Impact & Sustainability News From Leading Brands

Social Impact & Volunteering

Timberland Revisits Philadelphia’s Rail Park One Year After Transformational Service Event

Dec 18, 2018 9:30 AM ET

While community service is a core part of Timberland’s DNA, and employees around the globe volunteer at many events each year, we don’t always have the chance to return to the partners we serve and see the lasting impact of our work. I recently was able to revisit the Philadelphia Rail Park, which was the focus of Timberland’s 2017 urban greening effort and the site of a large-scale volunteer event to bring the park to life.

Social Impact & Volunteering

Follow the Money: How Sands Cares Assists Clean the World

Dec 18, 2018 9:05 AM ET

Through Sands Cares, the corporate giving and community engagement program of Las Vegas Sands, Clean the World and Las Vegas Sands have collaborated on two key projects that have benefited the homeless community and made a significant impact globally. The Global Hygiene Kit Builds held at all Las Vegas Sands properties in the U.S. and Asia provides hygiene supplies to those who don’t have access to them and the Sands Cares Fresh Start Mobile Showers Powered by Clean the World, serves the Las Vegas community by providing showers to those who are living on the streets.

Events, Media & Communications

Upcoming Event: Training on the FSC® Standards and Auditing Principles

Dec 18, 2018 9:00 AM ET

Interested in attending a training on the Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC®) Standards and auditing principles? SCS Global Services’ next training is January 28 - February 1, 2019 in the San Francisco Bay Area. Spaces are limited.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

AEG Community Foundation Awards Playworks an Additional $25,000 Grant

Dec 18, 2018 9:00 AM ET

AEG, the world’s leading sports and live entertainment company, today announced that Playworks, a national nonprofit that supports learning and physical health by providing safe and inclusive play to low-income students in urban schools, has been granted an additional $25,000 from the AEG Community Foundation as the winner of the #SpreadCheer Challenge.

Energy

Scaling the Heights to Ensure Reliability

Dec 18, 2018 8:45 AM ET

Varun Shah goes to great lengths – and heights – to ensure reliability and safety at the wind farm he manages: More than 74 meters above the ground, to be precise, to the very pinnacle of a wind turbine in rural India.

Health & Healthcare

Empowering Cancer Warriors Everywhere

Dec 18, 2018 8:45 AM ET

“With cancer survivorship expected to increase more than 35% over the next decade, the need for LIVESTRONG is greater now more than ever. Keep helping us fight the fight, the fight that impacts millions of lives each year. Together, we can and will change the way the world fights cancer.” – Greg Lee, LIVESTRONG President & CEO

Media & Communications

Abbott Launches New Digital Site to Share Updates on Sustainability and Social Impact

Dec 18, 2018 8:30 AM ET

Abbott recently launched a new digital site – Abbott.com/Responsibility – to better communicate its work to deliver positive social and environmental impact through sustainable business.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

CBRE India Walk For A Wish

Dec 18, 2018 8:30 AM ET

Sustainable Finance & Socially Responsible Investment

ESG Investing Outlook for 2019

Dec 18, 2018 8:15 AM ET

Evidence of the rise of systems thinking is all around us, though it is not usually labeled as such. When Silicon Valley leaders talk about having “growth mindsets,” that’s systems thinking. When companies link their operations to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, that’s systems thinking that incorporates ESG factors

Sustainable Development Goals

UN Global Compact Bulletin (December 2018)

Dec 18, 2018 8:15 AM ET

The UN Global Compact Bulletin is designed to keep participants up to date on news, actions you can take, resources and events. Participants are encouraged to look to this monthly communication for important information. Please note that actions and events are intended for Global Compact stakeholders, unless otherwise indicated. The Bulletin is published in English, French, Spanish and Chinese.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Jack Daniel’s and the Armed Services YMCA Kick Off Eighth Year of “Operation Ride Home”

Dec 18, 2018 8:10 AM ET

For the eighth year, Jack Daniel’s and the Armed Services YMCA (ASYMCA) have kicked off their “Operation Ride Home” campaign that provides financial assistance to active duty junior-enlisted military and their families to travel from their place of military service to back home for the holidays.

Social Impact & Volunteering

CNH Industrial Brings A Christmas Cargo to Children in Brazil

Dec 18, 2018 8:05 AM ET

The children of Palestine do Pará, a remote town located in the state of Pará in northern Brazil usually only get to see Christmas celebrations on television.

Events, Media & Communications

Brown-Forman Donates $2 Million to Fund YMCA in West Louisville

Dec 17, 2018 4:10 PM ET

For over 90 years, Brown-Forman has called the same neighborhood its home. Last month we announced a $2 million gift to the YMCA being built in our backyard. Learn more about how this gift will impact our local community.

