Impact & Sustainability News From Leading Brands

Keep up with the latest news from 3BL’s clients.

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Green Infrastructure

Expert Interview With Chad Helmle, Stormwater Management Expert

Chad Helmle, Tetra Tech’s national lead for green infrastructure, has more than 20 years of experience in the stormwater and watershed management field. Mr. Helmle oversees numerous large and small water resources projects and programs across the United States that explore a broad spectrum of stormwater-related issues, ranging from strategic planning to design and implementation. He has worked on more than 50 neighborhood-scale green infrastructure retrofit design efforts in parks and other public spaces and has helped pioneer new and innovative watershed and best management practices modeling analyses.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

Learn From the Best in Corporate Responsibility and Sustainable Development

We are honoured to announce Lucy Siegle as the host for our 2018 Ethical Corporation Responsible Business Awards. Lucy is one of the UK’s most recognised environmental journalists.

Innovation & Technology

Learn More About Sappi's Latest Business Venture: Sappi Biotech

In 2016, Sappi Limited established a new global business, Sappi Biotech, to accelerate our response to consumer demand for renewable products with a low carbon footprint.

Sappi took a major step forward in September 2017 toward efforts to expand its biorefi ning expertise with the acquisition of Xylex® and Versalac® technologies, owned by Plaxica Limited.

Education

From Cows to Connections: Principal Draws Inspiration from Student Sketches

Almost 20 years ago, Kevin Boles took his seventh graders on a field trip from Bristol Township, PA, to Harrisburg. When students drew recollections of what they learned, their pictures were eye opening. That early insight ignited Boles’ passion to fight for kids in his under-funded community to have access to the best classroom resources.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

SpongeBob and NICKtern friends Make a Splash in LA Hospital Playroom

This semester, our Summer NICKterns took on what may have been the largest intern mural project to date. Our NICKterns partnered with the mega-talented Peter Bennett, Art Director on SpongeBob SquarePants, to create a SpongeBob-themed mural at County USC Hospital in Downtown Los Angeles. Using Peter’s design, the NICKterns aimed to create an underwater oasis for the playroom area in the hospital’s Pediatric Inpatient Unit. In just three short days, the interns were able to create a floor-to-ceiling rendition of Bikini Bottom for the hospital’s patients to enjoy themselves in.

Responsible Production & Consumption

Farmers Focus on Maximizing Soil Health

Farmers in the Cedar River Watershed gathered last week and learned from local experts how maximizing soil health can economically benefit their operations while protecting water quality. The event was a free field day organized by a new public-private-nonprofit partnership.

The Cedar River Watershed Partnership organized the event for dozens of farmers in the watershed and surrounding region at the Krell farm near Blooming Prairie, the upper part of the Cedar River Watershed.

Aimed at increasing farmers’ knowledge of soil health practices, particularly tillage and cover crops, the field day focused on the costs and benefits of adopting different land-management practices that improve the soil, water and economic health of farms.

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

Ecocentricity Blog: The Devil Made Me Do It

Studies are accumulating that show that financial performance does not have to be sacrificed to create social good. A new crop of CEOs are passionately leading their companies in this new direction that seemed utter folly 25 years ago.

Social Impact & Volunteering

FCA Community: Breathing New Life Into Toledo Neighborhood Parks

To her, the parks are personal. She honed her basketball skills on the courts. Her family gathered at the picnic tables. She ran drills out in the grass fields.

Innovation & Technology

eBay Brings Akron’s Innovative Entrepreneurs to New York City

This month, eBay takes over retail concept store, The New Stand, to bring a collection of new and unique items from Akron to the Big Apple. Earlier this year, the city of Akron, Ohio and eBay piloted Retail Revival - a first-of-its-kind mentorship program to support the growth of the city’s local businesses and provide the tools and resources they need to get their businesses up and running online. Some of the Akron businesses showcased at the New Stand locations include essential oils from Handkraffted, skateboard light fixtures from Whiskertin, original artwork from Art of Matt Miller and local-favorite craft sodas from NORKA Beverage Co.

Education

Middle School Educators Across Southeast Michigan Adopt Computational Thinking Curriculum to Prepare Students For 21st Century Careers

Tata Consultancy Services, a leading global IT services, consulting and business solutions organization, and Discovery Education, the leading provider of digital education content and professional development for K-12 classrooms, have announced the Michigan launch of their Ignite My Future in School (IMFIS) initiative.

