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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Events, Media & Communications

TRAINING: FSC® Standards and Auditing Principles

Attend this training to work towards Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC) lead auditor qualification or to familiarize yourself more with the standards as a stakeholder, certificate holder, or prospective certificate holder.

United Nations Global Compact logo

Sustainable Development Goals

Annual Letter From CEO & Executive Director of the UN Global Compact : A Year of Tipping Points

It was 20 years ago this month that our late founder UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan first proposed the idea of a Global Compact between the United Nations and the world’s businesses. The universal principles on human and labour rights, respect for the environment and anti-corruption proposed by Kofi Annan as the basis of our relationship are as valuable and relevant today as they were then.

Sea Change Radio

Environment

M Jackson: It’s Thin Where We’re Skating

Have you ever noticed that scientists historically are mostly white men? Do you think that this fact has skewed some scientific findings?

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Wells Fargo Supports Customers and Communities During Federal Government Shutdown

During this historic Federal Government shutdown, Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) is offering relief to impacted customers and community members. Fee reversals and waivers are available to affected customers and, today, the company announced a donation of $250,000 to the United for U.S. Coalition announced Friday by United Way Worldwide to support those in local communities who are also impacted.

Innovation & Technology

Why Is It So Hard To Innovate?

Every sector, and most organizations, understand the importance of innovating to create competitive advantages and deliver greater value to customers. Unfortunately, identifying the need to innovate is only a small part of addressing the challenge, and many organizations struggle with both deploying and integrating innovation within their corporate culture. Why is it so hard to innovate? To help answer this, I’ve framed some of our learning into an easy to remember acronym: D.E.S.I.G.N. Innovation within any organization can be structured and unleashed by the design of processes, governance, and change, hence the use of the word DESIGN for our six lessons learned. The following are elements to consider as you set out to D.E.S.I.G.N. innovation and change your organization.

Sustainable Finance & Socially Responsible Investment

Trends in Sustainable, Responsible, and Impact Investing

The articles on the multiple aspects of where the SRI industry has been and where it is headed. The numbers in the Trends Report are positive, as more investors, institutions and financial professionals understand that SRI is good for themselves, their clients, and all of us. The headline here: 38 percent growth in assets using SRI over the last two years, totaling $12 trillion; one in every 4 dollars under professional management.

Benevity

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

Benevity Clients Make Up More Than One Third of “JUST 100” List of America’s Most JUST Companies

Benevity, Inc., the global leader in corporate social responsibility (CSR) and employee engagement software, today announced that more than one third of the companies on JUST Capital's list of America’s 100 “most JUST” corporations are Benevity clients.

Tetra Tech logo

Research, Reports & Publications

Taking Stock of the Status of Implementation of the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-scale Fisheries: A Country-level Assessment Framework

In this article, Tetra Tech’s Catherine Courtney, the University of Connecticut’s Robert Pomeroy, and the U.S. Agency for International Development's Stephen Brooks developed and tested an assessment framework and process to assist national and subnational governments to assess progress in meeting the Voluntary Guidelines on Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (SSF Guidelines).

Responsible Production & Consumption

Healthy Soil 101: Why Soil Health Matters and How the Food Sector Can Help

Most of us don’t think too closely about dirt, but perhaps we should. After all, it’s the foundation of all life on Earth.

Beyond sustaining plant life—and the rest of the food chain along with it—soil itself is very much alive. One handful of dirt contains up to 50 billion bacteria and hundreds of thousands of individual fungal cells. As these microorganisms move through the soil, they feast on minerals and dead organic matter and leave nutrients behind, allowing plants to grow and ecosystems to thrive.

Novartis logo

Health & Healthcare

Sandoz Selects Three Finalists for Healthcare Access Challenge (Sandoz HACk) From Over 400 Global Entries

Sandoz, a Novartis division, today announced the three finalists for the second Sandoz Healthcare Access Challenge (HACk).

The three shortlisted entrants are from Uganda, the US and the Netherlands, respectively. They propose novel ways of leveraging digital technology, including artificial intelligence (AI), mobile apps and digital therapeutics, to connect patients with caregivers, medicines and information and address local healthcare access challenges.

