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Sustainability practices rank in top five percent globally

WESTLAKE, OH / ACCESS Newswire / December 3, 2025 / GEON^® Performance Solutions, a global leader in the formulation, development and manufacture of performance polymer solutions, announced today that it received a Gold Medal for its sustainability practices from EcoVadis, a leader in business sustainability assessments.

GEON’s score placed it in the 95^th percentile globally for sustainable management and procurement out of nearly 49,000 companies assessed. The global average score was 53.4 out of 100, and GEON scored 78, placing it in the top five percent.

“We take pride in our role as responsible industry leaders,” said Janice Worden, GEON’s chief operating officer. “The sustainability practices of GEON create shared value for our people, customers and the planet. We’re proud to see such strong results. Our advanced score indicates that our commitment to continuous improvement and innovation is working.”

A score of 78 places GEON in the “Advanced” category of the rating scale, which indicates the company has a well-structured and proactive sustainability management system, relevant and tangible sustainability policies and actions, and a robust reporting system to track the impact of actions and key performance indicators. Only 19 percent of companies in the EcoVadis network achieved Advanced performance.

This was GEON’s second year receiving a medal from EcoVadis. EcoVadis medals are awarded to organizations that implement sustainable procurement processes that reduce the risk of supply chain disruption, lower costs through collaborative actions, and provide market advantage when customers demand a sustainable and responsible supply chain. The EcoVadis assessment process measures the quality of a company’s sustainability management system through three pillars: policies, actions and results. Companies are scored on 21 sustainability criteria that fall under the themes of environment, ethics, labor and human rights, and sustainable procurement. EcoVadis medals (bronze, silver, gold and platinum) are awarded to the top 35 percent of companies assessed.

Sustainability is central to GEON’s vision, driving decisions with intention across the entire value chain. The company’s actionable, outcome-driven sustainability goals focus on three key areas: optimize and advance operational excellence, shape thriving communities, and collaborate and innovate across our value chain. These goals are designed to integrate sustainability into core business and decision-making processes, promote a circular economy, foster an engaged workforce, and facilitate the creation of products that contribute to a more sustainable society. Learn more about sustainability at GEON at geon.com/about/sustainability.

About GEON Performance Solutions

GEON^® Performance Solutions unlocks the power of polymers for the future. From biomedical materials from our medical division, Foster, LLC, to building materials, automotive, connectivity, and appliances, customers in these markets rely on the portfolio of compounding solutions, highly adaptable vinyl, polyolefin, engineered resin technologies, and full-service contract manufacturing that we deliver. In every formulation, collaboration, and challenge we’re shaping the brilliance of tomorrow and providing a formidable advantage by engineering what’s possible. GEON has approximately 1,200 global associates and 15 world-class manufacturing plants with headquarters in Westlake, Ohio. Learn more at www.geon.com. GEON is a portfolio company of SK Capital Partners.

About SK Capital Partners

SK Capital is a private investment firm with a disciplined focus on the specialty materials, ingredients, and life sciences sectors. The Firm seeks to build resilient, sustainable, and growing businesses that create substantial long-term value. SK Capital aims to utilize its industry, operating, and investment experience to identify opportunities to transform businesses into higher performing organizations with improved strategic positioning, growth, and profitability, as well as lower operating risk. SK Capital’s portfolio of businesses generates revenues of approximately $12 billion annually, employs more than 25,000 people globally, and operates more than 200 plants in over 30 countries. The Firm currently has approximately $9 billion in assets under management. For more information, please visit www.skcapitalpartners.com.

Contact Information:

Jen Martin
jennifer.martin@geon.com
+1-440-249-1508

SOURCE: GEON Performance Solutions

View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire

LAS CRUCES, NEW MEXICO / ACCESS Newswire / December 2, 2025 / Following CMS’s announcement of the new ACCESS Model (Advancing Chronic Care with Effective, Scalable Solutions), Electronic Caregiver, Inc. (ECG) announced its intention to collaborate with eligible Medicare Part B providers and health organizations once CMS releases its list of participating entities in 2026.

