SOURCE:Cargill
HEREFORD based poultry firm, Cargill, has committed to providing free fresh chicken to an organisation tackling hunger in the UK.
Cargill has agreed to supply FareShare, a U.K-based organisation fighting hunger by tackling food waste, with fresh chicken every week, free of charge.
Continue reading on Hereford Times >>>
KEYWORDS: Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives, Health & Healthcare, Cargill, Hereford Times, FareShare UK, UK, Food Waste
SOURCE:Black & Veatch
Many water leaders face a conundrum – they know massive system investments are needed, but have a steep hill to climb to gain necessary approvals and rate recovery for such investments. Stand-alone, multimillion dollar technology programs often take a back seat to repairing and replacing aging distribution system assets.
However, it is possible to economically replace aging assets and implement greater levels of intelligence and security across systems – utilities just have to take a comprehensive, rather than piecemeal, approach. Combining technology, security, and repair and replacement plans enables utility leaders to make incremental changes by overlaying data collection technology and security updates on already planned infrastructure investments. In the years ahead, it will be even more important to add design intelligence into assets, rather than limiting the industry by replacing like with like.
Download the 2017 Water Industry Report
This year’s Strategic Directions: Water Industry Report data show that more and more, utility leaders are considering a formal asset management program to create cost efficiencies, enhance service levels and extend asset life. Every utility, regardless of technologies used, generates tremendous amounts of data. However, challenges exist in creating the functionality to use existing data and consistently capture and store data to identify and remediate data gaps.
The good news is that this asset data dilemma is a manageable problem. Four key steps are needed to fix the issue:
KEYWORDS: Sustainable Development Goals, Energy, Black & Veatch, Water Utilities, Data analytics, asset management, enterprise asset management, Water Infrastructure, infrastructure investment
SOURCE:BSR
SAN FRANCISCO, July 26, 2017 /3BL Media/ - Major global companies have renewed their commitment to the Global Business Coalition Against Human Trafficking (gBCAT) through an expanded membership and scope of work. Formed in 2010, gBCAT has provided a unique forum for business to understand how all forms of modern slavery affect their operations and supply chains, and to design effective and pragmatic solutions to combat traffickers. BSR—a global nonprofit organization dedicated to sustainable business—has been appointed secretariat of the initiative.
Under its new scope of work, gBCAT will capitalize on the major organizational strengths, resources, and reach of global businesses to accelerate progress on human trafficking. Through three work streams, members will share learnings through webinars and in-person meetings; develop a Research Lab to incubate ideas, publish reports, and identify areas for action; and publicize findings through an enhanced Public Platform. Issues to be addressed include employee or sub-contractor training programs, company policies, and best practices in reporting around the U.K. Modern Slavery Act.
The members of gBCAT are determined to take a proactive approach to end human trafficking, which remains widespread and difficult to uncover. The International Labour Organization (ILO) estimates that around 21 million people globally are victims of human trafficking for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation or forced labor. Others including the Global Slavery Index estimate the number of victims to be at nearly 46 million people. Modern slavery is estimated to be the third-largest international crime industry, ranking only behind illegal drugs and arms, and earning roughly US$150 billion a year for traffickers globally.
Global businesses committed to ending all forms of modern slavery are invited and encouraged to join gBCAT. Current members include The Coca-Cola Company, Microsoft, Google, Kering, NXP Semiconductor, LexisNexis, Carlson, Delta, Beacon Global Group, Boost Technologies, and Arklight Consulting.
Dawn Conway, Co-Founder of gBCAT and President of Boost Technologies, reflected on the progress of the group since its inception. "The business community has a critical role to play and needs to be part of the solution,” Conway remarked. “Joining forces with BSR will further gBCAT's mission to mobilize the power, resources, and thought leadership of the business community to end human trafficking."
“As a gBCAT member we are very pleased to see that the great work started amongst its members since 2010 will continue within BSR,” remarked Brent Wilton, Director of Global Workplace Rights at The Coca- Cola Company. “Forced labor, human trafficking, and modern slavery are issues for all companies everywhere, but it will only be through focused and cooperative means that it will be effectively eliminated. gBCAT provides just such an engagement platform.”
Peter Nestor, Associate Director for Human Rights at BSR, commented: “BSR is delighted to be appointed secretariat for this major initiative. Members of gBCAT have consistently demonstrated a serious commitment to tackling one of the world’s biggest challenges, and we look forward to working with them and facilitating this progress.”
More Information
Please visit www.gbcat.org to learn more about the organization and partners.
About BSR
BSR is a global nonprofit organization that works with its network of more than 250 member companies and other partners to build a just and sustainable world. From its offices in Asia, Europe, and North America, BSR develops sustainable business strategies and solutions through consulting, research, and cross-sector collaboration. Visit www.bsr.org for more information about BSR’s 25 years of leadership in sustainability.
Peter Nestor
BSR
pnestor@bsr.org
KEYWORDS: Responsible Business & Employee Engagement, Ethics & Governance, Human Rights, human trafficking, Global Business Coalition Against Human Trafficking, collaboration, BSR, gBCAT, Modern Slavery
SOURCE:Booz Allen Hamilton
In the fifth installment of our six-part video series “The Spark of Innovation,” engineer Jason Eller demonstrates how Booz Allen’s Advanced Prototyping Lab is helping solve our clients' toughest challenges. We’re rethinking everyday objects and finding new and innovative applications for existing technologies.
