高通在美国对华为提起诉讼，指控华为未经授权使用其多项专利，特别是在5G技术领域。华为则反诉高通滥用专利权，要求高通支付合理的专利使用费，并停止对华为的专利侵权指控。

Accelerating Decarbonization of the World's Digital Infrastructure

VMware

VMware believes that we can help accelerate the global transition to a zero-carbon economy through solution innovation that enables a sustainable digital infrastructure for our customers. Sustainability innovation is a fundamental component of our ESG-related 2030 Agenda, with a vision to build a sustainable, equitable, and more secure future for all. And we’re hard at work to make sure that vision becomes a reality. In 2018, I jumped at the chance to join VMware as the Director of Sustainability Innovation. At the time, I was working at Akamai Technologies as the Senior Director of Environmental Sustainability, where I spent 10 years establishing and leading Akamai’s corporate-sustainability program. While working on an aggressive goal of powering Akamai’s global network of thousands of data centers with 50% renewable energy, I realized that there was an opportunity to make an even more substantial impact in the value chain through large-scale virtualization and further sustainability innovations. Leveraging and building on VMware’s virtualization technology and multi-cloud platform provides an enormous opportunity to help customers reduce the environmental impact of datacenter and cloud operations, extracting more productivity from their infrastructure investments. This resonates with my core belief that we can truly scale sustainability impact when innovation and business value align. With the impacts of climate change becoming increasingly dire, there is a growing demand for urgent action, including the need for low-carbon solutions. To date, 37 countries committed to Net Zero Carbon goals and are implementing policies, regulations, and incentives to accelerate the transition to a low-carbon economy. To date, more than 1,800 global companies spanning all sectors, including many VMware customers, committed to science-based targets to reduce greenhouse emissions in their operations and supply chains to help them reach net-zero carbon by 2050. These companies are looking for suppliers with low-carbon solutions to help them achieve these goals. The intrinsic sustainability of virtualization I like to use the analogy that VMware’s virtualization technology is like the LED lightbulb of computing. The more of it you use, the more sustainable your datacenter operations are, using less infrastructure, energy, and carbon. Over the past decade, VMware helped flatten the world’s datacenter electricity consumption through server consolidation by enabling companies to run tens of applications per server, compared to one app per server. While Internet traffic has increased twelve-fold and workloads have increased almost eight-fold since 2010, IEA reports that data-center electricity consumption remained flat. In addition, a 2020 IDC report estimated that, since 2003, VMware’s virtualization technology has enabled our customers to collectively avoid the deployment of 142 million servers, consumption of 2.4 billion megawatts of energy, and emission of 1.2 billion metric tons of greenhouse gases. That’s roughly equivalent to three percent of the world’s carbon emissions in 2019. Nonetheless, even with these efficiency gains, it’s estimated that datacenters (including those in telecommunications) represent about one percent of the world’s electricity consumption. With a slowdown in efficiency gains from virtualization, Moore’s Law, and Dennard Scaling, some predict that without sustainability-focused innovation, rapid digital transformation across industries and the emergence of compute-intensive technologies (e.g. AI/ML, 5G, virtual reality, edge computing, and blockchain) will push electricity consumption from roughly one percent into the double digits over the next decade. During that same timeframe, climate scientists are stating that we need to reduce global carbon emissions by half to avoid the worst impacts of climate change. At VMware, we are seizing the opportunity to build on our foundation of computing that is already intrinsically sustainable. Companies with commensurate business value can still gain much more efficiency and VMware, with its multi-cloud strategy and longstanding commitment to sustainability, is perfectly positioned to deliver these gains. For example, a 2015 Stanford-Anthesis Group study looked across more than 16,000 servers in 10 datacenters and found that, over a six-month period, a quarter of the servers and 30% of virtual machines were deemed comatose (no CPU, memory, network, connection, or user activity). What’s more, roughly 35% of servers and up to 50% of virtual machines were idle, defined by having CPU and network activity less than five percent of the time. This is a common problem across the world’s datacenters. It is a problem that represents both an enormous financial cost (underutilized IT investment and operational costs, estimated in the tens of billions of dollars) and sustainability impacts from wasted gigawatts of energy consumption and millions of metric tons of carbon emissions. Sustainable computing: workload energy and carbon efficiency Ultimately, sustainable computing is about minimizing the energy and carbon associated with running workloads. Workload energy efficiency is realized through minimizing on-premises and public-cloud infrastructure required to run workloads within the context of meeting business requirements for those workloads. However, even with the highest level of energy efficiency, workloads will always need energy. Therefore, sustainable computing also requires workload carbon efficiency. That means managing when and where workloads are run, so we can take advantage of renewable energy. Finally, energy and carbon metrics need to be integrated into management systems, side-by-side with performance and availability, to inform more efficient ways of operating. Implementing sustainable computing will not only have beneficial sustainability outcomes but also business outcomes. VMware’s solutions demonstrate elements of sustainable computing and what’s possible in terms of beneficial sustainability and business outcomes. For example, VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF), with virtualized compute, storage, networking, and management, provides a hyperconverged infrastructure environment that enables multi-tenancy and high VM-density. Compared to basic virtualization, VCF reduces the need for host, storage, and networking equipment, which in turn reduces the data center rack footprint. In one case study, a customer saw a more than six-fold increase in VM-density leading to a nine-fold decrease in the per-VM energy consumption and carbon emissions. In another example, Hybrid Cloud Extension (HCX) facilitated the migration to a more energy-efficient and cheaper datacenter and hardware refresh. The outcome was $3 million in annual savings, a 68% reduction in equipment rack footprint and a 66% decrease in annual energy use and carbon emissions. Finally, customers moving workloads from on-premises to VMware Cloud-on-AWS, may not only enjoy more agility with elastic, pay-as-you-go capacity, but potentially significantly reduced energy and carbon footprints through more energy-efficient and renewable energy-powered hardware and data center infrastructure. Nonetheless, this blog series is not about what sustainable computing solutions are available today, but about innovations in sustainable computing that will take us further. Here, I laid out the foundation for sustainable computing — what it is and why it’s the next innovation frontier. In part two, I will dive into various strategies for achieving workload energy and carbon efficiency. In the final blog, I will provide promising examples of sustainable-computing innovations in progress here at VMware. During Climate Week (September 20-26), I hope you’re able to reflect and discuss how we can do more to accelerate climate action. I’ll be taking part in a panel session entitled “ Transformation of Transport and Energy by 2040 or Sooner.” We’ll also have some great sessions on sustainable computing at VMworld 2021 (Oct. 5-7), including: IC2217: Datacenter Sustainability Strategies, A Win for Your Budget and the Planet IC2792: Sustainability as a Strategic Differentiator for Organizations (Adrian Cockcroft, VP Sustainability Architecture, Amazon) IC2794: Make Sustainable Choices for Product Innovation in Operations (Adrian Cockcroft, VP Sustainability Architecture, Amazon) IC2257: Supporting Carbon-Neutral Growth with Sustainable Data Centers (Dubai Airports) IC1067: Reduce the carbon footprint by moving your workloads to VMware Cloud on AWS MCL2340: VMware Zero Carbon Committed as a Cloud Provider Differentiator for Growth Learn more and register for VMworld 2021 here. View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from VMware on 3blmedia.com

