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$110K Donation from Reliant Supports Solar Installation for No-Kill Animal Shelter in Houston

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Friends For Life Now Powered by Solar to Help Save More Animals’ Lives

SOURCE:NRG Energy

DESCRIPTION:

Reliant powers, protects and simplifies life, now for both people and animals alike. Today the company announced the donation of $110,000 to Houston’s Friends For Life, the only no-kill, LEED-certified animal rescue shelter and adoption organization in Houston. The donation supports the installation of rooftop solar and solar on the nonprofit’s Mobile Adoption Vehicle. To celebrate, Reliant teamed up with the shelter to host an adoption event on March 25 at Friends For Life headquarters.

“Supporting local organizations that are important to our community is a big part of who we are as a company, and supporting the solar installation at Friends For Life is just one way we work to make a difference by doing what we do best – powering Texans with innovative energy,” said Elizabeth Killinger, president, Reliant and NRG Retail. “As the fastest-growing shelter in Houston, we’re pleased to help Friends For Life achieve their mission to save animals’ lives while also saving on their electricity usage.”

The new solar installation includes 96 panels on the nonprofit’s Don Sanders Adoption Center and will offset the shelter’s electricity use by roughly 13 percent per year, which will allow the shelter to instead devote those resources to providing all food, supplies and medicine for four animals for an entire year. The system also includes a monitoring device that shows actual electricity production and consumption, offering insight into the shelter’s energy usage and helping them manage operations more efficiently.

As part of the $110,000 donation, Reliant also provided the funds for solar panels to outfit the nonprofit’s Mobile Adoption Vehicle (MAV), a state-of-the-art, 26-foot vehicle that brings dogs and cats to community events and high-traffic locations throughout the Houston area to encourage adoption and raise awareness. The technology will help the MAV’s battery stay charged, reduce use of diesel generators and power the vehicle’s lights, refrigerator, water pump and other equipment to help the animals stay comfortable and healthy.

New and existing electricity customers can support Friends For Life too when they sign up for a new Reliant plan that includes a $100 donation to the adoption and rescue center. For more information, visit www.reliant.com/friendsforlife

“We are grateful for Reliant’s partnership and excited to implement this new sustainable energy solution at our facility. Every dollar we save on overhead costs like electricity can help save another animal and find their forever home,” said Salise Shuttlesworth, executive director and founder, Friends For Life. “Thanks to Reliant’s support, we can continue operating as Houston’s only no-kill, LEED-certified animal shelter while further reducing our carbon footprint and becoming more resource-efficient.”

In 2016, Friends For Life was chosen by the public to receive the top donation of $100,000 in Reliant’s crowd-sourced charitable giving program – Reliant Gives. The program puts the power of nonprofit advocacy in the hands of the public, letting people vote from among three Texas charities nominated and selected by the company’s employees.

About Reliant, an NRG company
Reliant brings electricity, smart energy solutions and home services to business and residential customers across Texas. Reliant is part of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE: NRG), a Fortune 200 company that is at the forefront of changing how people think about, buy and use energy. Backed by a diverse portfolio of nearly 140 power generating facilities that can support millions of homes and businesses nationwide, NRG’s retail companies, including Reliant, deliver electricity and home security services and serve almost 3 million customers in 10 states and the District of Columbia. NRG retail brands collectively are the largest providers of electricity in Texas. For more information about Reliant products and services, please visit reliant.com and connect with Reliant on Facebook at facebook.com/reliantenergy and Twitter @reliantenergy. PUCT Certificate #10007

Media Contact: 
Megan Talley
713-537-2160
Megan.Talley@nrg.com 
Twitter: @reliantenergy

Tweet me:$110K donation to Houston’s Friends For Life from @reliantenergy an @nrgenergy company http://bit.ly/2p3YQFD for #solar installation

KEYWORDS: Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives, NRG Energy, reliant energy, Texas, no kill animal shelter, Donations, sustainability, csr, Solar


Avnet Success Story Video | The Story of Ubicquia

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SOURCE:Avnet, Inc.

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Avnet works with Ubicquia to make cities smarter by embedding streetlight sensors that detect threats such as gas leaks, radiation and gunshots, and alert response teams. These same sensors alert rural African communities to the approach of dangerous animals. Discover how Avnet helps guide today’s ideas into tomorrow’s technologies at www.avnet.com/success-stories.

About Avnet, Inc.
From idea to design and from prototype to production, Avnet supports customers at each stage of a product’s lifecycle. A comprehensive portfolio of design and supply chain services makes Avnet the go-to guide for innovators who set the pace for technological change. For nearly a century, Avnet has helped its customers and suppliers around the world realize the transformative possibilities of technology.

Learn more about Avnet at www.avnet.com.

Tweet me:.@Avnet Success Story Video: The Story of @Ubicquia http://bit.ly/2oKijhJ #SmartCities #Innovation #ThisIsFurther

KEYWORDS: Innovation & Technology, Green Infrastructure, Ubicquia, Avnet Inc

Rebuilding Together, Lowe’s to 'Rebuild-A-Block' in Communities Throughout the Country

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Lowe's Heroes employee volunteers to rebuild homes, community centers for residents in need

SOURCE:Rebuilding Together

SUMMARY:

Rebuilding Together, a leading national non-profit rebuilding communities in need across the country, will partner with Lowe's to launch its Rebuild-a-Block program and restore homes and neighborhood service centers in Tampa, Fla., Henderson, Nev. and Fayetteville, N.C. 

DESCRIPTION:

Washington, D.C., April 13, 2017 /3BL Media/ – Rebuilding Together, a leading national non-profit rebuilding communities in need across the country, will partner with Lowe's to launch its Rebuild-a-Block program and restore homes and neighborhood service centers in Tampa, Fla., Henderson, Nev. and Fayetteville, N.C. Nearly 200 Lowe's Heroes employees will provide critical home repairs to their neighbors in need at no cost to them.

Additionally, Lowe's is providing 33 Rebuilding Together affiliates with $450,000 in grant money to increase their impact and rebuild homes throughout the country.

"Lowe's has made a significant commitment to provide our neighbors with the necessary repairs to remain in their home," said Caroline Blakely, President and CEO of Rebuilding Together. "Our continued partnership has been crucial to Rebuilding Together's mission of rebuilding our communities and serving individuals in need."

In Tampa, Fla. Lowe's Heroes will provide critical repairs for five homeowners and revitalize the Rosa Valdez Daycare Center in Old West Tampa on April 19 and 20. The center has been serving the neighborhood for over 100 years by providing daycare and developmental services to disadvantaged children.

On May 16 and 17, Lowe's Heroes will rebuild 4 homes and a community center in Henderson, Nev., southeast of Las Vegas. Henderson was first incorporated during WWII and was a major production hub for munitions and airplane parts. Along with nearby Boulder City, the area housed many of the workers who built the Hoover Dam.

On June 13 and 14, Lowe's Heroes will also rebuild 4 homes and a community space serving the Fayetteville, N.C. community. The area was struck by Hurricane Matthew in 2016, causing $1.5 billion of flood damage to 100,000 homes, businesses, and government buildings in the state.