Supply Chain & the Circular Economy

Webinar: “How Circular Thinking Is Transforming Sustainable E-Commerce” with UPS, Optoro and Sustainable Brands

The e-commerce era has not only changed how consumers shop, but also how they return unwanted items. Once an afterthought for many retailers, providing a seamless returns experience has become top priority. Crystal Lassiter, Senior Director of Global Sustainability and Environmental Affairs at UPS, and Ann Starodaj, Senior Director of Sustainability at Optoro, will share how they’re combining global logistics expertise and the world’s leading reverse logistics platform to help retailers manage returned and excess inventory.

International Living Future Institute logo

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

Elizabeth Heider, Skanska USA Chief Sustainability Officer, Appointed to International Living Future Institute Board of Directors

The International Living Future Institute announced today that Beth Heider, Chief Sustainability Officer, Skanska USA, has become a member of the Board of Directors.

Environment

Out With the Old Gadgets, in With the New: How to Recycle E-waste

If Santa brought you a new phone or tablet this holiday season, or you couldn’t resist the sale price on a 70-inch TV, you might be wondering what to do with your old electronics. You’re not alone. Overall, Americans get rid of 7 million tons of old electronics – or “e-waste” – each year. That adds up to about 42 pounds per person!

Research, Reports & Publications

New Report from JetBlue and The Nature Conservancy Uses AI Technology to Evaluate the Impact of Natural Resources on Tourism

JetBlue, along with The Nature Conservancy, whose mission is to conserve the lands and waters on which all life depends, today released a new report focusing on the connection between natural resources and tourism. The report’s results revealed that the Caribbean is more dependent on tourism than any other region across the globe and highlights new data on the benefits that coral reefs provide to the travel industry and the region’s economy.

LOGO

Media & Communications

Best CSR Reads of 2018

Jennifer Weston-Murphy of CECP shares her annual list of must-reads in the CSR space for 2018

Responsible Production & Consumption

Tyson Foods and EDF Launch Partnership to Accelerate Sustainable Food Production

Tyson Foods, Inc. and Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) today announced a new partnership to develop and deploy initiatives that support Tyson’s sustainability strategy and help meet increasing consumer demand for more sustainably grown food. The partnership’s first project focuses on land stewardship and aims to pilot and scale agriculture practices on 500,000 acres of corn that reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHG), improve water quality and maximize farmer profitability. This effort will also help Tyson meet its land stewardship goal of working with farmers to improve environmental practices across two million acres of corn production by 2020.

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

Wolverhampton Businesses Reach £1M in Sales with eBay UK Retail Revival Program

Just two short months ago local Wolverhampton businesses joined eBay for the first UK Retail Revival training event at the iconic Molineux Stadium in Wolverhampton. Today, the 64 businesses participating in the program have reached £1M in sales on eBay, representing a 41% increase in sales for these businesses.

Subaru logo

Events, Media & Communications

Effie Collegiate Introduces 2019 Brand Challenge by Subaru

Effie United States, which recognizes marketing effectiveness, has announced that its ninth Effie Collegiate program will be in partnership with Subaru of America, Inc. Modeled after the Effie Awards, the Effie Collegiate program calls on the next generation’s brightest marketers to work on real world business challenges with a focus on creating marketing that really works. As the 2019 sponsor, Subaru will challenge college students throughout the U.S. to reinvent the experience of buying a new car to meet the expectations and lifestyles of the Millennial/Gen Z audience, many who think of buying a car as a thing of the past.

PNC logo

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

PNC: Setting the Record Straight on Four Myths about the Workforce

Over the past three decades, experts have had much to say about the changing workforce and the future of work. While trending topics vary over time, one thing is clear: talent– having the right people in the right roles at the right companies – is more important than ever.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Consumers Energy Supports Michigan Communities With First ‘Put Your Town on the Map’ Competition

Consumers Energy is strengthening its commitment to rural Michigan communities by announcing a new competition to provide funding for projects that will help energize towns in the Lower Peninsula. The “Put Your Town on the Map” competition will provide a total of $15,000 to three initiatives that are designed to build a stronger sense of community. Up to 10 finalist communities will compete for the funding at the 2019 Small Town and Rural Development Conference on April 17 in Thompsonville, Mich.

