Impact & Sustainability News From Leading Brands

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

Consumers Energy Crews Headed East to Assist in Winter Storm Restoration

Mar 5, 2018 12:10 PM ET

More than 140 Consumers Energy employees and contract personnel are responding to a winter storm that left nearly 2 million residents in the Northeast U.S. without power. Consumers Energy crews, including lineworkers, damage assessors, safety personnel and other field employees, are departing Jackson, Michigan today.

Education

Thinking About an MBA in Business and Sustainability? Consider a Dual Degree From the Erb Institute | Business for Sustainability

Mar 5, 2018 11:40 AM ET

Are you concerned about the environment? Do you feel there is still a lot of progress to be made on social issues? Do you have a global perspective? And, most importantly, do you feel that business, more often than not, can be the answer? It sounds like you could be the perfect candidate for a dual degree program at the Erb Institute | Business for Sustainability and we’d love to meet you!

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

Bruce Murphy, KeyCorp's Head of Corporate Responsibility, to Retire in 2018; Don Graves Named Head of Corporate Responsibility & Community Relations

Mar 5, 2018 11:30 AM ET

KeyCorp announced today that Bruce Murphy, Head of Corporate Responsibility, has shared his intention to retire on July 1, 2018. Key also announced that Don Graves will succeed Murphy and assume responsibility for Key’s Corporate Responsibility and Community Relations functions.

Media & Communications

Supply Chain Responsibility – A Signal of Excellence in Corporate Accountability? Stakeholders Are Increasingly Thinking That Way…in the “New World Order"

Mar 5, 2018 11:30 AM ET

Back in 1991, the tense “Cold War” environment of the post-WWII era was coming to an end. President George H.W. Bush, a veteran fighter pilot in WWII and “Cold War Warrior,” addressed the U.S. Congress (January 19th) to deliver his State of the Union address. “We stand at a defining hour,” he declared. “What is at stake is more than one small country (referring to Iraq at that moment); it is a big idea – a New World Order, where diverse nations are drawn together in common cause to achieve the universal aspirations of mankind…peace, security, freedom, and the rule of law. Such is a world worthy of our struggle and worthy of our children’s future.”

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Smithfield Foods Donation Brings New Indoor Archery Facility to Victory Junction

Mar 5, 2018 11:15 AM ET

The Smithfield Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Smithfield Foods, Inc., is pleased to announce its gift of $500,000 to Victory Junction, a children’s camp committed to enriching the lives of children with chronic medical conditions or serious illnesses by providing life-changing camp experiences. Smithfield’s donation will fund the camp’s new indoor archery range.

Since 2004 Victory Junction has served 47,903 children and their family members through a variety of programs – onsite through summer and family weekend camps and offsite through the camp’s outreach program, Reach, which brings camp-like experiences to children in hospitals and Ronald McDonald Houses.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

After Almost 1200 Days in Foster Care, Jayden is Finally in His Forever Home

Mar 5, 2018 11:00 AM ET

No child should linger in foster care, but all too often that is exactly what happens. The Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption’s signature program, Wendy’s Wonderful Kids works to change the face of foster care adoption.

Education

Marina Bay Sands Opens Its Doors to Students for an Insider Look at an Integrated Resort

Mar 5, 2018 10:55 AM ET

Marina Bay Sands Team Members brought 40 children from the Dyslexia Association of Singapore and Students Care Service on a fun-filled hospitality career workshop in support of the annual AmCham Corporate Community Day in November. Organized by The American Chamber of Commerce in Singapore (AmCham) and the U.S. Embassy, it is a special day that encourages all American organizations in Singapore and its employees to build stronger ties with Singapore through local community work.

Diversity & Inclusion

Curiosity, Exploration and Community – How I Paved My Own Path to a Cybersecurity Career

Mar 5, 2018 10:35 AM ET

Environment

9 Sustainability-Driven Tech Companies You Need to Watch in 2018

Mar 5, 2018 10:35 AM ET

Sustainability challenges grow more pressing by the day. Research shows that global temperatures are on track to increase by 2 degrees C by the end of the century — and some scientific models are predicting up to 6 degrees. Antea Group’s blog showcases 9 companies to watch in 2018 for their innovative efforts towards achieving sustainability.