October 08, 2021 08:26 AM Eastern Daylight Time

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How T-Mobile Is Bridging the Digital Divide

T-Mobile

The way we see it, we can’t achieve our mission of being the best in the world at connecting people to their world unless we start at the beginning—by working to ensure that EVERYONE is connected and able to reap the benefits of a 5G economy and a digitally-connected world. Approximately 17 million viii school-aged children in the U.S. do not have access to high-speed internet at home. That’s a statistic we simply can’t accept. From the formative days of education to participation in our economy and our democracy, to the ways we see and interact with one another, digital connectivity is woven into the very fabric of our lives. Connectivity is therefore no longer just an option, it’s a fundamental component of today’s world that impacts almost every aspect of how people navigate their daily lives. And today, our success has made possible what was impossible before: a transformative network experience that works to connect everyone, everywhere, across America. To ensure that connected individuals have the foundational skills to benefit from today’s digital world, we’re not stopping at access to connectivity. As part of our Equity In Action efforts, we’re also investing in digital literacy programs through partnerships with organizations making progress in this space. We are using our resources to help scale existing efforts and those being undertaken by our External Diversity and Inclusion Council. We have zeroed in on a bold goal: help every single disconnected student in the U.S. get access to the internet so they can learn. The need for equitable access to the internet is more crucial than ever. Project 10Million is our $10.7 billion landmark initiative to provide free and heavily subsidized connectivity and mobile devices to millions of underserved student households over five years. Our intent is to not just chip away at the digital divide that separates those with connectivity, from those without. It’s to eliminate it. Permanently. Launched in August of 2020, Project 10Million builds on Sprint’s commitment to provide free internet access to one million underserved and disconnected high school students as well as T-Mobile’s work to provide equal access to online learning to schools and their students. Through partnerships with school districts, Project 10Million offers free wireless hotspots, free or heavily subsidized high-speed data, and access to affordable laptops and tablets to underserved student households. And this goal has never been more important. With the onset of COVID-19, an unprecedented 55 million students were learning remotely. Understanding the new urgency, we enhanced the program with additional low-cost data options for schools and increased monthly data plans to provide connectivity to their students for free. Throughout 2020, we connected more than 2.5 million students across the U.S. We have also started working at the state and local levels to help further understand where the greatest need is and deliver connectivity to students. For example, in Texas, we partnered with Operation Connectivity to connect 171,000 students across the state. Operation Connectivity is a statewide initiative to deliver internet connectivity and devices to Texas school districts for online learning. Texas is home to some of the largest urban, and smallest rural, school districts in the country. This partnership allowed state agencies to help ensure all school districts in the state were evaluated and treated equally to identify the areas and students with the greatest need. Another great example is in Los Angeles, CA where our partnership with the Angeleno Connectivity Trust (ACT) facilitated our ability to get wireless connectivity to students who needed it most. ACT is an initiative to help deliver internet access to vulnerable young people— including students experiencing homelessness, those in foster care, and youth with disabilities. With ACT, Project 10Million is working to provide 100GB of free internet connectivity to 18,000 students for five years. See the latest on Project 10Million BUILDING SKILLS FOR THE DIGITAL ECONOMY In today’s rapidly evolving economy, there is significant opportunity to equip and empower the current and future workforce through digital skills-building and job training programs that will unlock new employment opportunities. Through programs and partnerships, we’re investing in upskilling the underemployed, directing resources to those who lack access, and accelerating career path progression through hands-on learning. NEXTTECH DIVERSITY In early 2021 we embarked on a five-year partnership with the Learning Alliance Corporation and other telecommunications parters to launch NextTech Diversity. Our aim is to provide career training and placement for thousands of underrepresented candidates to take on roles as 5G network technicians. Black technicians are particularly underrepresented, making up just 10% of the telecom network-infrastructure field. Our initial $750,000 seed funding supports 50 candidates through 2021, with 39 graduating—21 of whom are already employed—with additional candidates set to graduate by December 2021. As graduated candidates are placed in jobs, we aim to annually double our impact through 2025 and hope to see the impact of investments like this for years to come and to encourage partnerships that further unlock skills-building and career opportunities across the telecommunications industry. WASHINGTON ALLIANCE FOR BETTER SCHOOLS For years, T-Mobile has partnered with the Washington Alliance for Better Schools (WABS) to improve the way we prepare students for rewarding careers in tech. We have expanded our partnership to provide a two-year program that includes two paid internships and a 59-credit certificate to high school seniors. Since the cost and length of study for traditional STEM degrees often prevents students from lower income families from attending, this program works to reduce those barriers of entry by providing students with classroom learning aligned with employer standards and a postsecondary credential. Providing a pathway to tech jobs for the young people who need it most not only creates more equity and access for students interested in STEM careers, but it also supports our industry’s ability to fill a growing number of tech jobs. MAGENTA EDGE In early 2021, we launched Magenta Edge to help small businesses by providing resources and educational programming for entrepreneurs. It has a foundational focus on black-owned small businesses that have been disproportionately impacted during the COVID-19 crisis, exacerbating long-standing systemic lack of access to resources and capital. From marketing to tax, eight foundational themes are covered with free business development advice. Learn more in T-Mobile's 2020 Corporate Responsibility Report View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from T-Mobile on 3blmedia.com

