Impact & Sustainability News From Leading Brands

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

Purpose At Work: The Path To Purposeful Profit with Timberland Sustainability Director, Colleen Vien

Feb 21, 2019 2:30 PM ET

We First CEO Simon Mainwaring sat down with the Sustainability Director of Timberland, Colleen Vien, to discuss how the global apparel industry leader is able to create business growth through activating its purpose.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

Smithfield Foods Earns North American Meat Institute Environmental, Workplace Safety, and Research Awards

Feb 21, 2019 2:05 PM ET

Events, Media & Communications

Comerica Java & Jazz Returns for 19th Year to Showcase Local Musicians

Feb 21, 2019 1:45 PM ET

Jazz and coffee are about to flow freely in Detroit. For the 19th year, Comerica Bank and the Detroit Public Library have once again partnered to present the “Comerica Java & Jazz: A Coffeehouse Series.” On the third Tuesday of each month from March to July, community members are invited to enjoy the cultural and musical experiences that make Detroit unique.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

A Year of Giving: Wells Fargo Donates $444m to Nearly 11,000 Nonprofits in 2018

Feb 21, 2019 1:30 PM ET

Wells Fargo increased its philanthropic impact in 2018 by donating $444 million to nearly 11,000 nonprofits that help communities and people in need, surpassing its $400 million goal. The company has been committed to local communities throughout its 167-year history and has increased its philanthropy 25 times over the past 28 years.

Social Impact & Volunteering

BLOG | Why The Scotts Miracle-Gro Foundation is Growing More Than Gardens

Feb 21, 2019 1:20 PM ET

“Every day, the babies in our community are having adult experiences.”

I’ll never forget listening to a community gardener talk about the challenges facing young children in his east-side neighborhood. Violence, drugs, poverty, absent parents, hunger. It was heartbreaking. The conversation started when another community garden leader explained that a portion of our ScottsMiracle-Gro grant was used to purchase pairs of cheap, plastic flip flops.

Why? I asked.

Health & Healthcare

Celebrate the Women Leading the Sexual & Reproductive Health Movement in Nigeria

Feb 21, 2019 1:00 PM ET

“All girls and women have an inherent right to dignity and a life free from violence.”

Sustainable Finance & Socially Responsible Investment

Sustainable Investing Goes Mainstream: Morgan Stanley and Bloomberg Survey Finds Sustainable Investing A Business Imperative Among U.S. Asset Managers

Feb 21, 2019 12:30 PM ET

A majority of U.S. asset managers are now practicing sustainable investing, viewing it as a strategic business imperative. In a new survey entitled Sustainable Signals: Growth and Opportunity in Asset Management, from the Morgan Stanley Institute for Sustainable Investing and Bloomberg, 75% of respondents reported that their firms have adopted sustainable investing, up from 65% in 2016.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Sodexo Stop Hunger Foundation and Generation No Kid Hungry Celebrate Young People Tackling Childhood Hunger on National Youth Day

Feb 21, 2019 12:20 PM ET

With one out of every six children in the United States living with hunger each day, young people are leading the fight to end child hunger to make sure their peers have access to healthy meals. To celebrate the role of young people in addressing this critical issue, Sodexo Stop Hunger Foundation and Generation No Kid Hungry proclaim February 21 National Youth Day.

Environment

Thousands of Symantec Employees Take Action for a Sustainable Future

Feb 21, 2019 12:15 PM ET

In 2018, thousands of Symantec employees globally partcipated in our year-long, Going Green in 2018 campaign to help create a more sustainable business and future. While company-wide challenges and initiatives were planned, in most cases "It's the Little Things" - those individual commitments, choices and actions - that each employee did that collectively made a significant and lasting impact.

Sustainable Finance & Socially Responsible Investment

PayPal Leverages Platform to Strengthen Communities

Feb 21, 2019 12:00 PM ET

We believe all companies have an important role to play in fostering strong, inclusive communities in the places where we live and work. Watch this video to learn how PayPal facilitates initiatives to create local impact in meaningful ways.

Social Impact & Volunteering

The Right Line-up for Corporate Volunteering – Insights From Germany’s DAX30 Companies

Feb 21, 2019 11:40 AM ET

It has become a concern, of course, for most companies to face their social responsibility on a global as well as on a local level. Whereas this often happens by supporting social initiatives with generous donations, progressive corporations have long before started to engage more actively within their communities. Instead of only giving money to social causes, they want to lever their resources even more. More specifically: the time and talents of their employees. The emerging trend of corporate volunteering shows that for companies applying a holistic approach to corporate social responsibility, it is no longer a question of whether but rather of how to engage their employees.

Diversity & Inclusion

Major Consumer Brands Join Forces to Highlight Women’s Leadership Across Global Supply Chains for International Women’s Day

Feb 21, 2019 11:00 AM ET

The Estée Lauder Companies, Inc., Nordstrom, UGG®, and Williams-Sonoma, Inc. are proud to come together to raise the profile of women leaders across global supply chains through the “This Is A Leader” campaign. Launching today, this campaign celebrates exemplary female leadership from supplier factories to corporate offices, and invites employees, partners, consumers, and other stakeholders to join the conversation and share what leadership means to them.

