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SC Johnson Inoza uburyo bwo guhabwa ubuvuzi biciye mu Bafatanyabikorwa bakorana na Minisiteri y’Ubuzima mu Rwanda

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Uburyo Abafatanyabikorwa bakoresha butigeze bubaho mbere bunoza imitangire ya serivise z’ubuzima muri Leta, bugena ubukangurambaga ku birebana na Malariya

SOURCE:SC Johnson

DESCRIPTION:

RACINE, Wis., Taliki ya 11 Nyakanga 2018 /3BL Media/ – Kuri miliyoni z’abantu batuye muri Afurika y’Uburasirazuba bwo hagati, ibyago byo kwandura malariya ni ikintu gihangayikishije abantu buri munsi. Nk’uko Ishami ry’Umuryango w’Abibumbye Ryita ku Buzima (WHO) ribivuga, Abantu bagera kuri 90 ku ijana mu Rwanda bugarijwe n’indwara ya malariya.[1] Kugira ngo dufashe kurinda abantu ibyago byo kwandura no gukemura ibindi bibazo birebana n’ubuzima bw’abaturage, SC Johnson yatangaje uyu munsi ubufatanye yagiranye na Minisiteri y’Ubuzima mu Rwanda n’Umuryango wita ku Buzima mu Rwanda mu gushyiraho ingamba ku rwego rw’igihugu zo kongera uburyo bwo guhabwa ubuvuzi bwibanze bubaka posite de Sante 10 nshya hirya no hino mu gihugu.

“Muri ubu bufatanye hagati ya Leta n’abikorera, dushobora gufasha Minisiteri y’Ubuzima mu Rwanda kunoza uburyo bwo guhabwa ubuvuzi no gukuraho zimwe mu mbogamizi zihari zirebana n’ubuzima, harimo malariya, guha serivisi nziza abaturage,” nk’uko Fisk Johnson, Umukuru akaba n’Umuyobozi w’Inama y’Ubutegetsi ya SC Johnson abivuga. “SC Johnson ni indashyikirwa mu bushakashatsi burebana n’imibu kandi twitangira gukumira icyahungabanya ubuzima bwiza bw’abaturange ku bw’umwihariko giturutse ku ndwara itewe n’umubu.”

Gahunda y’imyaka ine izafasha gukemura ibibazo byinshi birebana n’ubuzima bw’abaturage mu Rwanda, harimo malariya, SIDA, kuboneza urubyaro, kubona amazi meza n’imirire nyiza. Ku birebana na malariya, mu byo iki gikorwa twiyemeje kigamije harimo gushyiraho ku rwego rw’igihugu ibipimo ngenderwaho mu gukemura ikibazo cy’indwara ziterwa n’umubu no gushyiraho ibipimo ngenderwaho byizewe kandi bihamye ku birebana n’imiti yica udukoko. Ibipimo ngenderwaho ku rwego rw’igihugu bizibanda mu gukwirakwiza no gukoresha mu gihugu no ku bantu ku giti cyabo imiti yica imibu, kimwe no gushishikariza abantu guhindura bakagira imyitwarire myiza ituma bagabanya ku buryo bufatika indwara ziterwa n’umubu.

Muri rusange, uku gukorana bizahuriza hamwe abayobozi bo mu bikorera, bo mu mashuri n’abo mu buvuzi hamwe na Leta kugira ngo bubake inzego zihamye zo kubungabunga ubuzima. Kubaka posite de Sante bizagabanya ku buryo bufatika igihe cyatakaraga ku rugendo tugereranyije icyo gihe kikava ku amasaha 3 kikagera ku minota 30 y’urugendo Umunyarwanda akora ajya gushaka aho yivuriza. Posite de sante n’ushinzwe gahunda y’ubukangurambaga bazagenzurwa na Minisiteri y’Ubuzima mu Rwanda n’Umuryango wita ku Buzima mu Rwanda mu bufatanye na SC Johnson.

“Izo posite de sante icumi zizadufasha gutanga ubuvuzi bukenewe cyane zegereye bya hafi abaturage bugarijwe kurusha abandi,” nk’uko Dr cg Muganga Diane Gashumba, Minisitiri w’Ubuzima mu Rwanda yabivuze. “Ibi bizafasha kunoza serivisi z’ubuzima zikorerwa umuryango muri rusange kandi bihite bikemura imbogamizi ubuvuzi buhanganye nazo muri rusange, nk’indwara ya malariya,hirya no hino mu gihugu.”

Kwiyemeza gukorana n’abaturage benshi ku rwego rwo hasi

Mu myaka irenga makumyabiri, SC Johnson yatanze ibisubizo bifasha abaturage kwinjiza inyungu kugira ngo bazamure imibereho yabo kandi ikabaha uburyo buboneye bwo kugera ku buzima bwiza kurushaho ku baturage miliyari 4 ari bo benshi bagize urwego rw’ibanze mu bukungu bw’isi. Muri ibyo harimo kugira uruhare no gutanga serivisi zigenewe kurinda indwara ziterwa n’umubu. Mu gukwirakwiza imiti yayo y’indashyikirwa mu kurwanya imibu itera indwara ku buryo burushijeho kwaguka mu baturage bo mu cyaro, SC Johnson igamije kugabanya ku ijana umubare w’abarwayi ba malariya,nk’uko ubushakashatsi bwewrekanye ko gukoresha imiti yica imibu ishobora kugabanya abarumwa na yo kandi ikagabanya umubare w’abarwayi bashya bandura iyo ndwara.

Byongeye, SC Johnson yagize uruhare kandi iyobora ibikorwa bitandukanye bifasha imiryango kubona imiti ya SC Johnson no kubona uburyo buboneye bwo kugera ku buzima buzira umuze harimo:

  • Gukorana mu ikipe imwe na Coca-Cola Co., Solarkiosk n’Umuryango wita ku Buzima mu Rwanda muri 2017 nka kimwe mu bigize gahunda ya EKOCENTER. Iyi gahunda itanga amazi meza yo kunywa, isuku n’isukura, ingufu z’imirasire y’izuba n’itumanaho ry’inziramigozi (wireless) ku bitabiriye. Ibigo ni ingero z’icyitegererezo muri icyo gikorwa, bikorwa na operateri b’abagore, bakora ubucuruzi bw’ibicuruzwa by’ibanze harimo OFF!® amavuta y’amazi akumira imibu, Baygon® utuzingo dutanga umwotsi wirukana imibu na KIWI® y’umuti wo gusiga inkweto. Vuba aha, ibigo by’inyongera bya EKOCENTERS byafunguye imiryango muri Vietnam.
  • Ubufatanye n’Ikigo cya Cornell University mu birebana n’Umushinga ukora ku rwego rw’isi mu buryo burambye muri 2012 watangije Karabu y’Icyitegererezo ya WOW™ muri Ghana kugira bagerageze inzira nshya zo gufasha umuryango kugabanya indwara ya malariya mu buryo bw’icyitegererezo mu gikorwa kibyara inyungu mu kugeza imiti yica imibu mu miryango yo mu cyaro. Icyavuye muri izo mbaraga cyafashije abasanzwe binjiza amafaranga make mu bikorwa byo kwita ku buzima mu ngo zabo no mu miryango yabo.
  • Inyigo yakozwe muri 2010 na Fondasiyo ya Bill & Melinda Gates yagaragaje akamaro k’imiti yica imibu ahantu hagari mu kurwanya imibu itera malariya mu gace ka Sumba, muri Indonesia.
  • Iyo porogaramu yatewe inkunga mu gihe cy’imyaka itatu yangiye muri 2002 itangizwa n’Umuryango Wita ku bana no ku Miryango witwa Healthy Children, Healthy Homes™ muri Afurika y’Epfo yageze ku bantu barenga miliyoni 1 ibaha amakuru y’uko umuntu yakwirinda malariya.

Ukeneye amakuru arambuye kuri SC Johnson n’imbaraga ishyira mu bikorwa biharanira imibereho myiza yihaye nk’inshingano, wasura urubuga rw’iyo sosiyete kuri Facebook, Twitter cyangwa kuri aderesi ya www.scjohnson.com.

