Impact & Sustainability News From Leading Brands

Social Impact & Volunteering

Making a Difference by Sharing Expertise

May 21, 2019 1:15 PM ET

MetLife Foundation focuses on improving the financial health of low-income people. And that can be done in many different ways, including by making a social impact in local communities. Thanks to MetLife volunteers, numerous nonprofit organizations have gained invaluable help and improved their futures – without spending a dollar.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Ecolab Event Raises More Than $200,000 for National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation Scholarships

May 21, 2019 1:00 PM ET

Ecolab Inc., a global leader in food safety solutions and expertise, helped raise more than $200,000 for the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation (NRAEF) during the 17th Annual Ecolab Chairman's Reception, held Sunday, May 19 in conjunction with the National Restaurant Association Show in Chicago.

Research, Reports & Publications

Consumers Energy Focuses on Providing World Class Performance While Delivering Hometown Service

May 21, 2019 12:30 PM ET

At Consumers Energy, we’re more than pipes, poles and wires. We’re part of Michigan’s landscape. That’s why we’ve worked proudly to maintain the Mitten for more than 130 years. As we reflect on our efforts to pursue our purpose of World Class Performance Delivering Hometown Service, we know our business is about more than profits. It’s about enabling the communities we serve to share in our success. Learn more about Consumers Energy’s commitment to the Triple Bottom Line in their 2019 Sustainability Report.

Events, Media & Communications

Ray of Hope Prize at Circularity 19

May 21, 2019 12:30 PM ET

The 4th Annual Ray of Hope Prize will be awarded Tuesday, June 18th at Circularity 19 in Minneapolis, MN

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

The Future of Business Sustainability — Extending Inclusiveness to People With Disabilities

May 21, 2019 12:25 PM ET

People with disabilities constitute the largest minority group, at an estimated one in six people globally, but their needs often are overlooked. Businesses and other organizations that aim to be more inclusive might opt to create an environment where these people’s needs are understood. However, it is often difficult to recognize the best way to make changes. To effectively engage people with disabilities, managers need to understand disability and how their products touch disability, and how businesses can use their position to further promote education and advocacy while also building customer and employee relationships.

Energy

Schneider Electric Helps City of Holland Adopt 40-year Community Energy Plan

May 21, 2019 12:10 PM ET

With aspirations to be a national leader in energy efficiency and sustainability, City leaders in Holland, Michigan adopted a progressive Community Energy Plan with goals to ensure economic competitiveness, provide reliable and affordable energy and protect the environment. Watch the video to learn more from Schneider Electric Project Manager Ty Miller about how the city will meet its goals.

Diversity & Inclusion

In Celebration of National Military Appreciation Month, Walmart Announces the Hiring of Nearly 6,000 Military Spouses Through the Military Spouse Career Connection and a $1 Million Grant to Hire Heroes USA From Walmart Foundation

May 21, 2019 12:05 PM ET

Walmart today announced the hiring of nearly 6,000 military spouses since launching the Military Spouse Career Connection (MSCC) on Veterans Day 2018. In its sixth month, the MSCC gives hiring preference to military spouses who seek employment with Walmart or Sam’s Club.

This announcement comes at a time when more than 75 percent of our nation’s 500,000 military spouses want or need work, according to the Department of Defense Military Spouse Employment Partnership. The MSCC serves as a natural step for Walmart, as the company’s Military Family Promise, now in its ninth year, also guarantees a job at a nearby store or club for all military personnel and military spouses employed by the company who move to a different part of the country as part of their military service.

Green Infrastructure

The Next Mile Podcast: Allie Kelly of The Ray

May 21, 2019 12:00 PM ET

Allie Kelly, executive director of The Ray shares information about how the The Ray is tangibly working toward reducing waste, increasing productivity, and transforming the everyday transportation experience for Americans.

Sustainable Development Goals

United Nations Global Compact Launches Search for SDG Pioneers

May 21, 2019 11:45 AM ET

The United Nations Global Compact today launched a global search for the 2019 class of SDG Pioneers — business leaders who are doing an exceptional job to advance the Sustainable Development Goals.

Social Impact & Volunteering

FCA Community: Volunteers Transform Michigan Neighborhood, One House at a Time

May 21, 2019 11:15 AM ET

To help end local homelessness, Grace Centers of Hope in Pontiac, Michigan, has weaved together supportive services, safe and affordable housing, and neighborhood revitalization efforts to create “Little Grace Village.” Once a blighted neighborhood, this area is now a “community of hope” thanks in part to the hundreds of FCA volunteers who have donated thousands of hours over the course of five years to transform homes for people who are trying to transform their lives.

Energy

The Business Case for Clean Power

May 21, 2019 10:30 AM ET

General Mills began milling grain with water power from the Mississippi River 150 years ago. Now, the Fortune 500 company is using wind to power operations and cut its carbon footprint.

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

Update to Chinese Translations of GRI Standards

May 21, 2019 10:15 AM ET

Additional Chinese translations of the GRI Standards, the world's most widely adopted sustainability reporting framework, are now available.

Events, Media & Communications

Corporate Social Investment Leaders Convene to Reflect On New Era of Action and Integrity

May 21, 2019 9:00 AM ET

Chief Executives for Corporate Purpose (CECP) welcomes more than 300 corporate leaders from across the U.S. and around the world to the 2019 CECP Summit: Integrity and Action: Reshaping the Role of Business. The event, held annually in NYC, brings together professionals who drive societal investment strategies at the world’s largest companies.

