Impact & Sustainability News From Leading Brands

Green Infrastructure

WELL Tip: Pursuing WELL for Existing Spaces

Aug 9, 2018 10:05 AM ET

WELL Certification is for all types of projects - from commercial offices to warehouses to apartment buildings. And just as WELL offers flexibility when it comes to project types, it also offers flexibility with regard to project stage. Whether newly constructed, undergoing renovation or existing, your project can achieve WELL Certification.

Sustainable Development Goals

Aligning Business with the Global Goals: 3BL Media SDG Webinar Series Features Las Vegas Sands, August 23, 2 p.m. ET

Aug 9, 2018 10:05 AM ET

Environment

VIDEO | Investing in Bamboo to Curb Floods in Kenya

Aug 9, 2018 10:05 AM ET

Events, Media & Communications

Sustainable Brands Prioritizes the Importance of Measuring the ROI of Sustainable Business

Aug 9, 2018 10:00 AM ET

Sustainable Brands® recently unveiled full program details for New Metrics 2018: The ROI of Sustainable Business, running October 29-31 in Philadelphia, PA. Gathering together a unique combination of more than 400 business leaders from financial, sustainability and marketing backgrounds, New Metrics ‘18 will explore how cutting-edge brands are identifying and quantifying new forms of business value through sustainable and social innovation.

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

Making a Difference with Family-Friendly Factory Spaces

Aug 9, 2018 9:35 AM ET

In China, it’s common for families to be separated for months at a time. Many parents work in factories in large cities while their children stay in villages with relatives to go to school. The Chinese social system connects access to schools and healthcare to the migrant worker’s home province, so most factory workers cannot bring their children with them when they move to cities to work.

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

How Corporate Social Responsibility Connects Us to Consumers

Aug 9, 2018 9:35 AM ET

Long gone are the days of disengaged consumers, whose allegiance is garnered merely through coupons and loyalty programs. Today’s customers are increasingly sophisticated and selective. They like to keep their finger on the pulse of the companies with which they have chosen, or are thinking of choosing, to do business. Does the business align with their values? Is it engaged with the community, and what is it doing for the greater good?

Energy

High-performing Surfactants May Mean Even Better Cold-water Cleaning—and Reduced Household Energy Consumption by Encouraging Eco-friendly Consumer Habits

Aug 9, 2018 9:35 AM ET

On June 11, 2018, Procter & Gamble (P&G) announced presentations given on new research into sustainability innovations for its Tide® laundry detergent. The presentations discussed the potential for improved cleaning performance in cold water conditions with detergents containing a patented branched surfactant. While machine washing in cold water can reduce a household’s energy footprint, detergents may not perform as well on this setting, which can compel consumers to use more energy and water to compensate.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Caterpillar Foundation's Value of Water Campaign Video: Will DIG for Water

Aug 9, 2018 9:25 AM ET

The Caterpillar Foundation is on a mission to alleviate poverty. Through its work, the Foundation recognizes that water is one of the most critical basic needs of people and their communities.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

Sodexo and NAACP’s ACT-SO Initiative Award High School Students With Scholarships to the Culinary Institute of America

Aug 9, 2018 9:05 AM ET

Sodexo, a food services and facilities management company committed to improving Quality of Life, and NAACP’s ACT-SO initiative (Academic, Cultural, Technological and Scientific Olympics), the civil rights organization’s year-long youth program, held its annual competition with culinary and hospitality high school students last month in San Antonio, Texas. Winners received monetary scholarships to attend the Culinary Institute of America (CIA).

Responsible Production & Consumption

Customers Help Albertsons Redesign Open Nature Brand

Aug 9, 2018 8:55 AM ET

“This new look reflects what customers have always loved about Open Nature: high quality and minimally processed products that support a clean lifestyle for the whole family,” Geoff White, president of own brands at Albertsons Cos., said in a statement. “We are thrilled to have the new design fully rolled out across all of our trusted Open Nature products.”

Media & Communications

Freeport-McMoRan Publishes 2017 Working Toward Sustainable Development Report “Powered By Copper”

Aug 9, 2018 8:50 AM ET

Freeport-McMoRan’s 2017 Working Toward Sustainable Development Report now is available online. Titled "Powered by Copper," the report provides information on the company's sustainability programs – including approach, focus areas and performance targets – and highlights the company's progress made on key issues affecting the company and stakeholders.

Environment

Geoff Dembicki: A Glass Half-Full Approach To Climate Change

Aug 8, 2018 8:00 PM ET

As wildfires rage out of control for yet another summer and the Mueller investigation inches ahead at a seemingly glacial pace, there’s a lot to be down about when it comes to politics and the environment. But this week on Sea Change Radio, we speak to a journalist who’s trying to look at things through a more upbeat lens. By delving into things that should encourage us about our future on this planet, Geoff Dembicki offers plenty of reasons to keep fighting the good fight against climate change. Dembicki sheds some light on issues like housing, education and the hope of converting climate change deniers in an effort to put a spring in our collective steps, even in the face of some pretty dark times.