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Aderese:

SC Johnson Global Public Affairs

USPublicAffairs@scj.com

262-260-2440

Ku birebana na SC Johnson
SC Johnson ni sosiyete y’umuryango yihaye mu gihe kirekire inshingano ihamye yo kugeza aho abantu bakorera akazi, ahakikije abantu, no mu baturage aho ikorera, imiti mishya ifite ubuzirangenge buhebuje itandukanye n’imenyerewe, y’indashyikirwa. Iyo sosiyete ifite icyicaro muri Leta Zunze Ubumwe z’Amerika, ni imwe mu nganda zo mu rwego rwo hejuru zikora imiti ikoreshwa mu isuku n’imiti ikoreshwa mu guhinika mu ngo, ikoreshwa mu gusukura umwuka, ikoreshwa mu kwica udukoko twangiza n’ikoreshwa mu gufata neza inkweto, kimwe n’imiti abanyamwuga bifashisha. Ubwoko bw’ibicuruzwa buzwi cyane ishyira ku isoko ni GLADE®, KIWI®, OFF!®, PLEDGE®, RAID®, SCRUBBING BUBBLES®, SHOUT®, WINDEX® na ZIPLOC® muri Leta Zunze Ubumwe z’Amerika no hakurya y’aho, n’ibicuruzwa icuruza hanze ya Leta Zunze Ubumwe z’Amerika harimo AUTAN®, TANA®, BAMA®, BAYGON®, BRISE®, KABIKILLER®, KLEAR®, MR MUSCLE® na RIDSECT®. Ni sosiyete imaze imyaka 132, ifite umutungo ungana na miliyari $10 mu bicuruzwa byayo, ikagira abakozi bakabakaba 13,000 ku isi kandi igacuruza ibicuruzwa byayo ikoresheje ikoranabuhanga muri buri gihugu hirya no hino ku isi. www.scjohnson.com

Tweet me:.@SCJohnson Inoza uburyo bwo guhabwa ubuvuzi biciye mu Bafatanyabikorwa bakorana na Minisiteri y’Ubuzima mu Rwanda http://bit.ly/2uooHeC

KEYWORDS: community involvement, corporate contributions, GOOD HEALTH AND WELL-BEING, Hygiene, Improving healthcare Access, mobile health, Partnerships, Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives, Positive Change, SC Johnson, Rwanda, Malaria


SC Johnson Improves Access to Health Care Through Partnership with Rwanda Ministry of Health

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Unprecedented partnership will improve public health services, drive malaria education

SOURCE:SC Johnson

DESCRIPTION:

RACINE, Wis., July 11, 2018 /3BL Media/ – For millions of people in east central Africa, the risk of malaria infection is an everyday concern. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), up to 90 percent of Rwandans are at risk for malaria.[1] To help address this risk and other public health issues, SC Johnson today announced a partnership with the Rwanda Ministry of Health and the Society for Family Health to co-develop a national strategy to increase access to health care through the construction of 10 new health posts across the country.

"With this public-private partnership, we can help the Rwanda Ministry of Health improve access to health care and tackle some of the existing health challenges, including malaria, to better serve local communities,” said Fisk Johnson, Chairman and CEO of SC Johnson. “SC Johnson is a leader in insect research and we are dedicated to helping protect the wellness of people particularly from insect-borne disease.”

A four-year plan will help to address several public health issues in Rwanda, including malaria, HIV/AIDS, family planning, access to clean water and nutrition. In relation to malaria, this initiative will include the development of country-wide national standards to address mosquito-borne diseases and set local safety and efficacy standards for pest products. The national standards will focus on the distribution and use of mosquito spatial and personal insect repellent products, as well as the encouragement of positive behavioral changes to reduce the potential risk of mosquito-borne disease.

Overall, the collaboration will bring together private, academic and health care leaders with the public to build a stronger, more connected health system. The installation of the health posts will significantly reduce the amount of travel time from an estimated 3 hours to about 30 minutes of walking for the average Rwandan in search of health care. The health posts and consumer education programming will be managed by the Rwandan Ministry of Health and the Society for Family Health in collaboration with SC Johnson.

“The ten health posts will help us to bring much-needed health care closer to the most vulnerable communities,” said Dr. Diane Gashumba, Rwanda Minister of Health. “This will help to improve family health overall and immediately address health care challenges, like malaria, across the country.”

Enduring Commitment to Communities at the Base of the Pyramid

For more than two decades, SC Johnson has provided sustainable business solutions to raise the standard of living and provide opportunities for a better quality of life for the 4 billion people who occupy the base of the world’s economic pyramid. This includes contributions and services dedicated to preventing insect-borne diseases. With wider distribution of its leading pest control products in rural communities, SC Johnson aims to reduce the percentage of malaria cases, as studies have shown that the use of spatial repellents can reduce the frequency of biting and may reduce new malaria occurrences.

In addition, SC Johnson has contributed to and led various initiatives to help these families gain access to SC Johnson products and to opportunities for a better quality of life including:

  • Teaming up with The Coca-Cola Co., Solarkiosk and Society for Family Health Rwanda in 2017 as a part of the EKOCENTER program. This program provides safe drinking water, sanitation, solar energy and wireless communication to participants. The centers are modular retail experiences, run by women operators, that provide commerce of basic goods including OFF!® mosquito repellent lotion, Baygon® mosquito coils and KIWI® shoe polish. Recently, additional EKOCENTERS have opened in Vietnam.

  • Partnering with Cornell University’s Center for Sustainable Global Enterprise in 2012 to launch the WOW™ club pilot in Ghana to explore new ways to help families reduce the transmission of malaria with a business model that brings repellents and insecticides to rural families. The resulting efforts have helped low-income homemakers care for their homes and families.

  • Administered a study in 2010 with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to determine the effects of spatial repellents in fighting malaria-infected mosquitoes in Sumba, Indonesia.

  • Sponsored a three-year research program beginning in 2002 with Healthy Children, Healthy Homes™ in South Africa that reached more than 1 million people with malaria prevention information.

For more information about SC Johnson and its social corporate responsibility efforts, visit the company on Facebook, Twitter or at www.scjohnson.com.

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Contact:

SC Johnson Global Public Affairs

USPublicAffairs@scj.com

262-260-2440

About SC Johnson
SC Johnson is a family company dedicated to innovative, high-quality products, excellence in the workplace and a long-term commitment to the environment and the communities in which it operates. Based in the USA, the company is one of the world's leading manufacturers of household cleaning products and products for home storage, air care, pest control and shoe care, as well as professional products. It markets such well-known brands as GLADE®, KIWI®, OFF!®, PLEDGE®, RAID®, SCRUBBING BUBBLES®, SHOUT®, WINDEX® and ZIPLOC® in the U.S. and beyond, with brands marketed outside the U.S. including AUTAN®, TANA®, BAMA®, BAYGON®, BRISE®, KABIKILLER®, KLEAR®, MR MUSCLE® and RIDSECT®. The 132-year-old company, which generates $10 billion in sales, employs approximately 13,000 people globally and sells products in virtually every country around the world. www.scjohnson.com


[1]http://www.who.int/countries/rwa/areas/malaria/en/

Tweet me:.@SCJohnson Improves Access to Health Care Through Partnership with Rwanda Ministry of Health http://bit.ly/2L5aNVX

KEYWORDS: SC Johnson, Rwanda, Malaria

Astellas Employees Celebrate Pride Month in Support of the LGBTQ Community

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SOURCE:Astellas

DESCRIPTION:

Approximately 100 employees, family members and friends came out to represent Astellas in Chicago's annual LGBTQ Pride Parade on Sunday, June 24. This was the company’s ninth consecutive year of participation in the event.

For Astellas, named by the Human Rights Campaign for four consecutive years as a "Best Places to Work for LGBTQ Equality,” the Pride Parade is about much more than being part of the City’s celebration of our LGBTQ community. “I’m proud to join so many colleagues, their friends and their families in this year’s Pride Parade,” said Percival Barretto-Ko, president, Astellas Americas. “There are times when it’s important to stand up and make a public statement of support and solidarity, and marching in the parade was one of those opportunities.”

The activity was led by Together as One (TAO), Astellas’ employee resource group (ERG) for members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer/questioning community, together with their allies. The group’s purpose is to foster an inclusive and supportive work environment that helps Astellas’ LGBTQ employees bring their whole selves to work each day, and furthers the company’s longstanding commitment to support LGBTQ workplace equality.

During all of Pride Month, the TAO team spearheaded a series of events at the Americas headquarters. Reflecting on the success of Pride Month at Astellas, TAO’s co-chair Bryan Anderson commented, “Thanks to the efforts of TAO members, we have heard from several employees in the past few months alone who have indicated they feel more comfortable bringing their whole selves to work. While we still have more work to do to support LGBTQ employees, TAO members moved the needle significantly toward increased education, visibility and support.”

