Tag: Pakistan

At the same time the world’s largest plant-based foods company launches its first ESG report

Amsterdam, Sept. 23, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Ahead of the UN Food Systems Summit in New York City, Upfield, the world’s leading producer of plant-based butters, margarines, creams and cheeses, has announced its commitment to enhance the livelihoods of 140,000 smallholder farmers and plant-based entrepreneurs. As part of this commitment, Upfield has become a signatory of the Zero Hunger Pledge, led by the Global Alliance for Improve Nutrition (GAIN). This coordinated private sector pledge aims to tackle the global hunger crisis which is unfortunately rising unabated with up to 811 million¹ hungry people in the world in 2020 – that’s one in ten people suffering because they did not have access to a most basic need and fundamental right of food. COVID-19 health crisis has made the issue even worse.

As part of its pledge commitments, Upfield is investing in two projects in rural Kenya – focusing on the peanut and canola (rapeseed) supply chains. These projects support the ambition of the Zero Hunger Pledge; to eradicate world hunger by 2030.

Commenting on Upfield’s commitment to the Zero Hunger Pledge, David Haines, CEO Upfield Group said, “Transforming food systems is essential to achieve food security, improve nutrition and put healthy diets within reach of all. At Upfield, we believe that a collective shift to a more plant-based diet is the shift we need to achieve food system transformation and improve access to affordable nutritious foods. That’s why our newly launched ESG report addresses the areas where we believe we can make the biggest impact, at pace.”

Increasing the resilience of canola supply chains

Upfield is expanding its support for local Kenyan smallholders by helping them to grow canola as a rotational crop, which increases their incomes and improves the resilience of their supply chains. The project has grown from 500 farmers in 2015 to 7,500 farmers today and is still expanding. The project includes a training programme for farmers on climate-smart agriculture to secure their livelihoods amidst the challenge of global warming. Canola oil is a core ingredient in Upfield’s Blue Band™ spreads. Currently, 80% of the canola oil in Upfield’s Blue Band spreads in East Africa comes from this local sourcing initiative, and Upfield has a goal to achieve 100% in 2023.

Supporting farmers to grow high-quality peanuts

Upfield supports NAFAKA, a Kenyan farmer co-operative, providing a new source of income in peanut growing and helping to supply the resources needed to successfully grow high-quality peanuts. In Kenya, a common problem with growing peanuts is Aflatoxins, which can damage peanut yields. Upfield is working to provide a discounted rate for the agricultural inputs needed to achieve aflatoxin-free supply chains and guarantees an income in peanut-sourcing for the smallholder farmers involved. The high-quality peanuts produced by NAFAKA Co-operative are to be used in Upfield’s Blue Band™ Peanut Butter product, which is popular in Kenya and other East African markets.

Both projects form part of Upfield’s broader ESG strategy, which outlines a suite of other initiatives and targets all designed to support the sustainable transition to ‘A Better Plant-Based Future’, with the aims of:

• Encouraging 1 billion people choose delicious plant-based products by committing to driving plant-based adoption through investment in purposeful brands, innovation, naturalness and category expansion.
• Positively impacting 200 million lives by providing healthier, more affordable and more accessible products that are equivalent, if not better than their dairy counterparts in both taste and performance.
• Enhancing 140,000 livelihoods and reaching 5 million chefs by committing to programs, grants and initiatives that will support them to drive towards a plant-based future.
• Achieving “Better than net zero” by 2050 and committing to 95% of our packaging being free from plastic by 2030, as well as responsibly sourcing 100% of our ingredients with no deforestation or exploitation.

You can read more about Upfield’s commitments at www.upfield.com/purpose

 

Notes for Editors

ABOUT UPFIELD

At Upfield, we make people healthier and happier with great tasting, plant-based nutrition products that are better for the planet. As a global plant-based company, Upfield is the #1 producer of plant-based spreads and cheeses with more than 100 brands, including iconic brands FLORA, RAMA, BLUEBAND, PROACTIV, BECEL, I CAN’T BELIEVE IT’S NOT BUTTER, COUNTRY CROCK, and VIOLIFE. With headquarters in Amsterdam, we sell our products in over 95 countries and have 14 manufacturing sites throughout the world. The company employs over 4200 Associates. Since 1871, we have been the authority in the spreads category which gives us unmatched experience, know-how and inspiration. We are focused on leading in this new era focused on delivering healthier products that are great tasting, have superior quality and help us deliver on our vision to create “A Better Plant-Based Future.” For more information, please visit our website at www.Upfield.com.