October 06, 2021 11:01 AM Eastern Daylight Time

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Pioneering a Sustainable Future

Ericsson

Ericsson is creating a world of limitless connectivity, where mobile technology opens new possibilities to pioneer a sustainable future. With global collaboration and digital innovation, carbon emissions can be reduced by 15% by 2030. With 5G we can do even more. By working together, a better world is within our reach. Urgent change is needed now The need to address the climate crisis is well established. Adding to an already detailed body of climate research, the 2021 IPCC Report from the UN makes clear the critical need for immediate and drastic climate action, and highlights the indisputable link between climate change and human activity. The science is clear – to minimize the damage and avoid reaching an irreversible tipping point, we need to limit global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. The 2021 UN IPCC Report reiterates that collectively, we need to halve global greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and reach net zero before 2050. But even with the reductions achieved in 2020 due to the pandemic (the most since World War II) the world is forecast to miss its annual targets. It is evident that we need transformational changes to address the climate crisis - a transformation that will rely on technology, innovation, and cross-industry collaboration. Collectively, the global economy will need to halve global greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and reach net zero before 2050. The role of digitalization in climate action Working within the technology sector, we have the chance to use our specialist expertise to help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In particular, the ICT sector has the unique potential to enable other industrial sectors to move towards a low-carbon economy – a move that is central to meeting Goal 13, which focusses on combatting climate change and its impacts. "Ericsson has a long history of helping to create sustainable change. For more than a century our technologies have transformed every sector of society and Ericsson remains committed to leading this journey. Through research, science and industry ecosystems we are convinced that digitalization and 5G can help tackle the climate challenge." – Heather Johnson, VP, Head of Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility at Ericsson As part of our commitment towards environmental sustainability, Ericsson was a lead partner in the development of the Exponential Climate Action Roadmap that was launched at the UN Climate Action Summit in 2018. The Roadmap shows that there are 36 existing solutions across sectors that can be scaled globally to help halve global greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. In addition, research from the roadmap highlights that ICT solutions can reduce global carbon emissions by up to 15% by 2030. Digital technologies and the digitalization of industrial processes will be key to enabling this change. And with 5G underpinning the digitalization of industries and future competitiveness of business, mobile technology has a fundamental role to play. Cellular connectivity is a crucial enabler Technologies such as 5G, AI and IoT are being utilized today as essential drivers of decarbonization. But the real change will start to happen when enterprises switch to cellular connectivity. Here are just some examples of how cellular connectivity will accelerate sustainable development. Manufacturing When factories cut the cables and switch to cellular, they become much more flexible and produce less waste, while increasing productivity. Ericsson's 5G Smart Factory in Lewisville, Texas, is a great example of what is possible. By digitalizing many of its fundamentals, the Lewisville factory has reduced energy use by 24%, relative to comparable buildings, while also increasing productivity. Renewable energy According to the UN, 85% of power in 2050 will need to come from renewable sources. This will mean a huge transformation for energy operators and distributors who will need greater visibility and control of their distribution networks. With 5G, these operators can connect smart meters to the grid and proactively detect faults and demand spikes that might arise, for example, from the mass charging of electric vehicles. Transport The transport sector is another area where digitalization can have a big impact, with the sector representing 21% of total global emissions (source: 2018 Exponential Climate Roadmap). 5G and data analytics are going to be an integral part of this equation – especially when it comes to operating autonomous vehicles on a massive scale. 5G, for example, will enable operators to control large fleets of autonomous vehicles remotely and optimize route planning and traffic, all with reduced operational costs and environmental footprint. Sustainability is central to our purpose At Ericsson, we have the expertise and the commitment to make a positive impact. Sustainability is central to our purpose as a company and is embedded across our value chain. Our approach is holistic, covering responsible business, environmental sustainability and digital inclusion. Our approach to environmental sustainability Addressing climate change is a core component of our sustainability strategy. We leverage a circular economy approach in everything we do; and work to reduce environmental impacts and emissions from our operations, our portfolio and through the solutions we deliver across society more broadly. We are leading by example and even though our own operations are just a small part of value-chain emissions, we are equally focussed on optimizing how we operate. That’s why, in 2019, Ericsson set a Carbon Neutral target for our own operations by 2030. Climate action advocates For over two decades we’ve been advocates for climate action. We carry out peer-reviewed research, both alone and in collaboration with research partners from academia and business, on the environmental, social and economic effects of the ICT sector. We were also one of the first companies to implement life-cycle assessment methodology as an environmental strategy tool, leveraging data from our own operations, as well as our customers’ networks and the wider ICT ecosystem. We assess annually our carbon footprint and have set targets for its reduction that are approved by the Science Based Targets Initiative. Breaking the energy curve ‘Breaking the energy curve’ is our unique, network-level approach to reducing energy consumption and carbon emissions in mobile networks. Through our detailed research and life-cycle assessments, we have developed an innovative network-wide approach to breaking the curve that can support cost savings, efficiency gains and enable an exponential growth of data traffic without increasing energy consumption. Science Based Targets Initiative We were one of the first companies in our industry to set Science Based Targets and actively contributed to the development of a 1.5°C aligned trajectory for the ICT sector, which helps ICT companies set targets and enable fast decarbonization of the sector. 1.5°C Business Playbook We helped create the first 1.5°C Business Playbook for exponential climate action. The Playbook provides a framework on how companies and organizations of all sizes can fully integrate climate action into their business strategies and reach net-zero emissions. With our longstanding commitment, Ericsson has been a pioneer in the sustainability space Global collaboration is key Technologies such as 5G, IoT and AI are opening a wealth of new opportunities by accelerating the speed of digitalization across multiple industries. With these new opportunities and the rapid pace of innovation, we believe there is an opportunity to achieve the 2030 milestone of halving emissions ahead of time. But to do so will need a concerted, collective effort from a wide range of parties – from industries and investors to governments and academia. The battle against climate change can’t be fought alone. It’s only through the use technology and innovation across all sectors of society, along with the right policy mix and concrete climate action, that we’ll realize the change needed to reach a 1.5°C future. Ericsson is committed to working together with business, governments, and other organizations to tackle the climate challenge. “We have demonstrated solutions that help make reductions in carbon emissions possible. Now other companies and policy-makers must join the quest for broader adoption of solutions to enable exponential reduction of carbon emissions globally." - Börje Ekholm, CEO and President Ericsson View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Ericsson on 3blmedia.com

