Impact & Sustainability News From Leading Brands

Keep up with the latest news from 3BL’s clients.

Focus for maximum impact

Environment

Agroforestry With Refugees in Uganda: Overwhelming Demand and a Huge Desire to Plant

“There is space for trees in refugee settlements,” Clement Okia told officials, NGOs, donors and UN agencies on 30 June 2018, as the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) closed its first agroforestry project for refugees. “Before we started, we did not realize that refugees have such a commitment to plant,” said the ICRAF country representative in Uganda.

Diversity & Inclusion

The Private Sector Is Crucial for Building a Diverse Workforce for the Future

The challenge of diversifying the tech workforce is confronting companies across sectors as more jobs are requiring computational thinking and digital fluency. Simultaneously, the demographics of the United States are changing rapidly, and companies are challenged with ensuring that the talent pipeline reflects those dynamic shifts. Developing a robust and diverse technical workforce in the United States is becoming a national priority as a result of the emerging technologies and their impact on industries.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

Sodexo Commits to Achieving Gender Parity

Sodexo, a food services and facilities management company committed to improving Quality of Life, announced today its partnership with the Paradigm for Parity® Movement to advocate for equal employment opportunities for all genders specific to leadership positions.

Green Infrastructure

Expert Interview With Chad Helmle, Stormwater Management Expert

Chad Helmle, Tetra Tech’s national lead for green infrastructure, has more than 20 years of experience in the stormwater and watershed management field. Mr. Helmle oversees numerous large and small water resources projects and programs across the United States that explore a broad spectrum of stormwater-related issues, ranging from strategic planning to design and implementation. He has worked on more than 50 neighborhood-scale green infrastructure retrofit design efforts in parks and other public spaces and has helped pioneer new and innovative watershed and best management practices modeling analyses.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

Learn From the Best in Corporate Responsibility and Sustainable Development

We are honoured to announce Lucy Siegle as the host for our 2018 Ethical Corporation Responsible Business Awards. Lucy is one of the UK’s most recognised environmental journalists.

Innovation & Technology

Learn More About Sappi's Latest Business Venture: Sappi Biotech

In 2016, Sappi Limited established a new global business, Sappi Biotech, to accelerate our response to consumer demand for renewable products with a low carbon footprint.

Sappi took a major step forward in September 2017 toward efforts to expand its biorefi ning expertise with the acquisition of Xylex® and Versalac® technologies, owned by Plaxica Limited.

Education

From Cows to Connections: Principal Draws Inspiration from Student Sketches

Almost 20 years ago, Kevin Boles took his seventh graders on a field trip from Bristol Township, PA, to Harrisburg. When students drew recollections of what they learned, their pictures were eye opening. That early insight ignited Boles’ passion to fight for kids in his under-funded community to have access to the best classroom resources.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

SpongeBob and NICKtern friends Make a Splash in LA Hospital Playroom

This semester, our Summer NICKterns took on what may have been the largest intern mural project to date. Our NICKterns partnered with the mega-talented Peter Bennett, Art Director on SpongeBob SquarePants, to create a SpongeBob-themed mural at County USC Hospital in Downtown Los Angeles. Using Peter’s design, the NICKterns aimed to create an underwater oasis for the playroom area in the hospital’s Pediatric Inpatient Unit. In just three short days, the interns were able to create a floor-to-ceiling rendition of Bikini Bottom for the hospital’s patients to enjoy themselves in.

Responsible Production & Consumption

Farmers Focus on Maximizing Soil Health

Farmers in the Cedar River Watershed gathered last week and learned from local experts how maximizing soil health can economically benefit their operations while protecting water quality. The event was a free field day organized by a new public-private-nonprofit partnership.

The Cedar River Watershed Partnership organized the event for dozens of farmers in the watershed and surrounding region at the Krell farm near Blooming Prairie, the upper part of the Cedar River Watershed.

Aimed at increasing farmers’ knowledge of soil health practices, particularly tillage and cover crops, the field day focused on the costs and benefits of adopting different land-management practices that improve the soil, water and economic health of farms.

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

Ecocentricity Blog: The Devil Made Me Do It

Studies are accumulating that show that financial performance does not have to be sacrificed to create social good. A new crop of CEOs are passionately leading their companies in this new direction that seemed utter folly 25 years ago.

