MS MORGENTHAU: Good afternoon, everybody. This is a day that we have been waiting for a long time. Welcome to the 25th Annual Ceremony for the Secretary of State’s Award for Corporate Excellence. I would like to thank everyone for joining us today, both in person in the historic Benjamin Franklin Reception Room and virtually on our livestream from around the globe.
The Award for Corporate Excellence has reached a milestone: 25 years of honoring U.S. companies that create positive impact around the globe. I’m honored to be here with you to recognize six American companies, large and small, for their meaningful contributions to the categories of Innovation to Strengthen Communities, Women’s Economic Security, and Climate Resilience. To our six winning companies, I’d like to extend my sincere gratitude and respect. I think everyone would agree that you exemplify the very best of American values in your overseas operations. (Applause.)
Across the world we are facing complex challenges that governments cannot tackle alone, such as climate change, gender inequality, and digital divides. Now more than ever it is critical that we leverage the strength, determination, and innovation of the U.S. business community to reach our shared goals. Your work inspires us all and proves that through public-private partnership and responsible business practices, no task is too daunting.
And with that, it is my true honor and pleasure to begin the ceremony by welcoming Acting Assistant Secretary for Economic and Business Affairs Amy Holman. (Applause.)
MS HOLMAN: Thank you very much, Sarah, and thank you all for coming today, and congratulations to awardees. It’s so much fun to be here today, to be welcoming you all. This is the best day in EB’s calendar, and so we’re delighted to have you all here to share in the success of our six American companies who exemplify what we try in the Bureau of Business and Economic Affairs to do every day, is to support our U.S. businesses overseas to do good things and to make us all proud here at home.
So I’m really, really delighted that we’re here celebrating our prosperity, part of our work in the bureau. It’s also my great delight to welcome our Deputy Secretary Kurt Campbell. Kurt is amazing. He’s worked all over the government. He’s done DOD, he’s done the White House, he’s been here twice before, and now he’s the deputy secretary. And we’re so thrilled to have him with all of his experience and all of his great thinking on China. So it’s my great pleasure to – and please join me in welcoming the 22nd Deputy Secretary of State of the United States, Mr. Kurt Campbell. (Applause.)
DEPUTY SECRETARY CAMPBELL: So, guys, this is such – first, to welcome everyone, it’s great to see friends, family, everyone. Welcome to the Ben Franklin Room. This is the nicest place at the State Department. We don’t all live like this, but we occasionally get to come up here for events. So as you’re here, be sure to look out over the venue. It’s a lovely day. These days come infrequently in Washington, so enjoy this.
So this is a true story. A couple of weeks ago – so one of the great things about being the deputy is that you get to step in at the last minute, and so I was meeting this family, and they had told their children how exciting it was they were going to meet the Secretary of State. And so it was the deputy instead, and so one of the daughters was crying hysterically. (Laughter.) So no crying among any of the companies today.
No, I will tell you those who’ve not met these companies – and we’re going to be introduced to them in a moment – I will tell you they are so inspirational. To see the good that they have done globally in so many different arenas is just really heartwarming.
I will also say it’s exciting for me. I was actually here 25 years ago when the secretary then, Albright, launched these awards. I don’t think we would have ever imagined 25 years later the number of companies that we’ve honored, the work that has been done, the remarkable support that these awards have achieved. So I just – I want to say how grateful we are that you’re all here. I’m sorry that it’s not the Secretary. I’ll do my best. It’s not my favorite thing either, like, to just constantly go around disappointing people, but still. (Laughter.) Welcome most warmly to the State Department, okay?
So I want to thank Acting Secretary Holman – I just say “Secretary Holman” when – all this acting stuff. I’m grateful to you, as well as Under Secretary Fernandez, who leads the bureau. Special Representative Morgenthau – thank you, Sarah, for everything – and the entire team at the Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs. And they drive so much of our outreach to the business community. Their dedication to boosting economic opportunities for U.S. companies overseas, promoting workers’ rights around the world, and creating jobs back home is what we are all about.
To our guests – we have guests from Congress and across the federal government, the diplomatic corps, and the private sector – thank you for joining us today and to render honors to these people who have served with such distinction.
In 1999, Secretary Madeleine Albright established the State Department’s Award for Corporate Excellence. It was a recognition that the private sector is probably the essential partner in so much of our diplomatic work, and we see this now more than ever in technology, in all the arenas in which we work. It underscored that when businesses operate by the highest standards – investing in local communities, upholding labor and environmental rights – that’s good not only for a company’s bottom line but for our partners and for our values and interests.
Over 25 years, ACE has highlighted more than 70 businesses that epitomize what Secretary Albright called then “the genius and generosity of American free enterprise.” As global challenges have evolved over the past quarter century, from the climate crisis to cyber threats, the need for robust public-private cooperation has grown exponentially, and the role of industry in addressing these critical issues, whether that’s spurring the clean energy transition or training workers for the economy of the future – this has become increasingly important.
Today we honor our 2024 cohort, six extraordinary companies across three award categories, that are advancing sustainability, equity, and opportunity in the countries where they are operating. And I will say I’ve met all of them. They are remarkable. You can tell right off the bat that they are making a difference.