About the pledge

The Zero Hunger Private Sector Pledge is a multi-stakeholder platform of cooperation and action with a single objective of ending hunger for good. It involves businesses supported by civil society, member state governments, and international organisations. Each of the actors provides a commitment within the remit of its organisation. The flexible and voluntary character of the Pledge is its strength as it creates a platform for cooperation for actors who wouldn’t have necessarily worked together in the past.

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¹ State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI 2021) report

Susannah Moore
Upfield Europe BV
07909686870
susannah.moore@upfield.com

CoolSeal receives CE mark, Japan PMDA approval; now available in over 20 countries worldwide

LOUISVILLE, COLORADO, Sept. 22, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Bolder Surgical today announced the global launch of its CoolSeal™ Vessel Sealing platform. CoolSeal has been in use since October 2020 in the U.S., and with the new international regulatory approvals the devices are available in over 20 countries around the world.

Bolder Surgical provides surgeons precision electrosurgical instruments to perform minimally invasive surgery safely and effectively in pediatric and adult procedures including general, gynecological and bariatric surgical applications.

The CoolSeal Vessel Sealing suite includes the 3 mm Mini (formerly JustRight Sealer) and the 5 mm Trinity Sealer/Divider/Dissector. Both devices are powered with the gold-standard efficacy of advanced bipolar RF vessel sealing technology.

“Having successfully used the 3 mm vessel sealer for many cases in pediatric surgery, the Trinity 5 mm device is an excellent addition to my selection of surgical instruments,” said Dr. Satoshi Ieiri, pediatric surgeon, Kagoshima University Hospital. “The slim, curved jaw design and added sealing capacity supports procedures on larger children, adolescents and adults. It is a true all-in-one instrument that enables precise dissection and produces quick sealing times with minimal thermal distribution and great advantages.”

With an average thermal spread less than 1 mm and slim, dual action jaws, CoolSeal devices combine the finesse of true surgical instruments with the gold-standard efficacy of advanced bipolar RF vessel sealing. The devices are designed for multi-functional performance that can mean fewer instrument exchanges, helping streamline workflow and reduce operative time.

Bolder Surgical continues its path of innovation through focused investment in R&D to move the company beyond its origin in pediatric devices.  “We’ve successfully leveraged our expertise in microsurgical devices and energy delivery to create the CoolSeal portfolio,” stated Robert Kline, President and CEO of Bolder Surgical. “The portfolio is designed to give surgeons innovative, versatile options that minimize surgical impact, from the smallest patients to adolescents and adults. We are extremely proud that physicians across the globe can now access this innovative technology.”

CoolSeal products are now available in over 20 countries worldwide including member countries of the European Union, the United Kingdom, Japan, Australia, and the Middle East. For information visit BolderSurgical.com.

Attachment

• Trinity Full Perspective Open Jaws

Tricia Strong
Bolder Surgical
719 433 4836
tstrong@boldsurg.com

Somers, Wisconsin, Sept. 21, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — In April 2021, the Pritzker Military Museum & Library, located in Chicago, launched an international competition for the new Cold War Veterans Memorial to be built in Somers, Wisconsin. After reviewing an impressive number of inspiring design concepts, four finalists have been selected to advance to Stage II of the competition. The Cold War Veterans Memorial will be a critical piece of the Pritzker Archives and Memorial Park Center (PAMPC) currently under development.

“In missions on and off the battlefield, Americans of all stripes made immense sacrifices in defense of our national interest. They deserve to be recognized, and the weight of this era deserves to be understood. This Memorial will provide a place where their contributions are honored,” said Col. Jennifer Pritzker, Founder of the Pritzker Military Museum & Library.

The four finalists are representatives from the U.S., Italy, Japan, and Jordan. These individuals and groups achieved the highest scores against strict criteria, including individuality, relevance, and conceptualization. The design challenge was to provide a conceptual design for the Cold War Veterans Memorial that embraces the mission statement, exemplifies the guiding vision, and achieves the design goals. The finalists include:

• INFINITE LIFE – Michele De Lucchi con Francesco Forcella (project architect), Nicholas Bewick, Junmei Liu, Emanuele Novembre, Guido Tarantola, Mayya Sargsyan of AMDL CIRCLE in Milan, Italy
  • Although this Memorial project was born out of the importance of respecting and honoring those that served during the Cold War period, we also see its relevance as a heroic symbol towards our continually evolving universe and the existence of human life.