October 06, 2021 10:06 AM Eastern Daylight Time

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World Economic Forum Awards Sustainability Leadership at Ericsson USA 5G Smart Factory

Ericsson

The designation comes just six months after the factory was awarded WEF’s prestigious Global Lighthouse accreditation, for overall next-generation manufacturing leadership. Ericsson has invested more than USD 100 million at the U.S. 5G Smart Factory, which primarily serves 5G customers in North America. The Sustainability Lighthouse recognition from GLN’s panel of experts highlights several pioneering sustainability achievements at the factory, including: Ericsson’s greenfield 5G factory is powered 100 percent by renewable electricity from onsite solar and green-e® certified renewable electricity from the utility grid The smart factory integrates sustainable technologies such as thermal ice storage tanks with the IIoT (Industrial Internet of Things) stack to proactively monitor energy usage The factory is designed to utilize 24 percent less energy and 75 percent less indoor water usage, avoiding 97 percent operational carbon emission than comparable buildings. This year it became Ericsson’s first factory globally to achieve LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold® certification. Fredrik Jejdling, Executive Vice President and Head of Networks, Ericsson, says: “Sustainability is key to Ericsson’s values, our customer engagement, our contribution to society and our future as a successful industry leader. Our sustainability commitment covers Ericsson’s end-to-end scope, from R&D through manufacturing, production, supply, deployment and customer services. We will continue to invest in sustainability as we see it as a responsibility as well as a benefit. It is significant that, yet again, the World Economic Forum has singled our USA 5G Smart Factory for its global leadership in Fourth Industrial Revolution manufacturing – this time for its sustainability track record.” Francisco Betti, Head of Shaping the Future of Advanced Manufacturing and Value Chains, World Economic Forum, says: “As discussed at the Forum’s Sustainability Development Impact Summit last week, increased global concern for environmental impact has made sustainability a must-have to maintain business viability. The Sustainability Lighthouses make it clear that by realizing the potential of 4IR technologies in manufacturing, companies can unlock new levels of sustainability in their operations and explore a win-win solution: greater operational competitiveness while simultaneously making commitments to environmental stewardship, leading in a cleaner, more sustainable future as a result.” Ericsson continues to invest in the next generation of supply chains through smart manufacturing capabilities in other part of the world, including Estonia, China, and Brazil to ensure close working with customers across the company’s European, Asian and American operations. Ericsson also supports the 1.5 C° ambition established in the Paris Agreement. To achieve this, the world needs to halve global emissions by 2030 and reach net-zero emissions before 2050. Digital technologies such as 5G and IoT deployed across a range of industries, such as manufacturing, can help reduce global carbon emissions by up to 15 percent by 2030. Ericsson’s USA 5G Smart Factory’s sustainability achievements are also highlighted in a new WEF White Paper titled: Global Lighthouse Network: Unlocking Sustainability Through 4IR. View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Ericsson on 3blmedia.com

October 04, 2021 01:36 PM Eastern Daylight Time

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News Release

World Economic Forum Awards Schneider Electric Lexington, Kentucky Sustainability Lighthouse Recognition and Wuxi, China Smart Factory Advanced Lighthouse Status