Our first award category is Innovation to Strengthen Communities. In West Africa, Koster Keunen, a 172-year-old Connecticut and Netherlands-based company, has trained nearly 30,000 beekeepers to harvest beeswax, a honey byproduct previously overlooked in the local economy that can be manufactured into products from lip balm to candles. I myself am a beekeeper, so I’m excited by this. I just normally get rid of the beeswax. Now I know what to do. Koster Keunen has also bolstered regional food security in concert with beekeeping practices that prioritize biodiversity and conservation, increased bee productions and pollinations rates, raised the agricultural yields of key crops like mangoes and cashews by as much as 30 percent.
In Colombia, Microsoft, in collaboration with local educational institutions, NGOs, and telecom companies, has extended high-speed internet to more than 600,000 people in remote parts of the country. You just have to understand what a difference that has made in people’s lives. Microsoft has also equipped marginalized communities with digital literacy skills, lifting 10,000 people out of poverty and enabling an estimated 31,000 people to find jobs in the tech economy – again, an absolute remarkable achievement.
Our second category is Women’s Economy Security. As outlined last year in the department’s first-ever Strategy for Global Women’s Economic Security, the United States considers the full and equal economic participation of women not only a moral imperative but a strategic one. Women’s economic inclusion promotes stability, development, and harmony in communities. It’s estimated that closing gender gaps in the workforce could add up to $28 trillion to global GDP over a decade. In this collective effort, we’re fortunate to have committed private sector partners that we’re going to recognize today.
In Ethiopia, California leather goods company Parker Clay has for a decade employed a majority-women workforce of local artisans, most of whom are survivors of human trafficking. That’s incredible. In addition to a good job and good pay, Parker Clay has – also offers access to vital services such as on-site day care. This means that its employees can put food on the table and ensure that their children can attend school. And it means that they can become financially secure, able to breathe a bit easier, plan a bit farther, and sleep a bit more soundly.
In India, the Bank of America is working to realize gender parity across its ranks. The company has implemented inclusive recruitment strategies and female mentorship programs, initiatives that have brought their workforce to – from 24 to 35 percent over the past decade – that’s remarkable – amid a nationwide decline in Indian women’s economic participation. You’ve really stood out.
In recent years, Bank of America has also provided over 300,000 women and girls with the education, the health care, and the sanitation infrastructure necessary for entry to and success in the formal economy.
Our third and final category is Climate Resilience. Since the start of the Biden-Harris administration, the United States has quadrupled climate financing to the developing nations, helping more than half a billion people manage the destabilizing effects of climate change.
In the Philippines, Florida-based Rizome Bamboo produces a more sustainable alternative to traditional carbon-intensive materials like steel and wood. And it’s promoting the construction of environmentally conscious bamboo-based homes globally. In partnership with USAID and local indigenous tribes, Rizome is also helping to plant 1,500-hectare reforestation program that would establish a bamboo industry in Mindanao, an arena in the Philippines that desperately needs jobs.
In Suriname, our final awardee, Colorado’s Newmont Corporation, has introduced highest environmental standards into the country’s goldmining sector. Newmont has significantly reduced the potential for mercury pollution, water contamination, and deforestation by training small-scale miners in more sustainable mining methods. The corporation also instituted an advisory council but with community leaders from the African-descent Pamaka tribe, who advised Newmont on how to best contribute to local development needs, from portable water systems to small business loans.
So you get a sense of what these companies are about. And I want all of you to join in giving a warm round of applause to all of our awardees. (Applause.)
And as I pass it back to Special Representative Morgenthau, I do want to just acknowledge it’s good to be recognized for one day. But the truth is what you’re doing is global on a yearly basis, and we recognize, acknowledge, and thank you for your work, and we hope that it long continues. Thank you very much. (Applause.)
MS MORGENTHAU: Well, I think you’ll all have just seen and witnessed Deputy Secretary Kurt Campbell, and he is hardly the B team. Those remarks and your leadership is exemplary. Having seen firsthand and been with him in the field, it is hard to keep up with him. But truly, his public service and commitment for so many years is exemplary, and we are very fortunate to have him at the department. (Applause.)
Deputy Secretary, I understand that you may have to depart a little bit early, so I just wanted to acknowledge and again thank you. As we celebrate the 25th anniversary, we reflect on the incredible journey and achievements of U.S. companies who have been awarded the ACE over the years. Your work around the world continues to inspire us all.
While we could elaborate extensively on the accomplishments of these companies, it is perhaps best to let their work speak for itself. At this time, please turn your attention to the screen for a brief montage that illustrates the truly inspiring stories of our awardees.
(A video is played.) (Applause.)
And now the moment that we’ve all been waiting for. We can begin with the presentations of the 2024 Awards for Corporate Excellence. The first category is Innovation to Strengthen Communities. We are proud to be recognizing two companies whose work has generated tangible positive impact in Colombia and Togo.
Microsoft in Colombia is this year’s first winner, nominated by the U.S. Embassy Bogotá. Microsoft Colombia has harnessed their technological tools and digital capacity to strengthen communities by connecting them to the internet and to the world, helping refine their workers’ skills and generating economic growth. We are delighted to have here today U.S. Chargé d’Affaires to Colombia Francisco Palmieri – thank you for being here – who very kindly made a congratulatory video for Microsoft. Please turn your attention to the screen:
MR PALMIERI: (Via video) Secretary Blinken and distinguished guests, it is my distinct honor to congratulate Microsoft Colombia Incorporated for winning the Secretary’s Award for Corporate Excellence in the category of Innovation to Strengthen Communities. This prestigious award is a testament to the remarkable impact that Microsoft has made in driving positive change in communities across Colombia.