The ACCESS Model is designed to modernize chronic disease management by incentivizing continuous, tech-enabled care and rewarding measurable improvements in patient outcomes. CMS will begin accepting applications from Medicare Part B-enrolled organizations in January 2026, with the model launching July 2026 and spanning a 10-year performance period.

Electronic Caregiver and its Addison Care platform anticipate playing a powerful support role for ACCESS-enrolled physicians and clinical organizations needing advanced technology, daily engagement infrastructure, outcome-supporting data, and coordinated TeleCare capabilities.

The ACCESS Model’s Objectives

According to CMS, the ACCESS Model:

• Provides outcome-based payments to Medicare Part B providers managing chronic conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, metabolic disease, chronic pain, and mental health.

• Encourages continuous, technology-supported chronic care rather than episodic, transactional interactions.

• Seeks scalable models that deliver measurable improvements in blood pressure control, medication adherence, symptom stability, and reduction in preventable hospitalizations.

• Will publish a list of approved Model participants in late 2026, prior to launch.

How Addison Care Aligns With CMS’s Vision

While Electronic Caregiver itself is not a Medicare Part B provider and will not be a direct ACCESS Model applicant, Addison Care has been engineered for exactly the kind of continuous, longitudinal care that ACCESS seeks to incentivize.

Addison offers ACCESS-aligned providers:

• Daily high-frequency patient engagement

• Continuous remote monitoring and symptom checks

• Comprehensive care-coordination workflows

• Behavioral-health and emotional-support touchpoints

• Medication guidance and adherence support

• Intelligent early-warning indicators to preempt deterioration

• 24/7 TeleCare oversight

• Full EHR integration, including athenahealth’s 160,000-provider network

As CMS explicitly notes, legacy app-only tools, smart meters, and single-device RPM platforms have historically failed to generate adequate engagement or long-term outcome improvements.

Addison Care solves these limitations through high-touch, multi-dimensional engagement-the kind CMS intends to reward.

CEO STATEMENT

Anthony Dohrmann, Founder & CEO, Electronic Caregiver, Inc.

“CMS’s ACCESS Model is more than a policy shift – it’s a recognition that chronic care can no longer be episodic, reactive, or device-only. It must be continuous, relational, data-driven, and human. That is the very architecture Addison Care was built upon, long before CMS put a name to it.

For more than a decade, we have invested in building a model of in-home chronic care that engages patients daily, identifies problems earlier, coordinates interventions faster, and eases the burden on both families and clinicians. Addison isn’t another app or sensor. It’s a full virtual caregiver supported by a world-class TeleCare team who provide meaningful, consistent, human attention – the kind CMS is now formally encouraging nationwide.

Addison Care is already demonstrating the very improvements ACCESS seeks to scale: higher patient engagement, improved adherence, fewer avoidable hospitalizations, earlier detection of deterioration, reduced long-term care costs, and better quality of life for aging and chronically ill Americans.

As Medicare signals a decade-long commitment to outcome-focused, tech-enabled chronic care, Addison’s platform, data architecture, and human engagement engine position us as one of the most scalable support solutions for ACCESS-enrolled providers. We stand ready to collaborate with organizations participating in ACCESS as they seek modern infrastructure capable of achieving the Model’s goals.

We are proud that a company born in Las Cruces, New Mexico, is contributing to a national transformation in chronic care. ACCESS validates the mission, technology, strategy, and vision that our team has pursued for years – and we are only at the beginning.”

Next Steps

In preparation for ACCESS model implementation, Electronic Caregiver is:

• Engaging with Medicare Part B providers, health systems, and ACO-like entities who may pursue ACCESS enrollment

• Expanding Medicaid deployments (12 states approved, rising toward 19 with dozens of applications in queue)

• Scaling Addison Medicare RPM + CCM support models nationwide

• Strengthening EHR automation and seamless data exchange

• Preparing turnkey modules that ACCESS-eligible providers can deploy to support chronic care outcomes

ACCESS Model Participation Eligibility – FAQ Disclaimer

Q: Is Electronic Caregiver / Addison Care an ACCESS Model participant?
A: No. Addison Care is not a Medicare Part B provider and cannot apply directly to ACCESS.