Schneider Electric

Rueil-Malmaison, France, October 4, 2021 /3BL Media/ - Schneider Electric, the leader in the digital transformation of energy management and automation, today announced its Lexington, Kentucky plant, recognized as an Advanced Lighthouse last year, has been recognized by the World Economic Forum as a Sustainability Lighthouse — one of only three worldwide. The World Economic Forum has also recognized the company’s Smart Factory in Wuxi, China as an Advanced Lighthouse — the fourth Schneider Electric factory to receive this distinction to date, joining Lexington, Kentucky, Batam, Indonesia and Le Vaudreuil, France factories. The Forum’s Sustainability Lighthouses recognize by realizing the potential of 4IR technologies in manufacturing, companies can unlock new levels of sustainability in their operations and explore a win-win solution: greater operational competitiveness while simultaneously making commitments to environmental stewardship, leading in a cleaner, more sustainable future as a result. In order to capture greater energy consumption granularity, when and where it happens in the plant, the Lexington, Kentucky smart factory leveraged IoT connectivity with power meters and predictive analytics to optimize energy cost, and as a result led to 26% energy reduction (GWh), 30% net CO2 reduction, and 20% water use reduction and certification by the U.S. Department of Energy as Platinum Superior Energy Performance 50001. The Smart Factory in Wuxi joins the Lexington plant as the second Schneider Electric’s site to earn the status of end-to-end Advanced Manufacturing Lighthouse. Both plants were recognized for adopting Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) technologies to transform factories, value chains and business models. As an electronic manufacturing site developing a large product mix, the Wuxi campus embraced Schneider Electric’s 4IR-based EcoStruxure technology to rebuild its end-to-end value chain. Using the latest digital tools like automated supply chain management, 5G supported flexible production, augmented reality, and digital twins to improve flexibility, efficiency, time to market, and sustainability. “This World Economic Forum recognition for Lexington and Wuxi plants demonstrates what can be achieved by leveraging technologies of the fourth industrial revolution,” says Mourad Tamoud, Schneider Electric’s executive vice president of global supply chain. “The benefits for sustainability, agility, and resilience are compelling. We continuously look to enhance our digital supply chain to deliver on our commitment to our customers and society as a trusted partner for digitalization and sustainability.” The Wuxi plant’s digital transformation enables the site to meet expanding customer needs for customization while delivering clear production and energy efficiencies: Implementing an autonomous supply chain system as a single source of truth to trigger a 30% improvement in on-time delivery. Taking advantage of 5G and cobot automation for flexible production lowered time to market 25% and improved line investment by 50%. Digital twins to optimize heating and ventilation drive 32% energy consumption improvements. For Tamoud, the company’s strength is its employees: “It’s our people who are leveraging this technology, and we are investing in their skills and expertise to enhance their capabilities. This is a testament to our people strategy and investment in our workforce and advanced technologies.” In collaboration with McKinsey & Company, the World Economic Forum began the Global Lighthouse Network initiative in 2018 to recognize manufacturers leading growth of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The Wuxi plant joins a list of 90 sites in the Global Lighthouse Network who create innovation in business models and increased customer value through 4IR technologies. These companies demonstrate how digital operations create productivity and efficiency gains to enable sustainable growth in the face of pervasive disruptions and challenges. STRIVE Program The Wuxi and Lexington factories are part of Schneider Electric’s global smart factory and distribution center initiative encompassing nearly 300 factories and logistics centers in more than 40 countries. This initiative – part of the company’s STRIVE program – aims to address the fundamental challenge of sustainability while increasing profitability and efficiency. STRIVE ( S ustainable, T rusted, R esilient, I ntelligent, V elocity and E fficiency) is the next evolution of Schneider Electric’s supply chain transformation to be the most agile, innovative, planet and customer-centric supply chain. Sustainable – Schneider Electric is implementing projects to build carbon-neutral and circular supply chains whilst preserving local biodiversity. Trusted & Resilient - Schneider Electric strengthens its resilience through multi-sourcing and ensures there is no single point of failure in its production lines. Leveraging technology, we can create a highly personalized experience for our customers and ensure superior quality using and end-to-end view of its operations. Intelligent – Leveraging digital, Schneider Electric predicts, prevents, and automates for a highly flexible remotely orchestrated supply chain Velocity & Efficiency – Schneider Electric leverages its strong regional presence, agile mindset, and supply partners STRIVE is part of Schneider Electric’s vision that electrification and digitization are inextricable tools in the fight against climate change. This vision has led to the company’s recent ranking as #4 in the 2021 Gartner Supply Chain Top 25, as well being named the world’s most sustainable corporation by Corporate Knights in 2021. View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Schneider Electric on 3blmedia.com

