Impact & Sustainability News From Leading Brands

Responsible Production & Consumption

SCS Global Services Becomes First North American Certifier Accredited to New RSPO Principles and Criteria Standard for Palm Oil Plantations

Dec 5, 2018 8:00 AM ET

Following on the heels of the historic 16th Annual Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia, SCS Global Services (SCS) has become the first certification body in North America accredited to conduct assessments under the stringent new RSPO Principles & Criteria (P&C) Standard. This accreditation sets the stage for SCS to certify sustainable palm plantations and mills internationally.

Events, Media & Communications

Invest, Collaborate and Innovate

Dec 5, 2018 8:00 AM ET

For businesses to meet the challenges that lie ahead they have to move from incremental change to one that is large-scale and transformative. The Responsible Business Summit New York 2019 will give you the opportunity to learn new ideas and meet CEOs, heads of business and investors that are shaping ambitious strategies.

Sustainable Finance & Socially Responsible Investment

Moody's Corporation Welcomes The Asia Foundation as a Reshape Tomorrow™ Partner

Dec 5, 2018 7:55 AM ET

Moody’s will support “Accelerate Women’s Entrepreneurship: Supporting Migrant Women-Owned Businesses,” a Shanghai-based program helping migrant women grow their businesses through a tailored training program of coaching and networking.

Health & Healthcare

Novartis Social Business Joins Forces With THET to Train Hospital and Health Center Staff in Ethiopia

Dec 5, 2018 2:10 AM ET

We are pleased to announce that and The Tropical Health and Education Trust (THET) have come to an agreement to train hospital and health center staff at 60 sites across Ethiopia, ensuring that patients no longer need to travel long distances to seek treatment against non-communicable diseases (NCDs).

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

The Co-op Give Card Campaign | LBG Canada Company Spotlight

Dec 4, 2018 6:00 PM ET

Between 2013 and 2017, Co-op contributed over $1 million to the Canadian Red Cross to help with Western Canadian relief efforts. In 2018, Co-op renewed this partnership with an agreement to donate up to $1.5 million over five years to support disaster preparedness in Western Canada.

Education

High-school Students Around the U.S. Take Virtual STEM Field Trip to Lockheed Martin’s Famous Skunk Works®

Dec 4, 2018 5:50 PM ET

High-school students took a virtual field trip today to Lockheed Martin Skunk Works where they learned about five advanced technology developments being pioneered by the Lockheed Martin engineers and scientists, or “skunks,” who work there. The virtual learning experience was designed to introduce students to the exciting work a career in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) can offer.

Diversity & Inclusion

National Diversity Council and Southwest Airlines Join Forces to Improve Workplace Diversity

Dec 4, 2018 4:00 PM ET

The National Diversity Council and Southwest Airlines are proud to close out the 2018 year by announcing their new partnership. Southwest has been named National Diversity Council’s official airline, enabling the company’s consultants and certified diversity professionals to travel the world demonstrating the importance of inclusive work environments.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

Sappi's Cloquet Mill Acheives Impressive Safety Milestone

Dec 4, 2018 3:30 PM ET

Sappi North America’s mill in Cloquet, Minnesota, reached a company milestone of over 2 million hours worked without a lost-time injury.

Green Infrastructure

Three Tough Questions for an Uncertain Global Gas Market

Dec 4, 2018 1:00 PM ET

Increasing global gas supply from newer producers like the United States, demand growth from developing economies in Asia, policy choices supporting cleaner energy sources the world over, lowered costs of renewables, and significant geopolitical shifts are reshaping the global natural gas market.

Innovation & Technology

Groupon and Tableau Bring Data Visualization to the Nonprofit Sector

Dec 4, 2018 12:30 PM ET

Taproot’s U.S. Pro Bono Summit is an opportunity for key stakeholders in the field of corporate pro bono to come together and discuss trends and developments across the sector. It’s also a place where practitioners can collaboratively brainstorm new ideas that will create impact for nonprofit organizations.

Environment

The 4 Critical Steps to Climate Leadership

Dec 4, 2018 12:05 PM ET

Business leaders can no longer afford to look the other way on climate change. The recent National Climate Assessment revealed that regional economies and industries dependent on natural resources are increasingly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change – as are energy systems. Warmer climates will increasingly disrupt international trade, prices, and supply chains, and costs could reach hundreds of billion dollars per year by the end of the century. Climate change doesn’t just threaten ecological balance, it threatens corporate balance sheets.

Sustainable Development Goals

BCtA News Bite November 2018

Dec 4, 2018 12:05 PM ET

Only one month remains of 2018, but we are feeling invigorated after an eventful three months since our last News Bite and looking forward to the year ahead! Important themes for us over the past few months have been human rights, women's economic empowerment and digitalisation. Read more below about activities in these areas - and thank you to all of you who participated in and supported them. Looking forward, we're also really excited to share the findings of our State of Inclusive Business Survey - more on this below.

Innovation & Technology

VIDEO | Building Bridges Between Hope and Possibility

Dec 4, 2018 11:35 AM ET

Technology holds great promise to improve lives – consider how every second in India, three people experience the Internet for the first time. Or how video collaboration units enable patients at family health clinics in rural areas in Africa to connect to specialists at larger medical centers. Yet technology can do little if a person lacks access to basic needs.