Education

How Cisco Is Helping Tweens Become Tech-Savvy Global Problem Solvers

Aug 8, 2018 5:25 PM ET

For more than two decades, Cisco has built a world-leading IT training program, Cisco Networking Academy, which has empowered millions around the world. Now we are taking this experience to younger learners with Global Problem Solvers: The Series (GPS: The Series), a new animated web series for kids exploring entrepreneurship, life skills, and how to use technology for social good.

Green Infrastructure

Schools, Parks, Beaches to Get EV Charging Stations

Aug 8, 2018 3:35 PM ET

Southern California Edison is seeking state approval for a two-year pilot program to add hundreds of new electric vehicle charging stations at schools and state recreation area parking lots.

Diversity & Inclusion

Diversity in the Newsroom: Time to Address the Elephant in the Room

Aug 8, 2018 3:30 PM ET

Research has shown over and over again that building a diverse workforce isn’t only the right thing to do, but it also gives businesses a competitive advantage. Diversity encourages innovation and creativity, enables discussions and decision-making drawing on a broad range of perspectives and helps to develop and retain versatile talent. Newsrooms globally still have a long way to go in creating and maintaining diversity, and that is a cause for concern.

Sustainable Finance & Socially Responsible Investment

How to Plan Your Financial Future in Your 50s

Aug 8, 2018 3:20 PM ET

Research, Reports & Publications

Kinross Releases 2017 Corporate Responsibility Report

Aug 8, 2018 3:00 PM ET

Kinross Gold Corporation is pleased to present its 2017 Corporate Responsibility Report, a comprehensive and transparent account of the Company’s health and safety, socio-economic, community and workforce engagement, ethical conduct and environmental performance across its global operations.

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

Gathering With Greater Purpose

Aug 8, 2018 3:00 PM ET

In the aftermath of ‘Larry’s letter’—when BlackRock’s powerful chief executive Lawrence Fink demanded a shift in CEOs’ priorities toward more than just profit—as global businesses look for new ways to deepen their social impact, there lies a high-potential solution routinely lost in everyone’s blind spot: making all events, from Monday morning team meetings to weekend barbeques to convenings on the global stage, sustainable.

Environment

How Does MilliporeSigma Help to Repair the Mississippi River?

Aug 8, 2018 2:30 PM ET

The Mississippi River is the United States’ most well-known river which serves multiple purposes, including drainage for 40 percent of the United States’ waterflow and creating fertile ground where agriculture, trade and cities have flourished for centuries. It also serves as the drinking water source for 50 cities and 20 million people. But with all this development along its riverbanks, it has been subjected to centuries of pollution — especially during heavy rainfall.

Events, Media & Communications

Brands Taking Stands™ | Behind RAICES Refusal of Salesforce Grant

Aug 8, 2018 2:00 PM ET

Under the leadership of Marc Benioff, Salesforce has been viewed as one of the more progressive tech companies in a sector now widely criticized for its disengagement from social concerns. The fourth largest software firm (market cap: $79 billion) has established a strong reputation for both its innovative savvy within an innovation-driven field and for promoting social causes while doing so. “Many [of its] customers like to feel they are not only buying software but doing good for the world,” Keith Weiss of Morgan Stanley told The Economist.

Green Infrastructure

How The Ray Is Building a Greener Highway

Aug 8, 2018 1:30 PM ET

The Ray, an environmental experiment along 18 miles of Georgia highway helps bring eco-friendly technology to pavement across the country.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

What Ecolab Learned From the WEC Gold Medal

Aug 8, 2018 1:00 PM ET

It’s been three months now since Ecolab had the honor of receiving the WEC Medal for International Corporate Achievement in Sustainable Development. And while the afterglow is fading – slowly – and the Gold Medal displays have come down from big digital signage screens in the lobby of our headquarters building in Saint Paul, Minn., our efforts in sustainability aren’t slowing down. Quite the contrary.

Media & Communications

BIER Member Spotlight: Rick Price

Aug 8, 2018 1:00 PM ET

Meet Rick Price, BIER member and Director of Global Environment, Health & Safety at Beam Suntory in the first BIER member spotlight.

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

Las Vegas Sands Expands Commitment to Responsible Citizenship with Launch of Project Protect

Aug 8, 2018 12:05 PM ET

Aiming to strengthen community safeguards and demonstrate leadership in addressing critical social issues, Las Vegas Sands today announced Project Protect, a comprehensive global initiative to accelerate its performance in responsible gaming, anti-money laundering and human trafficking prevention.

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

Boost Productivity & Employee Retention: Have Everyone Work From Home

Aug 8, 2018 11:00 AM ET

In 2017, New York City-based communications strategist Courtney Hamilton and her fiancée decided to forgo a typical wedding, instead eloping to Costa Rica. By the time she returned to the office a week later, Hamilton and her new husband had already decided to keep the adventure going by moving to Los Angeles so he could accept a killer job they just couldn’t pass up.