Toys aren’t just for childhood. Just ask Jason Eller, who, as an engineer in Booz Allen’s Advanced Prototyping Lab, was handed a box of electronic and remote-controlled toys to see how they could be adapted to address the communications needs of U.S. warfighters.
“Coming into the lab and working on projects that you know no one has ever tried—what I’m doing is not only new, it could be a useful piece of technology,” says Jason. “We’re not just an R&D group, we’re solving real client problems.”
A problem-solver since his teen days fixing his band’s equipment, Jason’s ability to improve on existing commercial off the shelf technology led him to Booz Allen’s Summer Games internship (two years in a row) and eventually, to a full-time engineering position after college graduation. He now supports U.S. Army clients at Fort Belvoir, Va.
“In coming to Booz Allen, I knew I’d be surrounded by people far more knowledgeable than me,” says Jason. And that’s a good thing. “There’s constant learning, and I’m challenged each day to bring new and innovative ideas to my clients.”
Can your ideas change the world? Visit https://www.boozallen.com/careers.
Tweet me:Learn how the Rapid Prototyping Lab @BoozAllen uses toys to spark innovation: http://bit.ly/2vYsn62
KEYWORDS: Innovation & Technology, Engineering, Advanced Prototyping, Booz Allen Hamilton
SOURCE:BNY Mellon
At BNY Mellon, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) helps us contribute solutions to some of the world's greatest challenges. 2016 was a year of impressive accomplishments.
For us, CSR is not just a philosophy. Our CSR activities make positive, lasting impacts on our markets, our people and our world. Learn more by reading our 2016 CSR Report.
KEYWORDS: Research, Reports & Publications, Diversity & Inclusion
SOURCE:Bloomberg
The following text is by Michael R. Bloomberg from the sixth World Health Organization Report on the Global Tobacco Epidemic, 2017. Download the report here.
One in 10 deaths around the world is caused by tobacco use. To fight this deadly epidemic, Bloomberg Philanthropies has committed nearly US $1 billion over the past 10 years to support tobacco control efforts in low- and middle-income countries. Working in partnership with WHO and governments across the globe, we have helped save at least 30 million lives. This is very encouraging, but there is still a long way to go. We remain committed to staying in- and winning- the fight.
Over the past decade, the percentage of the world’s population covered by at least one of six MPOWER measures- a group of policies shown to reduce tobacco use- grew from 15% to more than 60%. Today, thanks to these measures and the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, over 3.5 billion people are better protected from tobacco, and global sales of cigarettes are down.
This WHO report does more than lay out the global momentum building to tackle the tobacco epidemic: it helps motivate countries by showing the effectiveness of proven- and replicable- solutions.
Some of the greatest gains in the fight against tobacco have come over the past two years. For instance, graphic pack warnings are now in place in India and throughout the European Union. Today, nearly half the world’s population lives in countries with strong graphic warnings on tobacco packaging- more than twice the number of people than were protected at the time of the last edition of this report in 2015. Yet, while increasing tobacco taxes to an adequate level is the most effective measure to reduce use, only 10% of the world’s population is covered by such a tax- the lowest adoption rate of any MPOWER policy.
To read the full story, click here.
KEYWORDS: Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives, Health & Healthcare, philanthropy, Bloomberg, bloombergdotorg, mpower, Global Tobacco Epidemic, world health organization, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Mike Bloomberg
SOURCE:Viacom
This spring, Viacom teams collaborated with nonprofit organizations from across the country and donated their time and skills through Talent for Good, Viacom’s skills-based volunteering program. These efforts culminated earlier this month when Viacom and Catchafire welcomed members from these four amazing nonprofits alongside the employees who volunteer with them in a celebration at Viacom’s New York headquarters.
This event, organized and hosted by Viacommunity, united everyone to share their experiences and celebrate their achievements. Adam Robinson, director of Corporate Social Responsibility, kicked the event off with a toast.
“Talent for Good gives our employees the opportunity to build and sharpen their skill-sets, and give back to the community in a much needed and impactful way,” Robinson said.
The first group to speak at the luncheon was a team of Viacom employees discussing how they banded together to create a pitch deck for L.A. based homeless youth shelter My Friend’s Place. As a native New Yorker, I felt a personal connection to this particular Talent for Good project. Manhattan, much like other large metropolitan areas, is riddled with homelessness. I see sleeping bags filled with tired bodies and men holding out cups filled with coins every day on my way to work in Times Square.
My Friend’s Place has a goal to increase corporate partnerships by more than $100,000 per year over the span of three years. Viacom employees helped the organization develop a pitch deck, strategize ways to strengthen relations with existing corporate partnerships, and increase their reach with desired organizations.
Another Viacom team discussed how the New York Immigration Coalition helps foster immigrant civic engagement and community leadership by targeting New York based moderate conservatives that switched from voting Democrat in the 2012 elections to voting for Donald Trump in the 2016 elections.
Viacom marketing employees, working with the New York Immigration Coalition, attempted to change these voters’ heart and minds in regards to immigration. This wasn’t so easy. Many individuals hung up right away when asked their opinion on immigration policy via phone. So the team switched tactics, slipping flyers with positive statistics and messages about immigrants into their mailboxes, a shift to a soft-power approach designed to more gently influence these moderates.
