News from Leading Brands

Keep up with the latest impact news from companies embracing the triple bottom line, shared via 3BL's publishing platform.

Helen Mathis seated on a couch

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement | Verizon

Entrepreneur Expands Her Thriving Tax Firm With Digital Innovation

Helen Mathis taught accounting as a vocational instructor for 30 years before facing a career-defining moment: The school where she worked closed and Mathis knew she needed a new plan

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Environment

Timberland Kicks off Earth Day Season with Greening Event in Zhongshan China

While associates at Timberland’s global headquarters in New Hampshire eagerly await the arrival of spring, employees in the brand’s Zhongshan, China production office got a head start on Earth Day by installing a colorful perennial bed at the Dongguan Botanical Garden in Guangdong, China. Tina Tong, a product developer in Timberland’s Zhongshan office, assembled a group of 67 volunteers to plant 3,000 perennials and shrubs, creating an inviting entrance for visitors to the park.

Health & Healthcare

Caring for Care Providers: An Innovative Way to Help Address the Growing Crisis of Doctor and Nurse Burnout

It’s been 13 years since Barbara Trattler last worked in a hospital, but she can still feel the stress of that job in her bones.

As a head surgical nurse and perioperative administrator for more than two decades, Trattler performed the operating room equivalent of air traffic control, managing schedules and staffing—duties that often followed her home, well after a long 10- to 12-hour workday.

Sustainable Finance & Socially Responsible Investment

Consumers Energy Provides $15,000 to Three Michigan Community Projects with ‘Put Your Town on the Map’ Competition

Michigan communities in Huron, Ottawa and Kent counties are receiving a total of $15,000 for projects to energize local residents and attract statewide attention after winning Consumers Energy’s first “Put Your Town on the Map” competition. Port Austin received $7,500 for first place. Spring Lake received $5,000 as runner-up, and Sparta received $2,500. Also competing were projects in Greenville, Groveland Township, Pentwater, Quincy, Shelby, Stanton and West Branch.

The life science business of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany operates as MilliporeSigma in the U.S. and Canada

Supply Chain & the Circular Economy

MilliporeSigma Employee Spotlight: Fabien Thibault

As part of our brand-new employee spotlight series, we’re sitting down with Fabien Thibault, global manager of product and packaging sustainability at MilliporeSigma — the Life Science business of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany — to learn more about the work he’s doing to move the needle.

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Events, Media & Communications

Online Self-Assessment Maps Journey to Becoming a Sustainable Brand

Business executives seeking to identify, prioritize, align and scale company sustainability actions will now find a valuable online solution to support their brand transformation journey. The SB Brand Transformation Roadmap is a powerful orientation and navigation tool that maps out a company’s entire sustainability journey and allows the company to access the maturity of its efforts across five practice areas - Purpose, Brand Influence, Operations & Supply Chain, Products & Services, and Governance.

Green Mountain Energy

Environment

Green Mountain Energy Adds Solar Energy at Three Texas State Parks

Green Mountain Energy and Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) today announced the completion of solar installations at three state parks across Texas as part of their long-standing sustainability partnership.

Park visitors can now experience the benefits of solar energy whether they are comparing shoe sizes to actual dinosaur tracks at Dinosaur Valley State Park, enjoying the spectacular South Texas wildlife at Estero Llano Grande State Park or camping near the Red River at Eisenhower State Park.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Dr. Monika Lessl to Lead Both the Bayer Science and the Bayer Cares Foundations

Bayer’s Board of Management has appointed Dr. Monika Lessl as Bayer Foundations’ executive committee member to lead both the Bayer Science Foundation and the Bayer Cares Foundation. This role will be integrated into her current leadership of Bayer’s Corporate Innovation and R&D function.

Scotts logo

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

Kim’s Story: How ScottsMiracle-Gro’s Holistic Approach to Wellness Grew Her Family

“We had both been thinking about it,” says Kim when asked about her and her husband’s decision to adopt a foster child. “I have two children—21 and 25—and a 14-year-old stepdaughter, but we both felt in our hearts that we had more love to give.”

Research, Reports & Publications

Sustainability at Work: SCS Global Services Releases 2018 Annual Report

SCS Founder and CEO Stanley P. Rhodes attributes the company’s growth and success to the degree that business, government, and NGO measures to promote sustainability have taken hold around the world in every economic sector.

HP logo

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

HP Global Study Establishes Sustainability As a New Workplace Standard for Successful Businesses

Today, HP unveiled a new study underscoring the importance of sustainable business practices in recruiting, hiring and retaining top talent. It also finds that employees are more productive, motivated and engaged when working for an employer who is leading the charge in social responsibility. The global, 20,000 participant survey found that 61 percent believe sustainability is mandatory for businesses1. Of those interviewed, 56 percent believe that ignoring environmental impact in the workplace is as bad as ignoring diversity and inclusion.

HP logo

Environment

HP Expands Efforts to Reduce Ocean‐Bound Plastics

Today, HP announced a $2 million investment to expand its ocean-bound plastic supply chain. The company will build a new plastic washing line in Haiti that will allow it to produce cleaner, higher quality recycled plastic locally for use in HP products. This investment continues HP’s longstanding commitment to diverting ocean-bound plastic and contributing to a lower-carbon, circular economy while providing jobs and education opportunities locally.

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Research, Reports & Publications

General Mills Global Responsibility Report Highlights Employee Engagement, Progress Against Planet Commitments, and Food Security

General Mills released its 2019 Global Responsibility Report, outlining the company’s approach to creating environmental, social and economic value in the countries where it operates. The progress made by General Mills in 2018 demonstrates the company’s long-term commitment to protect and restore the resources upon which its business and communities depend, with an increased focus on advancing regenerative practices across its supply chain.

