Impact & Sustainability News From Leading Brands

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Carnival Corporation Donates $10,000 to Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy Foundation

Jul 19, 2018 5:15 PM ET

Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE/LSE: CCL; NYSE: CUK) today donated $10,000 to the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy Foundation (OWLAF) in support of university scholarships for graduates of the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls - South Africa (OWLAG), an independent boarding school founded by Winfrey to provide world-class education to disadvantaged girls in South Africa.

Social Impact & Volunteering

Arrow Electronics Takes Service to New Heights

Jul 19, 2018 4:25 PM ET

This July, a group of summer interns at Arrow Electronics participated in a day of volunteer work at Gray’s and Torrey’s peaks in Colorado, taking service initiatives to an elevation of 12,000 feet. Throughout the day, they performed trail maintenance, guided by leaders from the Colorado Fourteeners Initiative (CFI).

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

Fair Trade USA Expands Leadership Team and Invests in the Future With Key C-Suite Hires, New Board Chairman

Jul 19, 2018 3:00 PM ET

Fair Trade USA welcomes Mark Gunton as Chief Operating Officer, Nancy Girouard as Chief Financial Officer, Anna Banks as Chief Marketing Officer and James White as Chairman of the Board. These new hires underscore the organization’s commitment to foster a culture of innovation, drive efficient operations and expand impact on farmers and workers around the world.

Energy

Charge Ready Pilot Helps LA County Public Works Electrify Its Service Fleet

Jul 19, 2018 3:00 PM ET

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Smithfield Foods Donates More Than 38,000 Pounds of Protein to The Food Bank of Iowa

Jul 19, 2018 2:20 PM ET

Today, Smithfield Foods, Inc. and Hy-Vee, Inc. joined forces to donate more than 38,000 pounds of protein to the Food Bank of Iowa. Smithfield’s contribution was part of the company’s 2018 Helping Hungry Homes® donation tour. Now in the program’s 10th year, Helping Hungry Homes® is Smithfield’s signature hunger-relief initiative focused on alleviating hunger and helping Americans become more food secure. The donation, equivalent to more than 152,000 servings, will help families fight hunger across Iowa.

Innovation & Technology

Busting 5 Myths About Electric Vehicles

Jul 19, 2018 2:00 PM ET

With gas prices rising, is there an electric vehicle (EV) in your future? A survey released in May by the American Automobile Association found that 20 percent of Americans said an EV would be the next car they buy. That’s up 5 percent from 2017.

Sustainable Development Goals

Business and Investors “Crucial” to Delivering 2030 Agenda at the Country-Level

Jul 19, 2018 1:40 PM ET

Creative approaches to advance the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are being jointly developed at the national level by multi-stakeholder partners.

Sustainable Development Goals

Carnival Corporation Releases 2017 Sustainability Report, Meets Goal to Reduce Carbon Footprint Ahead of Schedule

Jul 19, 2018 1:10 PM ET

Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE/LSE: CCL; NYSE: CUK), the world’s largest leisure travel company, today released its eighth annual sustainability report, announcing that in 2017 the company achieved its 25 percent carbon reduction goal three years ahead of schedule and is on track with its nine other 2020 sustainability goals. The full 2017 report, “Sustainability from Ship to Shore,” was developed in accordance with the Global Reporting Initiative format and is available online at www.CarnivalSustainability.com.

Environment

Recycling at ‘Risk’: China’s New Rules Put Programs in U.S. In Jeopardy

Jul 19, 2018 1:10 PM ET

SEATTLE -- Companies that collect your bottles and boxes say recycling programs as we know it are at risk. It’s because of the so-called ‘China Sword,’ the country’s ban on several types of recyclables. The ‘sword’ has paper and plastic piling up across the country, including Washington state.

Education

FFA Empowering Tomorrow’s Leaders

Jul 19, 2018 1:00 PM ET

When Leslie Turner was growing up on a cattle farm in Kansas, getting up at 5:30 a.m. to do her chores, she turned to one of the largest youth leadership organizations in the world to give her a valuable experience that would help shape her life and career.

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

Engaging Employees for Impact: Global Health Corporate Champions Improve Capacity for Public Health in Senegal

Jul 19, 2018 12:55 PM ET

For the third year in a row, The Dow Chemical Company (Dow) will send top professionals into the field as Global Health Corporate Champions (GHCC), to work with local organizations to improve health in Africa. The highly skilled professionals, which include a physician, attorney, country manager, manufacturing manager, and supply chain director, will serve as pro bono consultants to two key public health organizations in Dakar, Senegal.

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

VIDEO | See How CIT Employees Volunteered in Their Communities Across the Country

Jul 19, 2018 12:35 PM ET

During CIT Cares Month, more than 250 community projects were completed by 1,900 CIT volunteers over 7,300 hours across 18 locations to make a difference. These efforts included packing & delivering over 130,000 lbs of food, planting 1,300 lbs of vegetables, and cleaning parks and beaches across the country.