At Cisco, making a difference and improving lives around the world has been core to who we are for over 30 years. We have consistently leveraged our technology to solve real business and social problems, and ultimately to build bridges to new possibilities.

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

5 Keys to Attracting and Keeping Socially-Mindful Employees

Dec 4, 2018 11:05 AM ET

According to a survey of nearly 1,600 United States employees by America’s Charities, companies that build effective workplace giving and volunteering programs have a significant leg up when it comes to attracting talent

Energy

Schneider Electric se compromete con la creación del primer centro franco-argentino de excelencia para la capacitación técnica en las especialidades que se requieren en el campo de la eficiencia energética

Dec 4, 2018 10:50 AM ET

Schneider Electric, que lidera la transformación digital de la gestión de la energía y la automatización, junto con su Fundación y bajo la égida de la Fundación de Francia, firmaron una carta de intención con el Ministerio de Educación Nacional y Juventud de Francia y el Ministerio de Educación, Cultura, Ciencia y Tecnología de Argentina, para la creación de un centro de excelencia destinado a la capacitación técnica en las especialidades requeridas en el campo de la eficiencia energética.

Supply Chain & the Circular Economy

Dow Packaging and Specialty Plastics and Keep America Beautiful Announce 2018 Hefty® EnergyBag® Grant Recipients

Dec 4, 2018 10:45 AM ET

Dow and Keep America Beautiful announced they have awarded two $40,000 grants to organizations in Cobb County, Ga., and Lincoln, Neb. The grants will expand a recently launched Hefty® EnergyBag® program in Cobb County and help to establish a new start-up program in Lincoln.

Innovation & Technology

How Data Privacy Regulations Affect Nonprofits—And What They Can Do

Dec 4, 2018 10:15 AM ET

Even organizations focused on public benefit regularly collect and store users’ personal information. This means that rules like the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) apply to nonprofits and social good organizations as much as private-sector companies. In fact, nonprofits, philanthropic groups, and foundations are potentially exposed to even greater risk in the event of a data breach or theft, as the reputations they’ve painstakingly cultivated can be tarnished overnight.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

How Bloomberg LP Has Led the Way in Supporting Material ESG Data

Dec 4, 2018 10:15 AM ET

Curtis Ravenel, Global Head, Sustainable Business and Finance, Bloomberg LP and SASB Foundation Board Member recently talked to SASB about Bloomberg's leadership in the space, our role in bolstering the adoption of SASB standards, the value of SASB standards in the European market, and the harmonization of SASB with the framework put forward by the FSB Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD).

Diversity & Inclusion

Arrow Electronics Hosts Diverse Students from Five Colorado Universities

Dec 4, 2018 10:05 AM ET

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

Making Good Happen at Work on #GivingTuesday

Dec 4, 2018 10:05 AM ET

The Common Impact team had the pleasure of spending #GivingTuesday in Boston with Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Foundation for the first-ever Making Good Happen at Work conference in Boston. The conference brought together leaders from the corporate, nonprofit and public sectors for an interactive conversation on creating and tending an effective employee service and giving program.

Energy

VIDEO | Mohawk Group and Groundswell Unveil smartflower™ Solar Energy Unit in Eden, NC

Dec 4, 2018 10:00 AM ET

Mohawk Group and nonprofit Groundswell have teamed up to locate a new smartflower™ solar energy unit near three Rockingham County Schools in North Carolina—a project that will bring the benefits of clean solar power to the area, create educational opportunities for students and also contribute to Mohawk’s sustainability efforts to leave more handprints than footprints. The smartflower technology was unveiled on Nov. 29 at a special event in Eden, N.C., which is also the home of Mohawk’s historic Karastan woven carpet plant.

Environment

Practitioner Spotlight--Todd Gift

Dec 4, 2018 10:00 AM ET

Antea Group highlights Todd Gift, its environmental remediation consultant based in Austin, TX.

Education

PNC Bank and Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts Reveal the PNC Grow Up Great Gallery

Dec 4, 2018 9:55 AM ET

The new art installation in the Kauffman Center’s Plaza Lobby showcases hundreds of handprints created by local pre-school students at Growing Futures Early Education Center in Overland Park, Kan. and United Inner City Services St. Mark Center in Kansas City, Mo. PNC Bank created the gallery in partnership with the Kauffman Center and the two early education centers, as part of an effort to inspire great futures for local children through memorable arts experiences.

Energy

Podcast: Clean Energy is the Future and National Grid is Ready to Lead us There Today

Dec 4, 2018 9:55 AM ET

John Pettigrew, CEO of National Grid PLC, is focused on transforming utilities to become greener, more efficient, and technological to prepare for an uncertain future of climate change, customer needs, and an uncertain political environment. National Grid, which operates electric and gas utilities in the United States and Great Britain, is driving the conversation around carbon usage and the implementation of clean energy technology.

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

Corporate Social Responsibility: Being a Force for Good in an Era of Employee Activism

Dec 4, 2018 9:50 AM ET

Social activism has transformed America over the past two years. From the Women’s March to the NFL; from Net Neutrality to hurricane relief. And the sort of activism Americans are demonstrating has moved beyond marches, social media hashtags, and town hall meetings—it has entered the workplace.