Social Impact & Volunteering

FCA Community: Breathing New Life Into Toledo Neighborhood Parks

To her, the parks are personal. She honed her basketball skills on the courts. Her family gathered at the picnic tables. She ran drills out in the grass fields.

Innovation & Technology

eBay Brings Akron’s Innovative Entrepreneurs to New York City

This month, eBay takes over retail concept store, The New Stand, to bring a collection of new and unique items from Akron to the Big Apple. Earlier this year, the city of Akron, Ohio and eBay piloted Retail Revival - a first-of-its-kind mentorship program to support the growth of the city’s local businesses and provide the tools and resources they need to get their businesses up and running online. Some of the Akron businesses showcased at the New Stand locations include essential oils from Handkraffted, skateboard light fixtures from Whiskertin, original artwork from Art of Matt Miller and local-favorite craft sodas from NORKA Beverage Co.

Education

Middle School Educators Across Southeast Michigan Adopt Computational Thinking Curriculum to Prepare Students For 21st Century Careers

Tata Consultancy Services, a leading global IT services, consulting and business solutions organization, and Discovery Education, the leading provider of digital education content and professional development for K-12 classrooms, have announced the Michigan launch of their Ignite My Future in School (IMFIS) initiative.

Environment

BIER Member Spotlight: Julien Gervreau

Twice a month the Beverage Industry Environmental Roundtable (BIER) is highlighting their members' beverage industry sustainability insights and ideas in their BIER Member Spotlight series. These spotlights include their answers to questions about their company's sustainability achievements and strategy, practical insights from BIER, interesting facts, and more.

Environment

Tackling the 1.6-Billion-Ton Food Loss and Waste Crisis

The scale of the problem is staggering. Each year, 1.6 billion tons of food worth about $1.2 trillion are lost or go to waste—one-third of the total amount of food produced globally.1 To put the figure in perspective, that is ten times the mass of the island of Manhattan. And the problem is only growing: BCG estimates that by 2030 annual food loss and waste will hit 2.1 billion tons worth $1.5 trillion.

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

How the Team Member Culture at Las Vegas Sands Sets the Company Apart from the Competition

Before Philippa Fryman took on her role as vice president of Food and Beverage at The Venetian and The Palazzo, she joined the team in 2009 as the Butler Operations manager in Luxury Services. Overseeing a total of 60 Team Members, she quickly learned how inter-dependent various departments were and was introduced to the gaming industry.

Research, Reports & Publications

AccountAbility Releases Document on Key Changes Introduced in the AA1000AP (2018) and Bridge to Sustainability Reporting

AccountAbility is pleased to release a practical guidance document highlighting the key changes made to the AA1000 AccountAbility Principles (AA1000AP, 2018), as well as an overview of alignment with commonly used sustainability-related reporting standards and frameworks. The document serves to support both organisational users and assurance providers in effectively working with the AA1000AP (2018).

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

A Deeper Look at CECP's Investing in Society: Performance

Investing in Society, CECP’s recently launched compendium of data, research, and case studies illustrates innovations in corporate efforts to solve the world’s most pressing problems. Divided into five sections – Priorities, Performance, People, Planet, and Policies – the collection of insights offers a far-reaching assessment of what leading companies are doing in each of the five focus areas.

Diversity & Inclusion

The CEO of Girl Rising is Making the World a Better Place for Girls, One Story at a Time

It's not unusual for a movie to win awards, get rave reviews and win big (or lose) at the box office. But it's not every day one helps to change the world. Girl Rising is a film that became a powerful movement and gave filmmaker Christina Lowery the role of a lifetime. Now the CEO of a globally recognized non-profit with connections to Michelle Obama and support from Meryl Streep, Alicia Keys, Priyanka Chopra and Freida Pinto, Lowery's work is to show communities the power of education, get girls in school and keep them there. The reason: Educating girls is the single most powerful way to end global poverty.

Diversity & Inclusion

How Scotiabank and Shirlie Delacherois are Empowering Canada’s Aboriginal Community

As a young girl, Shirlie Delacherois was aware of her Aboriginal heritage, but didn’t fully appreciate its value until much later in life. It was after a 20-year career at Scotiabank that Shirlie had the opportunity to continue the bank’s long history of supporting Aboriginal Peoples — by stepping into the role of Senior Aboriginal Recruitment Consultant. She has been connecting Aboriginal Canadians to career opportunities at Scotiabank ever since.