October 04, 2021 12:11 PM Eastern Daylight Time

Equity in Action

T-Mobile

DE&I isn’t a new concept for us, and following our merger with Sprint, we recognized an opportunity to evolve and expand our deep and long-standing commitment to our people, our customers, and the communities we serve. Equity In Action (EIA) is our five-year Un-carrier plan that spans the values we live by; how we invest in and provide opportunities for our employees; the products and services we offer; the suppliers we do business with; and how we advocate for our communities. EIA offers a roadmap that inspires us to lead by example, put people first and ensure DE&I remains at the center of everything we do. To ensure we deliver on our DE&I promises, we formed an External Diversity & Inclusion Council made up of leading thinkers and advocates in this space to help guide and support our efforts. This Council includes leaders of National Urban League, League of United Latin American Citizens, National Action Network, UnidosUS, OCA-Asian-Pacific American Advocates, Asian Americans Advancing Justice, Human Rights Campaign, National Organization On Disabilities, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, National Diversity Coalition, and Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council. We’re committed to continuously evolving and improving. When issues of racial injustice rose to the forefront of national conversation in 2020, we rose to the occasion to use our platform and voice to drive action and we won’t stop standing up for true equality for all. Diverse, inclusive workplaces are the basis for our unique Un-carrier culture, making us a better and more successful company. It focuses on three key areas: Talent: We will recruit, retain, and develop the best team in the history of our industry which includes increasing diversity across every level. Strengthening the pipeline of diverse talent up to the executive level makes us a stronger, smarter, and better company. Culture: Where others see numbers, we see people—and our culture is proof of that approach. We will focus on providing our employees with tools to build inclusive habits and behaviors as part of their day-to-day lives. By putting inclusion at the core of our culture, our employees will be inspired to build equitable products and services for our customers. Brand: We will remain steadfast in advocating for underrepresented communities by doing our part to eradicate the homework gap and helping ensure everyone has access to cutting-edge 5G technology. We will also create workforce and educational opportunities that will help make the 5G era, and the innovation economy, one that is equitable. Our values guide us toward a bigger and better future. We are cultivating a culture of bridges, not silos. A team of allies, not heroes. One that works left-right, not top-down. All in pursuit of something bigger—a brighter future for our customers, for one another, for our shareholders, society, and the planet. Today, we stand together as one team ready to deliver on our mission and live our values every day. The Making of One Team, Together Bringing our two teams, businesses, and cultures together began with building a strong foundation—and by asking a few critically important questions. Who do we want to be as the supercharged Un-carrier? What values brought each of our companies to this point, and which values will we need to take us to a bigger and better future? So, we listened. Through two dozen focus groups with hundreds of employees across each legacy company, as well as a comprehensive culture survey sent to all employees and completed by more than half, we focused on building the foundation for our shared culture. We learned that our two respective cultures had a lot in common. A passion and dedication to customercentricity, a celebration of diversity, and focus on inclusion, a fun, collaborative culture—these were key ingredients to our respective historical successes and will remain key to our future successes. We identified opportunities to define our new, shared values including an increased emphasis on personal and professional growth, on working across organizational lines to establish and build trust in each other, and a renewed focus on empowering each other as a team. With these insights in hand, we’ve articulated who we are, what we stand for, and the values that guide our work together. Our values not only tell an inspiring story of WHO WE WERE but also WHO WE ARE, and WHO WE WANT TO BE as a culture and as a company. We Value What Each Person Brings We’re inspired by a simple mantra when it comes to our work together: #BeYou. A One Team, Together culture doesn’t mean we’re all the same, and it doesn’t mean minimizing or ignoring our differences. In fact, it means celebrating our differences. When we’re empowered to bring our full, authentic selves to work, we can all win, together. Our ability to dream big and deliver as a company is impossible without our employees. We know we are a stronger company when we work to create an environment where every employee feels valued for who they are and equipped to offer the best for our customers and constantly innovate. That means bringing together our unique talents, perspectives and backgrounds and empowering all employees with opportunities to learn, grow, and develop. We are focused on creating career pathways for those who serve our country and are proud supporters of FourBlock, a nationwide community of veterans and employers dedicated to transforming the veteran transition process, and Hiring Our Heroes, an initiative by way of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce that was designed to connect employers with a pipeline of accomplished, ready-to-hire individuals from the military community. Our mission is to hire 10,000 veterans and military spouses by 2023 and we’re more than halfway there! We know that leading with transparency includes providing details on our workforce data. This not only keeps us accountable, but also raises the bar for others. The following data tells a story, a story of progress and room for growth. And a story that is not yet complete. We still have work to do and will keep pressing forward to create a more diversified and inclusive workplace, with broader access to opportunity for all. Learn more in T-Mobile's 2020 Corporate Responsibility Report View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from T-Mobile on 3blmedia.com

October 01, 2021 01:01 PM Eastern Daylight Time

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Teratonix: Meet the Team Harvesting Ambient RF Energy to Power IoT Devices and Benefit the Environment

Cisco Systems Inc.