Environment

Ceres, WWF Expand AgWater Challenge to Drive Water Stewardship in Ag Supply Chains

Mar 5, 2018 10:10 AM ET

Cape Town, South Africa could run out of water in a few months, literally turning off the spigot for some four million residents. If a solution to the crisis is not found, social unrest is feared. Beyond the human rights concerns, the region’s vegetable, citrus, grape and nut growers may face shortages as 40 percent of Western Cape Town’s water is currently allocated to agriculture.

Innovation & Technology

Black & Veatch Center of Excellence in Houston Drives Tunneling, Flood Control Options

Mar 5, 2018 10:00 AM ET

Black & Veatch, a leader in the design and construction management of large-diameter, deep-tunneling projects, announced today it has created a Center of Excellence in its Houston office to deliver sustainable, cost-effective tunneled solutions.

Environment

Researchers Use Recycled Carbon Fiber to Improve Permeable Pavement

Mar 5, 2018 9:25 AM ET

Recycled carbon fiber composite scrap received from Boeing manufacturing facilities helps solve the environmental challenge of stormwater run-off.

Social Impact & Volunteering

Common Impact and Fidelity Investments Scale Tech Impact Week to 6 Cities Across the U.S.

Mar 5, 2018 9:00 AM ET

Common Impact, a nonprofit that pioneered corporate skills-based volunteering is collaborating with Fidelity Investments® to launch Tech Impact Week, its 3rd annual wide-scale flash consulting event where Fidelity Investments technologists utilize their expertise to support local nonprofit organizations in building their internal capacity and acumen. This year, the initiative is one of the largest to-date, spanning across 6 regions and pairing nearly 450 Fidelity Investments volunteers and 67 nonprofits, resulting in an anticipated investment of $550,000.

Research, Reports & Publications

Common Cents Lab Report: Hacking Human Behavior to Improve Financial Health

Mar 5, 2018 8:20 AM ET

While Common Cents Lab is a research entity, its work does so much more than create interesting research. It creates easier, more intuitive ways for people to save – which is something that most people say they want to do, but find difficult. In 2017, twenty-seven organizations worked with Common Cents Lab to design products or outreach strategies that have helped nearly 500,000 low- and moderate-income Americans thus far.

Events, Media & Communications

Tetra Tech Sponsors Upcoming Engineering News-Record Webinar on Building Utility Resilience for Water Extremes

Mar 5, 2018 8:00 AM ET

As communities around the world are impacted by ongoing weather extremes, local utilities face significant challenges to plan secure infrastructure to minimize service disruptions for their customers.

Supply Chain & the Circular Economy

Circular Economy 101: Waste Not, Get More

Mar 5, 2018 7:45 AM ET

Across the globe, about 50 percent of CO2 emissions are tied to materials — goods that often produce a significant amount of physical and financial waste. The United Nations estimates that the 41.8 million tonnes (Mt) of electronic waste generated in 2014, for example, included 16 Mt of copper and 300 tonnes of gold, plus other precious metals such as palladium. This material had a combined value of $52 billion.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Companies Standing Up for Gun Control

Mar 2, 2018 5:30 PM ET

The students of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School have been thrust into a national debate and have made it clear that thoughts and prayers are not enough – they are demanding action from politicians, schools, the NRA and even businesses. We have seen this highly-politicized and divisive issue in the news before, but this time is different. Those students can’t be ignored. Companies are increasingly more comfortable standing up for and speaking out on hot button issues that have dominated the news over the last year.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

LA Galaxy Host Annual Read Across America Day Celebration at StubHub Center

Mar 2, 2018 4:45 PM ET

Yesterday, AEG’s LA Galaxy, StubHub Center and the LA Chargers hosted more than 250 second and third grade students from Towne Avenue Elementary School and Leapwood Avenue Elementary School at StubHub Center in Carson, Calif. for Read Across America Day in celebration of Dr. Seuss’ 114th birthday.