Employees from the Americas and the Europe, Middle East and Africa regions are taking this spirit to Great Britain. Anderson and Linda Friedman, executive vice president, general counsel and executive sponsor of TAO, will join Astellas colleagues to march in the London Pride Parade on July 7. 

“Our employee resource groups demonstrate the company’s commitment to diversity and inclusion,” Friedman said. “Participation in the Chicago Pride Parade and upcoming London Pride Parade are ways to celebrate and share that commitment. TAO has been an embodiment of these efforts, doing remarkable work to advance the goals of the LGBTQ community in general, and at Astellas in particular. We all benefit when we embrace diversity and inclusion in the workplace

Pride Month 2018 Activities:

  • Donations and volunteerism. Thanks to Astellas employees, every bed in El Rescate, a Chicago-based transitional living program for LGBTQ youth, now has much-needed new sheets and pillows. TAO organized a donation drive for these supplies, and many Astellas employees have used their company-provided volunteer days to paint and restore the shelter. Additionally, TAO Co-chair Tim McElderry received the prestigious Ivan Martinez award for his volunteerism at El Rescate – an award that comes with an additional monetary donation for the shelter.
  • The Legacy Wall. Astellas sponsored this traveling interactive exhibit featuring more than 100 biographies of notable LGBTQ people who have had a positive impact on society. The exhibit was created and installed in the Americas headquarters lobby by The Legacy Project.
  • LGBTQ History Lunch and Learn. Victor Salvo, founder and director of The Legacy Project engaged a full house of employees with the stories of the pioneers on The Legacy Wall. Salvo told about the hidden LGBTQ figures behind some of history’s great successes.
  • Astellas Ally Network. TAO helped grow the number of employee allies to more than 500 during Ally Week in May and Pride Month in June. Now in its second year, the Ally network has been expanded to include the Ally Spectrum – four levels of education and engagement that allies can travel until they ultimately reach “Super Ally” status.
  • “Ally 101” Lunch and Learn by Out & Equal Workplace Advocates. Allies learned about the business case for LGBTQ inclusion and strategies to be even more supportive allies through an engaging presentation from Out & Equal Workplace Advocates.

KEYWORDS: astellas, Pride Month, Chicago

Black & Veatch, Kansas to Test Beyond-Line-of-Sight Drone Under FAA Pilot Program

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Study to Help Determine Potential For Broader Commercial Uses For Unmanned Aircraft

SOURCE:Black & Veatch

DESCRIPTION:

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. , July 11, 2018 /3BL Media/ – As unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) – commonly known as drones – become more vital for commercial use, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is weighing whether to free up more national airspace for them by relaxing restraints on their operation.  Such airspace rules changes could allow beyond-line-of-sight use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), and Black & Veatch is part of the team helping test the safety of that.

Black & Veatch, a global engineering leader that has deployed UASs in overhead inspections of power lines and other critical infrastructure, announces its support of the Kansas Department of Transportation (KDoT) in an FAA pilot program that explores whether evolving rural UAS applications merit easing federal restrictions of their use.

The U.S. Department of Transportation, which is reviewing these restrictions, recently awarded Kansas and nine other state lead teams the ability to expand testing of beyond visual line of sight operations. Black & Veatch will help test the drones beyond the operator’s sight – something now barred by the FAA, as is using unmanned aircraft higher than 400 feet, at night or above people. While drones have the capability for autonomous flight and can be programmed for miles in a linear path, Kansas and other pilot sites could serve as case studies for future FAA rules nationwide, perhaps allowing jurisdictions to integrate their own drone operations into the National Airspace System (NAS).

The KDoT team, with Black & Veatch, will operate drones beyond sight lines in multiple areas throughout the state initially focusing on infrastructure inspection and precision agriculture. Precision agriculture use, for example, could benefit a grower’s quest for cost-containment through pinpoint use of seeds, pesticides and fertilizer. A drone’s promise of giving a bird’s eye view of any problematic area of cropland – and getting UAS-delivered treatment for it – comes at a time when producers face mounting pressures to meet food demand.

Other benefits of UAS use cases may include high-definition images or video of assets, increased frequency of inspections, more data that can be analyzed for the clearest possible picture of risk management, and the safety that comes with deploying remote-controlled machines instead of putting humans in harm’s way.

“As drones become more mainstream with their versatility, these projects in Kansas and elsewhere are key in testing all applications of these unmanned aircraft systems and, if successful, may ease airspace rules for everyone’s betterment,” said Jamare Bates, an FAA-certified remote unmanned aircraft vehicle pilot who heads Black & Veatch’s UAS operations.

Black & Veatch has performed many successful visual-line-of-sight flights over dams, transmission lines, solar fields and streams as part of a stream-restoration project. The global engineering company also has used drones to help monitor progress on construction of a Midwest wastewater treatment plant.

Editor’s Note:

  • Black & Veatch is a proven industry leader in applying drone technology. In 2015, the company was recognized on the InformationWeek Elite 100 list of innovative users of business technology for using drones to reduce risks and costs for equipment tower inspections. This application was also recognized as one of the 20 Great Ideas for 2015 by the publication’s editors.
  • The U.S. Department of Transportation and its Federal Aviation Administration, which regulates the National Airspace System, selected the 10 finalists for the pilot programs from 149 proposals.
  • For more details about the FAA pilot programs, see: https://www.faa.gov/uas/programs_partnerships/uas_integration_pilot_program/awardees

About Black & Veatch 
Black & Veatch is an employee-owned, global leader in building critical human infrastructure in Energy, Water, Telecommunications and Government Services. Since 1915, we have helped our clients improve the lives of people in over 100 countries through consulting, engineering, construction, operations and program management. Our revenues in 2017 were US$3.4 billion. Follow us on www.bv.com and in social media.

Black & Veatch Media Contact Information:

JIM SUHR | +1 913-458-6995 P | +1 314-422-6927 M | SuhrJ@bv.com

24-HOUR MEDIA HOTLINE | +1 866-496-9149

KEYWORDS: drones, unmanned aircraft systems, UAS, FAA, Federal Aviation Administration, unmanned aerial vehicles, UAV, UAVs, agriculture, beyond line of sight, infrastructure, Black & Veatch

Video: Investing in Sustainable Development Goals Pays Off

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SOURCE:GRI

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The UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) give companies and investors a unique chance to create a better world. In this video, we ask prominent members from the investor world why the SDGs matter when it comes to making investment decisions.

Click here to read more about GRI’s work with the capital markets.

Tweet me:Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals requires commitment from companies and capital from #investors. This video explains the role of #SDGs in making better, more #sustainable investment decisions that create long-term value. http://bit.ly/2L98aCD

KEYWORDS: GRI, global reporting initiative, GRI Standards, Corporate Responsibility, responsible investing, SDGs, Global Goals

Brent Constantz: Concrete Plans

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SOURCE:Sea Change Radio

DESCRIPTION:

Most people wouldn’t guess it, but concrete is the single most widely used material in the world. And both production and consumption are on the rise. The amount of energy used to produce all of this concrete is mind-numbing, as is its impact on the climate. This week’s guest on Sea Change Radio is Brent Constantz, the founder of Blue Planet, a company that has developed innovative carbon-capturing methods for concrete production. We discuss Blue Planet’s latest projects, look at the industry as a whole, and examine some encouraging concrete recycling solutions.

Tweet me:This wk's @SeaChangeRadio - "Brent Constantz: Concrete Plans" http://www.cchange.net/2018/07/10/brent/

KEYWORDS: brent constantz, concrete, sustainability, sea change radio, blue planet

For Fourth Consecutive Year, Booz Allen Hamilton Named a “Best Place to Work for Disability Inclusion”

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SOURCE:Booz Allen Hamilton

DESCRIPTION:

Booz Allen Hamilton has received the top score of 100 on the Disability Equality Index (DEI) for the fourth consecutive year and has again been named a “best place to work for disability inclusion” by the DEI.

The DEI is a joint initiative between American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) and Disability:IN, jointly designed by disability advocates and business leaders as the nation’s most trusted comprehensive benchmarking tool for disability inclusion. The Index measures key performance indicators across organizational culture, leadership, accessibility, employment, community engagement, support services and supplier diversity.