Q: Who can apply?
A: Only organizations and clinicians enrolled in Medicare Part B may apply to participate in ACCESS. CMS will publish a list of approved participants in late 2026.
Source: CMS ACCESS FAQs

Q: How does Addison Care fit into the ACCESS Model?
A: Addison Care is a technology and longitudinal care-support platform that Medicare Part B providers may choose to partner with to help deliver continuous engagement, monitoring, care-coordination, and outcome-focused support. Addison itself is not the applicant.

Q: Is Electronic Caregiver guaranteeing ACCESS eligibility or acceptance?
A: No. Our role is limited to being a clinical enablement partner for ACCESS-enrolled entities.

Q: Does CMS endorse Addison Care?
A: No. CMS does not endorse specific vendors. Access to Addison is subject to provider and payer rules.

About Electronic Caregiver, Inc.

Electronic Caregiver is a health-technology company headquartered in Las Cruces, New Mexico, specializing in continuous, technology-enabled chronic care support. The company’s flagship platform, Addison Care, integrates daily patient engagement, remote monitoring, behavioral-health touchpoints, early-warning detection, and 24/7 TeleCare support. Designed to complement physicians, clinics, and Medicare Part B providers, Addison delivers longitudinal oversight and coordinated care workflows that help improve outcomes for seniors and chronically ill individuals. Electronic Caregiver does not participate in Medicare Part B and is not a direct applicant to the CMS ACCESS Model; instead, the company serves as a technology and care-management enablement partner for eligible providers.

Media Contact
media@ecg-hq.com
(575) 649-7808

SOURCE: Electronic Caregiver, Inc.

View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire

TOLEDO, OHIO / ACCESS Newswire / December 9, 2025 / The Alliance for Paired Kidney Donation (APKD) is proud to announce Wish Upon a Donor, a groundbreaking program that amplifies the voices of families fighting for a better and brighter future for their child. While pediatric kidney patients cannot advocate for themselves, their parents can – and too often, they face this battle alone. Wish Upon a Donor helps families share their child’s story, shining a light on their hopes, dreams, and urgent need for a living kidney donor.

“At APKD, we believe every person waiting for a transplant deserves a chance to be seen – not just as a patient, but as someone with a past, present, and future worth fighting for,” said Dr. Hilary Baude, Director of Living Donor Services. “Wish Upon a Donor is built on hope. It’s about wishes, dreams, and the life possible after a transplant – all made real through the generosity of a living donor.”

More than 3,000 children in the U.S. under the age of 18 need a kidney transplant. In many cases, their parents and immediate family are unable to donate for medical reasons beyond their control. Wish Upon a Donor was created to give these children a fighting chance by helping them find the hero they desperately need.

The average wait time for receiving a kidney from a deceased donor ranges from three to five years, leaving many children waiting, clinging to hope while sending quiet wishes for a miracle. Finding a living donor can dramatically accelerate the transplant process while offering the added benefit of stronger long-term health outcomes. A kidney from a living donor lasts twice as long as one from a deceased donor.

“When you ask a child who is facing an uncertain future what they wish for, it’s both inspiring and heartbreaking,” Baude said. “They long to play sports again, to travel, hang out with family and friends or simply have the opportunity to grow up without the diminished quality of life on dialysis. Dialysis keeps people alive, but it is brutal, exhausting, and painful – and it is not a cure. What these patients need is a living donor.”

The onboarding process is fast and simple, taking just 10-15 minutes to complete, and finalized videos are sent to patients in just one to three days. Participation is free, and patients retain full control over how and where their stories are shared.

Wish Upon a Donor offers a range of support for families as they seek living donors, including:

• Production of a personalized, high-quality video designed to reflect the patient’s wishes, personality, and future – not just their disease

• Dedicated campaign webpage to make it easy to convert interest into action

• QR-coded postcards and magnets for sharing in local communities

• Social media guidance to help families and supporters spread the word

• Spanish- and English-language outreach materials for broader access

• A living donor mentor to answer any non-medical questions about the process

• “Wish buddy” volunteers to assist with video narration and/or sharing patient videos with a broader audience

When interest is generated through the Wish Upon a Donor campaign, APKD ensures both patients and transplant centers are effectively supported with guidance grounded in real-life experience from a dedicated living donor mentor. The organization manages all incoming donor inquiries, educates potential donors on the process, protections, and realities of living donations, and then refers qualified donors to an appropriate transplant center partner. APKD maintains communication and support throughout the evaluation and donation process. This approach empowers potential donors with education while easing the burden on transplant centers.