Environment

Timberland, Wrangler, VF Foundation Support Regenerative Ranching Research

May 21, 2019 9:00 AM ET

The VF Foundation (the charitable arm of VF Corporation) and the Timberland® and Wrangler® brands today announced $150,000 in grants to researchers at seven US universities — including Arizona State University and Michigan State University — that are conducting the first comprehensive research into regenerative ranching practices.

Environment

How One Small Business in Brazil is making a Big Impact on the Country’s Deforestation Problem

May 21, 2019 9:00 AM ET

The Kitambar factory, which formerly used firewood to fire up its kilns, was indirectly involved in this trend by sourcing its wood fuel from forests that are "unmanaged," which essentially means that the biodiversity and health of these forests were not actively maintained by governmental or private parties. Previously, the factory would have used over 30,000 tons of non-renewable wood as fuel each year— mostly because it was cheap and there was little incentive to try to find cleaner fuel sources.

Innovation & Technology

Innovation Gets in the Weeds Under Solar Panels

May 20, 2019 5:00 PM ET

Solar power plants provide many benefits but at least one perpetual challenge: How do you keep grass under the panels from growing too high? Mowers with traditional blades can damage equipment. Hand-held weed-whackers are a labor-intensive solution. Even the sheep tried at one small site behaved unreliably. So why not innovate and let engineers-to-be address this question for college credit?

Green Infrastructure

How Smart Small Businesses Can Make Sustainability Work for Them

May 20, 2019 4:25 PM ET

As climate change and environmental responsibility become increasingly important drivers for consumers, businesses of all sizes are taking notice. In a recent survey, 83 percent of millennial respondents said it’s important for companies to implement programs to improve the environment, and 75 percent said they’d change their purchasing habits to reduce their own impact.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Viacom Partners with Reel Works on Annual Day of Service

May 20, 2019 4:05 PM ET

In 2006, Patricia Henry was a high school senior working through a complicated mix of feelings about sex.

So when her school introduced her to a program called Reel Works—which recruits underserved teenagers and, via after-school, in-school and workforce programs, teaches them the filmmaking skills that can act as a precursor to a career in media—she found a creative outlet through which she could channel her curiosity.

Education

At the Top of Their Game: Messi, Gates & Wooten Not Only Share Great Talent, but Also Opportunity & An Environment That Allowed Their Talent to Thrive

May 20, 2019 3:10 PM ET

You know it when you see it.

Lin-Manuel Miranda transforming a book into something else entirely. Messi moving up the field with a soccer ball that moves along with him. Diamond taking 13,000 years of history – and multiple disciplines – to incredibly show us how and why societies advanced in different ways at different rates.

Innovation & Technology

Arrow Electronics and Posner Center for International Development Collaborate on Innovation in Technology Award

May 20, 2019 3:00 PM ET

Arrow Electronics and The Posner Center for International Development have awarded the 2019 Arrow Innovation in Technology Award to Moving Up the Coffee Chain via Blockchain, a project that will tap technology to connect Honduran coffee farmers with roasters in the United States. A collaboration between iDE and Bext360, the project’s goal is to show how blockchain can be applied to market-based interventions in global development.

Environment

13 Major Companies Call On Congress To Accelerate Climate Legislation. Here’s Why.

May 20, 2019 2:40 PM ET

Corporate America is setting – and meeting – increasingly ambitious climate and clean energy goals. But the hard reality is that individual corporate action, no matter how big, won’t solve this great climate crisis.

In order to avoid the worst impacts of climate change, we need public policies that harness the power of the whole economy to drive down emissions by putting prices and limits on climate pollution.

Responsible Production & Consumption

CNH Industrial Working to Make Manufacturing Even Safer in Brazil

May 20, 2019 2:15 PM ET

CNH Industrial (NYSE: CNHI /MI: CNHI) achieved a year-on-year reduction of 55% in the total number of incidents causing an absence of one or more days in 2018, at its production facilities in Brazil. These results are testament to the effectiveness of the methodologies the Company adopts in terms of workplace safety.

Innovation & Technology

Announcing the 2019 Cisco Global Problem Solver Challenge Winners

May 20, 2019 2:05 PM ET

Today, in our third year of the Cisco Global Problem Solver Challenge, we are proud to be recognizing a new group of young entrepreneurs who are creating cutting-edge, technology-based solutions capable of solving some of the world’s toughest challenges. With each year, I’m continually impressed by the ideas and solutions developed by these young entrepreneurs and inspired by their drive to make a difference. It’s with much excitement that I introduce you to the winners of this year’s competition.

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

More Than Four Thousand North Texans Shred Sensitive Documents at Comerica Bank’s Ninth Annual Shred Day DFW Event

May 20, 2019 1:45 PM ET

Green Infrastructure

SCE Procures 195 Megawatts of New Clean Energy Resources in Ventura, Santa Barbara Areas

May 20, 2019 1:10 PM ET

Southern California Edison announced that it has signed seven contracts for 195 megawatts of battery-based energy storage resources to meet local capacity requirements in the Santa Clara sub-area of its electrical system. Contracts were the result of SCE’s Aliso Canyon Energy Storage 2 Request For Offers and last year’s Local Capacity Requirements Request For Proposals.