Impact & Sustainability News From Leading Brands

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Medtronic Foundation Opportunity Grant Initiative Now Seeking Applications

May 21, 2018 4:30 PM ET

Medtronic Foundation is seeking project ideas to test or scale solutions that improve the efficiency of healthcare delivery by addressing gaps in distance, time or people, while leading to demonstrable health outcomes for underserved populations. Successful applicants will receive a one time, one-year grant for US$50,000-US$100,000 and will participate in a global learning collaborative facilitated by the Medtronic Foundation. Up to ten (10) grants will be awarded.

Events, Media & Communications

Cone Sponsors Sustainable Brands® Conference for Seventh Year

May 21, 2018 4:30 PM ET

For the seventh year in a row, Cone, a Porter Novelli public relations and marketing agency specializing in Purpose and corporate social responsibility (CSR), will join Sustainable Brands® 2018 (SB’18) as a sponsor. Cone will help lead and facilitate four dynamic sessions taking place over the four-day conference in Vancouver, June 4-7.

Media & Communications

100 Best Corporate Citizens 2018” Roster -– Published by CR Magazine

May 21, 2018 4:25 PM ET

Now in its 19th year, the well known CR Magazine “100 Best Corporate Citizens 2018” list was just unveiled; this effort recognizes the ESG performance of public companies in the United States. (The publication is now titled Corporate Responsibility Magazine, published by 3BL Media LLC.)

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Family Adopts from Foster Care and Gets Shocking Surprise

May 21, 2018 2:45 PM ET

More than 117,000 children in the United States don’t have the family they deserve. They are living in foster care, hoping to be adopted, hoping to have a safe, warm bed to come home to each night. Every. Single. Foster Care Adoption Story is UNIQUE. The Walker Family has an incredibly special story about their son Ja’Kolby.

Environment

Brightening Our Corner Newsletter - May 2018

May 21, 2018 2:15 PM ET

This is the quarterly newsletter for the Ray C. Anderson Foundation, a private family foundation that seeks to promote a sustainable society by supporting and funding educational and project-based initiatives that advance knowledge and innovation in sustainability.

Energy

Rochdale Village Earns $1M in Energy Efficiency Rebates

May 21, 2018 1:15 PM ET

Rochdale Village in Jamaica Queens, the second largest housing cooperative in the world, with 120-acres including 20 apartment buildings, a daycare center, three schools, a public library system, two shopping malls, two banks and a host of small businesses, is receiving more than $1 million in National Grid energy efficiency rebates for their commitment to greening the local community.

Education

Students Get a Slice of Education With Their Pizzas

May 21, 2018 1:00 PM ET

Ruben Xochitiotzi, 16, a sophomore at Chino Hills High School, hopes to be a successful restaurateur or businessman one day. He got a taste of what it would be like to be part of a cookline making pizzas using modern commercial kitchen appliances during his recent class visit to Southern California Edison’s Foodservice Technology Center.

Green Infrastructure

Tomorrow's Infrastructure, Today

May 21, 2018 12:30 PM ET

Our highway system is the backbone of America. Highways connect our cities. They allow us to visit relatives, live and work in separate places and take that family vacation. But, it’s also a place where 40,000 American lives are lost every year, and it’s the part of our transportation system that contributes an outsized proportion of carbon pollution to our environment.

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

Sands Academy Assists Team Member in Attaining US Citizenship

May 21, 2018 11:10 AM ET

As part of its commitment to helping Team Members thrive in the hospitality industry through educational partnerships and providing them with an outstanding working environment, Sands Academy, Las Vegas Sands’ Learning and Development program, has offered a “Road to Citizenship” course. After completing the course, Las Vegas Sands Team Member, Cortez Robles, became a US citizen on March 10, 2018.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

KeyBank Receives Ninth Consecutive "Outstanding" Rating from OCC On Community Reinvestment Act Exam

May 21, 2018 11:00 AM ET

KeyBank has earned its ninth consecutive "Outstanding" rating from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), for exceeding the terms of the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) exam. KeyBank is one of the only U.S. national banks among the 25 largest to be rated “Outstanding” by the OCC for nine consecutive review periods, since the Act's passage in 1977.

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

PNC Launches Quarterly Corporate Social Responsibility Newsletter

May 21, 2018 11:00 AM ET

PNC’s recently released 2017 Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Report outlines the ways that the company is meeting its commitments to its stakeholders – including employees, customers, shareholders and communities. Now, with the launch of its quarterly CSR newsletter, PNC is able to provide more up-to-the-moment information on the progress it’s making against those commitments.

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

Here's How Six Companies Take The Lead Supporting Working Mothers

May 21, 2018 10:30 AM ET

Diversity & Inclusion

Cultural Diversity - Making Us Stronger

May 21, 2018 10:05 AM ET

This year on the “World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development”, we are celebrating leaders and teams that embrace cultural differences, making Nestlé a stronger team.