“We feel grateful for the kindness and understanding shown by APKD,” said Radwa Moussa, mother of 10-year-old Saleem, one of the first Wish Upon a Donor participants. “This is a very challenging and uncertain time for families like ours, and the extra support being offered gives us hope that we will find a hero for our son, someone who makes his wish for a bright future come true.”

You can view Saleem’s personal video here.

If your child is experiencing kidney failure and could benefit from this initiative, please visit Wish Upon a Donor Patient to learn more and get started.

How to Support This Initiative

Those who want to support Wish Upon a Donor have several ways to get involved, including:

• Signing up to be a living donor for a specific child, or as a Good Samaritan donor

• Becoming a “wish buddy” volunteer

• Sharing the kidney campaigns for children within social networks

• Contributing financially to APKD to further the program’s reach

• Learning more about living donation and deciding how you can contribute

Individuals interested in taking the next step can visit Wish Upon a Donor.

Transplant centers and other organizations interested in learning more can visit Alliance for Paired Kidney Donation.

“Everyone can play a part, which is what makes this so beautiful,” Baude said. “You can be a living donor, or you can simply take a moment of your time to help share the stories of children who need help. Either way, you are a hero in the eyes of APKD and the thousands of kids who need a new kidney.”

About the Alliance for Paired Kidney Donation

The Alliance for Paired Kidney Donation (APKD) is an international nonprofit working to end kidney failure through innovation, technology, advocacy, and paired kidney exchange. APKD has facilitated more than 1,200 transplants to date, creating lifesaving opportunities for patients who might otherwise wait years for a compatible donor.

SOURCE: Alliance for Paired Kidney Donation

View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire

The recognition highlights #paid’s innovation across social engagement and end-to-end creator collaboration workflows

NEW YORK CITY, NY / ACCESS Newswire / December 9, 2025 / #paid, a leading creator-marketing platform powering campaigns for top brands, has been named Creator Marketing Platform of the Year and Social Media Platform of the Year in ADWEEK’s inaugural Tech Stack Awards, alongside notable winners like Canva, HubSpot, and Vimeo. The awards recognize the most groundbreaking product and platform launches that have driven proven revenue impact in marketing, advertising, and media.

“We’re incredibly proud to be recognized by ADWEEK for our team’s accomplishments on behalf of our amazing clients,” said Bryan Gold, CEO and co-founder at #paid. “Competing- and winning-in both of these important categories reinforces #paid’s role as a driving force in the creator economy.”

#paid earned distinction as a winner in the following categories:

• Social Media Marketing Product/Platform: Recognizing solutions that redefine how brands show up and engage across social platforms, backed by measurable performance and real case studies.

• Creator Marketing Product/Platform: Celebrating platforms that power the end-to-end influencer marketing workflow, from discovery to partnership management to content ROI, and prove innovation in scaling authentic creator collaborations.

From strategic uses of AI to next-gen creative tools and cutting-edge measurement solutions, the 2025 Tech Stack Awards elevate the products and companies redefining how brands connect, engage, and grow. #paid’s selection in this year’s awards program underscores its ongoing commitment to pushing the entire creator marketing industry forward.

In 2025, #paid continued to advance its platform with new intelligence features powered by thousands of first-party creator data insights. Throughout the year, #paid expanded its Creator Calendar to surface real-time creator trends and milestone moments, introduced Predictive Lift tools to help brands forecast campaign outcomes, refreshed its Creator Insights Report, and launched updates to collaboration features and its Creator Job Board. #paid also strengthened its partnerships this year with YouTube and Snapchat, delivering impactful ways for brands to engage with creators across the platforms that matter most.

