AI & Technology

Black & Veatch, a leading engineering, construction and consulting company, and Renewable Energy Test Center (RETC), an engineering services, and certification testing provider for photovoltaic and renewable energy products, today announced the launch of a new energy storage bankability service. The bankability service reflects the growing need for advanced testing and assessments of products, processes and technologies supporting the fast-growing photovoltaics (PV) and energy storage markets.

Cargill has made its first ever sustainable premium payment by electronic transfer to cocoa farmers in Ghana. Just over 10,000 farmers are benefiting from the 2 million GHS mobile payments made by Cargill in partnership with its customers through the Cargill Cocoa Promise, Cargill’s commitment to improving the livelihoods of farmers and communities that will secure a thriving cocoa sector for generations to come.

Novartis has again been recognized for its commitment to doing well by doing good in key global rankings. Fortune’s “Change the World” list, published online on Thursday, September 7, placed Novartis in fourth place out of 50 companies listed.

Since publishing the original collective impact article in 2011, the majority of FSG’s work supporting cross-sector collaboration has been focused on communities or regions in the U.S.—like supporting the Early Matters coalition in improving early childhood education in Houston, Texas, or working with leaders across New York State to transform their juvenile justice system—and we have explored how to find the right geographic scope for a collective impact initiative.

Data analytics has changed the way we view operations, performance, and student outcomes. As Southern New Hampshire University President Paul L. LeBlanc, mentions in the latest chapter of President to President, “Engineering a 21st Century Higher Educational Model: Guidelines for Leading the Work,” understanding data can be an important step in meeting the needs and expectations of today’s students.

Black & Veatch, a leading provider of design-build project delivery services for the water industry, today announced that Bruce Duff has been named Managing Director of Design-Build within its water business. Duff will be based in the Company’s Toronto metro area office.

The world is changing. Technological developments and the advance of the digital age fundamentally have shifted the way we experience day-to-day life. These new developments offer innovative ways to build sustainability into the world around us.

Arrow Electronics demonstrated its semi-autonomous motorcar (SAM Car) recently at the annual Paralyzed Veterans of America Summit + Expo outside of Washington, D.C. Arrow created the SAM Car project for former racecar driver Sam Schmidt who was paralyzed from the chest down during a racing accident in 2000.

Silicon Valley and Washington, D.C. think tanks are not the only ones mulling over the future of our workforce. By 2020, the U.S. will have 85 million medium- and high-skilled job vacancies with not enough people qualified to fill them, according to McKinsey. And while solutions to this skills problem are coming from the startup world and the policy sphere, the country’s largest corporations also are playing a significant role in developing solutions.

The UPS Foundation, the American Red Cross and drone manufacturer CyPhy Works, Inc., today announced a partnership to launch a drone pilot program, marking the first time the American Red Cross will test using a tethered drone to assess damage after a major natural disaster in the United States.