Child service agency Graham Windham – which provides foster care, family, community, and educational support programs – also teamed up with Viacom employees on a Talent for Good project. Tapping the momentum of Broadway smash-hit Hamilton, (Graham Windham co-founder Eliza Hamilton is a leading character), the Viacom Print/Online Ad Design team created a social media ad campaign for Mother’s Day.
The Viacom team launched a #badassmom social media campaign on Mother’s Day that featured the message, #badass in pink bolded letters slapped across the faces of the four female founders of Graham Windham.
The final group to present their Talent for Good project was a Spike production team that worked closely with hunger relief nonprofit, Rise Against Hunger. After undergoing a recent renaming and rebranding of the organization’s partnership with the United Nations, Rise Against Hunger was in need of a strong brand anthem film addressing world hunger, stating the organization’s mission and values, and outlining how they aim to end hunger by the year 2030. The Spike production team produced and edited this video.
Each Talent for Good project encapsulates Viacom employees’ creativity, talent, and commitment to social impact. Thank you to Catchafire, Viacommunity, and these life-changing organizations for all the time and hard work they put into making the world a safer and more just place for all.
About Viacommunity
Viacommunity is the umbrella effort representing all of Viacom's social impact programs.
Through the power of entertainment, Viacommunity works to inspire social change hand and hand with the people we serve, the employees we work with, and the communities in which we operate. Some of Viacommunity’s key areas of focus include building diverse and inclusive societies, promoting healthy living, inspiring future generations through education and empowering our employees with the tools, resources and freedom to truly make a difference.
Learn more about Viacommunity here.
KEYWORDS: Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives, Non-Profits, Viacom, Viacommunity, Catchafire, My Friend’s Place, New York Immigration Coalition, Graham Windham, Rise Against Hunger, Talent for Good
SOURCE:Keep America Beautiful
STAMFORD, Conn., July 26, 2017 /3BL Media/ - Keep America Beautiful, the nation’s iconic community improvement nonprofit organization, today announced it will partner with Goose Island Beer Company on the brewery’s Migration Week Tour. Five partnership grants of $3,500 each will be used for community improvement projects in five cities during Goose Island’s international Migration Week beer and brewers’ tour.
Migration Week brings the popular Goose Island craft beer to more than 25 cities across the country and throughout the world, encouraging friends and patrons to meet their brewers and enjoy their beers. During five of the week-long tour stops, Keep America Beautiful community-based affiliates and partners will conduct community improvement volunteer events. The event locations and tour dates are:
“Giving back is a huge part of our company philosophy,” said Ken Stout, president, Goose Island Beer Company. “Working with Keep America Beautiful will be a great partnership, as we make stops around the country to share our beers and make a positive impact in our host cities.”
Tapping Keep America Beautiful’s National Affiliate Network, Goose Island will bring people together for various hands-on projects in participating cities. The hands-on volunteer projects will range tree planting initiatives to community cleanups. Specific volunteer event information, including time, date and location will be posted on the Goose Island website for each city. Each event will also include a Goose Island happy hour to reward volunteers for their hard work.
“The work of Keep America Beautiful is more important than ever and the need to grow volunteer service more relevant than ever,” said Helen Lowman, president & CEO of Keep America Beautiful. “Through partnerships like this one with Goose Island, we can encourage and empower Americans of all ages and backgrounds to play an active role in transforming our public spaces into beautiful places.”
Consumers 21 years of age or older can participate. Find more information about projects in participating communities by visiting gooseisland.com/migration-week.
About Keep America Beautiful
Keep America Beautiful, the nation’s iconic community improvement nonprofit organization, inspires and educates people to take action every day to improve and beautify their community environment. Established in 1953, we strive to End Littering, Improve Recycling and Beautify America’s Communities. We believe everyone has a right to live in a clean, green and beautiful community, and shares a responsibility to contribute to that vision.
Behavior change – steeped in education, research and behavioral science – is the cornerstone of Keep America Beautiful. We empower generations of community stewards with volunteer programs, hands-on experiences, curricula, practical advice and other resources to deliver measurable environmental, economic and social benefits. The organization is driven by more than 600 state and local affiliates, millions of volunteers, and the support of corporate partners, social and civic service organizations, academia, municipalities and government officials. Join us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube. Donate and take action at kab.org.
About Goose Island Beer Company
Goose Island Beer Company is Chicago's original craft beer company. Since 1988, the brewery has thrived on continual innovation and a reliance on quality of ingredients. Goose Island pioneered barrel-aged beer with the renowned Bourbon County Brand Stout which sits alongside the well-balanced and award winning portfolio of beers including: Goose IPA, Goose Four Star Pils and the barrel-aged Saison, Sofie. Access to the largest contiguous hop farm in the U.S., Elk Mountain Farms in northwest Idaho, provides the Goose Island brewers with everything they need to live up to their mantra: We don't need to be the only beer you drink. We just want to be the best beer you drink. For more information on Goose Island, please visit www.gooseisland.com.
Keep America Beautiful
+1 (203) 659-3008
mrosen@kab.org
http://www.twitter.com/kabtweet
http://www.facebook.com/keepamericabeautiful
http://www.instagram.com/keepamericabeautiful
http://www.youtube.com/kabnetwork
Lisa Derus
Goose Island Beer Company
+1 (630) 638-0551
lisa.derus@thehighend.beer
KEYWORDS: Social Impact & Volunteering, Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives, Keep America Beautiful, Goose Island Beer Company, Migration Week Tour, GrowNYC, Keep Philadelphia Beautiful, Keep Greater Milwaukee Beautiful, Keep Atlanta Beautiful, Keep Indianapolis Beautiful, volunteerism
SOURCE:Schneider Electric
Three megatrends are escalating energy demand, while approximately 2.3 billion people either don’t have access to electricity at all or don’t have reliable access to electricity. We are committed to solving this energy paradox.