Media contact

Allie Gonzales
allie@notablypr.com

About #paid
#paid is a creator marketing platform situated at the nexus of brand and creator collaboration. The company powers the campaigns of Fortune 500 brands who leverage the platform to activate creators for growth. #paid is building the go-to platform that fuels content creation and distribution for brands globally, while providing creators with an unparalleled environment to do what they love – create. For more information, please visit hashtagpaid.com/fall-event

SOURCE: #paid

View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK / ACCESS Newswire / December 9, 2025 / Precoro, the procurement centralization and automation platform, expands its visibility and decision-making capabilities with a fully integrated procurement analytics suite that includes advanced dashboards, the AI Assistant, and Approval SLA. Teams can now run real-time procurement analytics on spend, get instant insights from AI, and keep approvals on schedule, without wasting time on fragmented tools or spreadsheets.

“As purchasing grows more distributed and data-heavy, mid-market teams need the same clarity and discipline large enterprises rely on,” said Andrew Zhyvolovych, CEO of Precoro. “That’s why we continuously enhance Precoro with top-tier features that make visibility, analysis, and timely approvals simple.”

##A Unified Procurement Analytics Layer for Smarter Spend Decisions

Precoro’s dashboards, AI Assistant, and Approval SLA work together to solve three core challenges finance and procurement teams face: fragmented data, manual reporting, and unpredictable approvals.

Procurement analytics dashboards act as the core analytical workspace, providing instant visibility into budgets, spend trends, and supplier activity. KPIs update in real time for each department and location, making it easy to compare performance, spot issues, and visualize procurement’s impact across the organization.

The AI Assistant turns that visibility into actionable insight. It identifies anomalies, explains unusual changes, and highlights patterns that need attention. Instead of digging through multiple reports, users get quick summaries of trends, instant answers to “what happened” and “why,” and a deeper understanding of what drives spend.

The Approval SLA brings even more predictability and discipline to workflows. Clear deadlines for each approval step ensure requestors know when documents will be reviewed, approvers receive timely notifications to stay on track, and teams prevent costly slowdowns or operational disruptions.

##What It Means for Businesses

With the procurement analytics suite now within reach for mid-market companies, they no longer have to guess where funds are allocated or which approvals are holding up operations.

By putting all procurement data in one place and surfacing it through dashboards, AI insights, and approval timelines, teams can:

• Detect overspending before it becomes a problem

• Improve approval predictability and enforce compliance

• Cut hours spent on spreadsheets and manual reporting

• Compare spend patterns across departments, suppliers, and locations

• Make data-backed decisions and scale with confidence

“We’re constantly innovating,” added Zhyvolovych. “Our goal is to equip growing teams with sophisticated tools that make procurement simple and predictable, so they can act confidently and stay on track. Our upcoming updates will further expand procurement analytics, streamline workflows, and connect with key platforms, letting companies scale without procurement slowdowns.”

##About Precoro

Precoro is a procurement centralization and automation platform that gives companies advanced analytics, visibility, control, and confidence in their spend. By unifying procurement data and workflows in one place, Precoro helps organizations build a structured, accountable process that works seamlessly across multiple teams and locations.

Today, over 1,000 companies in 80+ countries rely on Precoro to transform fragmented processes into connected, efficient, and cost-smart procedures with the use of the procurement analytics suite.

To learn more, visit precoro.com.

SOURCE: Maryna Marochko

View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire

New survey of 4,000 parents and children in the U.S. and Australia reveals sharp generational divides in support, fears, mental health expectations, and belief in government enforcement.

WASHINGTON, DC / ACCESS Newswire / December 9, 2025 / The Family Online Safety Institute (FOSI) released new research today examining how parents and children in the United States and Australia view social media bans for anyone under 16. The findings reveal strong parental support for such bans, in contrast with widespread concern from children who fear losing friendships and support systems that exist primarily online.

The research arrives as Australia implements a national under 16 social media ban, placing global attention on how the policy will affect youth and their families. FOSI’s study surveyed 4,000 parents and children ages 10 to 17 to understand how both groups feel about restrictions, enforcement, and the broader impact of social media on daily life.

Support for the Ban: Parents vs Children

Parents Support the Ban

• 65% of Australian parents support a national under 16 ban

• 58% of U.S. parents support it

Children Do Not

• Only 38% of Australian children support a ban

• Only 36% of U.S. children support it

Children, who are most directly affected by the restrictions, are less likely to support them. This gap raises a central question for policymakers. Why do parents and children view the potential impact so differently, and what might be lost if children’s concerns are overlooked?