Sustainable Finance & Socially Responsible Investment

Morgan Stanley Launches Broad-Based Commitment to Develop Systemic Solutions to Reduce Global Plastic Waste

Morgan Stanley will prevent, reduce, and remove 50 million metric tons of plastic waste from rivers, oceans, landscapes and landfills by 2030.

Sustainable Finance & Socially Responsible Investment

Board Diversity: Time’s Up on Good Intentions

When I began working to make boards more gender diverse in 2001, the percentage of women on the boards of large companies in the United States was around 12 percent. By 2011, women had gained a few more seats at the table, and by 2016 women held 21 percent of board seats at Fortune 500 companies.

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Awards, Ratings & Rankings

The Arbor Day Foundation Announces 2019 Arbor Day Award Winners

The Arbor Day Foundation has announced the recipients of the 2019 Arbor Day awards. Individuals and organizations are being recognized for their outstanding contribution to tree planting, conservation and stewardship. The winners will be presented their award at a reception in their honor in their local community throughout the month of May.

Research, Reports & Publications

Common Impact Study: Making Long-Term Impact Through a Day of Skilled Service

We recently analyzed three years of data from the Charles Schwab Pro Bono Challenge and are excited to share the results of this program for the nonprofits, employees and the communities it supports. Our new paper - Making Long-Term Impact through a Day of Service – shares data, case studies and lessons learned from our work with the Charles Schwab Pro Bono Challenge and is available to help organizations find new ways to engage volunteers in shorter-term skilled engagements that provide measurable longer-term results

Responsible Production & Consumption

AmpleHarvest.org Announces New Board President

Today, AmpleHarvest.org, the nation’s only virtual solution to food waste and hunger, has announced the appointment of John Powers, Chief Corporate Development Officer at Deloitte, as their new Board President.

"We are thrilled that John’s taking the reins to help us towards further reducing hunger and food waste in America," said AmpleHarvest.org Executive Director, Gary Oppenheimer. “As a gardener himself, he sees the opportunity, presented by the nation’s 42 million gardeners, to donate their excess harvest to nearly 8,500 AmpleHarvest.org registered food pantries. The solution impacts hunger, food waste and climate change on a vast scale.”

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Education

Cisco GPS Challenge Highlights | Social Entrepreneur Jara Makes Education Accessible, Anytime and Anywhere

Jara has developed the Jara Unit, a low-cost, personal crank and solar powered tablet that teaches geographically custom education to refugees and those in disaster/conflict-affected regions, without requiring access to a classroom.

HP logo

Diversity & Inclusion

Women in Leadership: Frances Edmonds on the End of the ‘Take, Make and Dispose’ Economy

In her two decades with the company, she’s helped shift the printer-and computer-making IT giant away from the old ‘take, make and dispose’ model towards a more circular one before many other companies put an emphasis on closing the loop on waste. In a world where sustainability departments have often been staffed with marketers and communications experts, Edmonds has always brought a deeper vantage point to the table, thanks, in part, to her roots in environmental science.

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

#CSRshareDay Starts a Global Pledge for the Event Industry to Be the Driving Force Behind the Solution, Not the Problem

On March 15th2019, 1.5 million school students went on strike in a fight against climate change. This #CSRshareDay, a day that recognises and celebrates Corporate Social Responsibility, the event industry has the opportunity to share their ideas on what the solution could be. ‘This is a wake-up call for the event industry.’ explains Fiona Pelham, Positive Impact CEO. ‘I regularly hear industry professionals at high levels of influence say they do not have the time or budget to think about sustainability and many that are in action are too fearful of criticism to be taking bold, game changing actions and be the driving force behind the solution.’

TriplePundit logo

Responsible Production & Consumption

From California to Central India: Implementing Water Stewardship at the Local Level

Jeff Hanratty, applied sustainability manager for General Mills, spoke with TriplePundit about the company’s efforts to identify and address key water risks related to agricultural production. He began by explaining how the organization created its focus on priority watersheds. Water is an extremely localized issue, and each geographic area has its own unique challenges that affect the quantity and quality of available freshwater. As a result, in 2016 General Mills analyzed 41 watersheds affecting its supply chain globally.

3BL logo

Research, Reports & Publications

Bechtel Releases 2019 Annual Report Showing Strong Financial and Sustainability Performance

Today, Bechtel Corporation released its Annual Report showing it ended 2018 in a healthy financial position. Through helping customers deliver their most important projects and in making important progress on its own sustainability goals, Bechtel reinforced its standing as a trusted engineering, procurement and construction partner to industries and governments worldwide.

Discovery Education

Education

Five Core Computational Thinking Skills that Strengthen Students’ Humanities Skills

Anyone who says you can’t apply computational thinking and digital learning strategies to strengthen students’ skills in the writing is wrong. To the contrary, this innovative learning style helps students hone critical thinking skills across every discipline. In my classroom, I teach students computational thinking through free materials from Ignite My Future in School, a partnership between Tata Consultancy Services and Discovery Education. I especially enjoy using their Curriculum Connectors, online resources for teachers across disciplines to help their students apply computational thinking techniques.

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Awards, Ratings & Rankings

IVECO Valladolid Plant Achieves Gold Level Designation in World Class Manufacturing

The IVECO commercial vehicles manufacturing facility in Valladolid, Spain has achieved Gold status in the World Class Manufacturing (WCM) program becoming the second CNH Industrial N.V. (NYSE: CNHI/MI: CNHI) site, after the Madrid plant, to do so.

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Energy

Companies and Institutions Make the Business Case for Smart Energy Policy in the Buckeye State

Companies and institutions in Ohio gathered to discuss with state lawmakers how energy policy has the potential to drive investment and economic development in the Buckeye State.

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