Impact & Sustainability News From Leading Brands

Diversity & Inclusion

StartRight: Helping New Immigrants Adjust to Financial Life in Canada

Jan 16, 2018 8:05 AM ET

Karen Qiu, a Scotiabank financial advisor in Vancouver, knows firsthand what life is like for new immigrants in Canada. “I was born in China and came to Canada to finish my last year of high school,” she remembers. “Since my family believed that an education in Canada would give me a better future, they decided to send me here. But since they couldn’t just leave their jobs, I came alone.”

Research, Reports & Publications

Black & Veatch: Data Analytics Is the Foundation of Tomorrow’s Smart Cities

Jan 16, 2018 8:00 AM ET

Black & Veatch's new Strategic Directions Report reflects rising role of Big Data across infrastructure systems

Energy

New WBCSD Report Helps Argentinian Companies Procure Renewable Electricity via Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs)

Jan 16, 2018 7:55 AM ET

The World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) and the Consejo Empresario Argentino para el Desarrollo Sostenible (CEADS) released their new guide “Power Purchase Agreements en Argentina.”

Responsible Production & Consumption

Albertsons’ Private Label Organic Brand Reaches $1 Billion in Sales

Jan 16, 2018 7:55 AM ET

Albertsons’ private-label organic brand, O Organics, has reached $1 billion in sales. The chain has announced its plans to introduce approximately 500 new products to the 1,000-plus item line this year. The brand already encompasses selections in several categories including fresh produce, eggs, milk, milk alternatives, yogurt, meats, bread, coffee, snacks, and baby food. The organic brand is known for its competitive prices within the organic market.

Social Impact & Volunteering

VolunteerMatch and Forward It On Partner to Bring Meaningful Volunteer Opportunities to Corporate Employees

Jan 16, 2018 7:15 AM ET

VolunteerMatch, the web’s largest volunteer engagement network, and Forward It On, a web-based corporate giving platform, announce today a partnership to engage companies and their employees to drive social change through volunteerism. VolunteerMatch and Forward It On believe that individuals, including corporate employees, will benefit by engaging in volunteerism in a direct and authentic way.

Media & Communications

Communicating Purpose and Vision in a Digital World

Jan 16, 2018 4:30 AM ET

Ethical Corporation has just published a 9-page briefing discussing purposeful and effective communications in our digitalised world.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

Six Companies to Watch in the Future of the Circular Economy

Jan 15, 2018 6:05 PM ET

The days of the linear economy are numbered. Businesses the world over are finding innovation and growth by striking out in a circular direction. More than simply doing “less bad,” we are seeing the advent of regenerative practices and net positive solutions – and that gives me hope.

Environment

New Business Drives Fairlawn Mitigation Effort

Jan 15, 2018 4:35 PM ET

The final conservation piece is in place to permanently protect Fairlawn Plantation in north Mount Pleasant, closing the door on development there and allowing the land to be added to the Francis Marion National Forest.

Boeing, Mercedes-Benz Vans, the S.C. State Ports Authority, and now the state Commerce Department all played a role in conserving the site as part of their mitigation plans.

Diversity & Inclusion

Keeping the Dream Alive

Jan 15, 2018 3:30 PM ET

The essays run the gamut in terms of length. Most arrive handwritten, the style of printing shedding light on the writers’ age group and on their innocence. The works haven’t been scrubbed for spelling and grammatical errors either. They are simple and genuine reflections by young school children from throughout the United States who, in the spirit of Martin Luther King Jr., each year voice their hopes and dreams to Hormel Foods.

The company’s African American Resource Group – known as HAARG – has sponsored and coordinated an annual essay contest for primary school children since 2011. It is designed to pay tribute to the fallen civil rights leader by asking children what he and his work mean to them. At the same time, it’s meant to show them they should believe change is possible.

Social Impact & Volunteering

Bakken Invitation Award Recipients Honored

Jan 15, 2018 2:30 PM ET

Backed by the Medtronic Foundation, the award program – inspired by MDT co-founder Earl Bakken – is in its fifth year of honoring people who have overcome health challenges with the help of medical technology and are giving back to their communities through charitable service and volunteerism.

This year’s recipients span 10 countries and represent six medical conditions. They each nominate a charity to receive a Medtronic Foundation grant (Learn more about all of the 2017 recipients).

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

Waste Is Only Waste If We Define It That Way

Jan 15, 2018 2:15 PM ET

Look inside the Kohler Waste Lab, where we’re asking how industrial waste can be kept out of landfills and transformed into something of value. The Waste Lab’s sole purpose is to imagine and create new uses for clean manufacturing waste. Currently we’re working with foundry dust and sand, green cull, and enamel powder to make kitchen and bathroom tile. But that’s just the beginning. Explore the lab and see what we’re working on at wastelab.kohler.com.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Northern Trust Partnered with Hands on Manila and Planted 250 Mangroves in Calatagan Batangas

Jan 15, 2018 2:10 PM ET

We partnered with Hands on Manila and planted 250 mangroves in Calatagan Batangas! Volunteers ended the day appreciating the importance of a healthy marine ecosystem by snorkeling!

Environment

World Agroforestry Centre | Transformations Online

Jan 15, 2018 1:35 PM ET

In this issue: World Agroforestry Centre's scientists presented their research findings on the impact of agriculture on climate at COP23; Tony Bartlett discusses the effects agroforestry has had on Northwest Viet Nam; and ICRAF works with Indonesian farmers to cultivate sandalwood as part of the Indonesia Rural Economic Development project. Plus, upcoming events, new videos and publications, and more.

Responsible Production & Consumption

Ahold Delhaize, Albertsons, Target Form Sustainable Palm Oil Network

Jan 15, 2018 1:00 PM ET

A number of US retailers, including Ahold Delhaize, Albertsons and Target, have joined with global food manufacturers such as Kellogg and Kraft Heinz to form the North American Sustainable Palm Oil Network (NASPON). The aim of the group is to educate and assist North American companies in making and delivering on commitments to source sustainable palm oil.

Research, Reports & Publications

Caterpillar's Tucson Proving Ground Reduces Emissions Using New Cat® Microgrid Solution

Jan 15, 2018 12:00 PM ET

While remote, the Tucson Proving Ground has a high demand for power with employees working on projects ranging from machine tear downs and builds to welding to office and administrative tasks.

Environment

GRO1000 Impact Infographic

Jan 15, 2018 11:55 AM ET

Supply Chain & the Circular Economy

UPS Longitudes | Our Top 5 Sustainability Articles of 2017

Jan 15, 2018 11:15 AM ET

See the top five sustainability stories about logisitics, smart cities, alternative power, and more from UPS's thought leadership blog, Longitudes.

Social Impact & Volunteering

Honoring MLK Day With Personal Commitments to Volunteering and Service

Jan 15, 2018 11:15 AM ET

MLK Day of Service is an opportunity to remember history and re-commit ourselves as citizens by volunteering in service to one another. It is also a time to consider how much work still remains to fulfill Dr. King’s dream. We at Common Impact believe service is a powerful tool for strengthening the communities in which we live and work.

Sustainable Finance & Socially Responsible Investment

Money Is Not Wealth: Cryptos v. Fiats!

Jan 15, 2018 11:05 AM ET

Most bankers, economists and investors after a couple of drinks, will admit that money is not wealth. Money is a metric, like inches and centimeters, for tracking real wealth: human ingenuity and technological productivity interacting with natural resources and biodiversity undergirding all human societies along with the daily free photons from our Sun, as described in "Valuing Today's Circular Services Information Economies".

Research, Reports & Publications

Improve the Quality of Your CSR Report: Introducing GRI’s New Disclosure Review Service

Jan 15, 2018 11:00 AM ET

Improving the quality of sustainability reporting is one of GRI's key focus areas. To this end, the organization has launched a new Disclosure Review Service, and is accepting applications as of today.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Sands Bethlehem Recycles Art Pieces in Team Member Sale Benefitting Charity

Jan 15, 2018 10:05 AM ET

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

This Big Data CEO Thinks There Is No Substitute for Personal Connections

Jan 15, 2018 9:55 AM ET

Working at Alliance Data has many perks, but one of the best ones might be having an approachable CEO who loves meeting with associates. Fortune Live's Susie Gharib sat down with our CEO Ed Heffernan recently to talk about our success and the company's growth.

Energy

Uncovering Opportunities: Changing How We Think About Energy

Jan 15, 2018 8:55 AM ET

If someone asked you to name the top challenge presented by urbanization and our escalating world population, what would you say? One answer could be: the ever-increasing need for energy – which is one of the most basic dilemmas of modern life. But with the right approach, we can turn this challenge into an opportunity.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Sanofi Pasteur Community Engagement Team Building Benefits Local Head Start Students

Jan 15, 2018 8:10 AM ET

On January 11, 2018, members of Sanofi Pasteur’s Global Influenza Franchise Team delivered four outdoor cabinets to Pocono Services for Families and Children (PSFC), which oversees Monroe County (Pa.) Head Start. In total, more than 30 Sanofi Pasteur employees built and hand crafted the cabinets, which will be used to store various toys and supplies for outdoor play.

Environment

VIDEO: TD Bank Group Strengthens Green Bond Market to Support Low-Carbon Economy

Jan 15, 2018 8:00 AM ET

Green bonds are an example of innovation in financial services, allowing companies and investors to direct their capital to projects that are helping the transition to the low-carbon economy. Karen Clarke-Whistler, TD Bank Group's Chief Environment Officer and Amy West, Head of Socially Responsible Finance at TD Securities, talk about why green bonds are worth a second look for companies and investors alike.