Impact & Sustainability News From Leading Brands

Environment

5 Ways 'Play' Can Help Engage People in Parks

Mar 20, 2018 10:00 AM ET

Ralph Waldo Emerson got it right when he said: “It’s a happy talent to know how to play.” This year’s Park Summit presenters have this talent nailed down. Each has a unique ability to cultivate playfulness among targeted audiences to reach particular goals.

Health & Healthcare

Thousands of Residents of Puerto Rico Vaccinated Against Influenza Thanks in Part to Donation From Sanofi Cares North America

Mar 20, 2018 9:45 AM ET

Thousands of residents of Puerto Rico were vaccinated against influenza on Saturday, March 10, in the largest single-day mass immunization campaign in the island's history. The territory-wide campaign was organized by VOCES (Coalición de Vacunación de Puerto Rico), in collaboration with the Puerto Rico Department of Health; Direct Relief, a medical relief nonprofit; and other health entities. Sanofi Cares North America (formerly Sanofi Foundation for North America) donated the vaccines.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

10 Cities Awarded TD Green Streets Grants for Innovative Urban Forestry Initiatives in Low- to Moderate-Income Neighborhoods

Mar 20, 2018 9:30 AM ET

TD Bank, America's Most Convenient Bank®, and the Arbor Day Foundation today announced the 10 cities that will each receive grants of up to $20,000 from TD Green Streets for innovative urban greening and tree-planting projects in low- to moderate-income areas.

Innovation & Technology

The Future of Forestry: Domtar’s Use of Drones

Mar 20, 2018 9:30 AM ET

Domtar’s Ashdown, Arkansas mill has used drone technology since 2016 to save time, improve efficiencies and help keep its foresters safe.

Energy

Schneider Electric VIDEO | Helping Locals in Myanmar With 24/7 Access to Sustainable Energy and Contributing to UN Sustainable Development Goal #7

Mar 20, 2018 9:25 AM ET

Education

Winning the STEM Battle with … CodeWars

Mar 20, 2018 9:20 AM ET

CodeWars is a magical experience … and not just because some of the high schoolers in attendance were dressed as modern-day Merlins.

Environment

A Bill of Rights for Clean Water by Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.

Mar 20, 2018 9:05 AM ET

Motivated by that stunning display of grassroots power of 20 milllon Americans on the first Earth Day, Republicans and Democrats working together created the Environmental Protection Agency and passed 28 major laws over the next decade to protect our air, water, endangered species, wetlands, food and public lands. Those statutes included the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act and the Endangered Species Act, which were all designed to reassert the ancient public trust rights that had eroded since the industrial revolution.

Research, Reports & Publications

GSK Publishes Annual Report and Responsible Business Supplement 2017

Mar 20, 2018 9:00 AM ET

Our company has an important purpose, to help people do more, feel better, live longer. We have a long history in tackling some of the world’s biggest health challenges. I know this is important to employees, and it was certainly important for me when I joined the company. Our commitment to improving global health and being a responsible business will continue under my leadership.

Green Infrastructure

Managing Water Supplies Through Innovation in Southern California

Mar 20, 2018 9:00 AM ET

The City of Lakewood, California, hired Tetra Tech to design a new stormwater capture project that will improve water quality in the Los Cerritos Channel by removing pollutants conveyed within stormwater. The project consists of an air-inflated rubber dam diversion system to re-direct all runoff from the channel through a pre-treatment system to remove trash, debris, and sediment.

Environment

Xylem Watermark Sponsors AquaTower Builds for Planet Water Foundation’s Project 24

Mar 20, 2018 9:00 AM ET

Planet Water Foundation, a leading non-profit organization that addresses global water poverty by delivering clean water access and hygiene education programs, will deploy 24 community-based AquaTowers in 24 hours during Project 24 on March 22 — World Water Day. Now in its fourth year, Project 24 is recognized as an important event platform that raises awareness of the global water crisis by mobilizing leading companies and citizens to deliver clean, safe water and hygiene education programs in 24 communities. This year, the event takes place in communities within Cambodia, India, Indonesia, the Philippines and Puerto Rico.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

CVS Health Launches Year Three of Be the First, Its $50 Million Initiative to Help Deliver a Tobacco-Free Generation

Mar 20, 2018 9:00 AM ET

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) today announced that it will award $10 million in 2018 to continue to support youth smoking prevention and education programs and strategies throughout the United States. The new commitments, funded through the company and the CVS Health Foundation, are part of Be The First, CVS Health’s five-year $50 million initiative to help deliver the nation’s first tobacco-free generation.

Events, Media & Communications

Just Announced - Hillary Rodham Clinton at #SVLeaders 2018!

Mar 19, 2018 6:30 PM ET

Join Hillary Rodham Clinton at the 2018 Shared Value Leadership Summit where she'll be engaging in dialogue on the role of business to drive scalable solutions to societal challenges, and on broader trends in the socio-political conditions that make now the time for business to innovate for shared value.

Media & Communications

Ceres on Corporate Sustainability: "Turning Point" Research Effort Results

Mar 19, 2018 5:15 PM ET

We can view this as very encouraging news: Ceres released a report – "Turning Point" -- that shows almost two-thirds of 600 companies examined intend to reduce GHG emission; half have water management policies; and just under half of the companies are formally committed to "workers' rights". The current research effort is the third assessment of corporate progress against key expectations of the framework, "The Ceres Roadmap for Sustainability," and is a follow up to Ceres' "Gaining Ground: Corporate Progress" report in 2014.