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Energy

LG Experience & Design Center Is 100% Powered by Renewable Energy

The Experience & Design Center facility is 100-percent powered by renewable energy and carbon neutral certified, “further underscoring LG’s commitment to greener living,” according William Cho, president and CEO of LG Electronics North America. LG Electronics joined MCE Clean Energy’s 100-percent-renewable “Deep Green” program, which sources power from wind and solar projects in California and supports the development of new, local renewable energy projects in the state.

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

Aflac Asks: How Important Are Benefits at Work?

What can you learn about benefits and employee concerns through casual conversations with people on the street? Find out by watching three new videos that take a lighthearted and humorous approach to benefits realities using questions from the 2018 Aflac WorkForces Report.

Discovery Education

Education

Major League Baseball and Discovery Education Team-Up to Add Dynamic New Baseball-Themed Content to Science Techbook to Fuel Deeper Student Engagement in Science and STEM

Major League Baseball (MLB) and Discovery Education, the leading provider of digital curriculum, content, and professional development for K-12 classrooms, today announced the launch of a new, multiyear partnership that brings Major League Baseball’s dynamic content into Discovery Education’s Science Techbooks. The partnership launched during a special event in the Baltimore County Public Schools’ Deep Creek Middle School, during which Nicole Sherry, Head Groundskeeper for the Baltimore Orioles, worked alongside area students as they analyzed turf samples taken from Baltimore’s Oriole Park at Camden Yards.

Sysco logo

Research, Reports & Publications

Sysco Is Starting off the Year Focused on the Big Issues

Through extensive engagement with internal and external stakeholders, our materiality process identified 10 critical issues that are material to the future our business and the needs, interests, and concerns of Sysco's stakeholders.

cisco logo

Environment

Taking Ambition on Climate Change to the Next Level

Addressing greenhouse gas emissions continues to be a top priority for Cisco. As of FY2017, our GHG emissions are down more than 40% in absolute terms since 2007 — in spite of our business growing more than 37% over that time. At the Global Climate Action Summit, Cisco joined 20 other companies as part of the Step Up Declaration, a new alliance dedicated to harnessing the power of the Fourth Industrial Revolution to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Latest Campaigns

  1. AEG's Commitment to Social Impact and Volunteerism
    AEG embraces its responsibility to enrich the lives of people in the communities around the world where we do business, and to use business to create...

  2. Southwire Giving Back
    Our neighbors depend on us, just as we depend on them, so we are committed to improving the quality of life in the communities in which we work. At...

  3. Carbon Footprint
    We are accelerating our efforts to help build a low-carbon economy and avert the worst impacts of climate change. Our goal to reduce our GHG emissions...

  4. Environmental Sustainability
    As sustainability leaders, we implement our sustainability strategy across all company activities along the entire value chain, from raw materials to...

  5. Corporate Social Responsibility
    Corporate Social Responsibility

  6. International Paper | HEALTHY & ABUNDANT FORESTS
    Vision 2030 Goal: Lead forest stewardship efforts globally

  7. Sustainability Report
    Our latest Sustainability Report highlights recent accomplishments and progress toward achieving goals in the environmental, social and governance...

  8. Social Impact at Mastercard
    At Mastercard, we’re powering economies and empowering people, building a sustainable economy where everyone prospers.

  9. 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...

  10. License to Operate
    Corporate governance, risk management, operational integrity, and regulatory compliance are demanding challenges that companies face in today’s ever...

  11. IWBI | WELL Building Standard
    Our built environment can shape our habits and choices, regulate our sleep-wake cycle, drive us toward healthy and unhealthy choices, and passively...

  12. Leading ESG & Sustainability Stewardship
    The new CNH continues on its longstanding path of excellence in sustainability, which is recognized by the foremost authorities.

  13. Green Mountain Energy Commitment to Sustainability
    At Green Mountain Energy Company, we share our customers’ commitment to the environment and sustainability. We are inspired by the success that we...

  14. KeyBank's Community Investment
    In states where Key has a presence, there are approximately 1.7 million low- to moderate-income (LMI) households. Many LMI individuals don’t have bank...

  15. GoDaddy | Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging
    Diverse teams build better products — period. At GoDaddy, we make apps and services that our worldwide community of entrepreneurs can relate to. Our...