See our 2016-2017 Sustainability Report here.
Download our 2016-2017 Sustainability Report here.
KEYWORDS: Research, Reports & Publications, Energy, energy paradox, Schneider Electric, access to energy
SOURCE:Ray C. Anderson Foundation
We are not separate from nature. We are nature. Walking along the muddy trails of that rainforest, I felt welcome. I experienced being a part of nature.
The Costa Rican rainforest makes for one heck of an alarm clock. Seriously, there might not be a better sound (and sight, for that matter) to which a person can wake up, and I’m speaking from recent personal experience here.
Valerie Bennett
Ray C. Anderson Foundation
+1 (770) 317-5858
valerie@raycandersonfoundation.org
KEYWORDS: Environment, biodiversity, Rainforest, Ray C. Anderson Foundation, Nature, John A. Lanier, Ecocentricity
SOURCE:Habitat for Humanity
ATLANTA, July 26, 2017 /3BL Media/ – Infiltrator Water Technologies, a manufacturer of decentralized wastewater treatment technology, announces its partnership with Habitat for Humanity to assist in their mission to create a world where everyone has a decent and affordable place to live.
“We are grateful to have Infiltrator as a new corporate partner,” said Colleen Finn Ridenhour, senior vice president of Development for Habitat for Humanity International. “They are donating needed wastewater and sanitation products that will help ensure homeowners have a safe and decent place to call home.”
Infiltrator will provide 50 septic systems for Habitat homes throughout North America. Each donation will include a septic tank and drainfield product from Infiltrator’s full line of on-site wastewater products. Safe water and sanitation are at the heart of a healthy home.
“We’re excited to enter this partnership with Habitat for Humanity,” said Roy Moore, president and CEO of Infiltrator Water Technologies. “Our hope is get more involvement from the on-site wastewater industry in future Habitat projects.”
About Habitat for Humanity
Driven by the vision that everyone needs a decent place to live, Habitat for Humanity began in 1976 as a grassroots effort on a community farm in southern Georgia. The Christian housing organization has since grown to become a leading global nonprofit working in more than 1,300 communities throughout the U.S. and in more than 70 countries. Families and individuals in need of a hand up partner with Habitat for Humanity to build or improve a place they can call home. Habitat homeowners help build their own homes alongside volunteers and pay an affordable mortgage. Through financial support, volunteering or adding a voice to support affordable housing, everyone can help families achieve the strength, stability and self-reliance they need to build better lives for themselves. Through shelter, we empower. To learn more, visit habitat.org.
About Infiltrator Water Technologies
Infiltrator Water Technologies manufactures and sells multiple product lines that meet stringent environmental and regulatory requirements for decentralized wastewater and water systems. The Infiltrator team built three of the world’s largest injection molding machines in-house which produce a number of the largest injection molded parts in the world. Through its subsidiary Champion Polymer Recycling, Infiltrator is a leader in the use of “green materials” including post-consumer and post-industrial recycled plastics for the manufacture of products at their ISO 9001 registered manufacturing facility in Winchester, Kentucky. The company holds 140 granted or pending patents.
KEYWORDS: Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives, Sanitation, Habitat for Humanity, Infiltrator Water Technologies
SOURCE:HP, Inc.
At the launch of the first two HP World on Wheels digital inclusion and learning labs in February, Rajiv Srivastava, Managing Director of HP India, stood side-by-side with Dr. Dinesh Tyagi, CEO, Common Service Center, India’s Ministry of Communication & Information Technology. The two men cut a symbolic red ribbon strung across the doorway of a learning lab, marking the official start of a journey that is expected to impact more than 15 million people over the next six years.
HP World on Wheels, first announced at the Global Citizen Festival India in November 2016, builds on HP’s multi-pronged support of the Indian government’s Digital India, which includes a range of programs that advance data digitization, cloud-based e-learning, and digital literacy across the country.
The joint ribbon cutting ceremony demonstrated the powerful impact that governments and business can have when they join forces to drive social change. For HP, this collaboration is helping advance our objective to reinvent learning and digital inclusion. It’s this shared value approach to driving good that enables us to focus our efforts where we can have the greatest impact.
Education is a critical business vertical for HP — not only as a core market for our technology, but because quality education is vital to powering the next generation of inventors, leaders, and future employees. Advancing quality education is also one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. We’re driven by the knowledge that, as we help build better education systems, we’re helping achieve meaningful outcomes for us all, supporting sustained economic growth and enabling more peaceful, stable societies.
As a global multinational company present in more than 170 countries and territories, we know our business actions can have a tremendous impact. Yet, we also know when we collaborate with governments, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), for-profit companies, and others around a common social goal, we are better able to scale our reach, bring our strategic vision to life faster, and drive even greater impact for people and communities across the world.
Here are a few examples:
— Mashrou3i is the result of a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) of the HP Foundation, United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), the US Agency for International Development (USAID), and the Government of Italy. The program started in 2013 to help address the significant challenge of youth unemployment in Tunisia—where an estimated 40 percent of young graduates were unable to find work. The three-year pilot trained over 12,000 people in business and IT skills training, and helped create more than 1,250 jobs, including 160 start-up businesses. With $14 million USD in additional funding from the partners, the second phase of the program, launched in January, aims to reach an additional 25,000 aspiring and existing entrepreneurs, and create over 6,000 more private sector jobs.
