Impact & Sustainability News From Leading Brands

Environment

Spring Is Here! Time To Plan Your Summer Vacation At Yosemite National Park

Mar 23, 2017 4:05 PM ET

Spring has arrived and it's the perfect time to book your summer vacation at Yosemite National Park.

Located in California's Sierra Nevada mountains, Yosemite National Park is famed for its waterfalls, deep valleys, grand meadows, ancient giant seqouias, a vast wilderness area, and much more. With activities like hiking, fishing, horseback riding, rock climbing, and boating, it is impossible to be bored at this incredible destination and resort!

Social Impact & Volunteering

Mapping Human Capital as Part of a Blended Capital Approach to Community Investment

Mar 23, 2017 3:45 PM ET

Employee volunteering goes beyond typical efforts of CSR strategies in its unique utilization of social capital. Corporate volunteering programs enable employees to mobilize their personal resources for broad social benefits. The employees not only leverage the assets of the business, but combine these assets across broader social networks, utilizing trust and localized norms of cooperation.

Social Impact & Volunteering

CITGO and Bess the Book Bus Deliver the Joy of Reading to Southwest Louisiana Children for Sixth Consecutive Year

Mar 23, 2017 3:15 PM ET

This February, mobile literacy program Bess the Book Bus brought the joy of reading to young students throughout Southwest Louisiana, with the help of CITGO Petroleum Corporation.

Green Infrastructure

Microgrid Design to Boost Energy Resilience at Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus

Mar 23, 2017 3:00 PM ET

Black & Veatch is partnering with the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus to design and assess the financial and energy efficiency impacts of a microgrid in Buffalo, N.Y. The microgrid will provide resilient, clean energy for the 120-acre campus, long-term cost-savings and potential monetization opportunities for member institutions.

Social Impact & Volunteering

Impact at Work Partnership Spotlight: PENCIL and JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Mar 23, 2017 2:45 PM ET

JPMorgan Chase has partnered with Common Impact since 2014 to develop and implement the Virtual Service Corps (VSC), a skills-based volunteering program where employees utilize their talents and expertise to virtually support JPMorgan Chase’s nonprofit grantees in building capacity to serve the community. Through the VSC, JPMorgan Chase has deepened its relationship with its grantee partner, PENCIL, who is the leader in creating innovative and impactful models of collaboration between the business and education communities. This quarter, Common Impact is highlighting the JPMorgan Chase and PENCIL partnership to showcase how skills-based volunteering engagements can deepen a cross-sector relationship. Gregg Betheil, President of PENCIL and three-time VSC participant, shares his perspective.

Events, Media & Communications

Unleash Your Genius at the Living Future unConference

Mar 23, 2017 2:30 PM ET

Join us at the Living Future unConference, May 17-19 in Seattle, WA. Watch the video to see our awesome program and keynote speakers including Van Jones and Naomi Klein. Tickets are selling fast, reserve yours today!

Environment

EHSxTech Perspectives: The Changing Landscape of Tech Mergers and Acquisitions

Mar 23, 2017 2:15 PM ET

In 2016, the tech industry had a record 1,613 deals valued at $323B, including a number of high profile transactions such as Microsoft’s acquisition of LinkedIn. The pace of these transactions is only expected to increase. Read how Antea Group’s new blog series will explore the range of risks and expectations associated with the myriad types of tech industry transactions and provide insights into ways that a company’s EHS function can bring value to the transaction process.

Social Impact & Volunteering

Imagine Canada and LBG Canada Partner to Strengthen Corporate Impact on Communities

Mar 23, 2017 1:15 PM ET

Imagine Canada, a national advocate on behalf of a strong charitable sector, has joined forces with London Benchmarking Group (LBG) Canada, a resource for companies seeking to impact community through community investment, employee volunteering and giving programming.

Education

Nurturing a Lifelong Learning While Empowering Women

Mar 23, 2017 12:05 PM ET

Education

T. Rowe Price: Parents Are Likely to Pass Down Good and Bad Financial Habits to Their Kids

Mar 23, 2017 12:00 PM ET

T. Rowe Price’s 2017 Parents, Kids & Money Survey, which sampled 1,014 parents of 8 to 14 year olds nationally and their kids, analyzed parent attitudes and behaviors that were associated with kids’ financial habits. The survey found that positive money behaviors and expectations among kids are often associated with parents’ decision to let their kids decide how to save and spend their money on their own, as well as modeling good financial habits. Conversely, troubling financial habits among kids were more frequently seen when parents have a troubling history with money.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

Last Year’s Sustainability Winners Unwrapped

Mar 23, 2017 11:00 AM ET

Last year’s 7th Annual Ethical Corporation Responsible Business Awards showcased the crème de la crème of companies across the world who are setting the bar for sustainability.