Research, Reports & Publications

Companies Must Take the Higher Road Toward a Sustainable Future

Mar 2, 2018 3:30 PM ET

In our new report, TURNING POINT: Corporate Progress on The Ceres Roadmap for Sustainability, we take a closer look at how more than 600 of the largest U.S. companies are responding to these calls and positioning themselves for success in a world increasingly shaped by unprecedented environmental and social challenges. The analysis specifically takes a closer look at the progress of more than 600 companies to meet 20 key expectations of sustainability leadership within the areas of governance, disclosure, stakeholder engagement, environmental and social performance, as outlined in the Ceres Roadmap for Sustainability.

Green Infrastructure

This 18-mile Stretch of Georgia Highway Is a Living Laboratory for Clean Energy

Mar 2, 2018 1:15 PM ET

It’s not often that captains of industry have epiphanies about climate change. So it was remarkable when, after reading The Ecology of Commerce in 1994, carpet manufacturer Ray Anderson set out to clean up his petroleum-intensive operation and succeeded in cutting net carbon emissions by more than 80 percent.

Green Infrastructure

Cleaning the Built Environment After the Big Celebration

Mar 2, 2018 12:30 PM ET

The city of Philadelphia’s football team won the big game for the first time ever and its long-suffering fan base celebrated the victory in kind. In February, the city held a massive parade for its football team, a turnout that some estimated teetered over 700,000 people. With this great turnout came its inevitable byproduct: trash. Lots of trash. Roughly 90 tons of trash, the most the city has ever generated for a single event and nearly double its previous record of 58 tons for a victory parade for its baseball team in 2008.

Philadelphia came prepared. The city’s Department of Streets mobilized a team of 300 workers, using 100 kinds of equipment, to follow the procession of the parade to clean up the immediate aftermath.

Social Impact & Volunteering

A Decade in the Making | Taproot Foundation's Advisory Services Newsletter

Mar 2, 2018 12:05 PM ET

Ten years ago, when Lindsay Firestone Gruber started Taproot's Advisory Services practice, the purpose was simple: to help nonprofits tackle their toughest challenges by connecting them to hard-to-reach corporate talent. A decade later, the landscape of corporate pro bono is thriving. Kim Gillman, National Director of Advisory Services, sat down with Lindsay Firestone Gruber, founder of Advisory Services and the current Chief Programs Officer, to reflect on the past decade and to explore what’s next for the field.

Environment

Unlikely Allies Are Crowdsourcing Funding and Habitat to Save the Monarch Butterfly

Mar 2, 2018 11:00 AM ET

The Monarch Butterfly Habitat Exchange is an innovative market-based program dedicated to restoring and conserving high-quality monarch habitat on America's private working lands. It’s been dubbed an ‘Airbnb for butterflies’ because it’s the only program of its kind that can open the vast untapped potential of large-scale farms and ranches to make habitat available for monarchs at an unprecedented scale and pace.

Smithfield Foods, a global food company that is also the world’s largest hog producer and pork processor, is the first food company to participate in the program, contributing $300,000 to restore key prairie habitat for monarchs in Missouri.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

Bloomberg Headquarters in New York Receives Highest 3 Star Fitwel Certification From Center for Active Design

Mar 2, 2018 10:55 AM ET

Bloomberg L.P.’s headquarters at 731 Lexington Avenue has been certified by the Center for Active Design (CfAD) with a Fitwel 3 Star Rating, the system’s highest achievement level. Fitwel is the leading global health certification, evaluating evidence-based strategies in buildings that support human health. The Center for Active Design is the operator of the Fitwel Certification System and is an international not-for-profit organization that was launched in 2012 by then Mayor and founder of Bloomberg L.P. Michael Bloomberg.

Media & Communications

ERM Announces Acquisition of BrownFlynn, Ltd.

Mar 2, 2018 10:50 AM ET

ERM, the world’s leading sustainability consultancy, has completed the acquisition of BrownFlynn Ltd (BrownFlynn). BrownFlynn is the leading U.S. corporate sustainability and governance consulting business based in Cleveland, Ohio.