Sustainability 101 Training

On August 1, GEMI and UA Safe State will host a Sustainability 101 training course at the Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama.  The training registration fee will be $225.00 and includes the 4-hour course, lunch, and a complimentary pass to the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum.

Register now through UA at https://training.ccs.ua.edu/jsp/course.jsp?categoryId=10127&courseId=SUS101 

View course outline at https://gemi.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Sustainability-101-Training-Course-Outline-1.pdf 

GEMI is collaborating with the University of Alabama Safe State to pilot a Sustainability 101 Training course for industry employees.  Participants will gain an understanding of core sustainability concepts and how sustainability impacts a business, as well as learn how to identify practical opportunities to contribute to sustainability objectives and business success.

Roland Mostovy will support the GEMI / UA team in leading the training course. Roland will share first-hand experiences from his thirty years in the food and chemical industry managing environmental, health, safety and process safety programs and developing and implementing EHS management systems. In his most recent role, Roland was the Corporate Sustainability Manager for Ashland Inc., where he managed and directed Ashland sustainability policies and programs, annual reporting, environmental goals, and chaired Ashland’s product segmentation committee.

The UA SafeState Environmental Program offers effective programs to promote environmental sustainability for industrial, commercial, residential and school environments. GEMI is a global leader in developing insights, networking, and creating collaborative sustainability solutions for business.

We hope you will join us on August 1! Space is limited. Register now at https://training.ccs.ua.edu/jsp/course.jsp?categoryId=10127&courseId=SUS101 

GEMI to host supply chain sustainability harmonization workshop in DC

The Global Environmental Management Initiative (GEMI) will host a workshop on Supply Chain Sustainability Harmonization on June 20-21 in Washington, DC. This workshop builds on research and industry engagement conducted through GEMI’s Supply Chain Sustainability project, and follows up on a harmonization workshop GEMI hosted in November 2016 with various business and industry group leaders.

One of the largest challenges corporate sustainability leaders grapple with today is a lack of common expectations for supply chain sustainability. Many are seeking ways to better understand the sustainability performance of companies within their supply chain while responding to similar requests from their own customers. While the objectives of such efforts are often similar, the format and content are typically quite different. A few industries have made strides in working together to develop common expectations and shared evaluation processes for their suppliers, and we believe there is potential to build on this work to enhance coordination across industries.

Therefore, GEMI will be convening industry groups, 3rd party providers and corporate leaders in June to discuss leading industry approaches to addressing supply chain sustainability, and opportunities to enhance coordination/collaboration across efforts.  Through a facilitated working session, participants will examine principles used for assessing supplier sustainability across industries, and begin to outline opportunities to promote mutual recognition/increased harmonization across industry efforts.

The meeting is expected to include speakers from organizations such as the American Chemistry Council, American Forest Foundation, CDP, Ecodesk, EcoVadis, Electronic Industry Citizenship Coalition, Electric Utility Industry Sustainable Supply Chain Alliance, Environmental Defense Fund, FedEx, Merck, Nadler Strategy, MBJ Strategies, Plastics Industry Association, Smithfield Foods, Sustainable Purchasing Leadership Council, The Sustainability Consortium, US Environmental Protection Agency and Worldwide Responsible Accredited Production.

If you are interested in learning more about GEMI’s Supply Chain Sustainability work, please contact Kellen Mahoney at kmahoney@navista.net.

Special thanks to GEMI’s member companies and Supply Chain Sustainability project participants for their leadership and engagement, including American Chemistry Council, Ashland, Beverage Industry Environmental Roundtable, Carnival Corporation & plc, Corn Refiners Association, Ecolab, ExxonMobil Chemical, FedEx, Gannett Fleming, Hexion, IPIECA, Merck, Plastics Industry Association, P&G, Perdue Farms, Schlumberger, Sealed Air, Smithfield Foods and Smith & Nephew.

EarthSmart: FedEx and NFWF Team Up to Address Local Conservation Challenges

It all started with a spark.

On June 11, 2013, the most destructive wildfire in Colorado’s history began in Colorado Springs. For two weeks, the Black Forest fire waged a ruthless war on the surrounding area, decimating thousands of acres, hundreds of homes and taking two lives. As residents of the local area themselves, FedEx team members were deeply affected by their own personal and community losses and wanted to help. Their efforts, begun in 2013, became the foundation for an environmental restoration and recovery effort that continues today, helping communities affected by the Black Forest wildfire heal.

As it had in the past following similar wildfires, FedEx supported community environmental recovery efforts through its EarthSmart Outreach program, providing critical resources in the form of volunteers and funds to aid local NGO’s restoration efforts.  Over the course of 2013-2014 EarthSmart Outreach efforts, seventy-one volunteers donated more than 350 hours restoring the area ravaged by the Black Forest wildfire, planting grass seed and creating log erosion barriers in collaboration with the Rocky Mountain Field Institute (RMFI).   Randy Smith, IT manager at FedEx Services in Colorado Springs, has coordinated employee volunteer events between FedEx and RMFI for the past four years, including recovery projects following the Waldo Canyon fire. “We’ve just fallen in love with RMFI,” Smith said. “What they’re doing in our communities is huge and being able to support RMFI through FedEx feels incredible. Every team member who comes out here to do this is a happier person.”

While some communities – like those in Colorado – face obvious environmental needs in the wake of natural disaster, others grapple with more hidden urban environmental challenges, such as the infiltration of invasive plant species, diminishing urban watersheds, park degradation and natural habitats at-risk. For the sixth consecutive year, FedEx is collaborating with the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) to address these issues and more through its EarthSmart Outreach program – an annual initiative extending the company’s enterprise-wide sustainability commitment to local communities.

Chartered by Congress in 1984, NFWF’s mission is to sustain, restore and enhance the nation’s fish, wildlife, plants and habitats. Coinciding with the FedEx desire to maintain clean, healthy and sustainable places to live and work, FedEx and NFWF joined forces in 2009 to provide funds and manpower to a handful of local nonprofits’ environmental projects. Since then, the collaboration has yielded over $15 million to support more than 80 environmental projects in cities across the U.S.

In 2014, FedEx and NFWF grants totaled over $940,000, and will be matched with grants from local municipalities and agencies to yield over $2.6 million in support of 20 critical environmental sustainability projects this year. Beginning April 8 and running through June 20, over 800 FedEx team members will come out to volunteer in these community projects. To see FedEx team members and EarthSmart Outreach in action, visit the company’s Twitter and Facebook pages throughout this spring and summer.

See more at: http://3blmedia.com/News/EarthSmart-FedEx-and-NFWF-Team-Address-Local-Conservation-Challenges#sthash.8hADW5gE.dpuf