Education

Arconic Foundation and Discovery Education Announce 2018 ‘Manufacture Your Future Teacher Challenge’ Winners

Dec 17, 2018 3:45 PM ET

Arconic Foundation, the independently endowed philanthropic arm of Arconic and Discovery Education, the leading provider of digital content and professional development for K-12 classrooms, today announced Mansfield Junior-Senior High School in Mansfield, Pa. as the first-ever grand prize winner of the Manufacture Your Future Teacher Challenge. Mansfield Junior-Senior High School were awarded a $5,000 grant, in-school winner celebration and the opportunity to send a distinguished STEM educator to Discovery’s 2019 Educator Network (DEN) Summer Institute.

Sustainable Finance & Socially Responsible Investment

Why TD Executives are Banking on Sustainability

Dec 17, 2018 3:00 PM ET

Nicole Vadori remembers being in grade school and watching the news about a fire at a tire warehouse with big plumes of black smoke that would inevitably cause environmental damage and thinking at that moment, “how can adults let this happen?”

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

Let's Stand up for Equality, Justice and Human Dignity

Dec 17, 2018 2:30 PM ET

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights turned 70 last week. This milestone document proclaimed the inalienable rights which everyone is inherently entitled to as a human being -- regardless of race, color, religion, sex, language, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.

The principles enshrined in the Declaration are as relevant today as they were in 1948 and at Symantec we believe in standing up for our own rights and those of others.

Research, Reports & Publications

Legg Mason Celebrates a Decade of Corporate Social Responsibility Reporting

Dec 17, 2018 2:00 PM ET

Legg Mason celebrates 10 years of connecting employees, communities and stakeholders with the publication of its annual corporate social responsibility (CSR) report.

Sustainable Finance & Socially Responsible Investment

KeyBank Arranged Financing for the New Construction of Affordable Housing Apartments in Oklahoma City

Dec 17, 2018 2:00 PM ET

KeyBank Real Estate Capital arranged a $3.9 million Fannie Mae, 9% Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) forward commitment permanent loan for Four Corners Development to finance the new construction of Council Trails Apartments. Council Trails Apartments is a 72-unit affordable housing property in Oklahoma City, OK comprised of four, three-story residential buildings. The Oklahoma Housing Finance Agency (OHFA) provided the 9% LIHTC equity allocation.

Diversity & Inclusion

Sysco Is Delivering A Better Tomorrow: Better Is… Diverse and Inclusive!

Dec 17, 2018 12:30 PM ET

Our company can better prosper if we reflect the diversity of the customers and communities we serve. That’s why we’ve launched initiatives to significantly increase the gender and ethnic diversity of U.S. associates and to boost our spending with minority and women-owned suppliers by 25 percent.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Keep America Beautiful Celebrates its 65th Anniversary of Improving Communities Across America

Dec 17, 2018 11:45 AM ET

On this day in 1953 – Dec. 17 – the iconic national community improvement nonprofit organization Keep America Beautiful was founded when a group of corporate, civic and environmental leaders gathered to unite the public and private sectors to foster a national cleanliness ethic. Sixty-five years later, the remarkable scope and influence of Keep America Beautiful still touches millions of Americans every year in its effort to end littering, improve recycling and beautify America’s communities.

Sustainable Development Goals

Ahead of COP24, Schneider Electric Strengthens Its Commitment to Become Carbon Neutral by 2030

Dec 17, 2018 11:00 AM ET

At a time when the latest IPCC report calls for urgent action to fight climate change, Schneider Electric, the leader in digital transformation of energy management and automation, is accelerating its contribution to meeting the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. To mark the occasion of COP24 in Katowice (Poland), from December 3 to 14, 2018, Schneider Electric is strengthening its commitments to become carbon neutral by 2030 using solutions that will help accelerate the transition towards a low carbon economy.

Health & Healthcare

Together, Let’s Defeat Alzheimer’s Disease

Dec 17, 2018 11:00 AM ET

Every 65 seconds, Alzheimer’s disease begins to destroy the brain of a loved one somewhere in America. That’s over 1,300 people per day. Right now, there’s no way to stop it from touching you or your loved ones.

Media & Communications

The UN Sustainable Development Goals – “What Matters” for 40 Sectors? G&A Institute's Research Project Yields Key Data

Dec 17, 2018 10:45 AM ET

Nearing the end of the 20th Century, the United Nations assembled experts to develop the eight Millennium Goals (MDGs), to serve as blueprints and guides for public, private and social sector actions during the period 2000-2015 (the “new millennium”).

Innovation & Technology

Additive Manufacturing Beyond Hobbyist 3D Printing

Dec 17, 2018 10:30 AM ET

Additive manufacturing (AM) already has many industrial uses, with more being discovered every year. Similar in principle to 3D printing, but distinct in execution, AM is the process of joining materials to make objects from 3D models, usually layer by layer, followed by a finishing process that prepares the new part for installation or use. While 3D printing excels at producing models and imitations, AM combines printing technologies, computer-assisted design (CAD), and post-production processing to create usable components.

Sustainable Finance & Socially Responsible Investment

GRI Podcast December: Tax Reporting

Dec 17, 2018 10:30 AM ET

GRI's Global Sustainability Standards Board released a draft Standard on Tax and Payments to Governments, to make tax reporting more transparent and accessible. Hear from members of the Technical Committee on this project, on GRI's latest podcast