Now that the Cisco Global Problem Solver Challenge 2021 winners have been officially announced, we are excited for you to learn more about each winning team and the story behind each innovation. The Cisco Global Problem Solver Challenge is an annual competition that awards cash prizes to early-stage tech entrepreneurs solving the world’s toughest problems. Now in its fifth year, the competition awarded its largest prize pool ever, $1 million USD, to 20 winning teams from around the world. Of the 20 teams, Teratonix was honored as a third runner-up with a $25,000 USD prize. Teratonix is a U.S.-based ambient radio frequency (RF) energy harvesting company that developed a solution to generate electricity to power sensors, wearables, and implanted medical devices without the reliance on batteries. This is a significant technological breakthrough with wide-reaching benefits for the Internet of Things (IoT) industry and the environment at large. To learn more about Teratonix’s technology and the steps it hopes to take with the recognition, I met with the co-founders Dr. Yi Luo and Dr. Johnny Huang. What problem is your technology solution trying to solve and how does it work? Yi: With the expanding IoT industry, it’s expected that trillions of IoT sensors will be deployed for smart buildings and cities, healthcare, and industrial IoT applications. At present, IoT sensors are largely battery-powered, and this presents significant implications: 1) battery manufacturing creates high carbon emissions, 2) single-use batteries generate large amounts of chemical waste, and 3) battery replacement is labor-intensive, costly for commercial applications, and inconvenient for consumers. Addressing the battery dependency creates benefits for the environment, as well as global IoT adoption. This was our motivation to develop a RF harvester based on patented technologies, which works like a solar panel, for ambient broadcasting RF signals that can wirelessly power battery-free IoT sensors. Johnny: The scale of IoT applications requires a clean energy-driven, high-efficiency solution, and we have a path to achieve this through RF harvesting to power IoT sensors. When you think about the cellular towers and Wi-Fi routers around us, it’s understood they enable internet connectivity, but you may not realize all the signals, in the form of electromagnetic waves, they’re producing. These towers and routers are emitting waves of around 10 billion kWh energy annually in the United States which is about 10% of the energy generated by solar panels, and many of the wasted waves can be harvested. Energy harvesting is a relatively new concept, and we’re focusing on advancing its commercial deployment. With the widespread deployment of 5G networks at high frequency band (above 20 – 30 GHz, i.e., at mm-Wave band), this means up to one hundred times more RF energy can be harvested or wirelessly delivered over the air. This summer, we completed our harvester chip prototype for mm-Wave, and it can be used with smart RF power sources, such as beamforming with 5G towers and Wi-Fi routers, to achieve high-efficiency, wireless power transmission. What inspired you to develop this solution? Yi: The inspiration was borne out of my research at Carnegie Mellon University focused on ultra-high speed semiconductor devices. With the discovery in ballistic quantum transport physics and novel nanofabrication technologies, we invented an ultra-high speed, metal-semiconductor-metal (MSM) diode, which can efficiently convert RF signals into useful DC current at ambient power levels with up to Terahertz frequency and increase the harvesting efficiency 100 times in some applications. Teratonix has secured patents for the MSM diode, which is the foundation of our RF energy harvesting technology. In addition to being inspired by this groundbreaking technology, we’re also heavily driven by the environmental good of being less battery dependent and the benefits of connecting people and things when you think about the full expansion of IoT into where you live, play, and work. How will winning a prize in the Cisco Global Problem Solver Challenge help you advance your business? Johnny: Our current focus is on proving the commercial viability of our RF harvesting chip. This means building, testing, and improving the design of our prototypes, and the prize money will support those efforts. We believe our technology is unique, but as a small company, we depend on the bigger players in the ecosystem to validate our vision and partner to accelerate the path to commercial deployment. Hopefully, the recognition from Cisco allows greater visibility and partnering opportunities with IoT sensor manufacturers, IoT chip-set integrators, 5G service providers, and Wi-Fi router manufacturers, as well as capital investors to take our technology to the next level. We’re also hopeful to partner with Cisco’s IoT business units and explore Cisco resources for start-ups, such as with Cisco’s LaunchPad program. How has the global pandemic impacted your work? Johnny: As a hardware company, we’re dependent on working in labs and with manufacturing partners. So, our chip development operations halted for almost a year and only resumed this past spring. Some of our partners in the industrial IoT were significantly impacted by the pandemic which delayed our scheduled pilots. On the positive side, the pandemic is the accelerating development and adoption of IoT sensors, particularly in remote environmental and equipment monitoring for buildings and facilities, asset-tracking for food safety, shipping medicine, and contact tracing. As a result, interest in Teratonix’s solution is increasing. Why did you decide to start your own social enterprise versus going to work for a company? Johnny: Yi and I came full circle having studied together for our Ph.D. program at Columbia University and now realizing the vision to, one day, be a major IoT technology contributor. As Steve Jobs said in his Commencement speech at Stanford, “you can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backward. So, you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future.” I truly believe there are many dots aligning in our favor, and while this is a high-risk venture, we are on the verge of being ready for commercial deployment. What advice do you have for other social entrepreneurs? Johnny: Start-ups come with a high failure rate, and the rate can be even higher for those striving to make a social impact. As a social entrepreneur, you need to balance the commercial success of your venture and your social motivations. It’s wonderful to know that you’re doing something meaningful that’s bigger than yourself, but you need to be realistic about what it takes to realize a successful business. An invaluable investment, especially early on, is in a credible partner that can validate your business model, assist in assessing risks, and evaluate the feasibility of your solution. Every business is going to have its ups and downs, but there’s so much to be learned from others who have tried and traveled down the same path as you. Yi: You may have a set course or use-case in mind for your solution or technology, but other opportunities may present themselves along the way. It’s important to be open-minded to other paths that may be different than the one you originally started, while continuing to draw motivation from the bigger potential that served as the original inspiration for your business. View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Cisco Systems Inc. on 3blmedia.com

September 30, 2021 09:02 AM Eastern Daylight Time

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Why Does the World Need Ericsson?