— HP Learning Studios are creative, collaborative learning spaces where students drive the design and fabrication of products to address real-world issues that matter to them. Working in collaboration with Digital Promise Global, Global Business Coalition for Education, Microsoft, and Intel, we’re opening six HP Learning Studios in Lebanon and Jordan to help Syrian refugee youths learn in-demand skills such as design thinking, three-dimensional design, and social entrepreneurship. These six, focused exclusively on serving the needs of refugees, are in addition to the 61 Learning Studios operating in the US, Canada, UK, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Germany, Italy, Spain, Australia, and New Zealand.
— Several hundred people—including more than 300 children, ages 8 to 12—collect recyclable materials at the Truitier landfill in Haiti. HP joined with Timberland, Team Tassy, and ACOP (Association des Collectors des objets en Plastic) on an initiative lead by Thread that will improve the conditions at Truitier — and the lives of those who work there. The program provides educational opportunities, physical exams, and safety and sanitation trainings to the children, as well as job training for adult workers. The program partners are also making investments in entrepreneurs, microenterprises, and small-to-medium enterprises in the targeted neighborhoods to support economic growth. HP will purchase recycled plastic made from raw materials collected at the Truitier landfill to manufacture new HP print cartridges via our current closed-loop recycling program.
These public-private partnerships are vital to helping us advance our corporate vision to create technology that makes life better for everyone, everywhere. And there’s another type of partnership that’s also vital to advancing our vision — partnering with influential people and organizations that inspire, advocate, and enable action, such as Global Citizen.
Since 2013, HP has been a proud supporter and partner of Global Citizen. Working together with Global Citizen, HP is able to amplify our impact by reaching a passionate, committed, and engaged global audience of millions who share a common commitment to make the world better. Global Citizen is a powerful force for driving awareness and action — both inside our company, as we set and align around commitments that help us advance our goals, as well as across the Global Citizen community, as we work to create access to quality education for everyone, everywhere.
There’s an African proverb that says, “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” But at HP, we believe that if you align people around a common purpose, you can both accelerate and scale progress. Our decades of partnerships have shown this to be true—and as Global Citizens, we collectively prove it to the world every day.
KEYWORDS: Sustainable Development Goals, Education, HP World on Wheels, HP Inc, global citizen, Mashrou3i, United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), HP Foundation, US Agency for International Development (USAID), the Government of Italy, India, HP Learning Studios, Truitier landfill in Haiti
SOURCE:Aflac
At Aflac, we try to live by this very simple rule: Everyone has the power to do good. This week, we unveiled Aflac’s 2016 Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Report, where we share with you how Aflac strives to be a good neighbor with good people leading the way. View the report now at Aflac.com/CSRReport. #AflacCSR
KEYWORDS: Research, Reports & Publications, Media & Communications, Aflac
SOURCE:Black & Veatch
The future of electric utilities is tightly bound to their ability to provide automated distribution of electric services. To support these evolving intelligent delivery systems, reliable high performance Internet Protocol (IP) data communications are required. Today’s utility communications networks consist of two distinct parts: Information technology (IT) and operational technology (OT), with the IT network supporting the business operations and the OT network supporting electric service delivery operations.
Download the 2017 Smart City/Smart Utility Report
By building communications networks that can more tightly integrate business drivers and goals with the day-to-day load demand for their customers, utilities are taking the initial steps toward integrating the smart grid with smart cities. The foundation for both utility systems integration and smart grid/smart city integration is the communications network.
Today, a majority of utilities are struggling with deploying private or public communications infrastructure that can effectively support both IT and OT services. According to the 2017 Strategic Directions: Smart City/Smart Utility Report, only nine percent of utilities deemed their current communications networks “adequate” to support future needs and requirements for grid modernization. Half of the respondents stated that their systems are “close to adequate,” and that they are currently working to update them.
Some utilities approach the modernization challenge by continuing to evolve their existing infrastructure, which often consists of two independently operated networks supporting IT and OT. Others are attempting to use advanced capabilities in IP networking infrastructure equipment and applications to logically control the boundaries between business and delivery operations.
KEYWORDS: Innovation & Technology, Energy, Black & Veatch, Smart Cities, network infrastructure, Telecommunications, communications network, grid modernization, sustainable network
SOURCE:TD Bank Group
For the ninth year in a row, TD Bank Group was recognized as one of Canada's greenest employers by Canada's Top 100 Employers (Mediacorp Canada Inc). The award evaluates the environmental leadership of organizations based on a variety of factors, including the types of green initiatives that were developed and the degree to which employees get involved in reducing their carbon footprint.
This 2017 recognition highlights a number of achievements for TD:
-Over 10,000 TD employees planted nearly 53,000 trees at more than 160 locations across Canada last year.
-Planted over 285,000 trees since 2010 through TD Tree Days, a grassroots community tree-planting program that runs annually.
-$9.3 million was donated to community environment projects in 2016, including $5.5 million to 1,100 projects across Canada through the TD Friends of the Environment Foundation, from expansion of green spaces to outdoor environmental education programs.
-TD's Flex Workplace program helped save C02 emissions, equal to the energy use of about 4,156 homes for one year, through policies that accommodate less commuting and business travel, and more flexible work patterns.