Cheryl Wade, diversity and inclusion lead at Booz Allen said, “Earning the DEI recognition for our efforts is a signal that Booz Allen’s employee value proposition is being realized by creating an inclusive culture that empowers those who are differently-abled to change the world.” Lindsay Adams Spinner, a senior consultant at the firm, added, “With forums, initiatives and internal groups within the firm, Booz Allen ensures that every employee group is represented and has a support system to back and advocate for them. I’ve found that the employee forums also offer the opportunity to connect with colleagues, foster meaningful relationships and achieve continuous career development.”

Now in its fourth year, the DEI has experienced nearly a 32% increase in year-over-year participation, signaling disability inclusion is on the rise across industries.  “AAPD is thrilled to see increased participation in this year’s DEI. The commitment to disability inclusion is becoming a priority for more and more corporations,” said Helena Berger, President and CEO of AAPD. "While we have made great strides since the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the number of disabled individuals getting hired has not significantly increased. The DEI was created to help advance employment opportunities and outcomes for people with disabilities."

Companies can register for the 2019 DEI at https://www.disabilityequalityindex.org/register.

Tweet me:.@BoozAllen named a “Best Place to Work for Disability Inclusion” http://bit.ly/2zr4QS4 #DEI @AAPD @DisabilityIN

KEYWORDS: Disability Equality Index, DEI, Booz Allen Hamilton, Cheryl Wade, Best Places to Work, AAPD, Disability:IN, NYSE:BAH

Timberland Sample Sale Raises $29,000 to Help End Hunger in Derry, NH

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SOURCE:Timberland

DESCRIPTION:

July 11, 2018 /3BL Media/ - At the company’s spring sample sale in June, Timberland employees opened their wallets and raised $29,000 to benefit the Derry, NH Chapter of the non-profit organization, End 68 Hours of Hunger.  End 68 Hours of Hunger puts nourishing food in the hands of school children in need, to carry them through the weekend. Each bag of food provides two breakfasts, two lunches, and three dinners for a child, with some left over to share. 

The Derry chapter of End 68 Hours of Hunger typically feeds 70 families per week during the school year, and set a goal to expand to 120 families in fall 2018.  The $29,000 donation from the Timberland sample sale, which translates into 2,900 bags of food (at $10 per bag), enables them to achieve this goal.

“With this money, we will be able say ‘yes’ to the many administrators, nurses and social workers that are waiting for our program,” said Courtney Cashman, program coordinator for the Derry Chapter of End 68 Hours of Hunger. “Every single dollar donated purchases food that will make its way into the hands of local children who need it to grow into the healthiest and brightest versions of themselves.”

The Timberland sample sale is held twice a year, offering employees, families and friends the opportunity to purchase footwear, apparel and accessories samples at discount prices. The sample sale beneficiary varies each season; employees are encouraged to nominate a non-profit with which they are personally connected, and then the broader community votes.  For spring 2018, employees selected End 68 Hours of Hunger from a list of ten worthy nominees. This model has proven to be a win-win for all involved, as employees are truly engaged in the process and non-profits benefit from a significant cash donation. 

To learn more about End 68 Hours of Hunger and how you can bring it to your community, visit  http://www.end68hoursofhunger.org/

To learn more about Timberland’s commitment to create responsible product, protect and restore the outdoors, and serve communities, visit https://www.timberland.com/responsibility.html.

Tweet me:.@Timberland sample sale raises $29,000 to help end hunger in Derry, NH http://bit.ly/2unvNQM

KEYWORDS: NYSE:VFC, Timberland, End 68 Hours of Hunger


SCE Helps Builders Build Energy-Efficient Homes

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A new display shows a variety of materials and techniques for builders to use to meet the state’s new energy-efficiency residential construction standards

SOURCE:Edison International

DESCRIPTION:

Over the years, much has been done to improve the energy efficiency of refrigerators, washers and dryers and other home appliances, but California is now focusing on a bigger target — the construction of the house itself.

In 2020, new state standards will take effect with a goal that future residential construction will be zero net energy — housing that produces about the same amount of renewable energy over a year as it consumes.

One challenge for the building industry in meeting these new energy-efficiency requirements is learning the techniques and materials to better seal attics and roofs so they leak less heat in cold weather or cool air when it is hot.

Southern California Edison created a display at its Energy Education Center in Irwindale that brings together all the techniques and materials available for this new high-performance construction. It is intended for builders, designers, architects, engineers, installers and anyone else associated with residential construction.

“SCE is committed to helping industry and customers meet state energy-efficiency and greenhouse gas reduction goals by providing tools and programs such as this exhibit,” said Mike Marelli, SCE vice president of the Business Customer Division. “We created this display as a teaching tool so the industry can have a one-stop place to go to learn about the new state residential construction standards.”

The 3-D display features eight life-size examples of attic and wall assemblies. Each module uses different construction methods and materials to illustrate various ways energy efficiency can be achieved. The exhibit is being used for energy modeling classes as well as other zero net energy-focused courses taught at the Energy Education Center.

Each cutaway module lets students see how different materials contribute to the overall thermal performance of the wall or attic, a value also known as the U-factor. This lets students observe the effect high-performance walls and attics have on a home’s energy use, while the exhibit gives students a tangible reference as they learn about the measures they are modeling. 

Martha Brook, advisor to California Energy Commissioner Andrew McAllister, called the display “fantastic” because it pulls together all aspects of the code changes in one comprehensive exhibit.

“This will really get the trades to learn how to build better buildings,” Brook said at a recent grand opening event for the new display. “That is central to helping the state meet its greenhouse reduction goals.”

Steve Easely, a building energy efficiency consultant, helped design the display and has used it for an SCE workshop on high-performance walls and attics that he teaches at the Energy Education Center.

He said the 3-D display is especially valuable because it’s easier to see what the construction looks like physically rather than reading about how it is constructed.

“A lot of times people can get the conceptual idea, but this really gets into the details,” he said. “It’s a really great teaching tool because people can see it, feel it and touch it.”

David Peery an energy efficiency project manager at TRC Solutions, put it another way: “If a picture is worth 1,000 words, this display is worth 10,000.”

The display can be seen at the Energy Education Center, 6090 N. Irwindale Avenue, Irwindale, 91702, Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Free classes about the 2019 energy-efficient construction standards are also being held there throughout the year.

Tweet me:.@SCE displays #greenbuilding techniques for #energyefficiency at Irwindale Energy Education Center http://bit.ly/2u6DGdO #sustainability

KEYWORDS: Southern California Edison, Edison International, greenhouse gas, insulation

     

LifeStraw Releases First Responsibility Report Highlighting New Commitments and 13 Years of Global Safe Drinking Water Efforts

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Over one million school children provided safe drinking water; 37,000 natural disaster victims served

SOURCE:ReportAlert

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Over one million school children provided safe drinking water; 37,000 natural disaster victims served

LifeStraw, a global leader in developing innovative filtration and purification products for safe drinking water, today released its first responsibility report highlighting 13 years of global safe drinking water efforts. Specifically, it outlines new commitments to its retail give back programs, sustainability efforts, support of public lands and programs empowering its employees. The report discusses the brand’s initiative to improve access to safe drinking water for communities in need, consumers and victims of natural disasters through responsible product design, supply chain best practices and product innovation. The 2018 Responsibility Report describes: LifeStraw’s continuing work in Kenya through the retail give back program that is providing over a million children with safe drinking water; its Safe Water Fund reaching over 37,000 natural disaster victims; and its commitment to protecting consumers from harmful microplastics and other water contaminants. LifeStraw is now supporting over one million kids in 1,621 schools where 10,677 purifiers are installed, and over 10,000 follow-up visits have taken place and continue monthly.

“This responsibility report summarizes important milestones, but more importantly, illustrates the fact that there is still a great deal of work to do,” said Alison Hill, managing director of LifeStraw. “We are committed to continuing our work, removing the obstacles to accessing clean water globally and reducing our environmental impact in the process. For 2018 and beyond, we will use less plastic in our own product packaging and continue working with our brand partners to reduce disposable plastic water bottles in the environment.”

Giving back: This past March, LifeStraw surpassed its goal of providing safe water to one million school children thanks to engaged consumers. The program receives its funding from consumer purchases, making it entirely self-sustaining. For every LifeStraw product purchased, a school child in need receives safe drinking water for an entire school year. 

“The key difference in this program is that LifeStraw® Community water purifiers are not simply delivered,” continued Hill. “Instead, the company distributes its products and invests in full-scale programs to drive long-term impact. The program includes full-time local staff, training, education programs and maintenance for a minimum of five years at each school.”