Microsoft Colombia has partnered with NGOs, universities, small businesses, and national and local governments to expand internet connectivity, build digital skills, and foster economic inclusion for Colombia’s most vulnerable and underserved communities. Their work helps promote peace, diminish Colombia’s digital divide, and reduce economic and social inequalities.
Thank you, Microsoft, for your commitment to making Colombia and the world a better place. (Applause.)
MS MORGENTHAU: Thank you, Chargé Palmieri, for being here with us today.
It is now my honor to present Microsoft Colombia Inc. with the 2024 Secretary of State Award for Innovation to Strengthen Communities. Please join me in welcoming the general manger of Microsoft Colombia, Daniel Verswyvel, to the stage to accept the award and offer remarks. (Applause.)
MR VERSWYVEL: Hello, all. Thank you, Assistant Secretary Holman and Special Representative Morgenthau. Members of the diplomatic services, honored guests, and colleagues, it’s really an immense pride and a deep gratitude that I accept this prestigious Secretary of State Award for Corporate Excellence on behalf of Microsoft Colombia.
To be recognized for the impact we’re making through our connectivity and skilling programs is a profound honor. This represents not only a milestone for our team, but a testament to the power of collaboration, innovation, and shared commitment to building a brighter future for all Colombians.
At Microsoft, we believe in a world where technology is a force of good, a tool that can transform lives, fuel economies, and reduce inequalities. Our mission is to empower every person and every organization to achieve more. And it is not only a vision, it is a responsibility as well. And we deeply feel this responsibility in Microsoft Colombia, where the need for connectivity and digital skills is a great pivot to unlocking the potential for so many.
The world we live in is increasingly defined by digital experiences. It shapes the way we work, we learn, we communicate, and live in society. But we know that for too many these opportunities remain a challenge. This is why we are relentless in our commitment to bridging the digital divide, and we recognize that access alone is not enough. It must be coupled with knowledge, with skills, and tools necessary for individuals to truly thrive and better their opportunities. Through initiatives like Airband we brough high-speed internet to some of the most remote and underserved communities in Colombia, giving people the chance to participate in the digital economy, to connect with their supply chains, establish their businesses, access government and healthcare services, and so much more.
Our skilling programs have gone hand in hand, equipping thousands with the capabilities they need to acquire the abilities to secure better jobs and create brighter futures for themselves, their families, and their communities. We have witnessed the power of this transformation. Communities once isolated are now connected. Individuals once without prospects are now building careers and future of their own design. This award is a reminder of what’s possible and when we unite around common purpose. But it’s also a challenge: a challenge to continue and to deepen our commitment to expand the impact and work.
As we stand here today, I want to emphasize that this honor belongs to every person and every organization that we have partnered with, every community that has embraced these opportunities and every organization that shares her vision for an inclusive and equitable future. We know no single organization and no single person has the power to make real widespread change, but together we are providing the technology that hopefully can be a catalyst for a long-lasting transformation.
Thank you for this remarkable recognition, and we – we’re excited also of the road ahead and knowing that the best way to predict the future is really to create it together.
Thank you. (Applause.)
MS MORGENTHAU: Thank you for those remarks. We would now like to recognize our second winner in the category of Innovation to Strengthen Communities, Koster Keunen, for their work in Togo empowering local beekeepers and farmers and forging the path for millions of dollars to exports for an innovative product. We now have a congratulatory video from U.S. Chargé d’affaires to Togo Ronald E. Hawkins:
MR HAWKINS: (Via video) Hello. My name is Ron Hawkins, and I’m the chargé d’affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Lomé, Togo. It is my great pleasure to extend heartfelt congratulations to Koster Keunen for being honored with the Award for Corporate Excellence and Innovation to Strengthen Communities. To John, Silvan, and the whole team at Koster Keunen, you have empowered tens of thousands of beekeepers throughout West Africa. Thank you for demonstrating the best of American values in Togo. (Applause.)
MS MORGENTHAU: Thank you, Chargé Hawkins. Please join me in welcoming the President of Koster Keunen, John Koster, to accept the 2024 Award for Innovation to Strengthen Communities and offer remarks. (Applause.)
MR KOSTER: Yeah, thank you, Acting Assistant Secretary Holman and Special Representative Morgenthau. It is an incredible honor to be here today in Washington, D.C. with my partners and my family accepting the Secretary of State’s Award for Corporate Excellence. I want to thank the U.S. Ambassador to Togo Elizabeth Fitzsimmons and Deputy Chief Ronald Hawkins who we just saw and the Administrator for the Small Business Administration Isabel Guzman for the nomination and their support. We’re deeply honored by this recognition from the U.S. Department of State, and we extend our sincere thanks to Secretary Blinken and the entire selection committee.
For over 170 years across five generations, Koster Keunen has been a global leader in manufacturing and refining natural waxes and ingredients. Our mission is to create sustainable and innovative solutions that benefit both people and planet, and today we stand before you as a testament to the power of business to drive positive change in the world. Our journey in West Africa began in 2019 where we saw an opportunity in beeswax, a by-product of honey production that was often overlooked and undervalued. Local beekeepers, despite their work and dedication, struggled to access modern techniques and export markets for the wax, limiting their income and potential.