-The bank's continued investment in green building design with a focus on renewable energy and energy efficiency, including 173 LEED-certified projects.
Through these initiatives, TD is helping to move the dial forward towards a healthy and prosperous low-carbon economy.
To learn more about TD's environmental initiatives, visit TD Bank Group's 2016 Corporate Responsibility Report.
Tweet me:@TD_Canada named one of #Canada's greenest employers 9 years in a row http://bit.ly/2u1QkIh
KEYWORDS: Environment, Awards, Ratings & Rankings
SOURCE:Keep America Beautiful
STAMFORD, Conn., July 27, 2017 /3BL Media/ – Keep America Beautiful, the nation’s iconic community improvement nonprofit organization, today announced the organization has received a $1 million donation from Lowe’s to support more than 35 local community service projects in 2017. Since the partnership began in 2012, Lowe’s has contributed more than $6 million and over 1,800 Lowe’s Heroes volunteers to help Keep America Beautiful improve communities. The donation this year will also support Keep America’s Beautiful’s annual Great American Cleanup, the nation’s largest community improvement program.
The 2017 Keep America Beautiful/Lowe’s Community Partners Grant Program engages local volunteers to take action to benefit communities across the country with projects that focus on critical needs. They range from restoring neighborhood parks and planting community and school gardens to leading disaster restoration initiatives and large-scale cleanups. Projects will also support Keep America Beautiful’s focus areas to end littering, improve recycling and beautify communities.
“Lowe’s has been empowering our national network of affiliates with significant Lowe’s Community Partners Grants for years, helping Keep America Beautiful turn public spaces into beautiful places,” said Helen Lowman, president and CEO of Keep America Beautiful. “We believe everyone has a right to live in a clean, green and beautiful community, and Lowe’s is taking responsibility to contribute to our vision.”
One critical need will be addressed by Lowe’s Heroes and volunteers from Keep Genesee County Beautiful in September. After the water crisis in Flint, Michigan, doctors advised all children follow lead-fighting health guidelines, including during exercise and play. Many areas of Flint do not have safe, useable parks for children to play. Keep Genesee County Beautiful and the Lowe’s Heroes will build a large playground in an existing park to provide both physical and behavioral benefits for children and their families.
Another project in Phoenix will help Keep Phoenix Beautiful develop a new community garden. New garden beds will be built as well as an outdoor classroom for children, stations for composting and aquaponics, and native health and xeriscaping demonstration gardens. The garden will be located where two abandoned houses, once a magnet for drug and transient activity, were torn down.
Since 2011, Lowe’s has supported Keep America Beautiful and its network of more than 600 state and community-based affiliates with more than $6 million in contributions and the hands-on support of Lowe’s Heroes volunteers. Lowe’s and Keep America Beautiful have mobilized nearly 54,000 community volunteers since the partnership began. The partnership between Lowe’s and Keep America Beautiful has:
“Our Lowe’s Heroes volunteers are ready to roll up their sleeves to help make our communities better places to live,” said James Frison, Lowe’s director of community relations. “By working with Keep America Beautiful to address critical needs, we’re demonstrating our commitment to protecting the environment and improving the health of our communities.”
About Lowe’s in the Community
Lowe’s, a FORTUNE® 50 home improvement company, has a 60-year legacy of supporting the communities it serves through programs that focus on K-12 public education and community improvement projects. In the past decade, Lowe’s and the Lowe’s Charitable and Educational Foundation together have contributed nearly $300 million to these efforts, and for more than two decades Lowe’s Heroes volunteers have donated their time to make our communities better places to live. For the latest news, visit Newsroom.Lowes.com or follow @LowesMedia on Twitter.
About Keep America Beautiful
Keep America Beautiful, the nation’s iconic community improvement nonprofit organization, inspires and educates people to take action every day to improve and beautify their community environment. Established in 1953, we strive to End Littering, Improve Recycling and Beautify America’s Communities. We believe everyone has a right to live in a clean, green and beautiful community, and shares a responsibility to contribute to that vision.
Behavior change – steeped in education, research and behavioral science – is the cornerstone of Keep America Beautiful. We empower generations of community stewards with volunteer programs, hands-on experiences, curricula, practical advice and other resources to deliver measurable environmental, economic and social benefits. The organization is driven by more than 600 state and local affiliates, millions of volunteers, and the support of corporate partners, social and civic service organizations, academia, municipalities and government officials. Join us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube. Donate and take action at kab.org.
Mike Rosen
Keep America Beautiful
+1 (203) 659-3008
mrosen@kab.org
http://www.twitter.com/kabtweet
https://www.facebook.com/KeepPhoenixBeautiful/
http://www.instagram.com/keepamericabeautiful
http://www.youtube.com/kabnetwork
Sarah Lively
Lowe's
+1 (704) 758-4863
Sarah.F.Lively@lowes.com
KEYWORDS: Social Impact & Volunteering, Trees, Keep America Beautiful, Lowe's, Lowe's Heroes, volunteerism, Lowe’s Community Partners Grant Program, Great American Cleanup
SOURCE:Domtar
Domtar’s pulp mills are, in essence, biorefineries designed to separate and extract the natural chemical building blocks of wood. Cellulose is used to make paper, but the other biochemicals from wood are also valuable as feedstocks for products ranging from fuels to flavors and fragrances.