For this reason, we have chosen not only the metaphor of infinity, by evoking the ‘Moebius Loop or Orbit’ in our design concept, but also to create an experience and place from which to think about our complex global interrelationships, in the hope that they can find a harmony that links every single person and preserves the physical environment in which we all live.

• THE CONFLICT – Mai Abu-Shanab and Jalal  Al-Sadi of  m+j architect studio atelier in Amman, Jordan
  • This cold war memorial is intended to honor individuals and groups and give a permanent recognition to accomplishments, as quietly made, by countless individuals and groups as they pursued the expansion of freedom and democracy, creating a place for reflection and remembrance, inspiring the public to perceive freedom for centuries to come.
• ORBITS OF TIME – Jenny Wu and Dwayne Oyler of Oyler Wu Collaborative in Los Angeles, California, USA
  • The proposed design envisions a memorial that embodies the ideals and mission of Memorial Park, making more tactile a context that can’t be measured in a single name or event: only in glimpses of history. Within these glimpses is layered a timeline of both personal and collective experiences emblematic of the Cold War – a paradigm that rebalances the interconnected narratives of American innovation and service.
• ETERNAL CIRCULATION – Shinsaku Munemoto of Shinsaku Munemoto & Associates, Architects in Kyoto, Japan
  • This memorial intends to preserve the memories, records, and achievements of the veterans in perpetuity. By uncovering the layer of land, one space separates into two. The space of the “past” underneath meets the layers of the veterans’ work and time, where one can relive the veterans’ history and memories of the Cold War. The satellite dish formed above forges the “present” space to transmit the histories and memories. Through the hole opened in the unfolded land, the archive is seen, bridging the “past” records to the “present,” creating an ETERNAL CIRCULATION of education and communication.

“We were impressed by the number of inspiring design submissions that were received,” states Donald J. Stastny, FAIA, FAICP, FCIP, Competition Manager. “It wasn’t an easy decision, but we are very confident in the four finalists chosen to move forward. Their conceptual designs best embraced the mission and vision of the Memorial, and we can see them serve as an attraction for visitors.”

The Cold War Veterans Memorial’s guiding vision is to create permanent recognition that stimulates ongoing thought and study that honors American military members and civilians who served and sacrificed during the Cold War era (1945-1991). In line with the Pritzker Military Museum & Library’s mission, the Cold War Veterans Memorial aims to increase the public understanding of military history.

Stage II

In Stage II, the four groups of selected finalists will evolve their concepts for the Memorial and create more fully defined design concepts by late February 2022. Procedures in this stage include a virtual competition briefing, Q&A, mid-course review, and design exhibit.

The Competition Leadership Group will conduct an individual review of each design submittal and provide an advisory report of its findings to the Jury. The Jury will analyze each design and determine whether the integrity of the design concept embodied in the Stage I entry has been maintained in the Stage II design submittal and how it addresses the mission, vision, and design goals for the Memorial. The winning design will be announced publicly in March 2022.

View the finalists’ submissions here. All information on the design competition, including the design manual, Jury process, regulations, and schedule, can be found at coldwarveteransmemorial.org.

Pritzker Archives & Memorial Park Center

The PAMPC was created out of a need for additional space to house some of the circulating book collection and the archival collections of the Pritzker Military Museum & Library and will be completed in phases over an estimated ten years.

The first phase of the project will include the Pritzker Military Archives Center to house the collections and provide workspace for the continued curation for future exhibits; Commercial Archives based on demand where private collectors, public institutions, and others may store their archives; a facility specializing in firearms education and training; a Community Green Space expertly landscaped with walking and biking paths; and the Cold War Veterans Memorial.

About the Cold War Veterans Memorial

In line with the Pritzker Military Museum & Library’s mission, the Cold War Veterans Memorial aims to increase the public understanding of military history. It will be a lasting tribute to the courage and tenacity found in the U.S. Armed Forces and civilian personnel who faithfully and honorably served during the Cold War era, September 2, 1945, to December 26, 1991. The Memorial will be a publicly accessible display where citizens can honor, reflect, and learn about the bravery and sacrifice displayed to further our country’s freedom. To learn more, visit www.coldwarveteransmemorial.org.  