Supply Chain & the Circular Economy

VIDEO: Timberland Shares Efforts to Reintroduce Cotton Farming to Haiti

Jul 19, 2018 12:15 PM ET

Education

AEG and BET Host Sixth Annual BET Experience Youth Program

Jul 19, 2018 12:00 PM ET

Since the inception of BET Experience at L.A. LIVE in 2012, AEG, the world’s leading sports and live entertainment company and BET Networks have provided more than 300 students throughout the greater Los Angeles area with an in-depth look at the entertainment industry and behind-the-scenes access to the BET Experience at L.A. LIVE and the BET Awards through the BET Experience Youth Program.

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

Connecting the Orphans of Jhamtse Gatsal to the World

Jul 19, 2018 11:45 AM ET

National Geographic's Mike Libecki challenged the Dell team to become part of the journey to open a technology lab for an orphanage in a very remote area of Anruchal Pradesh, Eastern India.

Social Impact & Volunteering

What to Know About the Next Generation of Activists

Jul 19, 2018 11:30 AM ET

At 19 years old, Ziad Ahmed has become one of the young voices in a growing movement around creating social change. In describing his peers—Generation Z as they’re labeled—he says they have one goal in mind: Change.

Ahmed, the founder of the organization Redefy and the Gen Z consulting firm, JÜV Consulting, joined fellow activists on the “The Power of Youth to Create Change” panel at Vidcon on June 24. The panel was part of Viacom’s launch of its global initiative, Generation Change, which elevates and empowers young people driving change.

Education

Everyone Can Be the Legacy – Celebrating Mandela Day

Jul 19, 2018 11:25 AM ET

While attending school at MIT, I was shocked that only 5% of schools in Africa teach ICT, increasing just slightly to 10-12% at affluent primary schools. Nearly all high schoolers never had a chance to learn basic programs such as Microsoft Word. At the same time parts of Africa were becoming hotbeds for technology. For example, many would be surprised to know that Elon Musk was educated in South Africa.

Environment

Are Data Centers Facing a Literal Watershed Moment?

Jul 19, 2018 11:20 AM ET

Antea Group’s blog discusses the literal ‘watershed moment’ for data centers to rise to the challenge of achieving water sustainability & security.

Education

Curiosity Cube Teaches Kids About STEM

Jul 19, 2018 11:20 AM ET

A Laramie company has created a mobile science lab out of an old shipping container.

Sustainable Development Goals

VIDEO | Barclays Citizenship Awards: Sumita Patnaik Teaches the Value of Education

Jul 19, 2018 11:05 AM ET

In 2001, Sumita Patnaik, along with her cousin, started Twinkle Academy, a school in the rural village of Kalan, India. The school has grown from three children to 170 in this time, with the first class of seniors soon to graduate.

Environment

Berliner Stadtreinigung Utilizes VMware Solutions to Increase Conservation Efforts

Jul 19, 2018 11:00 AM ET

Sustainable Development Goals

Community Engagement Q&A with Brent Bergeron, EVP, Corporate Affairs & Sustainability

Jul 19, 2018 11:00 AM ET

In our 2017 Sustainability Report, we demonstrate how our unwavering commitment to safe, responsible and sustainable mining underpins every facet of our business. From our initial community outreach before a mine is built to our meticulous reclamation and rehabilitation practices post-closure, we strive to build lasting, mutually-beneficial relationships, drive innovation, improve safety performance and minimize our environmental footprint. Brent Bergeron, Executive Vice President, Corporate Affairs and Sustainability, reflects on 2017’s developments and initiatives, and how we are generating enduring value for and with local communities.

Environment

The Global Clean Water Crisis -- PepsiCo Expands Its Safe Water Program

Jul 19, 2018 10:30 AM ET

People want to drink clean water even more than they want to breath clean air. So it’s a good thing that almost 3 billion people have gained access to clean water over the last 25 years. But current water use, population growth and the effects of climate change have caused two-thirds of the global population – about 4 billion people – to live under conditions of severe water scarcity at least one month of the year. Some of this scarcity has led to violence and conflict, especially in Africa, Southern Asia and the Middle East.

Environment

Earth Overshoot Day: Save the Date to Save the Planet

Jul 19, 2018 10:25 AM ET

Humanity is currently using nature 1.7 times faster than our planet’s ecosystems can regenerate. On August 1, humanity will have used nature’s resource budget for the entire year, according to Global Footprint Network, an international research organization that has pioneered the Ecological Footprint resource accounting metric. Since the world went into ecological overshoot in the 1970s, D-day of August 1 this year will be the earliest.

Supply Chain & the Circular Economy

How Cocoa and Honeybees Are Helping Latin American Farmers Thrive

Jul 19, 2018 10:25 AM ET

Many Latin American agricultural businesses don’t survive long term. But it isn’t because they’re fighting against Mother Nature or bad crops or not enough hard-working laborers. It usually boils down to a lack of financial training and little access to credit.