Environment

BIER Member Spotlight: Julien Gervreau

Twice a month the Beverage Industry Environmental Roundtable (BIER) is highlighting their members' beverage industry sustainability insights and ideas in their BIER Member Spotlight series. These spotlights include their answers to questions about their company's sustainability achievements and strategy, practical insights from BIER, interesting facts, and more.

Environment

Tackling the 1.6-Billion-Ton Food Loss and Waste Crisis

The scale of the problem is staggering. Each year, 1.6 billion tons of food worth about $1.2 trillion are lost or go to waste—one-third of the total amount of food produced globally.1 To put the figure in perspective, that is ten times the mass of the island of Manhattan. And the problem is only growing: BCG estimates that by 2030 annual food loss and waste will hit 2.1 billion tons worth $1.5 trillion.

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

How the Team Member Culture at Las Vegas Sands Sets the Company Apart from the Competition

Before Philippa Fryman took on her role as vice president of Food and Beverage at The Venetian and The Palazzo, she joined the team in 2009 as the Butler Operations manager in Luxury Services. Overseeing a total of 60 Team Members, she quickly learned how inter-dependent various departments were and was introduced to the gaming industry.

Research, Reports & Publications

AccountAbility Releases Document on Key Changes Introduced in the AA1000AP (2018) and Bridge to Sustainability Reporting

AccountAbility is pleased to release a practical guidance document highlighting the key changes made to the AA1000 AccountAbility Principles (AA1000AP, 2018), as well as an overview of alignment with commonly used sustainability-related reporting standards and frameworks. The document serves to support both organisational users and assurance providers in effectively working with the AA1000AP (2018).

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

A Deeper Look at CECP's Investing in Society: Performance

Investing in Society, CECP’s recently launched compendium of data, research, and case studies illustrates innovations in corporate efforts to solve the world’s most pressing problems. Divided into five sections – Priorities, Performance, People, Planet, and Policies – the collection of insights offers a far-reaching assessment of what leading companies are doing in each of the five focus areas.

Diversity & Inclusion

The CEO of Girl Rising is Making the World a Better Place for Girls, One Story at a Time

It's not unusual for a movie to win awards, get rave reviews and win big (or lose) at the box office. But it's not every day one helps to change the world. Girl Rising is a film that became a powerful movement and gave filmmaker Christina Lowery the role of a lifetime. Now the CEO of a globally recognized non-profit with connections to Michelle Obama and support from Meryl Streep, Alicia Keys, Priyanka Chopra and Freida Pinto, Lowery's work is to show communities the power of education, get girls in school and keep them there. The reason: Educating girls is the single most powerful way to end global poverty.

Diversity & Inclusion

How Scotiabank and Shirlie Delacherois are Empowering Canada’s Aboriginal Community

As a young girl, Shirlie Delacherois was aware of her Aboriginal heritage, but didn’t fully appreciate its value until much later in life. It was after a 20-year career at Scotiabank that Shirlie had the opportunity to continue the bank’s long history of supporting Aboriginal Peoples — by stepping into the role of Senior Aboriginal Recruitment Consultant. She has been connecting Aboriginal Canadians to career opportunities at Scotiabank ever since.

Responsible Production & Consumption

Walmart Joins Ranks of Retailers Pulling Toxic Paint Strippers From Shelves

On Monday, Walmart announced that it will stop selling paint strippers containing methylene chloride or N-methylpyrrolidone (NMP) by February 2019 – making it the first general merchandise retailer to take such action. Walmart’s announcement follows the strong leadership demonstrated by Lowes, Home Depot, and Sherwin Williams, all of which have committed not to sell methylene chloride- and NMP-based paint stripping products by the end of the year. Importantly, Walmart’s action goes beyond its U.S. stores, including those in Mexico, Canada, and Central America, as well as its online store.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Lixil and P.I.P.E. Step Up as Sponsors for IWSH's Navajo Nation Community Plumbing Challenge

LIXIL, the pioneering manufacturer of such brands as American Standard and GROHE, and the Piping Industry Progress & Education Trust Fund (P.I.P.E.) have generously extended support, both financial and products/materials, to the International Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (IWSH) Foundation’s 2018 International Community Plumbing Challenge (CPC) in Northwestern New Mexico from Oct. 22-26.