Energy

CLP's Transition Towards a Low Carbon Future

May 21, 2018 10:00 AM ET

The CLP Group has developed strategies to address renewable resources and global climate change since 2004. To meet the challenges ahead, the power company has updated its Climate Vision 2050, building on the optimism of CLP's original aspirational, science-based trajectory while taking into consideration the realities of the energy market development in the Asia-Pacific region.

Energy

Behind the Wheel: Lille – A City Running on Natural Gas and Bio-methane

May 21, 2018 9:45 AM ET

Meet the people who are driving both the buses and project for an efficient and environmentally friendly public transport system in the city of Lille, in northern France. From vision to implementation, this metropolitan area is now firmly established at the forefront of large scale, sustainable mobility projects and IVECO BUS is a proud partner in this quest for an efficient and environmentally friendly public transport system.​

Education

This Woman Is Helping Improve Learning for Children in Tunisia

May 21, 2018 9:30 AM ET

From an early age, Houda Najjari has been passionate about education. She saw a real need based on the poor quality of public education that her daughter and other children in her area were receiving. She decided to launch the "Center of Excellence" in order to provide additional support to these children and raise their achievement levels.

Education

University of Ottawa Wins National Champion Title in Environmental Challenge

May 21, 2018 9:10 AM ET

In northern food-insecure communities, students from the University of Ottawa are manufacturing commercial grade hydroponic systems housed in shipping containers enabling communities to grow their own food locally.

Research, Reports & Publications

STMicroelectronics publishes its 21st Sustainability Report

May 21, 2018 9:00 AM ET

STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM), a global semiconductor leader serving customers across the spectrum of electronics applications, announced the publication of its 2018 Sustainability Report. The report contains highlights of ST’s sustainability performance in 2017 and presents new ambitions and goals for 2025. It describes in detail how ST addresses sustainability challenges and opportunities and how the Company contributes to nine of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Environment

World Bee Day Deserves All the Buzz It's Getting

May 21, 2018 9:00 AM ET

Honey bees and other pollinators are essential for the reproduction of more than 85% of the world' flowering plants, and much of the food we eat. As a result, these creatures are essential players in support of Sustainable Development Goals 2 (Zero Hunger) and 15 (Life on Land). But they are under threat from such factors as land use changes, agriculture chemicals, large-scale monoculture and climate change

Social Impact & Volunteering

Great Gwinnett Wetlands 2018 is Officially Water Under the Bridge

May 18, 2018 5:00 PM ET

For the last four years, Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful has been proud to team up with Gwinnett County’s Department of Water Resources to raise awareness about the important role that wetlands play, as well as to motivate the community to act as stewards to local wetlands.

Diversity & Inclusion

Important Dialogue - Moving from Reconciliation to ReconciliACTION

May 18, 2018 4:55 PM ET

39% of LBG Canada Companies are ready to benchmark their investments into Indigenous communities, are you? Join LBG Canada on June 5th, 2018 to explore the role of community investment in corporate response to ACTION 92 of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, with featured panelist Kelly Lendsay, President & CEO of Indigenous Works.

Diversity & Inclusion

Connecting Qualified Veterans to Careers in Technology

May 18, 2018 4:45 PM ET

No two career journeys are the same, and for military veterans, the road to civilian employment is often an entirely new, unfamiliar mission. In today’s digital economy, the skills people need to thrive are ever-changing, adapting with every innovation and technology that hits the market; a market that doesn’t always wait for veterans to end their deployments and return home.

Environment

Healthy Soil, Healthy Ranch

May 18, 2018 4:30 PM ET

Susan and Floyd Bergen own and operate five ranches in Oklahoma and Texas, including a 12,000-acre property in Sulphur, Oklahoma. Here, Susan, who has managed these ranches since 2012, shares her thoughts on the importance of soil health for long-term success in ranching.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

Gildan Awarded a Distintivo® ESR 2018 Award for Its Environmental Activities in the Dominican Republic

May 18, 2018 3:30 PM ET

For the third consecutive year, Gildan has been recognized with a Distintivo ESR® 2018 award presented during the 11th Latin American Conference of Socially Responsible Companies. The award is given to companies that meet designated standards in the strategic areas of corporate social responsibility. Gildan received the distinction this year for its CSR activities in the Dominican Republic.

Environment

DTE Energy and Consumers Energy Accelerate Plans for Cleaner Energy in Michigan

May 18, 2018 2:55 PM ET

Consumers Energy and DTE Energy today said they are accelerating plans to produce cleaner energy in Michigan, targeting at least a 50 percent Clean Energy Goal by 2030– achieved through a combination of investments in at least 25 percent renewable energy, and the remaining through energy efficiency.