With the support of Lowe’s Heroes, Rebuilding Together has completed over 1,500 projects, impacting 16,000 of our neighbors since 2007.

“Lowe’s shares Rebuilding Together’s vision in providing a safe and healthy home for every person,” said James Frison, Lowe’s Community Relations Director. “It takes dedicated, hard work to keep a house in good condition. Our Lowe’s Heroes love being part of the Rebuild-a-Block program that helps homeowners make the necessary repairs to ensure a safe environment and keep a house feeling like a home.”

For the latest information about the initiative, follow #RebuildABlock on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

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About Rebuilding Together
Rebuilding Together is a leading national nonprofit in safe and healthy housing with more than 40 years of experience. Together, with our corporate and community partners, we transform the lives of low-income homeowners by improving the safety and health of their homes and revitalizing their communities. Rebuilding Together’s local affiliates and nearly 100,000 volunteers complete about 10,000 rebuild projects nationwide each year. Learn more and get involved at rebuildingtogether.org.

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.

Tweet me:.@RebldgTogthr & @Lowes to #RebuildABlock in communities throughout the country http://bit.ly/2nEVoEm

KEYWORDS: Responsible Business & Employee Engagement, Green Infrastructure, Lowe's, rebuilding together, Rebuild A Block, volunteer engagement, Lowe's Heroes, disaster relief

Whole Kids Foundation® School Food Support Initiative

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The School Food Support Initiative (SFSI) was created to support medium sized school districts who are eager to transform their school lunch programs from processed foods to scratch-cooked meals.

SOURCE:Whole Foods Market Foundations

DESCRIPTION:

Whole Kids Foundation has joined forces with The Life Time Foundation and Chef Ann Foundation to provide support for this journey through technical assistance grants.

School Food Support Initiative will work with the selected districts through a technical assistance program that includes a workshop for food service directors, on-site assessment and on-site assessment debrief and strategic planning, along with peer-to-peer collaboration and access to a food service program Assistance Grant. 

The program has a value of nearly $200,000 per participating district (depending on district size).

Why is it important?
Serving children scratch-cooked meals allows districts to offer healthy and delicious breakfast and lunch, but it’s not always an easy task—there are financial, procurement, management, education, and staffing hurdles to jump over. Oftentimes, school districts need the guidance from school food experts to overcome these challenges.

According to a recent Pew study, directors whose school food programs prepared more foods from scratch and increased the use of salad bars were more likely to report that student participation rose.  And the SFSI guidelines support scratch cooking that is far healthier and more nutritious than processed foods.

Participating Districts
The school districts that applied had to disclose all aspects of their operations and demonstrate to the review committee through their application and interview that they are ready for change.

2017 Recipients:

            Brewster Central School District (Brewster, NY)

            Fridley Public Schools (Fridley, MN)

            Norwood City School District (Norwood, OH)

            Ocean View School District (Oxnard, CA)

            Oxford School District (Oxford, MS)

            Staunton City Schools (Staunton, VA)

            Tempe Elementary School District (Tempe, AZ)

2016 Recipients:

            Bellingham Public Schools (Bellingham, WA)

            Buford City Schools (Buford City, GA)

            Passaic School District (Passaic, NJ)

            Watertown Public Schools (Watertown, MA)

These school districts have begun implementing the recommendations from their on-site assessments, and are in the midst of transitioning to healthier, scratch-cooked school food and meeting program goals of eliminating the specified ingredients, including trans fats & hydrogenated oils, high fructose corn syrup, hormones and antibiotics, processed and artificial sweeteners, artificial colors and flavors, artificial preservatives and bleached flour.

Stay in Touch
If you are interested in applying for the School Food Support Initiative, sign up for our newsletter, follow us on Facebook and Twitter to receive updates!

Email grants@wholekidsfoundation.org with any questions.

Tweet me:Learn more about @WholeKidsFnd school food support initiative http://bit.ly/2p9fgvF

KEYWORDS: Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Giving Back is a Core Value at Aflac

The Ugly Food Movement

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A pioneer in rescuing produce that would otherwise go to waste, FareShare helps feed half a million people each week. CEO Lindsay Boswell tells us how.

SOURCE:Cargill

DESCRIPTION:

Lindsay Boswell knows how to find a use for discolored apples and lumpy carrots. But protein powder? The CEO of FareShare had no clue.

“We had recently had a large volume of these protein substances the body builders use,” he said. “You see them in these big white tubs in the health shops. We thought we were really going to struggle to find anybody who wanted to take those.”

They turned out to be in demand by a certain group: homeless shelters trying to help the people they serve gain weight. “They were saying, that’s perfect for us,” he said.

It was a found connection in a complex landscape of food and nutrition – FareShare’s specialty. The organization supports about 2,500 charities across the UK and helps feed a half-million people a week by capturing and distributing food that would otherwise go to waste. Cargill has supported FareShare with funding and volunteer hours since 2009.

Boswell spoke recently with Cargill about waste in food supply chains and the latest strategies to address it, from embracing ugly vegetables to a centuries-old harvest practice.

All of the food that FareShare provides to UK charities is surplus food. Where does all this excess food come from?

Whether it’s right or wrong – and I should think it’s probably wrong – we live in a world where people want to be able to eat strawberries in the middle of winter and they want to be able to buy smart ciabatta with little bits of olive or walnut sprinkles on the top of it at 11 o’clock at night. That creates a supply chain designed to make sure that you never run out – whether that is at the distribution centers, in the processing plants, right back to the field and the farm gate. The vast majority of surplus food in the United Kingdom is not in the supermarkets where you or I would guess. It’s in the supply chain before the supermarkets.

FareShare takes advantage of what you call “Cinderella vegetables” – produce that has been rejected by supermarkets simply because of its appearance. Is this idea catching on?

It is. This is produce that for some reason does not meet what is regarded as commercial cosmetic standards: the bananas are too bendy, the cucumbers are not straight enough, the apples are too red or too green or not green or red enough. Those sorts of products traditionally have been discarded before they make it into the food system.

Over the last 12 months in the UK there has been much more of a movement, as a result of public pressure, for retailers to make available the “Cinderella veg” at a lower price point. It’s still new. Are people going to be prepared to put in the extra 10 seconds that it takes to peel a slightly wonky carrot as opposed to an absolutely straight one? One of the big retailers in the UK has a line now of produce called “perfectly imperfect.” That is fantastic to see. The “ugly food movement,” continuing the Cinderella analogy, has a ball gown on and she is off to the party.

What is being done to recover surplus food from farm fields?

One tactic is called “gleaning,” which is a very old term. Centuries ago, a farmer did not harvest the crop from the very edges of any field. Those were made available at harvest festival time for anybody who wanted to put the effort in to go and pick it out. With modern technology, the sorting and processing of produce takes place as it is harvested. The potatoes that are too big or too small are graded as they are pulled out of the ground and discarded straight back onto the field again. The environmentally sensible, sustainable thing to do is get an amazing bunch of volunteers, go out into those fields and pick all of those vegetables up. Where it makes economic sense to do so, we’re seeing more of this gleaning happening today.