As Gold Level sponsors, LIXIL and P.I.P.E. become invaluable partners with IWSH and DigDeep’s Navajo Water Project as the CPC team provides households in the Baca-Prewitt area of the Navajo reservation with access to water and improved sanitation.

Social Impact & Volunteering

Whirlpool Corporation and Celebrity Chef Gail Simmons Prepare Welcome Home Dinner for 41 Habitat for Humanity Families

Whirlpool Corporation teamed up with Celebrity Chef Gail Simmons to provide a lasting first memory for 41 Habitat for Humanity homeowners and their families in northern Indiana.

Environment

How to Get the Most Out of Your EHS and Sustainability Consulting Firm

With decades of experience in EHS and sustainability consulting, Antea Group guides you on getting the most out of your consulting partnership.

Research, Reports & Publications

Voya Financial Releases 2017-2018 Corporate Responsibility Annual Report “Advancing Sustainable Growth”

Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VOYA), announced that it has published its 2017-2018 Corporate Responsibility Annual Report, which reflects the progress the company has made in recent years to meet financial targets, grow and evolve its brand and operating model, build upon its culture, and advance its Corporate Responsibility (CR) strategy.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

Xylem Named to Fortune “Change the World” List

Global water technology company, Xylem (NYSE:XYL), has been included on FORTUNE’s 2018 "Change the World" list, a ranking of 50 companies that have made a significant social impact through their core business strategy. Listed as number 7 in the ranking, Xylem has been recognized for creating tangible social value through its innovative solutions that are helping to solve water challenges across the world.

Education

Amgen Biotech Experience in France

In this video, High school students and educators from Lycée de la Vallée de Chevreuse in France share their perspectives on the Amgen Biotech Experience (ABE). Created by the Amgen Foundation, ABE is an innovative science education program that provides students with hands-on lab curriculum and teachers with the necessary tools to teach biotechnology in their classrooms.

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

Dow Sustainability Academy at the Erb Institute Trains New Leaders

The world’s most innovative, customer-centric, inclusive and sustainable materials science company, “New Dow” is setting the bar high in reinventing this globally recognized brand.

Latest Campaigns

  1. Cascale Events
    Cascale organizes and participates in a series of events, leveraging its position as a global convener of close to half the sector to bring together...
  2. CARE Corporate Partnerships
    CARE works with corporate partners globally to invest in innovative, scalable, impactful, community-based solutions.
  3. GoDaddy | Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging
    Diverse teams build better products — period. At GoDaddy, we make apps and services that our worldwide community of entrepreneurs can relate to. Our...
  4. Collective Action
    Cascale shares updates on its efforts and initiatives geared toward activating its ecosystem to develop and scale solutions that drive collective...
  5. Cascale Events
    Cascale organizes and participates in a series of events, leveraging its position as a global convener of close to half the sector to bring together...
  6. Community Impact
    The communities where Chemours operates are also where we live, work, and play, and our mutual success is one and the same. We have a vested interest...
  7. Growth Through Sustainability
    Trane Technologies is a global climate innovator with a clear purpose to boldly challenge what’s possible for a sustainable world. See how embedding...
  8. Principal Financial Group: Employee Engagement
    Talented employees are the heart and soul of our company. We believe development inspires individuals to engage, empower, and embrace a growth mindset...
  9. Approach: Our Recipe For Good Growth
    At Yum!, being a good corporate steward is a fundamental commitment and an important part of our success. Our Global Citizenship & Sustainability...
  10. Technology for Good
    We believe that technology, when thoughtfully and strategically applied, can bring positive, lasting change to people’s lives and communities and...
  11. KeyBank: Responsible Banking
    Everyone’s financial journey is different. We make intentional efforts to meet the individual needs of clients and communities through a diverse range...
  12. Cascale Governance
    Cascale shares updates from its Board of Directors who serve as the principal governing body and are responsible for setting the strategic direction...
  13. 2025 Wesco International Sustainability Report
    Our Sustainability Approach: Wesco’s 2025 Sustainability Report, which demonstrates our commitment to furthering sustainability, innovation and...
  14. Growth Through Sustainability
    Trane Technologies is a global climate innovator with a clear purpose to boldly challenge what’s possible for a sustainable world. See how embedding...
  15. KeyBank's Community Investment
    In states where Key has a presence, there are approximately 1.7 million low- to moderate-income (LMI) households. Many LMI individuals don’t have bank...