Education

Do I Help My Students or Do I Help My Family? A Reality Many Teachers Face

Mar 23, 2017 11:00 AM ET

Imagine that you’re a fourth grade teacher at a public school in Orange County, Florida, the tenth largest school district in the United States. You have twenty-one students in your class and resources are tight.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Young Lamario Fourney Shares What Life is Like now that his Family Lives in a Habitat Home

Mar 23, 2017 11:00 AM ET

Young Lamario Fourney shares what life is like now that his family lives in a Habitat for Humanity home.

Education

Arrow Helps Students Learn Innovation through Technology Education, Competitions

Mar 23, 2017 11:00 AM ET

Health & Healthcare

Access to Medicines Index

Mar 23, 2017 11:00 AM ET

In 2016, we topped the Access to Medicine Index for the fifth consecutive time since it began in 2008. The index is an independent measure of the top 20 pharmaceutical companies’ efforts to improve access to healthcare in developing countries.

Environment

Musicians Go “Live” in Global Rally to Fight Climate Change

Mar 23, 2017 10:35 AM ET

This Saturday, World Wildlife Fund’s Earth Hour will sweep across the globe as skylines from Sydney to San Francisco go dark as a symbolic call for urgent action in the fight against climate change.

Environment

#WorldWaterDay: Cox Conserves Heroes Program Celebrates Water Stewardship

Mar 23, 2017 10:35 AM ET

Yesterday, many people celebrated World Water Day with various movements and activities. The international event highlights the importance of fresh water, while celebrating the strides of water stewards around the globe. Cox Conserves Heroes are individuals recognized for dedicating their time and resources as environmental volunteers.

Health & Healthcare

Giving Midwives a Voice in Ghana

Mar 23, 2017 10:10 AM ET

Formed in 1935, the Ghana Registered Midwives Association (GRMA) aims to promote and protect the interest and welfare of midwives across the country. Midwives play an integral role in improving access to healthcare in Ghana where they provide more than 60 percent of all maternal and child healthcare services and deliver more than half of all babies.

“Midwives are often the first point of contact for pregnant women in Ghana, especially in rural and deprived communities,” said Fredrica Hanson, Senior Program Manager, GRMA. “Midwives can be found at almost every level of the healthcare system.”

Sustainable Finance & Socially Responsible Investment

Water Infrastructure Investments to Result in $220 Billion in Economic Growth

Mar 23, 2017 10:00 AM ET

Closing the water infrastructure funding gap in the U.S. could result in a $220 billion boost in economic activity, as well as create 1.3 million jobs annually. These findings, and more, were recently released in a new Value of Water Campaign, “The Economic Benefits of Investing in Water Infrastructure.”

Research, Reports & Publications

Shire Issues 2016 Annual Responsibility Review

Mar 23, 2017 10:00 AM ET

Shire plc (LSE: SHP, NASDAQ: SHPG) today announced the launch of the Company’s 2016 Annual Responsibility Review. The Review, available at shire.com, highlights how Shire’s growth has strengthened its approach to Responsibility and allows the Company to better meet the needs of people around the world with rare diseases and their families.

Environment

Barclays Insight: Rising to the Water Challenge

Mar 23, 2017 10:00 AM ET

Water is undoubtedly one of the most precious natural resources for life on earth. Without access to good quality freshwater, human, animal and plant survival is impossible, while many industries are also highly dependent on reliable sources of water for their day-to-day operations and long-term viability.

Diversity & Inclusion

eBay Releases 2016 Diversity & Inclusion Report

Mar 23, 2017 9:50 AM ET

This is the first Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) Report that we’ve issued since spinning off PayPal in 2015. Given the impact we knew this organizational change would have on our culture, size and business strategy, we made a deliberate decision to wait until we had at least a full year as a standalone company behind us before issuing this report.

Diversity & Inclusion

Barclays CEO, Jes Staley, Tells MPs Why Inclusion is a “Huge” Issue

Mar 23, 2017 9:35 AM ET

Timed to coincide with the build-up to International Women’s Day, Staley, along with Labour peer Baroness McDonagh, hosted a breakfast at the Palace of Westminster for 100 people, before taking questions from the audience and being interviewed by Barclays’ Global Head of Diversity & Inclusion Mark McLane.

Diversity & Inclusion

Scotiabank Supports #HeForShe Movement

Mar 23, 2017 9:30 AM ET

At Scotiabank, we know that Inclusion makes us stronger. This week we are coming together in support of the #HeForShe movement.

Health & Healthcare

Let There Be Light? Light Pollution’s Impact on the Built Environment

Mar 23, 2017 9:05 AM ET

Light pollution, the excess production of artificial light, is perhaps most commonly associated with reduced visibility of the night sky, making it difficult for stargazers and astronomers to observe various celestial bodies. In fact, according to a study published last year in the scientific journal Science Advances, nearly 80 percent of North Americans and 60 percent of Europeans are unable to see the Milky Way from where they live due to light pollution.