Produce is just one part of a healthy diet. How do you ensure that you’re providing a range of nutritious food options for your charity partners?

Over a third of what we supply is fresh fruit and vegetables. What we don’t do is adopt some kind of lecturing tone of voice about what people should and should not eat. We have learned that the complexity of the problems and the issues that some of the charities are dealing with are way beyond anything we really understood when we started redistributing food. Some of the charities that we work with are trying actively to bulk up the fat and the muscle on malnourished people to help them have a framework – literally a body frame – from which they can improve their health. In other areas, like school breakfast clubs, we are really careful about making sure that we are not supplying large quantities of high-sugar, high-fat foods. Across the nearly 2,500 plus charities we support, the needs are different.

How has your approach to serving the charities you work with changed over the years?

In addition to our traditional market – our 20 regional centers where we are taking the food out and delivering it to the local charities and community groups – our growth has come from our FareShare FoodCloud platform. That has enabled us to connect charities that have a close proximity to a supermarket, where that supermarket has leftover food at the end of the day. Although it is a techy platform – it’s an app – the real heart of it is the investment of time and energy to build a relationship between the people who work in the supermarket and the people who work in the local charities. We put a lot of time into getting those charities to come into the supermarket, to meet the staff, for the staff to understand what a difference the local charities are making. What we are finding is that the local relationships are happening thanks to the app.

What do you hope for the future of your partnership with Cargill and for FareShare as a whole?

One of the things that really makes a difference is knowing that you have a partner who is not there for the short-term, because that gives us the institutional confidence to put the investments in place that we are now beginning to reap. At the end of June, our food was reaching 211,000 people every week. It’s now reaching 499,000 people every week. We have gone from working with charities in 320 towns and cities across the UK to now 995.

Despite all those impressive numbers, we still are dealing in a really small percentage of the food that could be diverted. It is quite a challenge to say that we want to be dealing with 10 times more food and that we want to be feeding 10 times the number of mouths and the number of organizations. Your partnership and other partnerships are going to help us continue to drive that forward at the pace we are going.

Beyond that, our model really only works at scale with large numbers of the most incredible volunteers. We have actually been growing so fast that we need more volunteers. Many of the charities that are on the waiting list to go and collect the food at the end of the night from supermarkets are waiting because they have not yet found volunteers who can help. So expanding our volunteer capacity is a big part of what we are trying to do to move forward.

Tweet me:.@FareShareUK puts #UglyFood to use feeding 250K people each week http://bit.ly/2nEQIuB @Cargill @FoodSecureWorld #FoodWaste

KEYWORDS: Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives, Hunger Relief, Cargill, Ugly food movement, FareShare, Food Waste

   

Explore the Power of Plant-Based Nutrition

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What you need to know about the growing interest in ‘plant-based’ nutrition

SOURCE:Nestlé in the U.S.

DESCRIPTION:

We know consumer’s wants and needs change quickly. In particular, the movement for more plant based options in the marketplace continues to grow rapidly with almost 7 out of 10 people surveyed reporting they are trying to consume more plant-based foods and 1 in 5 reported improved opinions around the healthfulness of plant protein. So why the interest in plant-based diets?

Read more

Tweet me:What you need to know about the growing interest in ‘plant-based’ #nutrition http://bit.ly/2onuTSy @NestleUSA #PlantBasedDiet

KEYWORDS: Health & Healthcare, Good Health and Well-Being, Nestle, Plant-based diet, vegan, vegetarian

Navigating the Future | HP 2017 Megatrends Report

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Helping HP Adapt, Chart, and Reinvent the Future

SOURCE:HP, Inc.

DESCRIPTION:

by Andrew Bolwell, VP, Chief Disrupter, Global Head of HP Tech Ventures, and Doug Warner, VP and Global Head of Tech Vision & Strategy

At HP, our work on Megatrends is focused on directionally predicting where the world is headed, and about boldly ensuring a successful and relevant place in it for HP and our customers. 

In Issue 2 of the Innovation Journal, we discussed how four Megatrends—Rapid Urbanization, Changing Demographics, Hyper Globalization, and Accelerated Innovation—will have a sustained and transformative impact on businesses, societies, economies, cultures, and our personal lives in the future. 

Each year we revisit these four Megatrends to identify which Megatrend themes are accelerating, which are diminishing or changing, and what new themes are on the horizon. 

Here is a brief overview of our findings this year:

Rapid Urbanization

By 2030 there will be an estimated 8.5 billion people walking the earth. They will be drawn to cities in massive numbers for the promise of a better life. According to McKinsey, by 2025, urbanization will welcome an additional 1.8 billion consumers to the world economy, 95% of them in emerging markets. 

As economic conditions improve and social attitudes change, more women will have a major impact on the world economy, from growing participation in the global labor force to economic wealth and spending drivers. In the US, it is estimated that women controlled an estimated $14 trillion of wealth in 2015, and today influence 85% of all consumer purchases. 

While urbanization is also driving a growing middle class in emerging economies, in developed nations a rift is developing between haves and have-nots, with many consumers driven more by value than quality. 

As millions of people move to cities every week, this will also put a huge strain on space, city resources, energy requirements, and infrastructure costs, forcing homes, offices, and cities to become smarter and more efficient. From smart-city to micro-living initiatives, there will be an increasing focus, around the globe, on optimizing space, products, and services for urban living.

Changing Demographics

We have a new generation about to enter the workforce, Generation Z (Gen Z), born between 1995 and 2010. Gen Z is about a quarter of the U.S. population and predicted to make up 36% of the global workforce by 2020. This generation was raised on the Internet, expects to communicate and digest information instantaneously, and has a shorter attention span for inbound information. As the online generation, Gen Z is acutely aware of the issues and global challenges happening in the world around them. 

At the same time, by 2030 we’ll have twice as many people over age 65—nearly one billion. This is leading to a shrinking and aging workforce, putting a strain on economies, government spending, and healthcare. We will need to harness the exponential technology growth of faster computing, artificial intelligence (AI), big data, mobility, microfluidics, and the Internet of Things to help us meet these growing health challenges.

Hyper Globalization

How and where we design, sell, and manufacture products will become both hyper-global and hyper-local thanks to a globally connected world with a diverse set of local requirements. It’s now easier than ever for start-ups to scale globally, and for emerging market companies to become real challengers to established multinationals. This challenge will disrupt markets and business models. Companies around the globe must constantly reinvent themselves to stay competitive, and they must do so at a faster and faster rate. 

Companies that succeed will also have to be ready to handle new forms of payment, as for how consumers buy and pay for products and services is being increasingly digitized. People across the globe will soon be transferring data instead of cash. Online and mobile payments will lead to near-cashless societies in Norway, Denmark, and Sweden within 5 years. This trend is supported by Millennials—those born between 1982 and 2004—around the world.