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

At FCA, Learning About Sustainability Through a Virtual Community

Mar 19, 2018 4:30 PM ET

FCA recently launched a new approach to learning in a virtual “city” full of learning opportunities and digital materials available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Education

A $3.5 Million Commitment to Increase Financial Capability

Mar 19, 2018 4:00 PM ET

Wells Fargo’s new Financial Capability Grant program will help two nonprofits provide financial empowerment programs to the residents in several communities.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

LA Galaxy Visit Children’s Hospital Los Angeles

Mar 19, 2018 3:30 PM ET

AEG’s LA Galaxy took time last week to visit Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA) in continuation of the team’s longstanding relationship with CHLA and in support of Make March Matter.

On Thursday, March 15 nine players including Ashley Cole, Giovani dos Santos, Sebastian Lletget, Rolf Feltscher, Emmanuel Boateng, Jorgen Skjelvik, Daniel Steres, Chris Pontius, Brian Sylvestre and Tomas Hilliard-Arse spent the afternoon at CHLA, along with LA Galaxy Mascot, visiting outpatients and their families in their rooms.

Responsible Production & Consumption

Ecocentricity Blog: Who's Responsible for This?

Mar 19, 2018 2:45 PM ET

Most commonly, these regulations require businesses to share in the responsibility of properly disposing of their products at end-of-life. In other words, they can’t sell something and then say, “not my problem now!”

Education

The Connectory Adds Volunteerism to Its Platform; Boosts Engagement

Mar 19, 2018 2:30 PM ET

Parents and teachers looking for science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) learning opportunities for their children can easily browse The Connectory to find what’s going on near them. Yet the online portal, launched in 2010 by Time Warner Cable and managed by the National Girls Collaborative (NGC), was missing something: volunteer opportunities!

Responsible Production & Consumption

The War on Straws Is Coming to a Bar Near You

Mar 19, 2018 1:30 PM ET

Bacardi Ltd. cited the 500 million estimate when it became one of the first spirits makers to take a stand against plastic straws and swizzle sticks, banning them two years ago from its events. A Bacardi spokeswoman says the initiative spares more than 1 million straws a year.

Events, Media & Communications

CBRE Hosts 2018 Women’s Networking Forum

Mar 19, 2018 1:15 PM ET

CBRE hosted its 2018 CBRE Women’s Networking Forum, the largest company gathering of women, March 14-16 in Chicago. The conference theme this year was “Impact,” recognizing the positive impact of women in the company and the commercial real estate industry.

“The Women’s Networking Forum has been an important business development opportunity for our members for 18 years,” said Lisa Konieczka, Women’s Network chairperson and executive vice president in the company’s Chicago office. “The environment is collaborative and focused on success. We meet, share best practices, explore new ideas, improve our business skills, and recognize and celebrate the positive impact of women to our organization and CBRE.”

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

Sodexo Awarded for Catering and Event Excellence

Mar 19, 2018 12:45 PM ET

Sodexo, a food services and facilities management company committed to improving Quality of Life, announced today that its catering and event teams at the legendary Hollywood Bowl in California and the iconic Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago have been recognized with a prestigious Catersource Achievement in Catering Excellence (ACE) Award, which honors companies that have shown noteworthy achievement in the catering industry through culinary, business, community and professional development.

Environment

T. Rowe Price’s CSR Report Shows Emissions and Waste Reductions

Mar 19, 2018 12:30 PM ET

T. Rowe Price has published its 2016 – 2017 corporate social responsibility report. The Baltimore-based global investment management organization demonstrated reductions in greenhouse gas emissions per associate over a six-year period. Between 2010 and 2016, the firm’s total GHG emissions went down 4% and were reduced by 31% per associate, according to the report. This occurred despite a 51% increase in the firm’s associate population.

Research, Reports & Publications

British American Tobacco Underlines Commitment to Transforming Tobacco in Latest Group Reports

Mar 19, 2018 12:25 PM ET

British American Tobacco (BAT) today published its Annual Report and Sustainability Report – both of which outline the Company’s commitment to transform tobacco by offering an unrivalled suite of potentially reduced-risk products that address the varied preferences of today’s consumers.

Diversity & Inclusion

Columbia University and Citi Announce National Expansion of Columbia’s Center for Veteran Transition and Integration

Mar 19, 2018 11:30 AM ET

Columbia University Center for Veteran Transition and Integration today announced a new collaboration with Citi to increase educational programming and support for veterans and military family members making the transition to two- and four-year colleges, graduate and professional schools, civilian life, and the workforce. With $300,000 in support from Citi Community Development, the national expansion of the Center will provide tools and resources that address the unique challenges veterans face entering the classroom and workplace with the aim to reach 10,000 service members and their families in the first two years.

Green Infrastructure

UPS London Switches on Smart Grid to Super-Charge Electric Delivery Fleet

Mar 19, 2018 11:20 AM ET

UPS has deployed a radical new charging technology in London that overcomes the challenge of simultaneously recharging an entire fleet of electric vehicles (EVs) without the need for the expensive upgrade to the power supply grid.