About Pritzker Archives & Memorial Park Center

Located in Somers, Wisconsin, The Pritzker Archives & Memorial Park Center supports the Pritzker Military Museum & Library’s mission of preserving the past, present, and future of the citizen soldier. This state-of-the-art archive center is a space to restore, preserve, and provide storage for collections that include books, artifacts, and other historical materials. Other components of the project include a 9,687 square-foot Gallery that will display exhibits drawing from the Pritzker Military Museum & Library in Chicago, Commercial Archives, a facility specializing in firearms education and training, Cold War Veterans Memorial, and community green space. To learn more, visit www.pritzkerarchivespark.com.

 

About the Pritzker Military Museum & Library

The Pritzker Military Museum & Library aims to increase the public’s understanding of military history, military affairs and national security by providing a forum for the study and exploration of our military – past, present, and future – with a specific focus on their stories, sacrifices, and values. With national and global reach, these spaces and events aim to share the stories of those who served and their contributions as citizen soldiers, helping citizens everywhere appreciate the relationship between the armed forces and the civilians whose freedoms they protect. A non-governmental, non-partisan organization, the Museum & Library features diverse collections, scholarly initiatives, and public programs from its flagship center in downtown Chicago to its world-class research center and park currently under construction in Somers, Wisconsin.

Erika Davis
Pritzker Archives & Memorial Park Center 
erika.davis@tawani.net

Anaqua’s AQX platform to help global medical products group protect and optimize its valuable IP portfolios

LONDON, Sept. 21, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Anaqua, the leading innovation and intellectual property management technology provider, today announced that global medical products and technologies group ConvaTec will use Anaqua’s AQX platform to help more effectively manage their valuable patent and trademark portfolios.

The agreement further strengthens Anaqua’s position in the medical solutions markets, with a growing number of clients from these sectors collaborating with Anaqua as their preferred IP management provider.

With operations in more than 100 countries, ConvaTec is a global medical and technologies company focused on therapies for the management of chronic conditions, with leading market positions in advanced wound care, ostomy care, continence care, critical care, and infusion care. ConvaTec products provide a range of clinical and economic benefits including infection prevention, protection of at-risk skin, improved patient outcomes and reduced total cost of care.

Christina Allegrini, Vice President, Deputy General Counsel & Global Head of Intellectual Property at ConvaTec, said: “Our company vision is to pioneer trusted medical solutions to improve the lives we touch. As part of this, one of our key strategic pillars is to innovate in our work and solutions, supported by increased investment in R&D. Therefore, it is critically important that we manage our innovation and IP effectively and efficiently – and Anaqua will help ensure we do that.”

ConvaTec will use Anaqua’s AQX platform for patent and trademark management, annuities and renewals (in conjunction with Anaqua Services), and patent analytics through integration with Anaqua’s AcclaimIP.

Bob Romeo, CEO of Anaqua, said: “We are proud to be working with and supporting ConvaTec, a company driven by innovation to better serve people around the world in need of advanced medical care. For our part, we look forward to helping ConvaTec protect their innovation and IP management needs. We are also delighted to add another global company to our growing portfolio of clients in the healthcare and life sciences sectors.”

About Anaqua
Anaqua, Inc. is a premium provider of integrated intellectual property (IP) management technology solutions and services. Anaqua’s AQX platform combines best practice workflows with big data analytics and tech-enabled services to create an intelligent environment designed to inform IP strategy, enable IP decision-making, and streamline IP operations. Today, nearly half of the top 100 U.S. patent filers and global brands, as well as a growing number of law firms worldwide use Anaqua’s solutions. Over one million IP executives, attorneys, paralegals, administrators, and innovators use the platform for their IP management needs. The company’s global operations are headquartered in Boston, with offices across the U.S., Europe, and Asia. For additional information, please visit anaqua.com, or on LinkedIn.

About ConvaTec
ConvaTec is a global medical products and technologies company focused on therapies for the management of chronic conditions, with leading market positions in advanced wound care, ostomy care, continence and critical care, and infusion care. Headquartered in the UK, the company has operations in more than 100 countries and almost 10,000 employees worldwide. ConvaTec products provide a range of clinical and economic benefits including infection prevention, protection of at-risk skin, improved patient outcomes and reduced total cost of care. To learn more about ConvaTec, please visit convatecgroup.com.

Company Contact: Amanda Hollis Associate Director, Communications Anaqua 617-375-2626 ahollis@Anaqua.com