However, with the speed of global technology adoption also comes with an increased risk of cyber-attacks. Information is power, and cyber-attacks are hard to attribute as witnessed by the recent Democratic National Convention email hack during the US election. There will be an increased emphasis on technology companies to innovate and achieve much higher degrees of trust and resilience.

Accelerated Innovation

The pace and breadth of innovation continue to accelerate. As new technology components mature and become commoditized, they transform into building blocks for new breakthroughs. Emerging technology trends like Hypermobility, 3D Transformation, Internet of ALL Things, and Smart Machines will harness advancements in computing power, connectivity, and immersive computing to deliver richer experiences. 

The rise of AI will lead to massive automation of tasks, manufacturing, and our workforce. The trajectory of manual job automation continues with the adoption of industrial and services robots across industries. However, it’s not just manual tasks that are being automated. AI and robotics are being put to work performing high-level cognitive jobs from healthcare diagnosis to publishing and advertising, and even making investment decisions in the boardroom. 

This “smart movement” will impact every aspect of our lives, with intelligent agents and bots always at the ready, orchestrating our everyday activities. The possibilities are endless for a Man + Machine-enabled world.

So how will these trends shape HP’s future strategy and innovations?

HP uses Megatrends to inform strategic, actionable choice points for our products and services. Megatrends give HP a directional look at how markets, industries, and behaviors are changing, and what type of solutions might be needed to overcome the challenges and demands of those shifts. 

Looking at short and long-term time intervals, HP identifies key technology advancements and new solutions that have the potential for the greatest impact. Starting with a pivotal choice point of deciding whether a new technology should be merely observed, is an incremental innovation—new feature or function, value-add to an existing product, or possible accessory—or a disruptive innovation, such as a new product or services. 

Each idea then goes through a rigorous business lens to understand strategic intent—opportunity, purpose, value—business rationale and actionable outcomes. Megatrends help HP shape today’s discussions and hypotheses, to deliver tomorrow products, services, and experiences.

Tweet me:.@HPSustainable examines future #megatrends: #urbanization, changing demographics, #globalization, and #innovation http://bit.ly/2ndbLml

KEYWORDS: Research, Reports & Publications, Innovation & Technology, HP Inc., HP 2017 Megatrends report, urbanization, globalization, HP Innovation Journal

    


Las Vegas Sands Team Members in Las Vegas Participate in Spring Walking Challenge

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SOURCE:Las Vegas Sands

DESCRIPTION:

During the month of April, Team Members at The Venetian, The Palazzo and Sands Expo Center in Las Vegas have the opportunity to participate in the Sands ECO360 “Spring Step Up Challenge” to promote more daily walking, as well as to raise awareness about energy conservation and carbon footprint reduction. The voluntary, 4-week walking challenge is open to everyone at the Las Vegas properties and is being led by property President and COO, George Markantonis, who impressively logged over 76,000 steps during the first week of the challenge.

Sands ECO360 is Las Vegas Sands’ global sustainability strategy designed to help minimize our environmental impact, and it reflects our vision to lead the way in sustainable building development and resort operations. This strategy is integrated across our entire business and the “Spring Step Up Challenge” is just one example of an initiative designed to help us continue our journey to a more sustainable future.

“Spring is a great time to add activity into one’s daily routine at work and at home,” said Pranav Jampani, Director of Sustainability for The Venetian, The Palazzo and Sands Expo. “Our Team Members have been reminded that there are many simple activities they can do to increase step count and reduce carbon footprint at the same time,” Jampani continued. “Some of these activities could include, taking the stairs, using an active method of transportation, planting a garden or helping out in a community garden, and participating in a park clean up event.”

Participants of the “Spring Step Up Challenge” will receive activity trackers and will aim to reach the goal of at least 150,000 steps (5,000 steps a day) during the challenge period. Daily steps will be tracked and reported on a weekly basis during the event and prizes will be awarded to those participants who log the most steps. Individual departments and Team Members have been encouraged to challenge each other and to get creative by finding new activities that can be done together.  

Stay tuned to the Sands Confidential blog for updates

 

Tweet me:.@LasVegasSands team members in Las Vegas participate in spring sustainability-based walking challenge. http://bit.ly/2opnjGR #SandsECO360

KEYWORDS: Health & Healthcare, Exercise & Activity, Las Vegas Sands, Spring Walking Challenge, energy conservation, carbon footprint reduction

AkzoNobel to Restore Five Artworks in Brazil Ahead of 2017 Architecture Award

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SOURCE:AkzoNobel

DESCRIPTION:

Located in four cities in the State of São Paulo – Santo André, Santos, Guarulhos and São Paulo itself – the pieces are famous for their bright and energizing colors and will now be restored to the artist’s original vision.

The launch of the project coincides with a call for entries for the prestigious Instituto Tomie Ohtake AkzoNobel Architecture Award, which is now in its fourth year. Open to Brazilian architects – or foreign architects who have lived in Brazil for at least two years – the competition is designed to showcase Brazilian architecture in its most varied contexts.

Commenting on the restoration program, Heder Frigo, President of AkzoNobel Brazil, said: “As a company, we are committed to improving, energizing and regenerating urban communities across the world. Participating in projects such as this through our global Human Cities initiative means we can offer residents the chance to contemplate art as it was originally intended by the artist.”

This year’s Instituto Tomie Ohtake AkzoNobel Architecture Award will be judged by architects Carla Juaçaba, Gustavo Penna, Nabil Bonduki and Priscyla Gomes. They will select ten finalists, who will take part in an exhibition at the headquarters of the Instituto Tomie Ohtake between August 10 and September 17. The three winners will be announced at the opening of the event.

Added Frigo: “We are delighted to continue our relationship with this fourth event. Being able to highlight urban design and recognize innovative solutions that are both sustainable and integrated into the environment could not be more rewarding for us.”

All submissions for this year’s contest (which are free of charge) must be made online between March 23 and April 30 via the Instituto Tomie Ohtake's website where full details of the rules and how to enter can be found. 

Read the full article here via AkzoNobel.com 

Tweet me:.@AkzoNobel to restore five artworks in Brazil ahead of 2017 Architecture Award http://bit.ly/2p8loot #HumanCities

KEYWORDS: Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives, AkzoNobel, Human Cities

Why Technology in the Classroom is About More Than Just the Tools

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by Cynthia Temesi, Executive Education Consultant, with contributions from Carmen A Rahm, Assistant Superintendent & Chief Information Officer, Kent School District

SOURCE:Cisco Systems Inc.

DESCRIPTION:

When it comes to thoughtfully placing technology into the classroom and the curriculum, it’s about more than just providing the tools.

Kent School District in Kent, Washington knows firsthand about the shift from giving students and educators technology access, to providing them with the right technology access and skills to empower learning. They recently underwent a multi-step visioning process to drive this shift. To do so, they hosted a Tech Summit for students, educators, administrators and community members.

“How are we using technology?” said Kent Superintendent Calvin Watts at the summit. “How are we ensuring that this infrastructure that we have – this wonderful tool that we have – is not simply used as a toy? Is it actually used as a tool to help enhance and advance teaching and learning? That becomes the question, how and to what degree are we connecting teaching and learning with our technology.”