Connection Concerns: Children Feel the Most at Risk

Children Fear Losing Essential Connections

• 53% of U.S. children fear a ban would disconnect them from important cause them to lose connections and support

• 56% of Australian children feel the same

Parents Show Lower Concern

• 35% of U.S. parents

• 36% of Australian parents

For many children, social media can play a meaningful role in their daily lives, offering a place to stay connected, share experiences, and feel part of a wider community. Losing access to those spaces raises important questions about how young people will continue nurturing the relationships and support system they rely on. This cultural context along with the findings above highlights an emotional dimension of the ban that many parents may underestimate.

Families are divided on the mental health impact of a ban

Some parents support a ban because they hope it will protect children’s mental health. However, parents and children disagree on whether this will actually happen. A total of 52% of U.S. parents and 42% of Australian parents agree that a ban will help protect the mental health and well-being of children. Children are less convinced, as only 43% of U.S. and 33% of Australian children hold this view. These mixed views show that families see the mental health conversation as complicated and deeply personal.

Screen Time Reduction is Expected but Not Guaranteed

Parents and children share similar beliefs about whether a social media ban would reduce overall screen time. A total of 55% of U.S. parents and 47% of Australian parents believe screen time would decrease, and nearly half of children in both countries agree. While reducing screen time is one of the most common arguments for the ban, it is important to note that not all screen time is equal. Many children use social media not only for entertainment, but for communication, schoolwork, creativity, and support. Additionally, many children, 64% in the U.S. and 59% in Australia, say they would spend more time on other digital platforms, including video games or text messaging, indicating the total screen time may remain the same.

Many believe kids will find a way around the ban

Parents and children are closely aligned when it comes to one concern. More than half of parents believe that children will find ways to circumvent the new restrictions. In the United States, 53% and in Australia, 54% of parents believe their children could work around the ban. When it comes to children ages 10 to 15 (those affected by the Australian ban), 45% of Australian children and 53% of U.S. children claim they could find a way around a ban.

These findings reflect a common perception that tech-savvy teens will find ways to bypass age restrictions if motivated to do so.

High support for teen accounts

One of the strongest areas of consensus across all four groups is the idea of creating special teen accounts with stronger protections and guardrails. A total of 77% of U.S. parents, 74% of Australian parents, 80% of U.S. children, and 77 % of Australian children support this approach. These findings suggest that families are looking for solutions that prioritize safety without removing social media altogether. The strong support for teen accounts indicates that both parents and children prefer safer, age-appropriate options rather than an outright ban.

“Children will be the most affected by this ban, yet only one third support it,” says Alanna Powers O’Brien, Director of Research and Education at FOSI. “Many are worried about losing friendships and support they rely on every day. Their concerns should not be overlooked. As policies evolve, it is important that we listen to how young people experience the online world and ensure they feel informed, supported, and included in these conversations.”

For more information and to download the Children and Parents’ Perceptions of Social Media and Classroom Smartphone Bans in the U.S. and Australia

About the Family Online Safety Institute

The Family Online Safety Institute is an international nonprofit organization dedicated to making the online world safer for children and families. Through research, education, resources, and collaboration with industry, government, and civil society, FOSI promotes responsible digital parenting and healthier online experiences for all.

This data was collected by Ipsos, the third largest market research company in the world, present in 90 markets and employing more than 18,000 people. The survey involved 4,000 respondents, evenly split between the United States and Australia, including 1,000 parents and 1,000 children aged 10-17 in each country. Participants qualified if they or their children used the internet for at least three hours weekly. This survey was conducted from October 2nd to October 20th, 2025. No post-hoc weights were applied to this study, and the findings reflect the opinion of survey respondents only.

This research is supported by Disney’s Digital Wellness Grant Program and TikTok.

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Media Contact:
Family Online Safety Institute (FOSI)
Amy Bartko
amy@fosi.org | www.fosi.org | 480-201-6733

SOURCE: FOSI

View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire