Impact & Sustainability News From Leading Brands

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

Duke Energy Work From Home Program Benefits Customers, Employees

Oct 11, 2017 11:20 AM ET

Mike Weatherspoon didn’t create his Duke Room for watching Duke University Blue Devils basketball. It’s for taking calls as a senior customer service virtual care specialist at Duke Energy.

Energy

VIDEO | Discover How to Maximize Energy Efficiency and Get Results by Being Sustainable

Oct 11, 2017 11:20 AM ET

We help AEG increase overall efficiency and reduce total resource consumption. We partnered in developing sustainability objectives for 2020 and deployed the technology to monitor progress against goals.

Research, Reports & Publications

Corporate Sustainability Insights from Erb Institute | Business for Sustainability's Strategic Advisory Member, Neil Hawkins

Oct 11, 2017 11:15 AM ET

“It’s extremely important to have a few goals that will lead a company to have a truly positive impact, but also to stick to those goals and align everyone around them,” he says. “These are hugely important for culture, identity, recruiting and retention. They need to be simple and easy to understand, helping the company to stay focused… It’s about constancy of purpose; you want to instill this into the culture.” It starts on the inside, and without engrained commitment, alignment and clarity (Purpose), Performance and Participation will be lacking.

Green Infrastructure

Sands China Ltd. | Small Steps, Big Changes

Oct 11, 2017 11:00 AM ET

Given the limited land resources in Macao, waste management is a constant challenge. Yet even the biggest goals can be accomplished with small steps.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

Congrats to the 2017 Best Disaster Response and Community Resilience Program Finalists!

Oct 11, 2017 11:00 AM ET

Congratulations to the Best Disaster Response and Community Resilience Finalists!

The Best Disaster Response and Community Resilience Corporate Citizenship Award recognizes businesses and chambers that help communities prepare for and recover from disasters. Read on to learn more about the significant, positive impacts these businesses have had in communities, locally and globally.

Research, Reports & Publications

Trust is Down, Expectations are Up as Brands Take Center Stage in Cultural Divides

Oct 11, 2017 10:30 AM ET

Trust is down. Expectations are up. And like never before, the world’s consumers are turning to brands to address the social and environmental challenges that affect their aspirations for a better life in divided times.

According to a new global study by BBMG and GlobeScan, Brand Purpose in Divided Times, net trust in global companies to act in the best interest of society is negative (-2). And for the first time since 2009, more consumers say they have punished companies for their behavior (28%) rather than rewarded them (26%), and the number of those who are punishing brands is up by 9 percentage points since 2013.

Environment

FSC-Certified Products Nudging Consumers Into Walking Their Sustainability Talk

Oct 11, 2017 10:15 AM ET

For companies such as Domtar and Kimberly-Clark, consumers are crucial to mainstreaming sustainable practices. That is the reason both corporations are working to give shoppers better options, including FSC-certified products. FSC certification helps ensure that forests used to source a host of products are managed in a way that takes into account environmental, social and economic concerns.

Green Infrastructure

Charging Gets a Boost From Ridesharing EVs

Oct 11, 2017 10:15 AM ET

It’s a classic chicken-and-egg scenario: buy an EV once there is a lot of charging infrastructure and build EV charging infrastructure once there are a lot of EVs. General Motors, a company who believes the future is electric, is helping to jumpstart the opportunity through its Maven brand.

Research, Reports & Publications

Prioritizing Cybersecurity Key to Ensure Safe, Secure Utilities

Oct 11, 2017 10:00 AM ET

Facing inevitable attacks to their networks by hackers, electric utilities are making progress in prioritizing cybersecurity to ensure that they can deliver and maintain safe, secure utilities for all. However, this year’s Strategic Directions: Electric Industry Report shows even as leaders work to ensure grid security, major gaps remain in the areas of asset security control and security risk awareness.

Diversity & Inclusion

How Grace Hopper Fueled My Passion for Women in Technology

Oct 11, 2017 9:55 AM ET

Diversity & Inclusion

Viacom Celebrates Coming Out Day on October 11 with First-Ever Global Cross Brand On-Air and Digital Campaign, “Out in 60”

Oct 11, 2017 9:45 AM ET

Raising awareness for LGBT challenges while promoting inclusion and acceptance around the world, Viacom International Media Networks today announced its celebration of the act of “coming out” with “Out in 60,” a global campaign timed to Coming Out Day, a worldwide, annual holiday observed on October 11. With more than 50 international stars participating – from musicians and comedians to athletes and influencers -- all sharing emotional and inspiring coming out stories, the campaign will feature 60-second spots airing on linear, digital and social around the world and across channels including MTV, VH1, Logo, BET, Channel 5, and Comedy Central.

Responsible Production & Consumption

Historic Merino Wool Farm Earns Recognition Under Responsible Wool Standard

Oct 11, 2017 9:30 AM ET

SCS Global Services (SCS) has certified Gostwyck Partners' sheep farm under the Responsible Wool Standard (RWS), verifying its sustainable sheep-raising and land stewardship practices in its historic farm in Gostwyck, NSW, Australia.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

eBay Teams Up With Yara Shahidi, PINTRILL and Bright Pink to Support Breast Cancer Awareness

Oct 11, 2017 9:15 AM ET

eBay for Charity has teamed up with fashion and accessory brand PINTRILL and “Black-ish” star Yara Shahidi for Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

PNC’s Andréa Stanford Presented with ATHENA Young Professional Award

Oct 11, 2017 9:10 AM ET

The ATHENA Awards Program of Greater Pittsburgh recognizes exceptional women who demonstrate excellence in their profession, contribute to their community and help other women succeed through mentorship. At their October 2 awards luncheon, the 2017 ATHENA Young Professional Award was presented to Andréa Stanford, digital experience product manager at PNC Bank. This award recognizes a leader age 35 or younger who dedicates her time and talent to help other women and girls to thrive.

Sustainable Development Goals

Small and Medium Business Owners Are Cautiously Optimistic About Sustainability in the U.S.

Oct 11, 2017 9:00 AM ET

Today, Cox Enterprises released the results of the national Cox Conserves Sustainability Survey, which identified that small and medium-sized business (SMBs) owners are cautiously optimistic about sustainability in the United States. The survey, commissioned by Cox Enterprises, is a national study that examines SMB owners’ insights on sustainability.

Sustainable Development Goals

Tetra Tech Recognizes the Power of Girls and Women to Change the World

Oct 11, 2017 9:00 AM ET

On October 11, Tetra Tech joins organizations around the world in celebrating the role of girls and women in building a better world.
The United Nations’ International Day of the Girl Child has focused the world’s attention on “the need to address the challenges girls face and to promote girls’ empowerment and the fulfillment of their human rights. […] Girls have the potential to change the world—both as the empowered girls of today and as tomorrow’s workers, mothers, entrepreneurs, mentors, household heads, and political leaders.”

Environment

Visiting the Birthplace of Coffee: Jimma, Ethiopia

Oct 11, 2017 8:00 AM ET

Have you heard the story of Kaldi the goat herder and his frolicking herd? The famous Ethiopian legend tells the story of Kaldi who noticed how excited his sheep became after eating fruit from a certain tree. Curious, Kaldi tried the fruit. Soon he was bursting with energy. After watching the odd behavior of Kaldi and his herd, a monk took some of this strange cherry fruit back to his monastery where monks spent the night awake and alert. Kaldi is often credited as the first person to discover coffee.

Environment

George Monbiot: Altruism For An Age Of Crisis

Oct 10, 2017 8:30 PM ET

When you think of the values emblematic of politics in the Occident, does the term “altruism” come to mind? Probably not lately. Our guest today on Sea Change Radio believes that a participatory culture with altruism at its core will be key to digging ourselves out of the mess that is our current political climate.

Environment

Injured Bald Eagle Takes Flight Again in Manitoba

Oct 10, 2017 6:00 PM ET

Steve Loney, a TransCanada employee, works with Manitoba's Wildlife Haven and the Waywayseecappo First Nation to rehabilitate and release an injured bald eagle. TransCanada has been proud to support Wildlife Haven for more than 20 years, after a land agent spotted an owl on the shoulder of a volunteer in the 1990s and became engaged with the organization.

Diversity & Inclusion

You Grow, Girl!: Leslie Turner

Oct 10, 2017 3:35 PM ET

This is the third in our “You Grow, Girl!” series highlighting female farmers – from the northern reaches of Canada, to the heartland of the U.S., to the western coast of Africa, to the rolling hills of France and beyond. The series aims to amplify the voice of female farmers who play vital roles in helping farms thrive. These amazing women nurture their families and fields. Here, they share their unique perspectives on food, family and farming.

For this post, we looked inside our walls at General Mills to highlight an employee who grew up on a farm and puts to work both the values she learned and an agricultural lens in her role on our Consumer Insights team.

Energy

Trump Proposal to Abandon Clean Power Plan Out of Step With Business Community

Oct 10, 2017 3:30 PM ET

The proposal released today by the Trump administration to abandon the Clean Power Plan is both “misguided and out of step with the leaders in the business community,” Ceres said in a statement today.

The Clean Power Plan is the nation’s first comprehensive effort to reduce carbon pollution from existing electric power plants – the second largest source of global warming pollution in the country.

Diversity & Inclusion

Closing the Disability Employment Gap

Oct 10, 2017 3:30 PM ET

People with Disabilities are among the highest unemployed populations in the United States. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate for persons with a disability was 10.5 percent in 2016, about twice that of those with no disability (4.6 percent). As employers, this not only provides a significant opportunity to positively impact the workforce, but also, to positively impact the lives of many highly qualified individuals who are often overlooked.

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

How Pro Bono Is Revolutionizing the Way We Develop Tomorrow’s Corporate Leaders

Oct 10, 2017 3:15 PM ET

Technology, globalization, and current events have transformed the corporate work environment, and experts agree that the unprecedented pace of change we are seeing will only quicken. With so much up in the air, there is one thing that remains certain: Developing those who will lead tomorrow’s companies has never been more important. Within this context, pro bono is emerging as an innovative, high-impact strategy that can equip corporate leaders with the skills they will need to thrive.

Responsible Production & Consumption

Food Security and Sustainable Nutrition is Achievable, but We Cannot Do It Alone

Oct 10, 2017 3:05 PM ET

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

Major League Baseball Players Announce Finalists for 26th Annual Players Choice Awards

Oct 10, 2017 2:25 PM ET

Major League baseball players today announced the finalists for their highest honors – the Players Choice Awards – in which the players themselves recognize excellence on and off the field. Vying for top honor as 2017 Player of the Year are José Altuve of the Houston Astros, Nolan Arenado of the Colorado Rockies and Giancarlo Stanton of the Miami Marlins.