Responsible Production & Consumption

Walmart Joins Ranks of Retailers Pulling Toxic Paint Strippers From Shelves

On Monday, Walmart announced that it will stop selling paint strippers containing methylene chloride or N-methylpyrrolidone (NMP) by February 2019 – making it the first general merchandise retailer to take such action. Walmart’s announcement follows the strong leadership demonstrated by Lowes, Home Depot, and Sherwin Williams, all of which have committed not to sell methylene chloride- and NMP-based paint stripping products by the end of the year. Importantly, Walmart’s action goes beyond its U.S. stores, including those in Mexico, Canada, and Central America, as well as its online store.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Lixil and P.I.P.E. Step Up as Sponsors for IWSH's Navajo Nation Community Plumbing Challenge

LIXIL, the pioneering manufacturer of such brands as American Standard and GROHE, and the Piping Industry Progress & Education Trust Fund (P.I.P.E.) have generously extended support, both financial and products/materials, to the International Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (IWSH) Foundation’s 2018 International Community Plumbing Challenge (CPC) in Northwestern New Mexico from Oct. 22-26.

As Gold Level sponsors, LIXIL and P.I.P.E. become invaluable partners with IWSH and DigDeep’s Navajo Water Project as the CPC team provides households in the Baca-Prewitt area of the Navajo reservation with access to water and improved sanitation.

Social Impact & Volunteering

Whirlpool Corporation and Celebrity Chef Gail Simmons Prepare Welcome Home Dinner for 41 Habitat for Humanity Families

Whirlpool Corporation teamed up with Celebrity Chef Gail Simmons to provide a lasting first memory for 41 Habitat for Humanity homeowners and their families in northern Indiana.

Environment

How to Get the Most Out of Your EHS and Sustainability Consulting Firm

With decades of experience in EHS and sustainability consulting, Antea Group guides you on getting the most out of your consulting partnership.

Research, Reports & Publications

Voya Financial Releases 2017-2018 Corporate Responsibility Annual Report “Advancing Sustainable Growth”

Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VOYA), announced that it has published its 2017-2018 Corporate Responsibility Annual Report, which reflects the progress the company has made in recent years to meet financial targets, grow and evolve its brand and operating model, build upon its culture, and advance its Corporate Responsibility (CR) strategy.

Latest Campaigns

  1. Coach Foundation | Dream It Real
    To help break cycles of inequality, we empower the next generation to reach their full potential through higher education.
  2. Accelerating access to healthcare technology
    We believe technology can help close the world’s health gaps. By putting people first, we find new ways to advance health while reducing costs. And...
  3. IWBI | Workplace Wellness
    A WELL Certified™ project has the potential to add measurable value to the health, well-being and happiness of people in the buildings. It can also...
  4. Cascale Events
    Cascale organizes and participates in a series of events, leveraging its position as a global convener of close to half the sector to bring together...
  5. AEG Celebrates Inclusion
    At AEG, we embrace inclusion and strive to create a workplace where our employees feel welcomed, valued and respected for the viewpoints, ideas...
  6. Collaboration and Partnership
    Cascale shares updates on its strategic partnerships with industry stakeholders geared toward shifting the industry into one that gives back more than...
  7. AMD Environmental Sustainability
    Advancing sustainability across our operations, supply chain manufacturing and product stewardship
  8. AEG Celebrates Inclusion
    At AEG, we embrace inclusion and strive to create a workplace where our employees feel welcomed, valued and respected for the viewpoints, ideas...
  9. Whirlpool Corporation Diversity and Inclusion
    Celebrating D&I events, stories and wins
  10. Corporate Social Responsibility
    Gilead Sciences Corporate Social Responsibility
  11. Innovation & Sustainable Solutions
    Chemours chemistry is essential to our daily lives, global commerce, and the future. Our commitment to product sustainability drives us to innovate...
  12. Sustainable Products and Innovation
    Ongoing research into innovative solutions enables CNH’s brands to manufacture products that respect the environment while satisfying customers’...
  13. Healthy Spaces Podcast: Season 5
    Welcome to Season 5 of Healthy Spaces by Trane Technologies, the podcast where experts and disruptors explore how climate technology and innovation...
  14. Kingfisher Around the World
    The SCS Kingfisher certification mark is showing up on an increasing number of products around the world. It differentiates companies that are making...
  15. Impacting Today and Tomorrow
    What we do matters and our associates can expect opportunities to create real impact at work and in the community.