We thought we could make a difference. We launched our sustainability program that we like to call One Hive. It’s an initiative designed to empower beekeepers and transform the beeswax industry in West Africa. Through training, education, and the provision of modern beekeeping equipment like Kenyan Top Bar hives and proper bee suits, we equipped beekeepers with the tools and the training they needed to succeed. We introduced sustainable beekeeping practices, ensuring the long-term health of bee populations and their vital role in our ecosystem, as well as sustainable and reoccurring income for the beekeepers and their villages and communities.
And through a new program we initiated using blockchain technology, this allowed us to trace the beeswax from the hive to the final product, guaranteeing transparency and traceability. By eliminating intermediates and connecting beekeepers directly to global markets, we ensure that beekeepers receive a fair price for their labor, empowering them to reinvest in their families and communities.
The impact has been profound. Over 28,000 beekeepers across eight West African countries have seen their incomes rise and their livelihoods improve. Communities have been strengthened and families have been empowered, and the environment has benefited with forest preserves and biodiversity protected. This award is a tribute to the incredible people of West Africa whose reliance, resilience, and determination inspire us every day. It’s also a testament to the power of collaboration. We’re grateful to our partners on the ground, the U.S. Government for its support, and to our customers around the world who share our commitment to sustainability and community development.
At Koster Keunen, we believe that business can be a force for good. We are proud to be a part of a global movement as working to create a more just and sustainable world. This award strengthens our resolve to continue innovating, to continue empowering and strengthening communities, and to continue making a positive impact in our world.
Thank you. (Applause.) Thank you.
MS MORGENTHAU: We now move to our next award category, Women’s Economic Security. Women’s Economic Security is a category that not only reflects our shared commitment to creating an inclusive economy but also demonstrates the immense power that women can have on their communities. Empowering women economically benefits all communities and helps us move towards a more just and equitable world. I say that when women win, we all win.
And I did want to recognize again that this was the 25th anniversary of the ACE Awards which was started by Secretary Madeleine Albright, and we are very honored to have her daughter here with us, Alice Albright, who has been carrying on in her mother’s tradition of service and heads up the Millennial Challenge Corporation which the State Department works with closely.
The first company that we recognize in this category is Bank of America in India. Their commitment to ensuring women are part of the workforce and are given the same skills and opportunities as others is a priority of the bank’s country head, Kaku Nakhate. Please join me in watching a brief congratulatory video from U.S. Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti:
AMBASSADOR GARCETTI: (Via video) Greetings from New Delhi. I’m Eric Garcetti, United States Ambassador to India. And on behalf of the U.S. mission here in India, I want to congratulate Bank of America in India for earning the Secretary’s Award for Corporate Excellence in Women’s Economic Security.
Bank of America in India through its president and India country director Kaku Nakhate, together with all of its employees, is leading the promotion of women as employees and entrepreneurs. As Kaku herself often says, “Gender parity in the workplace is not only the right thing to do, but it also makes businesses more profitable and impactful.”
Through its corporate social responsibility programs, Bank of America in India is also improving the lives of hundreds of thousands of women and girls throughout this great country. With companies like Bank of America in India and great leaders like Kaku and her team, India is striving to increase the percentage of women in its workforce, working towards its true potential as a global economic power befitting the world’s largest democracy.
Congratulations and thank you. (Applause.)
MS MORGENTHAU: Thank you, Ambassador Garcetti. I’d also like to thank our consul general in Mumbai, Michael Hankey, for being here with us today. And it is my privilege to invite president and country head of Bank of America in India, who can just be known as Kaku. So thank you so much for being here.
MS NAKHATE: Thank you. (Applause.)
Good afternoon. Assistant Secretary Amy Holman, Special Representative Sarah Morgenthau, of course all the distinguished guests here, and my dear friends – it’s my great honor to receive this prestigious ACE Award on behalf of Bank of America India, which is currently celebrating 60 years in India. I would like to thank all the secretaries right from State – Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell, U.S. Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti, and of course my dear friend, Consul General Mike Hankey – for recognizing our work in India.
I’d like to thank Brian Moynihan, our CEO, the – and the entire global leadership for their constant support. Brian has always advocated responsible growth at Bank of America. Acting responsibly is one of our core values and guides how we invest in our communities and help them thrive. For Bank of America. India is a priority market. It’s the second largest contributor to our APAC earnings, with over 15 percent share in revenues and more than 23 percent share in profit. This award really belongs to all my teammates across in India.
Over the last decade, we have deployed roughly 2 percent of our profits in India, amounting to $70 million, working with 30 partners supporting education and skills development, jobs and livelihood creation, environmental sustainability, water and sanitation, and arts and culture. Over the years we have transformed the lives of about 6 million individuals, including women and girls, which gives us great satisfaction. The important role that women can play in the world’s GDP development is today recognized wholeheartedly, and you would all agree with me on that.
Today, nearly half of the workforce in the world is women, while India, only 37 are in the workforce. Unfortunately, they only contribute 18 percent of India’s GDP, despite accounting for 48 percent of the overall population. The World Bank estimates that the loss due to gender inequality in the world is around 172 trillion, approximately 1.7 times the global GDP. So in India, if women’s contribution to GDP just increased from 18 to 25 percent by 2030, we would add 1.5 trillion to take our economy to 6.5 trillion, a significant 30 percent gain.