So, how do you connect teaching and learning with technology?

Integrating technology into your school doesn’t start with giving each student a laptop and expecting it to instantly change the way they learn. It starts with crafting a vision for the future of your school district, then determining how technology can help achieve that vision.

Here are four steps to shifting the way technology is and will be used in your school district.

1. Involve those who will be using the technology. More often than not, decisions about new tools are made by those who will never use the technology in its intended state. To ensure positive adoption of technology in the classroom, you must involve those who will actually be using it – the students and the educators.

For Kent School District, hosting a Tech Summit was the ideal way to bring together all stakeholders to discuss the future use of technology in their district.

Superintendent Calvin Watts said of the summit, “The goal in the next five years is to enhance our core business. Our core business is teaching and learning with an emphasis on learning, and that means we need to ask ourselves – our neighbors, community members, work family, home family – how are we doing? Are we doing what we said we would do in terms of using our technology to support teaching and learning?”

The one-day summit brought together 135 people to discuss.

2. Look towards the future. If there were no limitations, what would learning look like on your campus? What would it look like at home? What tools do the students want to use? What tools do the educators need to drive meaningful knowledge gains?

When you ask the right questions to the right people, you get amazing results.

During the Kent Tech Summit, small groups created sketches and scripts of what the day in the life of the future student in the Kent School District would look like.

Once the students, educators and community members had an open forum to discuss their thoughts, the ideas for how to improve the district got flowing.

One student suggested a global learning program, where students could connect with native speakers to better comprehend foreign languages. Another suggested personalized learning tools, both in the classroom and at home, to enhance learning for all individuals, regardless of pace.

“Our students are sharing with us exactly what they need and how they need to learn,” said Superintendent Watts.

It is with this knowledge of the students’ desired future state that a school district can begin to plan for the future.

3. Determine what technology can support. Once your school has determined what the future state should look like, it’s time to find the tools you’ll need to achieve that state.

What technology tools are highest priority? Will your network be able to support the heightened use of technology on campus, and the added need for access to educational resources? How can you plan to roll out technology over time to yield the same results, yet fit into your districts’ budget?

4. Listen to feedback – good or bad. Achieving meaningful digital transformation by successfully implementing technology into your school is an ever-evolving process. Once technology is placed into the classrooms, you can’t just sit back and hope that it will be impactful, you must constantly adapt, and enhance.

Listen to what the students, educators and parents are saying about the technology. Use their feedback to improve and adjust. The more involved they are in the process, the more successful your technology implementation will be in the long run.

Interested in creating more impactful and thoughtful uses of technology at your school? Check out how other schools, like Mesa Public Schools and Rochester City Schools are using the visioning process to plan the future state of their districts.

Cisco’s education experts can help you turn your future state into a reality by helping navigate the technology journey. To learn more, please email ctemesi@cisco.com.

For more information on the Kent Tech Summit, visit their websitewatch their recap video, or check out this article about the event.

Tweet me:.@Cisco blog: Why #Technology in the #Classroom is About More Than Just the Tools http://bit.ly/2p3DE2e #education @CiscoCSR

KEYWORDS: Education, Digital Literacy, cisco csr, Kent School District, Kent Washington

Keep America Beautiful Partners with UK-based Litter Organization Hubbub

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Set to Pilot New Ash Receptacle Program in Five Communities

SOURCE:Keep America Beautiful

DESCRIPTION:

STAMFORD, Conn., April 13, 2017 /3BL Media/ – Keep America Beautiful, the national nonprofit that envisions a country in which every community is a clean, green and beautiful place to live, today announced a partnership with Hubbub’s Neat Streets campaign to end cigarette butt litter in a creative and interactive way. Keep America Beautiful’s Cigarette Litter Prevention Program will pilot Hubbub’s Ballot Bin receptacles in five locations across the United States this spring.

The Ballot Bin is an oversized ash receptacle that aims to tackle the issue of cigarette butt litter by encouraging use of the public ash receptacle through a visually compelling, interactive message. It employs a “voting system,” which allows the user to vote on predetermined questions by choosing one of two slots to dispose of their cigarette butts. Each Ballot Bin has a window that displays the used butts, allowing the smoking public to generate a public opinion poll as they walk past the Ballot Bin. Questions asked are customizable and can be changed to reflect local interests or timely topics.

“Keep America Beautiful is in the business of behavior change and the team at Hubbub has demonstrated that the Ballot Bin offers an effective approach to reducing cigarette butt littering in the UK and beyond,” said Becky Lyons, chief operating officer, Keep America Beautiful. “Our network of 620-plus affiliates and other community partners, serving urban, suburban and rural communities, are a snapshot of America. We look forward to bringing the Ballot Bin to communities across the United States as we strive to build upon the success of our Cigarette Litter Prevention Program and advance our fight to End Littering in America.”

Keep America Beautiful affiliates and partners participating in the pilot program include:

  • Curb Your Litter: Greenpoint (Brooklyn, New York)
  • Keep Coffee County Beautiful (Manchester, Tennessee)
  • Keep Erie Beautiful (Erie, Pennsylvania)
  • Keep Guntersville Beautiful (Guntersville, Alabama)
  • Keep Manatee Beautiful (Manatee County, Florida)

The bins in each pilot market have been customized to the interests of the local communities. The questions on each bin will also be created with local interest in mind and swapped out each week to allow for adult smokers to “vote” on a number of topics.

Following its successful pilot in April 2016, Hubbub launched the Ballot Bin with a new website -- www.ballotbin.co.uk -- and has since shipped it to more than 14 countries and 100 locations. The organization’s independent evaluation in London demonstrated that the Ballot Bin achieved a 46 percent reduction of cigarette butt litter in locations where the bins were used.

“The voting bin is a simple solution that has provoked an incredibly positive response and got people talking about cigarette butt litter in a new way,” said Rebecca Dove, Managing Director of Hubbub. “In less than a year, the Ballot Bin has reached 12 million people in the press and social media and been demonstrated to reduce cigarette butt litter by 46%. So we are delighted to be working in partnership with Keep America Beautiful to introduce the Ballot Bins to the US and look forward to following this exciting pilot.”

Since its establishment, Keep America Beautiful’s Cigarette Litter Prevention Program has consistently cut cigarette butt litter by approximately half based on local measurements taken in the first four months to six months after program implementation.  Results from 2016 program implementation saw a 62% reduction in cigarette litter. Survey results also demonstrate that as communities continue to implement and monitor the program, the reductions are sustained or even increased over time. Keep America Beautiful has distributed nearly $3.3 million in grant funding since 2006 to support local implementation of the program in more than 1,700 communities nationwide.

To address cigarette butt litter, Keep America Beautiful’s Cigarette Litter Prevention Program advocates that communities integrate four proven approaches:

  • Encourage enforcement of litter laws, including cigarette litter;
  • Raise awareness about the issue using public service messages;
  • Place ash receptacles at transition points such as entrances to public buildings; and
  • Distribute pocket or portable ashtrays to adult smokers.