Environmental conservation: LifeStraw is working with its partners to reduce the amount of disposable plastic throughout its supply chain. This year, LifeStraw is executing a full manufacturing assessment to identify product parts capable of being made from recycled or upcycled plastic bottles and ocean plastics and hopes to incorporate these changes before the end of 2018.  At the same time, LifeStraw’s independent lab testing found that LifeStraw products filter 99.999% of tiny fragments of plastics found in fresh and salt water known as microplastics while removing harmful bacteria and metals. Two recent studies conducted by Orb Media reported that 93% of bottled water and 83% of tap water is contaminated with microplastics.   

A responsible supply chain: LifeStraw believes in environmental sustainability through product design and development and maintaining a transparent, responsible supply chain. All of the material in LifeStraw product packaging is recyclable and this year, it will reduce the size of each package to minimize waste. LifeStraw’s tier one suppliers must sign a code of conduct ensuring LifeStraw’s expectations for environmentally responsible manufacturing and sourcing are met. This year, they are also expanding the reach of the code of conduct to include tier two suppliers. Additionally, LifeStraw’s Responsibility Report added that the company is working toward the possible use of ocean and organic plastics for several product components being implemented in 2019.

About LifeStraw: LifeStraw focuses on innovation of technology that converts microbiologically contaminated water into safe drinking water with products that are designed to fit the needs of the people that use them. The first LifeStraw was the LifeStraw Guinea Worm Filter introduced in 1996, which has been instrumental in the near-eradication of Guinea worm disease. In 2015, the personal LifeStraw filter was introduced for use in developing countries. Today, LifeStraw is used in 64 countries and includes filters and purifiers for households, clinics, schools, and for outdoor recreation, travel and everyday personal use.

Media Contact:
Evan White
781-639-4924

Read the Report

Tweet me:.@lifestraw’s first Responsibility Report highlights their commitment to improving access to safe drinking water globally while reducing their environmental impact in the process. Learn more about their work here: http://bit.ly/2u7IuzN via @ReportAlert

KEYWORDS: LifeStraw, ReportAlert, sustainability, Safe Water Fund

 

Less Space for Waste

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As single-use technology becomes mainstream, biopharma companies need a better way to handle waste

SOURCE:MilliporeSigma

DESCRIPTION:

MilliporeSigma estimates that a single biopharma site produces about 12.5 tons waste per month that is eligible for recycling. As a leading supplier of single-use biopharmaceutical products, including single-use bags, tubing, connectors and filters, MilliporeSigma recognizes the need to reduce the environmental impact of its products.

In 2015, MilliporeSigma launched an exclusive partnership with Triumvirate Environmental in order to enable bioprocess manufacturing customers to fully recycle plastic single-use and disposable products.

Keep reading on PharmaManufacturing.com

Tweet me:Through its #Biopharma #Recycling Program, @MilliporeSigma is giving single-use products a second life. Learn more about this initiative and their partnership with @Triumvirate in @PharmaMfg: http://bit.ly/2uigUix

KEYWORDS: MilliporeSigma, Triumvirate Environmental, biopharma recycling program, biopharma, Jacqueline Ignacio, single-use, Waste, Recycling, Pharmaceutical Manufacturing

PepsiCo Reports Significant Strides in Pursuit of Performance With Purpose 2025 Agenda

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SOURCE:PepsiCo

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PURCHASE, N.Y., July 11, 2018 /3BL Media/ - In its latest Sustainability Report, released today, PepsiCo reported important progress in 2017 against each of the company's three focus areas – Products, Planet, and People – while also returning $6.5 billion in cash to shareholders during the same period. This progress advances PepsiCo's ongoing sustainability efforts across its operations, value chain, and the food and beverage industry at-large, as part of the company's Performance with Purpose 2025 Agenda.

"Performance with Purpose is about the character of our company and managing PepsiCo with an eye toward not only short-term priorities, but also long-term goals, recognizing that our success—and the success of the communities we serve and the wider world—are inextricably bound together," said Indra K. Nooyi, PepsiCo Chairman and CEO. "Today, it's more important than ever before to advance sustainability and profitability at the same time, and I'm so proud to say that's what we've been doing for more than a decade."

Highlights from PepsiCo's 2017 Sustainability Report include:

  • Products: PepsiCo continued to reduce added sugars and sodium in its beverage and foods portfolios, respectively, in 20171 and move its business towards more nutritious products. Through new product innovations and reformulations, 43 percent of its beverage portfolio volume, up from 40 percent in 2016, contained 100 Calories or fewer from added sugars per 12-ounce serving. 7UP and Mirinda now have at least 30 to 50 percent less added sugars than the full sugar versions they replaced in dozens of markets worldwide. Zero sugar Pepsi Black is now available in 73 markets globally. With the launches of products such as LIFEWTR and Quaker Overnight Oats, the company increased its net revenue from its Everyday Nutrition portfolio to 27.5 percent of the company's total net revenue.
  • Planet: Nearly 80 percent of PepsiCo's directly sourced crops globally came from farmers engaged through the company's Sustainable Farming Program, which aims to optimize economic, social and environmental on-farm practices and outcomes. This number has more than doubled from 34 percent at the end of 2016 and it represents over 40,000 growers in 38 countries. Additionally, the Report highlighted that PepsiCo, the PepsiCo Foundation and its partners have provided nearly 16 million people access to safe water since 2006, an increase of nearly five million in just the past year.
  • People: PepsiCo has now reached 6.4 million women and girls through increased investments in local communities around the world since 2015. This includes projects like Women with Purpose, through which the company helps support thousands of women in Latin America to access entrepreneurship and employment opportunities.

Alongside the 2017 Sustainability Report, PepsiCo has published a Performance Metrics sheet and expanded its A–Z Topics on pepsico.com, which provides additional information about the company's policies, programs, governance and performance against its 2025 Agenda.

About PepsiCo

PepsiCo products are enjoyed by consumers more than one billion times a day in more than 200 countries and territories around the world. PepsiCo generated more than $63 billion in net revenue in 2017, driven by a complementary food and beverage portfolio that includes Frito-Lay, Gatorade, Pepsi-Cola, Quaker and Tropicana. PepsiCo's product portfolio includes a wide range of enjoyable foods and beverages, including 22 brands that generate more than $1 billion each in estimated annual retail sales.

At the heart of PepsiCo is Performance with Purpose – our fundamental belief that the success of our company is inextricably linked to the sustainability of the world around us. We believe that continuously improving the products we sell, operating responsibly to protect our planet and empowering people around the world help PepsiCo run a successful global company that creates long-term value for society and our shareholders. For more information, visit www.pepsico.com.

Cautionary Statement

This release contains statements reflecting our views about our future performance that constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are generally identified through the inclusion of words such as "aim,""anticipate,""believe,""drive,""estimate,""expect,""goal,""intend,""may,""plan,""project,""strategy,""target" and "will" or similar statements or variations of such terms and other similar expressions. Forward-looking statements inherently involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those predicted in such statements, including changes in demand for PepsiCo's products, changes in, or failure to comply with, applicable laws and regulations, imposition or proposed imposition of new or increased taxes, imposition of labeling or warning requirements on PepsiCo's products, changes in law related to packaging and disposal of PepsiCo's products, PepsiCo's ability to compete effectively and the other factors discussed in the risk factors section of PepsiCo's most recent annual report on Form 10-K and subsequent reports on Forms 10-Q and 8-K. Investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they are made. PepsiCo undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

1 Across PepsiCo's Top 10 Foods and Beverage markets globally.

Tweet me:Read @PepsiCo's new 2017 #SustainabilityReport to see the progress they’ve made in their Performance with Purpose journey: http://bit.ly/2mdrqnE

KEYWORDS: NYSE:PEP, Pepsico

  

The UPS Foundation Awards Over $10M in Grants to Advance Diversity & Inclusion Around the World

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Creates network of partners to launch the UPS Women Exporter Program which will provide capacity, expertise and funding to women entrepreneurs

SOURCE:UPS

DESCRIPTION:

ATLANTA, July 12, 2018 /3BL Media/ - The UPS Foundation, which leads the global citizenship programs for UPS (NYSE:UPS), announced it will award over $10 million in grants to advance diversity and inclusion programs this year. The grants will be awarded to 44 different organizations. They will help support programs focused on economic empowerment, education/scholarships, work training, and social and gender equality.