Health & Healthcare

Whole Kids Foundation Grants $500,000 to Provide 150 New Salad Bars to Schools Across the U.S.

Feb 21, 2019 11:00 AM ET

Collectively, more than $14.3 million has been invested across all 50 states providing over 2.7 million children with daily access to fresh fruits and vegetables.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

Barron's Names UPS in Top Two Percent of U.S. Companies for Sustainability Efforts

Feb 21, 2019 10:30 AM ET

UPS is recognized for commitement to the systainability with a placement on Barron's annual list of America’s Top 100 Most Sustainable Companies.

Energy

Consumers Energy Announces Plans to Develop Solar Power Plant in Cadillac

Feb 21, 2019 10:15 AM ET

Consumers Energy announced today that it plans to develop its third solar power plant in Cadillac, building on its Triple Bottom Line commitment to people, the planet and Michigan’s prosperity. The Cadillac City Council this week approved an agreement to allow Consumers Energy to place solar panels on the Mitchell-Bentley property, a currently vacant site with a manufacturing history that dates to the late 1800s.

Environment

In the Face of Aging Infrastructure, Oil & Gas Transportation Companies Need to Focus on Pipeline Integrity Management

Feb 21, 2019 10:10 AM ET

Antea Group’s blog offers advice on how an oil and gas transportation company can maintain the integrity of its aging pipeline infrastructure.

Sustainable Finance & Socially Responsible Investment

Impact Investing and Building the Next Economy

Feb 21, 2019 9:05 AM ET

I examine my personal finances by asking myself three overarching questions: How am I making money? How am I investing it? And how am I spending it? As a full-time social entrepreneur, I routinely ask myself if I’m making money in a way that allows me to have a real impact.

Sustainable Finance & Socially Responsible Investment

People Power Microcredit: Whole Planet Foundation’s Victor Quiroz

Feb 21, 2019 9:00 AM ET

We will take you behind the scenes to introduce you to the teams that are dedicated to empowering the world’s poorest people to become entrepreneurs. You will meet Field Officers, volunteers, and Whole Planet Foundation staff. Through their stories you will get a glimpse into a day on the job—whether it is in Austin, Texas or Huehuetenango, Guatemala.

Sustainable Development Goals

How Clarus Avoids Greenwashing, and Why You Should Too With Karen Righthand of SCS Global Services

Feb 21, 2019 9:00 AM ET

Consumers today are extremely conscious about what kinds of products they’re purchasing for their bodies, homes, and businesses, and with so many choices available it’s hard to know what products may be guilty of some of the “Seven Sins of Greenwashing” — otherwise known as stating a product is generally natural, green friendly, or organic, when it has undergone zero testing or certification.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Freeport-McMoRan United Way Campaign Tops $9.8 Million

Feb 21, 2019 8:10 AM ET

Freeport-McMoRan employees continued the tradition of giving back to the community by pledging $3.5 million in 2018, which raised a record-setting $9.8 million with the company match program for United Ways across the U.S.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Subaru Supports Pets in Need During 2019 Greater Milwaukee Auto Show With Adoption Event

Feb 21, 2019 8:00 AM ET

Subaru of America, Inc. today announced it will be hosting a pet adoption event during the 2019 Greater Milwaukee Auto Show through their partnership with local animal shelter, Humane Animal Welfare Society (HAWS). As a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, HAWS is dedicated to improving the safety and well-being of greater Milwaukee’s homeless and at-risk animals. This first-of-its-kind event, to be held at the Subaru exhibit inside the Wisconsin Center, is aimed at finding forever homes for pets in the greater Milwaukee area.

Environment

Fox 2000 Goes Green Behind the Scenes of Upcoming Drama Film “The Woman in the Window”

Feb 21, 2019 7:00 AM ET

Fox 2000 recently led efforts to go green on the set of The Woman in the Window, an upcoming psychological thriller starring Amy Adams and Gary Oldman. By working with the sustainable production experts at Earth Angel, a New York-based consultancy that previously directed green initiatives on The Post, the crew was able to avoid the emission of 390 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalents, save more than $71,000, and divert 86% of on-set waste from going to a landfill, one of the highest waste diversion rates in the company’s history.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Smithfield Foods Donates 42,000 Pounds of Protein to the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma

Feb 20, 2019 5:15 PM ET

Today, Smithfield Foods, Inc. and WinCo Foods joined forces to donate more than 42,000 pounds of protein to the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma. Smithfield’s contribution was part of the company’s 2019 Helping Hungry Homes® donation tour.

Sustainable Development Goals

Science Based Targets Initiative Announces Major Updates Following IPCC Special Report on 1.5°C

Feb 20, 2019 3:00 PM ET

The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) will introduce major new updates to enable companies to set greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets consistent with the most ambitious aim of the Paris Agreement, to limit average global warming to 1.5°C by the end of the century compared to pre-industrial temperatures.

Environment

Yesterday’s Waste Leads to Tomorrow’s Energy

Feb 20, 2019 1:00 PM ET

Republic Services’ landfills aren’t just collecting trash, they can also produce renewable energy. Today, we’re capturing landfill gas and converting it to electricity and fuel. We also are utilizing closed landfills to generate solar electricity. Through these efforts, we’re converting previously unused resources into power for homes, businesses and vehicles – including our own collection trucks.