Hence, we decided to apply a gender lens to program models centered around empowering women who we believe will create transgenerational impact in the society. We also focus on adolescent girls, because India accounts for 10 percent of the adolescent population in the world. Lack of water, sanitation, and hygiene infrastructure has adversely impacted the cohort of girls for years. Our support to partners like Gramalaya, Shelter, MHT, and Vatsalya ensured a toilet in a girl’s home, thus enhancing her esteem within the family. In the same cluster, schools were provided with toilets. The idea was the basic need and retaining girls in school. To date, our partners have built 19,000 toilets.
Our program with Quest Alliance provides STEM and life skills to adolescent students. With UWA, we created smart classrooms and government-run schools, enabling blended learning, using tablets, enhancing STEM learning. We plan to introduce coding in classrooms very soon. Our vocational training programs with partners like Generation and Enable India, who work with individuals with disabilities, help deliver skills to enable employment in sectors like health care services, retail, and technology.
We support even rural programs with PRADAN and development alternatives that create local income generation opportunities for women, often on the back of community-owned renewables and energy micro-grids and irrigation systems. As a result, 50,000 women farmers and entrepreneurs have seen their income rise significantly, by 70 percent, over a two-year period. The intersectionality of our philanthropic programs hits multiple Sustainable Development Goals, providing access to clean energy, water, sanitation, elevating poverty, and improving, of course, the gender equality.
We work closely with CSMVS and MAP museum to help conserve India’s rich cultural heritage. We supported AmCham in creating a DNI committee across American companies to focus on gender diversity, LGBTQ inclusion, and individuals with disabilities.
So on behalf of Bank of America, I once again would like to thank all of you and express our sincere appreciation to the State Department for this ACE Award. This will inspire us further to create more opportunities for women empowerment, which will help to make a difference in the society. And today, I learned genius and generosity is all that we need to work for.
So thank you once again for giving us this award. (Applause.)
MS MORGENTHAU: Kaku, thank you. The next award in the Women’s Economic Security category goes to Parker Clay, nominated by the U.S. embassy in Ethiopia. Parker Clay truly embodies the spirit of uplifting communities by helping women who were once victims of exploitation to become economically empowered individuals. We now have a congratulatory video from U.S. Ambassador to Ethiopia Ervin Massinga:
AMBASSADOR MASSINGA: (Via video) Good day. As ambassador to Ethiopia, I am honored to congratulate Parker Clay for winning the Award for Corporate Excellence in Women’s Economic Security. I’m proud to see their incredible work being celebrated. Parker Clay’s commitment to ethical business and social impact in Ethiopia is transforming lives and empowering local communities. We nominated Parker Clay for creating sustainable jobs and fostering local craftsmanship, and because Parker Clay is not just building their brand – they’re building a better future for Ethiopia. Parker Clay empowers Ethiopian women, helping them to harness traditional skills and local materials to create world-class products, while combating human trafficking. Parker Clay ensures its workers earn wages that support their families and provide them with the tools to uplift their communities on their own terms. Congratulations again to Brittany, Ian, and the entire Parker Clay team for this well-deserved award.
MS MORGENTHAU: (Applause.) Thank you, Ambassador Massinga. And I am now proud to invite the cofounder and creative director of Parker Clay, Brittany Bentley, to the stage to accept the 2024 award for Women’s Economic Security and offer remarks. (Applause.)
MS BENTLEY: Leading with heart doesn’t just change the outcome; it redirects the course of our world. It’s 2015 and I’m seven months pregnant sitting on a small gray sofa. My husband, Ian, and I are in California, living in a friend’s one-bedroom apartment with our five kids. That’s when I get the news our youngest daughter, Sayla, needs a brain surgery for a rare brain tumor.
My mind races back to just three years earlier. Ian and I sold everything, left California, and moved to Ethiopia on one-way tickets. Adopting two girls, brought us to Ethiopia, but once there, we saw that creating sustainable jobs for women, especially mothers, could strengthen entire communities. What began as a job training program quickly grew into something much bigger: empowering women through trade and launching a startup deeply rooted in the place that became our home.
Suddenly, our daughter was diagnosed with intractable epilepsy, and it felt like that dream was slipping away. We knew we had to leave and move back to the west coast to get her the care she needed – back to sitting on that sofa and hearing the news. As a mom, I’m heartbroken, feeling helpless and desperate as I watched my youngest suffer. How do I carry the weight of that and continue building Parker Clay?
I thought about Marta back in Ethiopia. Struggling with her vision loss, she joined Parker Clay and found not just a job but recognition and care. After receiving her glasses through our team’s support, her world – for the first time, she said, “My world has transformed. I not only see, I feel seen.” And Saleh and Bertukan met at Parker Clay, started a family, and are now thriving with the help of our day care program. Their child is nurtured nearby while they work and save for a better future.
And there are so many more lives in Ethiopia that we can directly impact, yet at the same time, my family in California is counting on me too. I feel so conflicted, but every time I think of the strength and resilience of the mothers there, I’m reminded that I’m far more capable than I was taught.