Domtar now has more than a hundred different options for supplementing and enhancing our current pulp and paper product portfolio with different biomaterials. This requires establishing an approach to decision making that is both agile and objective. The task becomes even more complicated when one recognizes that every one of our pulp mills is configured differently and operates in a different environment using different wood feedstocks.
That is why our interest in the science of decision making is heightened, and why we recruited Dr. Shabnam Sanaei to bring new thinking to complex decision making.
Before moving to Canada in 2008, Shabnam earned a master’s degree in chemical engineering in Iran, where she studied under professors working in the oil and gas field. She was eager to pair her learning in that field with her interest in environmental sustainability and biorefining.
She enrolled at Ecole Polytechnique de Montreal for doctoral studies where her research centered on sustainability assessments and multi-criteria decision making. This included developing a model for deciding how to best supplement our current product portfolios at each of our facilities. “I wanted to develop a method to evaluate the sustainability of integrated biorefining and biomaterials opportunities,” she said, “accounting for the economic, environmental, regulatory and social factors.”
From Montreal, Shabnam moved to Domtar’s Dryden, Ontario, mill to test how her model would work in actual practice. She then completed a two-year post-doctoral internship at Domtar focused on lignin valorization. She is now part of our Biomaterials business, examining opportunities for new revenue streams across Domtar’s mill system. This includes opportunities ranging from producing a feedstock for making high-strength carbon fiber, to feeding livestock for healthier and more sustainable food production.
“We need to diversify our product portfolio beyond our core pulp and paper business,” she said. “But how do we choose from the thousands of things that can be made from wood? Which pathway should we follow? We are already a biorefinery business. How do we maximize its potential moving forward?” Shabnam’s work is an example of Domtar’s approach to sustainability: Working smart, for the long term
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Domtar’s 2017 Sustainability Report details the company’s endeavor to take a longer term view of creating and preserving value for our shareholders, customers, employees and communities. For more inspiring stories about Domtar's sustainability efforts, visit the Domtar Newsroom at https://newsroom.domtar.com.
To view the full 2017 Sustainability Report click here.
Tweet me:.@DomtarEveryday is Bringing Decision #Science to #Sustainability http://bit.ly/2tWvSZt
Dan Persica, Sustainability Communications Manager
+1 (803) 802-8067
daniel.persica@domtar.com
KEYWORDS: Environment, Diversity & Inclusion, Domtar
SOURCE:Qualcomm
Building on three years of successful hands-on STEM camps, this summer the Qualcomm® Thinkabit Lab™ continues to grow, with a total of 10 one-week-long camps in San Diego, the DC Metro Area and China. These programs are designed to introduce, inspire and encourage middle school students’ interest in STEM. Qcamp
The annual summer program from Qualcomm – Qcamp™ – began in 2014 with a collaboration between Qualcomm and the Institute of International Education (IIE) on the Women Enhancing Technology (WeTech) program. Qualcomm has been a lead partner in this initiative since its inception, and it is a part of the Company’s ongoing commitment to increasing and supporting girls and women in STEM. Qcamp is a free-of-charge, intensive summer camp that provides students from all cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds with hands-on learning and engineering activities in a part maker-space, part lab environment. For more on Qcamp, view the videos here.
KEYWORDS: Education, Qualcomm, Thinkabit Lab, QCamp, American Association of University Women, coding, engineering, UC Berkeley, Lawrence Hall of Science, TechTrek
SOURCE:Cisco Systems Inc.
We are at the beginning of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and entering a new era of digitization, which is rapidly disrupting how we live, work, and relate to one another. Today’s technologies, including artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things (IoT), and Cisco’s recently launched new intuitive network are connecting everything and everyone in the physical, digital, and biological spheres.
These interconnected solutions are transforming entire industries, creating new business models and competitors, and doing so at an unprecedented pace; disruption that used to take decades can now happen in a matter of months. Ordering a cab, booking a flight, making a payment, and watching a film all can now be done remotely and quickly, increasing the efficiency and pleasure of our personal lives. Entire industries, including transportation and accommodation, have transformed before our very eyes and businesses in the digital age are constantly reinventing themselves.
This new digital era is transforming technology itself at an incredible pace, and changing the nature of jobs. In tomorrow’s technology landscape, everything will be connected, as well as software-based, automated, and data-generating, meaning everything will need to be secured. Solutions in this era must be constantly learning, constantly adapting, and constantly protecting users and their data.
These solutions require employees with new skills. Research shows that 1.4 million full-time employees, and an additional 300,000 entry-level full-time employees, will be needed to deliver application and business services for the Internet of Things (IoT) by 2020.[1]
While technology-based solutions adapt to this digital era, the demand for skills in new areas like security, machine learning, and artificial intelligence, is increasing. New approaches will be required to develop the volume and uniqueness of skills and competencies required, and this is also changing the future of education. To prepare the talent needed for the digital economy, education must adapt as fast as the demand for IT skills is growing and evolving.
Current education cost models can be prohibitive, which is challenging the whole education system as it’s developed to this point. Changes in the technology landscape mean students need to master new skills and new ways of working. Learning must now be dynamic, multidisciplinary, digital, relevant, and provide hands-on experiences that prepares students for the continuously evolving needs of today’s employers. Today’s students also want to learn at their own pace, and at the time and location of their own choosing, and learning has changed to become more personalized and flexible.