The "Guide to Cigarette Litter Prevention" provides information about starting and maintaining a Cigarette Litter Prevention Program in your community, and can be found online at PreventCigaretteLitter.org.

The Cigarette Litter Prevention Program is supported by funding from Philip Morris USA, an Altria company; RAI Services Company; and the Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company.

About Keep America Beautiful
At Keep America Beautiful, we want to ensure that beauty is our lasting signature. A leading national nonprofit, Keep America Beautiful inspires and educates people to take action every day to improve and beautify their community environment. We envision a country in which every community is a clean, green, and beautiful place to live. Established in 1953, Keep America Beautiful provides the expertise, programs and resources to help people End Littering, Improve Recycling, and Beautify America’s Communities. The organization is driven by the work and passion of more than 620 state and community-based Keep America Beautiful affiliates, millions of volunteers, and the support of corporate partners, municipalities, elected officials, and individuals. To donate or take action, visit kab.org. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram, like us on Facebook, or view us on YouTube.

About Hubbub
Hubbub is a charity created to take a fresh approach to environmental communication.  It was established two years ago during which time it has won six independent awards for the impact of its activities.  Hubbub’s Neat Streets campaign reduced litter in one of the busiest streets in London by 26% and has spread to Manchester, Edinburgh and Birmingham. To learn more visit www.hubbub.org.uk or www.ballotbin.co.uk.

###

Tweet me:.@kabtweet partners with UK-based #litter organization @hubbubUK on cigarette litter pilot program. http://bit.ly/2nI8kZP

Contact Info:

Tom Morales
Keep America Beautiful
+1 (203) 659-3044
tmorales@kab.org
http://www.kab.org
http://www.facebook.com/keepamericabeautiful
http://www.instagram.com/keepamericabeautiful
http://www.twitter.com/kabtweet
http://www.youtube.com/kabnetwork

Larry Kaufman
Keep America Beautiful
+1 (203) 659-3014
lkaufman@kab.org

KEYWORDS: Green Infrastructure, Environment, Keep America Beautiful, Cigarette Litter Prevention Program, Hubbub, Ballot Bin, Neat Streets

Great News for the Everglades

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Bill to Create Reservoir South of Okeechobee Passes Senate

SOURCE:The Orvis Company

DESCRIPTION:

For more than a year, Orvis has been posting about the fight to restore water flows south of Lake Okeechobee and to stop discharges down the Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie Rivers. Yesterday, the good guys won a major victory, as the Florida Senate passed SB10, a bill sponsored by Sen. Rob Bradley that funds the creation of a deep-water reservoir south of the big lake. The vote was 36-3 in favor of the project.

Tweet me:Orvis congratulates the Florida Senate for bi-partisan passage of EAA Reservoir legislation. http://bit.ly/2pdLjLD

KEYWORDS: Environment, Clean Water and Sanitation, The Orvis Company, Now Or Neverglades, Florida, everglades

The Oceans and Fisheries Partnership (USAID Oceans), Asia-Pacific

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Developing a tracking system to combat fraud and promote sustainability of vital marine ecosystems

SOURCE:Tetra Tech

DESCRIPTION:

The Asia-Pacific region’s waters are home to some of the world’s most productive and biodiverse marine ecosystems, providing food and income to more than 200 million people. However, these waters are also rife with illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing practices that threaten the biodiversity of the region, as well as regional and global food security. Tetra Tech is supporting the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) in a multinational effort to increase the sustainability of fishing in the Asia-Pacific region. 

In 2015 Secretary of State John Kerry announced the USAID Oceans and Fisheries Partnership (USAID Oceans), which aims to combat IUU practices through enhanced catch documentation and traceability, strengthened fisheries management, and attention to human welfare issues that span the region’s fisheries sector. Tetra Tech was selected to lead the implementation of the partnership in support of the U.S. Presidential Task Force to Combat Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated Fishing and Seafood Fraud. The project is a collaboration of the U.S. Agency for International Development and the Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center. It focuses on priority at-risk species that are vital for food security and economic growth and are under threat from IUU fishing. 

As the lead implementing partner of USAID Oceans, Tetra Tech is supporting the design, implementation, and testing of an electronic Catch Documentation and Traceability (CDT) system throughout the Asia-Pacific region. This system allows seafood products to be tracked from capture at sea through landing, processing, distribution, and retail sale. By developing a transparent and financially sustainable CDT system, the USAID Oceans team is helping to ensure that fisheries resources are legally caught and properly labeled. To build the viability and sustainability of the CDT system, the USAID Oceans team is collaborating with traceability, partnership, and industry engagement experts and is collaborating with technology companies to harness the latest communication and traceability innovations.

The impact of illicit fishing extends beyond environmental and economic harm. Human welfare concerns and labor rights abuses also are major issues in the fisheries industry. To address these issues, USAID Oceans is including key labor data elements in the CDT system. The partnership will advocate for raising awareness and recommending policies that support fair labor conditions and combat human trafficking and labor abuse in the region.

To support CDT system development and implementation, USAID Oceans has developed strong partnerships with regional, national, and local governments, and a network of fisheries sector stakeholders including non-governmental organizations, industry leaders, standards organizations, local universities, and fisherfolk. USAID Oceans will implement and test the CDT system in learning sites at the ports of General Santos City, Philippines, and Bitung, Indonesia. These learning sites will serve as a proving ground for all program activities and will enable regional expansion through capacity building and hands-on training. USAID Oceans also is providing training on enhanced fisheries management for local and regional institutions using an Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries Management, and on human welfare considerations in the fisheries sector.

In its first year, USAID Oceans launched high-profile partnerships to support the system’s design and sustainability, including partnerships with the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch, the Global Food Traceability Center, Future of Fish, and the World Ocean Council. These partnerships are important for both local buy-in as well as the sustainability of program activities.

Check out the USAID Oceans and Fisheries Partnership project website here.

Tweet me:.@TetraTech is helping conserve #MarineBiodiversity & create #SustainableFisheries in #AsiaPacific: http://bit.ly/2p9hRpR @TetraTechIntDev

KEYWORDS: Sustainable Development Goals, Environment, food security, Tetra Tech, USAID, fisheries, USAID Oceans and Fisheries Partnership, Monterey Bay Aquarium, Global Food Traceability Center, Future of Fish, World Ocean Council, Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center

  

Our Commitment to Sustainability

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SOURCE:Consumers Energy

DESCRIPTION:

Sustainability means everything to ConsumersEnergy. It is our approach to business. The philosophy extends beyond their energy mix, power generation and distribution. It’s their way of life, and it’s evident in everything they do—from hiring and training their people, to caring for families and communities. From helping businesses succeed to protecting their environment. They are deeply committed to creating a sustainable future for generations to come.