It’s at that moment that Ian and I make one of the most important decisions of our lives: to go all in on our business, not just as our own venture but for the lives of the women whose stories were too often left untold. We chose purpose over comfort because the impact we were striving for was far greater than our fears.
Now, over a decade later, I stand before you with deep pride. Two of our daughters are here today, the one I was pregnant with – (applause) – and Sayla, who is thriving after three brain surgeries, reminding us that the hardest moments also defined us. (Applause.) That commitment to build a business with heart, driven by impact, was the best decision we ever made. We put people first, and that choice didn’t just change lives, it changed the way we see the world. Imagine what we could all achieve if we led businesses with heart and built them with purpose.
Today, our team of 200 artisans – 80 percent women – shows that compassion and business go hand in hand. As Ethiopia’s largest exporter of finished leather goods and a top-ranking B Corp, Parker Clay sets the standard for quality and impact in ethical manufacturing. Now we’re extending this excellence to other global brands and redefining success, not just by profits but by lives transformed, like Marta’s, Saleh’s, and Bertukan’s.
Through this journey I’ve learned that success isn’t just measured in profits or growth – though, of course, those matter – but also in the lives we impact along the way. For me, this started with my own family and extends across oceans to Ethiopia. Parker Clay isn’t just a business. It’s proof that when we lead with heart, we change the world, one life at a time.
And speaking of leadership, I want to thank Secretary Blinken for this honor and recognition; U.S. Ambassador of Ethiopia Mr. Massinga; Minister of Industry Atu Melaku; Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed; and, of course, our entire community, who have joined forces in creating this impact together. Your faith in us is a continued inspiration. I invite you to join us, because together we have the power to transform lives, one woman at a time. Thank you, or in Ethiopia, we say amesegnalehu. (Applause.)
MS MORGENTHAU: That was pretty amazing. I just need to take a quick pause. We are a little – very structured here at the State Department, but your mother is a badass. (Applause.)
We now move to the final category of this year’s Secretary Award for Corporate Excellence, Climate Resilience. Our first award in this category goes to Newmont Corporation, nominated by the U.S. embassy in Suriname. Their community collaboration and use of tools to eliminate mercury pollution sets the standard for responsible mining practices in Suriname. We are grateful to have U.S. Ambassador to Suriname Robert Faucher here with us today. The ambassador very kindly made a congratulatory video for Newmont Corporation, and I invite you to turn to the screen:
AMBASSADOR FAUCHER: (Via video) Good morning. It is my honor to congratulate Newmont Mining for winning one of this year’s Awards for Corporate Excellence. Newmont has operated in Suriname for over a decade, and during that time has been an outstanding example of corporate responsibility and environmental stewardship. Newmont has shown that running a successful company and protecting the environment are mutually reinforcing. Newmont’s work has enriched the lives of countless Surinamese, while ensuring future generations can enjoy Suriname’s natural beauty and biodiversity. Thank you, Newmont, for your leadership and for your commitment to a greener and more prosperous future. (Applause.)
MS MORGENTHAU: Thank you, Ambassador Faucher, and this time, please join me in welcoming the senior director of external relations for Newmont Suriname, Shirley Sowma-Sumter, to accept the 2024 ACE Award for Climate Resilience and offer remarks. (Applause.)
MS SOWMA-SUMTER: Good afternoon, everyone. Acting Secretary – Assistant Secretary Amy Holman, Special Representative Sarah Morgenthau, the honorable Ambassador of Suriname to the U.S. Mr. Schalkwijk, and the honorable Ambassador of the U.S. to Suriname Mr. Faucher, distinguished guests, and all who are joining us today, it is with deep gratitude and appreciation that I accept this prestigious ACE Award on behalf of Newmont and our incredible team at Merian, Suriname.
Our workforce at the Merian, Suriname of nearly 1,400 teammates have come together to make an impact, and it’s a privilege to be recognized for our efforts. Since we began operating in Suriname in 2016, we have lived following Newmont’s purpose, which is to create value and to improve lives through sustainable and responsible mining. And in alignment with our purpose, we have always recognized the critical needs of the local communities we operate in, particularly when it comes to infrastructure and economic opportunities, challenges that may have grown more urgent in the face of climate change.
Over the years, we have launched numerous initiatives aimed at reducing deforestation, rehabilitating the land, and improving water efficiency. But beyond environmental stewardship, our local programs have delivered tangible and life-changing benefits to these communities. We are deeply committed to enhancing the quality of life for our neighbors. Whether it’s working hand in hand with small and artisanal small-scale miners to mitigate their environmental impact, or supporting and fostering new opportunities for local businesses within our value chain, we believe that sustainable growth starts with partnership and collaboration.
Newmont plays a significant role in supporting and advancing Suriname – Suriname’s green development goals, and we will continue to increase our impact in this area in close collaboration with our stakeholders. This unwavering dedication to our purpose has remained constant over the years, driving socioeconomic development in the communities we are privileged to serve.
I’m grateful for everyone who has helped us along the way, from our dedicated employees and our partner, Staatsolie Maatschappij Suriname N.V., the state-owned oil company. And without their unwavering commitment, we would not be here today. I’m especially grateful to Ambassador Robert Faucher for nominating Newmont’s work in Suriname. Thank you very much. (Applause.)
