Impact & Sustainability News From Leading Brands

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Agile Social Impact: The New Imperative for Corporate Philanthropy

Feb 27, 2019 1:00 PM ET

Social Impact & Volunteering

Between Starving Children and Thriving Children, There’s Rajeev.

Feb 27, 2019 12:50 PM ET

Rajeev has been involved in volunteering for more than 30 years, founding two nonprofit organizations — his first one when he was only 16 years old — that help relieve hunger for children in slums and people living on the streets in India. When historic floods ravaged his native Kerala last year, he rescued stranded victims, then organized hundreds of people to provide relief. Rajeev is a shining example of someone who truly knows what it means to Be the Bridge. We asked him about his time at Cisco and what volunteering means to him.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Keep America Beautiful’s Cigarette Litter Prevention Program Opens 2019 Grant Application Period

Feb 27, 2019 12:45 PM ET

Keep America Beautiful, the nation’s largest community improvement nonprofit organization, today announced the opening of the grant application period for the 2019 Cigarette Litter Prevention Program (CLPP), designed to help communities combat the most commonly littered item in America.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

Get Inspired With These 15 Employee Volunteer Programs

Feb 27, 2019 12:00 PM ET

With CSR practices growing in popularity, businesses are finding innovative methods to make their programs stand out from the crowd and maximize impact. If you're looking to revamp your employee volunteer program in 2019, get inspired with these 15 exceptional examples.

Sustainable Finance & Socially Responsible Investment

How to Eliminate Credit Card Debt

Feb 27, 2019 10:45 AM ET

It is easy to reach for your credit card for daily necessities when cash is scarce. However, good credit card management tells us to think twice before making that decision. According to WalletHub, the average U.S. household has $8,284 in credit card debt. One of the best ways to improve your credit score is to start reducing your credit card debt.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

CBRE Group, Inc. Named One Of The 2019 World's Most Ethical Companies For Sixth Consecutive Year

Feb 27, 2019 10:40 AM ET

CBRE Group, Inc. (NYSE:CBRE) has been recognized as one of the 2019 World’s Most Ethical Companies® by the Ethisphere Institute, a global leader in defining and advancing the standards of ethical business practices. This is the sixth year in a row CBRE has achieved this recognition.

Education

Consumers Energy Welcomes Students to STEM and Robotics Expo

Feb 27, 2019 10:30 AM ET

On Friday, about 180 Jackson County middle and high school students from 11 schools will showcase their work during Consumers Energy’s annual STEM and robotics expo. Students are part of teams that spend the year developing robotics projects for competitions that build their STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) skills that can lead to high-tech careers.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

The Power of Partnership: Tackling the World’s Most Significant Challenges

Feb 27, 2019 10:05 AM ET

Today, on World NGO Day, I want to take a moment to offer my thanks to the many organizations with whom Mars works to achieve progress against our shared ambitions. Over the years, we’ve had the good fortune of collaborating with global nonprofits doing amazing work to shape change and implement programs in the communities our company’s footprint touches. Through these partnerships, we’re learning from each other and ultimately strengthening our impact through combined efforts.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

Aflac One of the World’s Most Ethical Companies for 13th Consecutive Year

Feb 27, 2019 10:00 AM ET

Illustrating Aflac’s long-term and ongoing commitment to ethical excellence, today the Ethisphere Institute announced that Aflac, the leading supplemental insurance company for sales at the worksite,* has been named one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies for a record-setting 13th consecutive year. Aflac is one of only eight businesses and the only insurance company to appear on the list every year since its inception in 2007.

Supply Chain & the Circular Economy

Video | How The UPS Package Lab Makes Loop Possible

Feb 27, 2019 9:30 AM ET

Could this be the beginning of the end for single-use packaging? Loop™, a coalition of the largest consumer product companies, thinks it might be. Check out how UPS is helping to enable this coalition and learn from the experts on Wednesday, 2/27 at GreenBiz19 in “Delivering Circularity: Innovative Models for Reusable Packaging.”

Environment

Ecocentricity Blog: Loop, Loop, Skip to My Loop

Feb 27, 2019 9:30 AM ET

Kudos to TerraCycle and the brands that are working to create the Loop model; a compelling example of business-led innovation that reduces environmental impact. #circulareconomy #recycling

Innovation & Technology

HP CTO Shane Wall Interview — Megatrends, Automating Jobs, and Fighting Growing Inequality

Feb 27, 2019 9:10 AM ET

HP is unveiling today its expectations for “megatrends,” or the major trends that will shape our world in the years to come. It comes courtesy of Shane Wall, the chief technology officer of HP and head of HP Labs. He oversees research and development at HP.

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

A New Transparency Challenge for Business and Human Rights

Feb 27, 2019 9:00 AM ET

There is an urgent need to enhance disclosure practices across all industries that receive requests for data and assistance from law enforcement agencies.