Tweet me:.@ConsumersEnergy shows their commitment to sustainability http://bit.ly/2p3KPHS

KEYWORDS: Responsible Business & Employee Engagement, Environment, Consumers Energy


De Beers Employees Do Battle to Highlight Teamwork

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Namdeb, De Beers’ partnership venture with the Government of the Republic of Namibia, has highlighted the value of teamwork among its employees

SOURCE:De Beers Group

DESCRIPTION:

The company has hosted its Interdepartmental Games in March with the main aim of promoting employee wellbeing and morale.

Namdeb employees and contractors formed teams to compete against each other in sporting activities such as seven-a-side soccer, netball, volleyball, cricket and a tug of war plus fun races including rope skipping, potato-on-spoon and three-legged races.

The events, watch by a total of about 450 people, took place at Oranjemund Cricket Club on 4 March for employees from Namdeb’s Orange River and Southern Coastal Mines teams, and a week later at Lüderitz Sports Field for the Northern Coastal Mines (NCM) teams.

The Oranjemund event kicked off with a dancing performance by women from Namdeb’s Sorthouse who became the ‘Namdeb Cheerleaders’. The Lüderitz games began with a ‘Harlem shake mixed with a dub and mannequin challenge’ performance by the NCM dance group.

Namdeb Brand Manager Pauline Thomas said: “The games were held in high spirits throughout, with friendly competition between different Namdeb departments. Partnerships are central to our success, and partnerships within our teams are equally important.”

More Interdepartmental Games are planned for June and October.

About De Beers
De Beers is a member of the Anglo American plc group. Established in 1888, De Beers is the world’s leading diamond company with expertise in the exploration, mining and marketing of diamonds. Together with its joint venture partners, De Beers employs more than 20,000 people across the diamond pipeline and is the world’s largest diamond producer by value, with mining operations in Botswana, Canada, Namibia and South Africa. As part of the company’s operating philosophy, the people of De Beers are committed to ‘Building Forever’ by making a lasting contribution to the communities in which they live and work, and transforming natural resources into shared national wealth. For further information about De Beers, visit www.debeersgroup.com.

Media Contact 
Press office
Tel +44 (0) 20 7430 3434
pressoffice@debeersgroup.com

 

Tweet me:#Namdeb's Interdepartmental Games promote employee wellbeing & morale https://t.co/mZUjLROA2M @debeersgroup

KEYWORDS: Diversity & Inclusion, Events, Media & Communications, De Beers Group

Reinventing the Classroom | HP and Yale Team Up to Create a Blended Reality Future

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by Gus Schmedlen, VP of Worldwide Education, HP, and Randall Rode, director of Campus IT Partner Relationship and Development, Information Technology Services, Yale University

SOURCE:HP, Inc.

DESCRIPTION:

Take a moment to wrap your mind around these Yale students’ astonishing projects in blended reality using a range of HP technologies, including Sprout by HP.

  • See resin sculptures of very large (think meteors and planets) and very small (think microscopic particles) collisions, which produce new elements and forces at vastly different scales. Generating 3D printed artifacts from digitally simulated material collisions, the articles can then be scanned and new simulations created, transforming physical objects to digital and back again.
  • The MindDesign tool, a CAD digital plug-in, and physical interactive interface, allows users to fabricate design ideas directly from their imagination. Users will be able to generate 3D models of their emotional reactions using sensor headsets and custom software.
  • Experience the visual, acoustic, and tactile qualities of a multi-unit all-gender prototype bathroom.
  • Create sculptures of rare and extinct birds for a bird museum from taxidermied birds using 3D scanning.

These four projects, plus several others, are the result of a groundbreaking collaboration between HP and Yale over the past six months, part of an effort to explore the frontiers of innovation in blended reality.

Blended reality for next-gen classrooms

Professors and students from a variety of campus teams, including the Yale College, Peabody Museum of Natural History, School of Art, School of Architecture, School of Drama, Department of Comparative Literature and Digital Media Center for the Arts, are using Sprout Pros, 3D printing, augmented reality, and virtual reality to test use cases for blended reality in classrooms, exhibit halls, and research labs. 

The applied research partnership with Yale University, headed by John C. Eberhart, School of Architecture faculty, highlights opportunities for HP’s thought leadership in higher education, linking our technology for blended reality with next-generation teaching, research, and learning.

HP’s most recent collaboration with Yale began in November of 2016 and will continue through October 2017, after which HP and Yale will publish a monograph titled “Making the Future: 3D in Academe” to be co-authored by HP’s Gus Schmedlen, VP of Worldwide Education at HP and John Eberhart, principle investigator of Yale University. 

“The HP Yale Blended Reality research program explores the frontiers of VR, AR and 3D in higher education at a world top 10 university,” shared Schmedlen. “We are very encouraged by the early progress on the instructional and research innovations and look forward to publishing the results this fall.” 

This partnership underscores HP’s continuing efforts to maximize learning outcomes, with a focus on planning, leadership, and total access to content for always-on, always-connected teaching, research, and learning.

Strengthening HP’s education brand

The project aims to explore how Yale faculty, researchers, and student use blended reality to push the frontiers of STEM and the humanities. It’s one of the ways HP invests in bleeding edge technology for classrooms, building a brand—especially for workstations, PC procurement partnerships, and immersive computing—on campuses while we also seek deep customer insights at a world top 10 university.

Aiming for deep customer insights through projects at Yale is natural, given long-standing and mutually beneficial relationships between HP and the United States’ third-oldest university. HP CMO Antonio Lucio has served on the advisory board for Yale’s Center for Customer Insights and is slated to speak at Yale in mid-April. 

Doug Warner, VP and Global Head of Tech Vision and Strategy at HP, was also at Yale recently, giving two talks to packed audiences for Yale Information Technology Services (ITS) on the topic future trends and the spirit of disruptive innovation. Doug was honored to be the guest lecturer at the Branford College Tea, a very special tradition at Yale, and spent the entire day on campus engaging with Yale faculty, staff, and students; talking and planning with Yale’s Education Industry Solutions team on the theme of Classroom of the Future.

Sprout Pros at Yale

HP’s signature Classroom of the Future and Campus of the Future are two efforts to explore possible uses of blended reality technology across AR, VR, and 3D printing. Louis Kim, Vice President Advanced Platforms Group at HP, leads efforts for Immersive Computing and HP’s Home of the Future, contributed five Sprout Pros for Yale students to conduct the experimental projects now being carried out by students and professors of art, architecture, neurology, and more. 

HP and Yale will be publishing the final results of the projects in October 2017 at the EDUCAUSE Higher Education conference in Philadelphia. That report will be printed on an HP Indigo digital press, of course. 

HP is involved with many other education initiatives and partnerships as well, such as Reinvent the Classroom, a joint program with Microsoft that includes Digital Promise Global and its network of Learning Studios for student-centered, experiential learning. Learning Studios in 60 schools around the world support advanced blended learning, international collaboration, and the maker movement in education. 

The importance of education can hardly be overstated—education is the single most important determining factor in human, social, and economic development, including gender equality, life expectancy, maternal deaths, and combating disease. 