And on behalf of Newmont, a 103-year-old American company with 40,000 employees operating in nine countries, and the team of Newmont in Suriname, we look forward to continuing our partnership with the Government of Suriname and surrounding communities in pursuit of even greater achievements in the future.
For those of you tuned in on the webcast from Suriname, I cannot wait to bring this award back home and celebrate with all of you. Thank you once again for this incredible honor. (Applause.)
MS MORGENTHAU: Thank you very much. Last but not least, the final award in the category of Climate Resilience goes to Rizome, nominated by U.S. Embassy Manilla. Rizome’s innovative projection of bamboo to provide a more sustainable alternative construction material exemplifies the American private sector’s ingenuity and ability to adapt to the climate crisis. We are delighted to have U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines MaryKay Carlson here with us today. The ambassador very kindly made a congratulatory video for Rizome. Please turn your attention:
AMBASSADOR CARLSON: (Via video) Congratulations to Rizome for winning the Secretary of State’s Award for Corporate Excellence for Climate Resilience. I recently visited Rizome’s impressive facility in Mindanao, where they are combining American innovation and Filipino expertise to turn renewable and fast-growing giant bamboo, the miracle timber, into sustainable building materials that are as strong as steel and tough as concrete. Rizome’s investment promotes green construction while contributing to the U.S.-Philippine economic relationship as partners in prosperity. (Applause.)
MS MORGENTHAU: Thank you, Ambassador Carlson. It’s my honor to present Rizome with a 2024 ACE Award for Climate Resilience. Please join me in welcoming founder and chief product officer David Sands to accept this year’s final award and offer remarks. (Applause.)
MR SANDS: Well, thank you, Acting Assistant Secretary Holman, Special Representative Morgenthau, and distinguished guests. It’s an honor to be here representing our entire Rizome team. I especially want to thank Ambassador MaryKay Carlson, whose staff nominated us. Thank you as well, Ambassador Carlson, for visiting our operations in Mindanao.
Thank you to USAID Philippines and their staff, who helped fund one of our first reforestation programs. Thank you to One Tree Planted, who helped support that effort as well. And thank you to Climate Impact Partners, who is funding our current planting program of about 17,000 acres.
Thank you to our investors and our chairman, Fred Murrell, who believed in our vision. Thank you to the entire Rizome team now implementing that vision, especially our CEO Russell Smith, who has shared that vision with me for over a decade and tirelessly implements it. Thank you to our manufacturing teams headed by Chris Ua-o and Ruel Rivalde and our planting teams headed by Eileen Gamo.
I’m joined here today by our CFO Chara Panagopoulos, who has seen us through from the beginning; by our partner Cito Lorenzo, former secretary of agriculture for the Philippines, a tireless advocate for the well-being of the rural communities of the Philippines and for the health of the planet; and by my brother Bill and his wife Julie, who have really supported me through the decades in this adventure with bamboo. And again, to Fred, we basically grew up together, and he’s a former chairman of two Fortune 500 companies and brings that expertise to the work we’re doing.
My work with bamboo started in the 1990s with the creation of Bamboo Living, making homes out of structural bamboo as an alternative to wood to reduce deforestation. As the impact of climate change increased, we looked to bamboo as a solution. We founded Rizome as a climate solution. It seemed so obvious – noninvasive tropical timber bamboos are, after all, the fastest growing woody plants on the planet. If you look at the Guinness Book of Records, they say 35 inches a day. I haven’t seen that yet, but we – at least a foot a day. And then they feed on carbon dioxide. The annual harvest stimulates further growth with bamboo plants, and the plants can live for a century or more.
But nobody was doing what, to me, was so obviously needed to be done. So we started Rizome to do the obvious. Where I grew up in Florida, I played in a bamboo plant that is well over 120 years old. It was growing at Chairman Fred’s family home, and his mother played in that same clump as a child.
So what are we doing at Rizome? By reforesting land that was deforested decades ago, we are creating an engine for the rapid removal of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, 10 times faster than trees. We’re creating an engine that can scale quickly to gigaton levels of impact. We’re one of the top solutions, according to climate – the Carbon Removal XPRIZE, and they did not include avoided emissions, which is half of our impact.
We use only land that is not being used for agriculture to avoid impacting food security. With the help of Cito and others who are using regenerative agriculture techniques, we are doing that without the need for commercial fertilizers and pesticides.
The wonderful thing we are finding as we implement our strategy is the broad positive social and environmental impacts beyond climate. With our projects in Mindanao, we’re addressing every one of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals in some way, including the former insurgents are now a supplier to us. Our planting partners are indigenous tribal members, and our planting program and our nursery are run by indigenous women. We’re helping the tribes reforest their deforested lands of their ancestral domains and create multigenerational livelihoods for their communities by the annual harvest of the bamboo, and then long-term community-held assets in the bamboo plants.
Bamboo is actually a superfood, containing all the essential amino acids and is high in antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals. It can be a tool for addressing global malnutrition and assuring food security. Our primary focus at Rizome is carbon, the removal of carbon from the atmosphere and the long-term storage – excuse me, I get choked up – the long-term storage of that carbon to keep it getting – from getting back into the atmosphere. The bamboo building materials are making a really – real storage mechanism for the CO2 that’s captured by the bamboo plants. The tropical bamboo, timber bamboos, they have a higher strength-to-weight ratio than steel and a greater compressive strength than concrete with a fraction of the weight.