“We are honored to collaborate and fund organizations that drive measurable change around the world,” said Eduardo Martinez, president of The UPS Foundation and chief diversity and inclusion officer at UPS. “Advancing the diversity and inclusion movement is a cornerstone of our company’s values. Our support for initiatives that will make a real difference in people’s lives in our communities is an extension of our dedication to help advance social and gender equality around the globe.”

One of the grant recipients is the International Trade Center, a multilateral agency created by the World Trade Organization and the United Nations that contributes directly to 10 of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, including quality education, gender equality and decent work and economic growth. The UPS Foundation grant and partnership with ITC will be the centerpiece in the creation of the UPS Women’s Exporter Program, designed to train thousands of women in cross-border trading. This initiative will leverage a network of UPS partners including the Graça Machel Trust, Kagider Women Entrepreneurs Association of Turkey, Accion and Opportunity International to provide women entrepreneurs around the world with a unique network, platform, financing and UPS expertise to connect to markets.

Additional grant recipients include the following organizations:

Diversity and Inclusion through Economic Empowerment programs:

  • ACCION International to provide micro-loans to women in Nigeria who have participated in the UPS Women’s Exporter program and SheTrades.
  • ASPIRA of America to expand its financial education program for Latinos.
  • Council of Economic Education to train more K-12 teachers in New York City schools to help teach financial literacy to their students.
  • Cuban American National Council to support its financial literacy and home buying workshops for low to moderate income households.
  • Graça Machel Trust to launch the Women Cross Border Traders initiative and support the SheTrades program and the Women Advancing Africa Forum.
  • National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development to develop Native Edge, an online business development and training system to support commerce between tribal nations, government and business.
  • National Urban League to support its Entrepreneur Center Program sites, which provide entrepreneurial skills and development assistance from mentors.
  • Opportunity International to provide micro-loans to women in Colombia who have participated in the UPS Women’s Exporter programs and SheTrades.
  • National Urban Fellows to help place the Class of 2019 National Urban Fellows.

Diversity and Inclusion through Educational Empowerment:

  • CHOICES Education Group to increase school engagement and decrease the drop-out rate through virtual media that reaches 100,000 underserved teens.
  • Council of Independent Colleges to enhance educational and career opportunities for underserved and underrepresented students at colleges and universities.
  • Girls, Inc. toward its College and Career Readiness Initiative, which will reach at least 2,000 eighth grade and high school girls across the country.
  • Leadership Conference Education Fund to provide fair wages for more diversity and opportunities for summer undergraduate interns.
  • National Black Child Development Institute to improve early childhood literacy levels to support academic and life success.
  • Organization of Chinese Americans toward its mentoring and leadership development programs.
  • Peace Corps to support the Peace Corps Partnership Project, a five-year program aimed at empowering and educating young women in 60 countries.
  • Strive for College toward its academic and financial aid application virtual mentoring platform to assist 100,000 students enter college.
  • UnidosUS, formerly known as the National Council of La Raza, to support UnidosUS’s college- and career-readiness program, Escalera, and develop the Entre Mujeres program to empower Latina high school students.
  • University of South Carolina - Darla Moore School of Business to create the UPS Global Scholars Program to increase the international diversity of business students.
  • To provide scholarships for minority and underrepresented students through 100 Black Men of America, African Leadership Foundation, American Indian College Fund, Brigham Young University, Clark Atlanta University, Hispanic Scholarship Fund, Morehouse College, Spelman College and United Negro College Fund.

Diversity and Inclusion through Capacity Building programs:

  • Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing to enhance its Knowledge Center website, which serves more than 250,000 deaf or hearing-impaired individuals.
  • American Corporate Partner to support its mentoring program for transitioning military veterans as they enter the civilian workforce.
  • Catalyst for Women to support their Inclusive Leadership Initiative and provide research and advisory support.
  • Executive Leadership Council to sponsor its Mid-Level Managers Symposium, which targets leadership development for high-potential African American candidates.
  • Hispanic Association on Corporate Responsibility to provide sponsorship for key events, including the Young Hispanic Corporate Achievers Dinner.
  • Human Rights Campaign Foundation to support its Workplace Project and the Global Workplace Equality Coalition.
  • National Federation of the Blind toward the Blind Parent Education Initiative, a new program that gives blind parents access to education, networking and support.
  • National Association for the Advancement of Colored People to provide support for the NAACP Youth Leadership Program and other general programs and events.
  • National Organization on Disability to launch its Disability Inclusion Compact, a campaign to advance employment opportunity of people with disabilities.
  • Special Olympics Georgia to recruit and mobilize a diverse volunteer network to foster growth and support of intellectually disabled individuals.
  • The Viscardi Center to aid with the placement of college students and recent military veterans with disabilities into paid, career-aligned corporate internships.
  • Urban League of Greater Atlanta to expand workforce and career pathway training programs in partnership with regional employers.
  • World Association of Girl Guidesand Girl Scouts toward continued support of leadership development and volunteerism initiatives with special focus on Latin America, Africa, and the Middle East.

Diversity and Inclusion through Human Trafficking Prevention:

  • Truckers Against Trafficking to support its anti-human trafficking education and training for members of the trucking industry in the U.S. and Canada.
  • United Way Center for Human Trafficking and Slavery to create a community training curriculum for local United Ways to educate local agencies and community stakeholders about human trafficking.

For more information about UPS’s philanthropic and volunteerism efforts, please visit www.UPS.com/Foundation.

About The UPS Foundation

UPS (NYSE: UPS) is a global leader in logistics, offering a broad range of solutions including the transportation of packages and freight; the facilitation of international trade, and the deployment of advanced technology to more efficiently manage the world of business. Since its founding in 1907, UPS has built a legacy as a caring and responsible corporate citizen, supporting programs that provide long-term solutions to community needs. Founded in 1951, The UPS Foundation leads its global citizenship programs and is responsible for facilitating community involvement to local, national, and global communities. In 2017, UPS and its employees, active and retired, invested more than $118 million in charitable giving around the world. The UPS Foundation can be found on the web at UPS.com/Foundation and @UPS_Foundation on Twitter. To get UPS news direct, follow @UPS_News on Twitter.

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Tweet me:More than $10 million in Grants to advance #diversity & inclusion around the world were announced by @UPS_Foundation - the charitable arm of @UPS http://bit.ly/2L2s45y

KEYWORDS: The UPS Foundation, UPS, NYSE:UPS

CIT Gives Back During Annual Volunteer Month

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250 community projects and 7,300 volunteer hours completed during CIT Cares Month

SOURCE:CIT

DESCRIPTION:

NEW YORK, July 12, 2018  /3BL Media/ -- CIT Group Inc. (NYSE: CIT) today announced the results of its annual employee volunteer initiative, CIT Cares Month. Throughout June, more than 250 community projects were completed by 1,900 volunteers over 7,300 hours across 18 locations to make a difference.  

“CIT employees across the country demonstrated their commitment to serving the communities where they live and work,” said CIT Chief Marketing and Communications Officer Gina Proia. “From feeding the hungry to cleaning parks and beaches to building bikes for foster children, the CIT team used their time and talents to give back this summer and make a difference.”

Results of the volunteer efforts included packing and delivering over 130,000 pounds of food for the homebound, planting 1,300 pounds of healthy vegetables for communities in need, and cleaning parks and beaches from the East Coast to the West Coast. Watch a video of CIT employees in action during CIT Cares Month.  

This year consumers were also invited to participate in a social media contest supporting three non-profits that center on CIT’s corporate responsibility framework: Empowerment, Environment and Wellness. 

Girls Who Code was the overall winner of the poll and received a grant to support the work they do to close the gender gap in technology.  Wholesome Wave and the Surfrider Foundation also receive a modest grant for their participation in the contest. 

About CIT 
Founded in 1908, CIT (NYSE: CIT) is a financial holding company with approximately $50 billion in assets as of March 31, 2018. Its principal bank subsidiary, CIT Bank, N.A., (Member FDIC, Equal Housing Lender) has approximately $30 billion of deposits and more than $40 billion of assets. CIT provides financing, leasing, and advisory services principally to middle-market companies and small businesses across a wide variety of industries. It also offers products and services to consumers through its Internet bank franchise and a network of retail branches in Southern California, operating as OneWest Bank, a division of CIT Bank, N.A. For more information visit cit.com and follow us on TwitterLinkedInYouTube and Facebook. Register to receive press releases at cit.mediaroom.com/email-alerts.