HP’s commitment to education goes beyond market share. Educations is linked to vital human rights worldwide. Working closely with leading education institutions around the globe, HP is bringing learning into the digital age, empowering the students of today and tomorrow, and reinventing education as we know it.

To learn more about this story, go to http://blendedreality.yale.edu/

Tweet me:Reinventing the classroom: @HP and @Yale team up to create a #BlendedReality future http://bit.ly/2ndpPMz @HPSustainable

KEYWORDS: Education, Higher Education Access, HP Inc., yale, Blended reality, HP Sprout

Dedicated Team Members Help The Venetian Macao Earn Third ISO Certification

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SOURCE:Las Vegas Sands

DESCRIPTION:

The hard work of Las Vegas Sands’ Team Members in Macao has earned the company yet another prestigious accolade. The Venetian Macao has achieved its third ISO certification by the International Organization for Standardization. This particular designation is for the property’s food safety management system – a first for an integrated resort or hotel in Macao. The scope of the certification covers receiving, storage, cooking, cooling and packaging of chilled food at the property's central kitchen, which serves Sands China Ltd. food and beverage operations.

The recognition is the property's third ISO certification to date. The Venetian Macao also holds an ISO certification for the quality management system of its convention and exhibition services and an ISO certification for its event sustainability management system.

"The Venetian Macao is very pleased to be receiving our third ISO certification," said Charles Newland, senior vice president of food and beverage for Sands China Ltd. "As Macao's first integrated resort to achieve this industry standard for food safety, it is with pride that we continue our commitment to offering the highest quality customer experience possible."

The certification is awarded by the London-based British Standards Institution (BSI) Group, the world's largest national standards and certification body, which audits and provides certification to companies worldwide who implement and comply with its management systems standards.

Read the latest from Las Vegas Sands on Sands Confidential 

Tweet me:.@LasVegasSands dedicated team members helped @VenetianMacao earn third ISO certification http://bit.ly/2mSv5dr #SandsCares

KEYWORDS: Awards, Ratings & Rankings, Las Vegas Sands, The Venetian Macao, ISO Certification, Sands China Ltd., British Standards Institution Group, Macao

Domtar and the Rainforest Alliance Host Landowner Event

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Domtar and Rainforest Alliance Work Toward Better Forest Management

SOURCE:Domtar

DESCRIPTION:

More than 70 woodland owners interested in the future health of forestland, biodiversity and the planet recently learned about sustainable woodland management at a daylong event hosted by the Rainforest Alliance and Domtar at our Kingsport Mill in Tennessee.

As more consumers of fiber-based products demand goods from well-managed forests, land certification becomes critical. Knowing that sustainable woodland management and land certification can be daunting, Domtar and the Rainforest Alliance joined forces to ease the burden on landowners.

“As we look to increase the supply of certified lumber for consumers and the industry as a whole, we understand that building strong partnerships with landowners is critical,” said Dan Persica, Domtar’s senior manager of sustainability communications. “We recognize that responsible woodland management comes with some burdens, so we are working to ease the transition in as many ways as possible for landowners.”

Working Together Toward Responsible Woodland Management

Domtar, the Rainforest Alliance and several leading forest products companies formed the Appalachian Woodlands Alliance (AWA) in 2015 to increase the stock of responsibly harvested wood. The collaboration also builds recognition for wood products from southern Appalachia, bringing a new revenue source to landowners, and it provides resources and tools to woodland owners so they can better manage their land.

Landowners working with AWA have access to resources that can help with the transition to responsible woodland management, a change that can result in sustained economic opportunities. The shift in management can also improve wildlife habitats; regenerate healthy, diverse trees; improve water quality protection; and maintain the beauty of the woods.

“AWA allows landowners to meet in a forum to discuss common goals and objectives, helping to dispel preconceived notions about the other parties in the room,” said Neal Kilgore, conservative easement manager for the Virginia Outdoors Foundation. “It helps create a fabric of trust that grows over time between landowners, environmental organizations and corporations to help all parties see the bigger picture for the future.”

Eighty-seven percent of forestland in the Southeastern United States is privately owned. Of this amount, two-thirds is held by individuals and families, and many of these landowners make at least part of their living off of the land, selling timber to help pay for their families’ needs. In fact, the Southeastern United States is the leading forest products-producing region in the world. The trees help produce pulp, paper, timber and furniture, as well as many other products that people use every day.

Domtar Newsroom offers compelling and inspiring sustainability stories about Domtar, its people, products, partnerships, industry and communities. For more stories about Domtar's sustainability work, including important and stimulating environmental news for customers, media, consumers and employees, please visit the Domtar Newsroom.

Tweet me:.@DomtarEveryday and @RnfrstAlliance are boosting #responsibleforestry management among #landowners. Find out how http://bit.ly/2pcNoHu

Contact Info:

Dan Persica
Domtar, Senior Manager, Sustainability Communicaitons
+1 (803) 802-8067
Daniel.Persica@domtar.com

KEYWORDS: Environment, Education, Domtar, rainforest alliance, forestry, Kingsport Mill, sustainability

Arrow Electronics Employees Support Rose Andom Center for Victims of Domestic Violence

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SOURCE:Arrow Electronics

DESCRIPTION:

Centennial, CO, April 14, 2017/3BL Media/​ - Arrow Electronics values working with organizations that find innovative ways make people’s lives better. The Denver-based Rose Andom Center is one such organization. 

Rose Andom’s mission is to help improve the lives of domestic violence victims by facilitating better access to services and staff of community organizations and government agencies in a single, safe location. The center’s staff, partner organizations and affiliate agencies provide victims of abuse and their families with an array of critical services including counseling, mental health services, crisis intervention, civil legal support, law enforcement services, job training and job search assistance.

Arrow was among the corporate sponsors for the Center’s recent gala fundraiser, A New Experience, held in Denver on March 3. Arrow employees also fundraised for the center in the fall of 2016, and the company has contributed technical and architectural
support, furniture, refurbished
computers and branding assistance
over the past two years to help the nonprofit grow. Arrow also has executive representation on the Rose Andom Board of Directors.

“The Rose Andom Center’s important work fits with Arrow’s values for responsible and innovative community engagement,” said Vera Stamenkovich, vice president of human resources with Arrow. “Arrow is proud and honored to work with this outstanding organization.” 

An innovative public-private collaboration, the Rose Andom Center serves an estimated 3,000 victims per year in a warm, welcoming facility that empowers victims to make the best decisions for their families. To learn more or to contribute to the Rose Andom Center, please visit their website http://roseandomcenter.org

About Arrow Electronics
Arrow Electronics is a global provider of products, services and solutions to industrial and commercial users of electronic components and enterprise computing solutions. Arrow serves as a supply channel partner for more than 125,000 original equipment manufacturers, contract manufacturers and commercial customers through a global network of more than 465 locations serving over 90 countries. Learn more at www.fiveyearsout.com

Tweet me:.@ArrowGlobal employees support Rose Andom Center for victims of domestic violence http://bit.ly/2pduWyx

KEYWORDS: Responsible Business & Employee Engagement, Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives, Rose Andom Center, Arrow Electronics

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