All of these trends combined, the Fourth Industrial Revolution, a changing technology landscape, and an evolving education system, is, unfortunately, exacerbating the current mismatch between the skills employees have and the skills companies need. Too many people are unemployed, while employers and CEOs struggle to find the right mix of talent to fill new job profiles that will help them remain competitive and relevant in the digital era.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than 7 million people across the country were unemployed in March of 2017,[2] though 5.7 million unfilled jobs were available.[3] Nearly half of U.S. employers can’t find qualified candidates, with many citing a lack of technical skills as a top reason.[4] In the IT industry that number is worse, with 86% of hiring managers challenged to find people with the right skills.[5]
Employers today want workers with hands on experience, and a balance of technical skills, such as coding, software, and networking, as well as non-technical skills, including business understanding, problem-solving, and innovative thinking. With technology changing so rapidly, businesses need employees that know how to deal with change, that collaborate well with others, and those that love to continuously learn.
All of these influences – the Fourth Industrial Revolution, tomorrow’s technology landscape, and the future of education – are driving Cisco to transform both the learning portfolio strategy and platform strategy of the Cisco Networking Academy.
Cisco Networking Academy is a world-leading IT skills and career building program that addresses the growing need for IT talent by equipping students with entry-level IT and 21st-century career skills. The program is based on partnerships with over 9,600 community colleges, universities, governments, and other organizations, implementing the program across 170 countries.
Our global impact includes providing IT education to more than one million students each year, 6.9 million students since 1997. To address the growing skills gap, the Networking Academy curriculum builds a solid digital foundation through courses like Cybersecurity Essentials and Programming Essentials in C++. We constantly develop new courses to keep our curriculum relevant, such as IoT fundamentals, a new three-module course that covers big data and analytics, connecting things and rapid prototyping, all relevant to some of the fastest-growing job areas.
Our learning portfolio strategy, the material we create and teach, has also been updated for the new digital era. While the network is now even more foundational, literacy in coding, security, and data will be essential for all. We’ve broadened our cyber domain to include cloud security, security audit, and digital forensics topics and have introduced automation, machine learning, and artificial intelligence literacy to better prepare our students for today’s jobs.
We have also transformed our delivery platform, which is how we teach and deliver the Networking Academy program. Our platform is a next generation Cloudscale architecture with a Devops approach and continuous integration in the environment.
Our platform’s use of big data provides improved analytics and insights that help us optimize both the learning experience of our students, providing formative feedback as they study, as well as providing insights and metrics for our Networking Academy program. In addition, the platform is evolving to support a range of modalities (online, offline, intermittent, low bandwidth) scaling across the globe and interoperating with other Learning Management Systems (LMS).
The future of Networking Academy is anchored in the future of the Cisco Network. Cisco recently unveiled a new era of intent-based networking, The Network Intuitive, which is powered by intent to automate and scale in just minutes, and informed by data and analytical context. The Network Intuitive learns and reacts and is the only network that provides security while maintaining privacy, solving a previously unsolvable dilemma.
The Cisco Networking Academy is developing the skills needed for a new era of technology professionals, working in a connected future, with an intuitive network. Our program continuously introduces new digital skills, adapts to trends in education, and allows individuals to learn anytime, anywhere, together. We are improving learning experiences and outcomes, to develop talent truly capable of transforming businesses and powering the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
[1] Gartner, 2016: Cisco Digitization/IoT Entry Level Jobs
[2] US Bureau of Labor Statistics
[3] Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey Highlights May 2016
[4] 2016 Manpower Talent Shortage Survey
[5] 2016 Indeed Technology Talent Survey
KEYWORDS: Education, Digital Literacy, The Fourth Industrial Revolution, Internet of Things (IoT), cisco csr, cisco networking academy, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, The Network Intuitive
SOURCE:Booz Allen Hamilton
Imagine that a doctor could fully examine a patient’s heart, from all angles, before a single incision is made. Or see real patient data as a hologram: zooming in on troublesome areas, enlarging areas of concern. If a tumor is spotted, a doctor “walks” around the area, examining it on all sides.
Holographic Medical Imaging (HMI) demonstrates how doctors can see more of a patient’s body before surgery, and helps pinpoint problems with much greater accuracy than 2-D images allow. Meet Nirav Desai, a Chief Technologist at Booz Allen Hamilton who is leading the firm’s effort to bring HMI to doctors on the go, via portable devices.
“The medical profession is not unlike technology. It moves quickly and is mobile. Each person in the continuum of care needs access to the patient’s information, presented in the manner it was intended and available as needed,” Desai said. “3-D images should be viewed in 3-D, and doctors should be able to view those images anytime, anywhere.”
Desai’s team is working with a group from Microsoft to directly impact patient care by providing tools that are adaptable to health care professionals’ needs. Booz Allen’s application works with the Microsoft Surface family of devices and HoloLens, providing doctors with the ability to display 3-D patient images securely, from the patient’s bedside, during pre-op, or in the physician’s office.
Desai said, “The impacts are clear. HMI gives providers insights into critical medical issues. It also supports a deeper examination of a patient’s condition, as well as more collaboration with experts who may be halfway around the world. We’ve applied technology to support clinical collaboration, rather than having clinicians adapt their processes to technology. All of which results in improved health care.”
Learn about how people at Booz Allen use technology to change the world: https://www.boozallen.com/e/insight/thought-leadership/a-home-for-entrepreneurial-tech-talent.html.
KEYWORDS: Innovation & Technology, Health & Healthcare, Holographic Medical Imaging, Booz Allen Hamilton, Microsoft