CIT MEDIA RELATIONS:               
Olivia Weiss                                       
212-771-9657                         
Olivia.Weiss@cit.com     

Tweet me:See how @CITgroup completed 250 #community projects and 7,300 #volunteer hours during #CITCares Month http://bit.ly/2NMSLJJ #socialimpact

KEYWORDS: (NYSE: CIT), CIT, CIT CARES MONTH

Creating Strong Bridges to Biotech: Professional Development in Action

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SOURCE:Amgen Foundation

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School is out for summer – or almost – for most high school students globally. But for some teachers, the learning is going to continue. Around the world, Amgen Biotech Experience (ABE) sites are gearing up for their professional development institutes, or PDIs. These multi-day workshops train high school teachers in the ABE curriculum, directly giving them experience with the hands-on biotech labs they’ll run in their classrooms when school resumes in the fall.

“Teachers feel intellectually fed when they go to the PDIs because they get a chance to be learners again,” says Jessica Juliuson, who leads professional development and networking for the ABE Program Office. Over the course of the school year, teachers can often feel isolated working alone in their classrooms, and the PDIs offer the opportunity to connect with their peers while throwing themselves into an exciting content area. The science they are learning is often more cutting-edge than what they have previously learned, Juliuson explains, and the institutes are “a way for them to ask questions in a safe environment.”

ABE survey findings echo these observations, with more than 90% of respondents giving PDIs a high approval rating and the majority of participants reporting an enhancement in their interest, knowledge, and skills. However, surveys have also shown some inconsistencies across the program sites in terms of what each PDI covers; part of this is due to regional needs and customizations, but some differences may result from gaps in onboarding, differences in prior teacher training, or differences in intended outcomes. In response to this feedback from teachers, Juliuson and her team are working on a new framework to bolster professional development approaches network-wide.

While the primary goal of the PDIs remains the same – to enable teachers to facilitate hands-on biotech activities with students – a secondary goal that will be more prominent in the new framework is to strengthen general teaching strategies. This can include everything from how to work with students with a range of differing learning needs, to how to take a more reflective approach to the materials, giving students time to ask open-ended questions within the curriculum.

“The goal is to take previous PDI designs and start to flesh them out and annotate, to suggest new things teachers might try in the classroom,” Juliuson says. This summer, parts of this new framework will be piloted in PDIs in Boston and San Francisco. After these pilots, the ABE team will gather data and evaluate how to proceed with the ABE PDIs. “Our real lever here for good professional learning is the idea of building a community of practice, equipping teachers to draw on each other so that they don’t have to constantly reinvent the wheel,” she says.

While building this community of practice and developing a common scaffolding for the lab experience, the ABE Program Office knows that sites will still necessarily vary in how they approach the curriculum. This diversity reflects the international reach of the program. In Australia, for example, the geographic region covered by the program is vast, with significant differences between the urban areas and more rural ones with higher percentages of Aboriginal populations. That means their PDIs have to equip teachers who work in a wide variety of settings. The various sites globally may also approach the curriculum itself slightly differently, to make sure it connects to actual science trends in their countries.

A former English and social studies teacher, Juliuson sees that education in all disciplines has become less relevant and more disconnected for students over the years and sees programs like ABE as a way to bridge students and teachers to the real world. “This model is the way to go,” she says, “to create the building blocks to prepare students for the real world, while motivating and engaging them and showing them why the science matters.”

Tweet me:Did you know the Amgen #BiotechExperience provides professional development for high school science teachers? @AmgenFoundation explains: http://bit.ly/2K0G3Jd

KEYWORDS: Amgen, Amgen Foundation, Amgen Biotech Experience, ABE, professional development institutes, Teacher, education resources, teacher resources, teacher training, teacher professional development, EDC, ABE Program Office., AMGN:AMGN


Scotiabank - "The Price of Equality"

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SOURCE:Scotiabank

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Scotiabank’s campaign, the “Price of Equality” has gained a lot of attention globally, where it successfully addressed the gender wage gap in Peru, known to be the highest in Latin America. The campaign that was created in 2017 allowed women to purchase products and services at the discounted rate of how much more men make than woman, 29.2%. The campaign had an overwhelming positive outcome, receiving the third place award at the 2018 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. This campaign was timely in Peru – on Dec 28, 2017 the Peruvian congress passed a law stating that women should be making the same amount of money as men.

Please see Scotiabank’s Sustainability Webpage to learn more on our Diversity and Inclusion initiatives: http://www.scotiabank.com/corp/en/0,,11511,00.html

 

Tweet me:.@ScotiabankViews #video "The Price of Equality" http://bit.ly/2ufIqx8 campaign allowing women to purchase products and services at the discounted rate of how much more men make than woman, 29.2%. #equality #CSR

When Untapped Potential Meets Access to College

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College students are working toward their dreams, thanks to the Asian & Pacific Islander American Scholarship Fund and support from Wells Fargo.

SOURCE:Wells Fargo & Company

DESCRIPTION:

In some communities around the world, people shy away from discussing mental health and behavioral issues. But one college student has decided to tackle these topics head-on — and make a career out of it.

Jacklyn Garote, who is from Saipan, Commonwealth of the Mariana Islands, hopes to be a leader in the field of psychology. She’s currently majoring in psychology, planning to also major in sociology, and aspires to be a licensed therapist and psychology researcher.

“In learning the disparities and lack of research on mental and behavioral issues in the Micronesian region, I’ve set the goal of furthering my education and coming back to my community to address these issues,” Garote said. “Knowing these practices are still stigmatized in the community, I aim to develop and apply appropriate culturally sensitive programs and practices.”

As a rising senior at the University of Guam, Garote is well on her way. She credits the Asian & Pacific Islander American Scholarship Fund/Wells Fargo Scholarship for helping her pursue her higher education goals. Becoming a scholarship recipient, Garote said, helped her at a time when she felt she had nothing.

Since 2006, APIASF and Wells Fargo have worked together to support access, persistence, and success for Asian American and Pacific Islander students and their families through scholarships, financial education, mentoring, college tours, and national events. Wells Fargo has donated more than $7 million and funded more than 1,700 scholarships.

“Through our more than decade-long relationship, Wells Fargo has been a committed supporter of APIASF, our scholars, families, and the greater APIA community,” said Noël Harmon, president and executive director of APIASF. “We are honored to have Wells Fargo’s continued support to increase opportunities for underserved students nationwide.”

APIASF provides scholarships to underserved Asian & Pacific Islander American students, especially those who live at or below the poverty level, are first-generation college students, and have a strong emphasis on community service and leadership. Over the past year, 63 percent of APIASF/Wells Fargo scholars lived at or below the poverty line, and 68 percent were the first generation in their families to attend college, according to the organization.

“In my years on the board, I have seen firsthand the difference APIASF makes,” said Arati Randolph, Wells Fargo Corporate Communications leader and a national board member for APIASF. “Many people mistakenly assume that all APIA students are financially well-off and high-achieving academically. The truth is that many APIA groups experience some of the lowest high school graduation and college degree attainment rates in America. So that is why APIASF is so important; this nonprofit is the largest provider of college scholarships for APIA students in the country and helps these student to access, complete, and succeed after post-secondary education. APIASF has not only provided the critical access to higher education that APIA students need, but it also helps nurture these students into future leaders.”

‘I still consider it as one of my blessings’

Garote received the APIASF/Wells Fargo Foundation scholarship in 2015. At the time, her home island had been hit with a typhoon, ravaging homes and leaving families without food or water, she said. She said it was difficult to leave her home to attend college. “When I received the scholarship, I was filled with a mix of emotions,” Garote said. “To be awarded a scholarship — with a disadvantaged background, among a competitive group of deserving students, and being from a community that lacked opportunities — I still consider it as one of my blessings. It was one of the many helping hands in the time we had nothing.”

The scholarship helped Garote pay for tuition and living costs, helping to ease the transition of starting college, she said. She also saved some of the money to buy a used car, which helped her to get a job. “Overall, the scholarship covered my immediate educational needs, as well as costs that later helped me help myself,” Garote said. “This scholarship — and all those who contribute to it — give me hope. It gave me the motivation to further my education in the midst of hardship and struggle. It continues to be a reminder to do my best in all my courses and ultimately never give up.”

‘It seemed the odds were stacked against me’

Linda Nguyen can relate to overcoming the odds. Her parents were immigrants from Vietnam who lived in New Orleans when she was born. For eight years she was raised in a public housing community before moving to another community in Long Beach, California. “Statistically, it seemed the odds were stacked against me, with my parents’ education level, immigration status, and inability to speak English,” Nguyen said.

A high school counselor encouraged Nguyen to apply for scholarships, including one through APIASF. As a result of the financial assistance, Nguyen was able to choose which college she wanted to attend, and she graduated from the University of Notre Dame debt free. She later earned master’s degrees in education and public administration.

“The scholarship has definitely contributed to my success, and companies like Wells Fargo being able to support it gives individuals like me access to other opportunities,” Nguyen said.

After teaching low-income students in south Los Angeles, she worked for a local housing authority before coming to Wells Fargo. In her current role as a Community Relations consultant in Irvine, California, Nguyen is able to give back in the community where she grew up.

“In the generation before me, no one went to college,” Nguyen said. “I never thought I would be in a job and have an experience like mine, working in low-income communities.”

She also gives back to the group that helped her, serving as a panelist when APIASF visited the University of California, Irvine, and reviewing scholarship applications for APIASF each year. “This scholarship has played a big role in the things I’ve been able to experience,” Nguyen said. “I would tell prospective students to apply themselves, give things a chance, be open-minded, and give 100 percent in everything they do. Sometimes circumstances are hard, but being able to apply ourselves and believe in ourselves is why companies like Wells Fargo give us those opportunities.”

Visit Wells Fargo Stories to watch the videos.

Tweet me:College students are working toward their dreams, thanks to the @APIASF and support from @WellsFargo. http://bit.ly/2JhpYcW

KEYWORDS: Wells Fargo, Asian American, scholarships, NYSE:WFC, access to college

Ceres: Clean Energy Opportunities Align With Investment Fundamentals

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Savvy investors are starting to understand the expanding opportunities in clean energy

SOURCE:Ceres

DESCRIPTION:

Now that clean energy has gone mainstream, there is an array of existing and emerging opportunities to scale up clean energy investments while also meeting investors’ risk-return requirements. Across asset classes, clean energy opportunities are available that align with investment fundamentals such as long-term risk diversification. Savvy investors are now moving to understand the expanding opportunities in the clean energy sector, recognizing that this market is growing in terms of the breadth and quality of available opportunities.

Taking stock of key clean energy market developments and diversifying investment opportunities, Ceres recently released a new report on the additional $1 trillion per year in clean energy investment through 2050 — the “Clean Trillion” — required to limit global temperature rise to no more than 2 degrees Celsius and avoid the worst impacts of climate change. The report, In Sight of the Clean Trillion: Update on an Expanding Landscape of Investor Opportunities, finds that achieving this goal is eminently feasible, and that the capital needed to support it is not extraordinary in the context of existing global capital flows.

Read the entire column originally posted on Responsible Investor.

Tweet me:.@CeresNews VP of Climate and Energy @CleanPowerSue highlights the expanding and increasingly appealing investment opportunities in #cleanenergy, which are key to reaching the #CleanTrillion and to meeting goals under the #ParisAgreement. http://bit.ly/2zySR4P

Contact Info:

Sue Reid
Ceres
+1 (617) 247-0700ext. 144
reid@ceres.org

KEYWORDS: Clean Trillion, clean energy investments, Paris Agreement goals, 2 degrees Celsius, long-term risk diversification, risk-return requirements, clean energy infrastructure, Green Bonds, Clean Energy Finance Corporation, CERES

Habitat for Humanity: Creating ‘a Safer Place to Sleep at Night’ for Millions of People

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For 40 years, Habitat has helped individuals and families improve their living conditions and shape a better future

SOURCE:Wells Fargo & Company

DESCRIPTION:

Wells Fargo's ‘Viewpoints’ invites guest authors from outside of Wells Fargo to share an important perspective related to their work. Today, we welcome Jonathan T.M. Reckford, CEO of Habitat for Humanity. For more Viewpoints, visit Wells Fargo Stories.

After four decades of helping families build or improve a place they can call home, Habitat for Humanity® has realized that a house is more than walls, a roof, a floor, and a door. Creating opportunities that enable people to improve their living conditions can lead to positive changes like improved health, better education outcomes, and the ability to make forward-looking choices.

Habitat has grown from a grassroots effort — that began on a community farm in southern Georgia — to a global, nonprofit housing organization working in local communities across all 50 states in the U.S. and in more than 70 countries. Last year alone, Habitat improved the housing conditions of nearly 3.5 million people worldwide. And since our founding in 1976, we have helped more than 13.2 million individuals have a safer place to sleep at night.

In many locations, we serve as a catalyst to increase shelter access. For example, through our MicroBuild program, we train and lend capital to local financial service providers, who then lend to low-income families to improve their homes. More than 2 million people are now living in better housing as a result of MicroBuild investments.

We are also committed to advocacy efforts. The situation for 1.8 million women in Bolivia, for example, changed drastically when Habitat helped amend property laws so that, for the first time, women were able to have the title to their homes and to their land.

However, particularly in the U.S., we are known by most people for our direct service — for helping families build or repair their homes. We think it is critical to include families in being a part of their own housing solutions. With some specific exceptions, Habitat does not build houses for anyone: We partner with individuals and families to help them shape a better future.

Habitat homeowners make a down payment and pay an affordable mortgage. They also put in hundreds of “sweat equity” hours to build their homes and the homes of others, and many take financial education and homeowner classes. Because we set out to help people succeed, foreclosure rates remain extremely low — around 2 percent in the U.S., even though we lend to subprime borrowers. 

The work done by volunteers is one of the hallmarks of the Habitat model. During fiscal year 2017, Habitat engaged more than 2.1 million volunteers worldwide. We also rely on donations from individuals and organizations to assist with our efforts to help families achieve strength, stability, and self-reliance.

Affordable housing plays a critical role in strong and stable communities

As one of Habitat’s dedicated corporate supporters, Wells Fargo has a long history of working with us to create affordable housing opportunities and to strengthen local communities. Since 2010, Wells Fargo team members have volunteered more than 355,000 hours in support of Habitat projects, helping to build and improve more than 2,500 Habitat homes in partnership with families in need of safe and decent shelter.

In addition, Wells Fargo and the Wells Fargo Housing Foundation provided a combined $66 million to Habitat for Humanity International and our local affiliates in support of affordable and sustainable housing. This funding included an $18 million gift to Habitat at the end of 2017 to help strengthen our operations and services, including disaster preparedness and ongoing post-disaster rebuilding efforts in Texas, Florida, and Puerto Rico.

Commitment to our neighborhood revitalization program has also been a key area of support for Wells Fargo, which has funded 84 neighborhood revitalization grants to serve nearly 10,600 families. In addition, more than 400 Wells Fargo team members have volunteered approximately 1,400 hours to help with neighborhood revitalization efforts such as murals, home preservation projects, community gardens, neighborhood planning meetings, and home rehabs.

Habitat launched neighborhood revitalization efforts in 2010 as a response to the economic downturn and resulting housing crisis. As is often the case, low-income families who could least afford setbacks were affected the most. They experienced heavy job losses, resulting in growing numbers of foreclosed and abandoned properties in blighted and demoralized neighborhoods.

At a time when local municipalities expressed concern over our building more new houses in communities where many properties stood vacant, we began to involve volunteers in repairing and rehabbing homes, in addition to starting new construction projects. By listening to residents and empowering them to identify both problems and solutions to neighborhood issues, Habitat helped them take a leadership role in transforming the places where they lived.

Participating in community development efforts allows Habitat to fully embrace our mission to build homes, communities, and hope. Only with the support of great advocates like Wells Fargo can we draw closer to our vision of a world where everyone has a decent place to live.

Tweet me:.@WellsFargo Viewpoints: Habitat for Humanity: Creating ‘a safer place to sleep at night’ for millions of people http://bit.ly/2L4mgbE

KEYWORDS: Habitat for Humanity, Wells Fargo, homeless, Shelter, Housing, NYSE:WFC

 

Aflac CEO Dan Amos Among 50 Best CEOs Focused on Diversity

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Amos ranks 16th on annual list compiled by Comparably

SOURCE:Aflac

DESCRIPTION:

Aflac CEO Dan Amos has ranked No. 16 on Comparably​’s list of 50 Best CEOs focused on diversity!

According to their website, the list is compiled based on anonymous feedback submitted by employees over a 12-month period.

To learn more, visit Comparably.com

Tweet me:.@Aflac CEO Dan Amos ranks 16th on @Comparably list of 50 Best #CEOs focused on #diversity http://bit.ly/2JdLLCp

KEYWORDS: Aflac, Dan Amos, Comparably, Best CEOs for Diversity

 

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