Tech:NYC Digest: May 19

Tech:NYC Digest: May 19

May 19, 2022 • Estimated Reading Time: 8 minutes

Thursday, May 19, 2022 

In today’s digest, CDC updates domestic travel guidance, MTA raffles off hotel stays and restaurant meals, and keeping your company’s climate goals intact in the era of hybrid work.

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In today’s latest:

  • CDC advisers today recommended a booster dose of the Pfizer vaccine for children ages five to 11. CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky is expected to sign off on it quickly, and children who received their last dose at least five months ago will be eligible for the extra dose immediately. (New York Times)

  • Mayor Eric Adams said he doesn’t plan to bring back mask mandates, including in public schools, after the city entered the high alert level for the coronavirus this week. (New York Times)

  • About 76 percent of patients with long COVID had not been hospitalized for their initial infection, according to a new study, suggesting even people with milder cases could end up with lingering symptoms or post-COVID health problems. (Axios)

  • The CDC updated its domestic travel guidance ahead of the summer season, encouraging travelers to get tested for COVID-19 no more than three days before the trip regardless of vaccination status. (Washington Post)

  • The MTA and the James Beard Foundation are luring riders back with a chance to win a free stay at Hotel Indigo and free meals at restaurants across the city. MTA head Janno Lieber said ridership levels yesterday were still 2 million people short of pre-pandemic levels. (Bloomberg)

In other reading:

  • What’s Going On With the Testing Requirement for Travel? (New York Times)

  • Watch: Why isn’t there a nasal vaccine for COVID-19 yet? (STAT)

  • Why New York City Traffic Cameras Are Off When Drivers Speed the Most (New York Times)

There’s been a lot of talk on the impacts of hybrid work, and of course, we’re watching some of those dynamics play out right now as more workers settle into their office-home splits. But one implication we don’t hear as much about: its impact on the environment.

Tracking WFH’s impact on climate change — and on companies’ own climate goals — is harder than you think, writes Protocol.

  • WFH is generally considered a net good for the environment, especially in places where workers commute by car. One study found that if full-time US employees worked from home half the week, the greenhouse gas reduction would be the equivalent to taking all of New York state’s workforce off the road.

Carbon emissions did indeed drop in 2020 when the world came to a halt, but now with hybrid work systems in place, company headquarters are back at full speed — even when they’re empty half the week.

And while office emissions are easier to track, WFH emissions while workers are at home are harder to calculate. Companies are tackling that balance to ensure that their hybrid models aren’t exacerbating climate change. (NPR)

  • It’s an issue workers still think their employers should prioritize, particularly among Gen Z and millennial workers. But only 15 percent and 14 percent of those groups, respectively, believe large companies are taking enough action to combat climate change, according to a new Deloitte survey. (CNBC)

  • Google offsets home office emissions via carbon credit purchases, with a goal of operating entirely on carbon-free energy by 2030. Several other tech companies — including Atlassian, Autodesk, and Meta — have said that the move to remote and hybrid work during the pandemic decreased their overall emissions by at least 30 percent.

Some ideas for how your company can take action:

  • Coordinate hybrid work plans more concretely: Having everyone in the office on the same two or three days makes it easier for offices to go dark and conserve energy on days when everyone is working remotely.

  • Ask your operations leaders to consider tech tools that can monitor energy usage. For example, installing motion-activated sensors that turn lights or HVAC systems off when not in use could cut usage by 15 to 20 percent.

  • Create employee incentives, like reimbursing employees for low-carbon or non-car-based commuting.

In other reading:

  • Why workers' leverage is here to stay (Axios)

  • Carrot vs. Stick: Can you hack your productivity with punishment? (Protocol)

  • Your Dog Is Not Ready for You to Return to the Office (New York Times)

  • Adgile Media Group, a NYC-based advertising company, raised $5 million in seed funding. Brand Foundry Ventures led the round and was joined by Amity Supply, Finn Capital Partners, Consumer Ventures, and others. (Axios)

  • Fetcher, a NYC-based recruiting automation platform, raised $27 million in Series B funding. Tola Capital led the round and was joined by G20 Ventures, KFund, and Accomplice. (TechCrunch)

  • Oviva Therapeutics, a biotech focused on ovarian aging, raised $11.5 million in seed funding from Cambrian Biopharma. (Newswire)

  • Updater, a NYC-based residential relocation services platform, raised $215 million in debt financing. Vista Credit Partners led the round. (Bloomberg)

  • May 23: In-person: Scaling Your Business Across the Atlantic, with Tradeshift SVP Mikkel Hippe Brun, Public.com director of business operations Kishore Eechambadi, and others. Hosted by the Consulate General of Denmark and Rise by Barclays. Register here.

  • May 24: In-person: The Collision Between Web3 and Consumers, with Unlock VP of business development Patrick Workman and Fenwick partner Vejay Lalla. Hosted by Betaworks Studios. Register here.

  • May 25: In-person: The Business of Biodesign, with AlgiKnit CEO Tessa Callaghan, TomTex chief scientific officer Ross McBee, and Werewool CEO Chui-Lian Lee, and others. Hosted by Newlab and the Biodesign Challenge. Register here.

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