I know, I know. I haven’t written to you in a while. And I’m so sorry I’m writing to you this week, when everyone is saying “thanks.” I shouldn’t need Thanksgiving to remind me to be grateful to you, someone who has given and taught me so much! I hope you’ll forgive me, and that these words will still earn a smile or two.

Black & Veatch, a market leader in the analysis and design of distributed generation systems, today announced a patent-pending analytics tool that accurately evaluates the utility ratemaking impacts of adding distributed power generation to the grid.

In July, the City of New York released CreateNYC: A Cultural Plan for All New Yorkers, a first-of-its-kind comprehensive plan to establish New York City’s cultural roadmap for the next decade. The plan sets forth objectives and strategies for achieving a more inclusive, equitable, and resilient cultural ecosystem. It examines a number of issue areas including diversity, equity and inclusion, education, affordability, and health of the cultural sector that are essential to a vibrant, creative city.

Back in August this year I attended the opening of our Innovation and Knowledge Center in Pune, India - an expansion of our facilities to celebrate our 20 year anniversary in the country. The center is one of 7 global Innovation and Knowledge centers, each of which represent the specific needs of their region as well as having unique perspectives and specialist material science expertise.

Sappi North America was a proud recipient of the Johnson & Johnson 2015 Rising Star Sustainability Award. The award comes after Sappi helped the company create and implement Johnson & Johnson’s US Commercial Paper Program.

The CITGO Lemont Refinery and mobile literacy outreach program, Bess the Book Bus, brought the joy of reading to local students at St. Cyril and Methodius School in Lemont during the month of October. Approximately 105 books were distributed to St. Cyril and Methodius School students. Students were able to pick out their very own book to take home and then enjoyed participating in an interactive and hands-on drum circle hosted by Bess the Book Bus Partner, Giving Tree Music.

After building a sprawling financial-services and media empire, Bloomberg LP, which employs 19,000 people and brings in annual revenue of about $9 billion, Bloomberg, who has two daughters, Georgina and Emma, from a previous marriage, has pledged to give away most of his personal fortune, estimated at $47.8 billion. Founded in 2006, Bloomberg Philanthropies boasts assets of $10 billion (the mogul himself so far has contributed $5 billion) and employs 120 people. As part of its environmental efforts, the foundation has donated more than $100 million to move America away from coal.

If you were to pick your favorite way to reduce carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, what would it be?