Bamboo is an amazing structural material. We’re working with Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill, the architects for the Burj Khalifa, on the first high-rise that will incorporate structural bamboo. The IEA projected that the square footage of buildings on Earth will double in the next 40 years. Wood, steel, and concrete are responsible for 25 percent of human emissions currently. We need to build differently. Engineered timber bamboo offers an alternative – rapid renewability and long-term storage of carbon.
The IPCC says we need to – at least 10 gigatons of removal a year by 2050. And tropical bamboo, with the support of the State Department and others, can deliver that level of impact. Free enterprise – it’s one of the great gifts of this wonderful country. We can save our climate and make money doing it. It’s no longer business as usual. It’s business as a climate solution and community upliftment. And that’s everybody’s business.
God bless the United States of America. God bless this beautiful planet and all of us who share it. Thank you. (Applause.)
MS MORGENTHAU: David, that was amazing. Thank you so much for your remarks. And I think it really says we can – to all of you businesses, the work that’s being done, good business and doing business really do go hand in hand. But the work that’s being done around the world really is amazing. I am really thrilled to join everybody in congratulating all of the 2024 Secretary of State’s Awards for Corporate Excellence recipients. Thank you very much. (Applause.)
And finally, it is my great pleasure to introduce the Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment Jose Fernandez. Under Secretary Fernandez stands at the center of the department’s effort to support American businesses and American workers at home and abroad. Under his leadership, we have championed American companies around the world and made meaningful connections with the U.S. private sector to assist them in addressing critical global challenges, including in climate change, inequality, supply chain disruptions, food and energy security, mineral security, and other key areas.
As someone who has worked tirelessly supporting U.S. businesses and advancing U.S. commercial diplomacy, Under Secretary Fernandez has been involved in many ACE ceremonies, and it is now my great pleasure to welcome him to the podium to offer closing remarks. (Applause.)
UNDER SECRETARY FERNANDEZ: Good afternoon. Good afternoon. It’s great to be here. Thank you – thank you Special Representative Morgenthau, thank you, Sarah. Amy, good to see you. Thank you all for the kind introduction, and thanks to all of you for being here today and for those of you who are watching on livestream.
I’d like to just first of all congratulate the six winners. After many years of seeing companies of all types receive this honor – this is our 25th year of having this award, and I’m really excited to be here for the 25th anniversary. But I do have a complaint. I have a complaint, which is at every – I’ve now done six of these. At each one of them, I tend to close the ceremonies. I am the grim reaper; I end the festivities.
This is a wonderful – a wonderful – moment for us at the State Department. It’s a great opportunity for us to honor companies that have done well and have really highlighted and stuck by the principles that we all hold dear. So please join me to – for one last round of applause for the six winners. (Applause.)
The companies that we are honoring today showcase the best in American innovation and values. They demonstrate that businesses can flourish while being corporate role models. The shared values of protecting our planet, of helping our workers, of helping our local communities are at the forefront of the operations of all of these companies around the world.
You will have heard my colleague, Deputy Secretary Campbell, say that the global challenges that we all face cannot be solved by governments alone. This job makes you humble. But that’s why the partnership between U.S. companies and the State Department is so crucial to advance our foreign policy. We know – we know that American companies are among the best and most innovative in the world, and we know that they are among the best equipped to contribute creative solutions.
The tools and the resources of the private sector, coupled with their commitment to doing well while serving the public good, is exactly – exactly – why American companies, I think, are the – this is an easy job in many ways, because American companies are the world’s business partner of choice, and that’s why we are honoring them today. We want – every year, we want to see more and more of them.
Here at the State Department, we work every day to promote a friendly environment for businesses operating abroad. When we work with the private sector, we learn how to combine our tools and try to outmaneuver the competition, and at the same time share our values in every corner of the globe. And whether it’s protecting economic freedom for women in Ethiopia or keeping our planet safe in Suriname, American companies like the ones that we have recognized this afternoon have a track record of addressing critical issues and innovative solutions in local communities and keeping our principles at the forefront of all that they do.
This is why Sarah’s office and why the Office of Commercial and Business Affairs and our government agency colleagues, many of whom I see in the audience, from ambassadors who’ve come all the way from the Philippines, from Suriname, and elsewhere, to honor their companies – that’s why our government agency colleagues, that’s where – at the State Department we work hard to connect U.S. businesses to foreign markets and to help highlight U.S. companies as the partners of choice.
Last March, a few months ago, I proudly joined other members of the administration in the rollout of something we’re calling the second U.S. National Action Plan on Responsible Business Conduct. This is a set of government commitments to promote responsible business practices for our companies. We’ve also enhanced the U.S. National Contact Point for the OECD guidelines for multinational enterprises to act as a contact point to receive comments and complaints about the conduct of our companies. So we’ve enhanced this National Contact Point to work with businesses, to work with NGOs, to work with labor unions to encourage responsible business conduct among U.S. companies operating overseas.
So the challenges that we face are complex. I’m confident that through innovative and principled solutions and our continued partnership, no challenge is impossible to overcome.
So to everyone here and to all those who are joining on our livestream, thank you. Thank you for taking the time to recognize the good work of these remarkable American companies. And so please join me one last time – one last time – in extending our sincere gratitude. (Applause.)
Thank you and congratulations. (Applause.)