Ericsson

We are living through a period of enormous change - one that is upending established ways of thinking and working. This presents many challenges, but also vast new possibilities. And when we look to the future, we see a need like never before for businesses that are driven by a sense of their purpose – the reason they exist in the world. Therefore, we want Ericsson’s role in creating a more sustainable and connected future to drive everything we do today, and by imagining the possibilities of limitless connectivity for people, business and society. Over the last year and a half the world has fought to come to terms with the impact of Covid. Watching the heroic actions of the world’s carers, as the lives of hundreds of millions have been turned upside down, I’ve had cause to question my own purpose: What do I do that makes a difference? What is my purpose? At Ericsson, we have always had a purpose, and that goes back more than 140 years. In 1876 our company was founded on a simple premise that communication is a basic human need and our purpose, then and today, was to fulfill that need. But Ericsson’s spirit of innovation is more than just the kit. We have helped to connect billions of people – a genuine modern mobile miracle. Connectivity has created countless social and economic opportunities, helping bring whole populations to a better quality of life. While our history is impressive, we are in no position to be complacent. Today, we face a complex array of new challenges with socio-economic, political, and technological ramifications that bring about a lot uncertainty, as well as new opportunity. This in turn has led me to ask a most fundamental question of ourselves: Why does the world need Ericsson? What if limitless connectivity meant limitless possibility? Explore our vision for making the unimaginable possible Listen to the podcast This is not as simple a question to answer as you might first think. What role do we want to play in the world? And how does our work benefits others? These questions shape our company and have led to a rethink of the purpose and vision we will follow in the decades ahead. A sense of purpose Our Purpose is: To create connections that make the unimaginable possible Our renewed purpose - ‘creating connections that make the unimaginable possible’ - recognizes the core of what we do at Ericsson: We build the network infrastructure that connect billions of people and soon will be able to connect nearly everything. These networks are also a platform for innovation and 5G is bringing to life possibilities never considered before. But we must also remember that how we conduct our business is important too. I place a great focus on ensuring we do the right thing and our team is equipped with the proper tools and resources to do that - always. Our values of Respect, Professionalism, Perseverance, and Integrity are the fabric of how we show up as Ericsson and these values, coupled with our purpose, create an exciting opportunity for our business, but also a great responsibility to live up to. The world we believe is possible We have thought long and hard about the world we believe it is possible to create – a place where technological innovation is an exciting and overwhelmingly positive force for people, business, and the planet. Our Vision is: A world where limitless connectivity improves lives, redefines business and pioneers a sustainable future ‘Improving lives’ is a key part of this. It speaks to a future that could offer democratized access to healthcare and wearables that avoid illness. A future that presents completely new ways of learning, with connectivity for all schools and experiential learning in virtual worlds. We envision a future where quality education isn’t dependent on physical proximity to school and where every child and adult has equal access to a quality education. We are already taking our first steps to making this future a reality. In 2019, we signed a multi-year global partnership with UNICEF to support its Giga initiative to map school connectivity globally by the end of 2023. The insights we gain from these efforts will give UNICEF, governments and other groups the information they need to connect every school by 2030. Over the next decade we also expect mobile networks to be a revolutionizing force for industry. We envision that limitless connectivity will redefine business and empower enterprises to become entirely agile. With fully connected and constantly optimizing value chains, enterprises will work smarter and cleaner with production closer to the consumer – collapsing cost and emissions related to logistics and shipping. With mixed reality and the internet of senses, we could experience sporting moments from our sofas, just as if we’re in the crowd – the sound, feel and smell of being part of the excitement. It could transform how we experience the thrill of any sporting event – or any event at all. Finally, our vision is about creating a more sustainable future for the climate. We know that the climate crisis is the greatest challenge humanity is facing at the moment and how we respond now will define the course of our future. Our studies show that wireless solutions can contribute to reducing global emissions by 15 percent, across a wide variety of industries. Our vision is to ensure that limitless connectivity delivers on its full potential to help resolve this crisis. This work starts with us, which is why by 2030 Ericsson will become carbon neutral in its own operations and why we are already developing technology to break and continue to diminish the energy curve in telecom networks for our customers. Our role in the future I have always believed you shape your own future. This is an important lesson I learned from my own father. He grew up in the very northern part of Sweden, as the oldest of 10 siblings, and when he was 18 both his parents died, leaving him to take care of the family on his own. He looked towards the future and built a successful life for himself. His story of resilience shows that while you can’t do anything about the past, the future is entirely in your hands. The future that Ericsson envisions is ambitious, but it isn’t something we are going to do alone. It is going to require a concerted effort between partners across and beyond the ICT ecosystem. We will create the network that the future needs – an intelligent platform for innovation. We will bring together partners across eco-systems to collaborate, innovate and incubate ideas. We will evolve the ways in which we can expose network functions and capabilities in order to allow innovation to scale without friction. And we will form partnerships with other vendors and critical technology players such as hyper-scalers and cloud providers to ensure we fully explore and realize the full possibilities of limitless connectivity. The future is a place for purpose and vision. Ours is clear, and we invite partners, customers and consumers to join us in creating connections that make the unimaginable possible. And we invite them to help us realize a world where limitless connectivity improves lives, redefines business and pioneers a sustainable future. Learn more Explore the world of #ImaginePossible Read more about our purpose and vision. View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Ericsson on 3blmedia.com

September 30, 2021 07:36 AM Eastern Daylight Time

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News Release

CNH Industrial Joins 5G Open Innovation Lab

CNH Industrial

CNH Industrial N.V. (NYSE: CNHI / MI: CNHI) announced that it has joined the 5G Open Innovation Lab ("5GOILab"), a global applied innovation ecosystem for corporations, academia and government institutions working on developing 5G technologies, as corporate partner. “We are incredibly excited to join the 5G Open Innovation Lab as their first industry partner for precision agriculture. This unique platform enables us to collaborate with innovative startups and engage with bright minds working on transformative 5G technologies in the agricultural space,” said Scott Wine, Chief Executive Officer, CNH Industrial. “This partnership underscores our commitment to aggressively enhance our precision farming portfolio through the development of new connected digital technologies that allow our customers to unlock their farms’ true potential.” “Rural connectivity is the foundation for many digital technologies and we are excited about how connectivity will enhance the user experience for our Case IH and New Holland customers and dealers. Novel digital solutions help increasing crop yields while reducing input costs through more precise application, precisely steer equipment on a predetermined guidance path in the field, provide more predictive maintenance, and wirelessly connect the field and the office,” explained Parag Garg, Chief Digital Officer, CNH Industrial. “These digital technologies not only support the productivity and profitability of a farming operation, but they also promote more sustainable solutions and environmental stewardship. 5G solutions and edge computing provide the necessary infrastructure to accelerate the development of real-world solutions that elevate our business and empower our customers. We are thrilled to jointly conduct pilots on rural connectivity and edge computing that will demonstrate the benefits to our Case IH and New Holland customers and their dealers.” The 5G Open Innovation Lab recently launched its first application development field lab for the agricultural industry with dedicated access to a 5G-capable, CBRS LTE private network and edge computing platform which will serve CNH Industrial as a dynamic testing platform to pilot digital farming solutions for its customers. The 5G Open Innovation Lab selects 15 to 20 member companies twice a year in the spring and fall to join the ecosystem and participate in its 12-week program. During this time, program companies work closely with the founding and corporate partners to accelerate monetization opportunities of 5G, edge computing and other use cases and solutions globally across a variety of industries. View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from CNH Industrial on 3blmedia.com

September 28, 2021 04:01 PM Eastern Daylight Time

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