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

Leaders From Over 100 Iconic Brands Build Bikes for Children in Foster Care

Feb 27, 2019 8:45 AM ET

Corporate citizenship leaders from 110 enterprise companies participated in a volunteer bike build benefiting 120 children in foster care in the Palm Springs area last evening.

Environment

SC Johnson to Launch First-Ever 100% Recycled Ocean Plastic Bottle in a Major Home Cleaning Brand

Feb 27, 2019 8:35 AM ET

As part of its ongoing commitment to tackling the problem of plastic pollution in our oceans, SC Johnson has announced that it will launch the industry’s first product that uses 100 percent recycled ocean plastic in a major home cleaning brand. That product is part of the ubiquitous Windex® brand, one of the company’s most popular brands and a household favorite for the past 86 years.

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

There Is No "One Size Fits All."

Feb 27, 2019 8:30 AM ET

As the field of pro bono service continues to grow, companies increasingly identify pro bono programming as a critical element of their overall social impact objectives. Taproot Foundation conducted an inaugural survey of companies doing pro bono to collect data on their programs, identify trends, and share key observations for advancing the field.

Supply Chain & the Circular Economy

EDF Unveils Crowdsourced Platform to Accelerate Corporate Sustainability

Feb 27, 2019 8:10 AM ET

A new crowdsourced web platform launched today aims to help sustainability professionals meet increasing demands to reduce corporate climate and chemical footprints and showcase results. The platform will fill a vital gap in sustainability departments’ capacity to stay informed on the latest resources to address environmental impacts across global supply chains.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

Tetra Tech Wins City of Houston Goods and Services Prime Contractor of the Year Award

Feb 27, 2019 8:00 AM ET

n February 7, 2019, Tetra Tech received the City of Houston Office of Business Opportunity (OBO) Goods and Services Prime Contractor of the Year Award at the 6th Annual Champions of Diversity Awards Ceremony.

Environment

Video: Verizon & NFL Super Bowl LIII: Recycling Rally at Zoo Atlanta 2019

Feb 27, 2019 8:00 AM ET

Verizon, the NFL, and the Atlanta Superbowl Hosting Committee teamed up for the Superbowl 53 e-waste recycling rally. More than 400 people participated in the Recycling Rally and the total collected e-waste filled 87 pallets.

Environment

Forest Recovery: Marlin’s Environmental Legacy

Feb 27, 2019 6:30 AM ET

At Goldcorp, we are committed to managing our impact on the environment. After a mine’s closure, our aim is to leave a sustainable legacy for present and future generations that we can be proud of. Goldcorp’s Marlin mine, Guatemala’s first large scale gold mine, closed in 2017 and has transitioned into a reclaimed and reforested area of biodiversity interest and research.

Energy

Infographic | Are You Ready for an Electric Fleet?

Feb 26, 2019 3:45 PM ET

Are you looking to power up your commercial fleet and go electric? Check out this infographic by UPS - and if you're at GreenBiz this week, join Crystal Lassiter, UPS’s Senior Global Director of Sustainability, for a discussion about the driving factors, challenges, and opportunities of the shift to electrification on 2/27!

Social Impact & Volunteering

Share Your Love by Volunteering for PHILLIPS Playground Build Day This May!

Feb 26, 2019 3:35 PM ET

Looking for a service project for your group or business? How about building a playground?

Responsible Production & Consumption

Walmart Announces New Plastic Packaging Waste Reduction Commitments

Feb 26, 2019 3:00 PM ET

Walmart today issued a bold new set of plastic waste reduction commitments by leveraging its massive private brand program. The new commitments, announced at Walmart’s annual supplier forum, are expected to impact over 30,000 SKUs. The move is designed to help get to the heart of the problem by focusing on the retailer’s private brand packaging, building upon existing efforts to reduce plastic waste in Walmart U.S. and Sam’s Club operations, and encouraging national brand suppliers to set similar packaging goals.

Green Infrastructure

A Living Laboratory for Transportation Innovation — #CleanTechnica Interview With Allie Kelly

Feb 26, 2019 2:15 PM ET

Allie Kelly, executive director of The Ray, a non-profit organization which is the nation’s only publicly accessible, living laboratory for transportation innovation, has been announced as a featured speaker for the 2019 WTS Conference in Boston, May 15-17, 2019. With a vision to achieve equity and access for women in the transportation industry, WTS generates high-caliber professional opportunities for members through events and activities, networking opportunities, and unparalleled access to industry and government leaders.

Sustainable Development Goals

UN Global Compact and B Lab to Develop Online Platform for Companies to Manage Their Progress on the Sustainable Development Goals

Feb 26, 2019 2:00 PM ET

The United Nations Global Compact together with B Lab will develop a new online platform for companies around the world to manage their progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).