm’s employee profit-sharing program, covering all fulltime employees, promotes stakeholder alignment and celebrates shared success. Variant’s annual charitable donations program invites each full-time employee to nominate up to $5,000 in donations per year — in 2024, $95,000 was donated to 27 diverse nonprofits, including organizations such as St. Jude’s Hospital and animal centric and community-based groups nationwide.

Variant managed funds focus on uncorrelated income generating assets in niche private markets. The Variant Impact Fund (IMPCX) seeks to provide high current income while supporting investment opportunities aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, including financial inclusion, equitable growth, and responsible consumption.

Since inception on Nov. 1, 2021, IMPCX has generated an annualized net return of 9.53% through July 31, 2025, significantly outperforming traditional fixed income benchmarks such as the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Index 0.95% annualized net returns and the Bloomberg U.S. High Yield Index 3.92% annualized net returns. These results highlight IMPCX’s ability to deliver strong, competitive returns while driving measurable impact.

Net Performance*
As of July 31, 2025

* Inception date is Nov. 1, 2021. Returns are net total returns. The track record uses geometric returns and reflects the reinvestment of earnings. Results audited through April 30, 2025.
¹ “IG bonds” & “BBG Agg” refer to the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Index, which is a broad-based flagship benchmark that measures the investment-grade, U.S. dollar-denominated, fixed-rate taxable bond market.
² “High yield” & “BBG HY” refer to the Bloomberg U.S. High Yield Index, which measures the U.S. dollar-denominated, high yield, fixed-rate corporate bond market.
³ “Equity” & “S&P 500” refer to the S&P 500^®Index, which is a market-value weighted index of equity securities.

The Variant Impact Fund is a continuously offered, non-diversified, registered closed-end fund with limited liquidity. The investment objective of the Fund is to seek to provide a high level of current income. Capital appreciation is considered a secondary objective. The Fund will also seek to generate positive social and environmental impact by targeting investment opportunities that are both aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) and consistent with the Fund’s impact investing framework. There is no guarantee the Fund will achieve its objective. An investment in the Fund should only be made by investors who understand the risks involved, who are able to withstand the loss of the entire amount invested and who can bear the risks associated with the limited liquidity of Shares. Important Risks: In implementing the Fund’s impact investment strategy, the Investment Manager may select or exclude certain investments for reasons other than investment performance. For this reason, the Fund’s impact strategy could cause it to perform differently compared to funds that do not have such strategy. There is no guarantee that the Investment Manager’s definition of impact investing, security selection criteria or investment judgment will reflect the beliefs or values of any particular investor. Currently, there is a lack of common industry standards relating to the development and application of environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria, which may make it difficult to compare the Funds’ principal investment strategies with the investment strategies of other funds that integrate certain “impact” criteria.

Given the substantial investment by the Fund in private securities, there is no reliable liquid market available for the purposes of valuing the majority of the Fund’s investments. There can be no guarantee that the basis of calculation of the value of the Fund’s investments used in the valuation process will reflect the actual value on realization of those investments.

Shares are an illiquid investment. You should generally not expect to be able to sell your Shares (other than through the repurchase process), regardless of how the Fund performs. Although the Fund is required to implement a Share repurchase program, only a limited number of Shares will be eligible for repurchase by the Fund.

An investment in the Fund is speculative, involves substantial risks, including the risk that the entire amount invested may be lost, and should not constitute a complete investment program. The Fund may leverage its investments by borrowing, use of swap agreements, options or other derivative instruments. The Fund is a non-diversified management investment company, meaning it may be more susceptible to any single economic or regulatory occurrence than a diversified investment company. In addition, the fund is subject to investment related risks of the underlying funds, general economic and market condition risk.

Alternative investments provide limited liquidity and include, among other things, the risks inherent in investing in securities, futures, commodities and derivatives, using leverage and engaging in short sales. The Fund’s investment performance depends, at least in part, on how its assets are allocated and reallocated among asset classes and strategies. Such allocation could result in the Fund holding asset classes or investments that perform poorly or underperform. Investments and investment transactions are subject to various counterparty risks. The counterparties to transactions in over-the-counter or “inter-dealer” markets are typically subject to lesser credit evaluation and regulatory oversight compared to members of “exchange-based” markets. This may increase the risk that a counterparty will not settle a transaction because of a credit or liquidity problem, thus causing the Fund to suffer losses. The Fund and its service providers may be prone to operational and information security risks resulting from breaches in cybersecurity. A breach in cybersecurity refers to both intentional and unintentional events that may cause the Fund to lose proprietary information, suffer data corruption, or lose operational capacity.

BEFORE INVESTING, YOU SHOULD CAREFULLY CONSIDER THE FUND’S INVESTMENT OBJECTIVES, RISKS, CHARGES AND EXPENSES. THIS AND OTHER INFORMATION IS IN THE PROSPECTUS, A COPY OF WHICH MAY BE OBTAINED FROM (877) 770-7717 OR WWW.VARIANTINVESTMENTS.COM. PLEASE READ THE PROSPECTUS CAREFULLY BEFORE YOU INVEST.

The Fund is distributed by Distribution Services, LLC. Variant Investments, LLC (the Investment Manager) serves as the investment manager of the Fund. Distribution Services, LLC and the Investment Manager are unaffiliated.

About Variant Investments

Variant Investments, established in 2017 and based in Portland, Ore., is an SEC-registered alternative credit manager with nearly $3 billion in assets under management as of July 31, 2025. The firm’s strategies focus on uncorrelated income-generating private investments in niche markets, offered to investors through closed-end interval and tender offer funds. For more information, visit www.variantinvestments.com

Media Contacts:

Margaret Kirch Cohen
Newton Park PR
+1 847-507-2229
margaret@newtonparkpr.com

Kathy Panagopoulos
Newton Park PR
+1 773-710-7433
kathy@newtonparkpr.com

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SOURCE Variant Investments, LLC